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Lists: World affairs

50 lists in parts of videos about world affairs (a written list: in videos about it), oldest first. All topics · Overview

2007

  • 2007-11-05 · November 5th: John's Not Happy about Pakistan · John, 10 named — John rejects Bush's repeated claim that 'democracy is on the march', listing countries it is not marching to, from Pakistan and Russia to Venezuela. (00:02:50)
    1 Pakistan · 2 Russia · 3 Nepal · 4 China · 5 Saudi Arabia · 6 Libya · 7 Kuwait · 8 Oman · 9 Qatar · 10 Venezuela

2008

  • 2008-01-04 · Nerdfighting in 2008, Pakistan, and Hillary Clinton · John, 5 named (joke) — John jokes that mustaches on 20th-century world leaders are a bad sign (Stalin, Hitler, Saddam Hussein, Kaiser Wilhelm II; Genghis Khan), so by comparison Musharraf is 'kind of a winner'. (00:02:04)
    1 Joseph Stalin · 2 Adolf Hitler · 3 Saddam Hussein · 4 Wilhelm II · 5 Genghis Khan

2009

  • 2009-01-04 · Israel. Gaza. PUPPY! · John, 2 named — Hamas is the Palestinian arm of the Muslim Brotherhood, which inspired al-Qaeda and the Taliban and is illegal in Egypt, one reason the Egyptian government hates Hamas. (00:01:59)
    1 al-Qaeda · 2 Taliban

  • 2009-01-11 · SOMALI PIRATES! France Penetrates Chad! · John, 3 named — John asks who is at fault for the piracy and the wars in Chad: the combatants, France, Italy and Britain for disastrous colonization, or us for not paying attention; he really wants answers. (00:03:25)
    1 France · 2 Italy · 3 United Kingdom “Britain”

  • 2009-03-15 · Lighting a candle for Rwanda · John, 3 named — John says that 15 years ago the US, the UN and Europe got almost all of 'our people' out of Rwanda unharmed, leaving the hundreds of thousands killed to conclude they were 'a them'. (00:00:54)
    1 United States “the US” · 2 United Nations “the UN” · 3 Europe

  • 2009-04-05 · The EVIL BABY ORPHANAGE Returns for North Korea · John, 2 named (satire) — Via an imagined letter from China, John mocks North Korea's totalitarianism, cult of personality, refusal to let people leave and killing of political enemies. (00:01:57)
    1 totalitarianism · 2 cult of personality

  • 2009-04-26 · Peanut Butter Face Discusses Sri Lanka · John, 7 named (playful) — John says he can follow about six news stories at once and lists them: the economic crisis, Iraq, Pakistan, the Craigslist killer, North Korea and Lindsay Lohan's breakup. (00:00:12)
    1 2007–2008 financial crisis · 2 Iraq · 3 Pakistan · 4 Philip Markoff “the Craigslist killer” · 5 North Korea · 6 Lindsay Lohan · 7 Samantha Ronson

  • 2009-05-17 · Burma! Myanmar? BURMA! · John, 3 named — John says Burma is a Southeast Asian nation bordering Thailand, China and India. (00:00:24)
    1 Thailand · 2 China · 3 India

  • 2009-12-01 · Shaving for Pakistan · John, 2 named — John describes Pakistan as a nation with nuclear weapons and 180 million people, bordering India and Afghanistan. (00:02:38)
    1 India · 2 Afghanistan

2011

  • 2011-02-23 · WE ARE 812 YEARS OLD · John, 4 named — John says Nerdfighters from Bahrain to New Zealand to Libya to Morocco face mega-worldsuck for different reasons, and asks Nerdfighteria to pay attention and help where they can; links in the description. (00:03:13)
    1 Bahrain · 2 New Zealand · 3 Libya · 4 Morocco

  • 2011-03-07 · Why is Haiti Poor? · Hank, 2 named — Hank says the longest stability came under the Duvaliers, François then Jean-Claude, whose forces killed and raped while they pocketed foreign aid and all tax money. (00:02:25)
    1 François Duvalier “Francois” · 2 Jean-Claude Duvalier

2012

2013

  • 2013-04-05 · North Korea: Explained · Hank, 3 named — Hank says North Korea's missiles can't reach him, but could reach South Korea, Japan or even Guam. (00:00:28)
    1 South Korea · 2 Japan · 3 Guam

  • 2013-04-09 · Inside North Korea · John, 2 named (1 unnamed item) — John says Shin is a hero because he developed an ethical center after escaping, in China, South Korea and the US: in Shin's words, evolving into a human being. (00:02:45)
    … · 2 South Korea · 3 United States

  • 2013-07-05 · Egypt....Explained! · Hank, 4 named — Hank says four main groups hold power in Egypt: the old regime, the Muslim Brotherhood, the military, and young, disenfranchised, largely unemployed activists wanting a liberal Egypt. (00:00:15)
    1 Egypt's old regime (Nasser to Mubarak) · 2 Muslim Brotherhood · 3 Egyptian Army · 4 Young Egyptian revolutionary activists (2011-2013)

  • 2013-09-13 · Syria in Five Minutes · Hank, 4 named — Hank says Western powers, introducing nation-states to the world, drew Syria's borders around peoples with varying historical and social ties: Christians, Druze, Sunni Muslims and Alawites. (00:00:29)
    1 Christianity “Christians” · 2 Druze · 3 Sunni Islam · 4 Alawites

  • 2013-09-13 · Syria in Five Minutes · Hank, 5 named (playful) — Hank says this isn't Star Wars: there is no rebel alliance, it is messy and muddy - and in Star Wars terms Assad has already killed Luke, Han and Leia and blown up Alderaan. (00:02:31)
    1 Luke Skywalker · 2 Han Solo · 3 Princess Leia · 4 Alderaan · 5 Admiral Ackbar

2014

  • 2014-03-04 · Understanding Ukraine: The Problems Today and Some Historical Context · John, 3 named — John says Britain, France and the Ottoman Empire defeated Russia; 500,000 people died, and it resolved very little, since Europe had World War I sixty years later. (00:00:25)
    1 United Kingdom “Britain” · 2 France · 3 Ottoman Empire

  • 2014-03-04 · Understanding Ukraine: The Problems Today and Some Historical Context · John, 2 named — John says that toward the end of WWI Russia had its communist revolution and Ukraine had a brief independence, but from 1917 to 1921 it was mired in wars among factions (Poland, the USSR, Ukrainian nationalists, anarchists); over 1.5 million died. (00:00:46)
    1 Poland · 2 Soviet Union “USSR”

  • 2014-03-04 · Understanding Ukraine: The Problems Today and Some Historical Context · John, 2 named — John says about 67% of Ukraine's people speak Ukrainian as their first language and about 30% speak Russian, though only about 17% identify as ethnically Russian. (00:02:11)
    1 Ukrainian language · 2 Russian language

  • 2014-03-04 · Understanding Ukraine: The Problems Today and Some Historical Context · John, 3 named — John says that dream seems far away, but 60 years ago Japan was in ruins, 25 years ago Germany was divided, and 12 years ago Sierra Leone was in civil war; now it is the second-fastest-growing economy. (00:06:35)
    1 Japan · 2 Germany · 3 Sierra Leone

  • 2014-04-22 · Understanding the Central African Republic · John, 6 named — John speculates that one reason we don't hear about the Central African Republic is that its story is complicated; we like narratives such as Rebels versus Empire or Harry versus Voldemort. (00:00:29)
    1 Rebel Alliance “the Rebels” · 2 Galactic Empire · 3 Harry Potter (character, “Harry Potter”) · 4 Voldemort · 5 Dora the Explorer · 6 Swiper

  • 2014-04-22 · Understanding the Central African Republic · John, 2 named — John says both the Patassé and Bozizé regimes relied on foreign armies from Chad, the Democratic Republic of Congo and elsewhere to shore up their governments. (00:02:18)
    1 Chad · 2 Democratic Republic of the Congo

  • 2014-04-22 · Understanding the Central African Republic · John, 2 named — John says security worsened after 2003: the UFDR and other rebel groups fought Bozizé in the Central African Bush War, failed, and a 2007 peace treaty never fully stopped the fighting. (00:02:41)
    1 People's Army for the Restoration of Democracy · 2 Convention of Patriots for Justice and Peace

  • 2014-04-22 · Understanding the Central African Republic · John, 2 named — John tells Hank the conflict is difficult and complicated, nothing like Hobbits versus Sauron, and that this is not only true of the Central African Republic. (00:04:36)
    1 Hobbit · 2 Sauron

  • 2014-04-22 · Understanding the Central African Republic · John, 4 named — John points to the Vietnam War, the French Revolution and World War One, in which so many people died for so little, as further wars without clear good guys. (00:04:41)
    1 American Revolutionary War · 2 Vietnam War · 3 French Revolution · 4 World War I

  • 2014-09-09 · Going to College (in Ethiopia) · John, 4 named — John says most Canadians live closer to Venezuela than Liberians live to Botswana. (00:00:20)
    1 Canada “Canadians” · 2 Venezuela · 3 Liberia · 4 Botswana

2015

  • 2015-02-10 · Understanding Boko Haram · John, 3 named — John says Boko Haram regularly massacres people who won't fight for it and has begun attacks in Niger, Chad and Cameroon. (00:05:12)
    1 Niger · 2 Chad · 3 Cameroon

  • 2015-07-07 · Understanding the Financial Crisis in Greece · John, 4 named — Background: Greece, the drachma, joining the Eurozone, the split of monetary and fiscal policy, broken deficit rules and fudged numbers (00:00:29)
    1 Acropolis of Athens · 2 Socrates · 3 Hypatia · 4 300

  • 2015-07-07 · Understanding the Financial Crisis in Greece · John, 2 named — By spring 2010 the European Commission and the IMF gave Greece a 110 billion euro bailout, and the ECB bought Greek debt; the three became known as 'the troika'. (00:03:09)
    1 European Commission · 2 International Monetary Fund

  • 2015-07-07 · Understanding the Financial Crisis in Greece · John, 3 named — The bailout was a loan, not a gift, made amid contagion fears as interest rates crept up in Portugal, Ireland and Spain and the Eurozone risked falling apart. (00:03:33)
    1 Portugal · 2 Ireland · 3 Spain

  • 2015-07-07 · Understanding the Financial Crisis in Greece · John, 2 named — Since most Greek debt was owed to German and French banks, John says the big Eurozone governments were in a way lending Greece money to repay their own banks. (00:03:43)
    1 Germany · 2 France “French”

  • 2015-09-08 · Understanding the Refugee Crisis in Europe, Syria, and around the World · John, 5 named — About 1.6 million Syrian refugees are in Turkey, about a million each in Lebanon and Jordan, a few hundred thousand in Iraq and Egypt; these stretched countries host 95%. (00:01:41)
    1 Turkey · 2 Lebanon · 3 Jordan · 4 Iraq · 5 Egypt

  • 2015-09-08 · Understanding the Refugee Crisis in Europe, Syria, and around the World · John, 7 named — Who's to blame: Assad, Iran, Russia, China, Gulf states, Australia, Canada, the US (and the immigrant-crime myth), xenophobic European governments and Hungary's prime minister (00:05:30)
    1 Iran · 2 Russia · 3 China · 4 Arab states of the Persian Gulf · 5 Australia · 6 Canada · 7 United States

  • 2015-10-23 · Benghazi: Explained · Hank, 2 named — Hank says Ambassador Chris Stevens and diplomat Sean Smith were in a safe room and both died of smoke inhalation after the compound was set on fire. (00:02:12)
    1 J. Christopher Stevens · 2 Sean Smith

  • 2015-10-23 · Benghazi: Explained · Hank, 2 named — Hank says the rest of the staff went to the CIA compound, which was later attacked; two security officers, former Navy SEALs Glen Doherty and Tyrone Woods, were killed by mortar fire. (00:02:24)
    1 Glen Doherty · 2 Tyrone Woods

  • 2015-11-13 · Feeling About Paris · Hank, 2 named — Hank says whatever response people have is appropriate: disengaging, staring at live feeds from Twitter and Reddit, or being terrified for friends, family, themselves or just people. (00:01:30)
    1 Twitter · 2 Reddit

  • 2015-12-18 · We're All Gonna Die - A Song · Hank, 3 named — Good news: US-Cuba flights resume, economy grew without emissions growth, Saudi women vote (00:02:52)
    1 Cuba · 2 economic growth “global economy grew” · 3 Saudi Arabia

2016

2018

  • 2018-07-13 · Why Do So Few Countries Have Nukes? · Hank, 6 named — Other countries have tried: there have been nuclear programs in Brazil, Argentina, Libya, Iran, Taiwan and South Korea. (00:01:04)
    1 Brazil · 2 Argentina · 3 Libya · 4 Iran · 5 Taiwan · 6 South Korea

  • 2018-07-13 · Why Do So Few Countries Have Nukes? · Hank, 5 named — First nuclear tests: the US in 1945, the USSR in 1949, the UK in 1957, France in 1960 and China in 1964, a big spurt that becomes important later. (00:01:12)
    1 United States “The US tested” · 2 Soviet Union “the USSR followed” · 3 United Kingdom “the UK” · 4 France · 5 China

  • 2018-07-13 · Why Do So Few Countries Have Nukes? · Hank, 3 named — In 1991 Ukraine, Belarus and Kazakhstan briefly had nuclear weapons because they already had them when the USSR collapsed and they came into existence. (00:01:47)
    1 Ukraine · 2 Belarus · 3 Kazakhstan

2019

2021

  • 2021-07-13 · The Vlogbrothers Videos I Didn't Make · John, 2 named — John finds nation-states weird: England and Scotland are different nations in international soccer but the same one leaving the European Union, which is not a nation though it does most things nations do. (00:00:29)
    1 England · 2 Scotland

2022

  • 2022-01-21 · How to Be Hopeful About Doomsday · Hank, 2 named — Reflecting three years of piling-up bad (pandemics, climate change, isolationism, fascism), the clock has stood at 100 seconds to midnight for three years, the closest in its 75 years. (00:00:00)
    1 climate change · 2 fascism

2025

  • 2025-04-11 · How Actually Crazy is This Mess? · Hank, 3 named — Hank says Japan, China and South Korea, reacting to US instability, signed a significant trade agreement, though they dislike each other and historically traded through Western partners. (00:04:29)
    1 Japan · 2 China · 3 South Korea