To run the US military in his second term, Donald Trump has nominated as Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, a neoconservative self-declared "crusader" who is eager for a Western civilizational war on China and Iran. Ben Norton reviews the extremely hawkish history of the Fox News host turned likely Pentagon chief. VIDEO: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m9WBjcfVhu4 Topics 0:00 Trump's defense secretary nominee Pete Hegseth 0:31 An "American Crusade" (against China & Iran) 1:53 Hegseth called on Trump to bomb Iran 4:44 Trying to divide China & Russia 5:39 Fearmongering about BRICS & de-dollarization 7:48 "Axis of Evil": neocon ideology 8:26 Neocolonialism in Latin America 9:47 Preparing for war with China 11:33 Outro

Donald Trump has appointed neoconservative Marco Rubio to oversee US foreign policy as secretary of state. Ben Norton reviews his extremely hawkish record pushing for war on China, Iran, and beyond, as well as the Florida senator's shady support for his drug lord brother-in-law, Orlando Cicilia, who was imprisoned for trafficking $15 million in cocaine. VIDEO: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-ncw2VCsJFI Topics 0:00 Intro 0:32 China is threat to US unipolar dominance 1:21 Rubio loves Israel 1:55 Rubio wants "disproportionate" attack on Iran 2:25 Religious fundamentalism 3:47 China is "far more dangerous than the cold war" 4:33 Neocolonialism in Latin America 6:03 Rubio wants USA to invade Venezuela 6:25 Monroe Doctrine 7:42 China and Latin America 8:39 Scapegoating China 9:28 Chinagate: the new McCarthyism 10:55 Censorship 11:41 Rubio wants to censor "disinformation" 12:08 Threatening Mexico 13:05 Rubio's shady links to drug lord brother-in-law 14:02 Outro

Donald Trump has nominated warmongering neoconservatives to run his foreign policy, including Marco Rubio as Secretary of State, Mike Waltz as National Security Advisor, Pete Hegseth as Defense Secretary, John Ratcliffe as CIA Director, and Elise Stefanik as UN Ambassador. Ben Norton reports on their extremely hawkish views. VIDEO: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iwsrUUkDBWg Topics 0:00 Trump's warmongering cabinet 3:54 Strategy: try to divide Russia & China 5:05 Summary of foreign policy of Trump's 1st term 8:31 Mike Waltz, National Security Advisor 12:49 Pete Hegseth, Defense Secretary 19:52 Neocolonialism in Latin America 23:00 Marco Rubio, Secretary of State 29:20 John Ratcliffe, CIA Director 32:07 Elise Stefanik, UN Ambassador 34:53 Outro

How will the return of Donald Trump as US president affect the world? What will his foreign policy and economic strategy be? Ben Norton explains. VIDEO: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EJQKIwe2BYo Topics 0:00 Intro 0:33 Summary of Trump's foreign policy 10:44 Neocons in Trump's cabinet 14:41 China 18:48 Tariffs & trade with China 24:47 US dollar & re-industrialization 29:39 Protectionism 37:01 Russia & Ukraine 42:23 Israel-Palestine 44:31 Iran 46:36 Middle East (West Asia): Yemen, Iraq, Syria 49:41 Latin America: Mexico, Venezuela, Cuba, Nicaragua, Bolivia 53:17 Africa 54:32 Europe 56:11 Japan & South Korea 57:53 Outro

Donald Trump won the 2024 US presidential election in a landslide. Why did Kamala Harris lose so badly? Ben Norton explains the failure of the billionaire-funded Democratic Party to provide an economic alternative to the billionaire-funded Republicans' pseudo "populism", as working-class people suffer. VIDEO: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mSBi0m5xCJs Topics 0:00 Donald Trump wins 2024 presidential election 1:07 Who really is Kamala Harris? Does anyone know? 4:42 DNC strategy: sacrifice workers for moderate Republicans in suburbs 5:48 Harris campaigns with neoconservative Cheney family 6:56 Harris had no democratic mandate 7:42 Out-trumping Trump on immigration? Really? 8:04 Hillary Clinton 2.0 10:05 Low Democrat turnout 11:12 The status quo loses 12:34 Dems' extreme pro-Israel stance lost swing state voters 16:01 Rashida Tlaib & Ilhan Omar won; Harris lost 17:37 "Never Trump Republicans" barely exist 18:30 It's the economy, stupid 20:09 US GDP growth is not benefiting workers 21:39 Wealth inequality 22:32 Poverty & hunger increased under Biden-Harris 23:33 Trump scapegoats 24:09 (CLIP) Trump vows: "We are going to take other countries' jobs" 24:58 Trump's false promises 25:27 Deindustrialization 26:22 Immigration 28:40 Trump's tax cuts help rich elites, hurt workers 31:12 Billionaires Elon Musk & Stephen Schwarzman funded Trump 32:11 Inflation, debt, deficits 35:11 Tariffs 35:40 Conclusion

Billionaire BlackRock CEO Larry Fink said it “really doesn’t matter” who wins the US presidential election, because both Donald Trump and Kamala Harris will be good for Wall Street. Ben Norton shows how the United States is not a democracy but rather an oligarchy, in which big corporations buy politicians and lobbyists create policies. VIDEO: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=chPfp01rsD0 Topics 0:00 US election season 0:42 BlackRock CEO: it “really doesn’t matter” who wins US elections 2:20 The "Big Three" Wall Street asset managers 3:06 S&P 500 and Nasdaq bubbles 4:35 Richest 10% of Americans own 93% of stocks 5:30 Princeton study: USA is oligarchy, not democracy 6:26 Billions spent buying US elections 7:54 Money buys seats in Congress (90% of the time) 8:50 Crypto industry funds Republicans & Democrats 10:51 Biden promised rich donors "nothing would fundamentally change" 11:59 Extreme wealth & income inequality in USA 15:12 US wages stagnated while productivity soared 15:42 Financialization of US economy 17:09 Inflation & cost of living crisis 18:43 House prices grow much faster than wages 20:48 Blackstone: the world's largest landlord 22:49 Private equity 24:03 Blackstone CEO Stephen Schwarzman funds Trump 24:28 Kamala Harris & Trump woo Wall Street 25:25 Trump tax cuts make rich much richer 27:19 BlackRock makes economic policy for Biden & Harris 28:10 USA is an oligarchy 29:41 Outro

For the 32nd year, the entire world voted at the UN General Assembly to demand an end to the illegal US embargo against Cuba. The USA and Israel opposed the international community in a vote of 187 to 2. Ben Norton explains why the US empire has waged such a vicious economic war on Cuba for six decades. VIDEO: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NTX4zSfCQYM TOPICS 0:00 US economic war on Cuba 1:39 UN General Assembly vote against US blockade 2:06 Map of UN vote against US embargo of Cuba 3:25 Venezuela & Afghanistan lost UN voting rights due to US sanctions 5:15 Argentina's Milei fires foreign minister for voting with 97% of world 7:08 UN votes against US embargo in 2023 & 2022 8:41 Why the US empire wants to crush Cuba 10:29 Goal of US sanctions: "hunger, desperation, and overthrow" 13:39 Dedollarization & BRICS 15:40 Bipartisan barbarism: Biden continues Trump's war on Cuba 18:01 West votes against rest of world at UN 20:08 US imperialism is a global dictatorship 23:17 Outro

BRICS plans to transform the international monetary and financial system, and discussed policies at the 2024 summit in Kazan, Russia. Can it successfully challenge the dominance of the US dollar? Political economist Radhika Desai is joined by Ben Norton and former central banker Kathleen Tyson, author of the book "Multicurrency Mercantilism". VIDEO: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X7ejfZdPboo This is part of the show Geopolitical Economy Hour. You can watch other episodes of the program here: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLDAi0NdlN8hMl9DkPLikDDGccibhYHnDP You can follow Kathleen on Twitter/X here: https://x.com/kathleen_tyson_ Topics 0:00 Highlight 1:24 Intro: 2024 BRICS summit in Kazan, Russia 7:33 Evaluating BRICS proposal to improve financial system 16:47 De-dollarizing trade vs capital markets 24:50 Can a global currency solve the Triffin dilemma? 29:10 Investment flows from poor to rich 30:44 Capital controls 37:16 Could Special Drawing Rights (SDRs) be a new global reserve currency? 42:17 Can a currency backed by a basket of commodities help settle trade imbalances? 48:38 Financial deregulation, Glass-Steagall, and China 53:21 HSBC splits between West and East 55:18 How can central banks de-dollarize reserves? 1:02:35 Controlling finance 1:09:01 What can China do with its huge surplus? 1:16:11 Outro

BRICS held a summit in Kazan, Russia in October 2024, where 13 new "partner nations" were accepted. This followed the 2023 meeting in Johannesburg, South Africa, where several members were invited to join. Ben Norton analyzes the historic events, and shows how the Global South is building a more multipolar world. BRICS MEMBERSHIP (9 members + 13 partner countries) - 5 original members are Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa. - 4 new members officially admitted in January 2024 are Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran, and UAE. (Saudi Arabia has not accepted. Argentina rejected the offer.) - 13 "partner countries" are Algeria, Belarus, Bolivia, Cuba, Indonesia, Kazakhstan, Malaysia, Nigeria, Thailand, Türkiye, Uganda, Uzbekistan, and Vietnam. VIDEO: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wUdlzmk73Ns Check out our related report - BRICS plans ‘multi-currency system’ to challenge US dollar dominance: https://geopoliticaleconomy.com/2024/10/19/brics-russia-multi-currency-system-us-dollar/ Topics 0:00 BRICS expands 1:55 BRICS: 1/3rd of global GDP, 40% of population, 30% of oil production 2:40 Compare BRICS & G7 3:44 Saudi Arabia has not accepted offer; Argentina rejected 5:17 Leaders at 2024 summit in Kazan, Russia 6:48 China & India resolve border dispute 10:06 Unipolar domination vs multipolarity 11:04 Xi Jinping's speech 12:23 Plans to transform international monetary & financial system 13:24 Bretton Woods, US dollar, IMF, World Bank 15:19 BRICS grain exchange (commodities exchange) 17:17 Bolivia condemns "Western unipolarity & tyranny of the dollar" 20:19 Kazan declaration summary 25:49 Israel, Palestine, Gaza, Lebanon 27:16 Syria & Iran 28:27 Opposing nuclear weapons & space arms race 29:20 Outro

The US dollar is gradually losing its dominance, and foreign central banks are buying fewer Treasury securities, instead holding more gold in their reserves, warns Mohamed El-Erian, a mainstream American economist. Ben Norton discusses how countries are seeking financial alternatives, especially Global South nations around BRICS. VIDEO: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KnMAit5MP-Y BRICS plans ‘multi-currency system’ to challenge US dollar dominance: Understanding Russia’s proposal - https://geopoliticaleconomy.com/2024/10/19/brics-russia-multi-currency-system-us-dollar/ Topics 0:00 Western media cope on de-dollarization 2:53 Renowned US economist warns de-dollarization is happening 4:55 Gold price rises despite inflation falling 7:18 BRICS seeks alternatives to US dollar dominance 9:04 Sanctions, reserves freezes, weaponization of US dollar system 11:23 Holding gold in reserves is not bringing back gold standard 13:08 Central banks buy lots of gold 14:40 West's economic war on Russia failed 15:34 US-Israel wars in Middle East (West Asia) 17:18 "Erosion" of US dollar hegemony 18:56 US government debt and Treasury market 24:39 USA now spends more on debt interest than military 25:09 China dumps US Treasury securities 25:59 Europe, Canada, Taiwan buy US Treasury bonds 27:57 Outro

BRICS plans to challenge US dollar dominance and transform the international monetary and financial system by developing infrastructure for cross-border payments using local currencies. Russia made a detailed proposal for the October Kazan summit. Ben Norton analyzes the report, explaining how the US-dominated financial system benefits rich Western countries at the expense of the Global South -- which is why BRICS is pushing to change it. VIDEO: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3pHr5yzLEHA Topics 0:00 US dollar hegemony 3:57 BRICS plan to transform international monetary & financial system 10:39 What are BRICS' goals? 13:22 New International Economic Order (NIEO) & G77 15:32 Dedollarization 20:02 Summary of BRICS report on financial system 31:59 West controls IMF & World Bank 36:34 Global economy has changed, but financial system hasn't 42:07 How rich countries drain capital from poor ones 45:16 Challenging the US dollar monopoly 47:29 Correspondent banks & SWIFT system 51:10 Central bank reserves & US Treasury securities 55:50 Triffin's Dilemma 57:54 Sanctions & US freezing countries' assets 1:00:18 Proposals for new cross-border payment architecture 1:03:15 Blockchain, DLT, & CBDCs (mBridge & Project Dunbar) 1:10:01 BRICS Cross-Border Payment Initiative (BCBPI) & BRICS Clear Platform 1:15:54 Dedollarizing foreign exchange reserves 1:18:22 New Development Bank (NDB) & BRICS Digital Investment Asset 1:20:10 Overview of Russian proposal 1:21:58 Will there be a BRICS currency? SDR (Special Drawing Rights) is a start 1:30:59 Conclusion