Geopolitical Economy Report

The US government has called to revive Western domination of the planet. Secretary of State Marco Rubio delivered a speech in Greece that openly praised colonialism and erased history. He claimed the West is "the greatest civilization in the world" and insisted it must "maintain its place at the head of the world".

Ben Norton explains how the idea of a unified "Western civilization" is a political myth used to justify imperialism. He fact-checks Rubio's remarks and provides important historical context that the Donald Trump administration refuses to acknowledge.

VIDEO: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6iPKlFKY_F8

Topics
0:00 (CLIP) Marco Rubio on Western civilization
0:33 USA wants West to dominate world
1:47 Marco Rubio speech in Athens
2:57 (CLIP) Rubio: West must dominate world
3:56 The "Clash of Civilizations" narrative
7:06 Trump admin erases history
7:51 Colonization of the Americas
9:05 (CLIP) Rubio praises colonialism
10:00 Native Americans erased by US govt
10:33 Double standards on imperialism
12:33 Rubio demonizes Iran
13:04 Greece is not "Western"
14:02 Christianity and East-West Schism
15:09 Russia, the West, and NATO
16:01 Western civilization is a political myth
17:42 Rearmament of Europe
18:17 (CLIP) Rubio on militarization of EU
18:44 Christian nationalism
19:55 Using Christianity to support imperialism
21:33 Religion in Ancient Greece
22:15 Church persecution of scientists
23:29 Christian attack on Ancient Greece/Rome
24:18 Islamic Golden Age
24:41 European book-burning
25:22 Western chauvinism is ridiculous
26:43 Rubio identifies with Spain, not Cuba
30:26 (CLIP) Rubio's pro-colonialist speech
32:06 Latin America's right-wing elites
33:33 What is the "West"? A political construct
35:09 Trump admin's extreme imperialism
35:52 (CLIP) Rubio condemns anti-colonialists
37:06 USA wants to reverse decolonization
38:32 Real goal of US foreign policy

The US war against Iran is expanding into a regional conflict. Saudi Arabia restarted its war in Yemen against the Houthis (officially known as Ansarallah), the political movement that governs 80% of the Yemeni population. Pakistan and Turkey (Türkiye) have joined the war. Syria supports it. Ben Norton explains how this crisis is growing, why the Donald Trump administration is fueling it, and how it is further destabilizing the oil market and global economy.

VIDEO: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AK9KxLbKuYk

Topics
0:00 War on Yemen starts again
0:22 Pakistan joins Saudi war
1:11 Turkey joins war
1:57 Syria backs war on Yemen
2:23 USA helps Saudi bomb Yemen
3:14 What is happening in Yemen?
3:37 Who are the Houthis (Ansarallah)?
5:05 Revolution on 21 September 2014
5:30 Map of Yemen war territory
6:04 Saudi Arabia controls south Yemen
6:55 Yemen's Saudi puppet "presidents"
9:06 UAE loses proxy war with Saudi
10:53 War crimes
12:15 Goals of US-Saudi war on Yemen
12:49 Bab al-Mandab Strait
14:43 Strait of Hormuz
15:15 Largest oil crisis in history
16:21 Why Ansarallah blockaded Saudi
17:54 EU supports Saudi monarchy
19:36 Attack on Saudi oil pipeline
21:05 Oil prices skyrocket
22:09 Shipping costs break records
23:27 Heating oil price up 80%
25:02 US attacks on Yemen in 2025
26:59 USA could not defeat Ansarallah
28:48 US-Saudi war on Yemen (2015)
31:21 New war could help Ansarallah
32:49 This war affects entire world

Why are executives of AI companies, like Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei, suddenly warning that artificial intelligence poses an "existential risk" to humanity? And why did Donald Trump invite Big Tech billionaire oligarchs to the White House for a "morally binding" agreement to "self-regulate"?

There are more and more signs that the AI bubble is getting dangerously large, and could pop soon. Corporate insiders want to cash out before it's too late -- and the US government is helping them. Ben Norton explains.

VIDEO: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fsFHQ81nMHk

Topics
0:00 Does AI pose existential risk?
1:42 Trump meeting with Big Tech CEOs
3:19 AI is in biggest bubble in history
4:09 IPOs of Anthropic and OpenAI
5:28 China is now leading in AI
6:53 Silicon Valley wants to ban Chinese AI
8:30 Trump warns of AI race with China
9:09 Data centers push up electricity price
10:01 Anthropic is losing tons of money
10:57 OpenAI has huge losses
11:34 Only 2% of US households pay for AI
12:34 AI industry delusion: 9% of GDP
13:45 AI bubble is largest ever
14:29 US economy in recession, excluding AI
15:16 Circular financing of AI companies
16:27 Hyperscaler capex exceeds $1 trillion
17:25 Debt of AI companies is growing
17:59 US bond yields rise rapidly
19:00 AI companies taking on more debt
20:29 Michael Burry warns bubble may pop
21:38 US stock market concentration
24:13 Buffett Indicator: 235% of GDP
25:07 Anthropic's cynical marketing
26:06 Largest IPOs in history
27:47 SpaceX stock crashed after IPO
28:31 US government denies bubble

The CIA has organized coups d'etat in countries around the world. But this is not just history; it still happens today. US ambassador to Greece Kimberly Guilfoyle, a top ally of Donald Trump (and former fiancée of his son), threatened a Greek minister by pointing to the collapse of Romania's government and saying, “We can do that to any country we want. We can do that here”. Her remarks recalled a comment from oligarch Elon Musk, who declared, "We will coup whoever we want! Deal with it". Ben Norton analyzes US imperialism.

VIDEO: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dW24Pp__UTA

Topics
0:00 US interventions and coups
1:39 US ambassador threatens Greece
4:56 Collapse of Romanian government
5:52 US-backed coup in Greece in 1967
6:48 Europe becomes US vassal
7:43 EU surrenders to Trump on trade
9:10 Trump demands EU buy US gas
10:26 Vertical gas corridor to Ukraine
11:48 EU imports of US LNG
12:40 Corruption and imperialism
14:13 Elon Musk vows more coups
15:43 US-backed coup in Bolivia in 2019
16:36 CIA coup in Chile in 1973
17:05 CIA coup in Guatemala in 1954
17:47 US coups in Brazil and Argentina
18:48 US coups in Venezuela
20:05 (CLIP) John Bolton boasts of coups
21:14 US coup in Honduras
22:13 Coup against Pakistan's Imran Khan
22:52 US blockade of Cuba
23:39 Global imperialist dictatorship

Donald Trump has been a China hawk for years, and he waged a brutal trade war against the country. So why did the US leader invite Chinese President Xi Jinping to Washington, DC for a summit? The White House dinner, featuring the CEOs of top corporations, helps explain why. Ben Norton analyzes the complex state of US-China relations following Trump's failed trade war.

VIDEO: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ueqdJ8vjInE

Topics
0:00 Xi Jinping visits USA
1:20 Cold War Two
2:07 Cold War One history
3:16 USA sees China as threat
4:48 Trump's trade war backfired
6:02 US-China economic integration
7:10 Trump's tariffs hurt manufacturing
8:05 Rare earths and critical minerals
9:52 Strategic stability meaning
11:26 Trump-Xi summit in Washington
12:16 Corporate CEOs attend dinner
15:53 Scott Bessent met at JPMorgan
16:33 China: largest consumer market
17:47 Trump's trip to Beijing
19:26 US corporations want market access
19:51 Windows loses market share
20:34 Apple faces restrictions in China
21:44 Tesla makes most cars in Shanghai
22:12 Google kicked out of China
22:43 Meta wants access to Chinese market
23:54 AI arms race
25:17 Trump: "Whoever wins AI, wins!"
26:31 Silicon Valley demonizes China
27:08 China's open-source AI models
28:26 Chip war
30:35 US attacks blow back
31:57 New cold war continues