Go back

Afternoon Breaking Updates with Ben 10/15/2026

65m 34s

Afternoon Breaking Updates with Ben 10/15/2026

The world is experiencing a rapid and multi-front escalation of conflict, from the Middle East to the Black Sea and Ukraine. Iran’s IRGC has intensified attacks on tankers in the Strait of Hormuz, striking over 30 vessels since October, while simultaneously rebuilding missile and drone capabilities, including demonstrating new ballistic and cruise missile systems. This military buildup is matched by regional violence, such as Houthi strikes on Saudi leadership and energy infrastructure, which signal a significant shift in regional power dynamics. Meanwhile, the U.S. is facing strategic failures, including the disruption of critical defense systems like Starlink and Star Shield, which severely hampers Ukrainian operations. The Trump administration is under scrutiny for war crimes, including attacks on civilian populations, suppression of evidence, and deliberate misinformation—such as claiming low inflation while inflation rises. These actions are undermining U.S. credibility and global standing, with critics arguing that the U.S. has become an unpredictable and dangerous actor. Economic instability, including surging inflation in key economies like South Korea, reflects broader systemic collapse linked to war and poor policy. The speaker warns of a dangerous escalation trap, where reckless leadership will trigger broader regional and global conflict. This crisis demands a return to principled, transparent governance—free from personality-driven chaos—because without it, democratic values and global stability will erode. The analysis underscores that current events are not isolated but part of a deeper, interconnected collapse of international order, driven by poor leadership and a failure to prioritize responsibility over spectacle.

Transcription

10449 Words, 57744 Characters

English
Welcome to Ben on Breaking News. I'm Ben Mycelas. This is our breaking news. War is escalating throughout the world right now. I want to zoom in on where we're seeing the war escalate and it's basically everywhere right now. We'll start by talking about the straight-up or moves where another tanker was struck by the IRGC earlier today. Another tanker was struck yesterday in the straight-up or moves by the IRGC. The day before that two tankers were struck by the IRGC. The day before that four tankers were struck by the IRGC and if you're keeping track at home the way I am although that's my job to do that for us. About 30 tankers have been struck by Iran in and around the straight-up or moves since the beginning of October. So 15 days, 30 tankers and average of two tankers a day. You may be saying so where are all these tankers coming from at this point? Aren't they just going to like run out of tankers? The answer is they are. We are. The world is running out of tankers right now. There were some tankers that were willing to take the risk and try to do the ship to ship to ship transfers for $1.5 million a day but right now as the IRGC has escalated and disabled many many ships. We're really just kind of out of ships right now so should also be noted the IRGC has been conducting military exercises the past five days far from what Donald Trump said that they don't have any missiles in their militaries completely obliterated. That is not what we are seeing at all right now. They've been demonstrating new ballistic capabilities, new cruise missile capabilities. They've been demonstrating new drone technologies. They've been showing some of their fighter jets. Now, Israel's channel 16 says Iran currently has at least 400 operational missile launchers nearly matching the 420 it had before. The catastrophic war began over the past few months. Iran has restored a significant portion of its missile launching capabilities, including recovering launchers buried underground during the operation and rebuilding its ballistic missile and drone production infrastructure. There was a call today between Netanyahu and Rubio Netanyahu has been making it's been like it's like the shortest to read out. Secretary Rubio spoke today with Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu. Netanyahu earlier described kind of a new pretext for escalating the catastrophic war in Iran. You know, he's saying we think that there's going to be a attack by Iran that's imminent and so we may need to strike Iran as I've been saying before the Israeli Israel channel 12 which is kind of the kind of Fox News regime media in Israel for Netanyahu is a lot of networks are but particularly some of the ones I'm showing you. Israel believes Iran may be preparing a preemptive attack after Western intelligence detected quote extreme military movements in Iran. I mean, we saw their ballistic missile testing that they've been doing as they're preparing for an imminent Trump regime in Netanyahu regime invasion. The IRGC is on high alert. The Trump regime has leaked out that they're now considering using MOABs, the mother of all bombs and a new escalatory measure against Iran. And I've been saying that I think both Trump and Netanyahu are looking for a national security incident before their respective elections to try and derail the elections. Netanyahu is trailing in the polls in Israel, Donald Trump and the MAGA Republicans are getting worse and worse each day in the polls, new historic lows. And I said they both I think for the same reasons, won a national security incident before the midterms pay attention. I believe that actually escalation will take place even more before the midterms for that reason right there. Now we'll also talk about we'll talk about it right now. What's happening in the war in Yemen between Ansar Allah and the Saudi-backed PLC. That's the Saudi-backed kind of proxy group in Yemen. Ansar Allah or the Houthis have their capital in Sana, the Saudi-backed group which still has certain UAE remnants of it in Aden is the capital for the PLC. Now earlier today the Houthis or Ansar Allah struck the presidential palace in Aden killing two. That's the presidential palace for the Saudi-backed government over there. We have images of what that looked like at first. You had the Saudi-backed PLC saying not a big deal. It didn't really hit. Don't worry about it. But it did hit. Ansar Allah and the Houthis have demonstrated that their capabilities and technological capabilities far greater than people ever expected. But those people who underestimated them did so at their own peril. And again let me just be very clear. By me giving you the facts there are some people who are like well you're just giving me the Houthi propaganda or you're giving me the IRGC. I'm just telling you what I believe to be the objective facts. I believe that actually Iran and the IRGC have more ballistic missiles than before the war. I believe they have more cruise missiles and better drone technology and more drones than when the war started. So my estimates are actually more than what that Israel Channel 16 says. But I actually don't disagree with that assessment. And one of the ways you can even think about this is if Iran was truly running out of ballistics. Would they have done a five day exercise where they used a lot of these ballistics over and over. We could say well maybe it's a bluff. No it's not. I mean we've seen them their ability to strike tanker after tanker and the straight of Hormuz each day. Also, Ansar Allah the Houthis continue to strike inside Saudi Arabia as well. The Saudi Aramco headquarters in the Dalran region was hit in a Houthi attack. And that's actually where the CEO of Saudi Aramco. That's the main Saudi Arabian oil company. Saudi Aramco CEO Amin Nasser's office was destroyed following the latest Houthi strike on the Aramco headquarters in Durran with part of the ceiling caved in and windows and doors blown out per Reuters. But I was telling you about this earlier this week because I'm following the satellite footage. I'm observing these buildings. I'm looking at where the smoke plumes are and you can see this stuff. It's why when I was saying the U.S. military bases in the Middle East were all destroyed by Iran. Again, there are some people who are ultra sensitive. So you're rooting for them or you know I'm just pushing back against the Senkhan propaganda that saying that this stuff isn't happening when it's happening. It is when it is. I understand that Iran has propaganda. That's stupid. I get it. I get that there's propaganda taking place. I just want us all to have an objective data set of what is actually happening here. Meanwhile, Pete Hegsip and the Pentagon have stated they will not be turning over any reports regarding the war crimes that were committed in Manab where little elementary school girls were slaughtered by the Trump regime. At least 160 little elementary school girls were slaughtered. That report is going to be concealed through the midterms. I mean, we all know what happened. It was a U.S. Tomahawk that slammed into the elementary school and slaughtered little girls on the first day of the war. The United States then did another strike on a sports hall in Le Maird with another type of weapon that sprayed these pellets that slaughtered little children who were at volleyball practice in Le Maird. So I mean, you know, they're deep-sixing the report. They probably will try to always cover it up. My prediction is when the Democrats take control of the House, they will ask for it. They will subpoena it. The Trump regime will declare executive privilege. Classified information. We can show it to you and then they'll be all of these lawsuits that we're going to be covering here. I mean, look, earlier today the Trump regime declared they invoked executive privilege regarding what they're trying to do at the Kennedy Center where Trump's trying to engrave his name or change the name originally or then destroy the Kennedy Center. In that case, the plaintiffs requested discovery. Give us the documents so we can see what you're doing. You claim that the Kennedy Center can only be saved with Donald Trump. Bullshit. We think you're lying. But turn over the documents. Let's see the board minutes. Show us your P&Ls, the profit and loss statements. Show us everything. And the Trump regime, when they're finally cornered, when the judge says enough is enough, turn over the freaking documents. What does Donald Trump do? The same thing he does. in his lawsuit against BBC. He runs scared because he is a scared, pathetic, small, disgusting individual. So the Trump regime invoked executive privilege in the Kennedy Center case. We're not going to turn over any of the financials. None of it. So now there's going to be litigation over executive privilege. Donald Trump sued the BBC for $10 billion. And he goes, I'm not going to sit for a deposition with the BBC. I'm not going to turn over documents. Then don't sue him. He's doing litigation versions of the Strait of Hormuz. Or I should say, the Strait of Hormuz is a war version of how he litigates. He wants the headline $10 billion. He wants the headline epic fury. He wants the headline. But then when he actually has to fight, if somebody fights back delayed two weeks, two weeks, two weeks, and then he gets into his Trump death cycle of fraud right there. So we talked about Yemen and Saudi Arabia. Let's talk about Romania and Bulgaria this morning, or yesterday evening into this morning, two tankers were hit off the coast of Romania in the Black Sea. And then earlier this week, two tankers off the coast of Bulgaria were struck. Obviously, it seems like it was Russian drones or Russian missiles that struck these tankers, both Romania and Bulgaria do not say for a fact it's Russia. Because if they did, then you would need to invoke Article IV of NATO, consultation or Article V, joint defense. This is in NATO waters right here, by the way. I mean, this is in the economic zones of Romania and Bulgaria, these ships. And so if NATO was actually doing what NATO was supposed to do, you would at least invoke Article IV. But I know Mark Routé, the NATO Secretary General, likes to be like, we've never been stronger as a result of Donald Trump. It's the worst way to deal with Donald Trump. Now he may say, look, we managed to delay Donald Trump from full mask off for two years by sucking up to Donald Trump. Oh, you're so strong. Oh, you know, Mark Routé, the Secretary General. I don't know, I think that probably created a weaker situation overall for NATO. And it allowed Russia to amass. They're doing 36,000 Garen drones. Those Garen-4 and Garen-5s every year right now. Russia's alliance with North Korea and China has also led to mass production of cruise missiles, ballistic stoves, iskenderers that are very deadly. And so we've seen that. But in any event, you have two tankers off the coast of Romania, two tankers off the coast of Bulgaria. And then the Trump regime cut off or at least severely limited Ukrainian access to Starlink or the military version, I guess, is called Star Shield. And then the Trump regime is like, we have nothing to do with it. That's Elon Musk who deals with Star Shield. And then Elon Musk is like, no, Star Shield is US military. I have nothing to do with it. But then Elon Musk was posting like, Zelensky needs to go last night. He was saying, Zelensky needs to go. And he was reposting. I did a video on it this morning of people saying, like, Zelensky is an ingrate. And he's a green lousin. I know all of these horrific things. And you have Musk reposting those things. In any event, you understand. The missiles, the drones, rather, that are used by Ukraine, they link to Starlink or they link to Star Shield. But both Starlink and Star Shield is what the Ukrainian military advisors say. And you know how, like, sometimes internet companies throttle your internet with certain speeds. So literally, the drones that are used by Ukraine go certain speeds. They go very fast. And they hook up or they link into Star Shield or Starlink at those speeds. And a lot of data is being exchanged at these speeds. And this allows the drone operators in Ukraine to follow these drones, these FP1, FP2 drones, the Flamingo missiles and other missiles and weapons that Ukraine has. And so it links up to Star Shield. And so without even telling Zelensky what happened was Star Shield said a cap. And at first, the cap was like 45 miles per hour, or 55 miles per hour. Then it changed to like 100 miles per hour in any event. The Ukrainian drones go much faster than 100 miles per hour. And so if you as the drone operator don't have full visibility the whole way, you're not able to really direct the drone where it needs to go. And so it really impinged or harmed the missions that Ukraine was doing with these utilizing these drones. And also the drone interceptors that Ukraine has also relies on Star Shield and Star Link. And so that was capped as well, which really limited the ability of Ukraine to use drone interceptors. That's in addition to the-- I think it's called cyber, like SIDR or something. And that's the kind of satellite intelligence sharing the early alerts that Ukraine would get from the United States. So when a ballistic would be launched from Russia, even though Ukraine did not have the interceptors, like the Patriots or the Thads that were promised by Trump, you'd still know a ballistic was coming before-- or before it hit like seconds before you would know at least the journey of the ballistic so you could warn people right away. It's coming this direction. The alert system was also shut down as well by the Trump regime. And then they blamed the weather. And I think the status of both the Star Shield and the early warning, it's kind of on again off again. Sometimes you hear it's back on and they turn it off. But that very unpredictability in the fog of war creates massive, massive problems for Zelinsky. The Trump regime also apparently was trying to unfreeze some of the Russian money that Europe has, it's like 217 billion euros, close to $100 billion of funds that are frozen. Trump was demanding that the European countries return the money to Russia. They refuse to do that. And then Trump's been continuing to threaten Zelinsky not to strike any diesel refineries in Russia. Zelinsky held off for three days. Russia continued to strike the thermal power plants and the central heating plants in Kiev and Karkiv. Zelinsky's now striking those refineries in Russia. War is escalating there. Then we have the Trump regime sending additional troops to South America, Panama, Colombia, and some of these other areas in South America, where the Trump regime has its puppet dictators. Also, I'm pretty confident we have lots of forces in Mexico right now, CIA back forces over there, a number of mercenary groups, Eric Prince related in Africa and in South America right now as well. Oh yeah, and North Korea did more ballistic missile tests, submarine ballistic missile tests to show its nuclear capabilities. North Korea test fired two types of submarine launch cruise missiles from a submerged submarine in the sea of Japan, marking the first weapons test from its largest submarine. The test used the hero Kim Kun-ok, a modified Romeo class diesel sub with 10 vertical launch tubes. South Korea's military said it tracked both launches from start to finish. South Korea's president Lee put out a note today as well to the people of South Korea to not commit suicide. Their stock market, the KOSPI, the COSPI or COSPI, has been taking its down like 40% since this summer. That has a lot of those tech stocks, a lot of those AI stocks, and there's been this massive crash over there as the Trump regime is crashing the world economy. And one of the first indicias of this broader contagion which I think exists is right there in the COSPI or COSPI South Korean kind of tech market over there. We got the PPI numbers this morning, producer price index. That's the wholesaler inflation. The expectations were that it would come in at 5.3%. It came in at 6.3%, 1% to higher than expectations. That's way hotter than anybody expected. CPI, the consumer price index, which measures consumer inflation, usually trails, the wholesaler inflation, right? 'Cause they pass it on to consumers. The rising cost of diesel, the rising cost of gas is a major reason for the rise in the PPI. But CPI right now is 3.7%. My expectation is by the new year. And I've been predicting this now. You've been watching this, right? I've been pretty consistent with my predictions. I believe that PPI was going to be above 7% by the end of this year. I still hold that prediction. And I believe the CPI will be around 4.5% by the end. end of the year. And I think that will continue to rise and rise and rise as Donald Trump doubles down on war crimes and stupidity. Now, this escalation trap that I have just described, you know, is also the escalation trap that someone particularly stupid like Donald Trump falls deeper, deeper, and deeper into its shit show in slow motion. We all know how this would end if the Trump regime escalates, like literally the lesson that you've gathered from the catastrophic war already is that by doing more air strikes on Iran, they're going to surrender, of course not. Any future escalation Iran is going to, it's obvious, they're going to cut the fiber optic cables and other internet connectivity under the straight of horror moves and other cables. They're going to strike all the data centers in the region. They're going to strike all of the LNG facilities. They're going to strike all of the broader gas facilities and diesel facilities in the region. And I think lots of the tourist areas as well. And I've described a bunch of regional wars happening all at once here. And then I believe, you know, you can call this a world war, you can say there are many regional wars taking place right now. But all of the fear mongering that the Trump regime was doing when Biden was in office, like it's actually happening right now. It's happening right now. Today's a big day for me and my brothers as well. WTF America is out next week. Get your copy now so it arrives next Tuesday. WTF America the way out of this hell and back to democracy. We dedicated the book to you. You can see it right over here. Get the ebook. Get the hardcover. You can get the audio as well. Put in the comments if you've ordered WTF America. Corporate news doesn't want to have us on to talk about the book. I don't want to go on corporate news regardless. So good. Don't really care. But I want to make sure we get this book out to as many people as we can. It talks about how we can make generational change, how we need to think about things in terms of generational change, values, principles, how the mightest might be in our expansion internationally could be a major part of that change. So please put in the comments if you've ordered it. Tell others to buy it. It'll be likely at your local bookstores as well next week. But buy it now if you can post on social media photos of the book. That helps a lot. Help us get the word out there if you can. All right. Let's take our first break of the show. I hope you appreciated that pretty comprehensive assessment and tying all of these world events together right there. There's a lot happening that we need to be focused on right now. And I hope that initial summary helps situate where we are at this specific moment. And it is escalating. It is spreading. That's just the objective reality. All right. Let's take our first break. We'll be right back. If you run a business, you know how frustrating it is to deal with financial chaos. Switching between three different apps, just to handle banking, track invoices, and figure out contractor payments. It waste hours and takes you away from actually growing your business. Found solved it for me. Found provides business banking with built-in software to handle your bookkeeping, invoicing, contractor payments, and more all in one place. When I buy something with my found card, it automatically tracks and categorizes the expense. Plus, I can automatically set aside a portion of my income for taxes. So tax season isn't a surprise. It replaced multiple tools for me, saving both money and time. Join the 750,000-plus business owners who have chosen found. Open a found account at found.com. That's f-o-u-n-d.com. Found is a financial technology company. Not a bank. Banking services are provided by Lead Bank, member FDIC. Found does not provide legal or tax advice. On the topic of breaking news, what if I told you picking the wrong Medicare plan isn't just a money problem. It could take years off your life. That's not a guess. I just saw this study out of Yale that shows how picking the wrong Medicare plan can really affect your lifespan. Make sense when you think about it. A plan can sound fine or look good on paper until you actually get sick. When health issues arise, it matters how easily you can access the care that you need. And not all plans are created equal. Even if a plan has a few doctors in network, that doesn't mean they will be able to see you when you need it the most. That is why you need to talk to chapter. Chapter is the only national Medicare advisor that compares every plan nationwide. They look at your providers, your prescriptions, and what matters most to you and your situation to help you find the best plan for you. If you're already on the right plan, they'll tell you. If not, they'll help you fix it. Your Medicare plan shouldn't be the thing standing between you and your best possible life. Call chapter today at 82 Medicare. That's 82 Medicare. This episode of The Midest Such Podcast is brought to you by Hexclad. Football season is here and whether you're making burgers, wings, or dinner for the family, you need cookware that gets the job done. I love my Hexclad pans. They combine the performance of stainless steel with the convenience of non-stick. You get an incredible sear, even heating, and cleanup is ridiculously easy. They're metal utensils safe, dishwasher safe, and backed by a lifetime warranty, even Gordon Ramsay uses Hexclad. Don't go into football season with cookware that makes game day meals harder than they need to be. Upgrade your kitchen with Hexclad and make cooking, hosting, and cleanup easier all season long. I swear anytime that I have friends come over and I'm cooking for them and they see the Hexclad, they ask for my code. I give it to them 99% of the time. They buy it like that night and I have only gotten the best reviews from them. And for a limited time only, our listeners will get 10% off your order with our exclusive link. Just head to Hexclad.com/mytus, support our show and check them out at H-E-X-C-L-A-D dot com forward slash mitus M-E-I-D-A-S. Make sure to let them know we sent you. Again, that's Hexclad dot com slash mitus for 10% off. Welcome back to Ben on Breaking News. I'm Ben Myselis and this is breaking news, you know, that first 20 minutes, mostly all breaking news. I mean, obviously it builds upon a lot of the developments that we've been talking about in the Middle East and Russia's War in Ukraine on inflation surging. These are the issues that we are confronting as a nation, as the world, as we head into the midterms. And all of this is connected and we need to step back, bring out receipts and just share very methodically what's happening. When I just describe for you, it's not a debate. It's not a debate. Everything I've just described in my view is well researched. It's fact, fact, fact, fact, fact, fact, fact, fact. And you can form your opinions about it, but we have to remove this alternate reality where it's like, oh, we're defeating Iran. Oh, everything's caused by Biden. Oh, can you believe it? I mean, I saw Trump's press conference in front of firefighters today and he's like, I hear by declare that we give the death penalty to anybody who keeps on shooting the firefighters who climb up the ladder to put out the fire. Look, what a heinous act that would be if there was people out there who, when the firefighters were putting out the fire, the people were shooting them. I think it's the most heinous crime imaginable. Now, look, I don't believe personally in the death penalty under any circumstance. That's just my own personal view, that's a view that you can disagree with. But he creates this, you know, this, this dystopian world where all of these firefighters are getting shot and killed by these mass murderers while they're putting out fires. What do you say in Montana? It's like, if the Democrats win, you're all going to get eaten by animals in Montana. That's what they write, right? And I mean, there are people there. It's smaller crowds now. But it's like, oh, yeah, yeah, we're going to eat by the animals. And it's like, I don't want to downplay the severity. I'm sure that's a serious incident that does happen, not just in Montana, but in places. But this idea that if Democrats win, all these animals are going to eat up people. It's crazy. And, you know, or what's the, you know, the Democrats, they take your kid, John, and he comes back Janet, and they, and they take his penis and they chop off, they chop off the penis. And then he comes home and he's got a vagina. It's like, what are you? That's what they say. That's, I mean, he says, cut it off. He don't say penis and vagina, but that's what they're applying because that's all they talk about, you know, it's all they're obsessed. The Trump people, they bring your kid and they chop off the penis and then you come back with a vagina. It's like, "What are you talking about? What world? What are you saying?" That's not a thing that happens. Mutilation. It couldn't even believe it. I'm not even exaggerating what you are. You're lying. Not an exaggeration. You are making up a false world that doesn't exist because of the real world that you have caused to be completely out of control and dangerous and hellish. It's linked to you. It's bad out there. When I described in the first segment are all things that are actually happening and a lot of that very traceable to decisions made by Trump and his regime and also how weak and pathetic that they are. Donald Trump was in Montana. He gave an interview afterwards and he was like, "The reason why prices are high, but they're actually not high, they're actually low. But if they were high, it's Biden's fault. People forget it's all Biden's fault. Biden did it. Here, play this clip. We inherited the worst inflation through Biden in the history of our country and we have that down now, very down low, but it's going to really, it's going to come even lower as soon as we finish the world." Okay, except you didn't, except you didn't, except that's just a false. The inflation now is worse than it was. Then when Biden left office, significantly so at this point, both from a CPI perspective and a PPI perspective. When Biden left, it was around 3% and if you looked at the charts and actually follow where it was heading, it was heading to 2%. All of the federal reserve board agreed that inflation was now under control and it was heading actually in the right direction. Now, maybe you or I didn't feel, it's still felt very expensive, but it was trending where it needed to go after policies were put in place. That worked tough and difficult and interest rates were raised to very high amounts and things were done. Yet, we didn't dip into a recession under Biden and he managed to get inflation to start to decrease and what he had to deal with was the catastrophic way Donald Trump dealt with, or I should say, didn't deal with COVID and Trump's made the situation way, way, way worse. But we're two years in, just can't be Biden, Biden, Biden, Biden, Biden. Trump's promise was on day one, I'm going to do this, I'm going to do that, I'm going to do this, I'm going to do that. I mean, the ability of the guy to lie with every sound word, syllable, everything out of his mouth is not just a lie, a gigantic lie. It's where he's most comfortable. Him traveling around the country, speaking front of crowds, granted their smaller crowds like the small airport crowd in Arizona, where he spoke, but just he just loves it. It really gets him off just lying to people's faces about everything. Just for the hell of it, everything is a lie. And what does he say now? He says, inflation is 1.7%, and it's been that way for several months, he says. It's like, not true. We brought, it's completely false. Not even close to tether to reality at all. We brought in $22 trillion. No, we did, and if we brought in $22 trillion, why the debt increased to above $40 trillion? Why is the deficit increasing? Just the worst lies and the lies and the Ponzi schemes compound the pain and suffering that you all feel because the problems get worse and all he's doing is telling the sick patient, you're looking great. You're looking even better. Oh my god, you're the healthiest patient I ever saw. Oh my, I've never seen somebody as healthy as you, but you sure I can't even breathe. You are, no, not breathing shows how healthy you are. No, you have to tell the sick patient that they're sick, and you have to do surgery, and that could hurt, and that could put somebody out for a period of time, but you have to take measures to help the patient. Trump does the exact opposite. And look, people want to be told things are great. I get it. No one wants to be told it's bad. Nobody wants to hear the 20 minute introduction that I gave. I'm sure you would all like it. I said, hey, everybody. Oh my god, how great is everything? I've got the best news for everybody right now. Are you ready? I'm going to give you all free money. I'm just going to give you all free money. I, you know, it's not even about the, but I'm just going to give you money. You're going to get so freaking rich. And, you know, at some point, people want to hear that. I want to hear that. That's great, but it's not true. It's not what the reality is. And as I've been saying, and I talk about this in WTF America, by the way, is that, you know, at a baseline, we need to be a serious nation. We need to be a competent nation. Then we need to be a sophisticated nation. Then we need to have public servants who represent people and deliver to people and don't steal who are serious, who are competent, who are sophisticated, who are transparent. We're not even serious. We don't even meet the floor at this point. So no wonder all these countries are selling the treasury bonds that they used to hold in the United States because we're unpredictable. We're crazy people. We're dangerous. No one wants to be affiliated with the stinky, dangerous bully kid in school. You want to stay away from the stinky kid. Stay away from the dangerous kid. Yeah, when the dangerous kid and the stinky kid comes up to you, though, and bullies you, sometimes, you know, the smaller kid clocks him in the face, right, and says, I warned you, stay the hell away, stinky, smelly, bully kid. But the US is the stinky smelly bully. And we all know that type in, you know, elementary school or whatever. And that's what the United States has become. It's very, very sad. And unserious me, what Donald Trump yesterday, the war is going to end very quickly. We're going to have Iran defeated. The prices are going to go down golden age. Let's play that other clip, Jeremy. Yesterday called for federal diesel taxes to be suspended. Is that something you support? It is something I may support, but we're going to have it fixed very quickly. We're going to have Iran defeated very quickly. And as soon as that happens, oil and diesel will be falling like a rock. It's going to be coming down very fast. But it's something I may do anyway. I just, I don't, I really, it's like a real piece of shit. Excuse my language. Like, objectively, I mean, he's a loser. It's just a loser behavior. Or we're going to have him done really. So we're going to really soon. We're going to be over. We're going to defeat them really soon. It's October. It's October. And here's the thing. This is a catastrophic war we should never have been involved in. You know where I stand. Trump, Hegsith, all of them, Brad Cooper, I believe they're war criminals. I believe their conduct and behavior is that of war criminals that should be tried at the Hague. Anybody who's involved in slaughtering little children, innocent little children, they deserve to be tried in the Hague. They should be, it's my view. You can disagree. You could agree. Whatever. To me, you slaughter children. You cover it up. You're a war criminal. I don't think that's a controversial view. But if you think it's controversial, feel free to push back or say something or say something in the comments. But here's the thing. Let's say you supported this war. Let's say you were four. Let's say you're a neocon war monger and you love war. This is it. This, this was your plan to run out of weapons. This was your plan to have all of the military bases in the Middle East. Just get destroyed. Like this, this was your plan to have an aircraft carrier that's 1,000 kilometers away from the Strait of Hormuz. And we can't get too close because we know Iran will destroy the aircraft carrier that your plan was to have a commander in chief lie about deals. And then Sam going to obliterate the country then make deals with himself. Like that's like I'm just, if you're like even the neocon war hawk and you love war, this is, this is it. This is the war plan that you were dreaming of right here. This is, this, this, this, this is it. I mean, objectively, the US has not just lost the war, lost it badly, badly, badly. And you know, Donald Trump, well, it's not quite as, it's not as bad as Vietnam. It's not as bad as there's not as bad as this. 20, you always lies about the death numbers. 18 people, 21 people died, Vietnam, it was tens of thousands. Okay, first off, you're continuing to go into the same escalation trap that LBJ and others fell into. By the way, LBJ, who was a pretty good domestic president with some of the major civil rights acts, but was horrible internationally. But you're falling into those same tracks, Gulf of Tonka. I mean, you're doing the same stuff and worse. And in terms of the consequence to the kind of global world order and America's standing in the world, the catastrophic war in Iran has already done more damage from a global positioning as the United States as a one superpower to not just a declining nation but an un-serious and Now, the US still has weapons and a military. I mean, they steal our tax dollars and spend a trillion dollars a year on these weapons of war instead of health care and things that people want. They could still spend $100, $200, $300 billion on war stuff, which we still wouldn't want probably. But they could do it, but they spend a trillion dollars and they run out of weapons. But the way they've even conducted this is demonstrating how deeply unserious they are. They don't know what they're doing. Higgseth doesn't know what they're doing. He's purged the military of our four stars and our three stars and a lot of our two stars. They failed to promote people if they were black or women or Latino. And so a lot of people weren't promoted. A lot of people were purged. And you've got Higgseth up there talking about testosterone injections and he's an idiot. He's actually like a lunatic, a lunatic zealot who quotes the book of Isaiah as his guidance for these catastrophic wars. And of course, if you have Higgseth and Trump leading this thing, you have idiots. You could have the best baseball team out there, the best major league baseball team. If your pitcher is a middle school pitcher and you're in the major leagues, you're going to lose the game. You could have the best team and the best stadium. You're going to lose if your pitcher doesn't know how to pitch, okay, still. And you know, look, and if you don't have the self awareness to pull the pitcher and put in the right pitcher and you keep pitching the same thing over and over again, you're going to lose. That's a version of what we're doing over here. And then you've got, I think Trump's trying to audition a new spokesperson because Katie Zakaria, we'll talk about that in a moment as well, the hell's going on there. It's like a fake China lawyer and China, the law firm saying that she's not actually an associate because they don't actually, you can't practice law in China and be an actual associate at a firm. They're like, maybe, I think the firm she was at was like, maybe she did like some cultural things, but like she wouldn't have been like an actual lawyer at the Chinese firm. She didn't pass the bar exam. She clearly represented over and over again that she was a practicing lawyer, which would mean that you were a licensed lawyer. There are people who were like, but she graduated law school. So she can say that no, she can't stop it. People like her in my comments, I'm a law professor, okay, I, this is, these are areas that I know very well, okay. If you didn't pass the bar exam, you don't tell people you practice law. You can say that you went to law school. You can, I suppose, say that you're a lawyer. But if you wanted to make sure you didn't, you're not supposed to deceive people into thinking you practice. So when she says that she's a general counsel that clearly implies or directly states she practices law, she's giving advice as the counsel for a company, general counsel. That's what it is. When she says that she's an associate at a Chinese law firm, it implies or directly means that she's saying she's a lawyer. All of the interviews, when I practice, when I practice, she spoke as though she was somebody who practiced and she was, I'll just show you a brief compilation here. Let's play this clip. I'm a lawyer. I went to Pepperdine, Pepperdine Law. I practiced corporate law. I was a corporate lawyer. I practiced corporate law and practiced law as a corporate lawyer. I practiced corporate law, especially as a lawyer and a former corporate lawyer. I mean, I am a lawyer and I'm a rigorous researcher. Fraud. You're a fraud, is what you are. You didn't practice law. You didn't practice corporate law. It's a, the inquiry is a simple one. I'm giving you my opinion. You can disagree. This is my opinion well researched as a law professor who knows this topic very well, who teaches about legal ethics, who teaches law students at a, at a USC. I, I think I know this area pretty well. My opinion is that what she did is not just unethical, but in my opinion, it is criminal. I'm just sharing with you my opinion because when you falsely represent, you are practicing law, which is what she said, you are involved in the unauthorized practice of law, which in California is a crime. And it's simple. I don't know how you watch those clips and come away with a different opinion, but you can feel free to disagree with my opinion. But then I'll show you what she said today as she was doing an interview on one of these right wing podcasts. I'll show you as Trump's obviously auditioning new spoke people. So though, what were you doing in China, anyway, you're at a China law firm, why, why, why, why are you at a China law firm when you're not actually a lawyer and your husband was apparently doing deals or his company was with North Korea according to some reporting? What are we doing here, people? What are we doing here? All right, let's take our last break of the show. Oh, WTF America pre-order it now. So it gets there next week. It'll arrive at your home on Tuesday. So pre-order it right now, put in the comments if you got it. It's dedicated to the minus mighty. Let's take her out. But try to pre-order it. We put our lives work into this book. I think you'll like the book. I really do. We spent a lot of time writing it. Yeah, pre-order it now. So you get it next Tuesday. All right, we'll be right back after our last break of the show. Did you know that helping dolphins led to the first essential fatty acid discovery in over 90 years? It's called C-15 and it's a total game changer for aging healthier. Fatty 15 co-founder Dr. Stephanie VanWatson discovered C-15 while working with the U.S. Navy to improve the health of older dolphins. It turns out C-15 is a foundational nutrient that actually strengthens our cells. Without it, we develop cellular fragility syndrome, a deficiency that affects one in three people worldwide, causing our cells to age faster. C-15 repairs age-related damage and protects your cells from breaking down. It's actually shown to have three times more cellular benefits than omega-3. By activating pathways that regulate sleep, mood, and metabolism, it helps you feel better now and stay stronger as you get older. In fact, 70% of customers report deeper sleep, calmer moods, and better energy within just 16 weeks. Because we're all aging, healthy aging needs to start now. And fatty-15 is the signs back way to do it. I'm a huge fan of fatty-15 and I've personally felt the benefits. Fatty 15 was developed to support healthy aging for all. From kids to parents to grandparents, that's why award-winning fatty-15 is now available as pure capsules, delicious apple, mint gummies for teens, and adults, and yummy berry-blast gummies for kids. Fatty 15 is on a mission to support healthy aging for all, including all ages and stages of life. You can get an additional 15% off their 90-day subscription starter kit by going to fatty-15.com/mytis and using code "Mytis that Checkout." Once again, that's 15% off their 90-day subscription starter kit by going to fatty-15.com/mytis and using code "Mytis that Checkout." If you're busy like me and don't always fit in a nutritious meal during the day, you need to give this next story a listen. This podcast is sponsored by Brodo. Brodo bone broth is the simplest nutrition upgrade you can make to your daily routine. Brodo broths are made from scratch, no concentrates, preservatives, or shortcuts. So you get the best broth, money can buy. Brodo had humble beginnings. When award-winning chef Marco Canora started selling hot broth out of the window of his New York City restaurant 11 years ago, he had no idea it would lead to a national bone broth craze. Since then, the Brodo window has served millions of happy customers. Now, they're offering Brodo broth in a handy format that can be shipped nationwide right to your door. So you don't have to go to New York to enjoy chef Marco's creation. My favorite flavor from the sampler pack Brodo sent me was their chicken bone broth. It was rich, savory, and just straight up delicious. Brodo's bone broth literally tastes like something that you'd get at a restaurant. The quality is that good. Bone broth truly helps me. My tummy gets less aches and pains now with Brodo. And Brodo comes in 11 delicious flavors, from the classic chicken, to the spicy no-nut, to more creative blends like ginger turmeric, herb infused, or veggie-based broth. I recommend trying their sampler pack so you can figure out for yourself which flavors are your favorite. I've started replacing my mid-afternoon snack with a cup of Brodo, and it honestly keeps me going through the rest of the day without a problem. I noticed a huge difference in my day when I drink Brodo versus when I don't drink Brodo. Shopped the best broth on the planet with Brodo, head to Brodo.com/mytus for 20% off your first subscription order, and use code "Mytus" for an additional $10 off. Once again, that's Brodo.com/mytus for 20% off your first subscription order, and an additional $10 off if you use my promo code "Mytus." Welcome back to Ben on Breaking News. I've been my cellist. This is your breaking news. So as I said, Trump is trying out a new spokesperson right now who came out today and she was like, "You want those $5,000 checks? Maybe it'll happen." If you vote Republican, maybe you'll get $5,000, even though we lied about it with Doge Dividend checks and tariff rebate checks, that's all we got at this point is the magus, but to give you money, and we're not going to do it, we're just going to lie about it again, and blame the deep state, or blame Zelensky, or blame Fauci, or blame Biden or blame Elon Omar or blame Dr. Abdul Al-Sahead and Trump will tell the MAGA base that he has a different names to scare you. That too did it. We were going to do it. But all these all these people stopped it. That's what happened even though Republicans controlled every branch of government, controlled the Senate, the House, the executive branch, the courts. That's what occurred over the past. They had basically free reign and Trump did whatever the hell he wanted. The Supreme Court let him gut agencies. That was never allowed before. We always viewed agencies as independent. The Supreme Court was like, nope, you could do whatever you want to do. The Supreme Court allowed so many of Trump's things to last when they should have been state or blocked. Are you continue doing it until the case is over? And this is where we're at. We've seen their thing. This is it. This is project 2025. So if you think this is great, like if you believe this is amazing, I even think you're people like I'm not. There's nothing that I'm going to message you at this point. If you think this is great and America is doing the amazing goal, that's your crew. That's your crew. The rest of the people aren't doing good right now. People are struggling right now. That's what's happened. Anyway, here's Trump's spokesperson on $5,000 checks. Let's play. So the president is always looking for ways to put money back and the pockets of Americans wallets. And you know, we'll see if if that's a promise he delivers on hopefully in November. So speaking of we'll see. Maybe it does. Maybe it doesn't tune into the next episode of dystopian apprentice where we're all non-consensual extras in this hellish reality show that we shouldn't be in. We should have responsible government. Things should be normal. We should have empathetic connections with the public. We shouldn't have arsonists in charge of our government destroying America from within every damn day. You know, as I started in the first segment, I show you visually what it looks like in a war where the externalities are being blowed up. Right? Refineries and presidential palaces and energy sector boom tankers. Well, we have the American government being blown up with these internal things that the Trump regime are doing. That's what's happening right now. Going back to Katie Zakaria, this person who the hell is this person whose Trump's press secretary at least for the time being. She also wanted everybody to know that the reason she failed the bar exam and now she's coming clean is you know she had a long distance. She had a long distance relationship. We all can relate and she was so in love that you know she got she didn't really study and prepare because she was she was long distance and then they were going to move to China and so she's like I'll just take it and didn't really care because she didn't need a law degree in China anyway. So that's that's what she says. All right everybody what are you why are you talking about here here? Play this clip in China. I had already pre-registered to take the bar and I didn't want to withdraw from that and we knew we would be moving out to China and I was obviously incredibly I know distracted and overwhelmed and excited for finally being married to someone who had been long distance from for at least a year year and a half when you include the engagement and we just said let's let's take this time and I'll take the bar and see what happens. The results are somewhat inconsequential because I knew I wouldn't need the bar in China and and we left. The results were somewhat inconsequential. I took the exam but I didn't care about the exam like let me be clear I took the California bar exam when I took it it was three days I think they let him when she took it it was three days we took it around the same time we're around the same age. When I was in Georgetown she was probably in Pepper Dine maybe she was one year below me but we were right around the same time we maybe even took the bar exam right around the same year but it was three days it was six hours each day 18 hours was a very long exam California has a notorious low passage rate around 35 or 40% passage rate lots of people fail one of the reasons also a lot of international students kind of take it without studying and they have this baby bar thing in California where they let people who didn't go to law school take it and there's a lot of unaccredited law schools not that I have an issue with an accredited law schools but it is what a lot of people take the exam and people who don't prepare the way they should sometimes take it and not just sing it but just the reality so people can fail it but you don't go running around and saying that you're a practicing lawyer if you failed the exam you don't and I don't I don't even judge somebody who failed it's not for me to dunk on somebody who failed I know people who failed they took it again and they passed they had great careers I know people who failed multiple times then passed and had great careers and I don't judge somebody for their fail in the hard exam but I do care when this is the press secretary of the United States of America who has acted like they were a practicing lawyer and acted like they were a lawyer in China when acted like they had a license and use the word practice and did it I have an issue with that and then the explanation we were love is for you know here's long distance and when you talk when you talk about the freaking wars everywhere I don't want to hear this I'm not doing I don't want to do love Island right like I don't want to see the apprentice or love Island at the show or one of these thing you know Brad and I we were so deeply in love and I couldn't put my heart into it you know didn't look like one of those interviews from like the bachelor I don't want to see the you know I don't I don't need to know this I just you're the press secretary you show up you have your freaking notes you do it you don't do it you do whatever that's the job just stop everything all these people are just you know it's it's true DEI didn't earn it didn't earn it I don't want to see the apprentice and a shitty version and a definitely grizzly version of our country and leading our country that's what this is that's what all of this is from the Duffy the transportation secretary the guy who's real world road rules challenge would go around with you know a little underwear you know over the show and his wife who they met on the reality show and they do reality shows where they go around and then the small business association lady has like a reality show with Nicki Minaj I don't want to see reality shows but Nicki Minaj I just want the government to freaking work I don't want to see recalls every day and measles outbreaks every day I don't want to I want competence and I know sometimes competence is not sexy I know sometimes competence and bureaucracy and oh don't even get me started on rules rules right I know but we need rules we need a rules based organized way we need to get serious and to me that message should transcend polished one of the things I talk about in WTF America let's get freaking serious I'll show this for you now as well you have this guy Eric Dieters Trump donor Maggi guy the guy who talked about Kimberly Gilfoyle and everything you know he she asked him for to pay her MX bill a hundred thousand dollars and you know and all of this stuff and so he did a video today let me show you the video that Dieter this guy's a Maggi guy this guy's a Trump donor this guy's a Trump Maggi this guy is in the orbit of all these people so let me show you what he had to say let's play this this might just bring down the entire Trump administration an administration which I have supported from day one whose policies I still support it also may end the JD Vance Marco Rubio ticket after you hear the phone call that I'm going to play tomorrow I have a major news announcement today this morning the defamation lawsuit against Kimberly Gilfoyle has been filed in Kenton Circuit Court this lawsuit will allow me to conduct discovery take depositions including a Kim Gilfoyle and Donald Trump Jr. Issue subpoenas and fully explore the defamation against me Kim Gilfoyle and her lawyers claimed my allegations were false and they would defend the allegations vigorously they can now do so and Kentucky why have spoken on countless shows and signed statements under oath Kim cowards and avoids the music I possess a solid grasp of Greek mythology Kim's Greek goddess match is a party the goddess of the seat the defendant's public apology apologized to me admit the [BLANK_AUDIO] are fake? You know you have that. We learned earlier today that Paulo's on Polly. Remember the guy who introduced Melania and Donald at the Kit Kat Club back in the late 90s. He ran a modeling agency where he would bring in young Eastern European girls and women into the United States and then he would throw the parties at the Kit Kat Club where the young ladies and the girls would meet the rich Manhattan men. Melania met Donald Trump at the Kit Kat Club and then they would expedite the Einstein visa process from that guy. Then he got like an ambassadorship position. Well apparently he has either been fired or he resigned. Let's talk about what the latest reporting there. He's been dismissed. That's that's how they're phrasing it. You've been dismissed Paulo's on Polly. This is a guy who said it was great to be on the Epstein files. He's on the Epstein file said it was great. Everybody who was the everybody said like if you were the who's who you needed to be on the Epstein files. He said. Paulo's on Polly dismissed from his position. Paulo was notified today that his status as an envoy has been terminated and he has no longer a government employee. Zon Polly is a long time friend of Trump and introduced him to Melania. The firing comes on the heels of Politico's report regarding his months long feud with the Depretary with the Deputy Secretary of State Landau and you know they're a mess. I mean you have that. You have Alina Haba going after the Kennedy Center guy Gridel or whatever the guy's name is and saying that her billionaire Turkish new husband who has all the contracts in Venezuela that we're going to get terminated until they got married. Remember that you know that Rick Grinell took the guy's donation $6 million and didn't bring it into the Kennedy Center Grinell denies that Alina Haba is making the act there. They're fighting each other. There's lots of reporting about Susie Wiles being replaced and how you know will Hegsith be fired after the midterms. Buckle up folks but this is why having a foundation rooted in values and principles and not just focusing on personalities is important. We can weather the storms together if we have firmly rooted community values and principles. Any story that comes our way we can filter it through. This is who we are. This is what we stand for. Here is our mission and we don't ever have to waver and if anybody deviates from that in our orbit they're no longer in our orbit. It's very simple. That's the proposition and that's what we need to build. One of the areas of hope and optimism that I talked about in this book is that state regime media Fox really started being developed in the late 1960s with a memo that Roger Al's prepared about right wing propaganda. They've had over 60 years of development. We've had about six really four since we became a full-fledged media network. So think about what we've accomplished in four. What we've been able to do with independent media in four years and where they're at after 60 years. That gives me hope. Imagine where we could be in 40 years in 60 years and that's how I think that's how I lead and I also lead by delegating to really great people, the Scott McFarlane, the Katie Fangs, the Michael Popox, the Karen Friedman Agnifalos, the incredible foot, Aaron Parnas, and the Jack Couchurellas and the Tennessee Brandos and the Deena Dolls and the everybody in everybody. I can go on and on and on and name everybody. Shout out five minute news by the way. All right. I got it. I got to I got to do some stuff, shows over. Appreciate you. WTF America. Put in the comments. WTF if you've got if you've done the pre-order. Let me know in the comments. I'm grateful for you. I appreciate you pre-order now. Hardcover ebook. Yeah. That's how I'm going to That's how I'm going to end shows now. Shows over, right? Shows over. I got to go somewhere. We got this going into this weekend. I want you to know we actually we got this. There's chaos. There is calamity. There's a lot going on, but I'm telling you, we've got this under control. We as this community as the Midas mighty, steady hand focusing on the prize. Principles and values first. Never wavering. That's our mission. Thanks everybody. Shows over. Shout out Midas mighty. Want to stay plugged in? Become a subscriber for our sub stack at Midasplus.com. You'll get daily recaps from Ron Phil Kowski. Add three episodes of our podcast and more exclusive content only available at Midasplus.com.

Podcast Summary

Key Points:

  1. Iran and the IRGC have significantly escalated military activity, including frequent attacks on tankers in the Strait of Hormuz, with over 30 tankers hit since October and growing missile and drone capabilities.
  2. Iran has restored and expanded its missile and drone infrastructure, with at least 400 operational launchers, and is conducting active military exercises indicating serious war preparations.
  3. Regional conflicts are intensifying, including Houthi attacks on Saudi targets like the presidential palace in Aden and the Saudi Aramco headquarters, demonstrating advanced capabilities beyond expectations.
  4. The U.S. and its allies are facing strategic setbacks, including the disruption of critical military systems like Starlink/Star Shield, which hampers Ukrainian defense operations and early warning systems.
  5. The Trump administration is accused of war crimes, including attacks on civilian populations, concealing reports, and spreading false narratives, while simultaneously pursuing policies that destabilize global economies and alliances.
  6. NATO’s response to Russian actions, including drone threats in the Black Sea, is criticized as weak, with U.S. foreign policy under Trump allegedly enabling Russian gains through inaction and strategic missteps.
  7. Economic instability is spreading globally, with rising inflation, particularly in South Korea and the U.S., linked to war-related supply shocks and policy failures.
  8. The speaker warns of a broader escalation trap, where reckless leadership by figures like Trump and Netanyahu will trigger wider regional and possibly global conflict, undermining democratic stability and international order.

Summary:

The world is experiencing a rapid and multi-front escalation of conflict, from the Middle East to the Black Sea and Ukraine. Iran’s IRGC has intensified attacks on tankers in the Strait of Hormuz, striking over 30 vessels since October, while simultaneously rebuilding missile and drone capabilities, including demonstrating new ballistic and cruise missile systems. This military buildup is matched by regional violence, such as Houthi strikes on Saudi leadership and energy infrastructure, which signal a significant shift in regional power dynamics.

S. is facing strategic failures, including the disruption of critical defense systems like Starlink and Star Shield, which severely hampers Ukrainian operations. The Trump administration is under scrutiny for war crimes, including attacks on civilian populations, suppression of evidence, and deliberate misinformation—such as claiming low inflation while inflation rises.

S. S. has become an unpredictable and dangerous actor.

Economic instability, including surging inflation in key economies like South Korea, reflects broader systemic collapse linked to war and poor policy. The speaker warns of a dangerous escalation trap, where reckless leadership will trigger broader regional and global conflict. This crisis demands a return to principled, transparent governance—free from personality-driven chaos—because without it, democratic values and global stability will erode.

The analysis underscores that current events are not isolated but part of a deeper, interconnected collapse of international order, driven by poor leadership and a failure to prioritize responsibility over spectacle.

FAQs

About 30 tankers have been struck by Iran in and around the Strait of Hormuz since the beginning of October, averaging two per day.

The IRGC has conducted military exercises showing new ballistic missile, cruise missile, and drone capabilities, including fighter jet demonstrations.

Israel's Channel 16 reports Iran currently has at least 400 operational missile launchers, nearly matching pre-war levels.

The speaker claims the U.S. used Tomahawk strikes that killed elementary school children and later attacked a sports hall, with reports being concealed by the Trump administration.

Houthis have struck the Saudi-backed government's presidential palace in Aden and attacked the Saudi Aramco headquarters in Dubai, destroying the CEO's office.

The restriction on Starlink and Star Shield access limited drone speeds and flight visibility, hampered drone interception capabilities, and disrupted early warning systems for ballistic missile threats.

Chat with AI

Loading...

Pro features

Go deeper with this episode

Unlock creator-grade tools that turn any transcript into show notes and subtitle files.