Joe Rogan Ukraine Situation is Crazy, MrBeast & Coffeezilla Respond, & Raw Milk Bird Flu Concerns
PDS Published 11/25/2024
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World War Three is coming, and it’s all Ukraine’s fault.
Those, in a nutshell, are the words that just came out of Joe Rogan’s mouth on a new podcast episode that has a lot of people pissed.
With Rogan talking to the music producer Scott Storch, saying he feels safer knowing that Trump will be in office, but …
[Clip, 00:15 - 00:36, 00:41 - 00:50] Caption: “What I don’t feel safer is right now they’re launching missiles into Russia. How are you allowed to do that when you’re on the way out? Like the people don’t want you to be there anymore. There should be like some sort of like a pause for like significant actions that could potentially start World War III. Maybe that would be a good thing that we would like to avoid from a dying former president. … Zelensky says Putin is terrified. Fuck you man. Fuck you people. You fucking people are about to start World War III.”
With him then reacting to the news that Russia fired a new hypersonic missile at a Ukrainian city. [Headline]
Which, key thing, can carry either a conventional or nuclear warhead.
But Rogan said that if it did have a nuclear warhead, the entire world would change because of the military industrial complex, Western aid to Ukraine, and the Biden administration doing something quote:
[Clip, 01:20 - 01:23] Caption: “Fucking insane. Fucking insane.”
With him then accusing CNN of cheering on Biden’s recent decision to allow Ukraine to launch U.S.-made, long-range missiles into Russia.
Though as you can see, CNN’s coverage of this news was pretty standard, straightforward reporting, so it’s unclear what he was referring to. [Article]
[Clip, 01:49 - 01:53, 02:06 - 02:12, 03:23 - 03:26] Caption: “Come to the negotiation table. Sit down. Work this out. Stop killing everybody. … How has the left gone so far crazy that they think it’s a good thing to launch missiles? … Also, Zelensky, can I get a drug test?”
So naturally those clips have stirred up a lot of controversy online, with one user speaking for many when they wrote:
“Where was this energy @Joe Rogan when Putin bombed Kyiv’s main children’s cancer hospital? Just massacre after massacre of Ukrainian innocents but Ukraine is never allowed to respond and if they do respond they are accused of wanting WW3. Putin gets to rape and kill with impunity and somehow this is never escalation. He can bring in North Korean soldiers to invade a European country and somehow this is not an escalation.” [Tweet]
You also had the famous Ukrainian boxer Wladimir Klitschko [Vladimir Clitch-co], whose brother is the mayor of Kyiv [Keev], calling out Rogan on Instagram. [Image]
[Clip] Caption: “Let me tell you that you’re repeating Russian propaganda. Putin’s Russia is in trouble, so they want to scare you and people like you. … Putin’s Russia wants to destroy Ukraine quietly, they want America to stay quiet. Not great, but quiet. A great America is not an America that abandons countries that defend freedom with their lives. … If you invite me on your podcast, we can discuss them like free men.”
Links:
https://x.com/drewpavlou/status/1860416404153131189?s=43
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Then there’s a couple of pieces of quickie entertainment news I want to hit on.
Starting with"Wicked" and "Gladiator II" absolutely dominating the box office this weekend, giving it a much-needed boost.
Right, “Wicked” easily soared to number 1 in North America, with sales reaching around $95 million over the weekend but topping $114 when you include previews earlier in the week.
With it also expected to rack up an additional $48 million abroad.
And that’s super major because it puts the film at the third-highest opener for the year “Deadpool & Wolverine” and “Inside Out 2” which raked in $211 million and $154 million respectively.
Beyond that, “Wicked” also totally shattered the record for the best opening by a Broadway-to-film adaptation, massively outpacing “Hairspray,” which earned $43 million in 2007 after adjusting for inflation.
Meanwhile, “Gladiator II” brought in around $56 million in North America, including previews.
Though the film has a much bigger worldwide total of about $220 million since coming out overseas earlier this month.
And while that’s obviously not as strong as “Wicked,” experts say it's still really solid for a box office that has been in a major lull since this summer.
Some have also speculated that both films helped boost each other, with their simultaneous release earning the nickname “Glicked.”
Although the effects of that boost were minimal when compared to the absolute phenomenon that was “Barbenheimer.”
But with all this, you also have analysts noting that the box office boom for both these films came at a big cost: some very extensive marketing campaigns.
Right, “Wicked,” specifically has had an absolutely INSANE, months-long press tour.
I mean, it feels like Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande are fucking EVERYWHERE going viral constantly — and often for seemingly being pushed to a breaking point with all the press tour shit.
But beyond that, these two have been on the circuit for months — they appeared frequently at the Summer Olympics.
NBC has also been pouring a ton of resources into this.
The network has broadcast an hour-long infomercial about the movie, there’s been wall-to-wall coverage on the “Today” show.
Then there are the promotions at Universal theme parks and the over 400 brand partnerships for the film.
Meanwhile, “Gladiator II” has also had a big marketing blitz — though, of course, not quite as all-consuming.
Paramount Pictures advertised it heavily at sporting events and set up major partnerships, including ones with Ferrari and Pepsi.
Right, and so with all this, you have many people wondering: are these the lengths you need to go to to fill theaters? Even for major movies?
But with that, I’d love to know your thoughts here — especially if you saw one or both of these movies this weekend.
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Then in other quickie entertainment/ pop culture news, Dr Disrespect just announced that he will be joining the right-wing platform Rumble and that he’ll begin streaming next week. []
With Rumble also confirmed the move in a blog post, saying that, in addition to streaming, Dr Disrespect “will provide exclusive content to Rumble Premium” and:
“will also lead Rumble Gaming, acting as an advisor and helping to build the Rumble Gaming community.”
And, very notably here, as part of his deal, Rumble will also be giving him “equity with milestones as a majority of its compensation.”
Right, and this is a big deal because it has been an open question for a while where Dr Disrepect would take his content after Twitch banned him just months after signing a multi-million dollar exclusivity deal.
And as we’ve talked about a number of times before, it’s since been reported that the ban was due to inappropriate conversations with a minor.
And while Dr Disrepect has denied any wrongdoing YouTube also suspended monetization on his channel and his membership in YouTube’s partner program as a result.
So, with this, many speculated that he would go to Kick, which is known for its more lax moderation and aptitude for hosting controversial creators.
But Kick’s CEO recently said it won’t make sense to the platform to make a deal with him from a financial perspective.
So Rumble was a logical move if he wanted to try and secure a big deal.
But, with this, you also have many wondering if this move will represent a significant shift to the right for the streamer and his content.
Right, Rumble, which bills itself as an anti-“cancel culture” streaming platform, has become known for hosting some of the biggest right-wing personalities like Tucker Carlson, Steve Bannon, and Tim Pool —
As well as full-blown racists like Holocaust-denier and open anti-semite Nick Fuentes.
And while Dr Disrespect doesn’t really fit in with those players, he has been increasingly vocal about how much he hates “cancel culture” and “woke culture.”
With him echoing those sentiments in a post on his personal X account today, writing:
“Crazy to think a type of ‘class of people’ tried to cancel us and create a false, exaggerated narrative about something from almost a decade ago. They embarrassed my family and I.”
And then adding: “Truly grateful for the opportunity to help grow a new, hungry platform that represents the type of values I’m aligned with. No more cancel culture, no more suppression.”[]
Right, I mean, that’s a pretty major statement — that Rumble represents the values he aligns with.
So for now, we’re gonna have to keep our eyes on this, but I’m really curious about what you think — especially if you are part of this streaming world.
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Bird flu has been detected in raw milk sold in California.
Right, yesterday, the California Department of Public Health issued a notice saying that the virus was found in a batch of cream top, whole raw milk from Raw Farm, LLC of Fresno County —
Which offered a voluntary recall at the state’s request.
Now, very notably here, the CDPH said that there have not been any reported illnesses in connection to this batch.
But the the affected lot had a Best By date of 11/27/2024 and, according to the WHO, while most people develop symptoms within 2-5 days, it can take up to 17 days.
And the CDPH warned that people can contract bird flu not just from drinking contaminated raw milk, but even from accidentally inhaling it or touching their eyes, nose, and mouth with unwashed hands after touching raw milk.
Which is why you had the state health agency warning people not to drink any of the affected unpasteurized milk and to immediately return any remaining products to the retailer they purchased from.
And adding that officials were notifying sellers to remove the contaminated products as well.
With the CDPH also noting that:
“Public health experts have long warned consumers against consuming raw milk or raw milk products due to elevated risks of foodborne illness.”
And going on to outline a laundry list of different bacteria and illnesses that have been reported in relation to consuming raw dairy.
While also explicitly saying that the CDPH actively advises against consuming raw milk or raw milk products “due to the risk of foodborne illnesses.”
With the agency explaining that pasteurization — the process of heating milk to a certain temperature for a set length of time — kills many of these bad microorganisms that can cause illness.
And making it clear that pasteurized milk, unlike raw milk, is safe to drink — despite what you might see online.
Right, and to that point, we recently did a deep dive into the dangers of drinking unpasteurized milk amid a boom in what can really only be described as raw milk propaganda.
And while I’ll link to that down below in case you missed it, the very top-level TLDR is that there has been this big, growing trend of people consuming and promoting raw milk as a healthier and more natural alternative.
Despite the fact that health experts say the exact opposite — that it's actually much more dangerous and there’s nothing unnatural about pasteurization.
And part of the reason this “movement” has gotten so much traction is because it’s supporters span the political spectrum.
On one end, you have a lot of far-right, anti-establishment folks latching on to stick a middle finger to government agencies, kind of painting this as a matter of freedom.
Then, of course, you also have your anti-vax, health skeptics like RFK Jr., who Trump has now tapped to lead the Department of Health and Human Services.
Right, has long promoted unpasteurized milk and said he wants to boost access to these products, which are legal in at least some capacity in most states.
But then you have woo-woo Erewhon types like Gwyneth Paltrow, who said in a podcast that she drinks unpasteurized cream in her coffee daily.
With her literally promoting the same brand of raw milk that tested positive for bird flu in California.
And, along with this, we’ve also seen an increased push among lawmakers in a growing number of states to legalize unpasteurized milk.
Hell, just last week, a bill was introduced in the Arkansas legislature that would expand access by making off-farm sales of raw milk legal.
So, in addition to the many other health risks, this situation in California is raising serious concerns about the possible transmission of bird flu to people who consume raw milk.
Right, while the virus is largely associated with… well, birds… cases were first confirmed in U.S. dairy cows back in March, and since then, the virus has spread to cattle in 15 states.
And although the spread to humans remains low, most of the confirmed cases came from exposure to cattle, according to the CDC.
And California has been disproportionately impacted — per Agriculture Department data, 402 of the 616 confirmed cases in cattle have been in California.
But that’s super significant because experts say that the big concern here is that, the more people exposed to bird flu, the more opportunities the virus has to mutate and become more dangerous.
With Céline Gounder, an infectious disease specialist and epidemiologist at NYU, explaining:
“If you have people being exposed to H5N1 avian flu and then they get infected with regular seasonal flu, they can function as a mixing vessel in which these different flu viruses combine and form a Frankenstein virus to which people do not have any preexisting immunity. And that’s how you end up with a pandemic.”
Adding that just one person who consumes raw milk with bird flu “could put the rest of the population at risk.”
But, despite those concerns, lawmakers in a growing number of states have been pushing to legalize raw milk.
A move that has coincided with the growth of this raw milk movement.
Now, all that said, California is taking precautions to protect consumers, including testing batches of raw milk.
And the same is being done at the federal level, as well as in other affected states.
But, at the end of the day, this is ultimately a fuck-around-and-find-out situation.
Choosing to consume raw milk comes with a risk — and not just for bird flu — at least right now, you’re probably more likely to get a whole host of foodborne illnesses like Salmonella.
So where I’ll end this one is: don’t be stupid, stupid.
And I highly encourage you to check out our deep dive if you haven’t seen it yet.
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In truly wild international news, the vice president of the Philippines publicly said she has contracted an assassin to kill the president, his wife, and the Speaker of the House in case she ends up dead.
Right, the vice president’s name is Sara Duterte
That may sound familiar, because her father, Rodrigo Duterte, is the former president whose war on drugs left thousands dead in a campaign now being investigated as possible crimes against humanity.
In fact, we just talked about him last month when admitted before Congress that he had once organized a “death squad” to kill alleged drug dealers and users (BROLL)
But in any case, the current president is Ferdinand ‘Bongbong’ Marcos Jr.
Right, he’s often referred to as BBM for short.
And his daddy was a dictator who tortured and killed his political opponents before eventually being ousted in a largely peaceful uprising.
And so the younger Marcos ran with the younger Duterte as his running mate, both winning landslide victories in separate elections and calling for national unity.
Right, this is them smiling and holding hands during the inauguration ceremony back in 2022.
But since that time, they’ve clashed over a number of issues, including how to deal with China’s aggressive actions in the disputed South China Sea.
And then, it’s just gotten personal.
Right, Duterte has loudly and, let’s say, colorfully criticized Marcos, his wife, and the House Speaker – who is Marcos’s cousin – accusing them of corruption, incompetence and politically persecuting her family and its supporters.[]
Right, last month, she told reporters her relationship with Marcos had gotten so toxic that she wanted to “cut his head off.”
And then, not long after, she said she would dig up his father’s body and throw it in the sea. []
But with that, Duterte’s latest comments seem to be driven by the House deciding to detain her chief of staff.
With that person being accused of obstructing a congressional inquiry into Duterte's alleged misuse of funds.[]
Right, this led to a profanity-filled tirade in an online news conference Saturday where she eventually made the comment about hiring a hit man (BROLL: 5:40-5:50).
With her later trying to walk it back, saying it wasn’t really a threat, but an expression of concern over some unspecified threat to her own life.
But notably, exactly what she said is this:
“Don’t worry about my security because I’ve talked with somebody. I said ‘if I’m killed, you’ll kill BBM, [his wife], and [the Speaker of the House]. No joke, no joke.” []
And with that, the national police and military immediately increased the security of the president.
The National Security Council said it considered all threats to Marcos a matter of national security. []
And the Department of Justice said it would issue a subpoena, giving Duterte five days to explain herself before investigators.[]
And then, President Marcos himself?
You have him saying today (BROLL: 1:10-1:20):
“The statements we’ve heard the past few days are disturbing. There’s the non-stop cursing and the threats to kill. If it’s that easy to plan to kill the President, what more the average Filipino? That sort of criminal attempt cannot be allowed to happen. I will fight that.” []
And there, I should say, whether or not Duterte was being serious or not? She may have still broken the law.
Right, in the Philippines, her comments may constitute a crime of threatening to inflict a wrong on a person or his family.
And it’s punishable by a jail term and fine. []
And so, we’ll have to wait and see what happens next.
Right, one, if there’s any truth to her having a just-in-case hitman.
And two, either way, if she ends up facing some kind of charge.
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IMrBeast is finally responding to all the accusations against him.
Right, he just sat down with Oompaville in a two and a half hour interview and talked about all the claims that have come from Dogpack404, from lawsuits, general online criticism, and more.
And obviously, it is a really long interview, so I will link to it down below because it would be impossible to touch on everything.
But we will hit some of the highlights, starting with the fact that MrBeast seems to be considering a lawsuit against Dogpack.
You probably remember Dogpack as the former MrBeast employee who posted videos accusing MrBeast of essentially being a fraud, laying out tons of alleged wrongdoings.
There has since been a ton of pushback to Dogpack’s claims, and MrBeast said that Dogpack was spreading misinformation, and when asked if he would sue Dogpack, he said:
“There’s tons of examples of him manipulating things to not be true and posting online.Tons and tons of that.” (1:01:48-1:01:58)
“It’s caused a lot of harm to my businesses. I’ve literally had people pull out millions of dollars and tell me it was directly because of his video.” (1:02:08-1:02:14)
“It’s just unfortunate. Like, I don’t want to be put in this situation, but I’m probably going to have to. I mean, what do you do when someone is just spreading misinformation about you? And causing harm to your business?” (1:02:28-1:02:42)
Saying he has even spoken to law firms who say it would be a very winnable case.
As far as some of the more specific allegations MrBeast said were not true, let’s start with Delaware.
Because MrBeast was accused of knowingly hiring a registered sex offender named Delaware.
But MrBeast said, yes, he hired him, but he did not know he was a registered sex offender.
Right, he had just gone to a local Best Buy to hire some of the staffers, MrBeast was 19 at the time and not really thinking about background checks, and adding:
“There’s a rumor that said he sat me and my mom down and told us, obviously I do not remember that happening, and when I read that tweet the first thing I did was call my mom like, hey, this is like 7 or 8 years ago, just put that in context, not indicative of my company today, but I was like hey did this happen? And she said I would have literally quit or shut the business down before I ever let my teenage son hire a RSO knowingly.” (1:58:54-1:59:22)
“I take accountability. If I could go back in time, I would tell teenage me, hey, you’re supposed to do background checks.” (1:59:48-1:59:53)
MrBeast also addressed claims that he used CGI in his videos, explaining that it is only used very sparingly, and not to fully fabricate something, just to make it look better.
In a document with evidence and examples, he noted that Dogpack said that he made up an explosion with CGI, but MrBeast said the explosion was real, CGI was just used to touch it up and enhance it.[]
With MrBeast saying of the allegations:
“We pour millions of dollars into these videos. We build massive sets. We go through so many lengths to make these huge videos and the last thing I want is people questioning whether or not things are CGI.” (32:50-33:00)
Later noting it’s also not fair to the employees who work so hard on these videos that some people just think it’s all fake,
He also touched on accusations that he ran illegal lotteries, and said as far as he knows, the lotteries he ran were not illegal, but he does have people looking into it.
But also, if people want refunds for it, he set up a page for people to seek those just for good measure.
Then, regarding claims that his company has a “no does not mean no” policy, he said the people spreading that were willfully taking it of context, right, it is not supposed to direct people to violate consent or something sinister like that.
It’s more for when trying to get outside help for videos to pull off a stunt, if you call a crane company and they say “oh no we can’t pull that stunt off,” try to push them and work with them instead of giving up.
With MrBeast explaining:
“Of course they’re going to say no because everything we do has never been done before. But ask them why. Don’t be rude, but try to understand why, because a lot of times they’re like oh we can’t give all the cranes at one time because we are renting them out. ANd it’s like, perfect, we respect that, but can I offer something before you say no as a final answer.” (29:17-29:39)
Right, it’s about hearing no, and then trying to problem solve on a logistics end.
As far as why it took so long for him to respond to all these claims, he noted that it was because he had hired an outside investigation team to look into allegations against his company, and during that time, it just was not right for him to speak on all this.
“They recommended that I not talk about drama or really do anything online because it might influence witnesses or people they might interview or ex employees.” (2:27-2:37)
Saying the timing was unfortunate since so much was levied against him as the investigation unfolded, but he had to let it take the time to play out.
With that investigation notably finding that allegations of sexual misconduct were without merit. []
Though it did find several isolated incidents of workplace harassment, which were addressed.
MrBeast saying he just acted based off of the information the law firm investigating gave him, saying:
“They told me I need to fire someone, I fired them. I don’t want to be the governor of truth. I want people who are professionals in these things to get the information, get the facts, and then tell me what to do.” (59:15-59:29)
And for people who didn’t believe the investigation or thought it was compromised because MrBeast paid for it, he kind of just shrugged it off, explaining obviously high-end law firms do not work for free.
And MrBeast also saying that if the firm did find something, they would have had a responsibility to report it, so he said they did not have a bias to protect him.
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With MrBeast also talking about some of the more general criticisms he has received for his content, specifically regarding his charity work, people thinking it is fraudulent or exploitative.
And MrBeast pushed back against a few examples, saying in situations where he was accused of not paying for surgeries, he ended up following through and paying.
Saying that a lot of that stuff ends up just tied to miscommunication errors that happen when you are trying to help thousands of people worldwide, but he is confident that all his charitable books are clean.
“If anyone wants to like, deepdive the books, that would be awesome. I’ve been wanting some YouTuber to do that so we can show how impressive what we do is.” (1:20:22-1:20:30)
Adding that in terms of exploitation, he does not make everyone he helps go on camera.
And claiming he helps people off camera, too.
With him also saying that even though people accuse him of using his philanthropy as a shield against criticisms, he actually feels like that is what lands him the most heat:
“I actually think I would get less hate if I didn’t do philanthropy. So I actually think it’s kind of an inverse. At least in the last two years, people hate me more because I do good. Maybe that sounds crazy, I’m not trying to sound like a victim here or anything.” (1:37:58-1:38:11)
But to him, his charitable efforts and general efforts to do good are what is most important to him.
With him really taking time to push back against claims that the cocoa he uses for his Featables bars are unethically sourced and involve slave labor.
And he really got into the weeds about how far he goes out of the way to make sure that is not the case.
Saying he works with Tony's Chocolonely to make sure everything is ethical, and explaining:
“100% of Feastables cocoa is fair trade certified. Which is expensive.”(1:43:43-1;43:48)
“100% of them, we also pay a living income reference price.” (1:44:15-1:44:17)
“One of the ways you can eliminate child labor is you have to pay a living income. So there is a thing called living income reference price, where they, tell me if I need to dumb it down or whatever, but they look at inflation, cost of bread, cost of living in these areas of West Africa and they say if a farmer sells you this much cocoa, they need to get paid blank to be able to live. If you are paying under that it’s not reasonable for them to live, and so to live they use child labor. So for our beans, we pay a living income reference price.” (1:44:53-1:45:24)
Saying he also works with child labor mediation systems to make sure any instances are dealt with.
Then there were other things he couldn’t talk about as much, like the BeastGames lawsuit.
Right, that is ongoing litigation, but of the whole situation where former contestants are suing him and Amazon, he said some of it is being exaggerated.
Saying that claims that the production went out of its way to use non-union labor were false, that they did use unions.
Regarding one specific claim, he did note that one woman was allergic to the feminine care products they had on set and still did not get them in a timely manner after telling crew.
And of this he said:
“which is unacceptable, so I learned a lot of little things like that, but in general, a lot of it has been blown out of proportion;” (2:08:44-2:08:51)
And then the last thing we’ll touch on, since there is a fair amount of discussion on it and responses, is crypto allegations, because Coffeezilla recently dove into a report about MrBeast on that front.
And regarding all this, MrBeast said:
“What I told Coffee, in that statement we gave him, it was managed by a fund, so I was not the one managing the wallet, I’ve never had access to that wallet. I’ve never done the buying and selling out of that wallet.” (1:11:15-1:11:25)
So he said most allegations coming against his crypto investments tie to the fact that he is just not capable of handling it himself and has a fund doing it.
Saying the wallet is called Wu Tang Clan, and he had to even educate himself on what that was, it’s not even what he would name it.
And like I said, this part has actually generated a lot of chatter, and Oompaville even asked MrBeast some follow up questions at the end of the video to get more into the details on his crypto handlings.tem description
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