Geopolitical Economy Report
Geopolitical Economy Report
Ben Norton
Geopolitical Economy Report is an independent news outlet that provides original journalism and analysis to understand the changing world.
'Western civilization' is a myth: USA demands global dominance, praises colonialism, erases history
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
Oct 12
39 min
Iran war expands: Why Saudi Arabia is attacking Yemen, with US support
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
Oct 9
33 min
Big Tech CEOs fear AI bubble could pop soon: US govt is protecting them
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
Oct 5
29 min
US official threatens: We can overthrow 'any country we want'
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
Oct 1
25 min
The real reason why Trump invited China's President Xi to Washington
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
Sep 25
33 min
Biggest oil crisis in history: The REAL reason why gasoline is so expensive
Gasoline prices are skyrocketing, breaking records, after the US war against Iran caused the biggest oil supply disruption in history. Ben Norton explains the geopolitical and economic reasons for the energy crisis, including the closure of the Strait of Hormuz and disruption of the Bab al-Mandab Strait, sabotage of the Saudi East-West Pipeline, Ukraine's attacks on Russian refineries and diesel storage depots, China's reduction of crude imports and renewable energy policies, and falling global oil reserves. VIDEO: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aTSgA8qwIZ8 Topics 0:00 Largest oil crisis in history 1:30 Price of gasoline skyrockets 2:03 Diesel prices break records 3:07 US midterm election approaches 3:59 Inflation and Donald Trump 5:09 Fed raises interest rates 5:49 US bond market problems 7:13 Trump is unpopular, and desperate 8:19 Saudi oil pipeline attacked 10:59 Bab al-Mandab Strait 11:34 US-Saudi war on Yemen backfires 13:59 US deal with Houthis (Ansarallah) 14:45 Crisis in Saudi Arabia 16:11 Ukraine hits Russian oil facilities 17:37 China reduces crude oil imports 18:56 Chinese electric vehicles (EVs) 19:41 China's solar and wind power 20:33 China increases oil imports 21:39 Global oil reserves running low 22:27 US Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR) 23:23 Energy crisis will get worse 25:09 Outro
Sep 21
25 min
The dollar is a weapon: How the US controls countries with financial colonialism
The USA uses the dollar as a weapon to control countries, by imposing sanctions; cutting governments, banks, and companies out of the US-dominated financial system; and taking over the oil revenue of nations like Iraq and Venezuela. Ben Norton explains how US financial colonialism works. VIDEO: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dkza5cRBuG4 Topics 0:00 US empire 1:16 CIA-backed coups 1:42 US sanctions one-third of world 2:23 Why sanctions are so destructive 4:23 US financial attacks blow back 4:49 BRICS seeks alternatives 5:56 Petrodollar system in crisis 7:02 How USA controls Iraq's oil revenue 10:26 USA threatens Iraq over Iran 12:12 Economic difficulties for Iraqis 13:34 US colonial scheme in Venezuela 14:39 China, world's biggest oil importer 15:18 Iraqi plans to sell oil in yuan 17:07 US attacks China-built schools 18:34 Trump attack on Iraq in 2020 20:08 US military occupation of Iraq 21:00 Iran attacks US military bases 21:49 Petrodollar system is breaking 25:30 US bond market problems 27:15 Iran war fuels inflation 27:50 US aggression is backfiring 29:16 Outro
Sep 17
29 min
BRICS grows stronger: US threats unify China, India, Russia, as they challenge dollar system
Trump's attacks on BRICS have backfired, forcing China, India, and Russia closer together. The Global South-led organization held a summit in New Delhi, where leaders discussed plans to challenge the US dollar system, by connecting new payment systems using local currencies. Ben Norton explains. VIDEO: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=feQmxuMB2xw Topics 0:00 Rise of BRICS 1:04 BRICS summit in New Delhi 2:52 China and India improve relations 5:10 Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) 7:28 BRICS challenges US dollar system 9:32 Local currency payment systems 14:13 Debates about replacing US dollar 16:19 Central banks stockpile gold 17:43 Gold overtakes US Treasuries in reserves 18:40 Trump threatens BRICS 19:10 Trump's aggression against India 20:29 US strategy to recruit India against China 23:28 Modi, BJP, and Congress 25:41 US attacks on BRICS backfire 27:18 India-Russia relations 29:40 BRICS+: 10 members and 10 partners 30:28 BRICS: 56% of world population 30:51 BRICS: 44% of global GDP 31:56 BRICS overtakes G7 in economy 33:21 Indonesia's PM Prabowo 33:55 Ethiopia's PM Abiy Ahmed 34:35 Vietnam participates in BRICS summit 35:52 Malaysia's PM Anwar supports Iran 37:20 India balances between Iran and Israel 38:27 Internal conflict: UAE attacks Iran 39:43 BRICS agrees to joint statement 40:46 Reform of UN Security Council 42:32 US unilateralism strengthens BRICS 43:12 Outro
Sep 13
43 min
Biden & Trump families scam their own supporters with meme coins
More and more US politicians are promoting crypto rug pull scams targeting their own supporters. Hunter Biden, the son of former President Joe Biden, created a meme coin called the Laptop token, the price of which crashed by 99% an hour after launching. Donald Trump and his wife Melania also launched meme coins that immediately imploded, with fans losing their money while insiders cashed out. Ben Norton explains the extreme corruption in the United States, which is spreading to other countries like Argentina. VIDEO: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rCf0Kd7w57g Topics 0:00 US financial schemes 1:11 Hunter Biden's Laptop meme coin 2:26 Hunter Biden's excuses 3:57 Extreme hypocrisy 5:20 Cynical US politics 6:37 Trump meme coin rug pull 7:15 Melania meme coin rug pull 7:46 Trump family makes billions on crypto 8:31 Impunity for US politicians 9:03 NYC Token of ex Mayor Eric Adams 9:46 Javier Milei promotes Libra token scam 10:54 Argentina's political scandal 12:14 Blatant corruption in Washington 14:07 Trump tries to buy midterm elections 15:08 Insider trading in US Congress 16:54 China imprisons corrupt billionaires 18:40 Rule of law: China vs USA
Sep 11
19 min
USA voted against the ENTIRE WORLD, opposing equal representation of Africa
The United States votes against the entire world in a United Nations General Assembly resolution that called for the UN to adopt a more accurate Equal Earth world map, replacing the colonial-era Mercator projection (of year 1569), which distorts the size of the West, making it look much larger, while Africa appears small. Ben Norton explains how the US empire opposes decolonization and is trying to revive colonialism. VIDEO: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MJBb87BUP4M Topics 0:00 US is a rogue state 0:43 UN vote: 164 to 1 (USA) 1:15 More accurate world map 1:39 Mercator projection 2:34 True size of Africa 3:26 African proposal 3:48 How countries voted at UN 4:21 Ukraine opposes Global South 4:59 US calls it "radical ideology" 5:53 USA is NOT center of universe 6:55 US rewrites history 7:51 Imperialist McKinley 8:55 Trump vows to expand US empire 9:04 (CLIP) Trump: 'enlarge' US territory 9:55 Trump threatens to annex neighbors 11:17 US empire revives colonialism 11:57 Donroe Doctrine 13:56 USA wants to reverse decolonization 14:54 (CLIP) Marco Rubio colonialist speech 16:19 It's not just about a world map 17:34 Outro
Sep 8
17 min
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