Join us as we discuss the latest diplomatic movements in the Russia-Ukraine war as U.S. officials, including Secretary of State Marco Rubio are set to meet with their Russian counterparts in Saudi Arabia on Tuesday. There will be no Ukrainian representation at the meeting, as Zelenskyy will be in Abu Dhabi for a defense contractor expo, but will be in Saudi Arabia for "unrelated" reasons on Wednesday, just a day after the talks. Coincidence?
We also discuss EU nations meeting to discuss the Ukrainian war and how to keep themselves relevant. Plus, we examine the Trump administration’s decision to lay off nearly all probationary federal workers, a move that is causing ripples throughout Washington, D.C.
Finally, on "This Day in History," we explore the invention of an early bicycle—though, interestingly, it wasn’t actually cycled.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
(00:21):
Good morning, ladies and gentlemen.
Welcome back here to the full story on W.Y.A.B.
103.9 as we get into this Monday,
President's Day, technically.
Well, not technically, I guess.
Actually is President's Day.
I come back to you live after a couple of days,
a couple of days away last week.
It was supposed to be a 24 hour trip to
(00:43):
24 hour trip to Washington, D.C.
that ended up being a 72 hour trip because of snow.
It had crazy snow up there as well as once you got there,
it's had the meetings got moved.
And then on Friday trying to leave and then we had a full ground stop at DCA,
which is, of course, the airport where the the fatal crash happened
(01:05):
right on there on the Potomac.
They had a they had a full stop for security reasons.
So they're diverting airplanes and everything to Dulles,
which is the other airport in the D.C. area, just about 20 or 30 miles away
in Virginia. So we got delayed there.
They're really, really hard to leave D.C.
as much as I did not want to be there any longer.
(01:26):
It doesn't matter. It kind of just envelops you if you try to leave.
So sorry about that. As we like said, those
normally, if I'm gone for more than a day, I'll bring a microphone with me
and I'll do a recorded show.
But again, I didn't bring the microphone with me
because I thought I'd only be there for 24 hours and end up turning
into something much longer.
But we're back here live this this Monday, this President's Day.
(01:51):
And of course, a lot, a lot, a lot, a lot has happened.
We're not going to cover everything that's happened since our last live show.
We're going to cover just this weekend, which has been a lot of movements
internationally. Of course, we cover a lot of the international news here
on on the full story for the station.
And the big ones right now is, of course, big, big movements in the Ukraine,
(02:16):
the Ukraine-Russian War, especially as Donald Trump
is or there's set to be talks with the US on
with in Saudi Arabia.
So Russian officials and US officials are going to be talking in Saudi Arabia.
So this is a pretty significant because essentially the Biden administration
(02:38):
completely shut out the Russian, the Russian government wouldn't even acknowledge them,
which, of course, doesn't do much for any kind of peace talks.
If you don't reckon if you don't even talk to one side, you know,
you do have to talk to both sides to have any kind of peace.
So there's going to be some movement in there.
Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky is in the United Arab Emirates,
(03:00):
the UAE as well.
And you're having a and we're in the President Macron
and France is having emergency meetings in Paris
regarding how pretty much the other European countries
have been kind of left out of these talks.
(03:21):
And, you know, that's that's kind of their own doing. Right.
I mean, they kind of followed Biden and a lot of this stuff is,
oh, we're going to we're going to shut out Russia.
And then, well, if you do that again, you're not invited to the talks.
That's kind of that's kind of something that
kind of kind of a kind of a thing that that you do there, kind of your
(03:43):
you're doing. So we're going to talk about some all of that stuff.
Also, I want to talk about huge mass layoffs
by the federal government on Friday.
In fact, it was very interesting as I was sitting in the airport there at DCA.
It was a topic of conversation in the terminal as people's flights
were getting delayed and delayed further for security reasons.
(04:06):
It was it was quite the talk of the terminal.
Everybody just getting fired in one.
So it was quite remarkable to be sitting there
and to listen to this as everybody's getting, you know, learning
that they're being laid off or that most their teams are being laid off.
We're going to cover how many people and who it covers, because it is quite
(04:26):
quite outstretching.
Course, here in Mississippi, not going to affect a whole lot of people.
But they're in, like I said, they're sitting in the airport.
DCA, it was a interesting time to be there.
Wasn't a great Valentine's Day for a lot of federal workers
because the those federal workers, they pretty much they didn't get a rose
from the federal government. They got the shaft.
(04:48):
And so it was it was quite a day in DCA to say to say the least.
Those few hours that I was sitting there waiting for my plane to come from Dulles.
It was a quite interesting experience.
So we're going to talk about those going to be our top stories
or the stories that we're going to cover today.
(05:09):
As always, we are going to live right now on Rumble and YouTube.
As and as always, you can call in during the breaks at 601-879-0002.
As I mentioned, those calls that we take, you don't hear them there on the air,
but you do get to hear them on the live stream, which is a unique opportunity,
(05:29):
a little bit extra content for those that are tuned in either on Rumble or YouTube.
So we're going to go ahead and take our first break right here.
And when we get back, we'll get right in to what's going on
with the Russian and Ukrainian conflict with US talks with Russia.
So keep it tuned here to the full story on W.I.B. 103.9.
(05:52):
All right, ladies and gentlemen, welcome back here to the full story on W.I.B. 103.9.
As we get into our first story of the morning,
and that is that top Russian officials will hold talks with the US in Saudi Arabia
starting tomorrow on Tuesday, because yesterday is Monday.
So they will hold the talks with their US counterparts on restoring ties,
(06:16):
negotiating a peaceful settlement to the war in Ukraine,
and preparing a meeting between Russian President Vladimir Putin
and President Donald Trump, according to the Kremlin, which they said today.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said the Russian foreign minister Sergey Lavrov
and Putin's foreign affairs adviser, Yuri Yuskov,
will fly to the Saudi capital later in the day to take part in the talks set for Tuesday.
(06:41):
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio will lead the US delegation.
And Trump's envoy, Trump's envoy, Steve Witkoff
told Fox News yesterday that he and national security adviser,
Mike Waltz, will also take part in the talks.
I will say this about Marco Rubio, man, that guy has been traveling.
I mean, he has been going everywhere.
(07:05):
We didn't hear much about anything about Anthony Blinken.
You almost can't even remember his name.
But Marco Rubio, he has been he has been he has been putting in the miles with those planes.
Of course, he was in South America not that long ago to to negotiate,
to negotiate with to return all the migrants back to their own countries.
To have to have prisoners being sent down there as well as legal emirates been sent down there
(07:30):
and negotiating things down there.
Now he's heading all the way over to the other side of the world to negotiate
or to at least open up talks with Russia.
So Peskov, or Peskov, I should say.
So the talks will be primarily focused on restoring the entire complex of US-Russian relations
as well as preparing possible talks on the Ukrainian settlement
(07:54):
in organizing a meeting of the two presidents.
Interesting, he says Ukrainian settlement.
That's what they talk about there in eastern Ukraine that Russia initially entered the war was,
or at least that's what they said they entered the war for,
which was to claim that eastern area of Russia.
I mean, the eastern that eastern area of Ukraine as a Russian settlement,
(08:16):
as there's mostly Russians, according to them, just like Russia.
Just like they did with Crimea several years ago.
Speaking to journalists on a conference call from the United Arab Emirates on Monday,
Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky, we're going to talk about this in more in just a minute.
He said his country won't take part in the talks this week,
adding that they would yield no results given the absence of any Ukrainian officials.
(08:41):
European governments have also demanded a role.
We're going to cover that story just a little bit as well
as they're holding their own place, their own talks in Europe or in Paris,
which is interesting, right?
You're having, you know, all these different people are talking.
But Donald Trump knows that the real director of this war is the United States.
(09:05):
He knows that it's our money that's been propping up the Ukrainian government.
And without our money and without our supplies, there really is not much of a war left.
So that's why, you know, Zelensky can say all he wants about them not being there will yield no results.
Well, if your weapons and your money dry up, then you're going to have to really do what the United States directs you to do.
(09:30):
So it's best that the United States try to negotiate something with Russia,
because again, really, it's America that's bankrolling them.
And if that's not there, then, you know, they don't have much anyway.
So there's not much they would have in the talks regardless.
(09:51):
So the talks follow last week's telephone call between Trump and Putin,
in which Trump said they have agreed to have our respective teams start negotiations immediately.
Of course, the call has upended years of U.S. policy,
ending the isolation of Moscow over the February 24, 2022 invasion of Ukraine.
(10:14):
Hard to believe it's been that long ago.
I mean, we're almost at so let's start on February.
We're literally almost at two, three, three years ago that this war has been going on.
That's kind of crazy to think about.
And it's almost been going on that long.
And after the call with Putin, Trump phoned Zelensky to inform them about their conversation,
which I'm sure makes Zelensky quite a bit nervous.
(10:37):
That's a hey, we're not just blocking out.
I've said this before, right?
A, there are no good people in this war, right?
You have bad people and probably slightly worse people.
That's really that it all boils down to because Ukraine is not it is not a Western country.
(10:58):
It is it is in Eastern Europe.
They have those type of values.
They don't have freedom of the press, any of that kind of stuff that you would
typically think of when you think of European country.
They don't have them.
And the corruption in Ukraine is absolutely rampant.
Right.
We know the Bidens had so much going on in the Ukraine with all of their own business
(11:21):
dealings, of course, Hunter Biden being a big part of that is one of the reasons why
they tried to impeach Trump the first time.
So you got to remember Trump's not forgetting that one.
That's still in his mind because Trump doesn't forget.
Right.
So that's going to be, you know, I think is the biggest worry is that, man, I may have
(11:42):
been too much in far.
I may have been too far in with the Bidens because it is probably going to come back
and haunt them because he is like you said, Trump is looking at it from a perspective
of, hey, I owe nothing to Ukraine.
Ukraine have knows no love lost for me with Ukraine.
Don't really like Russia is what Russia is.
(12:03):
That's the thing with Russia.
Right.
And that's how we understood them in World War Two as well with the Soviet Union is that
we didn't really like them.
Right.
We never most of our generals didn't like the Soviet Union, but it's like, you know,
we still had to work with them because they are.
In fact, at that time, they were a superpower.
And this case, it's the case of with a war with Russia, there is no way that Ukraine
(12:32):
can absolutely win.
There is no decisive victory for Ukraine.
It's impossible.
Russia is just too big of a country.
And as I said before, too, it's not that Russia has these amazing fighters because they don't.
Russian fighters have never been great.
Even going back to World War Two, they were slaughtered by the millions by the Germans,
but they just have so many of them and they have no they have no respect for human life
(12:56):
whatsoever.
So they just keep throwing people as almost like fodder.
And that's just that's just where's armies down.
And eventually, and, you know, eventually defeated the Nazi army.
Not again, not because they were somehow strategically better than Nazi army, not even close.
It was just that they they just don't value human life and they'll just they'll just keep
(13:19):
throwing people at you.
You add to the fact that the terrain in Russia is cold and miserable and hard to get through.
And they're also not against burning their own things.
I mean, it's just a whole different type of warfare that they are that they that they
do.
And so that's why there's no path of victory for no path of victory for Ukraine.
(13:42):
You know, and that's that's true for any real country, right?
Even if we were to try to invade Russia, let's just say if there was a hypothetical war
between us and Russia, that would be a devastating war for us.
Again, not because Russia is better than us and far from it.
Well, we have better equipment, better people, better tactics, especially now with Donald
(14:02):
Trump becoming, you know, with with our military, you know, recruiting people again and hopefully
get some better generals in there.
But, you know, as our military transitions to one that is mission focused again, but
it's just it's just the nature of it would just it would cost millions of lives.
And just to get some kind of Pyrrhic victory at the end of the day, probably.
(14:26):
So there is like I said, there is no there is no path to complete victory for Ukraine.
So we've got to be reasonable, right?
It's time that adults came into the room and you know, previously, the Biden administration,
they had no interest in ending this war because of the military industrial complex, because
of all the money that they're getting and then they're making from it.
(14:48):
That's why they kept on it.
They know that there's no path to victory for Ukraine.
It's just that they're making a lot of money on it.
And again, you know, I just talked about how I was in D.C.
Every time I go there, I see the huge mansions.
I see the big towers of these defense contractors that have headquarters or offices there.
And you're reminded of how much of a profit maker war is off the backs of your taxpayers
(15:14):
and off the backs of your sons and daughters lives.
And that's what they have no problem doing.
So as long as this war is going on, you know, they benefit from it.
They're buying all this American equipment that's not going to our military, right?
We're using old stuff and we're looking at having to go to our surpluses for our own
military.
(15:34):
And they are just living the high life off of it while Americans in the streets suffer
and starve.
That's the way that's the way they look at it.
So it was a moneymaker for them.
It's not about peace or anything like that.
But it's time for adults to walk in the room and look at reality.
(15:56):
And this war cost Russia a lot as well.
But again, Russia, that's just that's the high cost of war has never been a worry for
Russia or the Soviet Union before it.
That's just they've never really cared about that.
Again, whether it's high financial cost or high human cost, that's just not a concern
for them.
And so they could keep it on forever, especially if it's causing America to spend all this
(16:20):
money to cause inflation.
According to the own Biden administration, it costs inflation.
That sounds like a win win for Russia.
So it's time for adults to come into the room and say, all right, here are the realities.
Right.
This is what's actually going on.
And we can force Ukraine to accept terms because it's like this Ukraine.
(16:41):
If you want further assistance or you want anything from us, you will accept this.
Otherwise, we're going to completely pull out.
We're going to completely pull out of the of the we're going to completely pull out
of the of the of the of the of the of the of the of the of the of the of the of the
(17:05):
of the agreements of we're going to completely pull out of Ukraine and give you no money
and then just leave you to Ukraine and leave you to Russia.
And therefore, you're not going to get any kind of beneficial deal.
Right.
Russia is just going to quickly sweep over you if you don't have our weapons.
So that's how we can drive the negotiations.
We drive it because we can handle we hold the purse strings.
(17:29):
And that's really and that's really how the negotiation that we have
and how we can force Ukraine to do it.
But it also gives us and it also gives us something at least negotiate with Russia as well.
So the deciding factor here is going to be the United States to finally end this thing.
And that's why Donald Trump can pretty confidently say that he can end this thing
(17:52):
because he knows that they hold the they hold the strings to end it.
So, so you said the the the talks tomorrow will follow last week's telephone call between Trump
and Putin and which Trump said they have agreed to have our respective teams start negotiation
(18:15):
immediately.
And Trump on Sunday told reporters that Zelensky will be involved in the negotiations.
He didn't elaborate further on that.
But again, of course, they're going to be involved and they may not want to go to the
(18:36):
you know, Ukraine may not want to go to the negotiation table,
but they're going to have to write.
They're going to be forced to.
And I know Zelensky is also making all kind of money on this war as well.
I mean, that guy is about as corrupt as it gets.
I mean, Putin is not a great guy.
And I said neither is Zelensky.
And so, like I said, you got to it's not it's not like it's not like the movies where there's an
(18:58):
actually good guy and an actual bad guy.
It's just two real bad guys going at it.
And so so he's going to be forced to come to these talks, whether he wants to or not.
So Zelensky said he would travel to Turkey on Monday and to Saudi Arabia on Wednesday,
but that his trip to the Arab nation was unrelated to the planned U.S. talks there on
(19:24):
on Tuesday, which I find that's a little too much coincidence that you're going to you're going to
you're going to be there.
America and Russia is going to have talks on Tuesday and then you're going to be there on
Wednesday. But it has nothing to do with it.
I'm not there for that.
Don't think of it.
Don't think it was that way.
I'm here for other reasons.
I just happen to be here the day after there's the U.S. and Russia talks.
(19:44):
No other reasons I would be in Saudi Arabia.
I have so many other reasons.
The beaches, you know, whatever he's going to do.
Obviously, it's related, right?
We're not idiots.
It's obviously related.
So Andriy Yarmak, who is a top Zelensky advisor, said on Sunday that there was no
(20:04):
possibility of Ukrainian and Russian representatives meeting directly in the
immediate future.
In a telegram post, Yemek said the Ukrainians weren't planning to do so until we develop a
plan to end the war and bring about a just peace.
Speaking on Fox News Channel Sunday Morning Futures program, Witkoff said he and Walt will
(20:25):
be having meetings at the direction of the president and hope to make some really good
progress with regard to Russia and Ukraine.
In his TV interview, Witkoff didn't directly respond to a question about whether Ukraine
would have to give up a significant portion of its territory as part of any negotiated
settlement.
He said, those are details and I'm not dismissive of the details.
(20:49):
They're important.
But I think the beginning here is trust building.
It's getting everybody to understand that this war does not belong continuing, that
it should end.
I said it doesn't make much English sense what he said, but that's what he said.
That's what the president has directed us to do.
And so again, this is interesting that he's there.
(21:10):
Everything should, right now, it's like nothing's off the table.
We just got to get to the table, right?
Let's get to the table.
Let's see what Russia wants.
That's what they're going to meet with on Tuesday.
They're going to meet with Russia, say, hey, Russia, what do you want?
What do you want from this?
And what do you absolutely need from this?
Okay.
What's going to cause an end to this?
(21:31):
So get that from Russia.
They're obviously going to meet with Zelensky on Wednesday.
Even though he says I'm on Saudi Arabia for other business, he's obviously meeting with
the United States on Wednesday in Saudi Arabia.
And then talk to Zelensky and say, hey, here's where we're at.
And I get it.
You don't want to do anything, but that's not reality.
Something's going to happen.
And so here are the options that we're laying out for you.
(21:55):
And they're just going to, then we can kind of get the where both sides are and then make
a decision on how to go forward with it.
So as I said, Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky has traveled to the United Emirates
late Sunday.
He arrived in Abu Dhabi after attending the Munich Security Conference in Germany.
(22:18):
And footage released by his office showed him and his wife being greeted by Emirati
official and honor guard at the airport late Sunday night.
Zelensky's office said in a message, hey, you know, you're going to be able to get
your hands on the United Arab Emirates.
Zelensky's office said in a message online, quote, our top priority is bringing even more
(22:39):
of our people home from captivity.
We will also focus on investments and economic partnership, as well as large scale humanitarian
program.
So it's always good to get mixed in with the Saudis when you're talking about humanitarian
aid, right?
Let's get to talk with the Muslim countries when we talk about how equal rights and humanitarianism
the best countries in that regard, right?
(23:00):
The United Arab Emirates state run WAM news agency did not immediately report on Zelensky's
arrival, which was quite unusual.
So it's something they usually do.
And it's interesting to see why they wouldn't do that, because it wasn't immediately clear
what his agenda would be while he was in the country, though Abu Dhabi is hosting its
(23:21):
biennial international defense exhibition and conference arm show this week, where both
Ukraine and Russia have displayed arms.
So that's really why he's there.
He's there for more defense contractors.
That's why he's there to get more money and to again, this war has been a economic boon
(23:45):
for himself personally.
I mean, as well for his citizens.
I've talked about the amount of money they've gotten per citizen is absolutely ridiculous.
You know, you know, tens of thousands per individual.
It's crazy.
It's not that large of a country.
And yet they've been getting hundreds of billions of dollars from the United States alone,
(24:06):
right?
Not counting other countries.
And so he's obviously there to have to go to this expo, the defense expo to drum up
more support, to get more aid, to be able to get more money and to live his lavish
lifestyle as all the defense contractors are all excited to see them there because again,
(24:27):
they make money off of war.
War has always been a moneymaker.
Dwight Eisenhower warned about it when he talked about the dangers of the military
industrial complex.
He's like, look, I've seen it.
And this guy was a great general, right?
And a great and a great he's a great political general as well.
That was one of the best things about Eisenhower's.
He understood both the army side of things and the military side of things, as well as
(24:51):
a political side of things, which made him a great general, a great supreme allied commander.
But he's like, hey, this is a scary, scary situation going on with this military, the
defense military industrial complex.
And it's I mean, in the last, you know, in the last 20, 30 years, the Republicans have
(25:15):
been as guilty as anybody in feeding that in that system.
And it's not that we don't want a strong military, right?
It's not that at all.
It's just that we are spending money that doesn't need to be spent, because it's always
been for Republicans, you know, this this idea, oh, we're going to spend more on defense.
That sounds good.
We're going to get more money to the troops.
(25:36):
But it doesn't work out that way.
More money doesn't go to the troops.
More money goes to the pockets of Raytheon and Boeing and all of these people.
Right.
That's that's who it's going to.
It's not going to the troops.
The troops are still living in the same barracks.
They've always lived in.
And I can tell you, as being in the army, we still use outdated equipment and everything
(25:57):
else.
In fact, I've always wondered where all that money goes to, because the normal foot soldier,
ground soldier definitely doesn't see it.
And even the Biden administration even talked about charging soldiers go through twice to
the mess hall, which was absolutely ridiculous, or the defact, as they call it.
And so it's like, what are you doing here?
(26:18):
So all this money is being spent.
But it's just going to projects is going to spending, you know, six hundred dollars on
something that costs ten dollars.
And, you know, one thing yet I hope Doge can look at is also these federal contracts with
defense contractors, because it is it is being it is absolutely way out of proportion.
(26:42):
And, you know, the military doesn't need more money.
It needs to divert the money it has into things that make more sense, right?
Divert it to the soldiers, divert it to training, divert it to better weapon systems and not
just not just crazy futuristic weapon systems that no one will ever use.
It just sounds good in theory.
And we spend three hundred million dollars on something we'll never see.
(27:05):
Right.
So, again, that just helps the defense contractors, actual things that's going to help the ground
soldier, the person actually in the airplane in the Air Force, the guy who's on the actual
ships.
Right.
All of that stuff.
Looking at that to see where that money needs to be distributed, because honestly, the U.S.
military doesn't need any more money.
(27:27):
It's just how that money being spent needs to be a understood where it's being spent.
Something a lot of people don't understand what's being spent and to spent much more
efficiently.
OK, we're going to take a break right here.
We get back.
I want to talk about European leaders having their own trip and continue on this subject
of Doge and the mass layoffs that happened on Friday.
(27:48):
If you want to call in during the break, number 601-879-0002, but keep it tuned here to the
full story on W.Y.A.B. 103.9.
All right, ladies and gentlemen, welcome back here to the full story on W.Y.A.B. 103.9.
As we continue on with one more thing that I want to cover with this whole Ukraine thing
(28:08):
and talks being had is that European leaders are set to group in Paris for a strategy huddle
after the Trump meetings in Saudi Arabia.
So French President Emmanuel Macron said leaders from key European Union nations and the United
Kingdom are set to meet at his ornate L.C. Palace on Monday for an emergency meeting
(28:34):
on how to react to the U.S. talks.
The first visit by top U.S. officials to Europe has left the impression that Trump administration
was ready to have talks with the Kremlin, something that has made the European nations
nervous because that would essentially block them out of any talks.
(28:57):
So a fury of speeches by, I'm sorry, a Annalena Barbuik, I'm sorry, I should get this name
right, German's foreign minister called the week an existential moment.
It's a moment where Europe has to stand up.
(29:20):
So on Monday, Macron will have afternoon talks with the leaders of Germany.
The United Kingdom, Italy, Poland, Spain, the Netherlands, Denmark and the European
Union on how to deal with Europe's security quandary.
NATO Secretary General Mark Root will also attend.
(29:42):
French officials said no firm decisions are expected to emerge beyond a show of unity
of European leaders, which is typical of Europe.
Let's all get together.
Let's all meet.
Let's all discuss things together.
Let's all meet. Let's all discuss things for three days.
And then no decisions are made.
We're just going to say, hey, we met for three days and guess what?
We all agree we had a meeting.
(30:04):
That's what we agree on.
There was a meeting that was had.
We were in the same room.
It happened.
It was three days.
It happened in my palace.
We may have had a little bit of drinking going on, but the official results of the
meeting are we had a meeting.
So that's the typical European countries for you.
And which is why Donald Trump and all of them is like, hey, we're going to actually
get some stuff done here.
(30:26):
Not the typical European style of diplomacy, if you will.
But despite their own little meeting, a strong US link will remain essential for the foreseeable
future since it will take many years before European nations, if at all, honestly, can
ratchet up defense equipment production and integrate into an effective force.
(30:49):
And that's been one of the things that Donald Trump has talked about with NATO,
is that all these countries are part of NATO, really with the exception of the UK and Poland.
No one else really spends their own money to have their defense.
They really just kind of rely on us to defend them.
So if you can't even defend yourself, how are you going to have a strong stance on Ukraine?
So that's what's kind of funny about it.
(31:11):
And that's why they need the United States.
They can have all the meetings they want.
They can say, we don't agree with the United States meeting with Russia.
They didn't say that.
They're not going to say that.
Because again, they need US support.
Without US support, they have no real defense for most of them.
(31:31):
Again, with the exception of the UK and Poland, they really have no actual defense.
And both UK and Poland, especially Poland, are very, very integrated into the US military as well.
And so the UK Prime Minister Keir Stammer said US support will remain critical and a US security
(31:52):
guarantee is essential for a lasting peace because only the US can deter Putin from attacking again.
And at least that guy understands it, the UK Prime Minister.
So while many EU nations are still mulling whether to contribute troops to a potential
force in Ukraine after a peace deal, Stammer, who again is the UK Prime Minister, Stammer,
(32:16):
as they say, Stammer said the UK was ready and willing to contribute to security guarantees to
Ukraine by putting our own troops on the ground if necessary.
He said, I do not say that lightly.
I feel very deeply the responsibility that comes with potentially pulling,
putting British servicemen, British servicemen and women in the hands of the US.
(32:38):
I do not say that lightly.
I feel very deeply the responsibility that comes with pulling British servicemen and women in the
hands of the US.
European nations are bent on boosting Ukraine where they can and EU nations see eye to eye when it
comes to upping defense spending.
However, even if there is a general consensus to move beyond the goal of spending the 2% of GDP on
(33:02):
defense, it's hardly clear how to get to 3%.
And very, very few of them even meet that small goal.
That's a very, very little goal.
But some of the EU nations balked at the thought of the restrictive ELSI meeting with only a few
chosen leaders while others were left in the cold.
For a number of reasons, the EU needs a backing of all 27 nations.
(33:27):
It raised the issue of veto power, which Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban, as a staunch
Putin ally, has already threatened to use on plenty of occasions.
That's a problem when you have a big group of countries is that they're really never going to
agree, especially if someone has complete veto power.
Slovenian President Natasa Pekmusar said the selective list of invitees are proof that the EU
(33:54):
member states are not being treated equally.
She said, this is not Europe that commands respect abroad.
This is not the Europe that would be a serious partner to the North American ally.
And so they feel slighted.
We're part of the EU and then you, of course, slight us.
And of course, also funny, they invite a non-EU member, the UK, to be a part of it because the
(34:17):
UK probably has the strongest military of anybody in Europe, but it's still, again,
hails in comparison, not even close, not even like a pinky worth of comparison to the United
States military as far as spending and size and everything else.
So they're having their own little meeting to get absolutely nothing done, to have a meeting,
(34:40):
to say they had a meeting, in which case also anger other EU countries for not including them
and said worthless meeting.
But they're all kind of scrambling.
And again, that's what that's what Donald Trump does, right?
Is that he is going to set, he's going to go with action that is decisive, that is now the ordinary,
(35:03):
that is that sets people in motion.
And that's exactly what he's doing back here in the United States as well with the cutting of
expenditures as anger, chaos and confusion take hold as federal workers face mass layoffs.
So workers across the country responded with anger and confusion on Friday as they grappled
(35:28):
with the Trump's administration's effort to shrink the size of the federal workforce
by ordering agencies to lay off probationary employees who have yet to qualify for civil
service protections.
And so these probationary employees are mostly those with less than one year of experience.
Some agencies, there's two years of experience.
(35:48):
So anybody with less than one or two years, well, they just they're getting laid off,
just completely broadly across the board.
And now, interestingly enough, those who those probationary employees who accepted the buyout
offer, they also received these notices that they would be terminated.
(36:12):
However, the Trump administration has assured them that they will in fact still get their buyout.
So if they jumped on early to get that buyout, they're good to go.
Those who didn't join it, well, you're just fired.
This is what I've talked about last week when they wanted to challenge the buyout, which the judge
didn't reinstated was, hey, if you don't if you want to fight this, you may not get any buyout.
(36:34):
And now that's coming to be the case for those who didn't accept it, is that, well, now they are
being they're being pushed out without said buyout.
Now, the White House and OPM declined to say Friday how many probationary workers there actually
are and how many of those have been dismissed.
But according to government data maintained by the Office of Personnel Management, OPM,
(36:58):
220,000 workers had less than a year on the job as of March of 2024.
So that's obviously a year ago.
I don't know how many of those people have left since Donald Trump has, but you're looking at
potentially over 200,000 workers being dismissed in just one broad swath of the pen.
(37:18):
And they're just all fired.
Now, OPM has given agencies until 8 p.m. tomorrow to issue a new order.
And they're going to give them tomorrow to issue layoff notices, according to someone who is
speaking on the condition of anonymity, because, you know, everybody speaks on the condition of
anonymity.
(37:39):
Of course, the probationary layoffs are the latest in the new administration's sweeping
efforts to reduce the size of the federal workforce, which is being led by Elon Musk with
his Department of Government Efficiency.
Trump, in an executive order last Tuesday, told agency leaders to plan for large scale reductions.
(37:59):
After initial attempt to downsize the workforce, the voluntary buyout was accepted by only 75,000
workers.
So those 75,000, they're getting buyouts, but the rest of, you know, 125,000 who didn't get it,
at least the probationary, you're gone.
Right.
That's just the way it's going to be.
You know, the thing is, if you're stupid enough not to accept the buyout, did you really think
(38:23):
they're going to keep you?
You know, if they're offering you a buyout, you do realize that they can just fire you, right?
Like, if you had any kind of smart, you'd be like, hmm, or any kind of intelligence, you'd be like,
hmm, I can see the writing on the wall here.
I think it's time for me to go ahead and head out.
But it's going to be interesting to see how that, if that's going to affect the federal
(38:43):
government at all, or whether this broad swath is even the right approach.
I'm not saying it is or it isn't, because it's, you know, I think really instead of focusing on
the new hires, they need to focus on the people who's been there for 30 years, is my own personal
opinion, or 20 years.
They're the ones who probably need to be shoved out.
The new ones, they have yet to get that, you know, the government slouch type of personality,
(39:06):
but the ones that have been slouching off the government for the last 15, 20 years, to me,
those are the ones that need to be moved out more than the new hires.
But at least that's nothing else.
They don't have federal civil service protection, so it's much easier to fire them.
But this broad swath of things, of course, there's also a hiring freeze that is going
(39:26):
to affect other people, so they're not hiring anybody.
And so again, very interesting.
I was at the DCA airport on Friday, and just seeing the mass chaos that was happening,
I saw it in my own eyes, of everybody just talking about how half their departments are
getting, or losing half their departments.
(39:47):
It was a very interesting experience to see that as it's coming in real time, as I was
stuck there in DCA.
All right, we're going to take our last break right here.
When we get back, we'll do This Day in History, but keep it tuned to the full story on WYAB 103.9.
All right, ladies and gentlemen, welcome back here to The Full Story as we get to
This Day in History.
So on this day, February 17, 1818, German offensive car Dreis officially unveiled his
(40:12):
latest creation, a two-wheeled human-powered vehicle that would lay the foundation for
the modern bicycle called the Drasen, or the Lof machine in German.
This wooden contraption had no pedals, and instead, riders pushed themselves along with
their feet, gliding forward in what was at the time a revolutionary mode of transport.
He had designed the machine as a faster alternative to walking, inspired by the 1816 eruption
(40:36):
of Mount Tambora, which led to a shortage of horses.
And so that's why on this day, February 17, 1818, the world first took its steps, literally,
toward modern cycling.
All right, that's all I have for you guys today.
We'll see you again tomorrow, but until then, my name is Matthew Bishop.
You've heard The Full Story.
Good morning, ladies and gentlemen.
Welcome back here to the full story on W.Y.A.B.
103.9 as we get into this Monday,
President's Day, technically.
Well, not technically, I guess.
Actually is President's Day.
I come back to you live after a couple of days,
a couple of days away last week.
It was supposed to be a 24 hour trip to
(00:43):
24 hour trip to Washington, D.C.
that ended up being a 72 hour trip because of snow.
It had crazy snow up there as well as once you got there,
it's had the meetings got moved.
And then on Friday trying to leave and then we had a full ground stop at DCA,
which is, of course, the airport where the the fatal crash happened
(01:05):
right on there on the Potomac.
They had a they had a full stop for security reasons.
So they're diverting airplanes and everything to Dulles,
which is the other airport in the D.C. area, just about 20 or 30 miles away
in Virginia. So we got delayed there.
They're really, really hard to leave D.C.
as much as I did not want to be there any longer.
(01:26):
It doesn't matter. It kind of just envelops you if you try to leave.
So sorry about that. As we like said, those
normally, if I'm gone for more than a day, I'll bring a microphone with me
and I'll do a recorded show.
But again, I didn't bring the microphone with me
because I thought I'd only be there for 24 hours and end up turning
into something much longer.
But we're back here live this this Monday, this President's Day.
(01:51):
And of course, a lot, a lot, a lot, a lot has happened.
We're not going to cover everything that's happened since our last live show.
We're going to cover just this weekend, which has been a lot of movements
internationally. Of course, we cover a lot of the international news here
on on the full story for the station.
And the big ones right now is, of course, big, big movements in the Ukraine,
(02:16):
the Ukraine-Russian War, especially as Donald Trump
is or there's set to be talks with the US on
with in Saudi Arabia.
So Russian officials and US officials are going to be talking in Saudi Arabia.
So this is a pretty significant because essentially the Biden administration
(02:38):
completely shut out the Russian, the Russian government wouldn't even acknowledge them,
which, of course, doesn't do much for any kind of peace talks.
If you don't reckon if you don't even talk to one side, you know,
you do have to talk to both sides to have any kind of peace.
So there's going to be some movement in there.
Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky is in the United Arab Emirates,
(03:00):
the UAE as well.
And you're having a and we're in the President Macron
and France is having emergency meetings in Paris
regarding how pretty much the other European countries
have been kind of left out of these talks.
(03:21):
And, you know, that's that's kind of their own doing. Right.
I mean, they kind of followed Biden and a lot of this stuff is,
oh, we're going to we're going to shut out Russia.
And then, well, if you do that again, you're not invited to the talks.
That's kind of that's kind of something that
kind of kind of a kind of a thing that that you do there, kind of your
(03:43):
you're doing. So we're going to talk about some all of that stuff.
Also, I want to talk about huge mass layoffs
by the federal government on Friday.
In fact, it was very interesting as I was sitting in the airport there at DCA.
It was a topic of conversation in the terminal as people's flights
were getting delayed and delayed further for security reasons.
(04:06):
It was it was quite the talk of the terminal.
Everybody just getting fired in one.
So it was quite remarkable to be sitting there
and to listen to this as everybody's getting, you know, learning
that they're being laid off or that most their teams are being laid off.
We're going to cover how many people and who it covers, because it is quite
(04:26):
quite outstretching.
Course, here in Mississippi, not going to affect a whole lot of people.
But they're in, like I said, they're sitting in the airport.
DCA, it was a interesting time to be there.
Wasn't a great Valentine's Day for a lot of federal workers
because the those federal workers, they pretty much they didn't get a rose
from the federal government. They got the shaft.
(04:48):
And so it was it was quite a day in DCA to say to say the least.
Those few hours that I was sitting there waiting for my plane to come from Dulles.
It was a quite interesting experience.
So we're going to talk about those going to be our top stories
or the stories that we're going to cover today.
(05:09):
As always, we are going to live right now on Rumble and YouTube.
As and as always, you can call in during the breaks at 601-879-0002.
As I mentioned, those calls that we take, you don't hear them there on the air,
but you do get to hear them on the live stream, which is a unique opportunity,
(05:29):
a little bit extra content for those that are tuned in either on Rumble or YouTube.
So we're going to go ahead and take our first break right here.
And when we get back, we'll get right in to what's going on
with the Russian and Ukrainian conflict with US talks with Russia.
So keep it tuned here to the full story on W.I.B. 103.9.
(05:52):
All right, ladies and gentlemen, welcome back here to the full story on W.I.B. 103.9.
As we get into our first story of the morning,
and that is that top Russian officials will hold talks with the US in Saudi Arabia
starting tomorrow on Tuesday, because yesterday is Monday.
So they will hold the talks with their US counterparts on restoring ties,
(06:16):
negotiating a peaceful settlement to the war in Ukraine,
and preparing a meeting between Russian President Vladimir Putin
and President Donald Trump, according to the Kremlin, which they said today.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said the Russian foreign minister Sergey Lavrov
and Putin's foreign affairs adviser, Yuri Yuskov,
will fly to the Saudi capital later in the day to take part in the talks set for Tuesday.
(06:41):
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio will lead the US delegation.
And Trump's envoy, Trump's envoy, Steve Witkoff
told Fox News yesterday that he and national security adviser,
Mike Waltz, will also take part in the talks.
I will say this about Marco Rubio, man, that guy has been traveling.
I mean, he has been going everywhere.
(07:05):
We didn't hear much about anything about Anthony Blinken.
You almost can't even remember his name.
But Marco Rubio, he has been he has been he has been putting in the miles with those planes.
Of course, he was in South America not that long ago to to negotiate,
to negotiate with to return all the migrants back to their own countries.
To have to have prisoners being sent down there as well as legal emirates been sent down there
(07:30):
and negotiating things down there.
Now he's heading all the way over to the other side of the world to negotiate
or to at least open up talks with Russia.
So Peskov, or Peskov, I should say.
So the talks will be primarily focused on restoring the entire complex of US-Russian relations
as well as preparing possible talks on the Ukrainian settlement
(07:54):
in organizing a meeting of the two presidents.
Interesting, he says Ukrainian settlement.
That's what they talk about there in eastern Ukraine that Russia initially entered the war was,
or at least that's what they said they entered the war for,
which was to claim that eastern area of Russia.
I mean, the eastern that eastern area of Ukraine as a Russian settlement,
(08:16):
as there's mostly Russians, according to them, just like Russia.
Just like they did with Crimea several years ago.
Speaking to journalists on a conference call from the United Arab Emirates on Monday,
Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky, we're going to talk about this in more in just a minute.
He said his country won't take part in the talks this week,
adding that they would yield no results given the absence of any Ukrainian officials.
(08:41):
European governments have also demanded a role.
We're going to cover that story just a little bit as well
as they're holding their own place, their own talks in Europe or in Paris,
which is interesting, right?
You're having, you know, all these different people are talking.
But Donald Trump knows that the real director of this war is the United States.
(09:05):
He knows that it's our money that's been propping up the Ukrainian government.
And without our money and without our supplies, there really is not much of a war left.
So that's why, you know, Zelensky can say all he wants about them not being there will yield no results.
Well, if your weapons and your money dry up, then you're going to have to really do what the United States directs you to do.
(09:30):
So it's best that the United States try to negotiate something with Russia,
because again, really, it's America that's bankrolling them.
And if that's not there, then, you know, they don't have much anyway.
So there's not much they would have in the talks regardless.
(09:51):
So the talks follow last week's telephone call between Trump and Putin,
in which Trump said they have agreed to have our respective teams start negotiations immediately.
Of course, the call has upended years of U.S. policy,
ending the isolation of Moscow over the February 24, 2022 invasion of Ukraine.
(10:14):
Hard to believe it's been that long ago.
I mean, we're almost at so let's start on February.
We're literally almost at two, three, three years ago that this war has been going on.
That's kind of crazy to think about.
And it's almost been going on that long.
And after the call with Putin, Trump phoned Zelensky to inform them about their conversation,
which I'm sure makes Zelensky quite a bit nervous.
(10:37):
That's a hey, we're not just blocking out.
I've said this before, right?
A, there are no good people in this war, right?
You have bad people and probably slightly worse people.
That's really that it all boils down to because Ukraine is not it is not a Western country.
(10:58):
It is it is in Eastern Europe.
They have those type of values.
They don't have freedom of the press, any of that kind of stuff that you would
typically think of when you think of European country.
They don't have them.
And the corruption in Ukraine is absolutely rampant.
Right.
We know the Bidens had so much going on in the Ukraine with all of their own business
(11:21):
dealings, of course, Hunter Biden being a big part of that is one of the reasons why
they tried to impeach Trump the first time.
So you got to remember Trump's not forgetting that one.
That's still in his mind because Trump doesn't forget.
Right.
So that's going to be, you know, I think is the biggest worry is that, man, I may have
(11:42):
been too much in far.
I may have been too far in with the Bidens because it is probably going to come back
and haunt them because he is like you said, Trump is looking at it from a perspective
of, hey, I owe nothing to Ukraine.
Ukraine have knows no love lost for me with Ukraine.
Don't really like Russia is what Russia is.
(12:03):
That's the thing with Russia.
Right.
And that's how we understood them in World War Two as well with the Soviet Union is that
we didn't really like them.
Right.
We never most of our generals didn't like the Soviet Union, but it's like, you know,
we still had to work with them because they are.
In fact, at that time, they were a superpower.
And this case, it's the case of with a war with Russia, there is no way that Ukraine
(12:32):
can absolutely win.
There is no decisive victory for Ukraine.
It's impossible.
Russia is just too big of a country.
And as I said before, too, it's not that Russia has these amazing fighters because they don't.
Russian fighters have never been great.
Even going back to World War Two, they were slaughtered by the millions by the Germans,
but they just have so many of them and they have no they have no respect for human life
(12:56):
whatsoever.
So they just keep throwing people as almost like fodder.
And that's just that's just where's armies down.
And eventually, and, you know, eventually defeated the Nazi army.
Not again, not because they were somehow strategically better than Nazi army, not even close.
It was just that they they just don't value human life and they'll just they'll just keep
(13:19):
throwing people at you.
You add to the fact that the terrain in Russia is cold and miserable and hard to get through.
And they're also not against burning their own things.
I mean, it's just a whole different type of warfare that they are that they that they
do.
And so that's why there's no path of victory for no path of victory for Ukraine.
(13:42):
You know, and that's that's true for any real country, right?
Even if we were to try to invade Russia, let's just say if there was a hypothetical war
between us and Russia, that would be a devastating war for us.
Again, not because Russia is better than us and far from it.
Well, we have better equipment, better people, better tactics, especially now with Donald
(14:02):
Trump becoming, you know, with with our military, you know, recruiting people again and hopefully
get some better generals in there.
But, you know, as our military transitions to one that is mission focused again, but
it's just it's just the nature of it would just it would cost millions of lives.
And just to get some kind of Pyrrhic victory at the end of the day, probably.
(14:26):
So there is like I said, there is no there is no path to complete victory for Ukraine.
So we've got to be reasonable, right?
It's time that adults came into the room and you know, previously, the Biden administration,
they had no interest in ending this war because of the military industrial complex, because
of all the money that they're getting and then they're making from it.
(14:48):
That's why they kept on it.
They know that there's no path to victory for Ukraine.
It's just that they're making a lot of money on it.
And again, you know, I just talked about how I was in D.C.
Every time I go there, I see the huge mansions.
I see the big towers of these defense contractors that have headquarters or offices there.
And you're reminded of how much of a profit maker war is off the backs of your taxpayers
(15:14):
and off the backs of your sons and daughters lives.
And that's what they have no problem doing.
So as long as this war is going on, you know, they benefit from it.
They're buying all this American equipment that's not going to our military, right?
We're using old stuff and we're looking at having to go to our surpluses for our own
military.
(15:34):
And they are just living the high life off of it while Americans in the streets suffer
and starve.
That's the way that's the way they look at it.
So it was a moneymaker for them.
It's not about peace or anything like that.
But it's time for adults to walk in the room and look at reality.
(15:56):
And this war cost Russia a lot as well.
But again, Russia, that's just that's the high cost of war has never been a worry for
Russia or the Soviet Union before it.
That's just they've never really cared about that.
Again, whether it's high financial cost or high human cost, that's just not a concern
for them.
And so they could keep it on forever, especially if it's causing America to spend all this
(16:20):
money to cause inflation.
According to the own Biden administration, it costs inflation.
That sounds like a win win for Russia.
So it's time for adults to come into the room and say, all right, here are the realities.
Right.
This is what's actually going on.
And we can force Ukraine to accept terms because it's like this Ukraine.
(16:41):
If you want further assistance or you want anything from us, you will accept this.
Otherwise, we're going to completely pull out.
We're going to completely pull out of the of the we're going to completely pull out
of the of the of the of the of the of the of the of the of the of the of the of the
(17:05):
of the agreements of we're going to completely pull out of Ukraine and give you no money
and then just leave you to Ukraine and leave you to Russia.
And therefore, you're not going to get any kind of beneficial deal.
Right.
Russia is just going to quickly sweep over you if you don't have our weapons.
So that's how we can drive the negotiations.
We drive it because we can handle we hold the purse strings.
(17:29):
And that's really and that's really how the negotiation that we have
and how we can force Ukraine to do it.
But it also gives us and it also gives us something at least negotiate with Russia as well.
So the deciding factor here is going to be the United States to finally end this thing.
And that's why Donald Trump can pretty confidently say that he can end this thing
(17:52):
because he knows that they hold the they hold the strings to end it.
So, so you said the the the talks tomorrow will follow last week's telephone call between Trump
and Putin and which Trump said they have agreed to have our respective teams start negotiation
(18:15):
immediately.
And Trump on Sunday told reporters that Zelensky will be involved in the negotiations.
He didn't elaborate further on that.
But again, of course, they're going to be involved and they may not want to go to the
(18:36):
you know, Ukraine may not want to go to the negotiation table,
but they're going to have to write.
They're going to be forced to.
And I know Zelensky is also making all kind of money on this war as well.
I mean, that guy is about as corrupt as it gets.
I mean, Putin is not a great guy.
And I said neither is Zelensky.
And so, like I said, you got to it's not it's not like it's not like the movies where there's an
(18:58):
actually good guy and an actual bad guy.
It's just two real bad guys going at it.
And so so he's going to be forced to come to these talks, whether he wants to or not.
So Zelensky said he would travel to Turkey on Monday and to Saudi Arabia on Wednesday,
but that his trip to the Arab nation was unrelated to the planned U.S. talks there on
(19:24):
on Tuesday, which I find that's a little too much coincidence that you're going to you're going to
you're going to be there.
America and Russia is going to have talks on Tuesday and then you're going to be there on
Wednesday. But it has nothing to do with it.
I'm not there for that.
Don't think of it.
Don't think it was that way.
I'm here for other reasons.
I just happen to be here the day after there's the U.S. and Russia talks.
(19:44):
No other reasons I would be in Saudi Arabia.
I have so many other reasons.
The beaches, you know, whatever he's going to do.
Obviously, it's related, right?
We're not idiots.
It's obviously related.
So Andriy Yarmak, who is a top Zelensky advisor, said on Sunday that there was no
(20:04):
possibility of Ukrainian and Russian representatives meeting directly in the
immediate future.
In a telegram post, Yemek said the Ukrainians weren't planning to do so until we develop a
plan to end the war and bring about a just peace.
Speaking on Fox News Channel Sunday Morning Futures program, Witkoff said he and Walt will
(20:25):
be having meetings at the direction of the president and hope to make some really good
progress with regard to Russia and Ukraine.
In his TV interview, Witkoff didn't directly respond to a question about whether Ukraine
would have to give up a significant portion of its territory as part of any negotiated
settlement.
He said, those are details and I'm not dismissive of the details.
(20:49):
They're important.
But I think the beginning here is trust building.
It's getting everybody to understand that this war does not belong continuing, that
it should end.
I said it doesn't make much English sense what he said, but that's what he said.
That's what the president has directed us to do.
And so again, this is interesting that he's there.
(21:10):
Everything should, right now, it's like nothing's off the table.
We just got to get to the table, right?
Let's get to the table.
Let's see what Russia wants.
That's what they're going to meet with on Tuesday.
They're going to meet with Russia, say, hey, Russia, what do you want?
What do you want from this?
And what do you absolutely need from this?
Okay.
What's going to cause an end to this?
(21:31):
So get that from Russia.
They're obviously going to meet with Zelensky on Wednesday.
Even though he says I'm on Saudi Arabia for other business, he's obviously meeting with
the United States on Wednesday in Saudi Arabia.
And then talk to Zelensky and say, hey, here's where we're at.
And I get it.
You don't want to do anything, but that's not reality.
Something's going to happen.
And so here are the options that we're laying out for you.
(21:55):
And they're just going to, then we can kind of get the where both sides are and then make
a decision on how to go forward with it.
So as I said, Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky has traveled to the United Emirates
late Sunday.
He arrived in Abu Dhabi after attending the Munich Security Conference in Germany.
(22:18):
And footage released by his office showed him and his wife being greeted by Emirati
official and honor guard at the airport late Sunday night.
Zelensky's office said in a message, hey, you know, you're going to be able to get
your hands on the United Arab Emirates.
Zelensky's office said in a message online, quote, our top priority is bringing even more
(22:39):
of our people home from captivity.
We will also focus on investments and economic partnership, as well as large scale humanitarian
program.
So it's always good to get mixed in with the Saudis when you're talking about humanitarian
aid, right?
Let's get to talk with the Muslim countries when we talk about how equal rights and humanitarianism
the best countries in that regard, right?
(23:00):
The United Arab Emirates state run WAM news agency did not immediately report on Zelensky's
arrival, which was quite unusual.
So it's something they usually do.
And it's interesting to see why they wouldn't do that, because it wasn't immediately clear
what his agenda would be while he was in the country, though Abu Dhabi is hosting its
(23:21):
biennial international defense exhibition and conference arm show this week, where both
Ukraine and Russia have displayed arms.
So that's really why he's there.
He's there for more defense contractors.
That's why he's there to get more money and to again, this war has been a economic boon
(23:45):
for himself personally.
I mean, as well for his citizens.
I've talked about the amount of money they've gotten per citizen is absolutely ridiculous.
You know, you know, tens of thousands per individual.
It's crazy.
It's not that large of a country.
And yet they've been getting hundreds of billions of dollars from the United States alone,
(24:06):
right?
Not counting other countries.
And so he's obviously there to have to go to this expo, the defense expo to drum up
more support, to get more aid, to be able to get more money and to live his lavish
lifestyle as all the defense contractors are all excited to see them there because again,
(24:27):
they make money off of war.
War has always been a moneymaker.
Dwight Eisenhower warned about it when he talked about the dangers of the military
industrial complex.
He's like, look, I've seen it.
And this guy was a great general, right?
And a great and a great he's a great political general as well.
That was one of the best things about Eisenhower's.
He understood both the army side of things and the military side of things, as well as
(24:51):
a political side of things, which made him a great general, a great supreme allied commander.
But he's like, hey, this is a scary, scary situation going on with this military, the
defense military industrial complex.
And it's I mean, in the last, you know, in the last 20, 30 years, the Republicans have
(25:15):
been as guilty as anybody in feeding that in that system.
And it's not that we don't want a strong military, right?
It's not that at all.
It's just that we are spending money that doesn't need to be spent, because it's always
been for Republicans, you know, this this idea, oh, we're going to spend more on defense.
That sounds good.
We're going to get more money to the troops.
(25:36):
But it doesn't work out that way.
More money doesn't go to the troops.
More money goes to the pockets of Raytheon and Boeing and all of these people.
Right.
That's that's who it's going to.
It's not going to the troops.
The troops are still living in the same barracks.
They've always lived in.
And I can tell you, as being in the army, we still use outdated equipment and everything
(25:57):
else.
In fact, I've always wondered where all that money goes to, because the normal foot soldier,
ground soldier definitely doesn't see it.
And even the Biden administration even talked about charging soldiers go through twice to
the mess hall, which was absolutely ridiculous, or the defact, as they call it.
And so it's like, what are you doing here?
(26:18):
So all this money is being spent.
But it's just going to projects is going to spending, you know, six hundred dollars on
something that costs ten dollars.
And, you know, one thing yet I hope Doge can look at is also these federal contracts with
defense contractors, because it is it is being it is absolutely way out of proportion.
(26:42):
And, you know, the military doesn't need more money.
It needs to divert the money it has into things that make more sense, right?
Divert it to the soldiers, divert it to training, divert it to better weapon systems and not
just not just crazy futuristic weapon systems that no one will ever use.
It just sounds good in theory.
And we spend three hundred million dollars on something we'll never see.
(27:05):
Right.
So, again, that just helps the defense contractors, actual things that's going to help the ground
soldier, the person actually in the airplane in the Air Force, the guy who's on the actual
ships.
Right.
All of that stuff.
Looking at that to see where that money needs to be distributed, because honestly, the U.S.
military doesn't need any more money.
(27:27):
It's just how that money being spent needs to be a understood where it's being spent.
Something a lot of people don't understand what's being spent and to spent much more
efficiently.
OK, we're going to take a break right here.
We get back.
I want to talk about European leaders having their own trip and continue on this subject
of Doge and the mass layoffs that happened on Friday.
(27:48):
If you want to call in during the break, number 601-879-0002, but keep it tuned here to the
full story on W.Y.A.B. 103.9.
All right, ladies and gentlemen, welcome back here to the full story on W.Y.A.B. 103.9.
As we continue on with one more thing that I want to cover with this whole Ukraine thing
(28:08):
and talks being had is that European leaders are set to group in Paris for a strategy huddle
after the Trump meetings in Saudi Arabia.
So French President Emmanuel Macron said leaders from key European Union nations and the United
Kingdom are set to meet at his ornate L.C. Palace on Monday for an emergency meeting
(28:34):
on how to react to the U.S. talks.
The first visit by top U.S. officials to Europe has left the impression that Trump administration
was ready to have talks with the Kremlin, something that has made the European nations
nervous because that would essentially block them out of any talks.
(28:57):
So a fury of speeches by, I'm sorry, a Annalena Barbuik, I'm sorry, I should get this name
right, German's foreign minister called the week an existential moment.
It's a moment where Europe has to stand up.
(29:20):
So on Monday, Macron will have afternoon talks with the leaders of Germany.
The United Kingdom, Italy, Poland, Spain, the Netherlands, Denmark and the European
Union on how to deal with Europe's security quandary.
NATO Secretary General Mark Root will also attend.
(29:42):
French officials said no firm decisions are expected to emerge beyond a show of unity
of European leaders, which is typical of Europe.
Let's all get together.
Let's all meet.
Let's all discuss things together.
Let's all meet. Let's all discuss things for three days.
And then no decisions are made.
We're just going to say, hey, we met for three days and guess what?
We all agree we had a meeting.
(30:04):
That's what we agree on.
There was a meeting that was had.
We were in the same room.
It happened.
It was three days.
It happened in my palace.
We may have had a little bit of drinking going on, but the official results of the
meeting are we had a meeting.
So that's the typical European countries for you.
And which is why Donald Trump and all of them is like, hey, we're going to actually
get some stuff done here.
(30:26):
Not the typical European style of diplomacy, if you will.
But despite their own little meeting, a strong US link will remain essential for the foreseeable
future since it will take many years before European nations, if at all, honestly, can
ratchet up defense equipment production and integrate into an effective force.
(30:49):
And that's been one of the things that Donald Trump has talked about with NATO,
is that all these countries are part of NATO, really with the exception of the UK and Poland.
No one else really spends their own money to have their defense.
They really just kind of rely on us to defend them.
So if you can't even defend yourself, how are you going to have a strong stance on Ukraine?
So that's what's kind of funny about it.
(31:11):
And that's why they need the United States.
They can have all the meetings they want.
They can say, we don't agree with the United States meeting with Russia.
They didn't say that.
They're not going to say that.
Because again, they need US support.
Without US support, they have no real defense for most of them.
(31:31):
Again, with the exception of the UK and Poland, they really have no actual defense.
And both UK and Poland, especially Poland, are very, very integrated into the US military as well.
And so the UK Prime Minister Keir Stammer said US support will remain critical and a US security
(31:52):
guarantee is essential for a lasting peace because only the US can deter Putin from attacking again.
And at least that guy understands it, the UK Prime Minister.
So while many EU nations are still mulling whether to contribute troops to a potential
force in Ukraine after a peace deal, Stammer, who again is the UK Prime Minister, Stammer,
(32:16):
as they say, Stammer said the UK was ready and willing to contribute to security guarantees to
Ukraine by putting our own troops on the ground if necessary.
He said, I do not say that lightly.
I feel very deeply the responsibility that comes with potentially pulling,
putting British servicemen, British servicemen and women in the hands of the US.
(32:38):
I do not say that lightly.
I feel very deeply the responsibility that comes with pulling British servicemen and women in the
hands of the US.
European nations are bent on boosting Ukraine where they can and EU nations see eye to eye when it
comes to upping defense spending.
However, even if there is a general consensus to move beyond the goal of spending the 2% of GDP on
(33:02):
defense, it's hardly clear how to get to 3%.
And very, very few of them even meet that small goal.
That's a very, very little goal.
But some of the EU nations balked at the thought of the restrictive ELSI meeting with only a few
chosen leaders while others were left in the cold.
For a number of reasons, the EU needs a backing of all 27 nations.
(33:27):
It raised the issue of veto power, which Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban, as a staunch
Putin ally, has already threatened to use on plenty of occasions.
That's a problem when you have a big group of countries is that they're really never going to
agree, especially if someone has complete veto power.
Slovenian President Natasa Pekmusar said the selective list of invitees are proof that the EU
(33:54):
member states are not being treated equally.
She said, this is not Europe that commands respect abroad.
This is not the Europe that would be a serious partner to the North American ally.
And so they feel slighted.
We're part of the EU and then you, of course, slight us.
And of course, also funny, they invite a non-EU member, the UK, to be a part of it because the
(34:17):
UK probably has the strongest military of anybody in Europe, but it's still, again,
hails in comparison, not even close, not even like a pinky worth of comparison to the United
States military as far as spending and size and everything else.
So they're having their own little meeting to get absolutely nothing done, to have a meeting,
(34:40):
to say they had a meeting, in which case also anger other EU countries for not including them
and said worthless meeting.
But they're all kind of scrambling.
And again, that's what that's what Donald Trump does, right?
Is that he is going to set, he's going to go with action that is decisive, that is now the ordinary,
(35:03):
that is that sets people in motion.
And that's exactly what he's doing back here in the United States as well with the cutting of
expenditures as anger, chaos and confusion take hold as federal workers face mass layoffs.
So workers across the country responded with anger and confusion on Friday as they grappled
(35:28):
with the Trump's administration's effort to shrink the size of the federal workforce
by ordering agencies to lay off probationary employees who have yet to qualify for civil
service protections.
And so these probationary employees are mostly those with less than one year of experience.
Some agencies, there's two years of experience.
(35:48):
So anybody with less than one or two years, well, they just they're getting laid off,
just completely broadly across the board.
And now, interestingly enough, those who those probationary employees who accepted the buyout
offer, they also received these notices that they would be terminated.
(36:12):
However, the Trump administration has assured them that they will in fact still get their buyout.
So if they jumped on early to get that buyout, they're good to go.
Those who didn't join it, well, you're just fired.
This is what I've talked about last week when they wanted to challenge the buyout, which the judge
didn't reinstated was, hey, if you don't if you want to fight this, you may not get any buyout.
(36:34):
And now that's coming to be the case for those who didn't accept it, is that, well, now they are
being they're being pushed out without said buyout.
Now, the White House and OPM declined to say Friday how many probationary workers there actually
are and how many of those have been dismissed.
But according to government data maintained by the Office of Personnel Management, OPM,
(36:58):
220,000 workers had less than a year on the job as of March of 2024.
So that's obviously a year ago.
I don't know how many of those people have left since Donald Trump has, but you're looking at
potentially over 200,000 workers being dismissed in just one broad swath of the pen.
(37:18):
And they're just all fired.
Now, OPM has given agencies until 8 p.m. tomorrow to issue a new order.
And they're going to give them tomorrow to issue layoff notices, according to someone who is
speaking on the condition of anonymity, because, you know, everybody speaks on the condition of
anonymity.
(37:39):
Of course, the probationary layoffs are the latest in the new administration's sweeping
efforts to reduce the size of the federal workforce, which is being led by Elon Musk with
his Department of Government Efficiency.
Trump, in an executive order last Tuesday, told agency leaders to plan for large scale reductions.
(37:59):
After initial attempt to downsize the workforce, the voluntary buyout was accepted by only 75,000
workers.
So those 75,000, they're getting buyouts, but the rest of, you know, 125,000 who didn't get it,
at least the probationary, you're gone.
Right.
That's just the way it's going to be.
You know, the thing is, if you're stupid enough not to accept the buyout, did you really think
(38:23):
they're going to keep you?
You know, if they're offering you a buyout, you do realize that they can just fire you, right?
Like, if you had any kind of smart, you'd be like, hmm, or any kind of intelligence, you'd be like,
hmm, I can see the writing on the wall here.
I think it's time for me to go ahead and head out.
But it's going to be interesting to see how that, if that's going to affect the federal
(38:43):
government at all, or whether this broad swath is even the right approach.
I'm not saying it is or it isn't, because it's, you know, I think really instead of focusing on
the new hires, they need to focus on the people who's been there for 30 years, is my own personal
opinion, or 20 years.
They're the ones who probably need to be shoved out.
The new ones, they have yet to get that, you know, the government slouch type of personality,
(39:06):
but the ones that have been slouching off the government for the last 15, 20 years, to me,
those are the ones that need to be moved out more than the new hires.
But at least that's nothing else.
They don't have federal civil service protection, so it's much easier to fire them.
But this broad swath of things, of course, there's also a hiring freeze that is going
(39:26):
to affect other people, so they're not hiring anybody.
And so again, very interesting.
I was at the DCA airport on Friday, and just seeing the mass chaos that was happening,
I saw it in my own eyes, of everybody just talking about how half their departments are
getting, or losing half their departments.
(39:47):
It was a very interesting experience to see that as it's coming in real time, as I was
stuck there in DCA.
All right, we're going to take our last break right here.
When we get back, we'll do This Day in History, but keep it tuned to the full story on WYAB 103.9.
All right, ladies and gentlemen, welcome back here to The Full Story as we get to
This Day in History.
So on this day, February 17, 1818, German offensive car Dreis officially unveiled his
(40:12):
latest creation, a two-wheeled human-powered vehicle that would lay the foundation for
the modern bicycle called the Drasen, or the Lof machine in German.
This wooden contraption had no pedals, and instead, riders pushed themselves along with
their feet, gliding forward in what was at the time a revolutionary mode of transport.
He had designed the machine as a faster alternative to walking, inspired by the 1816 eruption
(40:36):
of Mount Tambora, which led to a shortage of horses.
And so that's why on this day, February 17, 1818, the world first took its steps, literally,
toward modern cycling.
All right, that's all I have for you guys today.
We'll see you again tomorrow, but until then, my name is Matthew Bishop.
You've heard The Full Story.
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