Transcript
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Speaker: You are now listening to This Week Explained.
Speaker: Hello, and welcome to This Week Explained.
Speaker: I'm Tiana with Karvin as my co-host, and together we'll help you understand the complexities of our dynamic, ever-changing world.
Speaker: But first, Karvin, you gotta tell us what the rundown is, so let's get to it.
Speaker: All right.
Speaker: Well, we are going to discuss Russia, Ukraine, as always, Israel, Hamas.
Speaker: So the two big conflicts.
Speaker: But there's been some information coming out that there are Western nations who are ready to recognize Palestine as the Palestinian state.
Speaker: And this is a huge geopolitical move, especially because of how it's the Western nations in Europe.
Speaker: But also,
Speaker: Poland is starting to fortify its border with Belarus and Russia.
Speaker: That's going to be a big thing down the road with escalations in Russia.
Speaker: Then I wanted to hit on the crisis in Haiti because we haven't been talking about that at all, and there's been some major developments in the country of Haiti.
Speaker: We really need to get into that.
Speaker: Then another interesting story that popped up today or a couple of days ago, North Korea sending South Korea poop.
Speaker: Yes, I said that right.
Speaker: That was a very interesting development, I would say.
Speaker: And then we know when South Koreans aren't touching it.
Speaker: I'm just saying I don't have anything snarky to say because that's just disgusting.
Speaker: Now, it's also, I know it's just a funny thing to bring up, but they are sending trash and various other things as part of psychological warfare.
Speaker: So it is a very serious event.
Speaker: But when it popped up on my newsfeed, I did chuckle a little bit.
Speaker: And then we're going to end out what we didn't get to touch on last week because they were still doing this was the Chinese military drills, why they're doing it right now, why it's important and what that means for the future of conflict in the Indo-Pacific.
Speaker: Well, let's get right into it.
Speaker: What is the latest coming out of Ukraine?
Speaker: Well, unfortunately, Ukrainian forces have contested the tactical initiative in Kharkiv, the place we've talked about for a few weeks now.
Speaker: But we do have to understand that Russia's operations there are defensive as opposed to an offensive operation.
Speaker: So Russia's just trying to stand their ground.
Speaker: Now, it could be a strategic maneuver as Russian forces may be consolidating those captured positions, aiming to bring their northern grouping of forces up to its planned end strength.
Speaker: before intensifying operations.
Speaker: And what I mean there is putting more forces into Ukraine for a push towards Kiev.
Speaker: So that's something we're going to be looking at in the next few months.
Speaker: Now, the tempo of Russian advances has decreased over the last few weeks, and this is providing tactical opportunities for a possible Ukrainian counterattack.
Speaker: Well, that's interesting.
Speaker: Let's talk about the strikes on Kharkiv city.
Speaker: Why is Russia targeting this urban center and what impact is it having?
Speaker: Yeah, look, it's a significant hub in northeastern Ukraine.
Speaker: I believe it's either the second or third largest city in Ukraine.
Speaker: And Russian forces are leveraging their sanctuary in Russian airspace to strike it so they can stay on the Russian side, strike Kharkiv city without worrying about Ukraine striking back.
Speaker: Now, these attacks serve multiple purposes.
Speaker: It demoralizes the Ukrainian forces, disrupts infrastructure, and it has the potential to depopulate
Speaker: While moving beyond the battlefield, we've seen reports of Russian electronic warfare impacting Western weapons systems.
Speaker: Can you elaborate on this?
Speaker: Yeah, certainly.
Speaker: So that electronic warfare, EW, capability plays a crucial role in modern warfare.
Speaker: It can disrupt drones, you know, lazing certain missile systems.
Speaker: These Russian efforts have disrupted a variety of Western-supplied weapon systems in Ukraine.
Speaker: Now, while this is certainly detrimental to the Ukrainian cause, it does have value to the Western nations that provided the weapons.
Speaker: We can all see, we're going to talk about it at the end of this podcast, a looming conflict with
Speaker: China, which could devolve into a global conflict.
Speaker: If that does indeed happen, countries like the U.S. and the U.K.
Speaker: are getting a firsthand view of how their weapon systems match up against the weapon systems of a near peer adversary.
Speaker: Let's shift gears for the moment.
Speaker: Russian Ambassador Anatoly Antonov recently rejected President Zelensky's legitimacy.
Speaker: Of course he did.
Speaker: He's a Russian ambassador.
Speaker: So what do you think this means for peace negotiations?
Speaker: Yes.
Speaker: So this regards to the fact that Ukraine in the month of May should have held elections, but they're in the middle of a war with Russia.
Speaker: So his comments are mostly a counter to Western statements about Russia not wanting to talk with Ukraine.
Speaker: Russia calls that this is their word.
Speaker: So a quote of a deliberate attempt to distort reality.
Speaker: Now, that's that's really interesting because Putin and his allies are really good about distorting reality.
Speaker: Right.
Speaker: So they're blaming the Western nations of doing that.
Speaker: Now, officials in D.C.
Speaker: have cast skepticism on the notion that Moscow truly sought and negotiated in to the conflict.
Speaker: But this recent statement indicates that Russia is still engaged in discussions for a potential ceasefire, albeit with strict demands that Ukraine is not going to accept.
Speaker: That's called projecting.
Speaker: When they do something and they're accusing us of doing it.
Speaker: I do that a lot.
Speaker: No, we all we all kind of kind of project.
Speaker: Occasionally.
Speaker: Anyway, anyway, back to what we should be talking about.
Speaker: Anything, is there anything else that we should know about this conflict before we shift the conversation again?
Speaker: Yeah, so I want to briefly touch on something that has the Russian Telegram channels up in arms right now, which is the fact that French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz has, they've both expressed support for Ukraine's right to strike military bases inside Russia using sophisticated long-range weapons that
Speaker: Could this decision escalate the war across European borders?
Speaker: Or is there potential for the U.S. to get involved?
Speaker: It does have the potential to escalate the conflict across European borders.
Speaker: It would probably still below a 50 percent chance of that happening within the next 12 months.
Speaker: But it's still that's that percentage still significant.
Speaker: It's a it's a significant possibility.
Speaker: Well, for now, let's move to the conflict that is raging in Gaza.
Speaker: We have all seen the reports of Israeli strikes near the Rafah refugee camp.
Speaker: Can you provide some context before I go ham?
Speaker: Yeah.
Speaker: And and yeah, there's the interesting dynamic of the all eyes on Rafa, AI created image that's been shared by millions of social media people.
Speaker: Right.
Speaker: And so a lot of headway to keep the eyes, keep your eyes on Rafa.
Speaker: Yeah.
Speaker: That's a good thing.
Speaker: Accountable.
Speaker: Yeah.
Speaker: Yeah.
Speaker: Hold people accountable.
Speaker: Well, this recent attack from the IDF was targeting a Hamas site near the Rafah refugee camp, which lends credence to Israel saying, well, Hamas is just embedding with civilians and that that's what is going on there.
Speaker: But that doesn't mean they have a right to blow up all the civilians that are there.
Speaker: Correct.
Speaker: You correct.
Speaker: They're harming so many people and just going, oops.
Speaker: Which kind of was, yeah, that oops was kind of a what Netanyahu said on Sunday after the attack, right?
Speaker: He said, right.
Speaker: Oh, this was a, oh, this was, this was a mistake.
Speaker: But it's the people we killed.
Speaker: No, no, it was what I'm saying, but it doesn't matter how many Hamas people you kill if you're going to kill tens or dozens of, you know, women and children as well.
Speaker: They were pushed into Rafal by Israel anyways.
Speaker: That was supposed to be their safe place.
Speaker: Right.
Speaker: It's not.
Speaker: And then they're not accepted into Egypt because Egypt has their own concerns about Palestinian refugees, which we'll probably touch on.
Speaker: later.
Speaker: But what I found interesting was that was what, you know, Netanyahu's first response, which I always say your first response was an emotional response.
Speaker: And then as you peel back the layers of everything, you start to understand, you know, what's going on.
Speaker: And then you you might still have that same reaction once all the facts are in place.
Speaker: Well, for this one, Israeli forces did strike the area that was a Hamas headquarters right next to the Rafah
Speaker: refugee camp.
Speaker: It had resulted in casualties among the civilians who had sought refuge in the tents and they should be allowed to be safe in those tents and taken care of.
Speaker: What?
Speaker: Israel claimed that they hit two senior Hamas militants.
Speaker: But the strike hit the tent camp, and that is a tragic loss of light.
Speaker: And the international community is rightfully concerned about this.
Speaker: And we need to keep highlighting these things that are happening as they happen.
Speaker: And look, I know, but despite the back and forth from both Israel and Hamas, who are both blaming each other,
Speaker: for the tragedy, right?
Speaker: Israel's saying, well, Hamas is embedding with civilians, and Hamas is saying, no, Israel's actually, the IDF is targeting these civilians, and they're nowhere near us.
Speaker: After I've seen all the evidence, all the videos, back and forth, and there has been some conflicting reports, the IDF says that it was a munitions cache that it hit the Hamas headquarters, which launched munitions into the refugee camp.
Speaker: Really?
Speaker: That's what they're saying happened?
Speaker: That's what they're saying happened.
Speaker: And Hamas is saying that it was a U.S.-provided munition that exploded in their camp, or exploded outside the refugee camp, and launched a projectile into the refugee camp.
Speaker: I mean, you can see the narratives that both sides trying to push.
Speaker: Right.
Speaker: And and any.
Speaker: I mean, you and I can understand and go, well, there's no.
Speaker: So there's no way after seeing the footage that it's a munitions cache that exploded in through a bunch of munitions.
Speaker: But also, you're not going to kill 40 civilians inside a refugee camp by having a projectile land in the camp.
Speaker: So I saw headless babies and that's not a munition misfire.
Speaker: Right.
Speaker: And so I didn't watch the video of people dying, but seeing the evidence of what actually happened, it's clear to me that a munition hit a fuel truck that was nearby the area.
Speaker: Right.
Speaker: And it caused an explosion.
Speaker: And that explosion sent not one projectile, but multiple projectiles to fly into the refugee camp.
Speaker: And that's what happened here.
Speaker: So who's at fault?
Speaker: You're both at fault.
Speaker: OK, you're not going to get me to blame one or the other right now.
Speaker: Right.
Speaker: Okay, well, despite the finger-pointing back and forth, we are talking about innocent human lives being taken in this conflict.
Speaker: As Israel has begun to take over large swaths of land in Rafal, what has been the plan to fix the humanitarian crisis that is currently raging on in Gaza?
Speaker: Yeah, and that's what should be highlighted.
Speaker: We would all love a ceasefire because that would stop all of the munitions being sent.
Speaker: But the situation on the ground is complex.
Speaker: We know that.
Speaker: Drone footage that I have seen personally has shown that Hamas has been intercepting aid intended for the people of Gaza.
Speaker: I watched it as it happened.
Speaker: So any long term solution has got to address the role that Hamas is playing in the crisis.
Speaker: We stand on our different sides as we discuss this and say, you need to stop.
Speaker: And the other side says, no, you need to stop.
Speaker: And Tian and I are here to say, you both need to stop, please.
Speaker: But it's also important that we all recognize there's no quick fixes.
Speaker: We can scream and yell at each other.
Speaker: That's not going to fix the situation on the ground.
Speaker: The conflict has got to come to an end before substantial progress can be made.
Speaker: The U.S. is trying to provide assistance.
Speaker: Those efforts are being hampered by logistical issues that are outside of the purview of Hamas or the IDF.
Speaker: The floating pier that they spent tens of millions of dollars to put up on the... Was it like $21 million?
Speaker: Some absurd amount of money.
Speaker: Right now, it is slowly sinking off the coast.
Speaker: $21 million and it's sinking.
Speaker: That's the United States government right there.
Speaker: Spending so much money, probably used the cheapest materials.
Speaker: Yeah.
Speaker: Oh, for sure.
Speaker: My goodness gracious.
Speaker: But we just talked about another thing, right?
Speaker: Egypt's policy of not allowing refugees into their country.
Speaker: They're...
Speaker: rightfully concerned that Hamas is going to infiltrate those refugee populations and then further complicate matters.
Speaker: I'm going to tell you a lot of people are saying Egypt is worried because they don't like Palestinians and they don't want Palestinians coming over.
Speaker: That's not the case.
Speaker: Trust me.
Speaker: They are worried that Hamas, who is indistinguishable from a Palestinian, because they're Palestinian, they're indistinguishable from a Palestinian refugee,
Speaker: are going to get into Egypt and cause chaos in that country.
Speaker: So if we're serious about resolving the crisis, we need to advocate for the safe return of all hostages, whether they're alive or not, right?
Speaker: Right.
Speaker: Push for that ceasefire agreement.
Speaker: Let's make that happen.
Speaker: It's a crucial step towards creating the conditions necessary for lasting peace and stability in that region.
Speaker: It's a challenging situation, but I'm sitting here right now telling you that's not insurmountable.
Speaker: Well, for now, let's segue into the next topic and discuss Spain, Norway and Ireland.
Speaker: Recognizing a Palestinian state.
Speaker: What can you tell us about this development?
Speaker: Well, first of all, it's a significant development as far as diplomatically, you know, concerning diplomatic relations.
Speaker: But let's not forget the context.
Speaker: Israel's offensive in Rafa has displaced over a million people.
Speaker: Families are scattered across makeshift camps.
Speaker: Strikes continue.
Speaker: Civilians remain caught in the crossfire.
Speaker: I say that because that's not helping that situation, Spain, Norway, and Ireland.
Speaker: That's a conversation to have after the ceasefire.
Speaker: Then that begs the question, why now?
Speaker: Is there a specific trigger for them to be voicing their opinions on a Palestinian state?
Speaker: What's going on?
Speaker: Yeah, you know, as with everything, especially geopolitics, which you and I have decided to dive into things.
Speaker: Don't say you and I have decided.
Speaker: You and I have decided none of this.
Speaker: But hey, I've got to give it to you.
Speaker: You've gone full in, as you always do.
Speaker: You don't, you know, do things halfway.
Speaker: I'm just waiting for my millennial burnout to occur.
Speaker: No, you're you're you.
Speaker: You are a millennial that has a Gen Z amount of energy.
Speaker: I want the energy.
Speaker: I want that back.
Speaker: That's all I... You and me both, sister.
Speaker: Right.
Speaker: But what I was trying to say was that in geopolitics especially, timing matters.
Speaker: So that's an astute question that you have.
Speaker: The recent conflict in Gaza has certainly heightened international attention.
Speaker: If October 7th never happened and Israel never carried out this invasion, we wouldn't be talking about this right now.
Speaker: Not every week like we have.
Speaker: That's obviously true.
Speaker: And so as we...
Speaker: just discussed on an individual level, how do you affect tangible change, right?
Speaker: These countries want to exert diplomatic pressure on Israel.
Speaker: They want to encourage other EU members to follow suit so that Israel departs Gaza.
Speaker: So this, on an international level, is a strategic move for pressure on Israel.
Speaker: Well, it's a safe assumption, though, that Israel isn't pleased.
Speaker: How does this impact the delicate balance in the region?
Speaker: Yeah, look, Israel views these recognitions of the Palestinian state as undermining its position.
Speaker: That's right.
Speaker: I mean, they have every right to have a state.
Speaker: Sorry, guys.
Speaker: Right, just as Israel has the right to have the Israeli state, I think what Israel would say is, yeah, but that Palestinian state doesn't want the Israeli state to exist.
Speaker: And some would say, I think the Palestinian state would say, yeah, well, Israel doesn't want the Palestinian.
Speaker: Right, exactly.
Speaker: We go back to... Get it together, guys.
Speaker: Get it together.
Speaker: I know it's not that simple.
Speaker: I know.
Speaker: We know it's not that simple.
Speaker: And it is kind of...
Speaker: We have the luxury sitting here.
Speaker: Yeah, we're sitting here in our air-conditioned home with our roof firmly in place, with our pantries filled with food and the ability to go retrieve more food if we need to.
Speaker: We have clean water.
Speaker: We have blankets.
Speaker: We have clothing on our backs.
Speaker: We have gas in our tanks.
Speaker: We have... Cybertrucks running the roads.
Speaker: Cybertrucks.
Speaker: Well, yeah, it's not our Cybertruck, so let's just put that out there.
Speaker: I saw one yesterday, and I just wanted to mention that to everybody.
Speaker: I know, because you've mentioned it like four times since you saw the Cybertruck.
Speaker: I heard you come in the house.
Speaker: I came in the house, and you announced it.
Speaker: to everyone and then you announce it to everyone individually in case they forgot or didn't hear you and then just now you're letting our listeners know that you saw Cybertruck which has nothing to do with anything but thank you for sharing we appreciate that's the last time I'll mention Cybertruck today okay yeah there you go there you go so I was I've been talking about you know how is it impacting the balance in the region well
Speaker: the Israeli foreign minister Israel Katz accused Spain of inciting genocide against Jews.
Speaker: That's his words, inciting genocide against Jews.
Speaker: What?
Speaker: And it's because Israel fears that those comments bolster Hamas without making them accountable for... So we talk about all of these, and when you talk about... If you're talking to a pro-Israeli person, they're going to say, yeah, well, what did you say during October 7th?
Speaker: And so that's always that's going to keep getting brought up.
Speaker: Hey, Spain, I see you said you want a Palestinian state.
Speaker: But when October 7th happened, you were silent.
Speaker: So why didn't you say anything about that?
Speaker: Oh, well, we did.
Speaker: We did.
Speaker: We said something.
Speaker: And we still feel like there should be a Palestinian state and an Israeli state.
Speaker: Everybody deserves a place on this planet.
Speaker: There's enough space for everybody on this planet.
Speaker: Very clear right now.
Speaker: Mm-hmm.
Speaker: Recognizing a Palestinian state does not mean you're hostile towards Israel.
Speaker: Right.
Speaker: It doesn't mean you're anti-Semitic.
Speaker: Right.
Speaker: And that you want the destruction of the Jewish people.
Speaker: Two things can be true at the same time, and that's the last time I'll say that today.
Speaker: I'm just going to ignore you.
Speaker: I'm just kidding.
Speaker: I'm just kidding.
Speaker: But also, on the flip side, if you want an Israeli state, it doesn't mean you want to wipe all Palestinians off the planet either.
Speaker: Correct.
Speaker: So it's not that black and white.
Speaker: And we're going to say you're wrong.
Speaker: Yeah.
Speaker: I mean, if you do actually feel that way, then you've got a problem.
Speaker: You can't, like, never mind.
Speaker: I'm not going to tell you how to fill unless it involves hurting other people.
Speaker: So, you know, let people live.
Speaker: Saying it again.
Speaker: Saying it again.
Speaker: Anyways, why... Let's move on to the next question.
Speaker: Why is Israel resistant to the establishment of a Palestinian state?
Speaker: Why are they taking everything so personal?
Speaker: Yeah, I mean, it's super complex.
Speaker: And we're still talking about it.
Speaker: We're about 25 minutes in.
Speaker: And we could have this episode go for 12 hours, and we're not going to be able to tackle all of the problems.
Speaker: But just very quickly, to understand Israel's concerns about a Palestinian state, it's important to recognize the historical...
Speaker: security and geopolitical factors that influence their perspective.
Speaker: First and foremost, Israel has long maintained concerns about its own security due to ongoing conflicts with various Palestinian factions.
Speaker: So not Palestinians in general, but Hamas, other terrorist organizations have attacked Israel, leading to Israel attacking those organizations.
Speaker: That would be like
Speaker: Whenever we went after Al-Qaeda, us people claiming we just wanted to wipe Afghanistan off the planet.
Speaker: Right.
Speaker: And some people did.
Speaker: Right.
Speaker: Some people.
Speaker: Yeah, I guess there were some pretty gnarly people who thought that way.
Speaker: And it was gross.
Speaker: Go back to October of 2001.
Speaker: Go to Al Jazeera.
Speaker: They were making those kind of comments that America is out to kill all Muslims and things like that.
Speaker: And yes, I fought in those wars and I have a high regard for the.
Speaker: The religion of Islam and the Muslim people, I'm not out to kill Muslims.
Speaker: I'm out to take care of terrorists and provide safety, even to the people in those countries.
Speaker: Like, when I deployed to Afghanistan, I deployed to Iraq or Yemen or any of these other countries.
Speaker: I was more concerned and that's not everybody.
Speaker: Right.
Speaker: But I was concerned about the people in those countries.
Speaker: The civil rights.
Speaker: Yeah.
Speaker: Right.
Speaker: Then I was about national security in the United States.
Speaker: Now, I was doing something that I knew would help national security in the United States.
Speaker: But I was concerned about the people in Sadr City who were getting blown up because IEDs were just thrown around willy nilly all over the place.
Speaker: or in in kandus where vehicle-borne IEDs were exploding in marketplaces.
Speaker: Not where US service members were, but where Afghani people were.
Speaker: And that to me was what was most important.
Speaker: And so that's that's kind of what Israel is talking about here is we're concerned about our people, our own national security.
Speaker: Israel has long maintained
Speaker: Like I said, those concerns, these the conflicts that have happened have resulted in acts of violence, including rocket attacks, suicide bombings.
Speaker: And this all culminated in that vicious attack on October 7th.
Speaker: And it was vicious.
Speaker: I have not seen the videos.
Speaker: Other people are much braver than I have.
Speaker: Mine autoplayed.
Speaker: I had no desire to see a lot of them.
Speaker: Well, I mean, you saw me.
Speaker: I cried for weeks.
Speaker: Yeah.
Speaker: I couldn't even open my Instagram.
Speaker: Like, I didn't have, I don't know.
Speaker: I just couldn't open Instagram because there were just so many videos of so many... I remember.
Speaker: I got chills just thinking about it.
Speaker: So I just want to bring that up.
Speaker: That happened.
Speaker: For anyone who said that that was fake or never happened, that happened.
Speaker: For anybody to say that the bombs hitting civilian sites and killing civilians in Gaza did not happen.
Speaker: False.
Speaker: It is happening.
Speaker: It is currently happening and it is a tragedy.
Speaker: And that's because one of the main considerations for Israel.
Speaker: Oh, I always say this about governments, right?
Speaker: Protect your own people.
Speaker: You have to protect your own people.
Speaker: It's the only thing that government is there for.
Speaker: For Israel, it's a matter of their borders.
Speaker: because the countries that surround Israel don't think Israel should have borders.
Speaker: They don't think the Jewish state should exist.
Speaker: So the establishment of a Palestinian state would require defining boundaries, the borders.
Speaker: That's highly contentious, obviously, because land means money and power.
Speaker: Israel has legitimate concerns about the potential threats that might arise from a neighboring state, especially if border security is compromised.
Speaker: Israel says that they want to ensure that any Palestinian state is capable of maintaining the stability necessary for a peaceful coexistence.
Speaker: That's what Israel says.
Speaker: I'm not saying that's what Kirvan is saying.
Speaker: But wouldn't that entail them having more influence over how this is established?
Speaker: Yeah, I mean, that's the first thought, right?
Speaker: That's the logical conclusion.
Speaker: Right.
Speaker: Which I don't think they have any right to be telling somebody else how to, you know, govern their people or what to do.
Speaker: Are they going to allow Palestinians to give them...
Speaker: Opinions on how to.
Speaker: No.
Speaker: OK.
Speaker: Are we going to give the Canadians or Mexicans the ability to.
Speaker: Yeah, exactly.
Speaker: Is they.
Speaker: Yeah, I'm agreeing.
Speaker: I'm just throwing out.
Speaker: Yeah.
Speaker: They think they should be able to have some sort of say in how this is formed.
Speaker: And I don't think they should.
Speaker: It's not their state.
Speaker: Yeah.
Speaker: Anyways, I guess kind of pointless to talk about it right now since we, they are still in the middle of the conflict and there's still trouble in Rafah and everything.
Speaker: So I don't see any sort of conversation happening in regards to this right now.
Speaker: So for now, I guess we should table this discussion.
Speaker: Especially since, as you said, we won't be able to get into all of the nuances of this particular topic right now.
Speaker: It would be a 12-hour podcast.
Speaker: But... Joe Rogan's got nothing on that podcast.
Speaker: I don't know what that means.
Speaker: I don't... Well, he does like four-hour podcast, five-hour... Oh, my goodness.
Speaker: Yeah.
Speaker: Wow.
Speaker: That's really... That's a long time.
Speaker: Okay.
Speaker: Well, anyways, that's a really long time.
Speaker: But since we are talking territorial disputes and protecting borders, I want to get your analysis of the recent decision by Poland to fortify its border with Russia and Belarus.
Speaker: I mean, it makes sense.
Speaker: That tracks because you've been saying for years that they would eventually...
Speaker: invade Poland.
Speaker: Put my money where my mouth is, right?
Speaker: Yeah, so... Went there.
Speaker: Yeah, and you... You had so many great stories about Poland, what I'm jealous.
Speaker: Poland is one of my favorite countries.
Speaker: I love the food, people, everything.
Speaker: The cheap beer.
Speaker: The cheap beer.
Speaker: The soccer games.
Speaker: And 10 cents for a 40-ounce beer.
Speaker: 50 cents for a 40-ounce beer.
Speaker: Oh, that is... Okay.
Speaker: Yeah.
Speaker: Shout out to Zuber Beer.
Speaker: Okay.
Speaker: Not a sponsor, but I'd love it.
Speaker: Not a sponsor.
Speaker: No.
Speaker: Okay, so let's get back to Poland.
Speaker: Okay.
Speaker: Why are they deciding to fortify their border right now?
Speaker: Is there something kind of in the woodwork with Russia and Belarus?
Speaker: What is driving this decision?
Speaker: Great, great question.
Speaker: And it's very complicated, as everything is with geopolitics.
Speaker: But first, it's essential to recognize the broader context.
Speaker: So the Russo-Ukrainian War has significantly heightened tensions in that region.
Speaker: So it's not just Poland, it's Moldova, it's Georgia, it's a lot of different countries that kind of border Russia and Ukraine.
Speaker: But Poland, as a NATO member, and what NATO considers a frontline state, meaning they're there, if
Speaker: If a NATO member is going to be attacked, it's going to be Poland.
Speaker: So they feel the pressure from Russia.
Speaker: There was a recent incident where Russian missiles have come precariously close to Polish territory near the border with Ukraine.
Speaker: That was a wake up call to the Polish population.
Speaker: So Poland is now taking a proactive step.
Speaker: I love that.
Speaker: Yeah, I talk about reactive and proactive.
Speaker: I think all these governments should be proactive, something the U.S. does not do.
Speaker: And that is to enhance their security posture.
Speaker: We like to deny, deny, deny until something happens and then go, oops, and then 25 years or 50 years later, whenever everything's declassified, we find out that they actually knew months in advance.
Speaker: We did it.
Speaker: This was a possibility.
Speaker: We did it, Joe.
Speaker: Well, it's like the whole, and we'll get back to this, but the whole deterrence of China, right?
Speaker: And we talked about it maybe last week or two weeks ago.
Speaker: That's over with.
Speaker: Now, if you're not actively defending against it,
Speaker: and you're just doing deterrence, you're being reactive.
Speaker: You're not being proactive.
Speaker: And I have a problem with that.
Speaker: Some critics argue that this move could escalate tensions further.
Speaker: I mean, I don't know why it would, because they have every right to fortify their borders.
Speaker: I mean, if they fortify their borders, and then they're like, ah, I'm going to attack you because you did that, then... Yeah, right.
Speaker: I'm mad, I'm insulted that you did this, when really...
Speaker: Every country has a right to do that at will if they want to, if they feel threatened or not even just threatened.
Speaker: They just want to make sure that their borders are secure, which is valuable that.
Speaker: Yeah, it's their borders.
Speaker: That's the whole thing.
Speaker: If you don't want to fortify your borders, then don't do it.
Speaker: I don't see why that has to be an insult.
Speaker: But obviously, they're going to take it the wrong way because they take everything the wrong way.
Speaker: So how do you see this impacting relations with Russia and Belarus?
Speaker: Yeah, and there's a valid concern there.
Speaker: So while Poland's intentions are defensive, it's true that any significant military infrastructure that's put near a border can be perceived as provocative.
Speaker: I'm going to say right now it's not very provocative, depending on the munitions that are being put up.
Speaker: Right.
Speaker: If it's a military base with defensive munitions, I'm not too worried about it.
Speaker: If it's, you know, Russia putting offensive munitions on their border, I'm going to be a little worried about that or any country for that matter.
Speaker: But Russia and Belarus are going to interpret this as a challenge.
Speaker: That's just going to happen.
Speaker: However...
Speaker: Poland has been very transparent about its plans, and it's crucial for all parties involved to engage in dialogue.
Speaker: Diplomacy is essential.
Speaker: It's always essential.
Speaker: Just when you're talking with tyrants, diplomacy becomes not easy.
Speaker: At least they were transparent about it.
Speaker: They were like, wait, guys, look, we are going to be doing this.
Speaker: We're going to be securing our borders.
Speaker: It's just a precautionary measure.
Speaker: No big deal.
Speaker: You can go back to ruining Ukrainians' lives, and we'll go back to eating sausage.
Speaker: Right.
Speaker: Now, if Poland starts amassing massive thousands, tens of thousands of troops along the border, like Russia did with Ukraine.
Speaker: Yeah, right.
Speaker: Then...
Speaker: I'd be, okay, I'm, listen.
Speaker: That would be pretty concerning right now.
Speaker: We need to figure something out, guys.
Speaker: That could be like that could potentially be like NATO essentially trying to attack Russia.
Speaker: Yeah.
Speaker: Right.
Speaker: Yeah.
Speaker: Yeah.
Speaker: So like putting nuclear weapons along, you know, in Poland.
Speaker: So NATO saying, hey, Poland, here's some nuclear weapons.
Speaker: We're not telling you how to use them.
Speaker: We're just putting them here.
Speaker: That would be concerning to a Russian citizen.
Speaker: Right.
Speaker: Especially somebody in Kaliningrad, right?
Speaker: Which is a little enclave, or I think they call it an exclave, of Russia that's on the border of Poland.
Speaker: I'd be very worried if nukes were being put near my border.
Speaker: But what I can say, and I know the Polish military, I've spoken to these people, they do not want an arms race.
Speaker: They just want stability.
Speaker: Yeah, yeah.
Speaker: The majority of this population was alive in the 80s during the Cold War, before the wall fell.
Speaker: They lived it.
Speaker: They lived the communism of Russia.
Speaker: And it was authoritarian.
Speaker: And they did not like it.
Speaker: So that's the reason why they're not going to compromise on their own security.
Speaker: And I applaud them for that.
Speaker: So what about the EU's response?
Speaker: How does this decision align with the broader European context?
Speaker: Well, the EU is closely monitoring the situation, right?
Speaker: The EU and NATO, that's different things.
Speaker: A lot of NATO countries are in the EU, but it's not all of the EU is in NATO, but I do believe all of NATO, not all of NATO is in the EU either, so there's...
Speaker: you know, that Venn diagram there.
Speaker: Poland's border is also the EU's external border, the final border of the EU.
Speaker: So there's a collective interest in maintaining security.
Speaker: Now, some EU members worry that Poland's unilateral action may strain relations within their own bloc.
Speaker: There are some EU countries that are pro-Russia.
Speaker: So there's a delicate balance there
Speaker: that they're fighting.
Speaker: I think the EU has got to support Poland's security.
Speaker: That's what it's there for.
Speaker: They also need to ensure that cooperation and dialogue remain the central aspect to resolving these tensions within especially Eastern Europe.
Speaker: Well, what is your prediction for the future?
Speaker: Will this fortification lead to stability or further complications?
Speaker: Oh, man.
Speaker: Yeah, predicting geopolitics is always tricky, but give it a little educated guess here.
Speaker: I think in the short term, we're going to see heightened vigilance, perhaps.
Speaker: Well, in geopolitics, it's called saber rattling.
Speaker: So both of the countries saying, we're going to attack you.
Speaker: No, we're going to attack you, things like that.
Speaker: It's funny that we still use that term considering no one really has sabers anymore.
Speaker: No one uses sabers.
Speaker: We call it the cavalry.
Speaker: Yeah.
Speaker: The good old days.
Speaker: The good old days.
Speaker: But I do want to say that in the long run, if we just keep dialogue and diplomacy at the forefront, that will prevail.
Speaker: Even with an authoritarian person like Putin...
Speaker: The more pressure on him, he will eventually stand down.
Speaker: But hopefully no more sanctions because they're not doing anything.
Speaker: Yeah, don't.
Speaker: So dialogue and diplomacy, sanctions are neither one of those.
Speaker: That's like the antithesis of both of those.
Speaker: I think Poland's fortifications are a necessary response to Russia.
Speaker: I thought that in 2017 when I was there.
Speaker: But they shouldn't hinder the communication channels.
Speaker: So they all these governments should be talking to each other.
Speaker: Got to find common ground, even amid all these heightened tensions.
Speaker: All right.
Speaker: For now, since we have thoroughly discussed everything with Poland, let's get to what's happening in Haiti right now.
Speaker: Can you let our listeners know what's going on?
Speaker: Yeah, we really wanted to talk about this this week.
Speaker: Haiti has long endured social and political instability, but that crisis has escalated significantly.
Speaker: It started after the assassination of its president in 2021, but since then, violence has soared.
Speaker: Gangs have consolidated control over more than 80% of the capital, Port-au-Prince.
Speaker: The country is grappling with failing governance, a power vacuum.
Speaker: It's something similar to what we could see on the African continent.
Speaker: It's a dire humanitarian emergency.
Speaker: Why do you think the situation deteriorated so rapidly?
Speaker: Well, I mean, it's complex, and I'm not as educated on Haiti as someone like Peter Morton, who's he's been there.
Speaker: He's gotten people out of that country.
Speaker: But what I can say is that the power vacuum left by the president's assassination has allowed Prime Minister Ariel Henry to assume power.
Speaker: But he's faced mounting protests because repeatedly he's postponed elections so that he can stay in power.
Speaker: Armed groups already active in the Capitol.
Speaker: Because of this, they've intensified violence as the political instability grew.
Speaker: These militias, those gangs, they're often manipulated by politicians in the area to get more power, now wield significant influence and control large parts of the capital.
Speaker: And what has been the international response?
Speaker: I mean, that's where it gets tricky because other Caribbean nations, or Caribbean nations, I let my... My boy?
Speaker: You let your boy come out?
Speaker: Yeah, my boy.
Speaker: Caribbean.
Speaker: Caribbean.
Speaker: Caribbean.
Speaker: Other Caribbean nations and the U.S. have brokered a transitional government.
Speaker: But many argue, myself included, and I believe, Tiana, you would agree with this, that nations themselves should lead the solutions for the government.
Speaker: Right.
Speaker: And we're seeing it in Palestine and Gaza.
Speaker: Outsiders that step in usually, not all the time, but usually exacerbate the tensions in the area.
Speaker: They aren't unbiased for sure.
Speaker: Right.
Speaker: They want their own people in there.
Speaker: Yeah.
Speaker: So is there at this point, at this juncture, do you think there is any hope for a resolution?
Speaker: Right.
Speaker: Well, Tiana, there's always hope.
Speaker: That's what I always say.
Speaker: There's always hope.
Speaker: Stop it.
Speaker: Always saying there's always hope.
Speaker: I don't always say that.
Speaker: Shut up.
Speaker: There is always hope, even in the most dire of situations.
Speaker: Haiti needs sustained international support, right?
Speaker: We need unbiased nonprofit organizations going in there and helping people.
Speaker: these communities, but it's going to come alongside empowering those local communities, rebuilding the institutions in that country, and then also addressing the root causes of the violence.
Speaker: We can't ignore the historical context, the legacy of political disruption in the country, natural disasters.
Speaker: Haiti is right in the hurricane zone, and so a lot of natural disasters happen in that country.
Speaker: And those two things...
Speaker: a lot of the poverty that happens there.
Speaker: And that needs to be fixed.
Speaker: Haiti deserves a path towards stability.
Speaker: And it starts, I think, with Haitians themselves leading the way.
Speaker: And they could also move the island out of the hurricane's paths, right?
Speaker: We can try.
Speaker: There's always hope.
Speaker: There's always hope.
Speaker: We're hoping global warming moves hurricanes to a different location.
Speaker: Oh my gosh, stop.
Speaker: I'm not hoping for anything.
Speaker: It's already too hot everywhere.
Speaker: And my friend Christy says that Texas is just preheating for summer.
Speaker: And then she took a picture of her dashboard temperature temperature.
Speaker: Gage, it's in 105 degrees.
Speaker: It is technically still spring.
Speaker: Oh my gosh.
Speaker: Okay.
Speaker: Sorry.
Speaker: Focus.
Speaker: If only other global leaders felt the same way about, you know, including more Haitians in the formulation of a solution to what... Of their own country?
Speaker: Of their own country.
Speaker: They should be allowed to, you know, have a say, but okay.
Speaker: For now, all we can do is keep an eye on Haiti for future episodes.
Speaker: But now we need to get to what is quite honestly a shocking topic.
Speaker: One to add to the geopolitical bingo card for 2024.
Speaker: We should start making geopolitical bingo cards.
Speaker: Just put a bunch of nonsense.
Speaker: Anyway.
Speaker: How many hit.
Speaker: North Korea is accused of sending balloons carrying, among other things, feces across the border into South Korea, which is disgusting.
Speaker: Like, could that be any more petty and immature?
Speaker: That's like a senior prank.
Speaker: That sounds like a senior prank.
Speaker: That's like Sean Payton has control of North Korea right now.
Speaker: I don't get that.
Speaker: Pettiest man alive.
Speaker: I don't get that joke.
Speaker: Does he send balloons of poop?
Speaker: No, he's just very petty.
Speaker: Like the peanut butter thing?
Speaker: Yeah.
Speaker: Peanut butter on a cracker?
Speaker: Yeah, peanut butter on a cracker because the guy was kind of giving away information.
Speaker: Yeah.
Speaker: But I think this kind of takes it a little further than Sean Payton.
Speaker: Like who gives a crap about a cracker with peanut butter on it?
Speaker: You know?
Speaker: Crap about...
Speaker: oh crap i do give it i do give crap about crap being thrown i mean thrown sent over the border with a balloon can you i mean tell us what what is going on what are they thinking this looks stupid it doesn't make them look mighty doesn't make them look intimidating it makes them look immature ye ah a little bit right not a little a lot thank
Speaker: It's like a five-year-old came up with that.
Speaker: Did his daughter, did he sit there and say, baby, what can we do to really stick it to South Korea?
Speaker: And because, you know, she is a despot's daughter, she gets to be like, I want balloons sent to South Korea with trash and poop.
Speaker: I mean, she is, what is she, 10 or 11 now?
Speaker: So it's very likely.
Speaker: She's a little kid, and that sounds like something a little kid would come up with.
Speaker: It doesn't sound like somebody who supposedly has their head on straight.
Speaker: No, it does not.
Speaker: It does sound...
Speaker: I mean, I know I read articles saying that, you know, both South Korea and North Korea, they send propaganda over the borders with bullets.
Speaker: Yeah, that's a common thing.
Speaker: So, yeah, that was what I was going to say.
Speaker: So it's a seemingly bizarre act, but it's part of a longstanding psychological warfare between the two Koreas, North and South Korea.
Speaker: South Korean activists have often, just like you said, sent balloons carrying leaflets critical of Pyongyang into North Korea to tell people because they don't have the news.
Speaker: Right.
Speaker: They well, they have news, but they don't have no state sponsored news.
Speaker: State sponsored news.
Speaker: Right.
Speaker: Right.
Speaker: So they're putting those leaflets there.
Speaker: Okay, but...
Speaker: Why balloons?
Speaker: Why not more overt military actions?
Speaker: Especially since they seem to enjoy, they love overt acts, you know?
Speaker: Right, sending a missile into the ocean.
Speaker: Sending a missile, like you say, into the ocean.
Speaker: Sending a missile into the ocean and, you know, they have exercise.
Speaker: Alien to send a spy satellite, even for Russia's health.
Speaker: Right.
Speaker: Oh, that's another thing.
Speaker: That's right.
Speaker: So why not more over military actions?
Speaker: Why this childish display?
Speaker: And you bring up another.
Speaker: It's another great question.
Speaker: But it's because balloons are less risky.
Speaker: And we saw that with the infamous Chinese spy balloon that didn't start a world war.
Speaker: They don't directly endanger lives or escalate into armed conflict.
Speaker: However,
Speaker: they still impact civilians near the border.
Speaker: So it's a delicate balance between what I would say is freedom of speech from the South side and then safety concerns, right?
Speaker: So it looks like North Korea is doing this just to prove a point, but they don't want to escalate anything.
Speaker: Since we are going to talk about provocative actions, let's discuss the military drills near Taiwan that the PLA conducted.
Speaker: So let's start with the basics.
Speaker: Why did China initiate these military exercises around Taiwan?
Speaker: I mean, I know, but what is the significance of this?
Speaker: That's because you're part of our pre-production discussions.
Speaker: Pre-production discussion.
Speaker: Collect that.
Speaker: Yeah.
Speaker: Well, yeah, China's, answer your question, China's actions are a response to what they perceive as separatist actions by Taiwan.
Speaker: So Beijing views any move toward formal independence as a direct challenge to its territorial integrity.
Speaker: Taiwanese President Lai Chintai's inauguration speech emphasized Taiwan's commitment to democracy.
Speaker: That was seen by Xi Jinping as provocative.
Speaker: But that's not the only thing.
Speaker: These exercises also serve as a signal.
Speaker: China wants to assert its authority over Taiwan and remind the world that it considers the island part of its territory.
Speaker: So by conducting joint operations involving the Army, Navy, Air Force, and Rocket Force, China demonstrates its military might.
Speaker: So it's both a show of force and a warning to Taiwan.
Speaker: But how does the U.S. Navy's presence fit into this picture?
Speaker: Yeah, so the USS Ronald Reagan has been deployed to the Philippine Sea during China's exercises.
Speaker: And it's there because the U.S. wants to send a clear message to China.
Speaker: The U.S. is committed to regional security and stability.
Speaker: But there's this delicate dance going on.
Speaker: So the proximity of U.S. and Chinese forces raises the risk of miscalculation.
Speaker: Daily U.S. and Chinese aircraft meet each other along borders for aggressive actions.
Speaker: Any miscalculation can cause a global conflict.
Speaker: What the U.S. is aiming to do right now is to deter aggression without escalating those tensions.
Speaker: That sounds like a high-stakes balancing act.
Speaker: Now, Taiwan's response, which obviously is condemning China's actions while emphasizing cross-strait peace, seems measured.
Speaker: How sustainable is this delicate balance right now?
Speaker: That's what Taiwan's walking a tightrope.
Speaker: On one hand, it has to assert its readiness to defend itself.
Speaker: It has to do that.
Speaker: Otherwise, China is just going to come in and take over everything.
Speaker: On the other, they do seek a peaceful resolution.
Speaker: They do not want to get into a conflict with China.
Speaker: Taiwan's commitment to democracy and sovereignty, according to their own public statements,
Speaker: remains unwavering.
Speaker: And that's what China is so upset about.
Speaker: But the risk of unintended clashes does persist and could start a global conflict.
Speaker: Now, Beijing is showing little willingness to compromise on these territorial claims.
Speaker: Absolutely.
Speaker: And finally, what is the broader impact of these exercises on the regional stability?
Speaker: Yeah, the Taiwan trade is a flashpoint.
Speaker: I say flashpoint meaning if when something occurs there, it is going to start a global conflict.
Speaker: It's why we discuss actions like these by the PLA on a weekly basis.
Speaker: It's getting everybody prepared for this.
Speaker: Escalating tensions affect not only Taiwan and China.
Speaker: This is not just an Indo-Pacific.
Speaker: problem.
Speaker: It's also all the neighboring countries.
Speaker: It affects trade routes and disrupts supply chains.
Speaker: There's so much that can affect every individual.
Speaker: If you're listening to this right now, you will be affected by this.
Speaker: Whether you're 100 miles from the conflict, 1,000 miles from the conflict, or 10,000 miles away from this conflict, you're going to be affected by it.
Speaker: Well, thank you, Kerbin.
Speaker: Is that all you have for us today?
Speaker: I mean, I wish I had more good news on the geopolitical sphere.
Speaker: But as we are now ending the geopolitical portion of this podcast, that is all I have unless you wanted to talk about anything.
Speaker: I really do think we need to start ending this with something happy.
Speaker: I said I would try.
Speaker: Yeah, it hasn't been easy.
Speaker: Humans, you have not made this easy for us.
Speaker: Human beings.
Speaker: We want something happy to end this on in the geopolitical sphere, but I feel like it's all just conflict and hardship and wars.
Speaker: Wars and rumors of wars.
Speaker: Wars and rumors of wars and preparing for wars and doing exercises, simulating wars and just war.
Speaker: War is profitable, isn't it?
Speaker: Governments.
Speaker: Oh, it is.
Speaker: Talk to Reapion and... Not for us.
Speaker: Leidos and Northrop Grunman.
Speaker: All not sponsors, and we will not have them for our sponsorship.
Speaker: Oh, they have no desire to reach out to us for that.
Speaker: I'm sure they know better.
Speaker: Not at all.
Speaker: We haven't...
Speaker: Yeah, anyways, let's see.
Speaker: Well, first of all, we obviously got the weeks wrong for Elanjka because that's next week.
Speaker: Yeah, so... Last week we said that I was going to be in Oklahoma this week, and I'm not in Oklahoma.
Speaker: I am still here bugging, curving.
Speaker: Yeah, it's coming.
Speaker: It's next week.
Speaker: It's coming.
Speaker: The next two episodes are going to be solo episodes, and so... Not necessarily.
Speaker: I think I can still do it.
Speaker: If you can, that will be great.
Speaker: I will have, but I know how the internet is out there.
Speaker: Well, I don't know how the internet is where I'm staying.
Speaker: I don't want to say where I'm staying, but... I'm telling your cousin to open up the business center for you.
Speaker: No.
Speaker: I'll send her a message.
Speaker: I know, yeah.
Speaker: Anyways, well, what's going on in the year?
Speaker: I mean, we don't really have, other than things, oh, what?
Speaker: You got a what?
Speaker: Why the, I'll be on the news?
Speaker: Oh, yeah.
Speaker: If you're listening to this, it already happened.
Speaker: So, yeah.
Speaker: You'll see the link in the video on Instagram, but.
Speaker: Yeah.
Speaker: Got another appearance.
Speaker: We've had several more people reach out for spots on Insightful Inquiries.
Speaker: So that's really cool.
Speaker: We have some really cool people that will be in the next few months.
Speaker: It's very, it's kind of cool that we aren't having to... Having had to reach out....beat these people out.
Speaker: Yeah.
Speaker: And these are really cool people with really cool stories.
Speaker: They're trying to do really good things, especially for veterans, which... Yes.
Speaker: Yes.
Speaker: Fully love my veterans.
Speaker: Yeah, we, the last few episodes that I have done, yeah, I've done a few episodes.
Speaker: Those will come out in the next few months.
Speaker: It's all been helping veterans, and that has been their big thing, and I love that.
Speaker: And that's why I will agree to have them on to promote that all the time, because I don't think the government does enough for veterans of any country.
Speaker: No.
Speaker: If they've sent to war.
Speaker: No, they mess him up and hurl him back into the civilian world without hardly any sort of help on how to, you know, rewire your brain after being rewired to fight.
Speaker: It's insane.
Speaker: And then whenever you go to the VA to ask for help, they do everything possible to deny...
Speaker: responsibility for whatever is ailing you, whether it be mental, whether it be physical.
Speaker: They just, they're like, we didn't do that.
Speaker: Jeff is going through that issue right now.
Speaker: I don't want to help him out.
Speaker: Of course he doesn't want to help.
Speaker: I've already told him I'm going over there and I'm going to yell at some people.
Speaker: Yeah.
Speaker: The VA is denying a lot of your stuff too.
Speaker: It takes lawyers just to get my hearing stuff.
Speaker: Yeah, that's true.
Speaker: He's so deaf.
Speaker: Yep, that's what I thought.
Speaker: But good things.
Speaker: We have a future Olympian coming on.
Speaker: Yes.
Speaker: Future Olympian.
Speaker: Yeah, that's really, really cool.
Speaker: Was she, what branch was she in?
Speaker: She's Marines.
Speaker: Okay, I couldn't remember.
Speaker: Captain of Marines.
Speaker: Okay, I couldn't remember because I think the other person that you told me about was also a Marine.
Speaker: Yes, yeah, that's true.
Speaker: So I couldn't remember if I was mixing up, but they're both Marines, so it's irrelevant.
Speaker: She's actually a lot of aquatic, yeah.
Speaker: Oh, really?
Speaker: Yeah.
Speaker: She's, I mean, she's not here right now, but.
Speaker: Well, I know.
Speaker: Yeah.
Speaker: Stationed at Quantico and I'm thinking about trying to get a studio so we can do a video one and do a big thing because she's going to be in the Winter Olympics pretty soon.
Speaker: That's crazy.
Speaker: What is her, what would she be going for?
Speaker: Going to be the bobsled.
Speaker: One of my favorite competitions.
Speaker: Yeah, that's really fun to watch for sure.
Speaker: Yeah.
Speaker: We are also today, I don't know if you guys know this, I don't know if y'all are Taco Bell fans, but our kid has literally had a countdown since they announced this Cheez-It menu, but it got released.
Speaker: Yeah, it got released today, and our middle kiddo was adamant that we all try it, so that's what we're doing for dinner.
Speaker: The Cheez-It menu, well, we'll report back.
Speaker: Okay.
Speaker: On whether or not it's worth it.
Speaker: It might not be worth it.
Speaker: Yeah, well, it's hoping.
Speaker: Well, not hoping.
Speaker: This was going to be the next two days.
Speaker: Just so many things popped up in the last four hours.
Speaker: Well, I hope you sleep really well.
Speaker: Oh, I will.
Speaker: Trust me.
Speaker: But I was thinking maybe we would have already had...
Speaker: The Cheez-It food, and we can make a little review of the Taco Bell Cheez-Its.
Speaker: Oh, my gosh.
Speaker: Yeah.
Speaker: Yeah, maybe next week we'll talk about the Cheez-It menu.
Speaker: If you're interested in that, and I'll give you the low-difth.
Speaker: We're going to give it to you anyways.
Speaker: We're going to give it to you anyways because it's the end of the podcast.
Speaker: We can talk about whatever we want right here.
Speaker: We told people to leave if they don't want to hear us ringable about personal things.
Speaker: And right now, it's the cheese-it menu at Taco Bell.
Speaker: I'm sorry.
Speaker: I didn't mean to keep cutting you off.
Speaker: I do want to say thank you for the message.
Speaker: I won't name your name because I didn't ask if I could.
Speaker: But thank you for the message validating my two things can be true at the same time because Brian Fospling...
Speaker: Ryan Gosling feels the same way apparently yeah I would like to not thank that person I do not appreciate you validating his usage of that scene for reference it's apparently a scene in the new movie Fall Guy is that the name of the movie?
Speaker: we haven't seen it yet
Speaker: but apparently Ryan Gosling has a conversation with a stunt coordinator or something, and he does say two things can be true at the same time.
Speaker: So I feel very validated that... Yeah, thanks a lot.
Speaker: I'm also saying it....cease and desist to Ryan Gosling to not use my catchphrase.
Speaker: Oh my gosh.
Speaker: So Ryan, I know you're listening.
Speaker: Yeah, sure.
Speaker: Either pay up or stop using it.
Speaker: You're ridiculous.
Speaker: And then, okay.
Speaker: That's part of the podcast this for.
Speaker: I...
Speaker: Yeah, that's true.
Speaker: And then also, I know we have explained that we love watching really garbage movies.
Speaker: And so, no, I'm not going to get... I know this is... If people want to know... I'm going to order our food.
Speaker: Well, okay.
Speaker: Yeah.
Speaker: So anyways, if people want to know, maybe we'll give more detail, but we have somehow...
Speaker: gotten to the bottom of the barrel as far as movie production is concerned.
Speaker: We have found these gems of... They make The Room, which is widely considered the worst movie ever made.
Speaker: It is not.
Speaker: It's not the worst movie ever made.
Speaker: I can assure you.
Speaker: At least there is some sort of discernible plot in The Room.
Speaker: Yeah.
Speaker: These movies that we have found, and they're full-length movies, guys.
Speaker: They are full-length movies.
Speaker: You cannot, number one, understand the plot, the editing.
Speaker: is i wouldn't even i wouldn't well choppy like yeah it's not even it's like they turned off their cell phone video their cell phone camera and then just hurried up and got into the next scene i don't even know you can't hear most of the dialogue it's obvious they don't have boom mics or any sort of mic they have probably one person's
Speaker: Apple AirPod tucked in their shirt and that's what picks up the dialogue.
Speaker: Oh, I mean, it's so bad.
Speaker: But anyways, there's this one guy.
Speaker: It's this one white guy who writes, directs, edits, acts in it.
Speaker: He's usually a pretty predominant figure in the films.
Speaker: His accents are the worst thing I have ever heard in my life.
Speaker: In one of the movies, he sounded like
Speaker: Foghorn Leghorn.
Speaker: It wasn't said now.
Speaker: Yeah, but yeah.
Speaker: You're burying the lead and you cannot even say what it was like.
Speaker: Okay, yeah.
Speaker: Oh, you're... I can't... I really can't even say what... It's earmuffs for everybody.
Speaker: It's earmuffs for everyone.
Speaker: I can't say... Okay.
Speaker: But anyways, this guy writes them all and I can't wait to watch the next one.
Speaker: Tonight.
Speaker: tonight.
Speaker: We have to.
Speaker: It is... Whisper Cheez-Its.
Speaker: We... I don't even know.
Speaker: I can't even explain how bad these movies are, but hilarious.
Speaker: Like, Kervin and I had to... We had to pause it.
Speaker: It took us two and a half hours to watch the movie last night because we had to pause it and look at each other and discuss... Did that just happen?
Speaker: Did we just signal right what I think they just thought?
Speaker: That literally happened.
Speaker: We laughed the entire time.
Speaker: We had tears coming out of our eyes.
Speaker: And it was trying to be... It was a serious film.
Speaker: It wasn't a comedy.
Speaker: And we just were crying, laughing at how it was.
Speaker: How it was.
Speaker: I don't know.
Speaker: I'm trying to kind of...
Speaker: not be too mean but there's really on only one way you can describe these films and it's that they're terrible they're terrible yeah anyway definitely worse than the room they make the room look like an academy award-winning look
Speaker: Yeah.
Speaker: We have been obsessed with for years, and we even went to a showing with Greg Sestero.
Speaker: And actually, isn't Greg Sestero going to be playing Tommy Wiseau in a miniseries or something on HBO or Hulu or something like that?
Speaker: That's really cool.
Speaker: That's really cool.
Speaker: But anyways, if you want to start your long descent into terrible movies, you can start with that cult classic and eventually you'll get to a point where we can tell you about these movies.
Speaker: Well, do you want breaking news?
Speaker: Yeah.
Speaker: Donald Trump has been found guilty on 34 counts.
Speaker: Oh my gosh.
Speaker: Found guilty of falsifying business records.
Speaker: Yeah, you think so?
Speaker: And it doesn't matter.
Speaker: People are still blindly, they're saying he's being targeted, unfairly targeted.
Speaker: Oh, wow.
Speaker: Well, breaking news.
Speaker: It won't be breaking by the time you listen to it, but it's breaking news at this point.
Speaker: You'll already know we're not going to get into any of that because, like you said, it doesn't even really move the needle anywhere.
Speaker: No, he's still probably going to be president.
Speaker: And it also doesn't mean that he's going to jail.
Speaker: Yeah.
Speaker: The precedence has been set that usually you don't go to jail for being found guilty of this kind of stuff.
Speaker: So it'll be very interesting to see what the judge says.
Speaker: Yeah, well, I guess we'll see in the coming days.
Speaker: Maybe, maybe, maybe not.
Speaker: Well, I don't know.
Speaker: Anyways, I think we can wrap this up.
Speaker: Yep.
Speaker: Anything else?
Speaker: No, I think we have rambled on a sufficient amount of time beyond the geopolitics.
Speaker: We let people come down from the dumpster fire that is our planet currently.
Speaker: Yeah.
Speaker: You know, they got their blood pressure stabilized.
Speaker: They're breathing calmer.
Speaker: They're not so enraged.
Speaker: I don't know.
Speaker: They might be more enraged.
Speaker: Let us know.
Speaker: Just kidding.
Speaker: Let us know.
Speaker: Comment down below and let us know how enraged you are.
Speaker: Anyway.
Speaker: Don't forget to like and subscribe.
Speaker: Thank you so much for listening to our tiny little independent geopolitical podcast.
Speaker: We hope you found it informative and engaging.
Speaker: If you have any feedback or suggestions for future episodes, please let us know.
Speaker: And if you would like in-depth coverage of these stories and more, follow us on Instagram at Oakland Analytics.
Speaker: Tiana, thank you so much.
Speaker: And until next week, stay safe out there.
Speaker: This podcast is a production of Unfiltered Studios.
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