Putin Balks at Ceasefire Negotiations in Turkey | EYES ON GEOPOLITICS

\Support the show on Patreon:⬇️ https://www.patreon.com/TheTeamHouse New merch, patches, and stickers! ⬇️ https://theteamhouse-shop.fourthwall.com Find Mick Mulroy here: Fogbow ⬇️ https://fogbow.com/ Lobo Institute ⬇️ https://www.loboinstitute.org/ Twitter ⬇️ https://x.com/mickmulroy?s=21&t=-Ze3F_Ix2vlJ18KFvORTCA LinkedIn ⬇️ https://www.linkedin.com/in/michael-patrick-mulroy-31198b52/ Bluesky ⬇️ https://bsky.app/profile/mickmulroy.bsky.social Mick’s publications ⬇️ https://www.loboinstitute.org/publications/publications-of-michael-mick-patrick-mulroy/ Find Andy Milburn here: Twitter ⬇️ https://twitter.com/i/flow/login?redirect_after_login=%2Fandymilburn8 LinkedIn ⬇️ https://www.linkedin.com/in/andrewmilburn2023 Substack ⬇️ https://amilburn.substack.com/ Andy’s book ⬇️ https://www.amazon.com/When-Tempest-Gathers-Mogadishu-Operations Bluesky ⬇️ https://bsky.app/profile/andy-milburn.bsky.social Find Jason Lyons here: LinkedIn ⬇️ https://www.linkedin.com/in/jason-lyons-666873316?utm_source=share&utm_campaign=share_via&utm_content=profile&utm_medium=ios_app Bluesky ⬇️ https://bsky.app/profile/bgsilverback73.bsky.soci Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/the-team-house--5960890/support https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/the-team-house--5960890/support?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=rss.

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• 1:41Speaker 03

  Hey, everybody. Welcome to another episode of Eyes on Geopolitics. I'm here with Mick Mulroy. I'm Demichel Kuntakos.

• 1:48Speaker 03

  Lot cooking, as usual.

• 1:51Speaker 03

  First on the list is the Ukraine-Russia talks in Istanbul that took place. It just ended about a day ago with no real... no real... I mean, some movement, but not really much. They've agreed to swap 1,000 POWs, 1,000 for 1,000.

• 2:09Speaker 03

  First talk since 2022, since the war started between actually Ukraine and Russia together in a room. I mean, Putin was nowhere to be found, which is not really surprising.

• 2:23Speaker 03

  I'm sorry, I was reading that like Moscow kind of sees it as a win. I guess like doing nothing is a win for them. And like the Ukrainians are not exactly happy with what went down. There was some talks that there was like ultimatums talked about and how Russia demanded that Ukraine remove their troops from Ukrainian territory, which is fucking hilarious. I mean, anyway, you slice it like if you're not like part of the FSB or GRU, like, I don't know how you could spin this at all, right? Like, if you if you're on the payroll, I don't know how you spin this in Russia's favor. Medvedev tweeted recently, like, literally, probably 30, 30 minutes, an hour ago,

• 3:05Speaker 03

  like threats and stuff like that. Like, he's another lunatic. Yeah. One other thing I read, too, that the Pope, the new Pope, offered the Vatican, as like a possibility for a place to do negotiations and stuff like that. Zelensky did call, and they did agree to talk more, but like, I feel like that's probably Russia just trying to stall. Mick, what do you got with this?

• 3:32Speaker 04

  Well, I think you summed it up there pretty well. The summit in Istanbul was called for, by the way, by Putin. Right. It's a President Putin called the summit, then refused to show up and face President Zelensky face to face, right? Shows you, you know, his level of confidence in his position, and certainly looking across the aisle from somebody who I think is far superior to him as a leader. And then they basically did nothing, right? This prisoner swap's good, obviously, for the prisoners are getting released. And, you know, the fact that it was,

• 4:12Speaker 04

  if you want to look at class op, whole kind of thing at all, 1000 prisoners means a lot more to Ukraine than it does to Russia. Yeah, so generally doesn't doesn't care, doesn't give a damn about their troops. Chances are, these guys will get, you know, patched up, fixed up, fueled up, and be back on the battlefield for the Ukrainian side. So I think that's

• 4:35Speaker 04

  Good, but it's also clear that Russia's not interested at all in a real ceasefire negotiation process. As long as they consider themselves winning and they're basically making very minor progress on the battlefield, they're not going to come to the table. And I think that's, that's up to the coalition that supports Ukraine to change. Right. So we need to stop talking about secondary sanctions and releasing Russian freeze, frozen assets in Europe and increasing security assistance and we need to do all those things. Yeah. They need to happen. If they don't happen, then, you know, we're getting close to the definition of insanity.

• 5:19Speaker 04

  We just keep doing the same thing, expecting a different outcome. It's time now to, to announce these things happening, give a deadline. Russia could see the clock ticking. Secondary sanctions will be, you know, going to a place on July 10th or whatever it is. Whatever they need, you know, there's a process that has to take place. So, but initiate the process now and this is the date. We're going to start leasing $30 billion a week. I'm just making this up. Yeah. But these are real consequences from, there's a 300 billion plus, I think, in Belgium alone to Ukraine and, you know, you're seeing like Italy just donated

• 6:04Speaker 04

  a several hundred armored personnel carriers. It's still happening, but they need to announce a substantial increase. Right. Potentially even start getting ready to start moving forces around at the border. Right? Cause there's a, there's, there's strong talk about. Like NATO forces? Well, I mean, I wouldn't call it NATO because the US would likely oppose it, but countries are allowed to move their own forces. Oh, I got you. Yeah. Right? So

• 6:31Speaker 04

  there is talk about like if, if Russia starts making significant advances, are the coalition of the willing? So the UK, France, Germany and Poland willing to send troops in the key? Right? They don't need permission of Russia to send for Ukraine to invite other European forces into Kiev, especially if Russia won't have a ceasefire, right? So, and the original plan of the United States had them go in during a ceasefire, which Russia, which Russia opposed. So, there needs to be less, you know, talking about what we could do and more doing what we could, can do. And I think that's what's coming next. Obviously, the Pope is

• 7:14Speaker 04

  coming in with a lot of support. He's liked, I mean, he's the Pope, so you expect to be liked, but he's this, this Pope seems to be particularly liked. Not that Francis wasn't, but he could hold negotiations. And I think they should call it and they should, we should send people and obviously the Ukrainians and European partners and see if Russia shows up. If they can't come to a ceasefire negotiation hosted by Pope, then you got your answer. You got your answer. Right? It's all smoke and mirrors. It's all smoke and mirrors. And next time they demand that, you know, Ukraine withdraw from Ukraine, it should be immediately

• 7:58Speaker 04

  dismissed. It shouldn't have considered a legitimate offer or negotiation. It needs to be a 30-day unconditional ceasefire. That's first. And then they start talking about ending the conflict long term, until they get there. But they should. I mean, I know it might be some posturing, but if the Pope calls for a summit in the Vatican on this date, that could be the kickoff of all the consequences that come after when they don't show up, or they don't show up and don't, don't, don't actually agree to a 30-day unconditional ceasefire. Then, security assistance goes up, penalties, sanctions, additional sanctions,

• 8:39Speaker 04

  secondary sanctions, and the start of the release of the, that's what I think is the only thing that's going to get Russia's attention. They only understand consequences. Compliments and capitulation just makes them more bold.

• 8:58Speaker 03

  I also looked at like who attended the meetings to like so like the Ukrainian Defense Minister was there, which is like a pretty high up.

• 9:06Speaker 04

  Yes.

• 9:06Speaker 03

  And like for the Russians, the guy who was leading it was just like one of Putin's like advisors, right? And like, maybe he's got the sway or whatever, maybe he does have that wasta. But like Lavrov wasn't there, there wasn't anybody there of like, you know, big, big name, big face that people know and, you know, at least recognize as somebody who's substantial in Russia. I mean, I'm sure like CIA analysts know exactly about this dude and stuff like that. And I'm sure he does have pull. But to go from like, yeah, a week before when Putin's calling for this stuff, to when Zelensky's like, yeah, I'll be there, like, I'll be there. With bells on, right? Like, I'm ready to talk. And then he just like took completely fucking box at it. It's like, what is

• 9:52Speaker 03

  the strategic value for Russia in doing that or Putin in doing that? Is it just like throwing shit at the wall and seeing what sticks for them? Like, I don't understand like the logic.

• 10:03Speaker 04

  I think for them, they think it keeps them in the discussion as part of this process for a ceasefire. Right? So we called it, we showed up, but it has to actually have substance, right? So it's, if not, it's just a stall like that. We're just trying to see how much more they can take on the battlefield. It's, it's really obvious. And I know it's obvious to everybody. So I'm going to point out nothing. Well, to most people, I say, I'm not, most, most of our people listening, I think right now, like, yeah, no kidding. That's why I say they, they, they pick a date really early, like as soon as possible at the Vatican. When we hit that 30 day ceasefire goes into place.

• 10:45Speaker 04

  If the Russians don't show up or don't agree to a 30 day ceasefire, then it turns into a planning session. Yeah, obviously out of the Vatican, because the Vatican isn't going to be part of the planning session for Ukraine winning necessarily. They need to stay neutral. Then immediately it shifts, they leave the Vatican and they start planning, you know, Prime Minister Maloney is a big supporter of Ukraine, so they can just go down the road to Rome. And boom, they start planning, okay, how are we going to win this thing then? That's, you, you gotta, you gotta play to win, right? You can't play to tie, you can't play to capitulate, you gotta play to win. And we are so far past the time when that needs to happen.

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• 14:31Speaker 04

  And I think even the Trump administration, which came in as a, you know, a different perspective than, say, the Biden administration, has realized that this is clearly an issue of Russia, not Ukraine. Ukraine is the grieve party. Ukraine was invaded. It wasn't because Ukraine was going to join NATO. Ukraine has been asking to join NATO 14 years before the war started, and we said no each time.

• 14:57Speaker 03

  Yeah.

• 14:58Speaker 04

  And NATO has expanded because of the Russian decision to invade Ukraine. So

• 15:02Speaker 03

  Also, like, if, let's say, Russia never invaded, but they still have 150,000 troops on the border of Ukraine, NATO is not going to be like, yeah, we'll accept you with open arms, right? Like, it's not, like, they're going to take that into consideration of, like, what's going to trigger an Article Five. And let's say something does trigger an Article Five Ukraine. This is just a thought experiment now, but, you know, then you have to see, like, oh, is NATO up to snuff? Are they really willing to?

• 15:32Speaker 03

  In force Article Five on, let's say, a new member, right? Like, so I couldn't, I couldn't believe like it would be an easy process for Ukraine to have gotten into NATO, even if when, like, I remember when George Bush was talking about Georgia becoming a NATO member and stuff like that. Like, that's all kind of rhetoric. Like, it's not really like, there's a process, obviously, that goes, goes, goes through it. I mean, even Sweden and Finland, they joined, but it wasn't really like, yeah, you guys are in, no problem. We had shit to deal with with Turkey and stuff like that to allow Sweden was it in or whatever, you know, like,

• 16:07Speaker 04

  Yeah, right.

• 16:09Speaker 03

  So it's like,

• 16:10Speaker 04

  PKK and all that stuff, which is now kaput.

• 16:13Speaker 03

  Right.

• 16:13Speaker 04

  PKK, that's another topic. They've, they've basically closed shop. But you're right. But there is a scenario where NATO, where Ukraine could get into NATO. If they agree to, you know, not cede territory, but stop fighting. And

• 16:30Speaker 03

  Yeah.

• 16:30Speaker 04

  You know, obviously, Russia does control part of their territory, about 18%. I mean, I think Ukraine should be the one to decide this. But if they do decide it, they should be get instant membership for the rest of Ukraine into NATO, right? As a compromise.

• 16:44Speaker 03

  Yeah.

• 16:45Speaker 04

  So that's, it's frozen. It's frozen. Doesn't mean that that's part of Russia, like, international community should recognize it, but they're not going to do anything to take it back. So Crimea might essentially be Russia. But that's, there is a scenario.

• 16:59Speaker 03

  That's the ultimate security guarantee.

• 17:01Speaker 04

  Right? Right? So once again, it shows just how strategically bad this was for Russia, right? So they end up with a completely demolished section of Ukraine that isn't internationally recognized as Russia. And then Ukraine becomes part of NATO, you know, the most viable part. And the United States moves in, in large numbers to, you know, extrapolate the natural resources. It's a NATO country. And that's, that's good for Russia. I mean, Putin makes just bad decisions, but we need to make it a bad decision on his part and stop basically, you know. Screw around.

• 17:45Speaker 03

  You think that he made this decision to go into Ukraine because like his, his intel and his defense guys were just like feeding him bullshit like, oh, we're going to smoke these guys in like a week or two.

• 17:57Speaker 04

  That's a good question because like to be the analyst in this, our intel was saying they were going to take them. So I mean, okay. So yes, I'm sure that they have a bit of the tell the boss what he wants to hear thing in Russia.

• 18:14Speaker 03

  Yeah.

• 18:15Speaker 04

  But I do believe, just like we believe that they would be able to take Russia. I mean, it is the difference in size of military, population, resources.

• 18:28Speaker 04

  Solid alliances, to be honest, because Ukraine had no alliances other than, you know, the United States and the UK and Russia that said that they wouldn't get invaded when they gave up their

• 18:39Speaker 03

  Right.

• 18:40Speaker 04

  nuclear person, right? But it wasn't a real alliance because we've proven we don't keep our word unless it's an actual treaty.

• 18:48Speaker 03

  Yeah.

• 18:48Speaker 04

  So if you look, go back to February at 22, we were almost in line with I, what I think Russia intelligence was telling Putin.

• 18:57Speaker 03

  Yeah.

• 18:57Speaker 04

  You're going to win. It's going to take three weeks around that and keeps going to fall and, and the government's going to flee into exile and they have it. And, and they completely underestimated, as did we, the will of the Ukrainian people.

• 19:13Speaker 03

  Yeah.

• 19:13Speaker 04

  The incompetence of Russian military planners and executors, for that matter, their logistics system couldn't even keep up with an invasion of a country that was right next to them.

• 19:26Speaker 03

  Crazy. Yeah.

• 19:27Speaker 04

  I mean, it's, it's, you know, the US can, can invade and supply a force on the other side of the world that's completely landlocked. Afghanistan, for example.

• 19:39Speaker 03

  Yeah.

• 19:39Speaker 04

  Russia couldn't.

• 19:40Speaker 03

  You get Burger Kings and shit.

• 19:42Speaker 04

  Yeah.

• 19:43Speaker 03

  You know, like we bring America.

• 19:44Speaker 04

  Lines.

• 19:45Speaker 03

  Yeah.

• 19:45Speaker 04

  You know, 25 miles in from their border.

• 19:50Speaker 03

  That is.

• 19:50Speaker 04

  It's.

• 19:51Speaker 03

  Yeah.

• 19:52Speaker 04

  Yeah.

• 19:54Speaker 03

  I mean, everyone's been talking about how like, oh, well, ever since this, like Russia's army is essentially a paper tiger. They're not nothing to sneeze at, but I mean, if you can't take over. It's like us not being able to set a bad example, given the times, but it's us not being able to like invade and take over Canada.

• 20:12Speaker 04

  Right. I don't think you could actually, it might be a similar size difference.

• 20:17Speaker 03

  Yeah. Well, like, uh, population wise, yeah.

• 20:21Speaker 04

  Yeah. Yeah. And military size. I mean, you have to look it up.

• 20:27Speaker 04

  Yeah, I think it really shine and the Russia has had to rely on North Korean troops, potentially Chinese troops, Russia, I mean Iranian drones. And now it looks like Iran might provide short, short, uh, range missiles and, um, North Korean artillery.

• 20:42Speaker 03

  Yeah.

• 20:43Speaker 04

  By the millions.

• 20:44Speaker 03

  Yeah.

• 20:44Speaker 04

  Right. So if they didn't have that manufacturing, that very cheap manufacturing in North Korea.

• 20:50Speaker 04

  They'd be, they'd be in bad place.

• 20:53Speaker 03

  Yeah.

• 20:53Speaker 04

  Cause they're losing troops like it's literally unheard of in modern warfare. You know, after World War Two, um, they're losing troops thousands a week. It's just, uh, they just generally don't give a damn about their people.

• 21:07Speaker 03

  It's kind of incredible, right? Like, right, that how Russian, like the population puts up with it because like, it's unbelievable how insulated and protected, I guess, that regime is because if you've lost a hundred fifty, two hundred thousand guys, plus like another double that or more in casualties like hurt, like guys who are hurt.

• 21:33Speaker 03

  I don't understand how a regime like that could stay in power. It's fucking insane to think in this modern day. Cause like, yeah, all right, they have control over the internet and the information, but at the same time, people are getting information too, right? Like at some point you're going to notice shit, we've lost a hundred and fifty thousand, two hundred thousand guys. Guys are coming back.

• 21:52Speaker 04

  Brothers, cousins, uncles, they're not coming back.

• 21:57Speaker 04

  You don't need that to be posted on Twitter. You're you're seeing it. So and all the people that one of the big issues in Russia is all the people that could do a different can make Russia difference that are competent that are want to see, you know, freedoms and free economies and stuff. They leave.

• 22:15Speaker 03

  Right.

• 22:16Speaker 04

  Because they'll be crushed immediately.

• 22:17Speaker 03

  Yeah.

• 22:18Speaker 04

  So it's a vicious cycle where the people who are with most advanced the country.

• 22:26Speaker 04

  Leaving company United States.

• 22:28Speaker 03

  Yeah.

• 22:28Speaker 04

  Or Europe. Right. And it leaves only the people that profit of the regime staying in place, you know, the oligarchs.

• 22:36Speaker 03

  Yeah, man. It's just incredible. Like in this day and age, this is going on between two years, like, you know. Give her in Europe, there's a fucking massive land war going on. Uh, what do you think happens next in terms of like talks and stuff like that? Give me a little bit of speculation.

• 22:56Speaker 04

  So I think I think. Obviously, the coalition of the willing, they call those four main. Actually, it's all Europe, right? But those are the ones that are most engaged, you know, Macron. Every everybody that's I already referenced. I think they're ready to do this. They don't need, you know, Mick Mulready from Montana to tell them like it's time to move out. You got to start secondary sanctions. You got to start freezing assets. I think that's the next on the.

• 23:26Speaker 04

  Discussion. I think we'll hear that soon. If not, then I would be surprised.

• 23:31Speaker 03

  You think.

• 23:35Speaker 03

  The the reason why this is being held up, do you believe it's got something to do with the Trump administration? And like Europe trying to play it like. I don't know, for lack of a better word, like handholding a little bit to be like, we have to do this, we should do this. Because like you said earlier, you know, the Trump administration compared to the Biden administration came in with a little bit different. Thought process. And when it comes to in terms of like Russia and stuff like that, and who invaded who and like whose fault this is.

• 24:02Speaker 03

  Do you think that like that might be a little bit of why there's some drag to this? And it's not really happening as fast as we'd like it to happen?

• 24:13Speaker 04

  Yeah, I think there was that caused the drag where people were.

• 24:19Speaker 04

  I mean, we saw some of the stuff that I just was really shocking, you know, repeating Russian.

• 24:24Speaker 03

  Yeah.

• 24:25Speaker 04

  Very discredited talking points, for example. Um, this idea that we were trusting Russia, it's not the first administration who is wrongfully came to the conclusion of trusting Putin, and we can all remember the whole President Bush.

• 24:40Speaker 03

  At the ranch thing?

• 24:42Speaker 04

  Well, you know, I looked into his eyes and all that stuff. I mean, the guy's a KGB spy, so I mean, he knows how to make you.

• 24:49Speaker 03

  I think that was at his ranch in Texas, too.

• 24:51Speaker 04

  Oh, yeah.

• 24:52Speaker 03

  Yeah.

• 24:53Speaker 04

  And then, you know, Secretary Clinton with giant reset button and all that stuff. I mean,

• 24:59Speaker 04

  I think, I think,

• 25:01Speaker 04

  you know, there's plenty of things to point out in the past that were very misplaced when it comes to trusting Russia, but I think we're in a spot right now where the administration

• 25:11Speaker 03

  Right.

• 25:11Speaker 04

  um, understands just who needs to be trusted and who needs not to be trusted, and that you can't just convince President Putin to do anything that he doesn't want to without force. He just can't. Uh, or some kind of coercion, right? Doesn't have to be military force, but it could be economic pressure, secondary sanctions and such. That has to, that has to be what leads, or we're going to be stuck in this.

• 25:36Speaker 03

  Pressure.

• 25:37Speaker 04

  It's not going to advance. Yeah. It's not good. They're just going to keep making incremental advances and eventually the rest of Europe, uh, as Europe will have to make a stand and they might do it in Kiev.

• 25:50Speaker 03

  Yeah.

• 25:51Speaker 04

  And say, okay, so now you're attacking French, German, uh, Polish and, um,

• 25:58Speaker 04

  Great Britain's forces. So now you're fighting all of us. And then we'll have to decide, you know, is that an Article Five situation?

• 26:05Speaker 03

  Right.

• 26:07Speaker 04

  Uh, but if they start attacking countries in Europe, not just in Ukraine, then it definitely would be.

• 26:12Speaker 03

  Well, there, yeah, there's like, no, there's no interpretation for that. I wonder what would happen if like, there was a coalition of like UK, France, Poland, and you know, the rest of Europe that sent like a division into Kiev. What would happen? Like, how would Putin react to that?

• 26:32Speaker 04

  How he do standard like, you know, we're gonna use nuclear weapons.

• 26:35Speaker 03

  Sure.

• 26:36Speaker 04

  Blah.

• 26:36Speaker 03

  But he's done that before already.

• 26:38Speaker 04

  Yeah, he's done it so many times. I mean, not that we're not concerned about that.

• 26:41Speaker 03

  Of course.

• 26:43Speaker 04

  Um, I mean, does he want to start a nuclear war with with NATO?

• 26:47Speaker 03

  No, he knows he's cooked at that point.

• 26:49Speaker 04

  That's, I mean, essentially, it's like having a, you know, guns to each other's head.

• 26:54Speaker 03

  Right.

• 26:55Speaker 04

  And no matter who pulls the trigger first, the other one's gonna gonna go off.

• 26:58Speaker 03

  Yeah, everyone's.

• 26:59Speaker 04

  Like it's not.

• 27:00Speaker 03

  Yeah.

• 27:00Speaker 04

  Everybody's gonna die, right? So the reason why we have this nuclear triad is, um, you know, we have sea, air and land-based nuclear weapons is because we're gonna ensure that our weapons are expended in a case of a nuclear war, even if they strike first. Like even if they try to take out, they don't know where our subs are. They basically don't know where aircraft are. And the same can be said about Russia. At least they do a lot to try to.

• 27:28Speaker 03

  Sure.

• 27:30Speaker 04

  And in the sub-based nuclear weapons are the ones that are most secure. Just so everybody knows, they they simply can't keep track of.

• 27:39Speaker 03

  Yeah, it's a big ocean.

• 27:41Speaker 04

  Right. So how do you take it out? You don't. So it just comes at you from a direction you don't expect.

• 27:46Speaker 03

  Yeah.

• 27:47Speaker 04

  But I think everybody realizes and you could Google it. It's not classified. It's just that even a limited nuclear war ends up in catastrophic consequences worldwide. So a strategic level nuclear war.

• 28:00Speaker 03

  Forget it. It's hundreds of millions of people dead.

• 28:03Speaker 04

  Yeah, it could be extinction. It could be an extinction level.

• 28:07Speaker 03

  Yeah, nobody wants that. Not even fucking Putin, right? Because he knows he's got his, there's an, uh, his name is on one of them. Like they're gonna, well, first thing is drop it wherever he hangs his hat, right? Which we definitely know where it's probably not the Kremlin, but we know exactly where he sleeps every night, probably, and.

• 28:25Speaker 04

  I hope so.

• 28:26Speaker 03

  Yeah.

• 28:26Speaker 04

  That should be a prime.

• 28:27Speaker 03

  I would. If they don't, I'd be, I'd be a little bit upset with where my money's going for tax dollars for the CIA and NSA, DIA, whoever.

• 28:36Speaker 04

  Uh, all the above.

• 28:37Speaker 03

  Yeah, yeah, like that should be priority number one. Um.

• 28:43Speaker 03

  It's interesting to, I know this is like a little bit more of a broad talk, but like China obviously aligned with Russia, not totally, but pretty much, I'm sure covertly.

• 28:56Speaker 03

  You know, they were there at the victory parade in Moscow and stuff like that, which Putin probably loved because he probably was like, okay, they're not going to blow me up because Xi Jinping is next to me. So I think I'm safe, right? They're not, um, but like China tries to be this like develop, you know, like how we are, right? They put their soft power out there. They, they spend money in developing places or they help allies. But when things go down, they don't really take a stand on anything. They kind of just like roll with the punches and keep like doing it covertly. They don't really take a stand on anything. If you know, you know what I'm saying compared to the United States anyway?

• 29:36Speaker 04

  China, you mean?

• 29:37Speaker 03

  Yeah, yeah.

• 29:38Speaker 04

  Yeah. Yeah. I mean, they, there is a strategic alliance between Russia and China. You know, they're, can't remember the name they use, but it's kind of over the top language for their,

• 29:49Speaker 04

  forever friends of highest order and all this. Um, but there's always been a bit of a standoff and we've tried to exploit that. They, it used to be called the Sino Soviet split.

• 30:04Speaker 04

  It never really materialized in a way that was what we wanted. And it still hasn't and it probably won't. And now we're at a, in a trade war with China and the rest of the world. Um, so there's even less of a reason for China to separate from Russia.

• 30:21Speaker 03

  Right.

• 30:22Speaker 04

  Right? So maybe we could use some kind of new agreement as a way to leverage that. Um, that's a possibility. Um, but certainly right now, I know it's not their intent, obviously. The intent is to lower tariffs and get into that, but I'm not an economist, but. It is pushing China probably more toward Russia.

• 30:43Speaker 03

  For sure.

• 30:44Speaker 04

  Because they view, they view probably whether it's trade or kinetic, war is a war.

• 30:51Speaker 03

  Yeah.

• 30:52Speaker 04

  Um, they're looking at, you know, potentially reconfiguring uh who they sell to, right? Trying to get new alliances to traditional, non-traditional partners of China like Japan and

• 31:05Speaker 03

  Right, yeah.

• 31:06Speaker 04

  South Korea.

• 31:06Speaker 03

  Which is insane. Yeah, it's like madness to think about that. Like they're kind of like, you know, playing footsie a little bit because of what's going on with the tariffs and stuff like that.

• 31:16Speaker 04

  Because there's tariffs on everybody.

• 31:18Speaker 03

  And frankly, I can't really, you can't really blame them, you know? Because at the end of the day, they want to make sure that their citizens are, you know, things aren't super expensive and their economies keep growing or don't completely crash. I mean, you kind of get it. Um.

• 31:37Speaker 03

  Also, I have a prediction. In the next 20 years, everybody remember like Russia used to is was the biggest, like one of the biggest after the United States exporter of like uh arms. Uh, and that's like crashed because they needed to consolidate for Ukraine. China is going to become number two for if they're not number two already. And they're going to start supplying Russia with with fighters, fighters, you name it. All kinds of like arms and stuff like that because

• 32:02Speaker 04

  Sure.

• 32:03Speaker 03

  The Chinese industrial, defense industrial base is like scary.

• 32:09Speaker 04

  Oh, they have over a billion people, cheap labor, and they steal our technology. So.

• 32:16Speaker 06

  Hi, I'm Jenna Oshkowitz. You might know me from Glee. This is At the Table, the food allergy podcast, a show about food, connection, and what it really looks like to live with food allergies. Each episode, we hear stories from real people like Daniel.

• 32:30Speaker 07

  People would always think I was lactose intolerant, so I just kind of shortened my explanation to I'm deathly allergic. In a big way that defined a lot of my childhood.

• 32:41Speaker 06

  And while there are challenges, there are moments that remind you you're not alone.

• 32:46Speaker 08

  One of the best guys that I dated, he made a point to memorize all my food allergies.

• 32:52Speaker 06

  So join us and hear their stories and more because living with food allergies isn't just about what you can't eat. It's about still having your seat at the table. Brought to you by Genentech and Novartis. Listen to At The Table, the food allergy podcast on America's number one podcast network, iHeart. Follow At The Table and start listening on the free iHeart radio app today.

• 33:12Speaker 09

  Cash flow crunch? OnDeck's small business line of credit gives your business immediate access to funds up to $200,000 right when you need it. Cover seasonal dips, manage payroll, restock inventory, or tackle unexpected expenses without missing a beat. With flexible draws, transparent pricing, and control over repayment, get funded quickly and confidently. Apply today at ondeck.com. Funds could be available as soon as tomorrow. Depending on certain loan attributes, your business loan may be issued by OnDeck or Celtic Bank. OnDeck does not lend in North Dakota. All loans and amounts subject to lender approval.

• 33:43Speaker 04

  They don't even put in the requisite funds to develop the technology. We do. They steal it and then they come up with a cheap way to manufacture.

• 33:53Speaker 03

  Yeah, it's scary. I mean, just their shipbuilding capacity is unreal.

• 33:59Speaker 04

  Yes.

• 34:00Speaker 03

  Because we're like squirting out like two, two battleships or whatever destroyers like a year. They could bang out like, I think it's, I think the last thing I read was about seven times that.

• 34:13Speaker 04

  Yeah.

• 34:14Speaker 03

  That's, it's, it's scary to think. Anyway. All right. Seguing. Hopefully Putin just, you know, croaks, right? Like we just hear a news story tomorrow that he's, he had a stroke and he died.

• 34:29Speaker 04

  People like that live forever.

• 34:31Speaker 03

  Yeah, yeah. They live to like 100, right? All right. Seguing now to Trump's trip to the Middle East. Busy last week for him. Was in Saudi Arabia, was in Qatar, was in UAE, I believe too. There was talk of him going to Israel. He didn't have gone to Israel. So there was some stories about like Israel, United States kind of split, which, you know, I don't believe that ever will be the case. But anyway, there was, you know, it was kind of, and Trump got his new cool $400 million jumbo jet, which is nice, I guess. Mick, what are your, what are your thoughts on that?

• 35:13Speaker 04

  Oh, man, there's a lot to talk about there.

• 35:15Speaker 03

  Yeah.

• 35:15Speaker 04

  So, I mean, there is, I agree, there's, the US and Israel will not split, you know, our alliance partnership. But there's definitely something going on between the administration and Prime Minister Netanyahu. Because the US is unilaterally negotiated to get, you know, last US hostage out, Adon Alexander, which is great. Israel didn't like it because we've basically partitioned the negotiations. That might be the end because there's no other Americans left alive. There is, it needs to be recovered.

• 35:53Speaker 04

  They unilaterally, bilaterally, came up with a ceasefire with the Houthis that didn't include attack in Israel.

• 36:01Speaker 03

  Yeah.

• 36:02Speaker 04

  They apparently, according to reporting, presented a nuclear agreement to Iran that was not coordinated with Israel. And they left Israel off the trip. So, I mean, those are data points that I think suggest that there is a change in, in a strained relationship between the United States and Israel. I mean, I don't even think Israelis would, could sugarcoat that.

• 36:28Speaker 03

  Right, right.

• 36:29Speaker 04

  And my Israeli friends aren't sugarcoating that, I can tell you. So, I don't think it's going to rupture or anything like that, but it is important to point out in that, like, as the war proceeds in Gaza, there seems to be more pressure by the United States than there has been during this administration to bring it to an end. But it looks like Prime Minister Netanyahu, under this Operation Gideon's Charity.

• 36:55Speaker 03

  Yeah.

• 36:56Speaker 04

  Yeah. Is going to substantially escalate the conflict. So, there's a difference, obviously, there. And there's a difference when it comes to the long-term negotiation to get to another JCPOA 2.0, that it doesn't look like it will meet the standard for the Israelis.

• 37:17Speaker 04

  Because it's they have a pretty extreme standard on that. So but that is, I think Trump administration is still going to move forward. So there's there's something there, I would say. The other part, of course, I mean, this was a primarily an economic based trip, which

• 37:33Speaker 03

  Right.

• 37:34Speaker 04

  You know, that's not a bad thing. That's a good thing. They've got $600 billion worth of pledged investment by Saudi or the Saudis in US technology and energy sector, defense sector, huge, like 143 billion in, you know, weapons sales.

• 37:56Speaker 03

  Boeing, I think, too.

• 37:57Speaker 04

  Boeing, like

• 37:58Speaker 03

  90 billion, something, something astronomical.

• 38:02Speaker 04

  200 planes or something?

• 38:03Speaker 03

  Yeah, I think it was like 90 something billion, 96 billion.

• 38:07Speaker 04

  Right. And then, and then obviously the aircraft, which, I mean, ethical legal standards, I think we need to rethink.

• 38:19Speaker 04

  Having ethical laws for everybody. It's not focusing on President Trump, on what one can and can't accept. But from the security side, I mean, they're gonna have to re, they pull this thing all the way down to the, to the

• 38:34Speaker 03

  They say it might cost a billion dollars.

• 38:37Speaker 04

  Right. Because the way we, I don't think you should look at Air Force One as an aircraft. You should look at it as the aerial command post for the commander in chief, the most powerful military and intelligence service in the world, right? So, you know, we already talked about our scenario where there's a nuclear weapon. They're gonna put the president up in a, in Air Force One to get him to a secluded location, right? So he has to be, so it has all sorts of things that no other aircraft has. Commercial aircraft, like the Boeing 747 A, I think, whatever. Yeah. So it has air little fuel, like, like a military aircraft that can pull up to a tanker, you know, RC 130 and refuel. It has

• 39:21Speaker 04

  fuel tanks in the plane. It has a surgical suite with all the mixed gas and all that.

• 39:29Speaker 04

  It has a, the protective measures that you can use.

• 39:33Speaker 03

  Yeah.

• 39:34Speaker 04

  Some of them are classified. I don't know. We know the obvious ones like flares and such.

• 39:38Speaker 03

  Right.

• 39:39Speaker 04

  And it has a, a unpenetrable communication suite.

• 39:46Speaker 04

  Right. So you can hide, you know, and you know, the mic you gave me to do these podcasts, you can hide all kinds of things in there. Now think about how much is in the wiring of a seven forty seven. Yeah. Like, I don't even know.

• 39:59Speaker 03

  Forget it. It's like.

• 39:59Speaker 04

  To a technical.

• 40:00Speaker 03

  Yeah.

• 40:01Speaker 04

  Collection expert, but I don't even think you can determine whether there is something in there.

• 40:06Speaker 03

  Yeah.

• 40:06Speaker 04

  With all wires, panels and circuits and such that are in a, you know, seven forty seven. So, I mean, maybe they could, I don't know, you can even use it for anybody that's in a situation like that would, that would rate aircraft. They're not a president, but like the secretary.

• 40:27Speaker 03

  State. Yeah, defense, anybody.

• 40:29Speaker 04

  Or defense.

• 40:30Speaker 03

  Yeah.

• 40:30Speaker 04

  High director.

• 40:31Speaker 03

  Why would they want to ride in that plane? I know it's nice and there's like gold stuff and like a cool bathroom, but like, it's like, we can't even speak on this without thinking maybe they're fucking listening.

• 40:41Speaker 04

  Right. So I don't even know what you use it for. So maybe, I don't know, but it's a security issue. And obviously it's a controversial one for the ethical and legal.

• 40:50Speaker 03

  Yeah.

• 40:53Speaker 03

  Um, all right. So talking.

• 40:55Speaker 04

  Oh, the other thing, I think the last stop, huge investment in US AI by a company called G42, I think it's an Emirati deal. So, and they're going to be the, like, one of the biggest hubs in the world for AI databases. Okay. So this, I mean, I don't focus a lot on economics because I don't, I don't know it, but it is hugely important. And defense is essentially just part of it. If you think about it. I mean, ultimately, it's the economics that, that rules the day for most decisions of a nation state. And defense is basically

• 41:36Speaker 04

  there to protect the citizens, of course, but also its ability to freely conduct trade and advance society and all that. It's, it's in support. So I think it was successful is, is my point. And I think, um, you know, President Trump brought a lot home for the American people when it comes to investments.

• 41:53Speaker 03

  Yeah. Um, on the other side of the Gulf or whatever, the straight, um, the Iran nuclear deal, um.

• 42:07Speaker 03

  You mentioned it a little bit.

• 42:11Speaker 03

  Right now, and I was talking to Mark Palomaropoulos on the last episode, who's a bit of an Iran hawk, which I'm sure you are more on that side as well. I mean,

• 42:21Speaker 03

  we have to assume that we're not going to get the perfect deal where like they completely don't enrich any uranium. And we at some, there has to be some kind of plan where it's like, you know, some kind of like arbitrary line where like, we're going to take this up to this and we're going to make a deal. It sounds like they're more just more of open to making a deal in terms of like Wicoff and, and the Trump administration as a whole. I know the old school GOP Iran hawks are freaking out.

• 42:53Speaker 04

  Yes.

• 42:53Speaker 03

  And, you know, Israel's definitely pouring some lighter fluid on that one too for them. But man, I mean, a deal to not have a nuclear weapon and to be the monitoring, to be like real stringent and actually do it.

• 43:08Speaker 03

  I think it's a good thing, man. I don't think we should bomb Iran unless we know they're either very close to making it to developing a nuclear weapon and making it, you know, weaponizing it or, you know, just to like, I want to, the only time I would be like, hey, let's bomb them is if like we're on the brink. Because like we've said, and we've seen that even bombing them with our stuff will bring it back three to six months. It's not going to completely, you know, derail their entire program. So I don't know what the end game is, is really what I'm saying besides making a deal. So.

• 43:42Speaker 04

  Yeah. And I think ultimately a diplomatic path board is almost always the best path, right? I mean, the people that, you know, talk about military action to go into war and all that stuff are generally people that never put part in military action with the war, right? Because it's not the answer to everything. You don't can't just say pull the trigger and then they just don't have a nuclear weapon. It's just not, it's not the way it goes. And there's all sorts of potential consequences, like a large scale regional war, like the blocking of the Straits of Hormuz with sea mines, which Iran can definitely do. The attacking of our bases in the region by Iran. I'm not against a military option as.

• 44:27Speaker 04

  Kind of the last option.

• 44:28Speaker 10

  Right.

• 44:29Speaker 04

  But we really ought to exhaust all diplomatic efforts before we do that. Because it's not an answer to all. It could be an answer and part of the issue or solution, so to speak. But it's not, it's not what I think some people think, which is just like, we'll just pull the trigger. They'll go away and they won't have a bomb for now in attorney. So the, the big issues with negotiations. One. Can Iran enrich at all, enrich uranium at all? Uh, their stance, they want to be able to enrich up to the rate needed for nuclear power. Civilian, nuclear, non-weapon. The United States has already said that we do not, Secretary Rubio.

• 45:13Speaker 04

  And I think that was magnified by a resolution of the House and said that we don't want them to uh, be able to enrich any uranium. Because in the event they have all this capacity and then they decide to race toward it, they would be able to do it. If they don't have the capacity, then they have to rely on an outside source, which I think other countries, for example, like UAE. I think Saudi has already agreed to, like they could get enriched uranium for a country that's already doing.

• 45:38Speaker 10

  Right.

• 45:40Speaker 04

  Right? And so, so could Iran. And obviously they have an alliance with Russia. So they could get uh, up to that level so they can use it for civilian milit- uh, energy, not military. Civilian uh, energy uh, resources. That's one of the sticking points. Uh, the second sticking point, uh, that's always been an issue for the United States is ballistic missile programs and support the proxy forces uh, by Iran, particularly the IRGC uh, Quds Force. So they support Hamas, Hezbollah.

• 46:13Speaker 10

  Yeah.

• 46:13Speaker 04

  The Houthis, for example. It, it seems like the, the, especially on the proxy forces, Iran's hard line, they're going to keep their alliances. So, um. We're gonna have to decide what that's a game changer. It was one of the reasons why we pulled out of the JCPOA in 2018. So that's gonna be controversial if we do not include it, but I don't think it will be included from the audience perspective. And maybe we just make sure that we just keep supporting our partner like Israel and crushing them.

• 46:41Speaker 03

  Yeah.

• 46:42Speaker 04

  Right? Israel is crushed as well, has seriously crushed Hamas. And, you know, yes, there's still Houthis, but there's always going to be Houthis around the mountains trying to shoot at us in Israel. The issue of ballistic missiles, it really comes down to a ballistic missile that can carry a nuclear warhead. So maybe we should focus on that.

• 47:04Speaker 03

  Right.

• 47:04Speaker 04

  The sunset provisions in the past, one of the criticisms of the 2015 JCPOA is that it sunsetted, like it just ended and then Iran could go back to doing what it wanted. So the US is going to want this to be permanent. No nuclear.

• 47:20Speaker 03

  Permanent where no nuclear, yeah.

• 47:23Speaker 04

  Right? I think that's one area that we could improve on the 2015.

• 47:28Speaker 03

  Yeah.

• 47:28Speaker 04

  Because, you know, politically, they want to improve or they're going to be asked, why the hell did you get out of in 2018? Then you just basically went back to 2015.

• 47:34Speaker 03

  I don't think they give a shit. Trump specifically, I don't think cares. I think he it might be the same exact agreement. He's going to tout it as a victory and better than Obama.

• 47:43Speaker 04

  Well, he probably will. He probably won't tell it. But there's there's some places where they could improve.

• 47:47Speaker 03

  Sure. Yeah.

• 47:48Speaker 04

  But there's a lot of places where they can. But that's one, like it's not, it doesn't sunset.

• 47:52Speaker 03

  Yeah.

• 47:53Speaker 04

  It's permanent. And then, you know, there's other provisions, they're going to want the sections to come off immediately. We're going to want to stagger them because we're going to want to prove that they're not. We want proof. So the, you know, IAEA needs to be have full access, not just to the sites we know, the Natanz, the Fort Owls, the other places that we know. But they're going to have to go around and look for places that we don't. Because obviously, if they have some kind of covert site that's doing this, yeah, it defeats the whole purpose of the agreement. So there needs to be proof and then the sanctions need to come out. And if you think about it, the further that Iran gets away from being the most, one of the most sanctioned countries on earth

• 48:35Speaker 04

  and their economy develops and gets more incorporated and integrated into the world economy, the less they're going to want to turn around and go in the other direction.

• 48:44Speaker 03

  Right.

• 48:45Speaker 04

  Right. Cause we already talked about ultimately econ- economics rules and you know, sometimes not so much for the regimes that don't need it, uh, like a democracy does. But I think even they will see less pressure on their regime.

• 48:59Speaker 03

  For sure.

• 49:00Speaker 04

  It'd be great if the regime just went away and the, and the Iranian people, um, overthrew it, but that's up to the Iranian people. Uh, but ultimately there'll be less pressure on the Iranian regime. I think if the people feel like their economy is going in the right direction and they're standing deliverance.

• 49:15Speaker 03

  Yeah.

• 49:15Speaker 04

  So there's, there's a reason for both sides to want to do this. And I think we should be rooting for diplomacy. And yes, uh, I mean, I consider myself pretty hawkish on Iran and there'll be people that just won't accept anything, whatever the agreement, but those people generally are part of the solution. They're, they're just a, you know, magnifier.

• 49:35Speaker 03

  Right. Yeah. Right on. Um, yeah. I mean,

• 49:42Speaker 03

  they, I mean, they could kind of like the regime, I don't know, and Iran probably could see what's going on in Syria as like an example of like, you can maybe be accepted into the international community, you know, relatively.

• 49:59Speaker 03

  Cause like we just let the sanctions, we opened kimono, the sanctions on Syria that we've had for 40 years during this past, you know, trip.

• 50:08Speaker 04

  Yeah.

• 50:09Speaker 03

  Which, you know, I get it. I, I get it. I, I understand why they're doing that. And you know, maybe a little bit of like, uh, development and you know, economic growth will help like, make people a little bit more calm and not as like, you know, homicidal, um, against us. But I, I get like, it's such a complicated thing. Like I really would love, especially Syria, because Syria.

• 50:38Speaker 03

  Over the last 15 years, it is a smorgasbord of different alliances, you know, who's cool with who, who's not cool with who, but we're cool with them now for a little bit and we'll see how that goes. Somebody can write an incredible book about what goes on in Syria because like, yeah, obviously Bashar al-Assad is a big part of it, but it's like so much more.

• 51:03Speaker 03

  So, and I don't know how I feel about this guy who was in the, in Al Qaeda.

• 51:10Speaker 04

  Yeah, he started.

• 51:11Speaker 03

  It's now the, is now the president, the indefinite president until we see a difference and we see something happen. Being accepted into the, you know, I don't know how I feel about MBS and him giving each other pounds like they're the best of friends.

• 51:28Speaker 03

  You know, because we all know, and you don't have to say anything about Saudi's role in nine 11, right? We don't have to say anything or they're on the periphery at least. So I don't know how I feel about that. It's, it's like mixed feelings, right? Cause I live in New York. I remember the data towers came down, right? Like, so it's very interesting, but at the same time I do understand that you, you know, you have enemies and at some point you need, they're, you know, you make peace and you make the deals and you, you negotiate with your enemies at some point, right? So.

• 52:01Speaker 04

  So, yeah, you're right. Syria is extraordinarily complicated. I would say from the Syria perspective, that it is trending now in the right direction. And, you know, that's starting from a very deep hole.

• 52:15Speaker 03

  Oh, yeah.

• 52:16Speaker 04

  It's been completely torn apart at war, hundreds of thousands killed, fled, massive immigration issue for Europe.

• 52:26Speaker 04

  I think the book is still out on Ahmed al-Shara or Jellani, depending on your perspective.

• 52:33Speaker 04

  He seems to be able to impress people. Yeah.

• 52:37Speaker 06

  Hi, I'm Jenna Oshkowitz. You might know me from Glee. This is At the Table, the food allergy podcast, a show about food, connection, and what it really looks like to live with food allergies. Each episode, we hear stories from real people like Daniel.

• 52:52Speaker 07

  People would always think I was lactose intolerant, so I just kind of shortened my explanation to I'm deathly allergic in a big way that defined a lot of my childhood.

• 53:03Speaker 06

  And while there are challenges, there are moments that remind you you're not alone.

• 53:08Speaker 08

  One of the best guys that I dated, he made a point to memorize all my food allergies.

• 53:14Speaker 06

  So join us and hear their stories and more, because living with food allergies isn't just about what you can't eat. It's about still having your seat at the table. Brought to you by Genentech and Novartis. Listen to At the Table, the food allergy podcast on America's number one podcast network, iHeart. Follow At the Table and start listening on the free iHeart Radio app today.

• 53:34Speaker 02

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• 54:04Speaker 04

  That he meets worldwide. Obviously, an intelligence person, intelligent person.

• 54:12Speaker 04

  He, you know, he's, he's saying the right things. He's doing a lot of the right things. And Syria needs that right now to go to the next phase. And the idea of sanctions removal, I do think was fair because they were imposed because of the Assad regime. Right. Was dominated by Russia and Iran and brutalized the civilian population. So Caesar sanctions, for example. So they, Syria cannot, and I think President Trump said this, they cannot advance without, with these sanctions on there. Absolutely. I agree. Yeah. So the Syrian people deserve that.

• 54:54Speaker 04

  Al Shara, I would look at it more as a, as a need for the Syrian people.

• 55:00Speaker 03

  Right?

• 55:00Speaker 04

  And then we, we, we gave them a list, the Trump administration gave them a list, I think the Biden administration too, but of what they expected to see. And now we expect to see it. And part of that is leading as a leader for a comprehensive Syria. You know, all of it. So that's a positive and there needs to be elections, right? Ultimately Syrians need to decide who's going to be the leader, not just the person with, with the strongest military faction. And maybe, maybe he'll do so good that they'll elect him and then he's elected leader and that's it. Right? So, um, that's, uh, that's certainly a possibility, but it's going to come down to his individual actions and keeping his word.

• 55:42Speaker 04

  Uh, other positives, PKK, you know, the US designated Kurdish terrorist organization is essentially disbanded. Right? So there's a lot of things trending in the right direction in Syria, again, starting from a very deep hole that I think the world should be happy with. Right?

• 56:01Speaker 03

  Yeah, it's definitely better than Assad, right?

• 56:04Speaker 04

  Yeah, yeah, a low standard.

• 56:07Speaker 03

  For sure, yeah.

• 56:08Speaker 04

  Yeah, a low standard, but that doesn't mean that, I mean, Syria could be a bustling, burgeoning place like it once was in the past, not so distant past. So, um, I think it's a good thing and, but I think, you know, trust but verify is kind of thing when it comes to

• 56:24Speaker 04

  Al Shara president.

• 56:27Speaker 03

  Yeah, we'll see what happens. I mean, listen, honestly, I'm kind of okay if he keeps a lid on Syria and like he helps us with ISIS and doesn't fuck with the SDF that much. Uh, which I'm assuming will probably need a new name.

• 56:42Speaker 04

  Yeah. The other is, that's another issue of tension between the US and Israel. Israel didn't want us to remove the tension and didn't want the president.

• 56:50Speaker 03

  Well, Israel is operating in Syria pretty heavily that we don't really talk about because there's just so much happening. Kind of gets swept under the rug a little bit because it's just, I mean, how many fronts can you fucking have, I guess, but Israel's trying to find out.

• 57:05Speaker 03

  So I would love to get into that, too. I'm gonna have to, I'm gonna just get Charles Liston and see what the story is with like, why are they hitting, you know, areas in Syria and stuff like that. They are having talks to just, you know, the, I guess, secret talks, there were secret talks between Israel and Al-Shara's government and stuff like that to try and figure it out. Al-Shara did, uh, uh, say that he would be open to like joining the Abraham Accords and stuff like that and opening up stuff. So he's definitely saying the right things. And I think he needs to because like, he wants to be a statesman, right? He wants to, he doesn't want to.

• 57:46Speaker 04

  He knows how to play with his audience.

• 57:48Speaker 03

  For sure.

• 57:49Speaker 04

  In a negative way. He's talking to President Trump, who's one of the bigger accomplishments of his first term was Abraham Accords.

• 57:55Speaker 03

  Right.

• 57:56Speaker 04

  Right? So, uh, and I think it, there is a possibility they could, but it's really going to take Saudi Arabia, I think, moving first.

• 58:05Speaker 03

  Right.

• 58:06Speaker 04

  And I don't think Saudi will move until there's a permanent ceasefire in Gaza. And some movement on the Palestinian front, you know, two-state solution. I know we're far from that.

• 58:17Speaker 03

  Yeah.

• 58:18Speaker 04

  But I do think that's certainly a ceasefire in Gaza is going to be required before Saudis really start talking about the Abraham Accords. But it can happen. There's, it definitely can happen. And you gotta, you gotta go in with that. Uh, which will, you know, once, if this all happened, it would, it would stabilize the Middle East. And that is a very good thing for the Middle East and for the United States.

• 58:44Speaker 03

  I hope it does happen, man. Jesus. Um, anything else?

• 58:50Speaker 04

  Oh, um.

• 58:52Speaker 03

  Oh, shout out, shout out, yeah.

• 58:55Speaker 04

  Yeah, I watched before we started the podcast, I was asking you about this restaurant that I saw a movie last night. Uh, me and my wife did called, uh, that I texted to you.

• 59:05Speaker 03

  Nonas, Nonas is the name of the movie, right?

• 59:08Speaker 04

  Nonas is the name of. Yes.

• 59:10Speaker 03

  And the restaurant that it's based on is called Enoteca Maria.

• 59:15Speaker 04

  Yeah. So the concept of the movie and it's got Vin Flan, who's always awesome, but um, it's a true story about a guy who started a restaurant. You know, midlife, uh, named it on up his mother and then used all grandmothers, which, uh, known as I think is Italian for grandmother, right?

• 59:32Speaker 03

  Kind of like. No, no, no. Yeah.

• 59:34Speaker 04

  Yeah. And you guys call yours, um, yaya, right?

• 59:38Speaker 03

  Bingham, yeah.

• 59:39Speaker 04

  Yeah. Um, but known as is Italian for grandmother. He just brought grandmothers in to cook their like.

• 59:46Speaker 03

  That's cool.

• 59:46Speaker 04

  Famous, their favorite dishes, right? So it was all grandmas cooking, which is exactly the kind of food I like.

• 59:52Speaker 03

  Which is hilarious. We just see, cause I'm a cynical maniac. I just picture them like sweatshop labor, just have like these 80 year old grandmothers in the back fucking making sauce sweating.

• 1:00:02Speaker 04

  No, I think, I think. A real small restaurant.

• 1:00:04Speaker 03

  Yeah.

• 1:00:05Speaker 04

  No, obviously they're not going to pick that.

• 1:00:06Speaker 03

  No, of course.

• 1:00:07Speaker 04

  You know, the, the end of the movie, although I, I could probably live forever on Italian grandmothers cooking, but they also have other grandmas, right?

• 1:00:14Speaker 03

  Yeah.

• 1:00:15Speaker 04

  Probably Greeks and, you know, Lebanese come in and.

• 1:00:18Speaker 03

  Oh, that's sick. That is cool.

• 1:00:20Speaker 04

  Yeah, there's.

• 1:00:21Speaker 03

  I didn't know that. I thought it was just Italian. No, that's cool. I'd.

• 1:00:24Speaker 04

  I think it's primarily Italian. Sure. At the end of, you know, when they do the credits at the end, they talk about, you know.

• 1:00:28Speaker 03

  Oh, that is cool.

• 1:00:29Speaker 04

  And other, uh, I, I mean, that is, I mean, how could you not like that movie, right?

• 1:00:34Speaker 03

  No, that's.

• 1:00:35Speaker 04

  So next time we go to New York, we're going over there.

• 1:00:37Speaker 03

  All right, we'll go, we'll go to, I'm gonna, you're gonna make me go to Staten Island.

• 1:00:41Speaker 04

  That's right. I didn't know that was such a big deal.

• 1:00:43Speaker 03

  It's not a big deal. It's not a big deal, but we like in Brooklyn, we like to make fun of Staten Island. We like to make fun of all the other boroughs. Cause there's a reason it's called Kings County. So just everybody remember that. It's cause we're number one.

• 1:00:57Speaker 04

  Okay.

• 1:01:00Speaker 03

  That's what I tell everybody.

• 1:01:01Speaker 04

  Rivalries.

• 1:01:02Speaker 03

  Yeah.

• 1:01:02Speaker 04

  It's human nature to have a rivalry for every possible thing.

• 1:01:05Speaker 03

  Every place, any kind of arbitrary thing. Yeah, there's gonna be a rivalry of some sort. But I mean, everyone's coming together because the Knicks are playing well because I can't be, I am from Brooklyn, but I'm not a Brooklyn Nets fan. They're from Jersey.

• 1:01:19Speaker 03

  Yeah, they're just, they're just, they're just visiting.

• 1:01:22Speaker 04

  Oh, all right. So we'll be able to get you out of Brooklyn.

• 1:01:25Speaker 03

  Absolutely. Okay, I'll cross that bridge. I'll pay the toll too. Toll's on me. Don't worry about it. Guys, don't forget, check out the movie, check out the place if you're in Staten Island or in the area. It's, I thought that first one's tough. Uh, Enoteca Maria.

• 1:01:44Speaker 04

  Enoteca Maria.

• 1:01:45Speaker 03

  On Staten Island. Um, don't forget to check out Mick, Lobo, Fogbo, all the mixed publications and links will be in the description. You could check it out there. Um, all the other guys, every, any and all information about the show and the guys, links are in the description. Do us a favor, like and subscribe. If you're listening to us even on audio, you could rate it five stars and subscribe there as well. It helps. Any kind of engagement helps. And the best way to support the show, patreon.com slash team house. You get both the team house and eyes on geopolitics, absolutely ad free, get early access to it, both video and audio. And you help support the show. So. So that's my house cleaning.

• 1:02:25Speaker 04

  Not that we didn't sell it enough already, but Enoteca means in Italian means wine library.

• 1:02:31Speaker 03

  Okay. Interesting. Fuck. All right. No, that's, yeah, that's a tough name. That's a tough name, but I like it. Nonas is a better name. Let's be honest, but there's a lot of nonas, like restaurants and pizzerias that are called nonas.

• 1:02:47Speaker 04

  Right.

• 1:02:48Speaker 03

  Yeah. And I'll shout out my, my old, my family's restaurant. Uh, in Brooklyn, I've lead Greek kitchen. All of our recipes are from grandmothers too.

• 1:03:01Speaker 03

  Well, my family does. Yeah.

• 1:03:02Speaker 04

  Oh, I'm going there too.

• 1:03:04Speaker 03

  Yeah. It's on Smith Street in Brooklyn. Yeah, it's legit. It's legit. Good. We don't make our grandmothers work like the Italians do, but we use their recipes. I'm just playing. Check out the places that I'm just fucking around.

• 1:03:19Speaker 04

  All right, buddy.

• 1:03:20Speaker 03

  All right, Mick.

• 1:03:20Speaker 04

  We got two places to visit.

• 1:03:22Speaker 03

  Yeah, no, we're gonna eat good.

• 1:03:24Jack Murphy?

  Guys, it's Jack. I just want to talk to you for a moment about how you can support the show. If you've been watching it, enjoying it, but you'd like to get a little bit more involved and help us continue to do this, you can check out our Patreon. It is patreon.com/the team house. And for $5 a month, you can get access to all of these episodes of the team house ad free. The same goes with our affiliated podcast Eyes On with Andy Milburn, Jason Lyons, Mick Mulroy. That one, you will also get all of those episodes ad free. And you support the channel and the show, and we really appreciate it. The Patreon members are literally what has helped this company, this small business, survive, especially during our early years.

• 1:04:09Jack Murphy?

  And you are what continues to help this thing going even as we navigate the turbulent world of YouTube advertising. So we really appreciate all of you guys. There's going to be a link down in the description to that Patreon page. And there is also going to be a link to our new merch shop. So if you guys want to go and get some Team House merchandise, we got stickers and we also have patches. And I should mention, if you sign up for Patreon at $10 a month, we will mail you this patch as well. So we really appreciate that. But they're also for sale on the merch shop. And additionally, they got t-shirts up there, water bottles, a tote bag, coffee mugs, all that good stuff.

• 1:04:54Jack Murphy?

  So please go and check them out and support the show. We really appreciate it, guys. Thank you.

• 1:05:11Speaker 06

  Hi, I'm Jenna Oshkowitz. You might know me from Glee. This is At the Table, the food allergy podcast, a show about food connection and what it really looks like to live with food allergies. Each episode, we hear stories from real people like Daniel.

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  People would always think I was lactose intolerant, so I just kind of shortened my explanation to I'm deathly allergic, in a big way that defined a lot of my childhood.

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  People would always think I was lactose intolerant, so I just kind of shortened my explanation to I'm deathly allergic in a big way that defined a lot of my childhood.

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  And while there are challenges, there are moments that remind you you're not alone.

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  People would always think I was lactose intolerant, so I just kind of shortened my explanation to I'm deathly allergic, in a big way that defined a lot of my childhood.

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  And while there are challenges, there are moments that remind you you're not alone.

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