Tonight, Wednesday, October 29th, at 6 pm on The Brian Crombie Hour the second guest I interview is ✅ Rob Huebert. 👉 ALL my 🎤 podcasts and 🎦 video casts can be accessed any time on my web site https://briancrombie.com which holds repository of all my shows. 📌 Dr. Rob Huebert, Professor of Political Science at the University of Calgary and leading expert on Arctic defence, examines Canada’s growing security challenges in the North. He highlights the urgent need to strengthen Arctic sovereignty, develop a critical minerals strategy, and invest in military infrastructure. We discuss China’s expanding northern presence, Russia’s submarine operations, and the global debate over the Northwest Passage. Huebert explains why the Arctic is emerging as a key front for Canada’s economic future and national security.

📻 The Brian Crombie Hour airs nightly at 6 PM on Sauga960AM 
🎧 Podcasts: https://briancrombie.com/podcasts-the-brian-crombie-hour 
📺 Videos: https://briancrombie.com/video-gallery 
📌 Subscribe to Brian’s YouTube Channel: https://bit.ly/2Oioec8 

#BrianCrombie #Arctic #Canada #NationalSecurity #Defence #Geopolitics #Sovereignty #CriticalMinerals #RobHuebert

Rob Huebert | Arctic Defence

In this episode of The Arms Control Primer, host Alex Bollfrass is joined by Dr Emma Rosengren and Dr Thomas Jonter to explore how Sweden, once on the brink of becoming a nuclear-armed state, chose the path of restraint instead. They trace the country’s journey from its dual-use nuclear programme and fierce public debate in the 1950s to its leading role in global disarmament diplomacy. As Sweden has joined NATO amid renewed tensions with Russia, what lessons does its experience offer for the future of non-proliferation and deterrence?

Better know a non-nuke: Sweden

When we talk about geopolitics, we tend to look around ourselves at eye level. We look at countries and borders, institutions and politicians, trade and wealth, identity and community... Recently, we’ve also started looking down, as the rush for resources such as rare earths has entered the conversation.  

Yet, do most people look up, especially now after the space race has subsided? This episode brings a new layer to diplomacy: cooperation, competition and countering pollution only 36,000 kilometres above us. 

Host Sabina Șancu spoke to Ambassador Marjolijn van Deelen, the EU Special Envoy for Space, about the challenges and untapped potential of the EU’s diplomacy in orbit.  

If you want to comment on this episode you can send us an e-mail: press@friendsofeurope.org  

Policy Voices | Bringing space diplomacy down to Earth

Donald Trump is losing the trade war on China, which he started. The agreement he made at the meeting with President Xi Jinping shows how the US is much more dependent on the Chinese economy than vice versa. Political economist Ben Norton explains how Trump's tariffs have hurt American workers, especially farmers, while China advances as a new technological and manufacturing superpower.

VIDEO: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MWrdxBODSUE

Topics
0:00 Trump's meeting with Xi Jinping
1:07 China successfully defends itself
2:58 China is a new "economic superpower"
4:04 This is a one-year "tactical detente"
4:47 Details of Trump-Xi agreement
6:20 Trump undoes "self-inflicted" damage
7:02 Scott Bessent claimed China had "losing hand"
7:40 China is less dependent on US economy
8:24 Analyzing US-China trade
9:59 USA is dependent on Chinese tech
11:06 China is a manufacturing superpower
12:08 China's domestic revenue vs exports
13:43 Bipartisan US trade war
14:30 One-year trade truce
15:40 US midterm elections coming up in 2026
16:12 Poll: Republicans (and Dems) are unpopular
16:48 Trump's low approval rating of 39%
17:27 US consumers pay for Trump's tariffs
18:54 Inflation and US economic problems
20:58 US manufacturing jobs decline
22:32 Soybean war: Trump's tariffs hurt farmers
24:38 China buys soybeans from Latin America
25:25 Trump's bailout of farmers
27:24 China's rare earth dominance
28:58 US industry needs China's rare earths
30:40 Chip war: US semiconductor restrictions
31:54 China develops domestic chip industry
33:40 China's new 5-year plan pushes tech
34:31 Made in China 2025 industrial policy
35:45 China leads in critical technologies
37:22 China's "technological self-reliance"
38:25 USA is losing trade war
39:25 Outro

Trump is losing the trade war with China - which he started

The US government is politically isolated on the world stage. This can be seen in the UN General Assembly votes demanding an end to the USA's embargo of Cuba. Almost all of the world opposes the illegal economic blockade. Ben Norton explains how the CIA has waged a terrorist war on Cuba, Venezuela, and other parts of Latin America for decades.

VIDEO: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VKF-jrrv5yA

Sources and links here: https://geopoliticaleconomy.com/2025/11/03/embargo-blockade-cuba-un-vote/

Check out our related video on Trump's neocolonial attacks on Latin America: https://geopoliticaleconomy.com/2025/10/27/donroe-doctrine-trump-neocolonial-plan-latin-america/

Topics
0:00 US government is very unpopular
1:21 World votes against USA at UN
2:06 USA has just 6 key allies
2:46 Viktor Orbán's Hungary
3:30 Javier Milei's Argentina
4:14 Trump's global pressure campaign
5:40 Past UNGA votes on Cuba embargo
6:45 Trump-Rubio campaign failed
8:27 Russia and Ukraine factor
9:54 Trump's international allies
11:16 Marco Rubio, coup-plotting war hawk
13:30 US economic war on Cuba
14:05 Stated goals of US blockade
16:30 Secondary sanctions
17:38 Trump & Rubio threaten Cuba
18:04 USA's fake "terror" list
20:41 Fidel Castro: 638 assassination attempts
21:27 Operation Northwoods: CIA terror war
23:04 US terror war on Venezuela
25:24 US military forced to sign NDAs
26:11 Donroe Doctrine: Trump's neocolonialism
26:48 Outro

USA is isolated on world stage: Trump failed to pressure countries to support blockade of Cuba

In this episode of CEA Talk, host Szilárd Szelpál is joined by Martin Pánek, Director of the Liberal Institute in Prague, to discuss what Andrej Babiš’s political comeback means for Czechia and Europe.
From coalition tensions in Prague to the future of the Visegrád Group, EU relations, and regional competitiveness, the conversation explores whether Babiš’s return signals a new era of Central European populism or just another turn in a familiar political cycle.
🎧 Tune in to CEA Talk — where Central Europe speaks for itself.
💡 Support us: centraleuropeanaffairs.com/donate

#67 Pánek: Czechia’s Crossroads — What Babiš’s Return Means for Europe  ⎸ Hosted by Szilard Szelpal

As geopolitics shakes our perception of the world on a nearly daily basis, how does this translate in the tangible terms of the economy? Are states that seem at odds with each other actually avoiding investing in each other, or are they in fact doing business together? And are they doing so more than they did before the current tensions, or less? 

Host Sabina Șancu and programme executive Francisco Lopez sat down with Tiago Devesa, senior fellow at the McKinsey Global Institute, to discuss trade distances and geopolitical divides, and assess trade diversification.  

If you want to comment on this episode, you can send us an e-mail: press@friendsofeurope.org 

 You can read more about MGI’s research here: https://www.mckinsey.com/mgi/our-research/global-connections 

Policy Voices | The reconfiguration of global trade connections

Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang fears China will win the AI race, as OpenAI asks the US government for "federal guarantees" and a "backstop". The unsustainability of the enormous AI bubble is becoming clear to everyone, and Silicon Valley Big Tech executives want to be guaranteed a bailout. Ben Norton explains.

VIDEO: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4odSW2lSUyI

Check out our related video on the AI bubble: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rXCVrLPTUHQ

Topics
0:00 (CLIPS) OpenAI wants US gov't "backstop"
0:31 US-China AI race
1:13 Nvidia sells shovels in AI gold rush
3:05 China restricts Nvidia chips
3:47 Nvidia CEO: China is winning AI race
5:50 AI bubble
7:21 OpenAI CFO asks for federal "backstop"
8:11 (CLIP) OpenAI CFO on US gov't support
8:51 OpenAI CEO Sam Altman
9:22 (CLIP) US gov't as "insurer of last resort"
9:49 Too Big to Fail 2.0
10:53 Sam Altman backtracks
11:58 OpenAI letter asks US gov't for support
14:32 Banning Chinese AI competitors
15:31 Trump supports OpenAI & Sam Altman
16:19 (CLIP) Sam Altman at White House
16:36 Sam Altman donates to Trump
17:03 Chinese open-source AI models
17:56 US corporations want monopolies
18:58 Peter Thiel & Sam Altman
19:34 (CLIP) "Competition is for losers"
20:10 OpenAI's circular financing scheme
22:32 OpenAI owes $1.4 trillion
23:24 OpenAI is losing money
24:42 Silicon Valley's business model: monopoly
26:15 China's AI advantage: electricity
27:08 The "electron gap"
28:24 Electricity generation: China vs USA
29:30 AI data centers drive up electricity bills
29:52 Electricity price in USA
30:36 Electricity prices: China vs USA
31:49 BlackRock buys up US power grid
33:02 Trump closes solar power projects
33:48 Trump cancels wind power projects
34:39 US fossil fuel corporations
35:12 Summary
36:34 Outro

China is winning AI race, Nvidia says, as OpenAI begs US gov't for bailout

Donald Trump admitted he wants to “take over” Venezuela and its oil. Marco Rubio is overseeing the war plans, aiming to overthrow President Nicolás Maduro and install US puppet María Corina Machado, who vowed to privatize Venezuela's natural resources and sell off $1.7 trillion of her country's assets to North American corporations. Ben Norton explains.

VIDEO: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QukbgnkuPVY

Topics
0:00 US war on Venezuela
1:16 (CLIP) Trump wants to take Venezuela's oil
1:28 Venezuela has world's largest oil reserves
1:37 US coup attempt with Juan Guaidó
2:08 US support for dictatorships in Latin America
2:36 Venezuela has critical minerals, like rare earths
2:59 Colonialist Monroe Doctrine
3:31 Psychological war
3:58 (CLIP) Trump: Maduro's "days are numbered"
4:54 US war plans
6:15 "Cartel of the Sons" does NOT exist
7:44 Marco Rubio: war planner
8:20 US military buildup in Caribbean
9:26 CIA operations in Venezuela
10:18 Three options in US war plans
11:36 Chevron wants Venezuela's oil
12:26 Imperialist "Americas First" policy
14:11 War on Terror plus War on Drugs
14:44 Polls: North Americans oppose Trump's war
16:03 US government is an oligarchy
16:30 Coup leader: María Corina Machado
18:01 Nobel "Peace" Prize for US wars
19:17 Machado wants to privatize Venezuela's oil
19:44 (CLIP) Machado: US companies will profit
20:38 Machado speaks alongside Donald Trump
21:24 Miami Mayor Francis Suarez
22:01 (CLIP) Miami mayor praises María Corina Machado
22:13 US government supports Machado
22:49 (CLIP) Machado thanks US officials for support
23:41 Machado offers to sell $1.7 trillion in assets
24:22 (CLIP) Machado's "massive privatization program"
25:35 Machado's USA-first foreign policy
26:02 (CLIP) Machado attacks China, Russia, Iran
27:59 Next targets of US empire: Cuba & Nicaragua
28:40 (CLIP) Threatening regime change in Cuba & Nicaragua
29:18 Machado's Bloomberg interview
29:40 (CLIP) Machado vows to sell off natural resources
30:21 Privatizations create oligarchies
31:12 (CLIP) Machado: Make oligarchy great again
31:50 US-Venezuelan oligarch Vanessa Neumann
32:49 Obscene wealth of Venezuelan oligarchs
35:32 Thor Halvorssen: Venezuelan oligarch family
36:21 Leopoldo López: Venezuelan oligarch
37:04 Venezuelan oligarchs: corrupt tools of US empire
38:02 María Corina Machado conspires with USA
38:44 (CLIP) Machado admits US gov't support
39:53 Pro-war Nobel "Peace" Prize laureate
40:26 (CLIP) Machado supports Trump's war
40:56 Nobel "Peace" Prize: tool of US wars
41:25 (CLIP) Machado: Nobel Prize helps war
41:59 Summary
43:19 Outro

This is Trump's plan to steal Venezuela's oil

As Ireland prepares to assume the EU Presidency in 2026, its cautious approach to Taiwan continues to draw attention. Why does Ireland remain an outlier among EU member states in its engagement with Taipei, and how much is that caution driven by concerns about Ireland–China relations?

In this episode, we speak with John McGuinness, Leas-Cheann Comhairle, Fianna Fáil TD for Carlow–Kilkenny, and Chairman of the Ireland–Taiwan Parliamentary Friendship Association, about his recent visit to Taiwan and meeting with President William Lai. We discuss opportunities for cooperation under Ireland’s National Semiconductor Strategy, potential trade growth in the semiconductor industry, agri-food exports, and technology sectors — and whether Ireland is missing key trade opportunities with Taiwan. We also explore how China’s influence and EU foreign policy dynamics are shaping Ireland’s diplomatic balancing act between Beijing and Taipei.

Date of Recording: November 7th, 2025

Thumbnail picture courtesy of the Office of the President, Republic of China, Taiwan.

#Ireland, #Taiwan, #China, #EU, #ForeignPolicy, #Trade, #Semiconductors

Too Afraid to Trade ? Ireland's Caution on Taiwan

☘️Irish podcaster diving deep into news, politics, sport and tech.
🎙️Exploring the state of democracy in a rapidly changing world. 
📕Blog at 👉 www.pwneilo.com
#democracy, #Taiwan, #Ireland, #Podcast #geopolitics

About The Arms Control Primer

The Arms Control Primer is a regular podcast series run by the International Institute for Strategic Studies on behalf of the European Union Non-Proliferation and Disarmament Consortium (EUNPDC) that unpacks the most pressing arms-control issues, explores the nuclear past, present and future, and discusses measures to combat miscalculation, the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction and their delivery systems.

The Institutions:
https://www.iiss.org/research/strategy-technology-and-arms-control/
https://www.nonproliferation.eu/

We're a leading think-tank that connects people, stimulates debate and triggers change. Don't forget to tune into our weekly Frankly Speaking Podcast on European and world affairs.

Geopolitical Economy Report is an independent news outlet that provides original journalism and analysis to understand the changing world.

Brian Crombie has 20 years of corporate experience, a depth of knowledge in all facets of finance, strategic planning and corporate / business development for a wide breadth of companies in several industries. Brian has deep political, community and charitable involvement as well.

Central European Affairs is the digital magazine of our Foundation. It provides an analysis of the most distinguished topics related to democracy, rule of law, authoritarianism, human and digital rights in Central Europe. In CEA Talk, the journal’s podcast, international experts give insights into details of international politics and business.

New tracks tagged #Geopolitics