1 00:00:00,240 --> 00:00:02,360 Speaker 1: Hey, guys, thanks for listening to Breaking Points with Crystal 2 00:00:02,360 --> 00:00:04,280 Speaker 1: and Sager. We're going to be totally upfront with you. 3 00:00:04,400 --> 00:00:07,240 Speaker 1: We took a big risk going independent to make this work. 4 00:00:07,320 --> 00:00:11,920 Speaker 1: We need your support to beat the corporate media CNN, Fox, MSNBC. 5 00:00:12,200 --> 00:00:15,800 Speaker 1: They are ripping this country apart. They are making millions 6 00:00:15,800 --> 00:00:18,400 Speaker 1: of dollars doing it to help support our mission of 7 00:00:18,440 --> 00:00:20,720 Speaker 1: making all of us hate each other, less hate the 8 00:00:20,760 --> 00:00:24,000 Speaker 1: corrupt ruling class more support the show. 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Joining us now 18 00:00:50,600 --> 00:00:54,040 Speaker 1: for our weekly partnership segment is David Sirota of The 19 00:00:54,120 --> 00:00:56,360 Speaker 1: Daily Poster. Great to see you, David, Good to see you, David, 20 00:00:56,560 --> 00:00:58,800 Speaker 1: Good to see both of you. Yeah, absolutely, So you 21 00:00:58,840 --> 00:01:01,640 Speaker 1: have a very timely piece out right. Now, let's go 22 00:01:01,640 --> 00:01:04,200 Speaker 1: ahead and throw this up on the screen, talking about 23 00:01:04,200 --> 00:01:08,720 Speaker 1: how Biden's Ukraine plans face a Wall street roadblock, and 24 00:01:08,760 --> 00:01:12,399 Speaker 1: how corporate lobbyists have made it more difficult to levy 25 00:01:12,440 --> 00:01:16,160 Speaker 1: sanctions directly on the sort of financial elite, So the 26 00:01:16,160 --> 00:01:19,080 Speaker 1: sort of targeted sanctions that would hit just the oligarchs 27 00:01:19,200 --> 00:01:22,319 Speaker 1: and not cause insane pain and misery for the entire 28 00:01:22,400 --> 00:01:25,720 Speaker 1: Russian population. You just talk us about. Take us through 29 00:01:25,760 --> 00:01:31,479 Speaker 1: this piece, David. Sure. So, for years, law enforcement agencies, 30 00:01:31,800 --> 00:01:36,840 Speaker 1: financial regulators have said that the US and UK financial 31 00:01:36,880 --> 00:01:40,959 Speaker 1: systems are incredibly opaque, not requiring the kind of basic 32 00:01:41,000 --> 00:01:46,360 Speaker 1: disclosure that other industrialized nations require, and that has allowed 33 00:01:46,520 --> 00:01:51,320 Speaker 1: effectively oligarchs really from all over the world to make 34 00:01:51,440 --> 00:01:58,320 Speaker 1: investments in assets yachts, planes, also ownership assets in private 35 00:01:58,360 --> 00:02:01,680 Speaker 1: funds like private equity hedge fund to make those investments, 36 00:02:01,800 --> 00:02:04,919 Speaker 1: own those investments, make money off of those investments without 37 00:02:05,080 --> 00:02:09,560 Speaker 1: allowing law enforcement regulators and the general public to know 38 00:02:09,720 --> 00:02:13,120 Speaker 1: who actually owns those things. And in twenty twenty, the 39 00:02:13,200 --> 00:02:16,880 Speaker 1: FBI actually issued an alert saying this has become a problem, 40 00:02:17,080 --> 00:02:23,359 Speaker 1: specifically for sanctions evasions that oligarchs were using potentially the 41 00:02:23,400 --> 00:02:28,000 Speaker 1: opacity of the US financial system to essentially get around sanctions. 42 00:02:28,320 --> 00:02:32,720 Speaker 1: And here's the thing is that corporate lobbyists have obviously 43 00:02:32,800 --> 00:02:39,240 Speaker 1: been pushing to keep the financial system opaque. Wall Street lobbyist, 44 00:02:39,320 --> 00:02:43,000 Speaker 1: bank lobbyists, but also other forms of corporate lobbyists have 45 00:02:43,120 --> 00:02:47,520 Speaker 1: been arguing to financial regulators to not do the kinds 46 00:02:47,520 --> 00:02:50,440 Speaker 1: of things that would bring these investments out into the open. 47 00:02:50,560 --> 00:02:53,919 Speaker 1: And of course that becomes a problem when the United 48 00:02:53,919 --> 00:02:58,760 Speaker 1: States is considering sanctions on Vladimir Putin's personal assets, Russian 49 00:02:58,760 --> 00:03:03,520 Speaker 1: oligarchs asset, they have a problem being able to even 50 00:03:03,680 --> 00:03:07,320 Speaker 1: track down those assets for the purposes of sanctioning them. 51 00:03:07,360 --> 00:03:11,760 Speaker 1: In other words, they have a problem sanctioning Russian oligarchs 52 00:03:11,800 --> 00:03:16,520 Speaker 1: Putin's network because Wall Street has been so successful in 53 00:03:16,680 --> 00:03:20,919 Speaker 1: keeping the US financial system opaque and in convincing lawakers 54 00:03:21,200 --> 00:03:23,760 Speaker 1: to not do what can be done to bring those 55 00:03:23,760 --> 00:03:26,679 Speaker 1: investments into the sunlight. Yeah, I think it's important that 56 00:03:26,720 --> 00:03:29,080 Speaker 1: people understand that I was thinking the same thing, you know, 57 00:03:29,280 --> 00:03:32,239 Speaker 1: just during the sanctions when they were announced, I saw 58 00:03:32,280 --> 00:03:34,800 Speaker 1: that Russian bonds went to zero and a huge amount 59 00:03:34,800 --> 00:03:36,960 Speaker 1: of banks David actually had to do a margin call 60 00:03:37,040 --> 00:03:40,160 Speaker 1: because a lot of them have been borrowing using bonds 61 00:03:40,440 --> 00:03:43,360 Speaker 1: as assets. Can you go into that pace? Just how 62 00:03:43,400 --> 00:03:47,080 Speaker 1: dependent Wall Street is on so much of Russian cash. Look, 63 00:03:47,320 --> 00:03:50,200 Speaker 1: there was one estimate by Gabriel Zuckman that about more 64 00:03:50,240 --> 00:03:53,880 Speaker 1: than half of Russian of the top one percent, top 65 00:03:53,880 --> 00:03:59,040 Speaker 1: point zero one percent of Russia's elite its assets offshore. 66 00:03:59,080 --> 00:04:03,160 Speaker 1: Half of those assets are offshore. The US and and 67 00:04:03,200 --> 00:04:06,880 Speaker 1: Britain are known to be the financial systems with the 68 00:04:06,880 --> 00:04:10,760 Speaker 1: most opacity among others. I mean, there's smaller countries that 69 00:04:10,800 --> 00:04:13,320 Speaker 1: are known as tax havens and the like, but in 70 00:04:13,400 --> 00:04:17,279 Speaker 1: terms of industrialized countries. And here's the thing, Joe Biden 71 00:04:17,520 --> 00:04:21,520 Speaker 1: has the power right now to start combating this problem. 72 00:04:21,560 --> 00:04:23,599 Speaker 1: I mean he had. There is a rule that the 73 00:04:23,600 --> 00:04:27,919 Speaker 1: Obama administration had proposed to essentially use the Bank Secrecy 74 00:04:27,960 --> 00:04:32,359 Speaker 1: Act and subject the private funds industry to that fifty 75 00:04:32,440 --> 00:04:36,039 Speaker 1: plus year old law. Biden has not done that. Of course, 76 00:04:36,120 --> 00:04:38,920 Speaker 1: the financial industry doesn't want him to do that. There 77 00:04:38,960 --> 00:04:42,120 Speaker 1: was also the Corporate Transparency Act, a bill that did 78 00:04:42,279 --> 00:04:45,600 Speaker 1: pass last year, and that's a good thing. But in 79 00:04:45,680 --> 00:04:48,400 Speaker 1: the process of pushing that bill forward, and it was 80 00:04:48,440 --> 00:04:53,960 Speaker 1: a bipartisan bill, various corporate lobbyists, various corporate industries got 81 00:04:54,040 --> 00:04:56,560 Speaker 1: exemptions to that bill. That bill was designed to make 82 00:04:56,600 --> 00:04:59,080 Speaker 1: sure that shell companies would have to at least tell 83 00:04:59,440 --> 00:05:03,440 Speaker 1: regulators law enforcement officials, who the actual owners of shell 84 00:05:03,480 --> 00:05:05,320 Speaker 1: companies are. I mean, think about that. We're in a 85 00:05:05,360 --> 00:05:08,679 Speaker 1: situation now, we've been in a situation where shell companies 86 00:05:08,680 --> 00:05:12,360 Speaker 1: don't even have to tell law law enforcement agencies who 87 00:05:12,440 --> 00:05:17,159 Speaker 1: necessarily owns those companies and where that money flows to. 88 00:05:17,560 --> 00:05:20,640 Speaker 1: And here's the other thing is that now that that 89 00:05:20,760 --> 00:05:23,039 Speaker 1: law is on the books, they've been pushing forward rules 90 00:05:23,040 --> 00:05:26,800 Speaker 1: to essentially implement that law. And even in the lead 91 00:05:26,880 --> 00:05:30,440 Speaker 1: up to the crisis in Ukraine, corporate lobbyists have been 92 00:05:30,480 --> 00:05:34,599 Speaker 1: pushing to add even more exemptions to the Corporate Transparency Act, 93 00:05:34,640 --> 00:05:37,039 Speaker 1: trying to water it down. And again it goes back 94 00:05:37,040 --> 00:05:39,720 Speaker 1: to the idea that how sanctions can be great. They 95 00:05:39,760 --> 00:05:41,680 Speaker 1: can sound great on paper, we're going to go after 96 00:05:41,720 --> 00:05:45,880 Speaker 1: the oligarchs, But if you don't give regulators the basic 97 00:05:45,960 --> 00:05:49,680 Speaker 1: tools to even know who owns shell companies, to know 98 00:05:49,839 --> 00:05:53,360 Speaker 1: who is invested in the vast world of private equity 99 00:05:53,400 --> 00:05:56,559 Speaker 1: and hedge funds, then the oligarchs have plenty of ways 100 00:05:56,600 --> 00:06:00,800 Speaker 1: to get around those sanctions. That's well said for these 101 00:06:01,080 --> 00:06:03,839 Speaker 1: rules was this to crack down on money laundering and 102 00:06:03,880 --> 00:06:06,040 Speaker 1: just talk about that piece of it. Yes, I mean 103 00:06:06,040 --> 00:06:08,000 Speaker 1: that's really what it's been about, is that there's been 104 00:06:08,240 --> 00:06:12,080 Speaker 1: rising concerns about money laundering. That was the FBI's warning 105 00:06:12,120 --> 00:06:16,240 Speaker 1: in twenty twenty that essentially that the US financial system 106 00:06:16,640 --> 00:06:19,960 Speaker 1: had become a way for all sorts of money laundering, 107 00:06:20,320 --> 00:06:24,160 Speaker 1: organized crime, and the like to launder money through private 108 00:06:24,200 --> 00:06:28,960 Speaker 1: funds because the system is so opaque. So it's good, listen, 109 00:06:29,000 --> 00:06:31,719 Speaker 1: it's good that the Corporate Transparency Act passed last year. 110 00:06:31,839 --> 00:06:34,080 Speaker 1: That's good. But as we all know, the devil is 111 00:06:34,080 --> 00:06:36,719 Speaker 1: in the details. And so when you look at the filings, 112 00:06:36,720 --> 00:06:40,760 Speaker 1: when you look at these Wall Street trade associations asking 113 00:06:40,880 --> 00:06:44,240 Speaker 1: for watered down rules, give us an exemption over here, 114 00:06:44,400 --> 00:06:48,039 Speaker 1: exempt our industry over there, what you see is that 115 00:06:48,120 --> 00:06:52,240 Speaker 1: Wall Street, it has its own interests. And ultimately what 116 00:06:52,279 --> 00:06:55,240 Speaker 1: you see is that Wall Street's power over the US 117 00:06:55,279 --> 00:07:01,000 Speaker 1: financial system and over American politics creates real national secure vulnerabilities. 118 00:07:01,120 --> 00:07:03,159 Speaker 1: I think that is really the key here, is that 119 00:07:03,240 --> 00:07:07,200 Speaker 1: Wall Street has so much power to buy lawmakers and 120 00:07:07,240 --> 00:07:10,880 Speaker 1: to buy policy that Ultimately, what ends up happening is 121 00:07:10,880 --> 00:07:14,320 Speaker 1: is that the policy ends up being so weak that 122 00:07:14,720 --> 00:07:18,680 Speaker 1: law enforcement and national security agencies can't do the very 123 00:07:18,760 --> 00:07:21,920 Speaker 1: basics of their potential of their jobs. Well, and as 124 00:07:21,960 --> 00:07:26,160 Speaker 1: you're saying, this is just one facet of the national 125 00:07:26,200 --> 00:07:28,680 Speaker 1: security issues that Wall Street is created for us. You 126 00:07:28,680 --> 00:07:31,360 Speaker 1: could also talk about, you know, the way that oil 127 00:07:31,440 --> 00:07:34,400 Speaker 1: interests have kept us from moving aggressively into renewable so 128 00:07:34,440 --> 00:07:36,720 Speaker 1: that makes us vulnerable when we have a crisis like this. 129 00:07:36,800 --> 00:07:38,840 Speaker 1: You could talk about the way that Wall Street and 130 00:07:38,880 --> 00:07:42,560 Speaker 1: corporate pressures pushed so many of our jobs at our 131 00:07:42,560 --> 00:07:46,280 Speaker 1: manufacturing overseas so that we don't have our own native capacity, 132 00:07:46,360 --> 00:07:48,280 Speaker 1: so that when you know, pandemic hits, we don't have 133 00:07:48,320 --> 00:07:52,400 Speaker 1: our own ppe were dependent on overseas providers. So this 134 00:07:52,560 --> 00:07:55,360 Speaker 1: is like one really important prism of what is a 135 00:07:55,520 --> 00:07:58,120 Speaker 1: massive and significant problem for And I want to add 136 00:07:58,160 --> 00:08:02,240 Speaker 1: one very quick things here is that we're talking about 137 00:08:02,280 --> 00:08:05,680 Speaker 1: the difference between being able to sanction in a targeted 138 00:08:05,720 --> 00:08:11,800 Speaker 1: way the oligarchs and Vladimir Putin in contrast to broad 139 00:08:11,920 --> 00:08:16,600 Speaker 1: sanctions that can hurt the entire Russian population. So I 140 00:08:16,600 --> 00:08:19,760 Speaker 1: want to be clear, I'm not saying all sanctions are good. 141 00:08:20,240 --> 00:08:22,480 Speaker 1: But what I am saying is is that if you're 142 00:08:22,520 --> 00:08:26,680 Speaker 1: interested in sanctions that are as narrowly targeted as possible 143 00:08:26,720 --> 00:08:30,160 Speaker 1: to the most powerful people of creating this crisis, then 144 00:08:30,200 --> 00:08:33,520 Speaker 1: that's what we're talking about here. So we have in 145 00:08:33,520 --> 00:08:37,280 Speaker 1: effect United States regulators have less power than they could 146 00:08:37,280 --> 00:08:41,920 Speaker 1: have to do that kind of targeted sanctions because of 147 00:08:42,000 --> 00:08:44,520 Speaker 1: Wall Street's power. Yeah, so they've sort of taken the 148 00:08:44,559 --> 00:08:47,679 Speaker 1: scalpel away and left us only with one instruments that 149 00:08:47,840 --> 00:08:51,720 Speaker 1: are going to impact all of the millions of Russians. David. 150 00:08:51,800 --> 00:08:55,120 Speaker 1: Always appreciate your reporting. Guys. Go subscribe if you can 151 00:08:55,320 --> 00:08:58,079 Speaker 1: to the Daily Poster soon to be the Are we 152 00:08:58,120 --> 00:09:03,560 Speaker 1: going with Lever or Lever the Lever. They are always 153 00:09:03,640 --> 00:09:06,600 Speaker 1: doing invaluable work to help us understand what is really 154 00:09:06,600 --> 00:09:08,920 Speaker 1: going on here in Washington around the world. David, great 155 00:09:08,920 --> 00:09:11,080 Speaker 1: to see you. Thanks David, thanks to both of you. 156 00:09:11,720 --> 00:09:13,959 Speaker 1: Our pleasure. Thank you guys for watching. We're going to 157 00:09:14,000 --> 00:09:18,280 Speaker 1: have more for you later. All right, guys, we just 158 00:09:18,320 --> 00:09:20,880 Speaker 1: had to update you on how the ladies of the 159 00:09:21,000 --> 00:09:27,599 Speaker 1: view with all of this turmoil and war and catastrophe unfolding, 160 00:09:27,920 --> 00:09:30,600 Speaker 1: that they really have their eyes on the Prize of 161 00:09:30,640 --> 00:09:33,800 Speaker 1: what is most important in all of this conflict? Joy 162 00:09:33,840 --> 00:09:37,320 Speaker 1: Behart in particular, Let's take a listen. Estimates are fifty 163 00:09:37,400 --> 00:09:41,240 Speaker 1: thousand Ukrainians will be dead or wounded, and that this 164 00:09:41,400 --> 00:09:45,319 Speaker 1: is going to start a humanitarian crisis, a refugee crisis 165 00:09:45,360 --> 00:09:48,760 Speaker 1: in Europe. We're talking about five million people that are 166 00:09:48,760 --> 00:09:52,920 Speaker 1: going to be displaced. I mean, it's it's heartbreaking to 167 00:09:53,040 --> 00:09:56,280 Speaker 1: hear what is going to happen. Well, I'm scared of 168 00:09:56,280 --> 00:09:59,280 Speaker 1: what's going to happen in Western Europe too. Yeah, you know, 169 00:09:59,400 --> 00:10:01,400 Speaker 1: you're just you plant a trip, you want to go there. 170 00:10:01,400 --> 00:10:03,080 Speaker 1: I want to go to Italy. For four years I 171 00:10:03,200 --> 00:10:06,599 Speaker 1: haven't been able to make it because of the pandemic, 172 00:10:06,679 --> 00:10:08,560 Speaker 1: and now this, you know, it's it's like, who's going 173 00:10:08,600 --> 00:10:11,520 Speaker 1: to what's going to happen there? Yeah, I mean, what's 174 00:10:11,640 --> 00:10:16,520 Speaker 1: really at stake here for Italian vagan breaking her it's 175 00:10:16,760 --> 00:10:22,880 Speaker 1: her long anticipated Italian vacation may not come to fruition Saga. 176 00:10:23,080 --> 00:10:26,720 Speaker 1: Just think about devastating narcissism. You have to have to 177 00:10:26,840 --> 00:10:31,720 Speaker 1: make a foreign war where people are dying in the streets, 178 00:10:32,400 --> 00:10:37,800 Speaker 1: where Russia has now been economically destroyed. About your Italian 179 00:10:37,920 --> 00:10:42,080 Speaker 1: vacation I can't even imagine what it would take for 180 00:10:42,200 --> 00:10:45,480 Speaker 1: to say that on national television in front of millions 181 00:10:45,520 --> 00:10:48,840 Speaker 1: of people covering every crisis through the lens of like 182 00:10:48,920 --> 00:10:52,400 Speaker 1: how it personally impacts me in particular. I can go 183 00:10:52,440 --> 00:10:54,240 Speaker 1: into the I've always wanted to go to Moscow. That's 184 00:10:54,240 --> 00:10:55,880 Speaker 1: probably not I've always wanted to go. I can't say it. 185 00:10:55,920 --> 00:10:58,320 Speaker 1: Whatever the Czar's palace is, our co cello or whatever, 186 00:10:58,400 --> 00:10:59,920 Speaker 1: I've always wanted to see it, I probably won't be 187 00:11:00,200 --> 00:11:02,320 Speaker 1: to do that now in my lifetime, given what's happening. 188 00:11:02,320 --> 00:11:04,560 Speaker 1: Should I go expound on that and be like, well, 189 00:11:04,600 --> 00:11:07,400 Speaker 1: the worst part it's happening here, I'm never going to 190 00:11:07,440 --> 00:11:10,160 Speaker 1: be able to go to Saint Petersburg and Moscow. It's like, 191 00:11:10,400 --> 00:11:14,040 Speaker 1: what is wrong with you? Yeah? With these people, it's callous. Though. 192 00:11:14,080 --> 00:11:17,920 Speaker 1: It goes to your monologue that you gave about how 193 00:11:17,920 --> 00:11:21,160 Speaker 1: the media can select and care about the way that 194 00:11:21,360 --> 00:11:25,080 Speaker 1: framing all of this has a tremendous impact on past 195 00:11:25,120 --> 00:11:27,839 Speaker 1: crises current ones, because in a way, the reason that 196 00:11:27,880 --> 00:11:29,600 Speaker 1: they would even care at all is because it directly 197 00:11:29,640 --> 00:11:32,080 Speaker 1: impacts them and people that they know in Europe. Right, 198 00:11:32,160 --> 00:11:34,920 Speaker 1: So this is again is a similar way in which 199 00:11:34,960 --> 00:11:38,000 Speaker 1: the past wars Iraq and Afghanistan were erased from modern memory. 200 00:11:38,040 --> 00:11:41,840 Speaker 1: By that, that's actually to take the analysis a level deeper. 201 00:11:42,600 --> 00:11:46,160 Speaker 1: It is actually very telling because yeah, Joy Behar is 202 00:11:46,160 --> 00:11:50,679 Speaker 1: not looking to vacation in Kandahar, so you know, she's 203 00:11:50,920 --> 00:11:53,400 Speaker 1: unlikely to care as much about things that are happening 204 00:11:53,440 --> 00:11:56,320 Speaker 1: in part of the world that she considers to be 205 00:11:56,640 --> 00:11:59,920 Speaker 1: you know, out of bounds of sort of civilization, and 206 00:12:00,240 --> 00:12:03,120 Speaker 1: so so yeah, the way this hits home for her 207 00:12:03,320 --> 00:12:06,200 Speaker 1: and why they care so much more about the suffering 208 00:12:06,240 --> 00:12:10,240 Speaker 1: in this conflict versus all others is because yeah, yeah, 209 00:12:10,280 --> 00:12:12,600 Speaker 1: I've been to it, I've been to Europe. These are 210 00:12:12,640 --> 00:12:16,120 Speaker 1: places that touch me directly, and so it does shape 211 00:12:16,120 --> 00:12:19,160 Speaker 1: the way ultimately that the conflict is covered, and not 212 00:12:19,320 --> 00:12:21,959 Speaker 1: just by Joy Behart, but by all of the networks. 213 00:12:21,960 --> 00:12:24,360 Speaker 1: There you go. Good point. All right, guys, thanks for watching. 214 00:12:24,400 --> 00:12:29,200 Speaker 1: We're going more for you later. Very excited for this one. 215 00:12:29,280 --> 00:12:32,000 Speaker 1: Joining us now is Nick Thompson from Love is Blind. 216 00:12:32,080 --> 00:12:34,520 Speaker 1: Some of you might know him from reality TV, but 217 00:12:34,559 --> 00:12:37,320 Speaker 1: this is not a gossip interview. Nick. You and I 218 00:12:37,400 --> 00:12:40,800 Speaker 1: initially connected on Instagram and I found it really interesting 219 00:12:40,840 --> 00:12:44,240 Speaker 1: that you have some very core held political beliefs in 220 00:12:44,240 --> 00:12:48,680 Speaker 1: including wearing a free Assange bracelet while you were on 221 00:12:48,720 --> 00:12:50,880 Speaker 1: the show. Just talk to us a little bit about 222 00:12:50,880 --> 00:12:54,000 Speaker 1: your own politics and how you want to use your 223 00:12:54,040 --> 00:12:56,320 Speaker 1: new platform in order to raise awareness for what you 224 00:12:56,320 --> 00:13:01,360 Speaker 1: think is important. Yeah. Absolutely so politics. I you know, 225 00:13:01,520 --> 00:13:04,040 Speaker 1: I don't like to be called liberal, you know, I 226 00:13:04,040 --> 00:13:07,240 Speaker 1: think of myself maybe as more of a progressive with 227 00:13:07,280 --> 00:13:10,760 Speaker 1: a libertarian lean in some areas. But you know, getting 228 00:13:10,760 --> 00:13:13,720 Speaker 1: into politics for me really started back in two thousand 229 00:13:13,720 --> 00:13:16,520 Speaker 1: and eight, and you know, my views are being molded constantly. 230 00:13:16,679 --> 00:13:20,240 Speaker 1: But one issue with Julian Assange that really bugs me, 231 00:13:20,400 --> 00:13:23,520 Speaker 1: coming from studying journalism and in high school and colleges, 232 00:13:24,000 --> 00:13:27,000 Speaker 1: the fact that we have, you know, this journalist or 233 00:13:27,320 --> 00:13:29,880 Speaker 1: published publisher or whatever you want to call him, and 234 00:13:30,720 --> 00:13:34,640 Speaker 1: despite him bringing key information that the public needed to 235 00:13:34,640 --> 00:13:37,200 Speaker 1: know and helping release information that the public needed to know, 236 00:13:37,880 --> 00:13:40,880 Speaker 1: he's being in danger of being extradited the US for 237 00:13:40,920 --> 00:13:45,720 Speaker 1: the Espionage Act. And to me, that is despicable. And 238 00:13:45,840 --> 00:13:48,000 Speaker 1: what's even worse is when you watch our press and 239 00:13:48,000 --> 00:13:49,920 Speaker 1: our mainstream media sit there and watch one of their 240 00:13:49,960 --> 00:13:52,920 Speaker 1: own go down, and they sit there in silence with 241 00:13:52,960 --> 00:13:55,079 Speaker 1: their their hands under their legs as opposed to standing 242 00:13:55,160 --> 00:13:58,360 Speaker 1: up for one of their own. So freedom of the press, 243 00:13:58,400 --> 00:13:59,920 Speaker 1: to me is the number one issue that we have. 244 00:14:00,000 --> 00:14:03,319 Speaker 1: We have a press that is bought and paid for 245 00:14:03,880 --> 00:14:07,920 Speaker 1: over and over by big pharma, by giant corporations, by 246 00:14:08,040 --> 00:14:10,800 Speaker 1: billionaires that are soon to be trillionaires. And until we 247 00:14:10,880 --> 00:14:13,680 Speaker 1: have true press freedom, whether that comes from you know, 248 00:14:13,720 --> 00:14:17,120 Speaker 1: a crowdfunded model or or not for profit model, we're 249 00:14:17,120 --> 00:14:18,880 Speaker 1: never going to solve the big problems that are facing 250 00:14:18,920 --> 00:14:21,240 Speaker 1: our country and ultimately the world too as well. I 251 00:14:21,280 --> 00:14:23,720 Speaker 1: think that is very well said. And I have to 252 00:14:23,760 --> 00:14:25,800 Speaker 1: tell you I was mentioning this to you Nick when 253 00:14:26,240 --> 00:14:29,160 Speaker 1: Sager realized you were following him on Instagram. He was like, 254 00:14:29,360 --> 00:14:34,880 Speaker 1: super giddy, story this, Crystal, And I think part of 255 00:14:34,920 --> 00:14:37,760 Speaker 1: the show. Yeah. Well, and it's so rare to find 256 00:14:37,800 --> 00:14:42,320 Speaker 1: someone in like you know, public eye or mainstream sort 257 00:14:42,320 --> 00:14:47,720 Speaker 1: of like entertainment who actually has good politics. So I'd 258 00:14:47,760 --> 00:14:49,160 Speaker 1: love for you to talk to us a little bit 259 00:14:49,160 --> 00:14:52,240 Speaker 1: more about You just mentioned your sort of political awakenings 260 00:14:52,240 --> 00:14:54,960 Speaker 1: started in two thousand and eight. What was that about 261 00:14:55,000 --> 00:14:58,080 Speaker 1: and what has been kind of your trajectory, uh, in 262 00:14:58,200 --> 00:15:00,760 Speaker 1: terms of your beliefs, And I know you mentioned you 263 00:15:00,760 --> 00:15:03,560 Speaker 1: know you're a big consumer of independent media that you 264 00:15:03,600 --> 00:15:06,800 Speaker 1: were in an original riser with us. Quickly after we 265 00:15:06,920 --> 00:15:09,640 Speaker 1: launched that, you watched Jimmy Door, they watched Kyle Kolinski 266 00:15:09,720 --> 00:15:11,960 Speaker 1: Tit and others. So just talk to us a little 267 00:15:11,960 --> 00:15:14,760 Speaker 1: bit about your own political trajectory and how you ended 268 00:15:14,840 --> 00:15:18,000 Speaker 1: up with the politics you have. Yeah, So I grew 269 00:15:18,080 --> 00:15:21,920 Speaker 1: up in a lower middle class family. We moved around 270 00:15:21,960 --> 00:15:26,200 Speaker 1: a lot. My parents were working hard, and you know, 271 00:15:26,280 --> 00:15:29,600 Speaker 1: looking back, I remember growing up and my dad lost 272 00:15:29,600 --> 00:15:32,920 Speaker 1: his job in manufacturing, you know, and I saw that 273 00:15:33,040 --> 00:15:35,600 Speaker 1: happen to other family members as well, and so I 274 00:15:35,680 --> 00:15:37,960 Speaker 1: kind of had this idea that something wasn't right and 275 00:15:38,000 --> 00:15:39,720 Speaker 1: that this wasn't the way America was supposed to be. 276 00:15:39,760 --> 00:15:43,520 Speaker 1: And then I graduated college and lost my job in 277 00:15:43,520 --> 00:15:46,040 Speaker 1: two thousand and eight, and that was, you know, that 278 00:15:46,160 --> 00:15:48,840 Speaker 1: was a big awakening to me. And I hopped on 279 00:15:48,880 --> 00:15:51,680 Speaker 1: the Obama train and wrote it for four years, and 280 00:15:51,680 --> 00:15:54,000 Speaker 1: then in twenty twelve was thinking, wait a minute, I 281 00:15:54,040 --> 00:15:57,720 Speaker 1: still don't have healthcare. I just took out sixty thousand 282 00:15:57,760 --> 00:15:59,680 Speaker 1: dollars of loans that I have no idea how I'm 283 00:15:59,680 --> 00:16:02,200 Speaker 1: ever going to pay back for college, And what is 284 00:16:02,200 --> 00:16:04,840 Speaker 1: this guy doing, and so I voted reluctantly for him 285 00:16:04,840 --> 00:16:08,520 Speaker 1: again in twenty twelve, and as it continued, I was like, 286 00:16:08,600 --> 00:16:11,280 Speaker 1: this is this isn't right. And in twenty fifteen, the 287 00:16:11,360 --> 00:16:14,880 Speaker 1: rise of Trump and Hillary, I was like, this isn't right. 288 00:16:14,960 --> 00:16:17,400 Speaker 1: Something's not right, and you know, I just started digging 289 00:16:17,560 --> 00:16:21,240 Speaker 1: more and more into it. Twenty sixteen and twenty twenty, 290 00:16:21,480 --> 00:16:25,280 Speaker 1: it was a volunteer on Bernie's campaign, and you know, 291 00:16:25,320 --> 00:16:27,560 Speaker 1: it was really disappointed how both of those turned out. 292 00:16:27,840 --> 00:16:30,000 Speaker 1: But you know, that's kind of been my journey and 293 00:16:30,120 --> 00:16:32,160 Speaker 1: just just looking around me and knowing what it was 294 00:16:32,200 --> 00:16:34,040 Speaker 1: like to grow up, you know, sometimes not knowing where 295 00:16:34,080 --> 00:16:35,600 Speaker 1: your next meal was coming from, or if you were 296 00:16:35,640 --> 00:16:37,800 Speaker 1: going to parents, were going to be able to afford rent, 297 00:16:37,920 --> 00:16:40,280 Speaker 1: or what was going to happen, and then being in 298 00:16:40,320 --> 00:16:42,720 Speaker 1: similar situations without a job in two thousand and eight, 299 00:16:42,760 --> 00:16:45,120 Speaker 1: and then you know, just all the snowballs and you 300 00:16:45,160 --> 00:16:47,240 Speaker 1: look around you and feels like, you know, I'm in 301 00:16:47,320 --> 00:16:49,560 Speaker 1: Chicago and I see tense cities popping up. There's more 302 00:16:49,560 --> 00:16:52,240 Speaker 1: homeless people than I've ever seen in Chicago, and what 303 00:16:52,280 --> 00:16:53,760 Speaker 1: are we doing about this? How are we going to 304 00:16:53,800 --> 00:16:56,240 Speaker 1: fix this? Then I look at the news and all 305 00:16:56,280 --> 00:16:58,480 Speaker 1: they do, you know, for four years, is talk about 306 00:16:58,520 --> 00:17:02,200 Speaker 1: Trump tweets and no talking about how we have you know, 307 00:17:02,320 --> 00:17:05,760 Speaker 1: trillionaires that own the media. It's condensed down to six 308 00:17:05,800 --> 00:17:08,440 Speaker 1: companies and as long as that's issue, like, we're never 309 00:17:08,440 --> 00:17:11,080 Speaker 1: going to get reporting on this. That's really well said. Nick. 310 00:17:11,119 --> 00:17:12,959 Speaker 1: You know, it's interesting we were talking one of the 311 00:17:12,960 --> 00:17:16,320 Speaker 1: only things that remained in the show that even alluded 312 00:17:16,359 --> 00:17:19,000 Speaker 1: a little bit to your politics, when you were talking 313 00:17:19,000 --> 00:17:21,359 Speaker 1: about capitalism. Could you go into that, give us the 314 00:17:21,400 --> 00:17:23,879 Speaker 1: context of that discussion and just give us some of 315 00:17:23,920 --> 00:17:25,640 Speaker 1: your thoughts. I saw that you expanded a little bit 316 00:17:25,640 --> 00:17:29,720 Speaker 1: more on Instagram. Yeah, so, you know, when I think 317 00:17:29,720 --> 00:17:33,200 Speaker 1: about capitalism in its way, and it's what I was 318 00:17:33,240 --> 00:17:36,600 Speaker 1: alluding to a moment ago, it's it's not sustainable the 319 00:17:36,640 --> 00:17:39,600 Speaker 1: way it is right now, you know, And going back 320 00:17:39,640 --> 00:17:42,960 Speaker 1: to you know, the billionaires and trillionaires that we're about 321 00:17:43,000 --> 00:17:45,280 Speaker 1: to have owning the media, and as long as they're 322 00:17:45,280 --> 00:17:47,600 Speaker 1: owning the media, they're not going to report or investigate 323 00:17:47,600 --> 00:17:50,120 Speaker 1: on why we have almost six hundred thousand homeless people 324 00:17:50,119 --> 00:17:53,160 Speaker 1: in the country. They're not going to report on, you know, 325 00:17:53,200 --> 00:17:56,280 Speaker 1: how healthcare is profit driven and all the studies and 326 00:17:56,320 --> 00:18:00,680 Speaker 1: researched are are sponsored by big pharma and the earned companies. 327 00:18:00,840 --> 00:18:03,520 Speaker 1: They're never going to talk about how we spend you know, 328 00:18:04,480 --> 00:18:06,600 Speaker 1: what do we spend like seven hundred and fifty billion 329 00:18:06,640 --> 00:18:09,080 Speaker 1: plus on war. They're never going to talk about how 330 00:18:09,119 --> 00:18:12,439 Speaker 1: we shouldn't be involved in all these foreign affairs and 331 00:18:12,480 --> 00:18:16,040 Speaker 1: the countless you know, thousand plus war bases we have 332 00:18:16,080 --> 00:18:18,000 Speaker 1: around the country. They're not going to talk about this 333 00:18:18,040 --> 00:18:21,479 Speaker 1: because these are these are things that help them make money. 334 00:18:21,680 --> 00:18:23,879 Speaker 1: This is the way that the media stay is profitable. 335 00:18:23,960 --> 00:18:26,400 Speaker 1: They can't talk about what's actually happening in this country 336 00:18:26,560 --> 00:18:28,879 Speaker 1: so that people who are middle class, apple upper middle 337 00:18:28,880 --> 00:18:33,880 Speaker 1: class can actually see that the world's falling apart around them. Yeah. Really, 338 00:18:33,920 --> 00:18:35,960 Speaker 1: well so yeah, and Nick, I don't want to get 339 00:18:36,000 --> 00:18:39,400 Speaker 1: you in any trouble with the show, but I am 340 00:18:39,480 --> 00:18:41,880 Speaker 1: curious whatever you can say about this. So you come 341 00:18:41,920 --> 00:18:44,359 Speaker 1: from this sort of you know, working class upbringing. You 342 00:18:44,359 --> 00:18:46,800 Speaker 1: have your own struggles, losing your job, struggling to afford 343 00:18:46,840 --> 00:18:50,199 Speaker 1: health insurance, your student loan debt, and now you're in, 344 00:18:50,600 --> 00:18:53,199 Speaker 1: you know, the belly of the capitalists beast as we 345 00:18:53,240 --> 00:18:55,280 Speaker 1: all have to exist in society. But you have the 346 00:18:55,320 --> 00:19:00,000 Speaker 1: specific lens into like the money making industry of entertains. 347 00:19:00,840 --> 00:19:04,359 Speaker 1: Has that shaped or informed your views or revealed anything 348 00:19:04,359 --> 00:19:06,400 Speaker 1: else to you about the system that you hadn't quite 349 00:19:06,400 --> 00:19:11,760 Speaker 1: grossed before. So I'm I'm relatively new into this, and 350 00:19:12,280 --> 00:19:14,399 Speaker 1: you know, it's just been the last few weeks of 351 00:19:14,840 --> 00:19:17,199 Speaker 1: the show airing that people have asked to take a 352 00:19:17,240 --> 00:19:20,679 Speaker 1: picture with me, you know, or comment on stuff. So 353 00:19:20,720 --> 00:19:24,159 Speaker 1: it's all very new to me. But one thing is 354 00:19:24,520 --> 00:19:26,520 Speaker 1: I'm I'm literally a normal guy that grew up in 355 00:19:26,520 --> 00:19:30,520 Speaker 1: the suburbs of Chicago. I work in software marketing. You know, 356 00:19:30,560 --> 00:19:32,880 Speaker 1: these are just passions of mine because I've I've come 357 00:19:32,920 --> 00:19:34,400 Speaker 1: from it, I've lived through it, and I've seen people 358 00:19:34,400 --> 00:19:37,120 Speaker 1: that live through more of it. So it's all new. 359 00:19:37,200 --> 00:19:40,240 Speaker 1: But just looking around, you know, there is a sense 360 00:19:40,280 --> 00:19:43,920 Speaker 1: of you know, being out of touch in a sense 361 00:19:44,600 --> 00:19:48,679 Speaker 1: in some instances. And when you know, I google myself 362 00:19:48,840 --> 00:19:51,679 Speaker 1: or my other castmates and find the way people are 363 00:19:51,680 --> 00:19:54,760 Speaker 1: writing articles, it's just it. I laugh at it because 364 00:19:54,800 --> 00:19:57,320 Speaker 1: I'm like, this is just this is just like sad 365 00:19:57,560 --> 00:20:01,040 Speaker 1: that we're more worried about, you know, whether Nick and 366 00:20:01,080 --> 00:20:04,960 Speaker 1: Danielle are together by following Instagram posts, than we are 367 00:20:05,520 --> 00:20:08,720 Speaker 1: about you know our healthcare system, or we are about 368 00:20:08,920 --> 00:20:11,080 Speaker 1: you know, climate change or any any of these other 369 00:20:11,320 --> 00:20:14,480 Speaker 1: like impending dooms that we have. That's you know, it's 370 00:20:14,560 --> 00:20:17,480 Speaker 1: so refreshing to hear somebody in the reality TV I 371 00:20:18,160 --> 00:20:20,439 Speaker 1: say this and not hawk some health supplement to me 372 00:20:20,480 --> 00:20:23,359 Speaker 1: on Instagram. So Nick, I can't thank you enough for 373 00:20:23,440 --> 00:20:25,159 Speaker 1: joining us, man, I think this is a side of you. 374 00:20:25,520 --> 00:20:27,800 Speaker 1: I wish I personally had seen more on the show. 375 00:20:27,880 --> 00:20:30,200 Speaker 1: I won't trouble you for spoilers or for anything like that, 376 00:20:30,640 --> 00:20:32,760 Speaker 1: and we just really appreciate joining us and for watching 377 00:20:32,840 --> 00:20:35,359 Speaker 1: us so much over the years. Yeah, it's awesome to 378 00:20:35,400 --> 00:20:37,240 Speaker 1: meet you, Nick. Thank you, thank you, Yeah, thank you 379 00:20:37,280 --> 00:20:41,359 Speaker 1: so much. Love talking to you guys. We've had this 380 00:20:41,400 --> 00:20:44,000 Speaker 1: segment in the bag for a long time. I've been 381 00:20:44,040 --> 00:20:46,679 Speaker 1: wanting to cover this, but then Russia invade Ukraine. It 382 00:20:46,680 --> 00:20:50,360 Speaker 1: didn't feel correct, felt a little unseious. It actually gets 383 00:20:50,359 --> 00:20:52,800 Speaker 1: to it. It's still important, which is that there has 384 00:20:52,840 --> 00:20:55,879 Speaker 1: been a report basically never denied by anybody. Let's go 385 00:20:55,880 --> 00:20:57,639 Speaker 1: ahead and put this up there on the screen, that 386 00:20:58,119 --> 00:21:04,840 Speaker 1: CNN and SNBC have been courting Jen Saki in order 387 00:21:04,880 --> 00:21:09,119 Speaker 1: to join their network, and in fact the title there reflects. 388 00:21:09,480 --> 00:21:15,560 Speaker 1: Is Jensaki the next Rachel Maddow. MSNBC producers apparently believe 389 00:21:15,880 --> 00:21:18,440 Speaker 1: she could be the one to take over the primetime 390 00:21:18,480 --> 00:21:20,800 Speaker 1: time slot. There's so much to be said about this. 391 00:21:21,160 --> 00:21:23,800 Speaker 1: Number One, Jensaki is not that talented. I do not 392 00:21:23,920 --> 00:21:27,840 Speaker 1: like Rachel Maddow, but she's better than this lady. Rachel 393 00:21:28,400 --> 00:21:32,200 Speaker 1: is talented, you can't deny it. Same with Tucker Manias, 394 00:21:32,200 --> 00:21:33,600 Speaker 1: Billy may not like them, but they're good at what 395 00:21:33,640 --> 00:21:36,440 Speaker 1: they do. Jensaki is not that good at what she does. 396 00:21:36,600 --> 00:21:40,000 Speaker 1: But number two, if we want to talk about State TV, 397 00:21:40,560 --> 00:21:43,359 Speaker 1: this is as State TV as it gets. And they 398 00:21:43,400 --> 00:21:45,400 Speaker 1: were all you did a whole monologue on this about 399 00:21:45,400 --> 00:21:48,400 Speaker 1: Brian Stelter wrote that whole book about Oh my God, 400 00:21:48,440 --> 00:21:51,080 Speaker 1: like the fusion between the Trump White House and Fox News. 401 00:21:51,119 --> 00:21:53,399 Speaker 1: By the way, that was really gross. I thought it 402 00:21:53,440 --> 00:21:55,840 Speaker 1: was disgusting even at the time. And you know, Kaylee 403 00:21:55,920 --> 00:21:58,119 Speaker 1: mcanenny immediately going to get a job there. Same with 404 00:21:58,119 --> 00:22:01,640 Speaker 1: Sarah Huckabee Sanders not good for five reputation, same thing 405 00:22:01,720 --> 00:22:04,280 Speaker 1: though on this side, right, they're all willing in order 406 00:22:04,320 --> 00:22:07,000 Speaker 1: to point that out. This is the same deal. The 407 00:22:07,280 --> 00:22:11,600 Speaker 1: active White House Press secretary interviewing and meeting them for 408 00:22:11,800 --> 00:22:16,520 Speaker 1: a job interview while she is then being asked questions 409 00:22:16,560 --> 00:22:20,600 Speaker 1: by those people. Is that not as outright corrupt as 410 00:22:20,600 --> 00:22:23,400 Speaker 1: it gets? Now, Look, she can claim whatever she wants, 411 00:22:23,480 --> 00:22:26,400 Speaker 1: but she doesn't deny that they've been courting her. And look, 412 00:22:26,480 --> 00:22:28,800 Speaker 1: she probably does want to be a TV star and 413 00:22:28,840 --> 00:22:31,000 Speaker 1: get paid millions of dollars. Who doesn't want to have 414 00:22:31,040 --> 00:22:34,000 Speaker 1: that happen. And this is exactly the issue. She was 415 00:22:34,040 --> 00:22:36,560 Speaker 1: asked about this during the press briefing. Let's take a listen, 416 00:22:37,920 --> 00:22:44,080 Speaker 1: looking for a jump. I have more than enough on 417 00:22:44,119 --> 00:22:46,239 Speaker 1: my plate here and so you can't get rid of 418 00:22:46,240 --> 00:22:50,359 Speaker 1: me quite yet. Sorry Peter for you on that. And 419 00:22:50,400 --> 00:22:53,280 Speaker 1: so I will see you all on Monday. Thank you everyone. 420 00:22:54,320 --> 00:22:56,879 Speaker 1: No denial that she's not meeting with them, no ruling 421 00:22:56,880 --> 00:22:59,160 Speaker 1: it out whatsoever. And we know she's planning on leaving, 422 00:22:59,160 --> 00:23:01,200 Speaker 1: and she is going to leave. Yeah, that's the context 423 00:23:01,240 --> 00:23:03,280 Speaker 1: is that she says she's going to retire at the 424 00:23:03,400 --> 00:23:07,240 Speaker 1: end of the year. So okay, no denial, it's happening 425 00:23:07,560 --> 00:23:10,480 Speaker 1: while she is working on behalf of the US government. 426 00:23:10,680 --> 00:23:12,920 Speaker 1: You always bring up a great Simone Sanders quote about 427 00:23:12,920 --> 00:23:14,960 Speaker 1: how she's like, yes, I will be joining MSNBC, but 428 00:23:15,000 --> 00:23:17,679 Speaker 1: I'm still going to use my platform to defend the 429 00:23:17,720 --> 00:23:22,359 Speaker 1: Biden administration after working as Kamala Harris's communications director. So 430 00:23:22,520 --> 00:23:25,760 Speaker 1: you're State TV, now, okay, just say it well, and 431 00:23:26,080 --> 00:23:28,919 Speaker 1: to make a connection with the Russia Ukraine stories that 432 00:23:28,960 --> 00:23:32,000 Speaker 1: we have been covering, I mean RTE and Sputnik and 433 00:23:32,040 --> 00:23:35,880 Speaker 1: all the Russian state backed media channels have all been 434 00:23:35,920 --> 00:23:39,399 Speaker 1: banned from all these different platforms. Like, how is this 435 00:23:39,840 --> 00:23:43,240 Speaker 1: really any different? You know? I mean, yeah, there's some 436 00:23:43,480 --> 00:23:47,920 Speaker 1: technical separation, but you're literally talking to the White House 437 00:23:48,040 --> 00:23:51,720 Speaker 1: spokesperson about a job while she's still in that position 438 00:23:52,200 --> 00:23:54,640 Speaker 1: trying to court her. She will end up at one 439 00:23:54,680 --> 00:23:56,760 Speaker 1: of these channels. I mean, it's just like, without a 440 00:23:56,760 --> 00:23:59,080 Speaker 1: doubt that that is definitely going to happen because they 441 00:23:59,320 --> 00:24:02,800 Speaker 1: imagine their mind there's some constituency for her, which there's not. 442 00:24:03,960 --> 00:24:08,200 Speaker 1: And so yeah, you're going directly from that post into 443 00:24:08,280 --> 00:24:11,680 Speaker 1: what's supposed to be this independent network. But is there 444 00:24:11,720 --> 00:24:14,080 Speaker 1: any doubt that you're going to be doing exactly what 445 00:24:14,119 --> 00:24:17,119 Speaker 1: Simone Sanders admitted to doing, which is towing the line 446 00:24:17,160 --> 00:24:19,439 Speaker 1: for the know your former boss and the people that 447 00:24:19,480 --> 00:24:21,600 Speaker 1: you are likely to potentially work with again. In the 448 00:24:21,600 --> 00:24:24,800 Speaker 1: future as well. No, because also, I mean, and this 449 00:24:24,840 --> 00:24:26,440 Speaker 1: is the other problem with our media is like it's 450 00:24:26,480 --> 00:24:28,400 Speaker 1: all about the access game. So she wants to keep 451 00:24:28,400 --> 00:24:30,040 Speaker 1: her access to all those people, sho didn't want to 452 00:24:30,080 --> 00:24:32,040 Speaker 1: piss them off and criticize them and have a problem 453 00:24:32,040 --> 00:24:35,600 Speaker 1: on her hands there. So yeah, it's it's also a 454 00:24:35,640 --> 00:24:41,879 Speaker 1: sad sign of the total lack of talent in liberal media. 455 00:24:42,000 --> 00:24:44,920 Speaker 1: That's actually probably the best point and the total Yeah, 456 00:24:46,280 --> 00:24:49,919 Speaker 1: I mean, they know that they have no replacement for Rachel. 457 00:24:50,119 --> 00:24:53,000 Speaker 1: And while she's been out, her ratings dropped what was it, 458 00:24:53,040 --> 00:24:56,200 Speaker 1: by twenty five percent? A third, It was like a catastrophic, 459 00:24:56,400 --> 00:24:59,320 Speaker 1: immediate drop when they put somebody else in her chair. 460 00:25:00,080 --> 00:25:02,520 Speaker 1: So they kind of know they don't have anyone internally 461 00:25:02,520 --> 00:25:04,359 Speaker 1: who can even come close to fill in the shoes, 462 00:25:04,920 --> 00:25:08,320 Speaker 1: so they're grasping for, well, who could we get And 463 00:25:08,359 --> 00:25:11,520 Speaker 1: it also just goes to show you like they don't 464 00:25:11,640 --> 00:25:16,119 Speaker 1: understand what it actually takes to build that audience that 465 00:25:16,240 --> 00:25:18,720 Speaker 1: Rachel has built. She's one of the few in cable 466 00:25:18,760 --> 00:25:21,119 Speaker 1: news that has that loyal audience that will show up 467 00:25:21,160 --> 00:25:24,520 Speaker 1: for her. They really have no idea what it looks 468 00:25:24,560 --> 00:25:27,480 Speaker 1: like to find someone who can do that. I mean MSNBC. 469 00:25:27,640 --> 00:25:30,399 Speaker 1: They stumbled on Rachel. She was They first stumbled on 470 00:25:30,480 --> 00:25:33,840 Speaker 1: Keith Olberman and they were trying to be like neutral 471 00:25:33,840 --> 00:25:36,639 Speaker 1: network then and then Keith Olberman's program in opposition of 472 00:25:36,680 --> 00:25:40,320 Speaker 1: the Iraq war and Bush that really takes off because 473 00:25:40,320 --> 00:25:43,639 Speaker 1: that voice wasn't really being heard anywhere. Rachel is one 474 00:25:43,680 --> 00:25:45,639 Speaker 1: of his regular guests, and so they sort of stumble 475 00:25:45,720 --> 00:25:49,480 Speaker 1: on her as a property as well. But now when 476 00:25:49,520 --> 00:25:52,320 Speaker 1: they allow basically no dissent over there, there's no one 477 00:25:52,359 --> 00:25:54,920 Speaker 1: that's really interesting who's going to be able to draw 478 00:25:55,000 --> 00:25:57,760 Speaker 1: in that audience that isn't already satisfied by the standard 479 00:25:57,800 --> 00:26:00,760 Speaker 1: issue liberal line and any number of other place. So yeah, 480 00:26:00,760 --> 00:26:02,879 Speaker 1: I think this that's the biggest problem for them. They 481 00:26:02,880 --> 00:26:05,359 Speaker 1: have no ideological diversity, and they've now reduced it to 482 00:26:05,400 --> 00:26:07,760 Speaker 1: the people who can't. And I just can't help but 483 00:26:07,800 --> 00:26:10,600 Speaker 1: think about all these former government officials on TV is 484 00:26:10,680 --> 00:26:13,880 Speaker 1: so disgusting. I was just remembering Josh Ernest, by the way, 485 00:26:13,960 --> 00:26:17,879 Speaker 1: now the CEO, Chief Communications Officer of United Airlines. Congratulations Josh, 486 00:26:18,000 --> 00:26:21,119 Speaker 1: former White House Press secretary. He was an NBC News analyst. 487 00:26:21,280 --> 00:26:23,840 Speaker 1: Ben Rhoads who used to work for Obama NBC news analysts, 488 00:26:23,920 --> 00:26:26,760 Speaker 1: all these former CIA directors and all these people getting 489 00:26:26,760 --> 00:26:29,200 Speaker 1: paid by these tea I mean, that is what State 490 00:26:29,240 --> 00:26:32,159 Speaker 1: TV is all about. It's just as gross on Fox. 491 00:26:32,480 --> 00:26:35,959 Speaker 1: It's just I mean, it's such an artificial and repulsive 492 00:26:36,160 --> 00:26:39,280 Speaker 1: edifice to watch these people who have clear interests switch 493 00:26:39,359 --> 00:26:41,639 Speaker 1: between TV and government. You want to talk about the 494 00:26:41,640 --> 00:26:43,919 Speaker 1: real revolving door that should have bans on it. We 495 00:26:43,960 --> 00:26:46,440 Speaker 1: should ban all White House press secretaries and former government 496 00:26:46,480 --> 00:26:49,520 Speaker 1: officials for five years after their employment for being able 497 00:26:49,520 --> 00:26:52,960 Speaker 1: to appear as a paid contributor on network television. Let's 498 00:26:52,960 --> 00:26:55,120 Speaker 1: go ahead and do that. The propaganda would go down 499 00:26:55,160 --> 00:26:59,679 Speaker 1: by fifty percent. Yeah, yeah, it's so it'll be interesting. 500 00:26:59,800 --> 00:27:01,960 Speaker 1: I mean, and I look over at CNN where they're 501 00:27:01,960 --> 00:27:05,439 Speaker 1: betting on like Casey Hunt and who else already got 502 00:27:05,480 --> 00:27:09,840 Speaker 1: over there, got the Anderson Cooper like a parenting show 503 00:27:09,920 --> 00:27:13,040 Speaker 1: they're planning. There's some other what was it, like a 504 00:27:13,119 --> 00:27:17,120 Speaker 1: Don Lemon cooking show or somebody's doing a cooking show 505 00:27:17,200 --> 00:27:19,919 Speaker 1: book club, the Jake Taber Cooking book Club. That's why 506 00:27:20,440 --> 00:27:23,760 Speaker 1: she's pretty popular. I don't watch this stuff, Alison Roman. Yeah, 507 00:27:23,800 --> 00:27:26,280 Speaker 1: see that seems like I could see some logic to 508 00:27:26,359 --> 00:27:29,880 Speaker 1: that bet. Yeah, Chris Wallace, these other people. Of course, 509 00:27:29,920 --> 00:27:32,160 Speaker 1: there's already reports. This is another thing that we've been 510 00:27:32,160 --> 00:27:33,680 Speaker 1: planning to talk to you about but never got to 511 00:27:33,800 --> 00:27:37,320 Speaker 1: because of the war that you know, the CNN Plus 512 00:27:37,359 --> 00:27:40,480 Speaker 1: streaming service may already be in danger. And the dude 513 00:27:40,520 --> 00:27:43,200 Speaker 1: that they're bringing in is in line with the way 514 00:27:43,240 --> 00:27:44,880 Speaker 1: we got to get back to the hard news thing 515 00:27:45,600 --> 00:27:48,159 Speaker 1: that some top investors were also looking at. If the 516 00:27:48,160 --> 00:27:50,200 Speaker 1: war calms down, we'll bring you more of that. Yeah, 517 00:27:50,280 --> 00:27:54,600 Speaker 1: many things are afoot here. Yea. All right, guys, thanks 518 00:27:54,600 --> 00:27:59,440 Speaker 1: for watching, have a good one. We'll see you later. Hi. 519 00:28:00,080 --> 00:28:04,640 Speaker 1: I'm Matt Stoler, and welcome to another big breakdown today. 520 00:28:04,880 --> 00:28:07,000 Speaker 1: I'm going to talk about what the Russian invasion of 521 00:28:07,119 --> 00:28:11,600 Speaker 1: Ukraine has revealed about our own economic vulnerability. I don't 522 00:28:11,600 --> 00:28:14,320 Speaker 1: want to frighten anyone, but you should know that this 523 00:28:14,359 --> 00:28:17,560 Speaker 1: stuff keeps me up at night. I'm a little weird 524 00:28:17,600 --> 00:28:20,760 Speaker 1: that way. I think about economics and collapse, but it 525 00:28:20,840 --> 00:28:25,920 Speaker 1: scares me. So if economic doomsday scenarios scare you, then 526 00:28:26,280 --> 00:28:30,119 Speaker 1: stay away from this video. Also in the video today, 527 00:28:30,200 --> 00:28:33,000 Speaker 1: I'm going to have a clip from a Chinese action movie. 528 00:28:33,160 --> 00:28:36,440 Speaker 1: It's a pretty cool movie, but it's also fairly bloody, 529 00:28:36,680 --> 00:28:39,760 Speaker 1: so you have been warned about all the scary stuff, 530 00:28:40,200 --> 00:28:43,960 Speaker 1: all right. So I'm an analyst. I look at corporate power, economics, 531 00:28:43,960 --> 00:28:47,600 Speaker 1: not usually geopolitics and war, but in reality the two 532 00:28:47,680 --> 00:28:51,280 Speaker 1: things are intertwined. And so we've all seen the photos 533 00:28:51,280 --> 00:28:54,160 Speaker 1: and videos of the war in Ukraine, But what about 534 00:28:54,200 --> 00:28:58,160 Speaker 1: what is happening in Russia itself? Now? The Western response 535 00:28:58,200 --> 00:29:01,920 Speaker 1: to the invasion of Ukraine has been mostly economic, in 536 00:29:01,920 --> 00:29:04,520 Speaker 1: the form of sanctions. We cut off Russian banks from 537 00:29:04,520 --> 00:29:07,400 Speaker 1: being able to trade in dollars, We block the imports 538 00:29:07,400 --> 00:29:10,800 Speaker 1: and exports from or to Russia of things that they 539 00:29:10,880 --> 00:29:13,560 Speaker 1: want or that they need. And let's take a look 540 00:29:13,560 --> 00:29:16,240 Speaker 1: at some of the videos coming out of Russia, which 541 00:29:16,280 --> 00:29:18,760 Speaker 1: are nowhere near as dramatic as what we're seeing in Ukraine, 542 00:29:19,160 --> 00:29:22,880 Speaker 1: but are still incredibly important, maybe even more important. So 543 00:29:23,000 --> 00:29:25,720 Speaker 1: this is a video of Russians waiting in line to 544 00:29:25,800 --> 00:29:29,600 Speaker 1: withdraw money from a bank. The Russian economy is very 545 00:29:29,600 --> 00:29:33,440 Speaker 1: clearly in trouble, maybe even collapsing, because everyone in every 546 00:29:33,440 --> 00:29:35,480 Speaker 1: banking system, no matter where they are in the world, 547 00:29:35,760 --> 00:29:38,560 Speaker 1: relies on access to dollars, and we've cut off their 548 00:29:38,600 --> 00:29:41,840 Speaker 1: access to our currency. As a result, Russian banks are 549 00:29:41,840 --> 00:29:45,440 Speaker 1: having serious problems. The West has caused a Russian bank run. 550 00:29:45,880 --> 00:29:49,080 Speaker 1: We have destabilized the Russian economy and we're throwing ordinary 551 00:29:49,120 --> 00:29:52,880 Speaker 1: Russians into poverty. It's almost impossible for Russian firms to 552 00:29:52,920 --> 00:29:55,880 Speaker 1: buy from the West to resupply their factories. The goal 553 00:29:56,120 --> 00:29:59,640 Speaker 1: is to stop the Russian military machine, and it's probably 554 00:29:59,680 --> 00:30:04,160 Speaker 1: working all without firing a shot. Now, the sanctions, the 555 00:30:04,280 --> 00:30:08,520 Speaker 1: economic actions go far beyond banks. Of course, so Maersk 556 00:30:08,800 --> 00:30:10,880 Speaker 1: is one of the largest ocean carrier firms in the world. 557 00:30:10,920 --> 00:30:13,520 Speaker 1: I think it's actually the largest, and it just cut 558 00:30:13,520 --> 00:30:17,240 Speaker 1: off Russia from trade. Most of the other ocean carrier firms, 559 00:30:17,280 --> 00:30:19,360 Speaker 1: not all of them, but most of them have also 560 00:30:19,480 --> 00:30:23,240 Speaker 1: cut off Russia and Ukraine. Now, whatever you think about 561 00:30:23,280 --> 00:30:27,600 Speaker 1: the Russian invasion of Ukraine Putin's goal at this point, 562 00:30:27,680 --> 00:30:30,880 Speaker 1: his goal is likely to displace the Western system and 563 00:30:30,960 --> 00:30:35,240 Speaker 1: replace it with one in which there are more authoritarian norms. Now, 564 00:30:35,240 --> 00:30:38,600 Speaker 1: he made that clear himself late last month in a 565 00:30:38,640 --> 00:30:43,640 Speaker 1: speech about Greater Russia. But sanctions also do some damage 566 00:30:43,640 --> 00:30:46,880 Speaker 1: to us. Since the beginning of this year, tensions between 567 00:30:46,920 --> 00:30:51,760 Speaker 1: Russia and Ukraine and the possibility of sanctions have caused 568 00:30:51,760 --> 00:30:54,520 Speaker 1: the price of oil to go from about eighty dollars 569 00:30:54,560 --> 00:30:58,600 Speaker 1: to about one hundred and twenty dollars a barrel. Now, 570 00:30:58,800 --> 00:31:02,200 Speaker 1: the US imports twenty one percent of its gasoline from Russia, 571 00:31:02,240 --> 00:31:05,080 Speaker 1: and Americans have seen the prices at the pump reflect 572 00:31:05,120 --> 00:31:08,120 Speaker 1: these increasing prices. And this is true even as our 573 00:31:08,200 --> 00:31:12,600 Speaker 1: sanctions exclude energy, meaning we still want to continue buying 574 00:31:12,600 --> 00:31:15,200 Speaker 1: oil and gas from Russia so that the prices don't 575 00:31:15,200 --> 00:31:18,320 Speaker 1: go up even more. We're not sanctioning their energy sector. 576 00:31:18,920 --> 00:31:22,160 Speaker 1: Fertilizer prices have also increased since Russia and its ally 577 00:31:22,200 --> 00:31:25,080 Speaker 1: Belarus make roughly forty percent of the global supply of 578 00:31:25,120 --> 00:31:27,760 Speaker 1: certain types of fertilizer, and that's a really big deal 579 00:31:27,800 --> 00:31:32,120 Speaker 1: for food prices, which are also up. Still, Russia's economy 580 00:31:32,240 --> 00:31:35,600 Speaker 1: is smaller than California's and we don't actually rely on 581 00:31:35,680 --> 00:31:39,280 Speaker 1: Russia or Ukraine for very much. We imported just twenty 582 00:31:39,360 --> 00:31:41,840 Speaker 1: nine billion dollars of goods and services from Russia last year, 583 00:31:42,080 --> 00:31:45,600 Speaker 1: which is very little in our twenty trillion dollar plus economy. 584 00:31:46,200 --> 00:31:48,760 Speaker 1: A lot of our companies, from Exon to General Motors, 585 00:31:48,880 --> 00:31:51,560 Speaker 1: have pulled out of Russia, but our companies don't really 586 00:31:51,600 --> 00:31:54,360 Speaker 1: have to do business there. Shareholders don't care that much. 587 00:31:54,400 --> 00:31:56,880 Speaker 1: It's just not that big a deal. Now. Yeah, Russia 588 00:31:56,920 --> 00:32:00,320 Speaker 1: drills oil, it makes vodka, rocket engines, and you. Craine 589 00:32:00,320 --> 00:32:05,240 Speaker 1: produces wheat, corn, barley, sunflower seeds, and so forth. But 590 00:32:05,320 --> 00:32:08,320 Speaker 1: the US can and does source these goods elsewhere, including 591 00:32:08,400 --> 00:32:12,760 Speaker 1: from ourselves. We are actually a giant agricultural power. Now. 592 00:32:12,960 --> 00:32:15,640 Speaker 1: Side note, this is not true everywhere. A lot of 593 00:32:15,680 --> 00:32:19,560 Speaker 1: countries from Egypt to Israel and across the Middle East 594 00:32:19,560 --> 00:32:23,320 Speaker 1: in Africa, they do rely on Ukrainian or Russian wheat. 595 00:32:23,920 --> 00:32:26,480 Speaker 1: The bottom line is that the United States and more 596 00:32:26,520 --> 00:32:30,520 Speaker 1: broadly Europe and the West can address Vladimir Putin's geopolitical 597 00:32:30,600 --> 00:32:35,600 Speaker 1: choices relatively uncoerced by Russian economic influence. They just can't 598 00:32:35,680 --> 00:32:37,880 Speaker 1: hurt us very much economically, at least not in the 599 00:32:37,880 --> 00:32:40,920 Speaker 1: short term. I don't want to overstate this. It's possible 600 00:32:40,960 --> 00:32:43,520 Speaker 1: there are, maybe even probable, that there are critical supply 601 00:32:43,600 --> 00:32:46,920 Speaker 1: chain links going through Russia and Ukraine. You don't always 602 00:32:46,960 --> 00:32:50,360 Speaker 1: know you'll need a small critical piece of infrastructure until 603 00:32:50,400 --> 00:32:53,920 Speaker 1: you do. There are shipping problems and other issues that 604 00:32:53,920 --> 00:32:57,720 Speaker 1: we're experiencing as well. But more to the point, we 605 00:32:57,760 --> 00:33:01,240 Speaker 1: aren't very good at tolerating pain. I mentioned that we 606 00:33:01,280 --> 00:33:05,000 Speaker 1: aren't sanctioning Russian oil. The Russians can take bank runs 607 00:33:05,040 --> 00:33:08,040 Speaker 1: maybe if an economic collapse, but we can't even take 608 00:33:08,360 --> 00:33:14,680 Speaker 1: higher gas prices at the pop Still, our sanctions are working. Russia, however, 609 00:33:14,840 --> 00:33:18,240 Speaker 1: isn't the only authoritarian country that wants to displace the 610 00:33:18,280 --> 00:33:21,680 Speaker 1: Western system of international norms. Now. I'm not saying that 611 00:33:21,760 --> 00:33:25,440 Speaker 1: this system is worth preserving without serious changes. The US 612 00:33:25,480 --> 00:33:28,000 Speaker 1: launched a war of choice against Iraq that killed hundreds 613 00:33:28,040 --> 00:33:30,840 Speaker 1: of thousands, and then Europe in the US did so 614 00:33:30,880 --> 00:33:33,640 Speaker 1: against Syria and Libya as well. I'm not even going 615 00:33:33,640 --> 00:33:37,080 Speaker 1: to get into Yemen and what's happening there currently included. 616 00:33:37,720 --> 00:33:41,040 Speaker 1: We have not reckoned with these gross violations of the 617 00:33:41,120 --> 00:33:44,320 Speaker 1: values that we have pretended to uphold. But it's clear 618 00:33:44,760 --> 00:33:48,840 Speaker 1: or probable that if the Western system falls, something much 619 00:33:48,880 --> 00:33:53,200 Speaker 1: more violent, dangerous, and authoritarian is probably what will replace it. 620 00:33:54,280 --> 00:33:57,400 Speaker 1: Economic sanctions have been the tool that we've been using 621 00:33:57,480 --> 00:34:02,040 Speaker 1: to hold back Russian aggression without going to war ourselves, 622 00:34:02,080 --> 00:34:06,200 Speaker 1: without risking troops, without risking nuclear war. And the key 623 00:34:06,280 --> 00:34:09,520 Speaker 1: to sanctions with Russia or anywhere else is that we 624 00:34:09,760 --> 00:34:14,560 Speaker 1: don't rely on Russia economically, but Russia relies on us. 625 00:34:15,719 --> 00:34:18,920 Speaker 1: But imagine a different world. Let's say that Russia made 626 00:34:19,320 --> 00:34:21,680 Speaker 1: all or most of oh I don't know, like our 627 00:34:21,719 --> 00:34:27,359 Speaker 1: iPhones or consumer electronics, critical chemicals. What if Russia had 628 00:34:27,360 --> 00:34:30,080 Speaker 1: the second largest economy in the world, and one that 629 00:34:30,160 --> 00:34:33,799 Speaker 1: nearly every large firm needed to commit to in order 630 00:34:33,840 --> 00:34:37,360 Speaker 1: to make shareholders happy. Would it be so easy to 631 00:34:37,480 --> 00:34:41,400 Speaker 1: levy sanctions against that Russia. The answer, of course is no. 632 00:34:42,560 --> 00:34:46,080 Speaker 1: And if that Russia chose to invade other countries or 633 00:34:46,120 --> 00:34:49,600 Speaker 1: throw its weight around, we couldn't impose sanctions on them 634 00:34:49,840 --> 00:34:52,960 Speaker 1: without hurting ourselves very badly, and it would be much 635 00:34:53,040 --> 00:34:56,360 Speaker 1: harder to hold together an international coalition. I think you 636 00:34:56,360 --> 00:34:58,960 Speaker 1: can see where I'm headed next. There is a country 637 00:34:59,000 --> 00:35:03,279 Speaker 1: that has all these characteristics. China. The Chinese have the 638 00:35:03,280 --> 00:35:06,319 Speaker 1: second largest economy in the world, and it is the 639 00:35:06,320 --> 00:35:09,880 Speaker 1: most populous nation in the world. It is also, more importantly, 640 00:35:10,080 --> 00:35:14,160 Speaker 1: the world's factory. The US alone imports more than half 641 00:35:14,200 --> 00:35:19,000 Speaker 1: a trillion dollars of goods and services from China, Japan, Germany. Indeed, 642 00:35:19,000 --> 00:35:22,640 Speaker 1: the entire world at this point is dependent on Chinese exports. 643 00:35:23,160 --> 00:35:27,759 Speaker 1: Remember how US nurses wore garbage bags when COVID first hit. 644 00:35:28,760 --> 00:35:32,520 Speaker 1: That's because we couldn't get enough personal protective equipment from China, 645 00:35:33,040 --> 00:35:39,120 Speaker 1: and frankly, neither could anywhere else. Like Russia, China is 646 00:35:39,200 --> 00:35:42,360 Speaker 1: pretty much hostile to the United States. The Chinese government 647 00:35:43,640 --> 00:35:47,759 Speaker 1: Chinese newspapers, which are state run, regularly attack America in 648 00:35:47,800 --> 00:35:52,960 Speaker 1: deeply personal tones. Here, for example, is Hushijin, a key 649 00:35:53,080 --> 00:35:58,440 Speaker 1: voice for China with the Global Times, and he attacks 650 00:35:58,480 --> 00:36:02,560 Speaker 1: the US, blames the US for the war in Ukraine, 651 00:36:03,160 --> 00:36:07,759 Speaker 1: which is a common line from Chinese spokespeople and Chinese newspapers, 652 00:36:07,840 --> 00:36:10,360 Speaker 1: and he says that the US is a quote gang 653 00:36:10,440 --> 00:36:13,920 Speaker 1: leader who bluffs a lot but is timid at critical moments. 654 00:36:14,200 --> 00:36:18,200 Speaker 1: Its allies have seen through this. China has even built 655 00:36:18,920 --> 00:36:22,160 Speaker 1: a government approved film industry in which it regularly shows 656 00:36:22,200 --> 00:36:26,040 Speaker 1: Americans as villains in America as a land full of evil, 657 00:36:26,200 --> 00:36:30,399 Speaker 1: malevolent bureaucrats and bad guys. Now, whether this is true 658 00:36:30,440 --> 00:36:32,040 Speaker 1: or not, and I don't think it is. I think 659 00:36:32,040 --> 00:36:35,040 Speaker 1: it's cartoonish. This is the propaganda that China is showing 660 00:36:35,040 --> 00:36:37,640 Speaker 1: to its citizens and actually showing to people all over 661 00:36:37,680 --> 00:36:40,279 Speaker 1: the world where it can. I'm going to show you 662 00:36:40,320 --> 00:36:43,120 Speaker 1: a clip of a famous Chinese movie called Wolf Warrior two, 663 00:36:43,360 --> 00:36:46,960 Speaker 1: which did incredibly well. It's a pretty violent movie. It's 664 00:36:47,000 --> 00:36:49,880 Speaker 1: like it's kind of like Lethal Weapon or Rambo. But 665 00:36:50,000 --> 00:36:52,480 Speaker 1: this the movie it's important because it was so popular 666 00:36:52,560 --> 00:36:55,480 Speaker 1: in China that is actually among the top one hundred 667 00:36:55,520 --> 00:36:58,960 Speaker 1: grossing films. Ever, it is basically a Chinese version of 668 00:36:59,040 --> 00:37:03,960 Speaker 1: Rambo with America as the villain. And you know, the 669 00:37:04,000 --> 00:37:07,600 Speaker 1: production values are really high, like it's a cool movie. 670 00:37:07,840 --> 00:37:11,560 Speaker 1: China important techniques from Hollywood and they use them to 671 00:37:11,920 --> 00:37:15,239 Speaker 1: make movies that are of comparable quality. So in this 672 00:37:15,680 --> 00:37:19,880 Speaker 1: first clip, here's the way that the filmmakers portray Americans 673 00:37:19,960 --> 00:37:23,160 Speaker 1: as violent racists who despise non white people or looked 674 00:37:23,200 --> 00:37:26,440 Speaker 1: down on non white people, especially the Chinese. The clip 675 00:37:26,560 --> 00:37:29,560 Speaker 1: is during the final battle when the Chinese hero who's 676 00:37:29,680 --> 00:37:34,520 Speaker 1: a Special Forces warrior is nearly killed by the American 677 00:37:34,520 --> 00:37:40,440 Speaker 1: warlord whose name is Big Daddy. People like you will 678 00:37:40,440 --> 00:37:43,480 Speaker 1: always been period of people like me, get used to it, 679 00:37:44,360 --> 00:38:10,200 Speaker 1: get used to it. After this, the fight continues and 680 00:38:10,239 --> 00:38:14,040 Speaker 1: finally the hero his name is is Lung Fong and 681 00:38:14,120 --> 00:38:16,400 Speaker 1: he's a Again I said this before a Chinese Special 682 00:38:16,400 --> 00:38:19,719 Speaker 1: Forces soldier turns the tables on Big Daddy. If you've 683 00:38:19,719 --> 00:38:23,240 Speaker 1: seen any action movie ever, you know how it goes. 684 00:38:23,320 --> 00:38:27,600 Speaker 1: The hero almost dies, you know, the skin of his teeth, right, 685 00:38:27,800 --> 00:38:31,000 Speaker 1: but then turns the table and kills the villain. Now, 686 00:38:31,160 --> 00:38:33,759 Speaker 1: this next scene when it happens is kind of is 687 00:38:33,800 --> 00:38:37,160 Speaker 1: a little gross, so you've been warned. But what's important 688 00:38:37,280 --> 00:38:59,239 Speaker 1: is what the Chinese hero Fung says at the end. Come, yeah, 689 00:38:59,320 --> 00:39:04,400 Speaker 1: that's fucking history. That's what he says, and that is 690 00:39:04,440 --> 00:39:08,160 Speaker 1: a statement from the Chinese government to the Chinese people, 691 00:39:08,200 --> 00:39:10,120 Speaker 1: into people all over the world who watch this movie. Now, 692 00:39:10,200 --> 00:39:12,520 Speaker 1: it's a cool fight. I can see why the movie 693 00:39:12,520 --> 00:39:16,600 Speaker 1: did well. It's Hollywood level production. But what's important here 694 00:39:16,640 --> 00:39:19,719 Speaker 1: is that it's not Hollywood. Hollywood is run by and 695 00:39:19,760 --> 00:39:22,880 Speaker 1: large by private firms whose real goal is just to 696 00:39:22,880 --> 00:39:27,440 Speaker 1: make a bunch of money. The Chinese government, by contrast, 697 00:39:27,719 --> 00:39:32,600 Speaker 1: controls everything in its movies. They have a big censorship department, 698 00:39:32,880 --> 00:39:37,000 Speaker 1: and they pay special attention to key geopolitical arguments, like 699 00:39:37,040 --> 00:39:40,840 Speaker 1: how Americans and Chinese soldiers are portrayed, or how the 700 00:39:40,920 --> 00:39:45,239 Speaker 1: Chinese military and the American military are portrayed. China's place 701 00:39:45,280 --> 00:39:48,279 Speaker 1: in the world is very important in these movies, and 702 00:39:48,320 --> 00:39:54,320 Speaker 1: the Chinese government supervises it very closely. Now, what's important 703 00:39:54,440 --> 00:39:57,840 Speaker 1: is that the Chinese government actually wants its people to 704 00:39:57,960 --> 00:40:02,280 Speaker 1: see the world in racialized terms. They want their people 705 00:40:02,320 --> 00:40:05,200 Speaker 1: to fear Americans and learn that there is a global 706 00:40:05,239 --> 00:40:09,359 Speaker 1: conflict of civilizations coming, one that China intends to win. 707 00:40:10,160 --> 00:40:12,880 Speaker 1: It's not actually that different from some hardliners in the 708 00:40:13,000 --> 00:40:16,600 Speaker 1: US who also use racist framing to characterize the actions 709 00:40:16,640 --> 00:40:19,400 Speaker 1: of the Chinese government. The difference is that in China, 710 00:40:19,840 --> 00:40:24,520 Speaker 1: hardline anti Americanism is not only spread everywhere through explicit 711 00:40:24,600 --> 00:40:30,000 Speaker 1: government control and censorship, but is actually government policy and 712 00:40:30,160 --> 00:40:35,239 Speaker 1: has been for decades. Chinese foreign service members, they are diplomats, 713 00:40:35,440 --> 00:40:39,120 Speaker 1: are actually now known as wolf warrior diplomats after this 714 00:40:39,239 --> 00:40:42,720 Speaker 1: movie because of how aggressive and nationalistic they have become. 715 00:40:43,480 --> 00:40:47,600 Speaker 1: For example, here's a Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman blaming the 716 00:40:47,760 --> 00:40:53,239 Speaker 1: US for covering up the American origins of COVID. Basically, 717 00:40:53,800 --> 00:40:57,920 Speaker 1: Chinese diplomats are trained to attack American legitimacy as a 718 00:40:57,960 --> 00:41:02,520 Speaker 1: strategy for displacing American and Western power, and that is 719 00:41:02,760 --> 00:41:07,800 Speaker 1: absolutely government policy. The Chinese government feels that for China 720 00:41:07,880 --> 00:41:12,919 Speaker 1: to become as powerful as it should be, America must lose. Now, 721 00:41:12,960 --> 00:41:16,160 Speaker 1: putting aside the moral issues of this kind of conflict 722 00:41:16,160 --> 00:41:19,680 Speaker 1: for a second, here's the problem, the practical problem for us, 723 00:41:20,120 --> 00:41:24,600 Speaker 1: if you're a realist and a strategist. Unlike Russia, America, 724 00:41:25,000 --> 00:41:29,480 Speaker 1: we do need China desperately. When Donald Trump put tariffs 725 00:41:29,520 --> 00:41:32,280 Speaker 1: on a small number of Chinese goods, relatively small number 726 00:41:32,640 --> 00:41:36,640 Speaker 1: our own corporations freaked out, and from twenty seventeen to 727 00:41:36,640 --> 00:41:39,279 Speaker 1: twenty nineteen, in a series of hearings, a lot of 728 00:41:39,280 --> 00:41:42,120 Speaker 1: companies told the government just how dependent we are on 729 00:41:42,239 --> 00:41:47,920 Speaker 1: Chinese production. My rization summarize these comments. I've put a 730 00:41:47,960 --> 00:41:50,759 Speaker 1: link to the spreadsheet in the description of this video. 731 00:41:51,040 --> 00:41:53,239 Speaker 1: You can download it and look at all of our dependencies. 732 00:41:53,400 --> 00:41:56,520 Speaker 1: But here's a very very short list of products that 733 00:41:56,520 --> 00:41:58,640 Speaker 1: we depend on China for. I mean, the list is 734 00:41:58,719 --> 00:42:02,720 Speaker 1: much longer. I just picked these out somewhat random. Solar panels, 735 00:42:03,040 --> 00:42:10,760 Speaker 1: printed circuit boards, active pharmaceutical ingredients, prom dresses, fracking fluid inputs, routers, 736 00:42:11,040 --> 00:42:16,759 Speaker 1: consumer robotics, specialty chemicals, electronic components, tiki torches, point of 737 00:42:16,800 --> 00:42:21,120 Speaker 1: sale terminals, vitamin c gentry cranes, and the ink that 738 00:42:21,280 --> 00:42:25,879 Speaker 1: goes into dollar bills. But that's not my favorite one. 739 00:42:25,880 --> 00:42:28,800 Speaker 1: The ink that goes into the dollar. My favorite comment 740 00:42:29,160 --> 00:42:32,080 Speaker 1: in these hearings on Chinese tariffs was from a guy 741 00:42:32,120 --> 00:42:35,359 Speaker 1: named stan Janz from the Bible lobby. Now, I don't 742 00:42:35,360 --> 00:42:38,719 Speaker 1: mean that he had some religious agenda here. I mean 743 00:42:38,760 --> 00:42:43,960 Speaker 1: he actually represents the Evangelical Publishers Association, which sells bibles. 744 00:42:44,680 --> 00:42:48,160 Speaker 1: Here he is explaining to the Trump administration why they 745 00:42:48,160 --> 00:42:51,440 Speaker 1: shouldn't put tariffs on bibles that are printed and then 746 00:42:51,560 --> 00:42:56,120 Speaker 1: imported from China. Chinese printers have developed the technology and 747 00:42:56,160 --> 00:42:59,160 Speaker 1: the artistry to produce the kind of Bibles people want, 748 00:42:59,239 --> 00:43:02,600 Speaker 1: which is why or fifty percent of the Bibles published 749 00:43:02,880 --> 00:43:06,560 Speaker 1: by ECPA members are printed in China. In fact, more 750 00:43:06,640 --> 00:43:10,000 Speaker 1: Bibles are printed in China than in any other country 751 00:43:10,080 --> 00:43:13,200 Speaker 1: on Earth. Now, he went on to say that this 752 00:43:13,280 --> 00:43:18,120 Speaker 1: is actually a problem for religious freedom because American printers 753 00:43:18,160 --> 00:43:21,719 Speaker 1: don't simply don't have the capacity to print enough Bibles 754 00:43:22,000 --> 00:43:25,520 Speaker 1: for Americans, and that the people who quote unquote buy 755 00:43:26,200 --> 00:43:28,480 Speaker 1: and read the Bible would potentially have to pay a 756 00:43:28,600 --> 00:43:33,000 Speaker 1: much higher price, perhaps higher than they could justify. Christians 757 00:43:33,040 --> 00:43:36,680 Speaker 1: depend on the Bible for their daily input of spiritual nourishment. 758 00:43:37,200 --> 00:43:40,520 Speaker 1: Some publishers believe that such a tariff would place a 759 00:43:40,560 --> 00:43:46,399 Speaker 1: practical limitation on religious freedom. Okay, printing technology is five 760 00:43:46,480 --> 00:43:50,239 Speaker 1: hundred years old, So this is really really bad in 761 00:43:50,320 --> 00:43:53,000 Speaker 1: terms of dependency. Now, like if you just look at 762 00:43:53,040 --> 00:43:57,920 Speaker 1: other supply chains, it's bad when Russia and Ukraine go offline. 763 00:43:57,920 --> 00:44:00,720 Speaker 1: There are problems. We can manage it. There are problems 764 00:44:01,160 --> 00:44:03,840 Speaker 1: if China shuts down. If we try to sanction China 765 00:44:03,880 --> 00:44:07,160 Speaker 1: that way, forget it, Just forget it. Let's look at 766 00:44:07,160 --> 00:44:10,920 Speaker 1: ocean carriers. Seven of the top ten biggest container ports 767 00:44:11,000 --> 00:44:14,360 Speaker 1: by volume in the world are in China. You just 768 00:44:14,360 --> 00:44:18,480 Speaker 1: can't shut it down. The US used to lead the 769 00:44:18,480 --> 00:44:21,560 Speaker 1: world in shipping. Just to give some context, we had 770 00:44:21,600 --> 00:44:24,040 Speaker 1: over sixty percent of the global merchant marine in nineteen 771 00:44:24,080 --> 00:44:29,360 Speaker 1: forty five. Today we have no major American ocean shipping firms. 772 00:44:29,400 --> 00:44:32,640 Speaker 1: We basically have no merchant marine, no ships that move 773 00:44:32,719 --> 00:44:37,799 Speaker 1: stuff in international waters. We are reliant on ships run by, 774 00:44:38,080 --> 00:44:41,600 Speaker 1: among others, Chinese operators, and they actually own and run 775 00:44:41,640 --> 00:44:44,880 Speaker 1: port terminals all over the United States. In other words, 776 00:44:44,880 --> 00:44:48,839 Speaker 1: without China, there just is no global supply chain. And 777 00:44:48,840 --> 00:44:51,239 Speaker 1: that's not to mention all of our corporations who are 778 00:44:51,320 --> 00:44:55,440 Speaker 1: absolutely desperate to do business there. Apple CEO Tim Cook, 779 00:44:55,640 --> 00:44:58,920 Speaker 1: who regularly scoffs in the US when asked for his 780 00:44:59,040 --> 00:45:02,640 Speaker 1: company to pay it's fair share of taxes, pledged to 781 00:45:02,680 --> 00:45:05,480 Speaker 1: the Chinese government years ago that his firm would spend 782 00:45:05,640 --> 00:45:09,359 Speaker 1: hundreds of billions of dollars building up Chinese tech infrastructure 783 00:45:09,440 --> 00:45:12,960 Speaker 1: and transferring technology to the country, which he did. It's 784 00:45:12,960 --> 00:45:16,040 Speaker 1: not just Apple, it's virtually everyone. So I picked a 785 00:45:16,040 --> 00:45:21,120 Speaker 1: corporation at random. I've been reading investor calls. I like 786 00:45:21,200 --> 00:45:24,360 Speaker 1: to do this. I'm kind of weird that way. But 787 00:45:25,080 --> 00:45:29,080 Speaker 1: here's Unilever. It's a large consumer package products company. Unilever 788 00:45:29,200 --> 00:45:32,240 Speaker 1: sees China is so important that it actually gives separate 789 00:45:32,280 --> 00:45:36,279 Speaker 1: briefings to its investors on its subsidiary to China. Now 790 00:45:36,719 --> 00:45:39,440 Speaker 1: in the slide, it's the key message to investors is 791 00:45:39,440 --> 00:45:42,680 Speaker 1: that winning in China is a strategic priority for Unilever, 792 00:45:42,760 --> 00:45:44,920 Speaker 1: and it talks about how it's their third biggest market 793 00:45:45,360 --> 00:45:48,880 Speaker 1: and how it's absolutely important for them to keep growing 794 00:45:48,920 --> 00:45:51,960 Speaker 1: it there. It's fast growing. So with all of these companies, 795 00:45:52,040 --> 00:45:55,200 Speaker 1: all of that muscle lobbying muscle in the US that 796 00:45:55,440 --> 00:45:59,000 Speaker 1: wants to have deep seated relationships in China, both as 797 00:45:59,080 --> 00:46:01,680 Speaker 1: a as a mark market, and as an exporter, would 798 00:46:01,680 --> 00:46:05,800 Speaker 1: it be so easy to levy sanctions against China. The answer, 799 00:46:05,840 --> 00:46:09,239 Speaker 1: of course is non. That may not be such a 800 00:46:09,239 --> 00:46:12,840 Speaker 1: problem if we could manage to avoid conflict with China. 801 00:46:13,280 --> 00:46:15,600 Speaker 1: But China has made it clear that it wants to 802 00:46:15,640 --> 00:46:20,120 Speaker 1: take over Taiwan with military force if necessary. And Taiwan 803 00:46:20,200 --> 00:46:23,400 Speaker 1: is where we get eighty percent of our high end semiconductors, 804 00:46:23,480 --> 00:46:28,040 Speaker 1: which we desperately need. Semiconductors go into everything from computers 805 00:46:28,040 --> 00:46:32,320 Speaker 1: to farm equipment, to phones, to toys to cars. Forty 806 00:46:32,320 --> 00:46:36,440 Speaker 1: percent of our manufacturing capacity is dependent on semiconductor inputs. 807 00:46:36,920 --> 00:46:39,600 Speaker 1: Taiwan is also a long standing security partner with the 808 00:46:39,680 --> 00:46:43,560 Speaker 1: United States, and we've been transferring technology to Taiwan for decades. 809 00:46:44,600 --> 00:46:49,000 Speaker 1: China regularly sends fighter jets to penetrate Taiwanese defenses. They're 810 00:46:49,040 --> 00:46:52,840 Speaker 1: constantly talking about war. The problem is that if this 811 00:46:53,000 --> 00:46:59,480 Speaker 1: happens without Taiwan, the US economy also comes to a halt. 812 00:47:00,040 --> 00:47:04,760 Speaker 1: So it's a really dangerous situation. Now, as Russia bombs Ukraine, 813 00:47:05,280 --> 00:47:08,160 Speaker 1: as they invade Ukraine, we have the luxury of sitting 814 00:47:08,239 --> 00:47:12,200 Speaker 1: back and choosing to engage in sanctions or not. We 815 00:47:12,280 --> 00:47:15,480 Speaker 1: can cheer for the Ukrainians don't have to send soldiers. 816 00:47:15,520 --> 00:47:18,960 Speaker 1: We can affect Russia. There's definitely going to be blowback 817 00:47:19,000 --> 00:47:21,960 Speaker 1: against us for what we're doing, maybe a horrific blowback 818 00:47:22,120 --> 00:47:24,959 Speaker 1: depending on what we do, depending on whether we start 819 00:47:24,960 --> 00:47:30,480 Speaker 1: to use military force. But Russia at least economically cannot 820 00:47:30,560 --> 00:47:35,000 Speaker 1: hurt us that badly. China, however, isn't vulnerable to economic 821 00:47:35,040 --> 00:47:39,400 Speaker 1: sanctions the way that Russia is, in fact, might just 822 00:47:39,440 --> 00:47:43,120 Speaker 1: be the opposite scenario. China right now is preparing to 823 00:47:43,200 --> 00:47:47,160 Speaker 1: engage in sanctions itself and actually has it just put 824 00:47:47,160 --> 00:47:50,880 Speaker 1: out its first export control law, and China is actually 825 00:47:50,960 --> 00:47:55,440 Speaker 1: living sanctions over the Taiwan issue already. Take Lithuania. They 826 00:47:55,480 --> 00:47:58,360 Speaker 1: say they're not, but they are. So. Take Lithuania, a 827 00:47:58,400 --> 00:48:01,360 Speaker 1: small country in Eastern Europe, which which allowed Taiwan to 828 00:48:01,400 --> 00:48:03,440 Speaker 1: open a de facto embassy, which is kind of one 829 00:48:03,480 --> 00:48:07,120 Speaker 1: of the red lines for the Chinese government. What happened next, 830 00:48:08,120 --> 00:48:13,760 Speaker 1: China turned Lithuania quietly into a pariah state. The Chinese 831 00:48:13,760 --> 00:48:17,120 Speaker 1: government not only cut off imports from Lithuania, but said 832 00:48:17,120 --> 00:48:20,359 Speaker 1: that any item with any Lithuanian components could not come 833 00:48:20,440 --> 00:48:23,719 Speaker 1: into China. And remember, Lithuania is a member of the 834 00:48:23,719 --> 00:48:28,520 Speaker 1: European Unions. We have globalized supply chains, so Lithuanian stuff 835 00:48:28,520 --> 00:48:31,359 Speaker 1: goes into a lot of different things. Now, rather than 836 00:48:31,400 --> 00:48:36,000 Speaker 1: standing up for this small country Lithuania and its geopolitical choices, 837 00:48:36,320 --> 00:48:41,160 Speaker 1: the rest of the European Union buckled. European factories may 838 00:48:41,200 --> 00:48:43,960 Speaker 1: start moving out of Lithuania, or investors are going to 839 00:48:44,000 --> 00:48:47,400 Speaker 1: stop investing there and put their factories elsewhere, and this 840 00:48:47,520 --> 00:48:50,319 Speaker 1: is creating a crisis for the government. The message from 841 00:48:50,400 --> 00:48:54,080 Speaker 1: China is very clear. Now you might say, well, that's Lithuania. 842 00:48:54,600 --> 00:48:57,400 Speaker 1: They are small and we're not. But China does this 843 00:48:57,480 --> 00:49:00,759 Speaker 1: to our American firms and celebrities, from Bron James and 844 00:49:00,800 --> 00:49:05,320 Speaker 1: the NBA to Marriott and Starbucks. Less may it was 845 00:49:05,400 --> 00:49:09,040 Speaker 1: John Cena's turn now, Sina had accidentally referred to Taiwan 846 00:49:09,120 --> 00:49:12,240 Speaker 1: as a country in one interview promoting his latest movie. 847 00:49:13,280 --> 00:49:16,640 Speaker 1: He issued a groveling apology in Chinese, which was roundly 848 00:49:16,680 --> 00:49:20,640 Speaker 1: and rightfully mocked. But still it's not going to change 849 00:49:20,640 --> 00:49:23,120 Speaker 1: Hollywood the fact that someone made fun of John Cena. 850 00:49:23,960 --> 00:49:27,120 Speaker 1: Hollywood executives are very aware of what they can and 851 00:49:27,239 --> 00:49:31,799 Speaker 1: can't say. So while China produces excellent action movies and 852 00:49:31,840 --> 00:49:36,080 Speaker 1: television with Americans as the villains, and distributes them worldwide. 853 00:49:36,880 --> 00:49:41,040 Speaker 1: It also controls Hollywood through its economic power and ensures 854 00:49:41,040 --> 00:49:44,160 Speaker 1: that China is portrayed in a favorable light to Americans 855 00:49:44,600 --> 00:49:49,239 Speaker 1: and to a global audience. Now, our corporate sector and 856 00:49:49,320 --> 00:49:52,920 Speaker 1: our supply chains are so intertwined with Chinese power and 857 00:49:53,000 --> 00:49:57,319 Speaker 1: economic influence that these kinds of apologies are common. The 858 00:49:57,360 --> 00:50:00,000 Speaker 1: only reason it was weird in Sina's case is because 859 00:50:00,080 --> 00:50:03,960 Speaker 1: he usually doesn't do the heel turn regardless, The point 860 00:50:04,160 --> 00:50:06,239 Speaker 1: is that we've allowed so much of our industry to 861 00:50:06,280 --> 00:50:08,319 Speaker 1: go to China that if we were to ever to 862 00:50:08,360 --> 00:50:11,719 Speaker 1: try to sanction that country, it could simply block us 863 00:50:11,719 --> 00:50:15,120 Speaker 1: from getting iPhones and thousands of other critical products we need, 864 00:50:15,400 --> 00:50:19,600 Speaker 1: from medicine to electronics, to chemical inputs to inputs for food. 865 00:50:20,400 --> 00:50:23,239 Speaker 1: It could cut us off from It could cut off 866 00:50:23,280 --> 00:50:27,440 Speaker 1: our corporations from access to their markets, blow a giant 867 00:50:27,520 --> 00:50:30,880 Speaker 1: crater in our own stock market. Right now, we can 868 00:50:30,920 --> 00:50:33,439 Speaker 1: still do something to move our supply chains back from 869 00:50:33,520 --> 00:50:36,759 Speaker 1: China and reorient our corporate sector so that our executives 870 00:50:36,800 --> 00:50:40,839 Speaker 1: have some recognition of an obligation to America, to democracy, 871 00:50:41,520 --> 00:50:44,239 Speaker 1: and one aspect of that involves breaking up monopolies so 872 00:50:44,280 --> 00:50:47,400 Speaker 1: that we aren't reliant on any one firm for a 873 00:50:47,480 --> 00:50:52,239 Speaker 1: key product or to distribute something like Apple. But it 874 00:50:52,280 --> 00:50:54,360 Speaker 1: will require a lot of work at every level of 875 00:50:54,360 --> 00:50:57,080 Speaker 1: our society. In many ways, the Trump administration started it. 876 00:50:57,120 --> 00:51:00,920 Speaker 1: The Biden administration is continuing this work, but it's not 877 00:51:01,080 --> 00:51:05,839 Speaker 1: enough yet. Regardless, we have to act quickly to protect ourselves. 878 00:51:06,680 --> 00:51:10,680 Speaker 1: If we do not, during the next major geopolitical upheaval, 879 00:51:11,360 --> 00:51:14,560 Speaker 1: it may not be Russians experiencing bank runs and economic 880 00:51:14,680 --> 00:51:19,000 Speaker 1: chaos as a result of sanctions, It might be all 881 00:51:19,040 --> 00:51:22,600 Speaker 1: of us. Now. Thanks for watching. If you'd like to 882 00:51:22,600 --> 00:51:26,360 Speaker 1: know more about big business and how our economy really works, 883 00:51:26,880 --> 00:51:29,920 Speaker 1: you can sign up below for my market power focused newsletter, 884 00:51:30,280 --> 00:51:33,479 Speaker 1: Big Have a good one.