The Duran Podcast - Post China Summit, will Trump escalate Iran war? (Live)

Episode Date: May 15, 2026

Post China Summit, will Trump escalate Iran war? (Live)

All right, we are live with Alexander McCurris in London. How are you doing, Alexander? I do well and very delighted to be doing a live stream with everybody today. Lots to talk about, just saying. Yeah, we do have lots to talk about before we get into it. Hello to everyone that is watching on Rumble and Odyssey, the locals, the durand.com, YouTube. A shout out to our moderators as well, who's moderating today. We got Zareel in the house

moderating and I think that's it for now. Gift of the Gab is also helping moderate. Thank you to our moderators in the YouTube chat. Like this video, everybody. And if you're watching from your mobile device, you can also hype this video. We don't talk about the hype button on the mobile device on YouTube. But definitely give a hype to this live stream. Alexander, where do you want to begin? What do you want to talk about? I'm going to start with what I think is the most interesting thing

that's come out over the last two weeks or so because it's become absolutely clear to me that the two great powers, other than the United States, China and Russia, are not seriously negotiating with the United States anymore. So we had a telephone call between Putin and Trump, which went around all kinds of things, but it's clear that the Russians are no longer negotiating

with the Americans about Ukraine. And we've had a visit by Trump to China, which is a completely hollow, entirely empty visit. I mean, there was talk about a big deal to Sulton, 200 Boeing airliners to China. No sign of anything like that. I've been reading the Chinese media. It's just basically a tourist visit.

He was taken to the Temple of Heaven. He was taken to Zhongnanhai, which, you know, is quite an interesting place. And we might talk about that. But of substance, of actual substance, nothing. And there was an article in the Financial Times again about the fact that the Republicans, the Trump, were very, very key to get Chinese help to try to get the Strait of Hormuz reopened and basically C and the Chinese just batted them away. So what we have at the present time is this situation where the Chinese and the Russians will accept Trump's calls. He's the

president of the United States. They'll be incredibly polite to him. They will say all the things, they'll sugar the spoon, if you like, but they're not doing any actual business with him or with the United States, any serious business at this time. Now, I don't think this has ever happened before at any time in my lifetime, just as safe. So where are we heading to with all of this? There are talks that Trump is going to escalate things.

Well, this is a good question because we escalate against the Iranians, except that the United States has run down its missiles, and the Iranians apparently have not. So if we start an air wall, then it doesn't seem likely that that's going to achieve very much. The alternative, the only other thing, it seems to me, that the Americans could do in order to break this thing open is a ground invasion. And there is now talk again about this. But that's going to take a long time to sort out. It's going to be politically very controversial.

It might be a difficult thing to persuade people to accept before the midterms. So we're looking at autumn, maybe, in which case, of course, we have. months of a deteriorating situation in the energy market, in the energy situation, energy supply situation. And again, that same article in the FD said that in the US, within the administration now, they are becoming increasingly worried about that. So they can't negotiate. They won't negotiate with Iran. They won't negotiate on Iranian terms.

The Chinese are not proving. helpful in the way that perhaps Trump hoped they would. There's not been the big deals with China that perhaps he was looking for. And instead, we are in a kind of limbo where we're drifting back into a military escalation, but a military escalation with ground troops, which I think is going to be disastrous. That's how it looks to me this morning. I was reading the Chinese media this morning. I was trying to find some glimmer, some sign that the Chinese were giving the Americans something, and I couldn't find anything at all. Why would they give the United States something? I mean, what's the United States trying to get out of China? Help us to better blockage

you. Help us to more effectively disrupt the transit of oil and gas to China. Come on, China, help us. Help us to better attack you. I mean, they did the same thing with Russia, too, by the way. They're proposing the same types of stuff to Russia. You are absolutely right. We are in that situation. I think up to the summer of 2025, the Russians of the Chinese were prepared to work with Donald Trump and with the United States. Then things started to slide in the autumn. then we got Valdao, then we got Venezuela, then we got Cuba, which is an ongoing and dreadful story, then we got Iran. And I think that the cumulative view in Beijing and in Moscow is that this is an administration that only knows how to take, it doesn't know how to give. it's fundamentally extremely dangerous and aggressive.

So because it's dangerous, you don't want to infuriate Trump by slamming the door in his face. You don't end up in a situation where he might actually end up doing something dangerous and reckless. So you talk to him, you give him tours of the Temple of Heaven and Shunan Hai. But basically, you don't. deal with him. The whole point about Trump was that he was going to be a great deal maker. He isn't able to make deals because he can't negotiate. He doesn't negotiate in good faith. And the Chinese and the Russians have separately, I think, and perhaps in contact with each other, come to an agreement about that. But this trip to China, which is over, by the way, he's now

flying back to the US, was a case in point. I was expecting at least some big contract on something, probably Boeing's, but nothing like that has come out. Now, the concessions that Trump said he got from Russia, at least with regards to Iran, were no weapons from China, and China wants the Strait of Hormuz open. Those are the big concessions, which China has been saying for the past 60 days now, right? This is nothing new. Nothing new. Absolutely. The Chinese have always said they want the Strait of Hormuz open.

The Chinese have always said that they're not providing weapons directly or weapons at all to Iran. Why should they? They get the Russians to do it for them. But that's what's actually happening. So why would the Chinese give weapons directly to Iran? So the Chinese, as you rightly say, these are not concessions? Okay. Should we get some questions?

Anything else that you want to discuss? Well, we will no doubt get questions about it. We'll get a lot of questions. We have a lot of questions. just coming in. Sure, but lots of, we'll get some questions about the lunacies in London. I mean, what I will say is this. The Labour Party is just awful. They're dreadful. They can't get their act together. They have the most unpopular prime minister in British history and they can't even manage any, a plot against him. They're now gambling everything on one man who is this Andy Burnham.

Why they think that Burnham is going to achieve anything, I don't. have absolutely no idea. And in order to get him into parliament, they have to go through this circus of arranging a by-election, which I am far from sure he's going to win, by the way. It's just to buy time. It's about to buy-time.

If he loses the by-election, what then, what exactly are you going to do then? Are you going to leave Stama in place? I mean, if you wanted proof that the Labour Party's unfit to govern, you've got it anyway that's all i'm going to say about it at the moment no doubt we'll get some

questions about it over the course of this show or maybe we won't because frankly i mean there isn't any much very much more to say but anyway there we go if people want to discuss it i'm here they got to keep uh sthomer in as long as possible he's got uh he's got brexit to reverse oh he's got to put the uk and project and project ukraine to keep going and he's got to uh He's got to agree in the middle of a guilt crisis, a bond crisis, to give money to Brussels so that they can give it to Zelensky, so that Zelensky can buy more golden toilets with his friends. So we've got to keep Stammer in place.

Yeah, okay. Let's get to, one second, let me pull it up. Let's get to the questions here from Mr. Jabowak. How do Iran's and Russia's respect? approaches to weapons production differ from the artisanal approach of the West? Right. I can't speak for Iran because I don't know much about their production systems. In Russia, well, it is big industrial plants run by a single entity, which is Rostek, which is publicly owned

and which is directly subordinate to the Russian government. So, Chamehuzov, who heads Rostek, he talks to Putin. Putin gives instructions. The government gives instructions. There's a military industrial commission which is headed by Medvedev.

It's a very much more structured approach to weapons production in enormous factories with trained workers. It's completely different from what you see in the United States. States. The Russians focus on volumes, the Americans, as many have said, focus on profits. From Nikos to my fellow Duranians who think I'm a bot, no, I am paying for my chats with the last welfare Greece will give me before it all goes to the military.

Who's saying you're a bot? We are poor, but we give money to a good cause, which Duran is. That said, I'm going to be very nasty towards Russia and China. be warned. Okay, well, can I just say, Nikos, the idea that anybody would think that you're a bald, frankly, astonishes me. I mean, you are the least bot-like commentator on our programs that I can imagine. And, you know, I'm not suggesting anybody else that, you know, all these dreams is a bot, but just as a, and you emphatically, categorically, obviously are not. That's all I get to say. All right. Iranian Kido says, regardless of Nicos' opinions, he is entitled to be the so-called Council of Despair.

Things are heading in the wrong direction. Nico says, let's start with Russia. Scott Ritter nailed what has me frustrated for months, and no, it's not unfair to say that Russians behave like brats. We keep talking about deterrence. There isn't any deterrence when your enemy wants to go to war with you. The right word is will, and Russians lack it. the Iranian people surprised me. They accepted that this is a war with an enemy that has no morals

and will get hit hard. Afghanistan accepted it too. Well, I mean, the Russians have also accepted it and so have the Chinese. I don't buy this. By the way, I consider Will to be one of the most overrated factors in politics. The most important factor in the end is resources, resources and capability. And if you have those, then of course, will matters. But without them, Will will get you nowhere at all. You can have all the will you like, but if you don't have the resources to back it, you are not going anywhere. Again, if you're talking about the Russians, where do you see an absence of will? Just asking. As Scooby says, our overlords seem keen on a global depression. When this happens, the economic paradigm tends to shift. And like Reagan,

Could Spain's Sanchez seem to be a potential poster boy for it? Who knows? For the record, if you're talking about our political leaders, I don't think any of them want a depression. I think that they're scared of it. They don't want to confront it. Now, that's not to exclude the possibility that there are all sorts of foolish people behind the scenes

who think they're extremely clever, who say to themselves a depression is a perfect opportunity. to reorganize and recalibrate the world and will make us lots of money. But that is incredible folly. What economic depressions do is that they create political volatility, which always rebounds against people who think in that way. Nico says Russians, and this is a fact, had the idyllic view that the war won't affect their country,

that there will be no strikes and support. from the west. That's what the people were saying. That's what the government believed. Now the drones had successes. They whine like brats. Have you seen Ukraine? When Ukraine didn't even flinch after 13,000 missiles, you have no right to complain. Iran understood the situation. Where's the will in Russia? Well, you can just answer that very simply. I mean, the Russians are able to recruit tens of thousands of men every month. In Ukraine, people have to go around arresting people on the streets and dragging them off. so as to fight on the front lines. And there's been, obviously this is anecdotal,

but there's been lots of reports that in Ukraine, the recruitment process has increased in violence, both on the side of the recruiters and on the side of the population. There's been incidents in which recruiters have been killed. Sometimes there's been shootouts. There's been at least one instance when a recruiter was stabbing. to death. I would say on the country, as I said, if you're looking at the overall situation, if you're looking at the general mood, it's in Russia. Things are stable rather than in Ukraine.

It's Ukraine that people are trying to leave, not Russia. Look, everything comes down to the drone strikes and to Russia, Alexander. Not the recruitment, not what's happening on the front line. Yeah, not the diplomacy. Yeah, it's all about the, not every day, but every other day, Ukraine is sending anywhere between 200 to 300 or 350 fixed wing drones into Russia. And now you have the talks, more than talks of Europe ramping up production of drones at facilities inside of Europe. This is the core issue here with regards to Russia and all these questions, which I have

as well. I have this questions as well. Absolutely. Absolutely. And as I said, it does happen. But again, the key thing, what difference is it making objectively? Ukraine launches 300 drones at Russia. Far from all of them get through. Most of them are shot down. When they do impact, they do insignificant damage. One can't say that they're having any impact on the overall economic situation. been in touch with various people, including a friend of mine in Moscow, whose apartment building was in fact a fat hit. He says the situation is completely calm and stable. In Ukraine, you have 1,600 drones, far more big, far more powerful drones and missiles. And you have this crisis. Now, this is more, I would suggest, a narrative point than an actual objective one.

Can't you make the argument that Ukraine, with the help of the West, is launching more drones into Russia than say what was being launched a year ago? I mean, it seems like they are. If you were the Russian military or if you were the Putin administration, wouldn't that be a cause for concern? Wouldn't you want? I mean, my question is, when does this become a serious problem? problem, the drones from Ukraine or from NATO or this production of drones that NATO is talking about. When does this cross the line from not having an effect to having an effect to becoming a serious red line? It is a serious matter and it does have an effect. But, and this is I think

the thing people do need to get on top of. Is it more serious than the same? sanctions war that was launched against Russia in 2022, or the invasion of Kusk, or the 2023 counter-offensive, or the attacks on Russian shipping, which seem to have declined, by the way, the Russians have to adjust and absorb to every one of these things, and they do so all the time. I'm going to suggest that the drones are fond. less of a problem than some of these other things. I would counter with that. Everything you said is correct.

I would counter with that by asking you, and this actually relates to the Latvian government collapsing, right? The fact that they're using NATO's airspace and some analysts believe that they're even being launched from NATO territory, some. But I think it's without question that NATO is playing. playing a game where they are allowing Ukraine drones to use their airspace for cover as they go into internationally recognized Russian territory. I mean, if you're if you're Russia, how do you address that with NATO with the United States?

I mean, it's obvious what's happening. So how do you address that? How do you build a deterrence against that? Well, in the case of the Baltic states, we know they jammed the drones to control of them and use them the Ukrainian drones to hit talk. gets inside Latvia and Estonia. And that was what precipitated the crisis. We know that. I was told this by someone with access to information in Russia

and mentioned it on one of my programs. And then the Baltic states themselves said it. So the Russians turned this very thing against their creators. And the result is a political crisis in Latvia. Estonia and Lithuania complaining against Ukraine, Finland doing the same, and tensions and arguments all around. So, yes, they do find ways to counter these things. They're also attacking, as we now know, systematically American businesses across Ukraine. And they've been providing military assistance about this.

I have no doubt anymore. They've been providing military assistance to Iran. So it's not as if they're just sitting back and doing nothing. If you're talking about the trends in the war, I think for the Russians, this is an easier situation this year than it was last year when there was still Ukrainian troops in Kuzk, and certainly the year before when the Ukrainians were attacking Kuzk. And I think the Russians have also feel that they're getting on top of the situation

with the attacks on their energy exports and their ships. 238 Russian tankers are not Russian, but tankers have passed through British territorial waters without interference. Sariel says, if memory serves me correctly, Rubio is actually sanctioned by China. Am I wrong, but still he got to travel there, as he is an admin official with two offices. What do you both think the Chinese felt? No, you're absolutely correct. He is sanctioned by China.

He's not supposed to go to China at all. Trump asked for the sanctions to be waived during his trip so that he could bring his national security advisor and Secretary of State with him. The Chinese who had agreed to host Trump obliged because had they refused. to lift the sanctions, then the trip might not have taken place at all. But apparently the sanctions overall remain in place.

So after this trip, Rubio still can't go to China. It is a dreadful situation. The Secretary of State has not been to Moscow. He's not been to Beijing. He is basically marooned in Washington. From Iranian kiddo, a handful of billionaires with the greatest concentration of wealth in human history get to dictate everyone else's fate,

what would the visionaries of the past and our forefathers think of this? I will tell you something Iranian kiddo, since I know that you know a great deal about history and classical history. It was exactly the same situation in the last decades of the Roman Empire, that wealth became unbelievably concentrated in a tiny group of people. and the result was systems collapse. So I don't want to predict that because obviously I'm part of that system.

We all are. But this is a very dangerous and very unhealthy situation. And a high proportion of these people that you're talking about were there on that plane with Donald Trump when he went to Beijing. And from what I can see,

they came back empty-handed. Nico says during the May 9th U. Duran finally understood the situation if Russia hits Europe, they'll use it for war, and if not political instability occurs. The West isn't afraid. They know they have nothing to lose, while Russia has everything to lose. And Europe's response will be even worse than drones. You say that Russia is doing well, but my eyes must be deceiving me. I see fatigue. I see Russian officials have given up. And the will of the West is unbreakable as they prepare for an all-out war. Russia isn't willing to lose everything in a nuclear war with the West.

which is the only way to stop them. So buckle up Russians because drone strikes will occur every day because the West wants war. Yes, again, we come back to this issue of the drone strikes. I don't see any sign that they are changing the political weather in Russia. What is changing the political weather in Russia is that the Russians have become, have tough and considerably. They made a clear decision that they don't want to have anything to be with the Europeans. And because of that, I'm sorry, this is somebody trying to call me. Let me just switch off that.

Yeah, go ahead. Go ahead, Alexander. Look. All right. We'll wait for Alexander to get back. Yes. The Russians who have been working towards imposing Internet restrictions since 2024 clearly took the big plunge over the course of the world.

winter. And this is indeed causing a significant amount of pushback within Russian society. But that is the big talking point at the moment. Elsa said Trump had sent several huge airplates to China to prepare his visit. I expected him to bring his gold statue just to impress Xi. Yeah, but indeed. Musilov, thank you for that super sticker. Haruko has sent five Duran gift memberships. gifted five memberships.

Thank you for that. And we go to, one second, to Nikos. Let's talk about China now and the duplicitous game they are playing. They come out once again and say that the U.S. sanctions are no more. It's a lie. Don't buy their words for a second. While they play this role of the great multipolar ally, they send energy to Ukraine and sell drone parts to them.

It's all about business with China. They think that by building stuff and doing exercises near Taiwan, they'll be okay. I have news for them. You can't build when everything around you is burning. I don't understand why no one isn't calling them out. Why them in India are treated as powerful when they are doing deals with the U.S. and betray their allies. Soon their time will come.

Let's see. Well, as of today, I mean, they're not doing any deals with the Americans. And I think that that's the thing that I started this program. Now, China is not at war with Ukraine. They have gradually, apparently, reduced exports of drone parts to Ukraine, which is why drone production had to be relocated. One reason why drone production had to be relocated into Europe. Now, for the Chinese to go all out and stop drone exports to Europe would be a further big decision on top of that. They have not yet. prepared to do that and they haven't done it. But in terms of not implementing or accepting

US sanctions on their own territory, that is absolutely the case. In terms of banking sanctions to Western banks, HSBC and J.P. Morgan, which have operations in China, did implement American sanctions over the last two weeks. And as a result, legal action has been taken against both of them in China. It's a massively unreported story. But there it is. Sir Muzgame says you both look smashing in your US Revolution attire. I can picture Alexander correcting errors in the Constitution and Alex making Red Coat's retreat, get casting agents ASAP. Thank you for that, Sir Muske. You're very good. Yeah, and Siros Gays says, U.S. keeps trying to use the nibble technique in negotiations but is failing. The Chinese have given up on a Zopa zone of possible agreement and are aiming for a batina best alternative outside of the negotiation.

Yes, I agree, actually. I mean, there was supposed to be a framework agreement that was going to be discussed between China and the U.S. and agreed over the course of the summit. no sign of that either just saying facts 9211 says why you guys always downplay and against india well i i don't try i'd say on the contrary i very much somebody we've been against india yes i mean what i would say is i believe that india is indeed a rising power and will continue to be a rising power it's got a huge economy it's got a huge economy it's got a highly educated technical class of people. It's got a massive population which is educating

itself fast. It's got everything to play for. That doesn't mean that I'm not prepared to criticize India sometimes. I think their approach, for example, to the Iran conflict has been mistaken. Profoundly so. But there it is. I mean, I absolutely on balance, I would say I'm positive about India, not negative about it. A little falker. Thank you for the membership. Hafiz says Iran should take back Bahrain. We might end up there.

Sabinator says, do you reckon that's why silver went down a heap today? I am not going to discuss movements and markets. I'm really not an expert in this. I'm sure there's all sorts of other people out there. there on the internet who can discuss this better than me. I can't find the Axios article or the statement, which is attributed to Axios, where Trump is allegedly going to restart the war, and he's notified Israel as well. I was looking for it, but I couldn't find it.

I don't know if they've published anything just now since this morning, but. There's lots of things that you hear, by the way, that you mustn't assume. I mean, there was supposed to be a very belligerent statement by the Kremlin a few days ago. And I couldn't find any trace of it anywhere. So I think there's an awful lot of rumour and a false story and fake use going out there. And I agree. I actually also look for that in Axios. I couldn't find it on.

I couldn't find it. Yeah. Anyway, just checked again, the website. Didn't see anything. So most game says, yeah. Yeah, just a lot of this, I am sure. sure is market manipulation again. Sir Muzgame says West Streeting

looks like a particularly sleazy and creepy used car salesman. Stammer has the staying power, Mr. Z. Well, I have to say about West Streeting. I think you're absolutely right. Stama is an exhausted and discredited figure who is there on top of an exhausted and discredited figure. Who is there on top of an exhausted and discredited. his system because he does what his political masters want him to do, which are the things

that Alex said at the start of this program. Just a second. Nico says, I hope you understand me. I say these things for both countries as tough love. Ritter says the decision in Russia has been made to strike Europe. The Philippines and Japan are both preparing for a war with China. Let's see if Russia and China have the will Iran displayed. I doubt it though

Do you believe that World War 3 and a nuclear war are inevitable That's what the elites are willing to do When they have the will Then how can you deter them I think some of this speculation About the Russians rushing into use nuclear weapons Is coming from

A certain comments That a Russian academic Sergei Karaganov Who knows Putin And he's quite influential Has been making but I don't myself get the sense that the Russians, that the Russian government, any part of the Russian government, including hardliners like Medvedev, are seriously thinking about nuclear weapons use at this time, because as far as they're concerned, as I said already, things are going in the direction that they want them to go. Russian policy, Russian statements extending back all the way back to 2022,

have made it absolutely clear that in that case, all bets are off. The Russians will use whatever weapon systems they need to use in order to defend themselves. And that's been said many times, by the way, by Putin himself. So I don't think there there is any change. the Philippines attacking China. I mean, the idea is ridiculous. Axel 007 says drone alert in Finland. Latvian parliament resigns over drones.

And what are your thoughts on restore Britain and their pressure on reform? Who is low? Yeah, I mean, Rupert Lowe is the rising star at the moment. And I get to say this. My own view about reform. and Farage is that they're coasting on momentum. They built up a lot.

Farage built up a lot of support in northern and central England. And of course, he's now increased his reach to Wales as a result of his long campaign against Brexit and his policies on immigration. I actually think that some of the support for him is declining and that many personal support for him is declining. And I think that he does need to think very, very carefully about Rupert Lowe, who, by the way, apparently he's party did very well in the particular district where Lowe himself is based.

So I absolutely think this is a potential rising political force. Politics in Britain are in the period of an enormous transition from a establishment two-party system that we've had in Britain since the 1920s. So, you know, this is a very difficult transition. It's taking place against a backdrop of economic weakness and stagnation, which could lead into crisis and a social crisis. And there are no people at the moment able, it seems, to manage that transition well. Sir Muggeem says IRGC's Hormuz tax is just a negotiating bluff and won't be allowed to stand. Otherwise, Erdogan will charge $5 million to the Black Sea and $10 million to exit. Well, what you're saying is exactly one reason why the Russians of the Chinese are not happy about this.

If the US approach this thing in a completely different way, then, in other words, if it sat down and was prepared to negotiate seriously with Iranians on other things like nuclear, not let's talk to even talk about enrichment. Let's talk about nuclear energy in Iran and security guarantees and all of those things. then I think you would find that countries like China and Russia would also insist on the Strait of Hormuz being fully reopened and a return to the pre-28 February situation. But of course the US is not doing that. And for that reason, nobody else is prepared to pick America's coals out of the fire. But Bada Rosa says, how come that the Zionists can keep pounding Lebanon?

Why didn't Iran take out Israel airstrips so that they can't use their runways? You know, I think, again, you're making a very good point, because when the war began, the Iranians repeatedly said that they were not interested in temporary ceasefires. And then they did agree to a ceasefire. And it's well known that they did that. because the Chinese insisted. And I think that there are many people in Iran who are still very unhappy about that. Having said that, I think that the prevailing view in Tehran is that for the moment, the best policy that Iran should follow is to wait this out, keep the strait of Hormuz controlled

as it is. Let the economic pressures on the U.S. US grow, you do not need to escalate, you do not need to escalate over Lebanon, you do not need to escalate over the various other things the United States has been doing because the situation in the energy markets is escalating the situation for you. And I think that is the strategy that Iran is following at the present time. If they had complete freedom of action, they would never have agreed to ceasefire. Iranian kiddo says there's not much China can do. It's not like Iran is dependent on the Chinese for its military or its food.

Iran produces like 80 to 90% of its food. Absolutely. The Chinese can provide some technology and it provides apparently satellite photos. And I think this is now widely accepted. But China has some diplomatic influence over. Iran and it is important for Iran to keep China on side because Iran does not want to appear isolated in this conflict. It does not want to lose access to trade routes through Pakistan. And of course, when all of this is over, Iran will want to develop its economy with the help of China and the

other Greek states. So the Iranians are constrained, but they are They are not as dependent on the Chinese as some people in the West assume. And the Chinese anyway are not motivated at this time to help the Americans against Iran when the Iranians, the Americans have been so obviously plotting against them, against China. So this is where we are. A little fucker, 187 says, don't forget to stock up on food that stays good, for a while, i.e. rice, beans, flour, get your oil change now.

R-O-F-L. Thank you for that. Generous to super chat, little fucker. Very true. Stock up. Razor, Rayser U says, when the Iran War didn't manage to cover up for the files, Trump begged the deep state

to launch the rat bug. He is borrowing tricks from the Democrats' playbook for the midterms. Many people are saying this, but look, he's doing. Look what following that playbook is doing to him. His party is sinking ahead of the midterms. That Financial Times article said that for that reason, for that reason amongst others, the Republicans have been telling Trump, for heaven's sake, get China to put pressure on Iran so that we can get the straight of hummus open.

pretense says what created the myth that Thucydides believed in the inevitability of conflict? Was it bad translations or opportunists deliberately misreading him? Both. It originates from one single, a single passage in Thucydides, in which, first of all, he outlines the various reasons that the Spartans gave. for the conflict with Athens. It's important to understand that the Polyphonnesian war began with a declaration of war by Sparta against Athens. And then what Thucydides says,

it's a single sentence that these were the apparent reasons for the war, but the true reason was the growth of Athenian power and the fear this caused in Sparta. So he's actually dealing with a specific issue. He says that all of these various reasons that the Spartans gave for the war were basically phony, that they had no real reality behind them, that the real reason that Sparta declared war on Athens was because Sparta was beginning to fear that Athens was becoming too powerful.

And people have taken that. and have constructed an entire theory of international relations on the basis of it. Thucydides makes it absolutely clear that every war involves choice. There was no obligation on Sparta to start the war in the way that it did. And if you read his history, carefully you will see that even though the Spartans eventually, prevailed in the war, he thinks it was a disaster long term for Sparta. Nico says, I said my peace, my mind is set, I talked a lot, let's have some fun. What are your thoughts on Nolan's Odyssey?

What are your thoughts on my list? Well, Nolan's Odyssey, I have to leave to Alex. I don't know anything about it. About your list, I've got to be absolutely honest, Nikos. I have been so tied up with many things that I haven't read it yet. But I will promise you that before the next live stream, I will indeed do so. It's sent, it's sent to you, Alexander, but interesting names on the list. Vlad the Impaler.

I know. Interesting. Pol Pot in the top five, yeah. I would certainly put Pol Pot on top. Henry Kissinger in the top 20? Hillary Clinton in the top 20. The list is the 20 worst people. I know.

Interesting, interesting list. I promise, I promise I will read it properly before the next live stream, Neegos. Yeah. Nolan's Odyssey, going to make a ton of money, but it's probably going to be a, I don't know. We'll see. We'll see. I'm not expecting much from it. The dialogue, Alexander is pretty funny.

you have Matt Damon leading people into battle by saying let's go he's playing a he's playing a discus let's go he said anyway you'll see the trailers you'll get a good laugh at the trailers I think good good but we'll we'll see Nolan's a good director though so yeah yeah Monty says how high is it old DC by the way just to say is for me one of the absolutely key books I I'm rare amongst Greeks and I prefer the odyssey to the earlier just to say. Monty says how high is the chance that Armenia will get rid of Paschenaan? He is literally turning into an existential threat for the Armenian state.

Eventually they will do whether they will do so at this election I'm absolutely not sure. I would just say on balance you with the help of the West with macrons of systems with all the NGOs working around the clock for him I think he'll be re-elected. But later what happens is another thing. The problem for Armenia, and you're absolutely right to say, he is an existential threat to Armenia. How much damage to Armenia in the end is he going to do? He's already a catastrophic,

he's already had a catastrophic effect long term on Armenia. But I don't think it's yet caught in. up in terms of the sentiments of the people in Armenia yet. And it has a very, very vocal base of support in the NGO culture in Armenia, which is very powerful. I don't know anyone that likes poverty on in Armenia. It's his weirdest thing in the world. No one likes them, but there he is.

My brother is the same, by the word. I've never been to Armenia, I should say. Alex and my brother have. From Vincent, what are some of your favorite Greek foods? Thanks. Kalamaraja, squid, fried squid. I'll get them in properly in London, so I always eat them when I go back to Athens. It's an absolutely indispensable thing. The fish in Greece, in Greece is the best in the world by far. There is no comparison. The fish of the Eastern Mediterranean, Iranian and it is cooked perfectly. It's cooked simply and wonderfully and it brings out the flavour like nowhere else. Other than that, I also like yamista, the various vegetable things

that are done in Greece, which I think is superb. And I think that vegetable foods are cooked in Greece with olive oil better than anywhere else. Just so. Ivan says, why are people freaking out about Russia not doing enough and losing? Did the propaganda craw into your heads? Well, no, not really why, because, I mean, in a kind of a way, my previous life basically insulated me to a great extent against this thing. But I do see that the narratives, I mean, the narratives do have an effect. And one thing massively frustrates me is the way that the Russians let these narratives go unchallenged.

This is something that the Iranians don't do. It's something that's Chinese don't to. Whenever there's an article about, say, the Chinese economy having a wobble, you will get five articles appearing in the Chinese media, taking it on and challenging it and providing, you know, every single detail to refute it. The Russians just led all of these narratives continue. We go on unchallenged. And it is something I don't understand at all. Putin was proven wrong about the information war when he was speaking with Tucker. Remember he said when he was asked about the information war, Putin's response was, you know, how can we take on the United States?

That's pretty much what he said. They control the information space, so we can't really take them on and win. but Iran proved it wrong. Iran proved it wrong completely. With the whole Lego, if you're creative, if you use the resources that are out there, you can take it on. You know, we're talking about Iran,

which is only a fraction of the resources that Russia has. A standalone complex says, is the plan of the Western Empire to isolate China, destabilize Russia, Iran, and to control energy flows, failing due to military hubris or America's absolute incompetence in diplomacy? No, I think that the Americans don't do diplomacy at all anymore.

I mean, we see this all the time. And military hubris, I think what is happening here is something actually more insidious, which is that the US has become very accustomed to the belief that its military is by far the most powerful in the world. And I think what it's now discovering and is finding impossible to acknowledge is that its military is nowhere near as powerful

as it itself believes relative to the militaries of the other great powers. So we've had extraordinary stunts like this performance of sending an Ohio class submarine to Gibraltar. I got this completely wrong, by the way. I thought this was a cruise missile submarine because there are Ohio cruise missile submarines. This was actually, this really was a submarine

with ballistic missiles aimed at launching nuclear strikes against other superpowers like China and Russia. What is the point of doing something like that in the middle of the kind of crisis that the United States is in at the moment? It looks like an attempt by the, the US to prove to itself that it's militarily still strong. Jungal Jin says the East has moved into the 21st century.

The West is stuck in the 20th. The East is helping Africa into the 21st. Your thoughts? I think there's a lot of truth in this. I mean, we are still in a very complex and difficult period of transition. And to talk about the United States, one must not just acknowledge, but, internalized the fact that the United States still possesses huge resources. We talk about the

21st century. All the 21st century technologies were pioneered in the United States, batteries, batteries, AI, the kind of advanced chips that we're seeing today. So the United States is far from exhausted as a society and as a country. But it's political system. still operates as if this is 1990 and as if nothing has changed. Bogdan NZ says which country, which NATO country do you bet on being the first outside of Ukraine to be hit by Russia? We're finally crossing a red line. And when that happens, will it be up to Trump, whether NATO starts World War III? Well, by far the most vulnerable countries are the Baltic Straits, Finland, and I would guess Romania, by the way. because they are, if you like, the front-line states.

We already see the problems this is causing for the Baltic states as well. If you are talking about, speaking about the country that the Russians see as the greatest threat to them in European NATO, beyond any question it is Germany. So if there's going to be retaliation, it's going to be mostly focused there. I don't think we're anywhere close to that point. I wouldn't say the Baltic states are just vulnerable. I think they are very arrogant as well. They're very, very active.

And they push Russia to extremes. I mean, they're vulnerable in the sense that if they're going to be attacked. Yeah, they're vulnerable. They're vulnerable plus arrogant. Oh, absolutely. Unbelievably so. I mean, arrogant to a degree that is astonishing. And of course, they are puffed up because they have gained an incredible ascendancy over Western foreign policy.

It's extraordinary that these very small countries have basically captured the entire foreign policy of the EU. And they've managed to get one of their people to, Akaya Gales, to be essentially the EU's foreign minister. So we can understand the reasons for their arrogance, but it is a very, very dangerous arrogance. Iranian kiddo says they can't just magically stop drones. That's the nature of war. Both sides come under attack. We're used to superpowers completely dominate post-World War II. This is absolutely correct.

And again, it's something one has to take into account. I mean, you can't stop every drone. You can mitigate and limit the consequence. I think the Russians have been doing that, and I think they will do it more over the course of this year. But in terms of the other side, this is the thing that, again, it's very strange that it gets so much less attention. The missile and drone strikes on Ukraine are on an entirely different scale. Well, Russia can put out the message to the Baltics, to Poland, to... to Finland to cut it out.

Yeah. Well, cut it out. Stop the drones over your, we know what you're doing. We know you're looking the other way. We know you're allowing the drones to pass over your airspace. Cut it out or else.

I mean, they could they could put out. Maybe they have. We don't know. Well, they did. They did about two weeks ago. They said that this is unacceptable and they gave warnings to the Baltic states.

And now as we see, they've been jamming, jamming the Ukrainian drones, capturing them, and using them to attack oil depots and things like that in Latvia. So they have pushed back. But yes, okay, you can argue.

They could push back harder and further. But, you know, that's the Russians. They tend to do things, but they don't talk about them. And that is a mistake, because people do judge you, by your words as well as by your actions. It's a mistake to think that they don't. Sanjava, thank you for that super sticker.

Elsa says, what happened to TikTok gate? I haven't heard it being mentioned during Trump's visit to China. No, I haven't either. I think that the Chinese have basically given up on that one. I think as far as they concerned, TikTok is lost. But it was one of the things that Sal, the relationship between China and the US. And for the record, I understand that for the child for people in China, the thing that cut through most was not TikTok. It was the arrest of the

finance director of Huawei and the attack on Huawei. That really did cut through even amongst the wider Chinese public. Yeah, a TikTok USA. The rest of TikTok, my understanding is still still exactly as exactly as before. Iranian Kiddo says, to clarify something I've been hearing, Iran is connected to China by rail through Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, and Turkmenistan, not Pakistan. Okay, thank you for the correction.

Sir Muggeen says, always remember Putin is a trained lawyer. Don't forget that DJ Trump is an amateur DJ. He loves making people dance to his points. Sorry to his post. Yes. It is one of Putin's great strengths that he is a lawyer. He goes about things in a very systematic, methodical way, the way lawyers do.

It means that he prepares his positions extremely carefully, and he calculates his moves very carefully. It is also his weakness because lawyers lack some of that immediacy and flexibility that non-lawyers have. have. Just a second. I speak with experience here, obviously. Iranian kiddo says Pakistan has no railroads to China, the Karakotam mountain ranges in Balitistan region lies along the Chinese border, has the highest peak second to Everest, the highest altitude international border. Thank you for the explanation and the correction, Iranian Kido. Grouch 1001 says,

have you read about the Zayo Naz graping Palestinians with steel rods and dogs was in the New York Times? Wow, so hard to tell this on here. Yeah, it is hard to put it in a message, hard to talk about it on YouTube. Yes, we have heard about it. Christoph, I forgot the guy's name, Christoph something, the journalist. who Netanyahu is now saying that Israel's going to sue for defamation or something. Yes. But I don't think you can you can sue if you're a country, right?

I mean, defamation. No, you can't. I mean, that is impossible. I mean, it's individuals and companies who can. I've never heard of nations bringing legal action against it, in that kind of way, in defamation course. I mean, it makes absolutely no sense to me. Yeah.

Fuzzy ball says, why is the UAE even still in bricks? Obviously, they have chosen Tel Aviv over Tehran. Also, the UAE is an epicenter for human trafficking. UAE has to go. Well, I'm not going to get you to what the UAE does internally, but why are they still in bricks? Well, I think that there continue to be within the UAE some voices that say that the current alignments are mistaken.

and that they should at least preserve contacts with the other great powers and that quitting bricks would be slamming the door behind UAE in ways that might leave it over-dependent and isolated. So I think that is the reason. I would add, by the way, that I understand that the current direction of policy within UAE is unpopular. it's unpopular within the wider population. But you know what I think?

I think they will lead bricks. I think that the anger on the part of the Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and his immediate circle is so strong. And I think that there are others in the UAE in the elite who think in exactly the same way. And they're so heavily integrated with the US at so many levels that I think it's only a question of time. Nicholas Christoff

That's the New York Times Communist Thank you, Joy, for that Where are we? Zach Alexander We are With Iranian kiddo China is reluctant to invest in Iran

They never have Due to sanctions geopolitical issues Including Iran's own political system Where moderates Mostly trying to bend things With the West And conservatives look to Asia Yes, I think that is true

I mean, there was some talk a few years ago about Iran and China moving forward and of an enormous trade deal's being done and about a huge investment program by China in the Iranian economy. It never crystallized. And I wonder whether the recent changes in Chinese policy on sanctions might now bring about a change. there. But for the moment, you're correct. The one thing, as I said, I do know, is that the Chinese and Iranian central banks do have a swap agreement. And apparently during the currency crisis in January, the Chinese made clear that this could be used. And I'm puzzled why it wasn't. If you can provide any clarity of that. I just don't understand. why the Iranians didn't use the swap agreement, which would have, I think, stabilised the situation very quickly.

Sir Mug's game says the city of Lisbon's named after Odysseus. The city of Lisbon is named after Odysseus. Sir Muggan's game also says red mullets superb. It is absolutely. Thank you for that. Sir Mug's game. Iranian Kido says China invested 20, billion last year in Saudi Arabia alone.

I believe they invested $10 billion or less in Iran in the past decade or so. Well, that's right. By the way, China and Saudi Arabia have a relationship that goes back at least to the 1980s. I remember how it developed very much at that time. But they've not been heavily involved in Iran. Iran recently joined. join the bricks. It may be that that would have encouraged further moves within China. I think the Chinese also were worried about the relations between the US and Iran. They've also been

deterred by the possibility that a war might happen. And some Chinese businesses clearly have been worried about sanctions. And there's also been the fact that a war might happen. And there's also been the that some people in Iran definitely have held back. Maybe that will all change now. Zizi Karayani, thank you for that super sticker. Flying Boar says Latvian leadership resigned. Is Britain and Germany next? Well, you know, can I just explain something about what has happened in Latvia?

Because it's far from straightforward because the Latvian defense minister, basic, who's very hardline, said, look, you know, all these Ukrainian drones, drones that are flying overhead. Well, yes, they are, but that's not a big deal. If there's any problems with them, that's entirely due to the Russians. He wasn't prepared to take any action to bring down the drones. So this provoked uproar in Latvia. The prime minister then forced the defense minister to resign.

And what that then led to was that the defense minister, party pulled out of the Latvian coalition, which has caused it to collapse. So it's hardliners, anti-Russian, hardliners who, if you like, are driving this crisis. So I think that is something to just bear in mind about this. It's not as if there is still a very strong constituency within Latvia that wants to go on helping Ukraine by allowing. Ukrainian drones to overfly Latvia in order to attack Russia. Well, the defense minister admitted that it was Ukraine drones too. And I think the prime minister, I think they didn't like that at all.

He came out and said, it's probably Ukraine drones when they tried to run the narrative that these were Russian drones that were attacking Latvia. Yes, yes. So, yeah, they didn't like that statement from him. Anyway, I think there are people that are telling Latvia to cool it down with all of this nonsense. Yes. Yeah. Nico says, I read the Odyssey when I was six, and I do prefer it over the Iliad. As for the list, what inspired me to make it is the whitewashing of Hitler by the West.

Yeah. I do need to read your list. For me, The Odyssey is the first and in some way greatest novel, just to say. And what many people don't realize about the Odyssey is that the heart of the story, the main part of the story is Odysseus returning home and bringing his home and his country back to order. There is a passage about his travels, but it's basically him describing his travels as a kind of prelude to the, the main part of the story, which is enormously gripping. Sir Muzgames says my mistake, there's a myth that Lisbon was founded by Odysseus. Okay. Cool.

Iranian kiddo says Armenia is gorgeous, and I noticed they're becoming a destination among Western tourists because it's more affordable, beautiful scenaries and monasteries. So I've had, I've never been there. I have a tremendous affinity for the Armenian people. but i've never been to armenia a lot of foreigners are traveling to armenia true very true uh vincent says any updates on georgia it looks like trump is planning on building a tower in tbilisi is he indeed um as far as i know the situation in georgia now has basically stabilized the government the current government remains in control and the economy continues to grow

it's got a very, very long way to go. I remember when I went there last year, you could see the signs of economic stress all around you. It was a, it reminded me very much of Russia when I first, when I went there in the early 2000s. Sir Muzgames says Stammer is the asbestos of politics. It's everywhere, but deadly if removed. Yeah, true enough.

Sir Buzzgames says Palavi, self-jynxed calling himself Shah and Shah and Shah King of Kings. The one and only King of Kings is Christos

Pantocrater only a matter of time before Trump calls himself the President of Presidents. Indeed, yes. I believe King of Kings is a well-known and well-established title within Iran. So I suppose that's where he comes from. But he does have a significant amount of support amongst the Iranian exile community here in London. I doubt that he has very much in Iran itself.

Iranian Kido says my favorite Armenian site is the temple of Gaudhny, a Greek temple first dedicated to a pagan deity named Mir or Mer in modern Farsi meaning light. It's shared many elements with Zoroastrianism. Interesting. Well, of course, as you know, I'm sure you know from your history, Iran and Armenia have very, very strong historic and cultural links. And during the time of the Roman Empire, Iran balanced between Iran and the Romans. Sometimes it tilted more towards the one, sometimes it tilted more towards the other. Sir Muzgame says there's a danger that the IRGC might get too greedy with their retirement golden parachutes. This is after all the Iran-Contra generation. Well, maybe, but we're in the situation we're in today, and that doesn't seem to be

the case of the moment. Pristolian Scott says, without the internet, we'd probably all believe the beheaded baby's hoax or the 40,000 Iranians killed claims as the MSM dies, is narrative control slipping forever, how will our elite respond to this? Do you know something? It's a strange thing, but before the internet, in the 70s and 80s, the MSM was a lot more accurate. It was never objective and it was never completely accurate, but it was much more accurate than it is today. I could say that with confidence because I've been able to go back and compare what they were saying. with what we now know was going on because we always have a lot more information than we do.

And there was certainly much more diversity of opinion. But since the internet, the MSM has become far more conformist and far more aggressive. It's because back then they had real journalists as well. Absolutely, they did, absolutely. I mean journalism was a whole thing. There was a journalism was a real thing. There were the journalists who, you know, grew, who were there during the Second World War and after, who were a great generation of journalists. And then there were the people, those journalists trained.

Today, they all come from journalists schools and they're completely different. Yeah, journalism today is just about access. You want to hang out at the same cocktail parties with Ursula and Callis and all of these people. Correct, correct. Adrian has gifted five Duran memberships. Thank you, Adrian, for that. Iranian Kiddo says, Temple of Garni was destroyed in the earthquake in the 17th century

and was rebuilt like a puzzle piece by peace in and by the Soviets in the 60s and 70s. It's 80% original, one of the best preserved Greek temples built. I must go and see it. I have family connections, by the way, in Iran. There was a famous sculptor called Mercuriev, who is from Armenia, sorry, from Armenian, family connections.

And apparently he claims he was a famous sculptor in the Soviet period. He claimed to be part of our wider family. He might have been. Sir Muzgames says Australia isn't being banned. or droned, but has petrol shortages, yet Israel does not. So very strange and funny, things that make you go, hmm. But indeed. Matthew Hayden says, in your mind, what drives the hatred of Russia in the Eurocrout mind?

Is it just the actions of their secret services in foreign countries? This is such an enormous topic, and it's when we've talked about so many times. I mean, obviously there are cultural differences. which are long-term and historic, there is the fact that Russia is by far the biggest, most powerful state within the European continent, and that just create weariness. I think an awful lot of what's driving it now,

going back to the many things Alex has been saying, is that in the 1990s, and a lot of people made an awful lot of money out of Russia, and then along comes Vladimir Putin, and he brings it all to a stop, and all of those people who made all that money, and all of those people who counted on making still more money, and the European Commission that saw Russia as the place

that they would provide unlimited energy, they are furious about it, and that anger has never gone away. Putin ruined their game. They'll never forgive for it. They'll never forgive for it. Yeah, JCHW says, if you don't read the newspaper, you're uninformed. If you read the newspaper, you're misinformed.

Mark Twain. Very good. Iranian Kido says, the reason it lasted is because it's built on top of a hill and later used by Armenian rulers as a summer retreat. Wow. Interesting. I'll look it up after we finish this program. Thank you for that.

Iranian Kido. Alexander, that is... That is everything. Have you heard about the, from the Onisia, have you heard about the Ukrainian marine drone with lots of explosives that was found off the coast of Lefkada? Yeah. Yeah. There's no way that came from Ukraine. Just saying that was not from Ukraine that drone. Of course no. Yeah, I think we know where it was manufactured. Exactly. Unfortunately. Unfortunately. We know who was manufacturing that. Musilov, thank you for. that super sticker. That's everything, Alexander. That's everything. Great live stream, if I may say.

And thanks, everybody. And Nikos, as I said, definitely not a bot. Can I just say? And always, always. I enjoy your questions, just to say. Hito says, no more weekly live streams. No weekly. I understand that.

Live streaming now. Absolutely. Yes. We try to live stream as much as we can. As much as we can. Remember, we are very, very busy people. We're doing a lot of guest shows as well. Exactly. Exactly. But we try to live stream at least once once a week. Absolutely.

Open View, Ozzy says, What do you think Russia is trying to achieve with these rocket launches? There have been so many this year. You mean the space launches? What they're building is their satellite arrays. And can I just say something here? After the Soviet Union collapsed, the Russian space program was in absolute chaos. And it took, well, the better part of two decades to get it back up and running.

I mean, the quality control of the rocket productions, dreadful. They depended on the imports from Ukraine, rocket engines and all of that. Now, over the last three or so years, they seem to finally crack it. And we see rocket launches taking place faultlessly. So, you know, they've developed satellites. They're back in space. But the satellites, I think, currently overwhelmingly have a military purpose. Create a Starlink equivalent system.

Provide surveillance. It's not widely known. But Russia was very short of satellites at the start of the SMO. I mean, the number of American satellites that were observing the situation in the SMO, I mean, dwarfed Russia's capabilities. But now the Russians are gradually equalized, not gradually rapidly equalizing. S.S. Scooby says, How will the narrative control slip away from them when they're all starting to listen to personal AI agents they control?

they control. Well, indeed quite so. But you should never, ever give up a battle. I mean, the way the Russians have given up the lead here to the Americans by default is incredible and inexplicable to me.

Jamila says the world leaders love themselves before their country. And can I ask you about those armies? What's going on with them? Which armies? I would say the the European armies. Oh, the European armies.

Well, I mean, the answer to that, Germany's army, I guess. I don't know. I mean, Germany can't recruit men for it because the young boys don't want to join because they don't want to get into an army today. Mouth's popularity is collapsing, and Kayakalas is complaining about the fact that they're spending so much money on weapons, but they're getting any weapons in return,

which is exactly what we see. said would happen. So I don't think it's going very far about leaders loving their interests above their nations, absolutely. And we see this playing out today in Britain over this truly awful labor battle for the leadership and for replacing Stalin. Elza is a member of the Duran community. Thank you for that. And Flying Boar says, what do you think of Karganov's comments? recently. I think that he began about two years ago. And what he was saying then was interesting and relevant. I think he's, what has happened is because he's becoming emboldened. He's now going far too far. And he's now basically talking about nuclear war, Russia waging nuclear war.

and I think that's completely isolating him within the Russian leadership and within Russian society. Sir Muzgame says, Summers upon us and the Fredo espresso Sketo can make things so much better. They certainly can. Very true, Sir Muzgame. That's why I drink it. But they only work in Greece for some reason, just to say.

Carlos Korni. Try and do them here, as I have. And they're awful. Carlos Correa says, what is your way of staying informed about what's happening on the front lines? In my opinion, one should never fully trust official sources, whether they're Russian, American, Ukrainian, etc. You are absolutely correct. You have to go through all the various websites and bloggers and all of that. And you need to understand that every one of them has his own agenda and his own perspectives.

and some of them are very arrogant and some of them are very full of themselves. Some of them believe that they're Napoleon and that they understand how the war should be fought. But gradually, if you do this, you begin to get a sense of what is going on and who can be mostly trusted and who can't. By the way, on this, we're very lucky

in being able to talk to Stanislav because Stanislav is in touch with people in the Russian military and I found his information consistent. to do reliable. Just to say. Batumi, Georgia, looks awesome. Warm, warm and sunny, Batumi, Georgia.

Thank you for that. I haven't been there. Yeah. A flying boar says, how Ukraine grabs people from the streets. This will come to European countries soon. Well, possibly. Sir Muzgames says,

the UK needs Greek baristas, ASAP. Absolutely. All right, that's everything. Thank you so much for all of the questions, all the super chats. Thank you to everyone that joined us on Odyssey. Odyssey, yeah. I was talking about Odyssey, and I'm saying Odyssey, yeah. It's a platform, too, Odyssey.

Thank you for joining us on Odyssey and on Rumble and locals, that Durand.com, as well as YouTube. Thank you to our moderators. Thank you, Zarael. Thank you, Gift of the Gab. Thank you, Harry. And I think that's everyone that was moderating today. So thank you for moderating the YouTube chat.

Alexander, any final thoughts before we sign off? Just read the Odyssey, people. It's a great read. It really is. In some places, it's full of humor and a sense of fun too. It's a great book. And by the way, a great life stream to do. Yeah. Open Buazzi says, does anyone have a solution for Palantir taken over the world?

Well, I think Palantir is part of the larger problem. And that is a vast question to end a live stream on. I think that, I'm going to say, I think that the ascendancy of Palantir and all of that crowd, he's probably going to come to an end fairly soon. I think that their big moment is passing. That's my own sense. Elsa says, A member for 45 months, and you have never disappointed me, gentlemen. Thanks.

Thank you, Elsa. All right, we'll end it on that note. Take care, everyone.