Caledonia Wants France out of South Pacific? About Time!!

Hello everybody and welcome to Geopolitical Trends. Very excited to be with you on this Memorial Day. I know it's a holiday here in the US. For me, I made the decision it's a working day for me, so, uh, still we'll celebrate it in a way that I do. No alcohol. And no, because that's what it is. A lot of people, uh, do not know the sort of the significance of what Memorial Day is all about. So anyway, we'll get into that some other time. So anyway, very excited to be with you here, and, uh, I have this interesting topic that I want to cover. Of course, we talked about it briefly last time, about Caledonia. Today I'm gonna dig deeper into that and provide you my own analysis and insights as to what does it mean, what those protests means, and how does may and will eventually shape the geo— the security landscape in the Pacific. So, uh, before I'll do all this, can you please, guys, do me a favor? Give me a thumbs up if you can hear me clearly, because I just reset the, uh, the mics here and all that stuff. So I want to make sure you can hear me clearly. So if it is, please just give me a thumbs up. I will greatly appreciate it. So in the meantime, uh, I am going to look who is here. Let me just see till I get a thumbs up from one of you, at least to make sure it's— the sound is working as it ought to be. All right, Phil, you say audio is fine. Dr. O, thank you so much, that's all I need to know. Much appreciated. Truth Seeker, thank you so much. So good to have you here, guys. You too, super good to see you as always. Francis Tango, uh, Ko Choi Hoi, Truth Seeker, Ray, Macian Dorcier, Joel. Uh, uh, Suan Su, good to see you. Jerry Larry, good to see you. Uh, France is everywhere, not anymore. So Wong Casey, good to see you as always. Phil, as always, from Ottawa. John Smith, New Zealand. Timeline Dunkley, New York. Nobsa, hola hola to you as well. And Montez King, good to see you. Phil, as always. Muslim Revert. And Sayed Razali. Good to see you guys. Uh-oh, Famida, uh, good to see you and hello to you. All right guys, let's get into this because I'm gonna get in today into the history and the geography, of course. But before I'll go into all this, I want to give you— I want to remind you, uh, of my live stream tomorrow. I will be talking about the recent visit of the Bahraini king, uh, Al Khalifa to Moscow. What does it mean? It's an area that I am very, very familiar with. I spent a lot of years, uh, in my work in the Middle East, so I kind of— West Asia, that is. So I'll be talking about that tomorrow. Also, to remind you, on May 31st, I will have my— I look forward to that conversation with Professor Yan Liang. She's— I, I can't wait for that conversation because we're going to be covering the global economy in general term. That's her area of specialty, academic background, and she is very, very, very, very well informative lady. So based on the research that I did and so forth, so, uh, the other thing I think is I am going to reach out to Carlza. I didn't forget about that, guys. I'm going to reach out to it. Uh, I want to say thank you to you guys for your support for the video I released today. By the way, just to give you a heads up, I had a different, uh, sort of narrative for that as far as the analysis that I'm gonna release to you, uh, in, in, in, in full. That one, when the company reached out to, to me here and, and, and to us on the other channel, I had to modify a few things. So thank you so much for, uh, sort of just giving that video a thumbs up. I am very grateful to you guys. All right, let's ask the questions now about this Caledonia thing. It's because the media here in the West They are talking about it. I'm not saying they are not. It's just they are minimizing. Oh, it's like, oh, those are just some homies protest, whatever. No, it goes deeper than that. It was the same argument that was made in Africa. You all remember prior to what took place in Niger, prior to what took place in Burkina Faso, and prior what took place in Mali, right? The same argument. What the media is kind of limiting the conversation about is that the Caledonians have been pushing for independence for a while. And so, you know, it's just fascinating. And this is what I am very, very excited to talk to you about this, because it was a learning process for me too. Yes, I was familiar with the— even during my trips to Cambodia and all that, I was aware of the presence of France. Of course, if we go back to Vietnam and we go back to all that, but for Caledonia, it was kind of, wow, a new sort of new, uh, a new outlook into it that I found it very interesting. And I am glad I did the research here, but I'm gonna share it with you as we always do. So, so let's ask the questions, you know. Are France's days in Caledonia numbered? Because it's worth asking the question. It was the same— the way I see it, guys, as geopolitical analyst, I always look at the trends— is the same pattern that took place in Niger. Of course France was taking too much of those resources and not giving that what it belongs to the, uh, uh, uh, uh, uh, people in Niger. So same argument I see here. So, so that's the first question: are France's days in Caledonian numbers. Second question: will we see another scenario like Niger? You have to think outside the box. You can't assume this is just like some street gangs, uh, doing protest. No, no, no, no, no, no, no. It's— there is more than what meet the eyes on this. And, and after I read a few things from France in French language, because I read them in the original language, you know, became clear to me as to why the French president Emmanuel Macron had to make a trip to Caledonia. You know, usually for something like that, he won't— a president will go all the way. No, but that tells me the seriousness of it. Third question is how the US and Australia assess this development. Once, once I share with you the geographical location of Caledonia, Australia is already sort of being pushed by the United States. Australia, I am here to tell you, Australia now— we're not talking Australia 30 years ago, 40 years ago when Paul Keating used to be the prime minister, where people with, uh, maturity, diplomatic maturity. Now you have the likes of Albo, you have the likes of Morrison, and all those are like just, uh, jokes, you know. I bet you Australia will be doing what the US gonna give the orders, the same way you are noticing with Europe when it comes down to, uh, uh, Germany, to France, to the UK, Spain, Portugal, Italy, you got the idea, Sweden, Denmark. Even now Sweden, you got demonstrations which we don't hear much about. There is a lot going on in Sweden internally Western media staying quiet and mum about it. So, and the fourth question, which is the key, this one pertains to the security landscape. Is Western dominance in the Pacific— remember, I didn't say Caledonia here, I said Pacific— is Western dominance in the Pacific coming to an end? Because remember, if It was during the Obama administration when the US said, oh, we're gonna have to pivot to the Pacific. So, and I disclosed in my books that I wrote, when it comes up as part of that research, whatever the writing I was doing, if the conversation was about Asia, whatever, I put the Pacific as, as a whole, because to me that's where I saw things moving forward. And now with what's taking place in Caledonia, it will be worth asking that question. And, uh, and this is where I see things moving forward. So, so as we know, uh, uh, Caledonia, basically to me it looks like they want France out. There is no other— what other explanation will be? Are they going to be saying to France, please, uh, back in Paris, make the changes for us legislatively? That is because that's what France is saying. And I, I'll share with you as I move forward. So, or of course, the state of emergency which France has announced in the South Pacific Island, uh, Caledonia, that is. So, because violence have erupted and it's like a cooker pressure, a pressure cooker rather, uh, you know, boiling point, things gonna get out of control. So, so Caledonians want total independence, no matter what you hear. I know some publications in the West, they talking about independence, but they putting it mildly. In other words, there are those who wants independence, but there are those who wants to stay under the rule of France. So they are kind of sort of wishy-washy about it, gently manipulating the masses. But what's at the heart of it is that Caledonians, In general, they want independence from France. So now the question become for us is, hypothetically, we go with this, do you think— and this question for you guys— do you think that France will honor that? Just give me an answer, yes or no, in the chat box. So, and, uh, and like I asked earlier, are we seeing a repeat of what took place in Niger? So, so let me see your answer, guys. Be here because I want to, uh, see your, your input regarding that question. Hypothetically, we go with that. That's the— will France honor the wishes of Caledonians? Jerry Larry, you say no. Muhammad Mazar, you say no. Muslim Revert, you say no. Mar Vega, you say hell no. Seneza, you say no, uh, and Chas, you, you guys got it. And I share your opinion with this, and I go the same direction as you. Yeah, France most likely will say no. Why? Is because France— this, by the way, this will realize, and it's already realizing, that is losing its prevalence on the global stage, has been losing that. The whole Western Europe, for that matter, It's going down gradually because this is— and for France, after what took place in Africa, in the Sahel, especially in Niger, Mali, Burkina Faso, this is like a nail in the coffin. I remember when I went to Cambodia and I, I, uh, one time I went to eat in a restaurant there. It was French, and, and the person who was, you know, serving, providing the food and all that stuff, I spoke to her and found out she was French. Turns out to be the owner. She was just helping. It's her business, whatever. And I kind of engaged with her in French. Of course, she was shocked and surprised that a foreigner here speaking French to her, whatever. And I kind of like, what are you doing here? She said, yeah, we stayed here and end up opening a restaurant. So I was aware of the presence of France in there. I remember I have family in France, so we kind of talk and talk about the history and all that. Well, it's the idea of now what took place in Africa. We're seeing the repetition of it, or better, uh, repetition of it in, uh, in, in Caledonia. So, well, Caledonia has been under this tense, yeah, tense situation for several months. It just came out to light recently, and even for me, I knew about a few days ago, about a week and a half And I decided because I had other topics to cover, and to us it's not about, uh, we'll cover it when we'll cover it. You know, patience is a virtue, as I always say. And this one, because it goes back to, I believe, the first time I came across this one was on May 13th. Yeah, we are on 27th now. So that's where, because why the riots became so intense. And, and of course, what was this all about? It was about the assembly, l'Assemblée nationale. This is the French one, was about to vote in Paris about a constitutional amendment. And here is what it is, to re— and I put this in quote— to reform the archipelago electorate, which was strongly opposed by the territory pro-independence camp, end of quote. So this is why the French president went ahead and issued the state of emergency on the territory on May 15th, 2 days after that. As a matter of fact, I found out that now Macron got the orders not to move forward with the vote. Surprisingly, I don't know what he's gonna do after this one. And this is why, of course, there were some 5 people or 6 people to my account that been dead because of the violence and so forth. And French— France end up sending about 3,000 troops. So, so, and this is what I'm going to get into the detail. But first, let's talk about geography, very, very important, and the history of it. So let me share the map with you, uh, all of you guys here, and As always, I give credit to, uh, World Atlas because that's their, their, their map here, uh, even though I don't agree all the time depending again on the geographical, which what we saw last time with Taiwan. You see it also, uh, there are some maps and I'll share it with you guys in due time about, for example, Okinawa, how it was, because as you all know Okinawans don't want to be associated with Japan, no different than when Hawaiians don't want to be associated with the rest of the United States. So, so let me see where— yeah, this is the, the island here. I don't know if you guys can see, this is too small. Full screen. Yeah, it's not clear enough here. Let me move to this one here, and it's very, very, very small. So So what is Caledonia? For people who might not know, Caledonia consists of like the— they have the mainland, which is the main island. I'm sorry, not the mainland, the main island, which is New Caledonia, La Nouvelle-Calédonie in French, for those who speak French, one of the largest in the Pacific Ocean, the archipelago of isles Loyauté, and numerous small sparsely populated islands and atolls. New Caledonia is a special collectivity of France as a part of Melanesia in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It is situated to the south of the equator and to the north of the Tropic of Capricorn. That's my zodiac sign, by the way, guys. And is geographically positioned both in the southern and eastern hemispheres of the Earth. The archipelago is located to the east of Australia, to the north of New Zealand, and to the west of Fiji and Vanuatu. That's, that's what's interesting about, uh, I know the map here, it's not— doesn't show much, much of the Yeah, there's, uh, right here, right here you can see a little bit better. Yeah, like it's better right here. So this is the Vanuatu, this is New Caledonia, of course that's New Zealand here and Australia. So now let's get into the history, which I find fascinating, because here is the first question you need to ask yourself: what the heck is France doing in New Caledonia? Or how did France end up in Caledonia? To begin with. So, and it's worth asking. So, so I digged into some historical records, and of course I cross-check, uh, the information to make sure it's as accurate to the best of my abilities, guys. So if I miss something, it just— I fact-check stuff, I double-check to make sure, but sometimes, you know, if I miss something, I'm just a human like you also. We all make mistakes, whatever. But to the best of my abilities. When I fact-check the information, I want to make sure it's accurate. But first of all, let's start with the Melanesians. Melanesians settled in the island about 3000 BCE, before common era, and except for Polynesian voyagers, probably were cut off from outside contact until the late 18th century CE. You move forward from that day to 1774. The British navigator and explorer, when known, when known in history, just think, 1774, a British navigator. Let me see in, in the chat box, guys. Because I always like you to be part of the conversation. All right, let me see who you guys write down. It was one known— one known in history. Uh, Truth Seeker, Francis Colonizer. Yeah, yeah. Who was the— who was the British explorer at that time? Captain Cook. Q with 7E, you got it. James Cook. That's why— well, so what happened? He landed in the ballot. And on the east coast of the mainland. And he named the island— that's where the name came from, New Caledonia, because Caledonia was there, so named it New Caledonia for his father's native Scotland. So Cook was followed there by the French navigator Antoine de Bruni. This is the Chevalier of the Extras Castaux. And in 19— in the 17— I'm sorry, 1793, that's when he was followed by— that's when Antoine de Brunet, uh, followed him. So regular contact with Europeans began in 1841 when sandalwood traders from Australia introduced islanders to the use of iron. That's how it all started. So the arrival of a Protestant mission from London Missionary Society— because remember, religion was part of the deal as well. You send the missionaries, which we still see till today, the Christian missionaries, they send their missionaries to Africa and Asia and all those parts. And that's what happened back then. So the arrival of the Protestant mission from London Missionary Society in the Loyalty Islands in 1841. Then after that, an Emerist mission which was set up right after, uh, after at Ballad with the aid of the French Navy in 1843. Why is that, guys? Why the French Navy assisted this. Once again, I just want to, you know, share here the knowledge, and I want to have your input. What was about that era, 1843? What was going on with France at that time? Let me see if you guys can, uh, just mention something here. Because without the aid of the French Navy in 1843— why was the French Navy involved to begin with? Napoleon. You got it, you got it. The idea that was that the French Navy was strong at that time. That was the reason why they reached out to them. So back in 1843, and this, this is the important thing I need you to get out of this. This marks, meaning this period, 1843, marks the beginning of the Protestant and Roman Catholic presence in the territory. So both France and England were pushing into this. And this is when France took possession of most of present-day New Caledonia in 1853 in ceremonies at the Ballad and the Isle— or the Isle— yeah, the Isle des Pins, l'Île des Pins, or des Pins, they call them des Pins, P-I-N-S, l'Île des Pins, with the aim of reserving— here is the key also— Here is the key that I need you to understand. What was the aim of it? It was to reserve, okay, to reserve the territory as a possible site for penal colony. And that's when the French flag was not run up in the Loyalty Island until 1864. Now you need to understand from a historical perspective What is penal code? Because it's very, very, very important for you to understand. Let me share a picture here if I have, uh, no, I don't. Okay, yeah, penal— not penal code, penal colony. What is it? Here is what's interesting about it, and this is where I find it very frustrating for me when I read the publications in the West, that is kind of refraining from providing the full picture and let us decide. You know, just provide the facts and let us decide. But to cut the story in half and say only this but not this— in other words, cherry-picking— you're manipulating the masses. And for me, I refuse that. Here is what they don't disclose, just for you guys to know, disclose or not. This is for you, for your own knowledge. Penal colony, basically what it is, is distant and overseas settlement established for punishing criminals by forced labor and isolation from society. Although a score of nations in Europe and Latin America transported their criminals to widely scattered penal colonies. Such colonies were developed mostly by— can you guys tell me? There are 3 countries that developed this. I just wanted to, you know, share, share the knowledge here. Tell me, what are the 2 countries in Europe? There are 2 in Europe, actually all 3 considered Europeans. Can you guess which countries are? Let me just see if you guys can share that. Uh, not Australia. No, no, no, no, those are in Europe. In Europe. Jerry, you got it. UK is one. What is second one? Uh, Belgium? No, that was Belgium for, uh, for, uh, Africa. I'm talking in this part of the world. So what is the other country? It was England. What is the other one? France. That's correct. What is the third one? Third one might surprise you. Let me see. Uh, UK from Italy? No, no, it was Russia. It was Russia. This is why, still in Russia system, when they send some, uh, uh, I know I was familiar with the locations in Siberia. Those are for, for, you know, they consider criminals according to the Russian system. That's where they send them. That was part of that. So England shipped criminals to America until the American Revolution, and also to Australia, both. So when England had criminals, they send them to the US and they send them to Australia because they were both colonies of the, of the Britain, into the middle of the 19th century. Yeah, that's how far back it was. So France, on the other hand, established penal colony in Africa. This is what we are witnessing now, that Africans are kicking France out. New Caledonia and French Guinea, which of those in the later, including Devil's Island if you're familiar with it, we're still operating even up to World War II. Those colonies were still operating. The penal colonies. French Guiana, okay, epitomized the worst features of penal colonies. Harsh punishments that included harsh punishments and the underfeeding of prisoners assigned to hard labor was just a routine over there. Then comes the Siberian colonies maintained by the Soviet Union at the time, were initially organized under the Tsar, but were most widely employed from the Russian Revolution through the Stalin era. Governments have since turned to alternative means of crime control, and most penal colonies have been abolished. Might not be all, after all, you know what I mean? You have to think in those terms. So, so this is where the importance of the history comes in. And of course, that was just brief because The first human that settled in, in New Caledonia, or Caledonia, that— yeah, New Caledonia, I just call it Caledonia— was back in 1600 BC. That's when it was. And, uh, and I'm not gonna— I'm gonna provide you, uh, the, the link to all this. Here is what's important also: why all of a sudden Macron has to go down there? And think, think outside the box, guys. I'm going to ask you a question here. Think from an economic perspective. What is Caledonia known for economically? Natural resources. What is it known for? Let me see, uh, your answer in the chat box. Oh, Fight Back, hello to you. What is known for Caledonia is known for specific, uh, specific, uh, natural resource. Oh, you got it, Karim Hassan, you got it. Wonkasee, you got it. Fight Back, you got it. Nickel. Nickel, that is what, what it's known for. And guess what, guys? It was discovered back in 1864. So just think outside the box. All of a sudden France, uh, Macron had to go physically over there. Kicked out of Africa, which means what? Lack of access to resources, including nickel, because it's in Africa, going to Caledonia. That's what I want you guys to understand about this. Of course, uh, the, the detail of all this, I'm not gonna go through it in its entirety because it's long, but I will provide you the link. One thing I need you to understand, uh, the New Caledonia became an important base for Allied troops. Yeah, and the US moved its South Pacific headquarters to the island in 1942. That's how far back it goes. And following the war— we're talking about World War II at the time— France made New Caledonia an overseas territory and granted French citizenship to all inhabitants in 1953, thereby permitting the Kanaks— Kanaks are the original inhabitants of the land— to move off the reservations. So, and this is where the Kanak nationalist movement began in the '50s. But most voters at that time, still to a degree today, choose to remain, uh, as a territory, uh, in an independence referendum in 1958. Yeah, that's how far back it goes. So, and this is what we're going to get in, into the detail of all this as to why all of a sudden Macron is going physically there. Of course, after what took place in Africa, uh, it's almost, I feel like, uh, the, the colonies now saying Enough, enough, we've had it, we want you out, we can manage our own, in our own independence per se. Uh, um, I had one of you guys, David B., uh, shared this, uh, comment and I'm going to share it with you. And, and spot on when he wrote, and I quote, definitely New Caledonia in terms of their own independence but also wider geographically— I mean geopolitically— because of their location relative to Australia. Solomon Islands and others wanting neutral relations and a relationship with China. You all see the geopolitical dimension to it. France will be under internal pressure and external pressure from NATO. US government, that is, to ensure unrest is quelled, end of quote. Thank you, David, for sharing this. Spot on. This is what I'm saying, guys, the geopolitical dimension to aspect. Nothing happens like this in a vacuum. For Macron, the president of France, to go physically, that tells you the importance of it. It's the same thing that happened yesterday. What happened yesterday? Because Macron was back to Europe and all that. Where did Macron want yesterday? He went to Germany. You know, the last time a French president went to Germany, when was it? 2000. Shows you right there where things are headed. Europe is realizing, you know, the end is here. That's why I'm gonna release for you guys, uh, the video I did today for that company, because that was a dedicated video. I didn't, I didn't put everything there. I'm gonna release another version that is complete with where really things are going. And that is why I put on the, on the thumbnail specifically, let's blame China. This what's going on in Caledonia. This is why Macron has to go. And I will not be surprised that it was a conversation between the US, NATO, and France. That's why he ends up going. It's because Australia, of course, like I always say, Australia does what the US ordered it to do. No different than other countries, and you all know which ones. So, so now here is what also was not disclosed openly, is that there's been some movement regarding independence since 2021 in, in New Caledonia. And that's where those tensions or the crisis been brewing. That's why they boycotted the referendums. So, so, and this is why the French Parliament, l'Assemblée nationale, wants to sort of amend the Constitution. Basically, what they want to do, what they want to— just to break it down for you guys— they don't want— they wanted to create new legislative that will sort of strip New Caledonians from any say moving forward. Well, but if the Caledonians want independence, what are you colonizing their country for? Plus, we are in what, 21st century, and we're still having colonies? That's problematic in my opinion. And this is now I am keeping my eyes open as to what Macron is going to do next, because Macron, remember, he's not running for office anymore because you only serve two terms according to the French Constitution. So 7-year term each term. Now the way I look at it, this, this legislation that the L'Assemblée nationale wants to do is going to end up backfiring in France. Why? Because the change in itself now is debated in France. Well, because in Caledonia, Caledonians want independence. And even I read somewhere that some academicians, like for example, there are two professors out there, one of them named Butterbury and Coache, and I couldn't agree more with their assertions when they said, and I quote, It would frustrate the success of any future referendum on independence of New Caledonia from France, end of quote. Spot on, because that's the objective of the legislation, let alone having access to the resources. Nickel ain't cheap. So because they know The moment Caledonia gets independence, which country it's going to side with? Can you guys type in, in the chat box, just right off the bat, in your opinion, which country they're going to side with right away? And we already saw, we already saw an example of this with Solomon Islands, uh, Muhammad Mazhar. You're right. China, San Tang. China, Bonkey C. China, John Smith. And you say France. Uh, I can see the— I can see the logic of your arguments on this, but they're gonna be thinking about it from an economic perspective. Uh, Cyborg Ninja, you said Russia. Uh, the possibility is there, but I just don't see them because of the proximity. Plus Russia is considered European. So to them, they want to completely, completely, uh, go out, uh, of the European, uh, mindset. This is where, for example, you see the challenge in India because the mindset of the, of the colonies, because they were colonized by Britain, and, and that mindset still. To me, in my opinion, Caledonians, when they want independence, they want to break away, break completely from that mindset. That's the way I see it, uh, uh, moving forward. And yeah, they want to go with China, and this is why Macron had to go, uh, uh, all the way. Because here is the thing, many inside Caledonia, which mainly the settler, the, the, the, the original settlers, the Kanak Many of them still see, as of today, nothing but a continuation of the settler colonialism. That's what they're seeing. It was the same in Africa just few months ago. Tien Niger, Burkina Faso, and all of them kicked France out. As a matter of fact, now the US has been kicked out officially with the, uh, uh, what was in Niger? Yeah. Even though I was aware of a security agreement between the United States and Israel, they said forget about it, we want you out completely. So, and the US is packing. Hey, it's their country, they can decide whatever they want. And I'm gonna do an update for you guys later on. But here is what the French government is saying, which to me, I, I want to pull my hair out. Because I know it's hypocrisy, it's a lie. Here is what it says, and I quote: The French government has said the change in voting rules was needed so elections would be democratic. End of quote. So it's, it's, it's laughable if we are to say this democratic Okay, we go with this argument. How come in Ukraine, when the comedian Zelensky canceled all the elections, even though calling Ukraine is a democratic— where is democracy into that? And that, this is what the collective West does not get, is the optics on the global stage when they embark on statements like this that is reflecting so badly because of hypocrisy, because of incompetence, because lack of adherence to the will of other peoples. Caledonians don't want France anymore. So this is what the reform is all about. And, and when you see the French president going there, sending 3,000 troops And I give credit, by the way, this one to the AFP, Agence France-Presse. So now Macron is saying he will delay the vote. It's because they know the indigenous Kanak people on the French-ruled Pacific Island say will dilute their vote and undermine their struggle for independence. They just playing with words to manipulate the truth. The fact of the matter is that Caledonians don't want to be occupied by France anymore. That's the bottom of it. So, so, and when Macron, uh, uh, uh, uh, was there, he met at the Nouméa. Nouméa is the capital of Caledonia. So wanted to sort of make sure there will be no violence and so forth. And now— No, no, no, no, no, no, no! Caledonians wants to decide for their own future and they have the right to do so. Straightforward. You know? Because here is what he said, and I quote, "I am committed to ensuring that this reform will not be implemented by force." End of quote. Saying— This is what Macron said today. French High Commission. This when he was there. Now that just doesn't make sense. No. And when you read and hear, oh, Paris, Paris is saying the measure is needed to improve democracy. Almost a quarter of the population identifies as European, mainly French. This is what the, the French is saying. Yeah, it's, it's because what the Kanak leaders want, they want the reform rescinded over fear, and it will dilute their vote to make it harder for any future referendum on independence to pass. This is what the fear, this is what the, the, the tensions are all about. So when, as I said, uh, in geopolitics you always think about the optics of things. A French president going all the way to Caledonia, it tells you ain't small matter. But at the same time, going all the way to Caledonia, under whose orders or in consultation with whom? Now wasn't, of course, a consultation with China or Russia for that matter. So later along, France will send the— or already sent the 3,000 soldiers. And by the way, those 3,000, they're gonna stay there till the Olympics starts in Paris, which will be on July 26th. And I just— I don't see good signs for all this. Yeah, and when, when you start to hear now, nowadays, any Western leader that talks about democratic legitimacy, you know, it, it's, it's just empty words, basically a lie. That's all it is. That is all it is. Why? Because we in the West— when I say we, I'm referring to governments, the leaders, so-called leaders. I, I don't even consider them leaders. Because they're pathetic, incompetent. How can you call a leader when he or she is incompetent? Look at the example of France, look at the example of Germany, look at the example of Britain, Italy, Spain, Portugal, you name it, Canada, Australia, Philippines. You got the idea. So when they start talk about legitimacy and democratic legitimacy, ah, It's nothing but hypes. What they are afraid of, especially now they found out, uh, that, uh, Caledonia produces a lot of nickel— nickels, or nickel, I'm sorry, not nickels. So yeah, because now France will be impacted economically because it's losing the resource, the, uh, access to resources, and those access were cheap. I mean, think about it, guys. France is considered number 4 in the world when it comes down to gold reserves. I've said this so many times, I'll repeat it again because you need to understand it. You ask yourself, how come a country becomes the 4th in the world when it comes down to gold reserves and has no gold mines explored within the country. Where is that gold came from? The same arguments. And now France noticed— or realized— not noticed, it's, it's a, as they say in French, it's a fait accompli. It's a done deal. They ain't gonna be getting uranium from Niger. They ain't gonna be getting natural resources from Mali and Burkina Faso. And now you got nickel in, in, uh, in, uh, Caledonia. So, but all this, while it's economic in nature, it is also tied to geopolitical, uh, strategy, because both Australia and the US do not, do not want to see another island shifting to China like the Solomon Islands did. Or what's the other one? Uh, PNG, Papua, uh, Papua New Guinea. And I did the video for you guys about all this. You think about it all the time, guys. Resources like this, or this magnitude, are tied to geopolitics. And this is why, uh, for example, in consulting, when a company will, will want to ask, uh, or, or, or hire me for that matter, to— I always tell them, you need to think about the security landscape first. Of course, they look at me like I'm speaking foreign language because they never crossed their mind into the— without ensuring stability, you won't be able to have a return on investments. Straightforward. This is what the US is seeing moving forward. This is what France is seeing moving forward. This is what Australia has seen moving forward. This is why I think, I think French president was dispatched over there. I could be wrong. My instinct is telling me he ain't gonna make a trip just for the heck of it. It was dispatched over there because they're all concerned, meaning 3— France, Australia, and the US, of course. When I say US, NATO as well. They're all concerned about, are we going to be losing another island to China as far as cooperation, economic one? And remember, geography plays a role into that geopolitical frame. North of, uh, uh, New Zealand, east of Australia, perfect location. And given the tensions, what's been going on recently, you're all familiar with Given the naval drills that China did, which was very different this time around with live fire and the massive amount of hardware used, given what, uh, what's his name, uh, Lai, Lai Chaiti, I hope I pronounce it correctly, stating about all the world is looking to Taiwan's democracy and nonsense. To me it's nonsense. This is one thing the West do not get. You know what they don't get? You know what they don't get? Taiwanese and Chinese are one ethnic— one ethnicity. So I just— it amazes me, amazes me the level of ignorance that exists, let alone the ignorance when it comes down to not reading history about— in the case of Taiwan and China. Same ethnicity. So this is what's at the heart of it regarding Caledonia. I want you to know, that's why I kind of waited to do this for you guys till, till later on, and it's just a matter of time, but that's how it works. So now you are noticing the changes in the Pacific that are not to the favor because the US has already lost its dominance in the Pacific. So when Macron is going all the way there, what are you gonna do? Just because you have a presidential visit, so what? People wants to be free. And if France honor— which that term doesn't exist in collective West, I mean, it exists within the people Don't get me wrong, guys, Western people, they're wonderful people. It's like you, all of us. It's the damn government. So when they use the term honor, there is no honor. There is not even an observation of rule of law anymore. Look what we're trying to do to ICC, threatening it. Uh, to me, this, this, it's, uh, is the end of the journey. That journey that was for almost over 70 years or so, starting in, uh, almost early, uh, 20th century, it's coming to an end. That's what it's all about. Yeah. And even now with what I just, uh, talked about in, in about the collapse of the European economy. For France, Macron to go to Germany, that tells me something. That tells me something right there. So because, because Europeans, they are realizing their weakness now is exposed, their incompetence is exposed on the global stage. And to those who say NATO is going to beat Russians. They were daydreaming. I mean, now they're gonna be doing, uh, uh, peace talks in, uh, uh, Switzerland, I think, or Austria, one of the other. I'll, I'll cover it for you guys in due time. It's gonna be in a few weeks, I think. And you do all this and not invite a party to the conflict? Russia, that is. Who's gonna trust what they're gonna say? Second, how can you trust the West government? That is, we lost, we lost. Caledonia now exemplifies another dimension of this incompetence in the West. Ain't about helping the Caledonians, and it is about maintaining the dominance. They don't want those people to prosper. The same arguments I've made way back regarding Africa. Like I always say, the potentials with Africa— massive human capital, massive natural resources, you know, wider land, that is, geographically speaking, the potentials are limitless. But the West never wanted to see that. They never wanted to see countries I mean, look what we in the collective West doing to China. Yeah, because we don't want them to progress. They progressing faster than we could control. But when we have a, a society that is falling into— you know, it, it becomes, uh The end is here, straight. That's all I can say. All right, guys, uh, this is what I, I, I had one, uh, I don't know, uh, it was one, one picture that I had somewhere. And by the way, just to let you know, this Nikolay issue, yeah, I bet you that's part of the pic, part of the of the calculation by France and Western, uh, uh, uh, uh, countries, that is. So here is why. So it was a guy by the name Durant, and, and Durant is— he deals with the nickel and all that stuff. He said, and I quote, the geopolitical risk has obviously now just gone through the roof, and I think nobody will really have appetite for that. That's what she said. Because what am I referring to here, guys? What I'm referring to here is that there is a company in China that is interested in this nickel, because remember, it's called Glencore. Glencore company spent by about $9 billion to make, to make this company profit as far as the exploration of nickel and so forth. So now what you have is that the suspension of the sale of a company like this speculates that there will be a Chinese company taking over that. So, and we all know the rest of the story, how it goes. This is one of the things that, uh, uh, uh, New Caledonia has, and France doesn't want to give that up. Just think about it. There was a figure from, uh, Observatory of Economic Complexity, and, and I saw a chart of them. I'm gonna put the link for you guys. I give you just 3 countries, just 3 countries, as far as the destination of New Caledonian nickel, where do they go? What— the first country is Japan, okay? You know how much they send? 22.2%. Second country is China. You know how much they send? 39.3%. And the third country is South Korea. They sent about— New Caledonia send or export about 38.5 of nickel. So it shows you really what this is all about, you know. So, and what happened, what the media— because by the way, I get this not from Western media, uh, and the one that I got, I saw the images of the carmaker Renault. You all know Renault is, is well known in France. It was burnt in Caledonia. As of May 14th. As a matter of fact, if you bear with me here quickly, I'm gonna share the picture with you. All right, let me show picture. 25. There's the picture, guys. And, and by the way, I give credit to this to AP. AP put the picture. Now whether the article belongs to AP or not, I don't know. Associated Press, I don't know, especially after what just found out that they came forward. And I shared this with you guys in the community about them regretting saying that the groups in Hamas have committed, uh, rapes and all that, which was a lie. So, well, to me it was like, okay, why, why didn't you fact-check the story before you posted it to make sure or double-check or whatever? But anyway, that's not the point. The point here now, you look, Ronneau is being burnt. So that tells me how frustrated those people are. So, and that's worth noting, and this is why I wanted to do the analysis for you here, guys. So, all right guys, I am gonna stop right here. I'm gonna answer, uh, some questions for you. Uh, be on the lookout for a video that I'm gonna release, uh, similar to the one I released today. Today that I did was a dedicated video for the company. You all remember, and I'm very grateful that you guys just hit the like button on it. It's a business decision, I'm sure you understand. Uh, that also comes with the credibility. When a company reach out to you, that means they find you credible to do whatever. So, and, and, and I'm very grateful for the opportunity, uh, because remember, this is what I do now. I decide not to go teach. So that's, uh, but I am gonna be releasing a, a another version of it that is complete with certain, uh, insights about Europe, where things is going to be. On the lookout for that. So, uh, tomorrow, remember, remember to join me tomorrow for the, uh, uh, live stream about the visit of, uh, the King of Bahrain to Russia. Is Bahrain ditching the US? It's worth asking. All right, uh, once again, to all who've been supporting the channel, and I've been sending some video, uh, messaging, just very short clip because they won't allow long one. Just saying thank you through video, uh, to those who bought me coffee. I'm very, very grateful, uh, to those who bought— who also, uh, uh, supported the channel through, uh, PayPal. Uh, I wanna— I want to say thank you first of all to Francis Lucio— Lucero, I'm sorry— who bought me 20 cups of coffees. Yeah, and Francis just returned from China, so I'm gonna have a conversation with him soon. So, uh, for PayPal, I want to thank, uh, uh, okay, how will I pronounce this one? Ganarathnam, thank you so much for your PayPal, uh, support. You sent me a PayPal support for the, for the channel, so So I'm very, very grateful. And it goes without thanking, uh, my avid supporter Osiris that buys me coffee every day. As a matter of fact, there is one from him right here. And, uh, TC Kwan and, uh, uh, uh, Zhu Liang and Boone and, uh, Francis and Azim, uh, and Ramzi. So many, many of you guys, thank you so much. Truly appreciate it. All right, let me answer a question or two from you here, and we just go from there. All right, question. Oh, is Francis Tango? Thank you very much, Francis. Truly appreciate it. Dr. O for the chickens. Yeah, well, I do. FYI, the, the pictures I shared with you about the chicken I do buy them a special, uh, gluten— uh, not gluten-free, but chemical-free, uh, bugs, because they like, they like bugs. That's just— so I buy them that one because that's the, the, the egg that I eat. So, so I know what I'm feeding them. So for that, so thank you so much, Francis Tango, truly appreciate it. All right, let me scroll up and, uh, see if I can take a look at one question. Uh, uh, I see one from Farhad here. Do you believe Israel is behind the crash of the Iranian president? Uh, I, I can't conclusively say so. All I know is that now more and more evidence suggesting that there was foul play. Foul play because when you have transponder turned off Transponders don't turn off on their own. And even with the pilot himself, when he ordered the two other planes to go up in altitude so they weren't visible to each other, based on one report that I read, that tells me something ain't right. Now, did they recruit the guy? I don't know, and I can't conclusively say so. So, so, so I, I I can't answer this one right now, but I am keeping an eye open, uh, conversation with some of my contacts, and, and we just go from there. So, uh, Army with Harmony, yeah, thank you for the advice on tin mining. I've been looking at it because to me it's because I do have family in Europe, and I, I'm gonna ask them if they are interested in considering that because there is only one mine in Europe. That is the advantage of this one here. And I'm not saying— do your due diligence research before you invest money. So because I am not a financial advisor, they approached us to do the video for them. We say sure, what is it about? Because I always like to know what I'm talking about, and it's something that I can— and they always ask, you know, Mr. Oualaalou, if you're interested in investing, feel free to do so because they share with me the inside information. Of course, I can't disclose the inside information to the outside world. It's just part of how it is. You gonna know. But one advantage that I'm looking at here is that one mine in Europe, there's only one, which means there is no competition. So, so you're most welcome, Army with Harmony. And I hope you all enjoyed the conversation on Sunday, uh, or Saturday, that is, when we had the community conversation. I always enjoy those conversations, guys. It's just like free conversation. All right, let me see a question from you, uh, and thank you guys for keeping the conversation civil here. Uh, I'm, I'm very, very grateful to you all. Uh, Mr. Man, question, Dr. O, will Venezuela be in danger if Trump wins the election? Trump tried to coup Maduro in the past. Yes, I know he tried. He won't succeed anyway. The, the intelligence service in Venezuela is very wired in Latin America, very wired. So, and they do have plans in place and, and it won't work. Yeah, they tried last time and anyway, it's not going to work. So the fact that we couldn't bring down countries the likes of Venezuela and Iran and North Korea and all that, that shows you right there. So, and, uh, Trump is, you know, Trump is for Trump, you know. American, there, there, there are no leaders. There are no leaders in America. Look where the US is today comparison to 4 years ago. Or even 8 years ago, or even 10 years ago, or even 20 years ago, you know. I mean, at that time I was still in the government. Yeah, I, I'm not, not denying this one, but I, I, to the best of my ability, I will push back against certain things when I'm asked, because there is a chain of command. You all know how it is, guys. So, but if a, if a, a 2-star or 3-star general ask me a question I ain't gonna tell him what he wants to hear. I don't give a damn about that. I'll tell him what's truth because the concern for my country. I'm standing in front of him, not representing myself. It's my country that I care about. And to those who always criticize me for being negative about America, I think you got that backward. It's my love for my country that preempts me to talk this way. And I will talk that way no matter what. You know, the— to me, it's truth matters, like I always say. No, uh, no, it's not going to work. And that's, uh, we are coming to an end. That's how I look at it. This is the, the answer I can tell you about where the US is headed, because the system is corrupted to its core. All right, let me see one more question here, guys, and remember to join me tomorrow, please. Uh, I'm scrolling down. Uh, Courage Siddiqui, uh, question: Is the West realizing that they are losing power globally? I'm sure they are. What they are not willing to accept is the fact that they are losing power. We still operating on a certain— you look at, just, just look at the mannerism by which we conduct diplomacy. That's to me the way we are doing it doesn't reflect a country that is still in charge or a country that is still has that global power. What global power do we have? Yeah, we have a mighty military, but mighty military couldn't even defeat the groups. Look what's going on right now on the Red Sea with the H group. We couldn't defeat them and we won't be able to defeat them. So, so the West is realizing that, but they are not willing to accept it. And this is why when you realize what the Europeans are doing, what the Americans are doing, thinking that they still can manage them. The world is moving on. The world has moved on. Mike, my word on this— comes the next BRICS summit in Kazan in October of this year, there will be major announcements there, especially on the financial aspect. The other thing you can think about is that countries are quietly pulling out their gold from the US. I mean, I just listened last week to the head of JP Morgan, Jamie Dimon, and I usually— I don't care for the guy, he's as corrupted as any, but when somebody knows his stuff, I tend to listen. It's like the— when I read all the stuff, you know, I read, yeah, I read from magazines, whatever. I might disagree with them, but I'm going to read the content. It's all it is. So the, the where things are headed, yeah, the West is— the West does not want to accept that reality, but it's fair, complete, whether we like it or not. Uh, Quinn, Dr. O, you drink a lot of coffee. Well, yeah, how many have been buying me coffee? Which I am very, very grateful. I want you guys to know I am very grateful. So now I do drink one cup a day. I used to do two cups, now I do only one cup a day because that's, uh, and I do my own coffee, by the way. Would not buy coffee outside because it has a lot of mold in it, and I stay away from that. So, uh, Jack Raber, good to see you as always. Does the West continually using force, not only spinning up the rejection of the West. Will there be a chance of policy? No, there will be no policy, Jack, because there is none to begin with. I mean, I look at it from my country here. Tell me if ever was a well-strategized, a well-cohesive foreign policy in the United States for the last 3 or 4 decades. And the answer is no. That's why we were just reacting to events as they happen. Look at the fiasco now in, in, in Ukraine. Look at the fiasco in Europe economically due to the Europeans following blindly an economic policy that doesn't bode well for them. The citizens of Europe do not— have not been told the truth that their governments, including Germany, France, UK, were pressured by the US. You know, you tell me, if Europeans by now and you couldn't have your own independent foreign policy, Europeans by now and you couldn't have your own security, you depending on the US for us to have over 30,000 troops in Germany, that tells me we are not invited, we are occupying the country. That's why that Olaf Scholz is just a joke. So Europeans, I've, I've said this now, if you go back to the '60s, and at that time who was in charge, at least in France, it was Charles de Gaulle. Well, Charles de Gaulle at least did something no European leader could do now. Charles de Gaulle pulled France out of NATO because he said, we don't care what the Americans are saying. At least got the guts. But even French leadership, right after Charles de Gaulle, they were just going down. If you look back to when what's-his-name Valéry Giscard d'Estaing used to be, uh, François Mitterrand, François Hollande, uh, then you got this clown Macron. Yeah, same thing in Germany. If you go all the way back to Helmut Schmidt Then Helmut Kohl, then Gerhard Schröder, then Angela Merkel. Yeah, not all of them were that great, whatever, but at least some of them took stand. I remember one time, uh, Angela Merkel said to the US, no. And you know what? We threatened Germany with sanctions if they moved forward with Nord Stream 2 because the economy of Germany was going up at that time, the best in Europe. Their cars were sold all over the world, the luxury cars that is. Their manufacturing equipments were sold all over the world. Everybody was looking up to Germany from an economic perspective. We didn't like that. And this is where the incompetent leaders now, they are not telling their citizens, whether in the UK, whether in Italy, France, Germany, Spain, you name it, they're not telling them that, hey, by the way, citizens, We are buying gas from the US at 10 times the price. And where do you think we getting the stuff from? Do you guys know that we getting some from Russia? Yes, of course our government ain't gonna disclose that. Same thing what India did when they get oil from cheap from Russia and turn around sold it to, uh, Europeans 5 times the price, whatever that price What? So, so, so the West using force is not going to lead to any— because the West now is exposed. It's hollow in, in the middle, inside. All these hypes about democracy, about rule of law, turns out to be nothing but an illusion. This is the truth of it, and it behooves Western citizens to really vote those people out. But again, who are you gonna bring in? Just another incompetent. To me, the way I look at it is when you bring— when you vote for people, if they, if they go for any policy against the welfare of the people, get them out. Simple as that. Look at Dictator Trudeau, still in office after sinking Canada to where it is, you know. And, and we do have Canadian uh, viewers here. Tell me, guys, if I'm wrong. I used to live in Canada back in the '80s, you know, for a brief period of time, you know. I— what I see today, it's not the Canada that I used to know. That, that country is gone. I mean, I'm in poverty now. Now people having a hard time buying food in Canada. It was unheard of. Same thing in the UK and here in the US. So where is this, the, uh, the, uh, the benefit of this democracy, or the benefit of, of this capitalism, whatever you want to call it? Yeah, you know, do I want to live here? Yeah, of course, it's my country. But at the same time, if my government does wrong, I'm gonna stay quiet? You, you have to help make change by any means. And I'm not talking the violence here. I don't do that and I don't believe in that. It's because if you educate the masses, it's all about being well-educated, well-informed. And this is where I'm even feeling, guys, and correct me if I'm wrong, uh, for where the channel is, you know, why, why the channel, you know. And of course, because they don't want people to know the truth, and that's why they suppressing the channel. It is what it is. Life goes on. So the bottom line, Jack, is no, the force is not going to do it. Look at just Niger, Mali, Burkina Faso are a case in point. France can do squat now, and it's too late for it. Okay, one last question. Uh, okay, let me— I'm, I'm scrolling all the way down to Let's see, guys, if there is a question there. Francis Tango: Dr. O, eggs are healthier than too much coffee. That's true, that's true. I've been eating eggs every day for the last few years. You know, don't trust what they're telling you about yolk is bad for you because cholesterol. It's a lie. I'm here to tell you it's a lie, and I have facts to back that up. I mean, I do my own blood work and look at the numbers, and, and I have access to people that knows, including Dr. Stewart. Dr. Stewart is a chemist by training, understand the breakdown of all that stuff. Yeah, yeah. So, so you're right, but here is what I just learned about coffee and chicken. You never want to put the coffee grinds on the grass water because it's, it's acidic and it does too much for the chicken. Their, their system won't survive that one. But I do eggs every day. Francis Tango, thank you so much for your super sticker, truly appreciate it. Uh, Farhad Razavi, I agree with you. Yeah, I'm saying just the Mighty Army on status. That's all I'm referring to. No, no, no, no, no, no, no, I agree with you. And I'll say it because I'm aware of what's going on in the military institution today versus what it was back then. At least back then when I was there, people had a different mindset. Today we have to cater to the weak. So when you start doing that on the standards of the military readiness let alone we don't even have any cohesiveness anymore. No, no, I agree with you, and you are not offending me, Farhad. It's the truth. No, I couldn't agree more. Couldn't agree more. And this is why I don't see how we're gonna take on China. That's just wishful thinking. Look what we couldn't even deal with the Ukraine conflict. Um, timeline Dunkley: Why is the Israeli government not to tell the truth about age group and did not, uh, rape the Israeli women? Because that's sick. That's some next level sick stuff. Yes, and this is where I had issue with the AP going forward with the story without even fact-checking it. I mean, I knew it was a lie to begin with. How, how, you may ask, how did I know? Is because of the culture that exists in, in the— I spend a lot of years in the Middle East. It's not part of the culture, and they will neutralize you if you ever do that, and rightly so. So that, that's to me was a— yeah, there is a lot of problems right now inside the Israeli government. So, so the— it's a This conflict exposed now, it, it's the end. The bottom line, the end is near. That's the way I see it. Okay guys, I wish you a good afternoon. I look forward to seeing you, uh, tomorrow of course. And, uh, so just prepare some questions for tomorrow. I'll be happy to answer them. It's a, it's a geographical area that I am very, very, very familiar with. Again, spend a lot of time there, uh, and I'd be happy to cover that one with you. So, all right guys, as always, remember, geopolitics impact your daily life in more ways than one. See you next— see you soon. By the way, hit the like button, I would really appreciate it. See you guys, bye!