WEBVTT 00:00.000 --> 00:11.460 Hello friends, James Corbett here at CorbettReport.com with another edition of Solutions Watch, that regular weekly podcast where we can and we can't, we stop dwelling on the problems and start looking at the solutions. 00:12.100 --> 00:24.660 And on that very note, I hope by this point you have had a chance to see my latest podcast, namely episode 510 of the Corbett Report podcast on no war is not good for the economy. 00:24.660 --> 00:37.640 But if you haven't seen that exploration of the problem yet, I suggest you do so because I think it contains some valuable information debunking the old canard that, hey guys, I mean war may be a bad thing. 00:37.740 --> 00:46.080 And yeah, some people get killed and all, but hey, at least we make some money. Actually, even that is a demonstrable lie. 00:46.080 --> 00:57.180 And so hopefully you will be able to use that podcast episode to wake others up to that lie that continues to be used to sell certain people at least on the idea of warfare. 00:57.260 --> 01:03.120 But I think we need a more thorough going solution to the problem of the war economy. 01:03.120 --> 01:13.120 And it is obviously a very, very big problem that people have been thinking about, talking about marching on the streets about for a very, very long time. 01:13.900 --> 01:18.160 And it seems that we let's check in the year 2026. 01:18.300 --> 01:22.060 Yes, no, we have not yet eliminated warfare from the face of the planet. 01:22.060 --> 01:27.240 So that might be a bit of a tall order for a single podcast episode to change the world on. 01:27.380 --> 01:30.280 But let's see how far we can get along that path. 01:30.420 --> 01:40.900 And in order to do so, why don't we revisit a couple of those interviews that I was conducting last week with the podcast guests for episode 510. 01:40.900 --> 01:49.500 First and foremost, well, first anyway, Ken Skulad, who you will recall was the author of The Adventures of Jonathan Gullible. 01:49.780 --> 01:56.200 He's also the author of the text The Basis for What Became the Philosophy of Liberty Video at Libertas.Earth. 01:56.640 --> 02:02.800 Again, you can familiarize yourself with all of that through episode 510 or in the show notes of today's episode. 02:02.900 --> 02:10.480 But in episode 510, we were talking to Ken about his economic experience debunking the myth of war 02:10.480 --> 02:15.580 and the economy. But here's a part of that interview that you did not see in that episode, 02:15.760 --> 02:23.480 a part where I asked him explicitly and specifically, what can we do about this problem of people continuing to promote 02:23.480 --> 02:27.020 the old debunked canard that war is good for the economy? 02:28.840 --> 02:33.080 Let's contemplate then just finally the ramifications of this. 02:33.300 --> 02:36.920 What should we take away from this? Because obviously it seems obvious. 02:36.920 --> 02:44.640 Again, once it's pointed out the broken window fallacy or the fact that, yes, economic certain sectors of the economy may benefit from warfare, 02:44.800 --> 02:49.940 but at the expense of the other sectors, etc., these sorts of things become obvious once they're pointed out. 02:50.560 --> 03:00.000 And yet, here we are in 2026 and we're still having to address these sorts of terrible arguments that continue to be put forward 03:00.000 --> 03:03.240 by not just politicians, but by economists as well. 03:04.060 --> 03:10.640 And we are in the situation where the Krugmans of the world are still taken seriously and still listened to as fonts of wisdom 03:10.640 --> 03:19.180 and still lauded with Nobel Prizes and other such awards because they say the types of things that rich and powerful people want them to say, obviously. 03:19.820 --> 03:24.640 So what is the answer going forward from this? How do we escape this cycle? 03:26.320 --> 03:32.820 That's a tough one and I think there's probably dozens of approaches towards each person's strength. 03:33.640 --> 03:46.880 But one that I like to feel has hope because it has had a history of positive results throughout history and that is satire and mockery. 03:46.880 --> 03:51.320 There's one thing that tyrants can't stand to be laughed at. 03:51.800 --> 03:58.900 And I think that it diminishes their power, it strengthens the opposition, it points out the logical fallacies, 03:59.480 --> 04:02.640 and that's where Fridjit Bastiat was so genius. 04:03.980 --> 04:14.220 Time and time again, remember his famous candle makers petition to mock the campaigning, the lobbying of the textile industry 04:14.220 --> 04:17.360 to put up trade barriers. He says, well, let's just ban the sun. 04:17.980 --> 04:22.140 And you'll create more jobs of candle makers and coat makers by banning the sun. 04:22.240 --> 04:24.840 Don't allow people all that free light and heat from the sun. 04:26.140 --> 04:31.380 And I think that these, I mean, everyone has to do the tool that works best for them. 04:31.460 --> 04:36.660 You're very, very good at outreach through the media and so on. 04:37.520 --> 04:47.720 But I think that some of the things that are most effective throughout history is the use of satire to undermine the legitimacy and power and strength. 04:48.020 --> 04:55.240 Because I think one of the greatest attributes of human beings is the ability to laugh at folly. 04:55.660 --> 04:59.720 And it undermines it, it deflates it, tyrants can't stand it. 04:59.720 --> 05:07.000 That's why Stalin put people in prison in the gulag for 20 years because they made a joke about him, believe it or not. 05:07.600 --> 05:12.720 And 10 years if they laughed at the joke, and five years if they didn't report the joke. 05:14.480 --> 05:19.500 If I may, may I just tell you one of those jokes that I heard from the guys in the Republic? 05:19.500 --> 05:20.700 I would love to hear it. Yes. 05:22.120 --> 05:35.280 One day during the times of the Iron Curtain, some guys looked around the plaza in Prague, you know, to see that it was dark and nobody was around at like 2 o'clock in the morning. 05:35.840 --> 05:38.500 And so they went out to the wall with spray paint. 05:38.680 --> 05:40.960 They said, the president is a fool. 05:41.320 --> 05:47.200 And as soon as they finished the last letter, some guards came around the corner and saw them and said, off to prison with you. 05:47.200 --> 05:51.300 And they said, oh, we didn't mean our president, we met the American president. 05:51.880 --> 05:54.580 You can't trick us, we know which president is the fool. 05:58.140 --> 06:00.160 They tell on themselves, don't they? 06:00.280 --> 06:03.500 Yes, a great joke and a great demonstration of the point. 06:03.840 --> 06:10.500 That one thing that really is truly outlawed all over the place every time there is a tyrant that gets into power, 06:10.660 --> 06:16.360 the thing that they hate, they detest more than anything else is being laughed at, being mocked. 06:16.360 --> 06:19.700 They will always go after people who are making jokes about them. 06:20.160 --> 06:21.780 And there must be something to that. 06:22.120 --> 06:29.420 And once again, it's like the propaganda, the fact they're constantly propagandizing you means that what you think is important. 06:29.560 --> 06:30.940 They do care what you think. 06:31.300 --> 06:38.000 The fact that they will go after people who are making jokes about them means they really do care about people laughing at tyrants. 06:38.120 --> 06:40.820 And if that sounds familiar, well, ding, ding, ding, of course. 06:40.820 --> 06:48.060 Yes, I have talked about laughing at tyrants not only in the Corbett or podcast, but also in the Solutions Watch podcast, 06:48.060 --> 06:55.720 because I do think it is an important and effective way of undermining the tyrannical nature of the would-be tyrants. 06:56.240 --> 07:04.900 And hopefully the undermining the entire war apparatus itself, it is something that definitely permits of mockery. 07:04.900 --> 07:11.460 And I do wholeheartedly suggest that people mock and satirize these people as much as possible. 07:11.560 --> 07:18.020 The Crogmans of the world need to be laughed at more than they need to be taken seriously and refuted point by point. 07:18.120 --> 07:22.220 Well, do that too, but laugh at them as well, because what they are saying is ridiculous. 07:22.860 --> 07:25.340 And sometimes it takes the small child who will point and say, 07:25.480 --> 07:30.960 that guy's not wearing any clothes for everyone else to realize how stupid it is. 07:31.020 --> 07:32.800 So I'm very much in accord with that point. 07:32.800 --> 07:39.740 I'm also in accord. Let us not forget that school and began his response there by noting that there are many different approaches 07:40.520 --> 07:46.220 towards undermining the war state and each one plays to different people's strengths. 07:46.480 --> 07:52.420 So whatever your approach is, make sure that it's something that you yourself resonate with, 07:52.460 --> 07:56.080 that you can carry that torch forward in the way that best suits you. 07:56.160 --> 07:58.120 I think that is important advice as well. 07:58.200 --> 07:59.460 So thank you to Kent School and for that. 07:59.460 --> 08:04.540 And if there are people who are interested in the satirical way of undermining bad arguments, 08:04.760 --> 08:08.820 that is exactly what Kent School and the Adventures of Jonathan Gullible is. 08:08.960 --> 08:12.820 It is at least partially based on the idea of Gulliver's Travels. 08:12.860 --> 08:14.780 Of course, the classical satire. 08:15.240 --> 08:20.080 Well, it is a satire for the modern age in which he is making points like the broken windows files, 08:20.280 --> 08:25.140 like that which is seen and that which is not seen through the story of the adventures of this Jonathan Gullible 08:25.140 --> 08:27.240 who's traveling through this strange land. 08:27.820 --> 08:34.620 So it is, School and is talking about what he knows writing it penetrating satire. 08:34.940 --> 08:36.200 So that is one approach. 08:36.660 --> 08:40.080 But I think we can all agree it cannot be the only approach. 08:40.200 --> 08:42.300 If we simply laugh at the tyrants and stop there, 08:42.300 --> 08:45.760 it's probably not going to fundamentally change the system. 08:45.760 --> 08:48.100 Well, maybe it could have that effect in the long run. 08:48.200 --> 08:50.700 But what else can we do? 08:50.880 --> 08:56.780 What specifically economically speaking, what can we do to start seizing up 08:56.780 --> 09:02.500 this war machine and putting things in the gears to stop the war machine from grinding forward? 09:02.880 --> 09:06.860 Well, there are some, again, important economic points to be made here. 09:06.920 --> 09:11.460 So let's turn to the other guests that we were listening to last week on Episode 510, 09:11.960 --> 09:17.500 Michelle Chassadowski of the Global Center for Research on Globalization at globalresearch.ca. 09:17.680 --> 09:21.040 He's also at MichelleChassadowski.substack.com. 09:21.120 --> 09:23.640 And again, the links to that will be in the show notes for today's episode. 09:23.640 --> 09:30.460 But I also put the question to him, which we did not see in last week's podcast episode. 09:30.840 --> 09:40.960 Michelle Chassadowski, what can we do to undermine, to stop, to at least derail or deter the war state 09:40.960 --> 09:43.100 and the war economy from grinding forward? 09:44.840 --> 09:47.740 Well, that is a very important question. 09:47.740 --> 09:58.400 I reflected on it because it's not, we can't simply say, well, let's have a French Revolution or whatever. 09:59.460 --> 10:05.440 The thing is that we have an entrenched capitalist economy. 10:06.260 --> 10:10.460 We're not going to get out of that entrenched capitalist economy. 10:14.280 --> 10:19.500 I think that they are within the business community. 10:21.740 --> 10:28.200 People, and I know because I've published them, they are people within. 10:29.200 --> 10:33.700 They have businesses, they might even enlarge companies, 10:33.700 --> 10:41.100 but they still understand that this structure is destructive. 10:42.880 --> 10:47.900 And it can occur also at the level of policymaking. 10:48.840 --> 10:54.740 But of course it requires an understanding by the grassroots of the causes. 10:56.280 --> 11:04.540 Now, I mean, you have a lot of manipulation of politicians. 11:04.820 --> 11:10.660 We don't need to get into that, but the Epstein files and all that. 11:11.000 --> 11:19.480 But the thing is, this is a very, we are in a very sophisticated digital era. 11:20.480 --> 11:22.680 We have artificial intelligence. 11:23.000 --> 11:29.880 We have all sorts of manipulations at the level of national security. 11:30.720 --> 11:41.940 And it's very difficult for people who are at the grassroots to confront these initiatives. 11:42.770 --> 11:50.620 But I think that ultimately what we need is a progressive governments 11:50.620 --> 12:01.820 which respond to the grassroots and who have some understanding of how this is destructive. 12:02.060 --> 12:05.660 But very often they are the victims of their own propaganda. 12:06.300 --> 12:07.920 They don't understand. 12:07.920 --> 12:15.800 And they don't understand that when they start cutting the budget 12:17.160 --> 12:25.160 for people who are already impoverished and privatizing and so on and so forth, 12:26.160 --> 12:33.080 there has to be within the realm of what we used to call the welfare state. 12:33.080 --> 12:39.600 I think the welfare state can be restored, at least in western countries. 12:40.180 --> 12:47.900 But we have to foreclose also all the measures which are imposed on developing countries 12:47.900 --> 12:55.320 which is the neoliberal measures of the World Bank and the IMF and so on and so forth. 12:55.400 --> 12:56.700 But they are dramatic. 12:57.760 --> 13:01.040 And I just wanted to show you something. 13:02.840 --> 13:05.940 I have a pack of money here. 13:07.660 --> 13:09.640 They're all hundreds and thousands. 13:11.680 --> 13:16.400 Now, if I give that to you, what is your purchasing power? 13:18.260 --> 13:20.080 In Japan, I guess it would be zero. 13:21.080 --> 13:22.620 Well, this is Peru. 13:23.340 --> 13:35.620 In Peru, when I talk about the IMF World Bank policies, this happened. 13:36.820 --> 13:39.980 It was under the government of Fujimori. 13:40.980 --> 13:47.460 And it was in 1990, if I recall correctly. 13:47.460 --> 13:54.180 And the price of fuel went up 31 times in one day. 13:55.240 --> 14:00.560 Now, of course, we're not living that kind of condition. 14:01.520 --> 14:08.660 And essentially, when that happens, the price, there's a devaluation of the currency. 14:09.660 --> 14:15.900 Now, this is the devaluation of the currency that occurred. 14:18.120 --> 14:25.240 And with this, I could possibly buy a coffee or a sandwich, not more. 14:25.840 --> 14:29.320 And there are thousands and thousands of inches in there. 14:29.680 --> 14:35.100 But that is the kind of macroeconomic medicine. 14:35.100 --> 14:41.500 We said strong economic medicine of the IMF is that from one day to the next, 14:41.640 --> 14:51.460 they can literally undermine the whole monetary system of a country 14:52.100 --> 14:55.500 and impoverish the population. 14:56.800 --> 14:59.280 That has to be dealt with as well. 14:59.280 --> 15:06.380 I would say, certainly, we should start withdrawing from the Gretaux-Wens institutions. 15:07.200 --> 15:10.180 Independent countries should start withdrawing. 15:11.040 --> 15:17.840 Once again, that is Michelle Chassadowski of globalresearch.ca and MichelleChassadowski.substack.com. 15:18.020 --> 15:23.020 And I think Professor Chassadowski raises four important points that should be addressed there. 15:23.560 --> 15:25.680 Let's go reverse order there. 15:25.680 --> 15:30.600 The first point, the last point that he made, withdraw from the Bretton Woods institutions. 15:31.040 --> 15:31.860 I say, amen. 15:32.020 --> 15:33.760 Sure, absolutely, yes. 15:34.080 --> 15:40.280 That would be a good start towards undermining the grander financial monetary infrastructure 15:40.280 --> 15:45.180 that undergirds the imperialist wars of expansion around the world 15:45.520 --> 15:47.680 and is part and parcel of the war machine. 15:48.140 --> 15:52.400 Maybe not the backbone of that war machine, but is at least an integral part of it. 15:52.400 --> 15:59.180 Or one of the mechanisms by which it claws some of the riches out of these spoils of war. 15:59.400 --> 16:03.540 So yes, withdrawing from Bretton Woods institutions would be a good start. 16:03.700 --> 16:07.460 In fact, dismantling the entire United Nations architecture and infrastructure 16:07.460 --> 16:13.280 would be a good start towards undermining the functioning, the apparatus of the war machine, 16:13.300 --> 16:18.020 which let us remind ourselves every single war, all of these illegal wars of aggression, 16:18.020 --> 16:23.320 the Iraq war, the Syrian, Libyan, Yemen, all of these wars, of course, 16:23.500 --> 16:28.340 have been waged under the umbrella of this world that's governed by the United Nations. 16:28.660 --> 16:31.320 That's there to look after the international order, right? 16:31.680 --> 16:33.900 Well, a lot of fat goodness has been doing. 16:34.640 --> 16:38.360 And people may say that's a pie in the sky sort of thing to even be thinking about. 16:38.460 --> 16:42.760 But hey, back four or five years ago, I was trying to ring the alarm bell. 16:43.080 --> 16:45.460 Every nation should be withdrawing from the WHO. 16:45.460 --> 16:48.860 It is an evil institution that is up to no good. 16:49.340 --> 16:53.720 And that sounded like political pie in the sky fantasy thinking at the time. 16:54.080 --> 16:55.700 Well, here we are in 2026. 16:55.720 --> 16:59.760 And at least the US has started the process of withdrawing from the WHO. 17:00.080 --> 17:02.820 That is progress, and we should not poo poo it. 17:02.880 --> 17:05.040 So I think, yeah, I think that's a good point. 17:05.340 --> 17:10.380 Secondly, I think just from the display of the Peruvian money there, 17:10.480 --> 17:13.240 I think Professor Chostosky makes another good point, 17:13.240 --> 17:17.140 which is the hyperinflationary effects are the most obvious. 17:17.440 --> 17:22.360 And we, of course, can think through the different times in history where we've seen instances of that occur. 17:22.480 --> 17:28.460 But that's the most obvious example of the collapse of the economic charade, 17:28.660 --> 17:32.780 the house of cards that is predicated on all of this death and destruction. 17:33.340 --> 17:37.680 As I said, that doesn't actually generate any productive economic activity. 17:37.900 --> 17:42.520 And the lie is best understood through inflation. 17:42.520 --> 17:46.340 Of course, it's easiest to understand in those hyperinflationary events 17:46.340 --> 17:49.460 where the price of gas rises 31 times in a single day. 17:49.860 --> 17:52.740 Then everyone knows, oh, this is a total house of cards. 17:52.840 --> 17:55.900 This is phony baloney, funny paper that they're printing out of nothing. 17:56.380 --> 17:58.880 And it's not worth the paper that is printed on. 17:59.200 --> 18:01.080 That's when people start to really realize it. 18:01.100 --> 18:05.220 But we should understand that the inflationary effect that we are all seeing and feeling, 18:05.380 --> 18:08.800 me here in Japan, people in Canada, people in the United States, all around the world. 18:08.800 --> 18:14.860 This is the inflation tax, the hidden tax through which all of these wars of aggression are funded. 18:15.000 --> 18:19.960 Yes, they print the money out of nothing and spend it willy-nilly on the military industrial contractors 18:19.960 --> 18:22.660 or in military aid to Israel, et cetera, et cetera. 18:22.940 --> 18:28.000 But that chicken comes home to roost at some point, doesn't it? 18:28.080 --> 18:31.620 Of course, when the inflation starts to bite back. 18:31.840 --> 18:35.240 So yes, they can, of course, paper over all of this 18:35.240 --> 18:38.740 and just create this paper promises out of nowhere to fund the war machine, 18:38.820 --> 18:42.720 but it will come back to bite them in the ass eventually. 18:43.340 --> 18:46.400 And I think we should be very aware of that 18:46.400 --> 18:50.340 and should be trumpeting that a little bit more to the people who go along with these wars. 18:50.520 --> 18:51.120 Oh, who cares? 18:51.380 --> 18:52.500 Whatever, I'll support the war. 18:52.940 --> 18:55.660 It means whatever, we'll get more Venezuelan oil 18:55.660 --> 18:59.200 or whatever people think that they are getting in these military adventures for. 19:00.040 --> 19:04.240 And you have to point out to them, no, actually, this is going to come back to you. 19:04.940 --> 19:09.620 Thirdly, I think Professor Chostasowski makes a good point. 19:10.200 --> 19:14.160 Of course, while they're spending the billions and ultimately trillions now, of course, 19:14.340 --> 19:19.320 on the ravenous maw of the war machine beast. 19:20.080 --> 19:24.300 Of course, meanwhile, infrastructure is dilapidating any pretense 19:24.300 --> 19:26.340 of a social welfare system of any sort. 19:26.580 --> 19:29.380 Taking care of actual human beings goes to the wayside. 19:30.020 --> 19:32.400 Now, obviously, as a volunteer, I have my problems 19:32.400 --> 19:35.920 with the cradle to grave welfare system and all that it implies about government power. 19:36.280 --> 19:44.540 But I think it's the same practical idea that politicians and others wrestle with 19:44.540 --> 19:46.760 in the system that we are in, in the status system. 19:46.900 --> 19:49.940 It's like Ron Paul going in there and making the very good point. 19:50.360 --> 19:53.400 How about first we dismantle all of the war economy 19:53.400 --> 19:55.460 and all of these bases around the world 19:55.460 --> 19:57.960 and the trillions of dollars we're spending on the war machine? 19:58.400 --> 19:59.560 We dismantle that first. 19:59.560 --> 20:03.560 And then we can start having the conversation about cutting back on 20:03.560 --> 20:06.980 age to actual human beings in suffering, right? 20:07.280 --> 20:09.600 You don't start cutting back on that first. 20:09.780 --> 20:12.780 And then maybe we'll get around to dismantling the war machine later. 20:12.940 --> 20:13.600 No, priorities. 20:14.180 --> 20:17.980 So if we are going to be, we are living in this statist world 20:17.980 --> 20:20.820 of these statist institutions that have been constructed 20:20.820 --> 20:22.720 that people have built their lives around 20:22.720 --> 20:25.560 and that are counting on in order to stop them from 20:25.560 --> 20:27.740 literally starving to death on the streets, 20:27.740 --> 20:30.420 maybe we should worry at priorities. 20:30.780 --> 20:32.580 Let's dismantle the war machine first. 20:32.900 --> 20:34.760 That is number one priority. 20:35.120 --> 20:38.200 And then we can start having the ideological debates about 20:38.200 --> 20:41.040 voluntarism and the social welfare system 20:41.040 --> 20:43.320 and how it functions or should not function. 20:44.660 --> 20:47.820 Fourthly, then of course, Chostadofsky does bring up the idea 20:47.820 --> 20:50.680 that he's in support of progressive governments 20:50.680 --> 20:52.800 with grassroots movements behind them. 20:52.960 --> 20:55.580 Well, again, as a voluntarist, I am not on board 20:55.580 --> 20:58.020 with progressive governments interfering and meddling, 20:58.220 --> 21:01.880 but I am all 100% on board with the idea that this is, 21:01.980 --> 21:04.380 this will require a grassroots movement. 21:04.540 --> 21:07.640 This is absolutely not going to come 21:07.640 --> 21:09.980 from voting in a better political savior 21:09.980 --> 21:12.240 who's definitely going to keep us out of those wars. 21:12.460 --> 21:14.460 He promised, you heard him on the campaign tail, 21:14.620 --> 21:15.980 no more stupid wars in the middle. 21:16.200 --> 21:17.100 Oh, wait. 21:17.700 --> 21:19.620 Oh, here we are now, war of their hand. 21:19.900 --> 21:20.460 Oh, okay, cool. 21:21.020 --> 21:23.440 No, the answer is not going to come 21:23.440 --> 21:25.500 from some political savior coming from on high. 21:25.720 --> 21:28.400 It can only come from people coming together. 21:28.580 --> 21:30.920 I am more and more convinced of that fact. 21:31.360 --> 21:35.320 The fact, the demonstrable fact that at least at this point, 21:35.460 --> 21:37.900 until they start automating literally everything, 21:37.960 --> 21:41.320 which is coming, but until they have automated us 21:41.320 --> 21:45.500 out of existence, we still are the lifeblood of the economy. 21:45.820 --> 21:48.200 You and me and the people watching this, 21:48.320 --> 21:50.400 living at the bottom rung of the economic ladder, 21:50.680 --> 21:52.240 are the lifeblood of the economy. 21:52.240 --> 21:56.200 They depend on our support, our cooperation, our labor, 21:56.400 --> 21:57.800 our consumption, et cetera. 21:58.220 --> 22:00.400 We really are the deciding factor 22:00.400 --> 22:02.440 in whether they are able to do 22:02.440 --> 22:04.580 to continue this war machine functioning 22:04.580 --> 22:07.740 and all of the other garbage that they have built 22:07.740 --> 22:09.320 on top of this phony baloney economy, 22:09.460 --> 22:11.620 it rests on our productive labor. 22:12.160 --> 22:15.040 And so that really is our bargaining tool. 22:15.200 --> 22:16.600 It has been for a very long time. 22:16.800 --> 22:19.580 Interestingly, that recognition of that fact 22:19.580 --> 22:21.880 has been drummed out of us for a very long time. 22:21.880 --> 22:26.040 When was the last time that you had a serious, genuine, 22:26.480 --> 22:28.380 concerted attempt in the developed world 22:28.380 --> 22:32.160 to actually withhold or withdraw labor? 22:32.300 --> 22:35.880 When have you had organized strikes for a specific purpose? 22:36.600 --> 22:39.280 Like, we are not going to fund this war in Iran, 22:39.520 --> 22:42.620 and until that happens, general strike. 22:43.180 --> 22:45.840 I mean, you know what, let's make fun of the French 22:45.840 --> 22:47.880 and oh, they're on fire and everything. 22:48.000 --> 22:49.660 But at the very least in French culture, 22:49.660 --> 22:51.780 as people may or may not have noticed, 22:51.940 --> 22:53.400 they strike at the drop of a hat. 22:53.500 --> 22:54.980 They strike all the time. 22:55.120 --> 22:57.220 Every single time I have ever visited France, 22:57.420 --> 22:59.140 there have been mass strikes and demonstrations 22:59.140 --> 22:59.880 on the streets. 23:00.580 --> 23:04.620 Maybe we need more of that sense in our culture. 23:04.760 --> 23:06.460 Maybe we need people to just come together, 23:06.540 --> 23:09.620 even on just this one point, starving the war machine. 23:09.980 --> 23:12.560 No, we will not allow you to make this 23:12.560 --> 23:15.740 $1.5 trillion budget for the Pentagon next year, 23:16.100 --> 23:18.140 the largest budget in the history of the Pentagon. 23:18.140 --> 23:21.020 No, we're not going to cooperate with this. 23:21.080 --> 23:22.380 We're not going to go along with it. 23:22.400 --> 23:24.880 We're going to withhold our support and our labor. 23:25.020 --> 23:29.600 That is one idea of one of the poker chips 23:29.600 --> 23:31.780 that we have to play in this grand game, 23:32.180 --> 23:34.600 this casino economy that they've created around us. 23:34.660 --> 23:36.980 We can simply withdraw our support. 23:37.520 --> 23:40.100 Of course, boycott, divestment, and sanction. 23:40.340 --> 23:42.320 I have talked about it before on this podcast. 23:42.560 --> 23:47.100 The ideas of sanction, bycotting, boycotting, et cetera. 23:47.100 --> 23:50.240 Again, that is a way that we can take what we do 23:50.240 --> 23:53.080 at the absolute basic bottom level of this economy, 23:53.200 --> 23:56.080 the consumption that, again, keeps all of this moving along. 23:56.460 --> 23:58.740 We can withdraw our support from this or that. 23:58.820 --> 24:00.920 We can put our support into this or that. 24:01.040 --> 24:03.300 We can divest from any and all businesses 24:03.300 --> 24:07.240 that are supporting of the war machine, et cetera, et cetera. 24:07.320 --> 24:10.060 But that takes time and effort and energy 24:10.060 --> 24:11.980 and coordination and organization. 24:12.420 --> 24:14.020 And who's got time for that 24:14.020 --> 24:16.400 when they're just trying to put food on the table? 24:16.400 --> 24:19.920 So I put it to you that that is, 24:20.020 --> 24:22.380 it is obviously the only way 24:22.380 --> 24:24.840 that we are going to have any effect whatsoever 24:24.840 --> 24:27.460 on truly shaping the course of society. 24:27.660 --> 24:28.920 It will only come from that. 24:28.960 --> 24:31.080 It will not come from the political, 24:31.420 --> 24:33.560 once every four years, you get a vote 24:33.560 --> 24:35.840 to cast in the slave suggestion box. 24:36.060 --> 24:38.600 That is certainly my opinion on this. 24:38.840 --> 24:40.840 But the details are, of course, 24:41.060 --> 24:42.320 that is where the devils lie. 24:42.500 --> 24:44.900 And how do we get from here to there? 24:44.900 --> 24:47.220 How do we get to organizing people 24:47.220 --> 24:49.180 around a mass movement of non-compliance, 24:49.620 --> 24:51.800 of protests, of strikes, of boycotts, 24:51.900 --> 24:53.760 of bycots, of divestment, of sanctions, 24:53.940 --> 24:57.000 and all of that which can actually start 24:57.940 --> 25:00.720 to direct this economy in the direction we want? 25:01.040 --> 25:03.480 Well, that is the question on the table. 25:03.620 --> 25:06.880 And that is where I am very much open 25:06.880 --> 25:11.380 to hearing your suggestions and ideas on that subject. 25:11.740 --> 25:13.320 So on that very note, 25:13.320 --> 25:18.740 I am going to see if I floated this idea 25:18.740 --> 25:20.660 in the Think Tank, Stink Tank's 25:20.660 --> 25:22.140 recent edition of the Corbett Report podcast. 25:22.420 --> 25:25.500 Well, let's see if anything can eventuate from this. 25:25.580 --> 25:28.080 Is the Corbett Report community up to the task 25:28.080 --> 25:29.040 of taking on this challenge? 25:29.500 --> 25:30.780 What is that roadmap? 25:31.000 --> 25:32.500 How do we get from here to there? 25:32.640 --> 25:35.760 What specific actions can people start taking? 25:36.200 --> 25:39.640 Where, how, who, and what way do we start organizing 25:39.640 --> 25:42.040 under an umbrella to make these things happen? 25:42.500 --> 25:45.880 I am all ears and very much interested to see 25:45.880 --> 25:48.080 if there are any ideas out there 25:48.080 --> 25:50.380 for how we get the ball rolling on this, 25:50.420 --> 25:53.160 because it seems to me this is the only shot 25:53.160 --> 25:54.500 that we have, the only chance. 25:54.960 --> 25:57.040 So let's, let me put it out there 25:57.040 --> 25:58.060 to the Corbett Report community. 25:58.480 --> 25:59.960 What are your suggestions? 26:00.340 --> 26:01.540 I want to see roadmaps. 26:01.620 --> 26:02.440 I want to see ideas. 26:02.580 --> 26:03.240 I want to see plans. 26:03.460 --> 26:05.220 I want to see organizational charts, 26:05.840 --> 26:06.820 whatever you've got. 26:07.360 --> 26:09.060 And of course, Corbett Report members 26:09.060 --> 26:11.840 are invited to come to CorbettReport.com 26:11.840 --> 26:13.960 and leave your suggestions 26:13.960 --> 26:18.000 in the comments section of this podcast. 26:18.620 --> 26:21.760 If, if there is participation in that discussion, 26:21.880 --> 26:24.060 if there are ideas, I am going to start 26:24.060 --> 26:26.900 rolling that ball up the hill, 26:26.980 --> 26:28.680 as it were, in the Sisyphean analogy 26:28.680 --> 26:31.040 and see where we can get to with this. 26:31.160 --> 26:34.460 So your participation will make a difference 26:34.460 --> 26:36.360 over at CorbettReport.com. 26:36.680 --> 26:39.140 And on that note, I think this is a topic 26:39.140 --> 26:40.720 that we'll have to keep returning to, 26:40.720 --> 26:42.640 but I hope at the very least I have provided 26:42.640 --> 26:45.300 some food for thought for today's conversation. 26:46.400 --> 26:47.720 And let's leave it there. 26:48.340 --> 26:50.760 I thank you very much for putting your time 26:50.760 --> 26:52.660 and effort and energy and attention into 26:52.660 --> 26:54.420 this exploration here today, 26:54.520 --> 26:56.620 and very much look forward to talking to you 26:56.620 --> 26:57.440 again in the near future. 27:27.280 --> 27:33.560 Thank you very much.