Geopolitical Economy Report

Ben Norton explains how Wall Street investment firms influence US elections by funding Trump through Blackstone and Biden through BlackRock. Topics include oligarchy in the US, financial backing of political parties, the influence of Blackstone and BlackRock, wealth accumulation, private equity takeovers, and exploitation of subprime loans.

As Israel bombs Rafah with US support, both are blatantly defying the International Court of Justice (ICJ) and International Criminal Court (ICC). Ben Norton documents the hypocrisy of the Biden administration's claims to uphold the "rules-based international order" as it sponsors Netanyahu's crimes against humanity in Gaza. VIDEO: https://youtube.com/watch?v=Q2B6wkbO6vw Check out our related video - "US threatens ICC, warning 'If they [prosecute] Israel, we're next!'": https://youtube.com/watch?v=ChZZ3GKiNE0 Topics 0:00 Intro 1:30 ICJ orders Israel to stop attacking Rafah 2:38 Israel bombs tent camp in Rafah 3:51 US & UK help Israel violate ICJ rulings 4:34 UN expert calls for sanctions on Israel 6:28 Netanyahu: "Nobody will stop us - not the Hague" 7:19 US threatens to sanction ICC 8:19 Israeli spy chief threatened ICC 9:23 Trump & Biden attack ICC 9:50 Hypocrisy of "rules-based order" 13:02 US House Speaker Mike Johnson threatens ICC 13:48 US "rules-based order" vs. international law-based order 14:40 UK PM Rishi Sunak praises "rules-based order" 15:00 Germany's hypocrisy on Israel 17:55 Western neocolonialism 23:58 China defends international law 26:16 Outro

Putin met with Xi Jinping in Beijing, where China and Russia released a joint statement blasting Western "colonialism and hegemonism", supporting a multipolar world and more representation for the Global South, and calling for de-dollarization and expansion of BRICS. Ben Norton analyzes the historic document. VIDEO: https://youtube.com/watch?v=ufjxmDLQyBU Full text of the joint statement with links here: https://geopoliticaleconomy.com/2024/05/24/china-russia-joint-statement-new-era-75th-anniversary/ Topics 0:00 Intro 0:49 Putin's visit to China 1:42 Summary of the joint statement 4:58 Russia deepens economic integration with China 7:18 China expands trade with anti-hegemonic nations 8:50 Note on translation of joint statement 11:20 75th anniversary of China-Russia relations 13:46 Supporting Global South & multipolar world 17:58 Condemning Western neocolonialism & hegemony 20:49 Expanding cooperation 23:03 "True multilateralism" 25:14 Group of Friends in Defense of the UN Charter 27:35 Shanghai Cooperation Organization 28:33 Expanding BRICS 30:10 Nuclear weapons 30:33 Condemning US militarism 34:26 Climate change & pollution 36:01 Ukraine war 38:58 Non-interference 40:29 ASEAN 40:46 East Asia 41:33 North Korea 42:36 West Asia (Middle East) & Palestine 44:07 Afghanistan 45:18 Africa 46:25 Latin America 48:17 Outro

The International Criminal Court (ICC) has applied for an arrest warrant for Israel's Prime Minister Netanyahu over crimes against humanity in Gaza. The Biden administration is threatening sanctions on Prosecutor Karim Khan. US Senator Lindsey Graham warned, "if they'll do this to Israel, we’re next!" Ben Norton discusses Washington's extreme hypocrisy and shows the real face of the so-called "rules-based international order". VIDEO: https://youtube.com/watch?v=ChZZ3GKiNE0 US politicians threaten to invade Int'l Criminal Court if Israel faces war crimes charges: https://geopoliticaleconomy.com/2024/05/07/us-threat-icc-israel/ US senator says Israel should drop nuclear bombs on Gaza: https://geopoliticaleconomy.com/2024/05/12/senator-lindsey-graham-israel-nuclear-weapons-gaza/ Intro 0:00 "We're next!" 0:15 ICC seeks to arrest Israeli officials 1:50 US gov't threatens ICC 4:08 Lindsey Graham quote: "if they'll do this to Israel, we’re next!" 5:01 Protest 5:27 Bipartisan barbarism 6:57 Karim Khan dropped previous investigation into US/NATO war crimes 8:26 Both sides-ism 9:35 ICC charges against PM Netanyahu & DM Yoav Gallant 10:38 ICJ or ICC? 11:59 Western officials says ICC "was built for Africa" 12:39 Netanyahu responds: "No one will stop us" 13:16 20,000 US citizens in IDF 14:04 Israel is an outpost of the US empire 15:29 Biden, Blinken, & Republicans agree 16:54 Trump imposed sanctions on ICC 18:53 US hypocritically backs ICC charges against Putin 20:15 US & Israel: rogue states 22:57 Outro

Iran's President Ebrahim Raisi, who died in a helicopter crash, sought to unite the Global South against Western imperialism. He joined BRICS, advocated de-dollarization, supported Palestine, promoted a "Look East" strategy toward China and Russia, and allied with Africa and Latin America. Ben Norton analyzes the late Iranian leader's anti-colonial foreign policy. VIDEO: https://youtube.com/watch?v=pzPKOhHcnvc Topics 0:00 Raisi's death & Iran's future 2:51 Raisi's anti-colonial foreign policy 4:54 Palestine 6:10 Anti-imperialism 8:42 BRICS 10:53 Dedollarization 11:45 Shanghai Cooperation Organization 12:46 "Look East" strategy 13:19 China 18:11 Russia 20:02 Indonesia 20:42 Africa 23:32 Latin America 28:40 Nicaragua & Iran: sister revolutions 33:08 Outro

Political economists discuss India's economy, questioning growth stats, Modi's policies, and 2024 elections. Analyzing foreign trade, services exports, and economic strategies under Modi. Recommendations for an India Alliance government focusing on essential rights for all.

The Joe Biden White House imposed high tariffs on Chinese technological products, including electric vehicles (EVs), solar panels, batteries, and semiconductors. Ben Norton analyzes the hypocrisy of US government accusations that Beijing provides unfair subsidies to its industries, while Washington is spending trillions on industrial policy -- and how this exposes the "free trade" dogma spread by neoliberal economists as a myth. VIDEO: https://youtube.com/watch?v=a7okuN2qJU8 Our related video: "Is China producing too much? US 'overcapacity' accusations: new tactic in economic war" - https://youtube.com/watch?v=GUpWxNcdnYU Topics 0:00 Biden puts tariffs on China 1:05 Elon Musk demanded tariffs on Chinese EVs 1:55 US "overcapacity" allegations 2:40 Europe threatens tariffs too 3:19 Biden condemned tariffs in 2019 4:58 Climate change hypocrisy 6:13 "Free market" myth 8:47 "Forced" technology transfer myth 13:12 BYD outcompetes Tesla 13:56 Neoliberalism: de-industrialization & financialization 18:26 Subsidies: US gov't plans trillions in benefits 23:52 More tariffs on Chinese products 25:30 Washington Consensus 29:01 US destroys WTO (after creating it) 31:28 Protectionism: How US & UK really developed 39:39 Outro

US Senator Lindsey Graham insisted in a TV interview that Israel should drop nuclear bombs on Gaza, where more than 2 million Palestinian civilians, including 1 million children, are trapped under what the Israeli defense minister called a “complete siege”. Ben Norton discusses Washington's bipartisan complicity in crimes against humanity. VIDEO: https://youtube.com/watch?v=4jJpA11Z5N8 Atomic bombing of Japan was NOT necessary to end WWII. US gov't documents admit it: https://geopoliticaleconomy.com/2023/08/07/atomic-bombing-japan-not-necessary/ Links and sources here: https://geopoliticaleconomy.com/2024/05/12/senator-lindsey-graham-israel-nuclear-weapons-gaza/ Topics 0:00 Intro 0:31 Lindsey Graham says Israel should nuke Gaza 1:11 Fact check 1:59 Israeli minister called to nuke Gaza 3:55 Crimes against humanity 4:47 US support is bipartisan 5:26 Israel's nuclear weapons 6:45 Israel offered nukes to apartheid South Africa 9:05 US atomic bombing of Japan was not necessary 13:10 Outro

143 countries, representing the vast majority of the world, voted at the UN General Assembly to support giving Palestine full membership. They were opposed by the US, Israel, and seven other small countries, representing just 5% of the global population. Ben Norton analyzes the geopolitics. VIDEO: https://youtube.com/watch?v=JtHx7hhpFDY Sources and links here: https://geopoliticaleconomy.com/2024/05/11/us-israel-vote-palestine-un-member Topics 0:00 Intro 0:56 Map of UN vote on Palestine membership 1:44 Countries that oppose Palestine 3:13 Europe is divided 3:35 Ukraine supports Israel & opposes Global South 5:11 Global South supports Palestine 5:44 Biden is allied with Hungary's Viktor Orbán 6:20 UNGA resolution 6:47 Venezuela's voting rights taken away 8:02 Read the UNGA resolution 9:02 Hypocrisy of US "two-state solution" rhetoric 10:29 Most Democrats condemn Israel; Republicans support it 11:11 Countries with bilateral relations with Palestine 11:47 Palestine's rights as UN observer state 13:04 China supports Palestine 13:46 Russia supports Palestine 14:11 Outro

While visiting Serbia, China's President Xi Jinping condemned the US and NATO for bombing Beijing's embassy in Belgrade, Yugoslavia in 1999. Ben Norton discusses why Washington launched the attack, and lied about it. Then Ben analyzes China-Serbia relations and the Belt and Road Initiative. VIDEO: https://youtube.com/watch?v=MILgSmiBLA8 Topics 0:00 Xi condemns US/NATO for bombing China's embassy 1:50 US attack was intentional 4:44 Protests in China 5:58 Civilian victims of NATO's war on Yugoslavia 7:34 China's relations with Yugoslavia 9:05 Belt and Road Initiative 10:21 Chinese investment in Serbian steel plant 17:38 Outro