Tensions on the Rise between Spain & Argentina! What’s the Beef??

All right, hello everybody and welcome to Geopolitical Trends, where truth matters. Excited to be with you as always, and you can tell just by the sound of my voice, very, very excited to be with you, and I mean it, I really do. Uh, it's nice to now seeing the community growing. Uh, I know, uh, I believe, uh, U2Z, I believe you put a number there of 61.4. Yeah, that's a reference to the subscribers. So, so yeah, I hope to grow it to 100,000, maybe more, whatever. So speaking of that, if this is your first time here, please make sure to subscribe. I would greatly appreciate it. And for you guys been with me forever, if you will be kind and just spread the word, have your friends and family members or whomever, uh, just, uh, sort of subscribe to the channel. So anyway, very, very excited to be with you here. Uh, I got a topic for you. By the way, I put a survey question for you on the community. Take a look at it, let me know which topic would you prefer, uh, that I cover in the next live stream. And, uh, even as fast as tomorrow, I'll be happy to do it if I know right away so I can do the research this afternoon. So, so I posted it there for you. But for today, I am going to be talking about the tensions, diplomatic one that is, between Argentina and Spain. Uh, some might say, well, how important that is. It is very important, and, and, and I'll tell you why, and I'll share with you why, and also, uh, to understand the dynamics of what's taking place in both countries, in Argentina and Spain, but from two separate directions altogether. And I will explain as I move forward. So let me first say hi to Uh, whoever's here. Oh my gosh, Ariel Purple! I haven't seen you for a while. Good to see you. You too, Z. Super good to see you, Hamad City, as always. Coach Hoy Hoy from Malaysia. Willie Holman. Lori, uh, morning, Doc, as always. Can't wait to get into the topic. Yes, I will get it into it right away. So Truth Seeker, Michael Long, SK Wong, uh, and Francis Tango, Marciandor. John Smith in New Zealand, Wong KC. Good to see you all, guys. Very, very excited to be with you. I have just some housekeeping things to share with you. First, I need you to know that I confirmed the upcoming interview with Dr. Professor Yan Liang, so it's set for May 31st at 12:30 Central Standard Time. I will post it again for you guys as a reminder. Uh, please make sure to, uh, really watch that interview. It's very, uh, Dr. Uh, Dr. Yang is someone who's a very, very, very knowledgeable when it comes down to the economy. And especially she will be in a better position because she is in a better position to give us a clear read as to what's going on on the global stage from an economic perspective. And she is very, very, very, uh, smart lady. So So, uh, the other thing is the community conversation is scheduled for May 25th. That means 2 days from today. So, and the, uh, uh, the third thing I want to share with you is, uh, uh, Buy Me a Coffee now have a specific feature which is video messaging. So I've been video messaging some of the, uh, Buy Me a Coffee members, some of the supporters. Whenever I get it, I, uh, whenever I get a support from you guys I video message, uh, saying thank you. It's neat features, I like it. It's short, you— the video can be longer than two, literally a few seconds, literally. You can do a long one, so I'll be happy to, uh, share some with you as well. All right, let's get into our topic here. So tensions now are rising between Spain and, uh, Argentina diplomatically speaking. We're not talking about military, we're not talking about any other thing else. However, this usually gives you a hint as to where things might be leading towards. So, uh, and to me, I always look at it in terms of asking the questions, because the questions gives us an idea. And again, my personal analysis tells me there is more than what can meet the eye regarding these tensions. That's been created by Javier Milei. I'm not criticizing him, I'm just saying. And once you understand how the protocol, diplomatic protocol, that is, you don't go to visit a country and all of a sudden openly criticize that country there. Yeah, you can do that when you go back to your own home, uh, country, but diplomatically speaking, it's not the norm. But there is more into that. Here is why. Because the questions that I'm asking is, Javier, Javier Milei, president of Argentina, create intentions to divert from domestic economic failure? You all know what he was thinking about when he was running for elections, right? And we're gonna get into that. So second, what will be Spain's response? Now Spain already embarked on one action, which is calling its ambassador, which usually A bad sign. You pull your ambassador out of the country. And third one, what about China? Now, some say, what China has to do with all this? Well, it does to a degree, but not the exact direct— the not directly with the, with the diplomatic one. But it has to do with Argentina now trying to pivot back to China, especially after the visit of the foreign minister of Argentina to China. It tells me the story right there. And the fourth question is, all this, you can ignore the role of the IMF. Yes, there is a conversation going on right now as to IMF preparing a package aid for Argentina. We all know what it means. So, and this is what I find it— I found very interesting when I read it. And I'm like, no, there is more than meets the eyes here. Let me do my own research, which I did, and read few things. And that is why I decided to share this with you. So, well, the, uh, uh, the Argentinian president, Jafé Milei, that is now, is really causing, or has caused, a diplomatic, uh, crisis with Spain. So, and how this happens usually, he was invited Meaning Jaffer. Jaffer Melay was invited by the far-right party in Spain. As you may know, there are far-right groups that are emerging. Jaffer himself is a, is a far-right, uh, individual in Argentina. So, and when he came in, took the stage, instead of addressing whatever other issues pertain to economy, whatever, you don't go and insult the prime minister's wife as far as corruption. So, so what, uh, Hafez, let me share. I got some pictures with you on all this here. I'm gonna share them with you. This is the picture when he was on stage giving the speech to the far-right group there. And, uh, so he went ahead and sort of called, uh, uh, the prime minister's wife, her name is, uh, Vigana Gomez. I have a picture of her somewhere. Yeah, right here. That says, uh, that's Maria Vigana Gomez Fernandez. So sort of, uh, uh, Jaffer is saying that, oh, she was involved in corruption. Well, involved or not, ain't your business. You visiting a country, that country has a government. That government can deal with that. So, and this is where part of where the problem is, and this is why things led one thing after another. But before I'll delve deeper, we're gonna do a little bit of geography, but history about Spain, because you need to know a few things about Spain. So let me share, uh, and, and I might have a surprise for you about Spain. I'll tell you in a second. All right, let me open the, uh, link here to World Atlas where I give them credit, uh, for the map here, and I'm going to share it with you. España, to those who speak Spanish. Share. All right, here's the map. Let me make it bigger here, full screen, so you guys can see. Spain, of course, is located in the Iberian Peninsula in the southwestern part of Europe. It is situated specifically in northern and eastern hemisphere of the Earth. Spain is bordered by 5 countries. There is Portugal to the west, there is France and Andorra in the northeast. I used to sometimes, when I travel Europe, cross through Andorra, believe it or not. If I decide, which I did one time. I remember taking a train across Europe. There's a— back then used to be the, the railroad train, it's called the Interrail, I guess. You, you get a ticket and you just cross Europe by train. So I did that. It's a rite of passage when you are in your 18s, 20s, you do that. So I did that one, and I remember going through Andorra. So France and Andorra in the northeast. Gibraltar and— or yeah, Gibraltar and Morocco, which is the Spanish territory of Ceuta and Melilla in North Africa. Now what I need you to know, there's two cities, Ceuta and Melilla. I don't know if you can see it on the map. Let me see if you can, uh, it might not show. No, it does. Right here at the bottom, guys, look where Gibraltar— it says UK— and Ceuta. Ceuta is, is there, and Melilla. Melilla. Those are two enclaves. Now, there is of course that conversation between Morocco and Spain as to, uh, under whose authority. Uh, no, Spain has a say into that. Morocco has a say into that. And still, as of today, to my knowledge, so Then, uh, then, uh, the country Spain, that is, is bounded by the Mediterranean Sea in the east and southeast, and by the Atlantic Ocean in the northwest and southwest, and by the Bay of Biscay in the north. And Spain shares its maritime borders with Algeria and Italy. That is what's interesting about the location of, uh, Spain. So now the history is something else very interesting. So I'm gonna get into the history here and, uh, uh, when we just go from there. So, so the moment we think about the history of Spain, what comes to mind? What comes to mind is that Spain is sort of a land of many, many, many histories. So I'm gonna go through some and detail few other periods of Spain history, uh, to put it in perspective for you. So, so Spain's history is a variety of invasions, believe it or not, conquests and cultures, from prehistoric, uh, cave painting that was found to modern, uh, you can call it democracy, you can call it whatever you you want. You decide on that. But there are some pictures that I looked into the record and I found. For example, there's the painting from the caves that was prehistoric one, okay? Uh, then you move into the, uh, the era of, uh, the Phoenicians, the Greeks, the Carthaginians, the Romans, and the Moors. Moors, M-O-O-R-S. What you need to know about the Moors— the Morris, it's known in, in other languages as the Morris— they are part of the settlers of Spain from way back. And that's one of the things I told you I would share surprise with you, is that my ancestors from way, way, way, way, way back, they traces their roots back to Sevilla and Andalusia. And if you go through the history of Spain, you will understand how this came to be. So the Moors were one of them. So, and all of them, all of those, uh, uh, civilizations— the Phoenicians, the Greeks, the Carthaginians, the Romans, the Visigoths, and the Moors— all of them left their mark on the Iberian Peninsula. And that creates some sort of a rich and diverse legacy of art, architecture, language, and religion. Okay, then you fast forward to the, uh, uh, golden— this is considered the Golden Era of Spain. So, so the Golden Age of the Empire of Spain, that is because that's when the exploration of the Spaniards began, and it began in the 15th century. How that happened is when the Catholic monarchs unified the kingdoms of Castille— or it's known as Castilla— uh, Castille and Aragon, and sponsored Columbus' voyage to the New World. Yeah, it was the Catholic monarchs that helped with that. And that, of course, paved the way for what? It paved the way for the next period of Spain's history. This one has to do with conquests. If you notice here, all of them Latin America, Central America, and certain parts in, in, in, in other world. This one here, this era was was known as the colonial power of Spain that comes with, or came rather, with wealth and wars. And this one, this era, was ruled by the Habsburgs and the Bourbons for centuries. Those are the ones that dominated Spain at that time. Then you fast forward to modern, uh, history, or contemporary history. I have a picture here that I need to share with you, or reflecting the modern— this is the contemporary. When I say contemporary, we're referring back to 18th, 19th century, and so forth. So Spain modern history was shaped by Napoleon invasion, because what did Napoleon do at that time? Invaded country, because France was, uh, uh, sort of conquering a lot, a lot of parts of, of of the, of the world at that time. So Spain modern history was influenced by that, or shaped by that, and the independence movements of its colonies. Of course, the Civil War in Spain and the dictatorship of— who was the dictator in, in Spain? Can you guys type in the name? Let me see if, uh, I'm sure you will know, uh, in, in Spain, who was the dictator at that time? I know it takes a while for this to show up. Oh, Franco Alba Gómez, you got it! Caracolak, uh, Franco, you got it! You guys got it! It was Franco at the time, and which ended with his death in 1975. This is part of where the history— this is a very, very, uh, important to understand. What I'm gonna get into right now is— and by the way, I have a picture that I found in the record, which by the way, it's a public record, and I'm gonna share it with you, uh, of course uh, let me pull it up for you here. I don't know if it is clear enough, uh, because it's an old record. So what are you looking at? You are looking at a picture of Christopher Columbus appears before Ferdinand and Isabella of Spain on his return from the New World on March 15th, 1493. And I give credit to the Getty Images, by the way, so So to understand the history of Spain, uh, and, and again, it's very, very important to understand this one here. It took place in Spain involved period when the country was a global imperial force shaping Europe, Africa, and the Americas, and when it was hotbedded of revolutionary fervor that brought it close to disintegration. One thing I need you to know about the history of Spain is that the first human occupants in the Iberian Peninsula, uh, where Spain sort of lies, arrived by at least, according to the historical record, 1.2 million years ago. And again, I have the link to all this, I'm gonna post it for you if you want to read more about it. So, and Spain at that, from that time on, Spain was occupied continuously since then. So, so the first record of Spain were written about 2,250 years ago. And so Spanish history was ushered in with the arrival of the North African rulers of Carthage after the end of the First Punic Wars. It's very, very important to understand. And since that time, Spain has been formed and reformed by different owners Visigoths, Christians, Muslims, England and France, among others. And that's when it's been both an imperial force across the world and a nation at the mercy of its invading neighbors. So, and I'm going to provide certain historical periods just to put it in perspective, then we'll dive in into the analysis about the topics here. So I'm going to take you back to 241 BCE, Common Era. What happened there? That's when the Carthage, or Carthage, began to conquer Spain. So beaten in the First Punic War, Carthage, or at least leading Carthaginians, turned their attention to Spain. And the ruler of Carthage at that time, his name was Hamilcar Barca, who died in 228 BC. BCE began a campaign of conquest and settlement in Spain. So, and, and you look at the history of it, uh, uh, for example, uh, the capital was established, uh, for Carthage in Spain in 241 BCE. And after Barca or Barça died, Carthage was led by Hamilcar's son-in-law. His name is Hasdrubal. Hasdrubal. And then Hasdrubal died 7 years later in 221. So his son Hannibal took over until they moved into the Second Punic War, which was between 218 and 206 BCE. Why is this important? Because that's when the Romans fought the Carthaginians during the Second Punic War. And at that time, Spain became a field of conflict between the two sides, both aided by Spanish natives. And after 211, the brilliant general Scorpio Africanus campaigned, throwing Carthage out of Spain by 206 and beginning centuries of Roman occupation. Uh, fast forward to Germanic people when they conquered Spain, which was between 409 and 470 CE. This is with the Roman control of Spain in chaos due to civil war, which at one point produced a short-lived emperor of Spain. What happened after that? German groups of Sueves, Vandals, and Alans invaded. And those were followed by the Visigoths, who invaded first on behalf of the emperor to enforce his rule in 416, and later at that century to subdue the Sueves. And this is why it's important to understand the historical periods that what Spain went through till 711. What happened in 711? That's where the Muslim conquest of Spain began. So 7 CE— 711 CE, rather— a Muslim force comprised of Berber and Arabs. This is why, if you noticed, in Algeria, in Morocco, and Libya, there are some nomadic tribes called the Berber. That's the ancestors of where they came from. So what happened with those Berbers and Arabs? They attacked Spain from North Africa, taking advantage of a near-instant collapse of the Visigothic Kingdom, the reason for which historians, by the way, still debating what led to its collapse. There is no confirmation exactly what was causing its collapse. Some say because it was going backward, but historically there is no confirmation yet. So what happened after that? A few years, uh, after that, uh, Spain was ruled by Muslims in the center of Spain and its southern part. The north remained under Christian control, and that's when the Umayyads came into power between 961 and 976. Muslim Spain came under the control of the Umayyad dynasty, who moved from Spain after losing power in Syria, and who ruled first as emirs and then as caliphs. This is why, guys, in the Arab world or Muslim world, you still hear the term caliph, and you still hear the term of emir, or emirs as it's pronounced. So, so the emirs, and then as caliphs until their collapse in 1031— that's when they collapsed. So the rule of the caliph, uh, from 961 to 976 was probably the height of their strength, but politically— both politically and culturally. So, and this is why there is an area in Spain I don't know if you can see it here. Let me, let me pull it up for you guys. It's called Córdoba. Córdoba. It's spelled with K, and in Arabic language, for those who speak Arabic language, it's pronounced with the Q, like a Q, Q-A-Q-U. So, uh, Sevilla. If you see Sevilla and Andalusia Plains, I'm pointing at it. I know you can see the cursor here, uh, the cursor rather, uh Sevilla in Spain, that's where my ancestors are, are from, I was told. Uh, then comes the Reconquest. You all remember that, Reconquista in, in Spanish. What happened? This between 900 and 1250, Christian forces from the north of the Iberian Peninsula, pushed partly by religion and population pressure, fought Muslims forces from the south and center defeating the Muslim states by the mid-13th century. And after which, by the way, Granada remained in the Muslim hands. The Reconquista, or, or the Reconquest, finally being completed when it fell in 1492. And that's led to the way, as far as religious differences, between the many warring sides have been used to create the national mythology of a Catholic right. And, and you know, the rest is history after that one as to how dominating religion became in Spain. So, uh, between 1250 and 1479 is important to understand, uh, who was ruling or dominating Spain at that time. What was the Aragon and the Castile. The last phase of the Reconquista saw three kingdoms push the Muslims almost out of Iberia, or Iberia as it's pronounced. When I say Iberia, I'm referring to Portugal, Aragon, and Castile. That's considered as Iberia. The latter, which is the Castilla, the Castile, now dominated Spain. Although Navarre claimed on, on the independence in the north and Granada in the south, Castile was the largest kingdom in Spain. Aragon, after which was a federation of regions, they fought frequently against Muslim invaders and saw often large internal conflict. Fast forward to I'm gonna take you specifically to Ferdinand and Isabella, Isabella Unites Spain between 1479 and 1516. Known as the Catholic Monarchs, Ferdinand of Aragon and Isabella of Castile married in 1469 and both came to power in 1479. Isabella after civil war. Although their role in uniting Spain under one kingdom, they incorporated Navarre and Granada into their lands, and that's where Spain started to build an overseas empire starting in 1492. Then comes the Golden Age, 16th and 17th century. It is important to understand these guys because he played a major role in shaping the world history because it really did. So an era of social peace, great artistic endeavor, and a place as the world power at the heart of the world empire. The 16th and early 17th century have been described as Spain's Golden Age, an era when vast sort of booty flowed in from America and Spanish armies were labeled as invincible, because literally, who was able to take on the Spanish naval at that time? Nobody. Nobody at that era. So, and this is where the agenda of the European politics was certainly set by Spain, not the UK. UK was nothing at that time. And the country, I mean Spain, helped bankroll the European wars fought by Charles V and Philip II as Spain formed part of their vast Habsburg Empire. But the treasure from abroad caused inflation and Castile kept going bankrupt. Again, why, why, why is it important to share this with you? To understand that engaging in foreign wars forever will not end well. This is exactly what we are doing as a country. I see my country, the United States, getting involved in these conflicts around the world, endless conflicts. To what end? To what end? And you think we will learn from history? And here is an example. That's exactly what happened to Spain during the 16th and 17th century, and this paved the way to the revolt of 1520, 1521 by the Comuneros. So this is when, uh, Charles V succeeded to the throne of Spain. He caused upset by appointing foreigners to court position when promising not to. Once again, what's important about this is to highlight to you when politicians flip-flops. Here it is. Charles V promised not to appoint foreigners to court, and once he became uh, he took control of power, he flipped. It shows you right there. So revolt led, uh, uh, to the demise of Spain at that time. So, and of course, religion plays a role into this because it was the Holy Roman Empire that fueled certain things behind the scenes. This is why I'm saying you guys need to understand the role of the Catholic Church in Italy. Vatican and all that. It's— you need to understand the dark side of the Vatican. And again, no offense to any religion whatsoever. And if you happen to be a Catholic, I respect your religion, I respect your values, I respect your traditions, and so forth. All I'm saying here is providing the facts, knowing what I know. And the history usually guides me through reaching my own conclusions after digging into the information. The Roman Empire played a role into shaping the trajectory. Why? This is where the cities rose in rebellion against Charles V because they were fueled by religious endeavors, so, and finding success at first. But after the rebellion spread to the countryside and the nobility were threatened, the latter grouped together to crush the commoners. Charles V afterward made improved effort to please his Spanish subjects. Then comes the Catalan and Portuguese Rebellion. Why is this important? I'm sure you heard about the Catalan, Catalonia, which is where the issue now that is internal in Spain. Catalonia wants to be separated from the rest of Spain, which is Catalonia, the part of Barcelona and so forth. And you all know that, uh, a few years ago, the head of that party, I think, was arrested. So, but again, you have to go back to the history to understand it. And this started back in the mid-17th century. Why? Because that's when tensions arose between the monarchy and Catalonia, and was over demands on them to supply troops and cash for the Union of Arms, an attempt to create about 140,000-strong imperial army, which Catalonia refused to support. Why? Because Catalonia was always thinking of itself separate or different or separated from Spain. They never wanted to be part of that. And when the war in South France was begun to try to coerce the Catalans into joining. Catalonia rose in rebellion in 1640 before transferring the legions from Spain to France. It's very important for you guys to understand all this. And by 1648, Catalonia was still in active opposition. Then came Portugal, which has taken to opportunity rebel under the new king And there were plans in Aragon to secede. Remember, because remember Aragon, where were they? In Portugal. So Spanish forces were only able to retake Catalonia in 1652 once French forces withdrew because of problems in France. So the Privilege of Catalonia were fully restored to ensure peace. Then came the big issue of the 1700 to 1714, which was the War of the Spanish Succession. And this is what happened after Charles II died, okay, and left the throne of Spain to Duke Philip of Anjou, grandson of French King Louis XIV at that time. So, and I'm not gonna get into all this. I'm gonna move into the French Revolution because it's really important. Between 1793 and 1808, France having executed their king in 1793— let me, let me ask you before I'll keep going on this, let me ask you guys, why did France execute the king at that time? Can you guys type in, please, just, just one word or two? Why did France execute their king in 1793? And once again, just for us to learn, uh, about literally his revolution. That is correct, taxes, because it had to do with the lifestyle of how the French people start suffering. And what is the point in all this, guys? The point is when the elites abuse power and become so corrupted, you know, and the masses fall into hunger, poverty, this, this small economic conditions and so forth, they're gonna revolt. And what happened in France at that time, you started to see the, the, the gap between the rich and the poor start to widen. The same thing I can say about, I can say about my country right now. If you only know the media— I know the media is not disclosing the truth here to American people. This is why I said last time when I did the video about what Biden is going to tax, uh, is going to put tariffs on China for 100%. It's a lie. It has nothing to do with protecting jobs or the welfare of the American people. It's nonsense. It's a lie. Because Americans are suffering. Why? Because the gap is widening. Big time. I live here, I see, I go to the streets, I talk to people. Same thing what happened in history. And again, this is why it's important to understand all this. So France end up executing. This is why they always say la guillotine. It's a reference to even when Macron end up sending his, uh, the, uh, riot forces. The— as a matter of fact, it's bad in France right now. What they doing to the right of individuals to peacefully demonstrate and protest and so forth. So what happened to their freedom? What happened to the human rights? What happened to the right of to express themselves? Isn't that, as they say in French, pays de la liberté, France, uh, country of liberty? So, and some were posting— I saw a placard that shows the guillotine It's a reference to this. So, and this, of course, the execution of the king in France back in, uh, 1793 preempted now the reaction of Spain, who had supported the dead monarchs. You know, that's what they did, because France at that time was, was big. And by— how did France do it now is by declaring war at that time. So it's Spanish invasion took place, and, and that one turned into a French invasion. So it just shows you. And peace was declared between the two nations. So basically France had to get in to calm down. So, and this was closely followed by Spain allying with France against— against whom? This is important for you to understand which country France and Spain allied against— you should know this, guys. You should know this because it's well known in history. Let me see. And I know it takes a while for this to show up, but I like to have your input. Let me see. Oh, you got it, you got it, Amanda! Amanda Jane, you got it. Chris, you got it. Uh, Alice Turkin, you guys got it. David King, you got it. It was against the UK. This is why England never trusted France. Even till today, France and England don't see eye to eye on issues, despite what you hear. And of course, with the role of the Catholic Church, because remember, even for the king to get married has to have the blessings of the church. Of the Pope, because it was all directed through the religious aspects of it. This is why till today— and once again, guys, I want to make sure I have respect for all religions, I just don't believe in one, that's just me— the idea of how the, uh, at that time it's saying, oh, the Pope, the spokesperson for God, however you perceive God to be. And that's, that's what paved the way for what led, uh, to— so after this one here, of course, as I said, France and Spain allied against England because they want to cut off England altogether. And Britain cut Spain off from their empire and trade, and Spanish finances suffered greatly. What are we talking about here? Sanctions. Once again, this is the point, guys. History tells us a lot. We can— if we only read— when I say we, I'm referring also to the incompetent politicians. If they can only read from history to learn, once you get involved in conflict, foreign wars, you're going to drain the resources, you're going to anger the population because the economic of the people start to dwindle. And one thing's going to lead to the next, and you start having a revolution. And this is where, when, when France and Spain allied against England, England retaliated by sanctions. So history is in play here. So then comes the war against Napoleon between 1808 and 1813. It's very, very important to understand this part here. I think I have a picture of something that I need to show you, if I could find it. No, no, I don't, except the old one. This is when he returned, uh, Columbus, that's when he returned. So in 1807, Franco Spanish forces took Portugal. Yeah, that's what happened. So they took Portugal at that time, but Spanish troops not only remained in Spain but increased in numbers. And this is when the king abdicated in favor of his son Ferdinand. This is probably what we're going to be— what you guys going to be noticing. Of course, it happened, uh, uh, it happened in, uh, yeah, let me ask you here, guys, which country in Europe this, this, this similar scenario just happened? The king or queen abdicates. Which country in Europe? Let me just see. And it just happened about, uh, if I, if I'm not mistaken, about 10 months ago or so. It's recent, very, very recent. Let me see which country. Uh, Netherlands? No, no, it was, it was Norway. It's a Scandinavian country. It was Norway. Norway, I think it was Norway. Norway. And I'm— I'll confirm it for you guys to make sure, because it's been a while since— I do remember, I do know for fact is a Scandinavian country, uh, I think it's Norway if I'm not mistaken. I'm gonna check just to make sure and, and share it with you guys, uh, and, and so what happened back then is the same thing, uh, King Ferdinand abdicated to his son, uh, I'm sorry, the king abdicated to his son Ferdinand and then changed his mind. Power, because power corrupts. So the French ruler Napoleon at that time was brought in to mediate. I remember, by the way, guys, just to share this with you, uh, on a separate note, uh, when I was at Louvre Museum, uh, that was a few years ago, I had a chance to go to the, uh, look at the bedroom where Napoleon used to sleep. They have it inside the Louvre. If you ever go to Louvre Museum in Paris, go check it out. So, and what was interesting about it is that the bed was so high and Napoleon has to have, uh, some sort of what you call them, uh, small steps to get in because he was short. So it was very interesting to see. And so what happened after this? Uh, the king simply gave the crown to his brother Joseph. Which was a dire miscalculation. Why? When you turn power to someone who is incompetent, it's exactly again what are we witnessing here in our contemporary time. So, and part of Spain rose up in rebellion against the French, and a military struggle ensued. Of course, Britain, like, was still doing what it does today behind the scenes. Getting involved in things that has no business in, but it did. Of course, France opposed to Napoleon entered the war in Spain in support of Spanish troops, and by 1813, the French had been pushed all the way back to France, and Ferdinand became a king at that time. Then comes 1800, 1850, which is the independence of the Spanish colonies. Uh, all of them, this were, were currently demanding independence before it was the French occupation of Spain. And, uh, and, and that's what led to other conflicts. And fast forward to— I'm gonna just move forward here, guys, to the Spanish-American War in 1898, uh, because we all know what the Spanish did, uh, here in Latin America, of course in Mexico And even Texas— Texas wasn't part of America. Texas never belonged to the United States. Even the last two states, I believe Louisiana and, uh, Mississippi, if I'm not mistaken. Mississippi— Louisiana was the French. Mississippi, if I'm not mistaken. Uh, so the Spanish-American War, 1898. This is the reminder of Spain's American Empire, which included what Cuba, Puerto Rico, and the Philippines, you know, was lost in the conflict with the United States, who were acting as allies to Cuba separatists. So the loss became known as simply the disaster. That's how it is known in history, uh, for the historical record. They refer to it as the disaster, and it was pronounced, uh, I'm sorry, it produced rather a debate inside Spain about why they were losing an empire while other European countries were growing theirs. It's exactly what we are witnessing this today, why the West is angry at the East rising up economically, technologically. They don't want it, they don't like it. Same thing here. So 1923, 1930 saw the dictatorship of Rivera, who took place with the— who took place, yeah, with the military coup at that time, uh, and subjected the government into, uh, uh, uh, some sort of policies at that time. One of them was the inquiry about, uh, the failures in Morocco. That's why if you go to Morocco, in the north part of the country, they speak Spanish. The south part of the country in Morocco, they speak like Germans, and in the middle they speak French. Morocco is also like that, but the north part is Spanish language most commonly spoken there. So, and the king was frustrated because of the series of fragmented governments. So a general, General Primo de Rivera, at that time staged a coup That's, that's how things happened back then. And the king accepted him as a dictator because he has no choice in the matter. Rivera was supported by elites who feared the possible Bolshevik uprising. Why the elite has to support him? Because power. It's exactly what we're seeing now. Rivera only meant to rule until, until the country has been fixed. And it was safe to return in other form of government. But after a few years, other generals became concerned by forthcoming army reforms, and the king was persuaded to sack him. So of course, this led to the Spanish Civil War, 1936-1939, which coincided also with something else, right, around that time. Election in 1936 revealed Spain divided politically and geographically between the left and the right wings, which is exactly what's going on right now in Spain. That's why I said earlier, Catalan, the Catalonians, they don't want, they don't like Madrid. They don't like the, no matter what you hear, you know, I used to travel there, talk to the locals there. They never cared for the central government. They just want to be independent. So, and, uh, so tensions threatened to turn into violence, which they were called in from the right at the time for a military coup. That's what the far right was calling for. So once, uh, uh, uh, one occurred on July 17th of the year at that time after the assassination of the right-wing leader, Costas the army to rise, but the coup failed, uh, later on. So fast forward to when the Nationalists took over, the right-wing-led, uh, in later party by General Francisco Franco, was supported by general— by, by, uh, was supported rather by two countries. Which countries was Franco supported by? Once again, just to have your part in the conversation here. Because remember the history of Europe at that time. You, you should be able to pick on those two countries. Which two countries supported Franco at that time? And remember, 1939. Mouse Horology, you got that right. One is Germany. Which, which is the other country? Yeah, you got it, uh, Isabel. You got it, Francisco. Francis Tango, you got it. Germany. David King, you got it. Germany and Italy. That is indeed, because remember, 1939 should ring a bell for you. So, and that's where this, uh, uh, received the help from left-wing volunteers, which was known in his— it's known in history, by the way, as the International Brigade. That's how it's known, International Brigades. So, and will this surprise you? That some of the assistance came from Soviet Union at that time, Russia. Yeah, the ties. This is what I'm saying, look at the big picture always. Of course, Franco's dictatorship took place from 1939 to 1975, and this is which, uh, you know, we all know how the system went. It was governed by a conservative authoritarian dictatorship. And now some will look at it authoritarian, dictatorship, whatever. That's what it was at that time. So it's just the how we explain it by giving it that term. That's like what you hear right now here in the West, that you say the word communism, oh, the, the negative connotations that come to it right away. Well, wait a minute, do we truly understand what communism is all about? No, we don't. And the mainstream media trying to put. I am not saying advocating for this or that. All I'm saying is we jump to conclusions right, right away because of specific agenda that we wanted to push. That's all it was. So the same thing here. So now, of course, uh, uh, Franco's Spain stayed largely neutral. This is what's interesting during World War II. So and allowing the regime to survive at that time till the death of Franco in 1975. And by its end, the regime was increasingly at odds with Spain, which had been culturally transformed at that time. And the so-called return to democracy, that was between '75 and '78, and this is where the, uh, and I remember I was a kid at the time. I still remember, uh, what's his name, King Juan Carlos came over, which by the way, I remember his picture in one of the African savannah shooting an elephant, I think, or something with a rifle. And I was like, you know, F you, man, you know, you don't do this to animals like that. So I'm sure I never cared for Juan Carlos anyway, but that's just how it happened in 1969. Juan Carlos was the heir of the vacant throne at that time. So the new king, meaning Juan Carlos, was committed to democracy and careful negotiations. Which, by the way, I did find out that Juan Carlos, uh, or the family, royal family, had some money in one of the Gulf states in, in the Middle East or West Asia. Makes you just wonder— corruption. I mean, I just don't know how those people can live with themselves. I just don't know. And again, I am not judging, I'm just stating the facts here. Juan Carlos start to work towards, uh, establishing a modern, uh, uh, country and so forth, uh, and it was approved by about almost literally 90%, almost 90%, 88% according to the historical records. So, uh, so, and that was the switch from dictatorship to monarchy. Funny, they don't use the term monarchy, they use the term democracy. I do find it manipulating, manipulating and all that stuff. So in any event, uh, this is where I'm going to end it here as far as the history, and I will post the link for you guys, uh, for you to see the— if you want to read in detail, you could. So, and that is, uh Uh, to me, guys, the importance of history— it's— I know it's dry information and all that, but it's very important to understand it. One, it keeps you informed. That's one. Second, you have a better understanding of how events evolve throughout time. And only to see that, you'll be asking yourself, said, wait a minute, didn't we see this before? Some 150 years ago, some 200, some 300 years. That was the whole reason why I do the history, because very important. I, I admit it, I wasn't reading much of history when I was young. I didn't care much for that. And now I am appreciative of it, and I'll dig more into the information. Uh, and, and, and you are right, you know, I saw one of you here, guys, put— you are right, history can predict the future. And to tie it to the history of what's going on with now Argentina and Spain. And to go back to our topic, so all I'm looking at is the history of Argentina also, because if you all know what Argentina went through back in, in the '70s with the dictatorship, the military control, and so forth, and do the policies, and now with Jaffer Melay embarking on this very harsh measures economically speaking, that now causing problems inside Argentina. What you guys do not know is that mainstream media is not reporting on the massive demonstrations that's taking place. Here is a picture. Here is a picture of it. When have we see— when have we seen this in Western media? None. And only this because the harsh measures that he is coming up with, because he is anti-whatever. And again, it's their country, they voted for him. So same like for us, but understanding history comes to play a major role in really, really understanding the big picture to all of this. So now let's get back to our topic here, even though I feel like I'd rather talk about history more so, but, but we need to put this in perspective here. So As far as to why Milei, Jafir Milei, president of Argentina, embark on such thing when visiting another country. Usually diplomatically you don't do that. You don't. It's not out of fear, it's not out of— it's protocol, is a diplomatic protocol. But at the same time, can we expect anything from Jafir Milei as being diplomatic? No, I said it when he was running for office, and this is why I put on the thumbnail 'I told you so.' That means I told you so, that this guy is a fraud, this guy is incompetent, this guy is not suited for the presidency. Yes, he is an economist, he knows a little bit about economy and so forth. A little bit or a lot doesn't matter. But that is not how you behave as a head of state. And by the way, the way to think of him, and I'm going to share one specific sentence here. And by the way, I got this article from a foreign language, in Arabic. I speak the language, so I can translate my own stuff. And what I came across is that this sentence, when I translated it, it just— I was like floored by it. Here is what it says, and I quote: "Other ministers also condemned Mele's speech in which he described socialism as cursed." And as cursed, end of quote. So They also added, with his behavior, Milei has brought the relationship between Spain and Argentina to its most serious state in recent history. Of course, Milei said, I'm gonna apologize for this, uh, uh, because he doesn't, doesn't care. But at the same time, what he doesn't realize is that you break protocol Diplomatic protocol, that is. Why? In addition to the speech, he refused to meet the Spanish king, which is usually Philip. Philip is the son of Juan Carlos, then the prime minister. He didn't meet with Sánchez, Pedro Sánchez, you know, instead preferring to promote his book alongside Vox. Vox leader is the is the, is the far-right party in Spain. So even the European Union foreign minister chief Borrell, which we all know that guy is a little bit off, right? He said in a post on a social, uh, uh, uh, on, on Twitter, or X that is, attacks against family members of political leaders have no place in our culture, end of quote. Why I'm laughing? I'm laughing that Borrell should say have no place in our garden. You all remember his statements, right, about Africa and other countries? So, well, one thing you need to know, Jaffer Melaye belongs to the far-right, uh, uh, party, which, by the way, that's how he end up, uh, uh, criticizing the wife of the prime minister, uh, that she's been involved in corruption. Whether is she or not, let the Spanish government deal with this. You are a visitor. That's like someone coming to your house and all of a sudden start— doesn't work that way. So you can't do that. Because here is what he said, and I quote, Hafez said, when you have a corrupt wife, let's say unclean, and you need 5 days to think about— no, that's, that's, that's very low to begin with. The language coming out of a president. This is not a presidential at all, and the guy is not equipped to be a president to begin with. And this is why right before he left, Spain went ahead and recalled its ambassador right away. They ain't gonna worry about this one here. Because there is an interesting thing that, again, I don't know if it was— you're aware of it or not. Hafez made the stop in, in the US. And you know who did he met with? He didn't meet with Biden. He met with Donald Trump. And the first country— which was the first country he promised to visit if he wins the election? Can you guys tell? Let me see in the chat box. If you can tell me which was the first country he visited after being elected. Let me see in the chat box if you, uh, no, no, it was Matt Becky, it was Israel. That's where he went, to the wall. Makes you just wonder. So now the question Many are asking, what can we consider Hafez to be? So a Jewish or some ideologue of sort? So, so you decide on that one. So, but anyway, uh, so the— yeah, he fulfilled his promise by going to Israel as soon as he won the elections. The other aspects that I wanted to address on all this, beside this diplomatic, uh, uh, and so forth, is the idea of where Argentina is economically speaking. Very problematic, very, very problematic. And again, I have the links for you guys, I'm gonna post them. What you need to know is that inflation in Argentina now, the last number I saw was 240%, to the point now with inflation even soaring, I saw another stat that shows 280%. Western media is saying, oh, the inflation is only above 200. They won't give specifics, but that's beside the point. What's important to understand about this is that with the inflation soaring Argentina now, you know what it's going to start to do, is now printing the 10,000 pesos as one note. That's what you're looking at, that amount of money here. All this, this 10,000 pesos amounts to $10. So, which is very, very problematic. Because people are struggling right now in Argentina with the amount of inflation that is soaring. That means the country is going a different direction. So where, uh, yeah, 10,000 pesos, that is worth only, uh, about $10 or so. Then the other issue that has to do with the IMF. The IMF now is in a conversation with Argentina's loan. Why will IMF end up giving Argentina more money after he sank it into more debt. Yeah, back then in the '80s, Argentina got a loan from the IMF. Still till today has not been paid off yet, and now generating almost, almost $44 billion, which means they have to pay it back. So now what's going on right now is that IMF is talking to Argentina. There are IMF staffers now in Argentina, sort of agree on a loan review. A loan review, those are the first steps. Yeah, we'll be happy to give you money. They want to unlock about $800 million for Argentina. Well, we all know what it means— sinking Argentina in more debt. And Javier himself, who's saying, oh, we need to dollarize, because that was the whole agenda for all this when he was running for office. We've been preparing him for that. We want you to do two things: dollarize and cut off your BRICS ties. Uh, you will cut off your ties with BRICS. In other words, limit China's trade economics. And that's exactly what happened. Now you have the foreign minister who visited China. I was aware of it. I didn't make a video on it. I just I don't know, I just didn't— when I read the stuff, I wasn't sort of convinced as to, uh, visited, uh, uh, China about on April 14th, if I'm not mistaken. Still remember. And it was the misspoken Donna. Her name is Donna, whatever that name, uh, she misspoke. What was that all about? First of all, it shows you the division that exists within Argentina. One camp saying this, another camp saying that. Second, Argentina— uh, China, even China is saying forget about it, because how can you try? You have elections again, it will be the same. Look what Italy did, look what Philippines did. Why it's going to make Argentina different? It's because the political system is not stable enough. So, and there are those of you— I remember you putting a comment back then saying maybe is for the better that Argentina is not joining BRICS, because with this chaos, why would you want that? And that is part of where the problem is. There are others who saying, well, no, China's going to have to think about it in terms of business. I agree, but there is also the elements of trust. The elements of credibility. How can you enter into a business transactions with someone can't be trusted, that has no credibility? This is exactly what we have for us, my country, the image, the image of America, which is gone. I am currently reading a particular analysis by an individual by the name Dr. Suleiman Saleh. He's a professor of communication, so I might do a video on this because it's very, very important. And he's spot on about the falling of the American image. Why? Because lack of credibility. Simple as that. Same thing I would say about what the foreign minister is going— foreign minister of Argentina going to China. China's gonna have to— like I said last time, you can't be too nice too much because it will be interpreted as weakness. Sometimes you just have to take stand and drop whomever you need to drop. Simple as that. That's the way I see it. So the idea of Buenos Aires now is in a bad shape economically. We wanted that because we saw the trend where it's headed as far as China expanding its trade with the two main Latin American, uh, uh, uh, uh, economic powerhouse, Argentina and Brazil. And we didn't like that, and especially when it comes down to Brazil calling for creating a different currency to deal with, with Mercosur. And now you seen where BRICS is headed financially. Mark my word on this, it's going to be a major, uh, uh, uh, uh, announcements during the upcoming summit of BRICS in October in Kazan. I wish I can attend that one, that would be something. And this will be pertaining to the financial aspects, and this is one of the idea of why We had to groom someone like incompetent Malley by putting him into the position and start feeding him the policies that we want to have, or the government wants. One of them is we don't want you to join BRICS at all. So to China and other countries the likes, they have to think twice about it whether they will allow that or not. So And this is where I see the challenge that lies ahead. It's not about just this diplomatic tensions with Spain. It is about masking the economic failure of the country. And that's, by the way, it's not just Meloni himself does that. Most other leaders, especially in the Arab world, they just— the Arab world, do you know what they use? Can anybody tell me what do Arab leaders use What issue do, do they use to mask the economic, education, health, and failures and all that stuff? Let me just see in the chat box if you guys can, uh, mention that. And I'm saying this based on, on, on, on, on experience and history that I've— since I was a kid, I still remember still the same narrative, and I always Wonder. Wow. Oh, Hamad, you got it. The Palestinian issue. That's what they've been using. They're still using today. But look at them when time come to show if we are to say leadership, when it matters, they couldn't take stand. Shows you how weak Arab leaders are. Puppets. That's all I can say. Wimps. That's all I can say. It's because if you can't take a stand when it matters, what's the point? Photo op, all of them, no exception. Because to me, that's just weakness. Oh, you have to think about the welfare of a nation, we don't want to get into a war. Then stop pretending you do care for the Palestinians. Look at now Colombia. Columbia is now sending an ambassador to West Bank to, to be represented for the Palestine state. Columbia, you know, as we always say, put your money where your mouth is. Arab leaders just talk, so is the Western leaders. Hypocrisy, that's the bottom line to it. Hafez, just to wrap up this, guys, because I'm going to close this here, I'm and answer a few questions from you. Uh, uh, to wrap up all this, it's not about just diplomatic. No, it is about the failure that the, uh, policies, the economic policies he embarked on and promised to do and dollarize and all that. It's leading the country in a different direction, which means they're going to need more money. It was by design so they can request more money from the IMF to keep them synced in into more debt. This is exactly now what's going on in Argentina. And this is why Africa has woken up to— by kicking out France, including the US, which by the way, the US has been kicked out of Niger officially. I just find out. No more agreement, no more. That's it. They said we're done, pack and leave. Same thing that is going on right now in, in, what is it, Caledonia. Caledonians are saying to France, we want you out. French president saying, no, we're going to keep our military. No, you can't. It's a— it's a— you don't— we don't want you here. So, but in the case of Argentina, they're not seeing it that way because they got an— he's a mess. Jafier is a mess. Again, you respect him as a human being, of course. He's a human being like you and I. But when you are in charge of the business of the welfare of people, you're gonna have to be qualified. You have to put the welfare of the people first before yours. You have to not think about yourself, what's in it for me? What's in it for the country? What's in it for the people? And you don't serve anybody's agenda, you serve the agenda of your country. That's to me what an effective leader does. It extends when it matters. You say no when it's time to say no. You agree when, if it suits your, uh, your strategic interest. And I'm saying that's all it is about international affairs and so forth. So all this idea about tensions, to me it's a facade, it's a mask. Masking the failure. His policies turns up to be a sort of a disaster. I don't know if Argentina is going to come out of this, you know. To me, Argentina was gone the day they decided to embark on that loan from IMF, because I knew back then they don't have the means to repay it. So why would you want to get a loan that you know you can't afford to repay it? Otherwise you become a slave to the creditor, which is exactly what happened. And, and, and, uh, to me, maybe it was a sort of for BRICS, makes more sense. Maybe Argentina is not ready for BRICS. Any country, for now, they have to think about the political stability of those countries, because what would happen once you get the country in there is a change of the, the, the leadership. All of a sudden they say, we don't want to be part of this, or you got a dead weight. The world is moving into a different direction economically. This is one thing I'm going to be addressing with Dr. Yan Liang on, on, on May 31st. She's an economist and she is very knowledgeable about the political economy. Yeah, there is a discipline in political science that is called political economy. They are intertwined. So I intend to ask, uh, her about all this one here. So, uh, guys, please, before I forget, make sure to hit the like button and please share this video with others because we want to increase the, the subscription here for, for the channel. Uh, I can't do it without you. You all know this. You know, I'm not saying it to be Mr. Nice. Without you, there won't be no channel. So, so I'm very, very thankful to all of you and very appreciative. Uh, once again, to those who've been supporting the channel, thank you so much. And now I can send a video message to you just to say thank you. I'd rather do it that way than just type in— I can write you an email and all that, which I do with some. There are some of you I haven't seen for a long time. Without naming names, I do reach out to them through emails just to say hi and ask if they are okay or whatever. So to me, you don't just forget people that been with you from day one. That's just my nature, that's how I am. So, all right, let me, uh, check out some questions from you guys and, uh, and we just go from there. Remember to check the survey question that I put in the, in the community, uh, and I'd like to have an answer this afternoon because It is about almost 1400 hours my time. I'd like to have an answer by about 1600 hours, so that gives me 4 hours to work on the research and so forth. So, all right, let me scroll all the way up and see. Let me get a sip of water. And I will do, uh, I will do the, uh, the community conversation, as I said, on, on 25th. Taiwan still. Dr. O, how much money does the US owe the UN? I do not know the number. All I know is that the way we control— I was aware of this back in '90s. Uh, the way we control the UN is through this funding. And sometimes if we want the UN to do something, we say, we're not going to send you the— our contribution for the budget unless you do this. So, but I do not know the number exactly, so I can't speculate on that. I'll, I'll, I'll, I'll look into that and check it out and let you know. Uh, question from Apon AK47. Question, uh, question: he wants to buy Argentina products after they using US dollar. Oh, oh, I see your point. You know, who wants to buy Argentina products after using the dollar? Because this— spot on, good question. Yeah, who wants to? Because no, the countries— just Russia and China, all their trade now is done, uh, beside the dollar. Bypassing SWIFT altogether. When China dumped, which I mentioned to you two days ago, dumped the $53.3 billion, you know what, into US debt, you know what they did? They want to hit them both, gold, gold with it right away. So absolute perfect question. Yeah, only the probably Germany or France or the UK, the usual, the weak, the weaklings. That's usually what it will I, I feel bad. I really feel bad for Argentinian people. It's just sad, very, very sad. Hong Wong question: I heard that Argentina went to China to help, but the Chinese only gave them words of encouragement instead. There will be a relationship between Argentina and China go from here. That is, that is indeed. And to me, I feel that Maybe that's enough of this being nice all the time, meaning China in this case. Didn't it take stand? Sorry, you made your decision, you live with the consequences. Simple as that. You know, uh, I— like we always say, we grown up, we all are grown up, right? We all are responsible for our own actions. Well, it's no different than leaders, because if the leaders thinking about their own political career then they weren't supposed to be there to begin with. A leader, in my opinion, you serve the people. You are working on behalf of the people, not the other way around. And this is where that image of the West is done for— corrupted as it can get. So, so yeah, Argentina, uh, China is going to say, well, was your decision, there's nothing we can do. It's the same thing with Italy. I just do not see the, the rationale for why China should give Italy another chance. That's it. You had the BRI, you were part of it. Bypass Italy and move with other countries who wants to be involved. That's, that's, that's the way I see it. All right, I'll do one more question, guys, and I'm gonna sign off here. Uh, Ramper 01, question: Dr. O, have you heard that Argentina is planning to put a US base in its territory? No, I didn't hear that. I'm not aware of it. Uh, no. Uh, I do know someone from that part of the world I trust I can reach out to and find out. But no, I'm not aware of this, so I'm not aware of it. Okay, let me see here. Hong Wan, thank you, Dr. Oualaalou. You're most welcome. Uh, okay, where was it? I just saw one. All right, Georgilia. Oh, Georgilia, thank you so much for your support, by the way. I appreciate you. Yeah, question: where do China buy gold from? Uh, what they, they can buy it from, let's say, another country that has more gold. Uh, they can— yeah, most likely that's what it will be from. No, uh, there are countries that will be willing to sell some of their— not all their reserves. Uh, I wouldn't even— wouldn't be surprised that they might even buy it from France, but it won't be directly because France is number 4 in the world when it comes down to gold reserves. Even though you and I know France has no gold mines inside France, all that gold was coming from Africa. Not anymore. So, uh, that could be true, something like that. That could be in terms of transactions. Uh, there are ways of doing that. Uh, China can sell its products in return, uh, for the payments. They'll say, well, we'll give you this and you give us the— we'll give you the dollar and you give us the gold. So that, that's one of the things that I, I could think of. Okay, all right guys, I am going to sign off. Truly appreciate you being here. I look forward to seeing you on the 25th for a conversation, community conversation, just for us to talk. I do have something in mind about health that I'd like to talk to you about. I'll mention it to you when we talk, uh, on the 25th. As, by the way, FYI, be aware of— I will be releasing a video, a recorded one, uh, soon about the really where things are headed in Europe economically speaking, in light of some recent info that I just got. And I wanted to share that with you in a recorded— I, I made an analysis, you know, I wrote some parts and, uh, research few things to just make a short clip for you guys. So as always, remember, geopolitics impact your daily life in more ways than one. Till next time, guys. Bye-bye.