The US government quietly bailed out Japan. The Treasury intervened in the foreign exchange market to try to stabilize the yen, the Japanese currency. Ben Norton explains how this reflects a larger, structural problem with the dollar system. Japan is the largest holder of US Treasury securities (US government debt), and Washington doesn't want other countries to sell its bonds, fearing that yields could rise and cause a debt crisis. VIDEO: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ngGQrWxNdV4 Topics 0:00 USA bails out Japan 1:04 Japanese yen falls against USD 1:29 USA will "do whatever it takes" 2:21 Japan's holdings of US Treasuries 3:03 China de-dollarizes 3:31 US empire and Japan 4:26 Japan's role in dollar system 5:32 Carry trade 7:24 Wall Street benefits 8:24 Real reason for US intervention 9:39 US fears sales of its bonds 10:37 US bond yields rise 11:38 US government debt 12:14 Inflation in US 12:56 Foreign demand for US bonds 14:35 Seizure of Russian assets 16:06 Central banks buy gold 16:55 US bond market problems 17:58 US Treasury sells euro 19:37 Crisis in dollar system 22:07 Dollar dominance in decline 24:30 Why the yen is falling so much 24:51 Energy crisis and Iran War 26:57 Inflation in Japan 27:47 Interest rates in Japan 29:25 US govt backs carry trade 30:36 Economic stagnation in Japan 31:03 Enormous debt to GDP in Japan 33:10 US debt problems 33:44 Slow-motion financial crisis 34:46 Outro

Donald Trump administration insiders have been widely accused of corruption, insider trading, and market manipulation related to the US war on Iran. Ben Norton analyzes the evidence, showing why this may explain Washington's contradictory policies and flip-flopping between bombings and peace talks. VIDEO: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NUkg472Ia1Q Topics 0:00 Trump TACOs on Iran War 1:40 USA has no clear strategy 2:49 Market manipulation 4:30 Oil market volatility 5:50 Options trading 6:49 Iran alleges US corruption 8:31 Steve Witkoff & Jared Kushner 9:56 Insider trading accusations 10:57 Shady trades on Wall Street 11:28 Corruption in US Congress 12:43 Trump sells early access 14:12 Big Oil sees record profits 14:42 USA is losing the war 15:22 Rich oligarchs are winning 17:27 Outro

The US government has no plan for the war that Donald Trump launched against Iran. The Pentagon is desperately asking analysts for ideas. Tehran won, but Washington refuses to admit it. Ben Norton explains what exactly is happening, and why the United States lost so badly. VIDEO: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=25J1gdTCx_o Topics 0:00 Trump has no plan for Iran war 1:37 USA lost and Iran won 2:59 Trump threatens Iran 3:53 USA bombed schools 5:15 Trump's empty rhetoric 7:54 US allies in Persian Gulf 10:28 Yemen and Saudi Arabia 12:01 US military runs out of missiles 14:37 Iran destroys US bases 15:38 Iran expels US troops 18:20 Iran has the leverage 19:05 Trump always chickens out (TACO) 20:32 Iran strengthened, USA weakened 22:34 Outro

The US war on Iran keeps expanding into a regional conflict, as more countries get involved. Reports show that Donald Trump is getting desperate, and he is frantically seeking an off-ramp. Washington announced a "pause" to the fighting, but it lasted just four days. Ben Norton explains the three main reasons why the United States is desperately seeking an exit: one, the Pentagon is running out of missile interceptors; two, the number of casualties among American troops is steadily increasing; and three, Yemen joined the conflict, attacking Saudi oil infrastructure, exacerbating the energy crisis. VIDEO: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HPBI8ukcA_4 Topics 0:00 Iran war expands 2:41 More countries join conflict 3:58 Trump is 'exasperated' 5:49 US 'pause' failed 6:19 Three main reasons 7:53 US violates agreements 9:53 USA lost & Iran won 10:40 US military running low on missiles 12:36 Gulf monarchies 13:38 Patriot interceptors 16:07 Pentagon orders old missiles 17:54 Preparing for war on China 18:47 China vs USA: industrial capacity 21:02 Pentagon hides US casualties 24:26 Yemen joins war 26:21 Blockade of Red Sea 27:45 Houthi attacks on Saudi oil 29:20 Energy crisis 30:14 Oil reserves running low 30:44 Iran has won 32:14 Outro

The US war against Iran is expanding into a larger regional conflict. After Trump sabotaged a diplomatic agreement, Tehran closed the Strait of Hormuz. Now Yemen's Ansar Allah (known commonly as the Houthis) has declared a naval blockade of Saudi Arabia, shutting down oil exports in the Red Sea. Ben Norton explains how this escalation could cause a severe crisis in the global energy market. VIDEO: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mzJNwRPOnFs Topics 0:00 Trump restarts Iran war 1:26 Yemen joins the war 2:45 Red Sea blockade 3:28 Oil transit chokepoints 5:05 Saudi East-West Pipeline 5:55 China cuts oil imports 6:27 Saudi oil exports 6:59 Oil price skyrockets 7:55 Gasoline prices rise 9:17 Potential for oil crisis 10:31 Reserves running low 11:21 Yemen explainer 13:07 Ansar Allah (Houthis) 22:05 Axis of Resistance 23:58 Iran grows stronger 27:17 Outro

US global dominance is rapidly declining, as China rises. So Washington wants to forcibly impose its hegemony in Latin America, invoking the colonial Monroe Doctrine. However, people are fighting back. Nicaragua's Sandinista government is resisting US imperialism and continuing its revolution. Ben Norton reports. VIDEO: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xIXMyFvMeMc

Donald Trump violated the diplomatic agreement and restarted the war, bombing Iran and re-imposing a naval blockade of the Strait of Hormuz. Ben Norton explains why the US government will fail, because it has no plan and lacks leverage, whereas Tehran and its decentralized military have escalation dominance. VIDEO: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HFHvtxgR5A8 Topics 0:00 Trump restarts war on Iran 0:36 USA violates agreements 1:49 USA won't accept defeat 3:07 Strait of Hormuz 5:37 Iran hits US allies in Gulf 7:20 Iran's decentralized military 8:43 Drones 10:25 Iran already won the war 10:56 Trump has no plan 13:13 Strait of Hormuz fees 13:51 (CLIP) Marco Rubio on fees 14:05 US fees vs Iran fees 14:52 Insanity of ground invasion 17:34 Scheme to seize Kharg Island 18:48 Oil and gasoline price 21:42 Strategic Petroleum Reserve 23:36 Global oil reserves running low 24:59 Danger of empire in decline 27:42 Outro

Many Western economists and media outlets claim that Americans are wealthier than Europeans, but this is not true; it's based on a misunderstanding of the difference between average wealth and median wealth. Ben Norton explains how the extreme inequality in the US make its average wealth misleadingly look high, and why GDP per capita is not a good measurement. He debunks the myth of "Europoors", which is often spread by Donald Trump supporters. VIDEO: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kzFUd8uj7pA Topics 0:00 The myth that Americans are wealthy 1:15 Average wealth vs median wealth 3:50 Data on US median wealth 6:42 Wealth inequality (Gini coefficient) 9:31 Poverty and homelessness 10:19 USA vs Europe 12:02 Wealth concentration of US elites 13:28 Distribution of growth in income 15:01 GDP per capita is misleading 21:18 US GDP by sector 23:13 Imputed rent and GDP 25:05 Life expectancy, mortality, etc. 27:10 US healthcare system 28:40 US health system vs OECD 32:58 Ridiculous "Europoor" myth 33:32 Trump cuts taxes on rich 34:27 Trump family corruption 36:20 Insider trading 36:56 Myth of American dream 38:18 Outro

What is the US strategy in its war against Iran? Is the Trump administration seriously committed to negotiations to make a deal? JD Vance accidentally exposed the USA's plan, to use the talks to buy time to refill oil reserves and stabilize the economy. Ben Norton explains. VIDEO: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7_BojBCeM6o Topics 0:00 US negotiations with Iran 0:56 Trump considers restarting war 1:46 Strait of Hormuz 3:37 Israel and Lebanon 5:02 JD Vance exposes US strategy 6:27 (CLIP) JD Vance on Iran 7:31 Oil market 8:22 Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR) 10:24 (CLIP) Trump on oil reserves 10:52 US strategy 11:56 Iran's strategy 13:12 USA violates agreements 14:18 Iran's economic nuclear weapon 15:24 Oil price 16:14 Parallels to Ukraine war 21:41 New Iranian government 25:55 USA lost. The war backfired 28:00 Outro

The US-based right-wing Chinese billionaire Miles Guo (Guo Wengui), who worked closely with Donald Trump advisor Steve Bannon, was sentenced to 30 years in prison for committing $1 billion of fraud. Ben Norton explains how Western governments and media outlets support "dissidents" from countries they don't like, who are often corrupt grifters and con artists; and how fake "experts" make money by spreading absurd disinformation about China, Iran, Cuba, Venezuela, North Korea, etc. VIDEO: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HSVBsyDz1ks Topics 0:00 Billionaire fraudster Miles Guo 1:03 Links to Trump, Steven Bannon 4:34 US DOJ prosecution 6:31 China's charges 8:06 US media whitewashing 12:25 Corrupt West-backed "dissidents" 15:23 US support for dictators 17:12 Pro-West Chinese "dissidents" 19:40 Soviet "dissidents" 21:07 North Korean defector Yeonmi Park 24:18 Yeonmi Park becomes a meme 25:36 (CLIP) Yeonmi Park on Joe Rogan 26:12 Absurd propaganda 26:53 Park jumps on the Trump train 27:47 Western media has no standards 28:56 Fake China "expert" Gordon G Chang 34:00 Ai Weiwei change of heart 39:16 Western imperialist hypocrisy 41:17 Outro