Hudson River Radio dot com.
It beats listening to nothing.
Oh my goodness, Being Frank, where the only way to be is Frank.
Hello everyone, and welcome to Being Frank, where the only way to be is Frank. I'm your host, Frank Lebono, and I'd like to thank you for joining us on what we like to call the Intelligent Conversation Podcast, where no conversation is out of bounds. In all points of view are welcome. We record life to tape. I always give you the date so we have some context and relevance. It is the twenty sixth of February twenty twenty five. President Trump and his administration have issued a dizzy number
of executive orders and policy changes. In my opinion, the great majority of them are indefensible and inefficient at best, deplorable at worst. Among those in the last a category is mister Trump's new policy on Ukraine. Simply put, his statements and behavior have indicated that he has chosen the real dictator putin over not only Ukraine itself, but our
European allies as well. His policy of appeasing a madman reeks of the feeble attempt to halt Adolf Hitler that led to the carnage of World War Two, and perhaps the most egregious example of this is the shocking vote on the recent UN resolution condemning Russia's illegal invasion of Ukraine when the US sided not only with Russia but other Paria states like North Korea and Sudan. When reviewed in the context of our history and traditions, it's downright disturbing.
But that's relatively easy for me to say. I'm safely removed from the people it affects the most, the Ukrainians, but we have the great pleasure to welcome back to being Frank, someone who has been with them from the very beginning of the conflict. He is a former CBS News colleague and has reported on some of the most important stories of our generation from every corner of the globe. I call him our intrepid reporter because that's exactly what
he is, mister Phil Hittner. Phil, thank you again for taking the time. I'm sure it's very busy to say the least.
Well, yeah, it's the three year anniversary. Aside from all the rest of it. Monday was the three year anniversary at the beginning of the full scale invasion so the pref Corps has returned and at least momentarily, and there's some renewed interest in the story. Hopefully that will lasts longer than some previous periods of time during the war. And then it doesn't help that the President of the United States is running in an extortion ring when it comes to Ukraine's natural resources.
Have and I have these all of these are points we want to touch on. I have a of course, my little list, but first and I always want to start out, how are you?
Where are you?
Would you set the stage for us a little bit and and then and then we'll go from there.
I'm in my Kyev apartment, which is about a ten minute walk to a studio that were we rent here where we do a weekly roughly hour long interview show called on the Edge, which is out on YouTube and now is going to be on substack as well. You know, we uh, we get some quiet nights, but more often than not we'll get at least one or two air alarm alert and more often than not we we also will get air defense being shot into the sky, you know,
it's floss in the sky. Sadly, sometimes missiles get through, drones get through or even if they are intercepted, the parts will fall on the city. So it's kind of a lottery. Uh, And you know, we still take casualties pretty much every day, and Jeff and then you know, and then some of the other cities around the country are are far worse as well, especially the closer you
get to the battle lines. Harki gets hit every day, you know, Kirsan gets hit every day, lots of Yeah, it's you know, still a very active war zone, even though even when you're not on the front line. They tried to stick out the electrical grid. That was their primary objective, and they don't seem to have done that. We've maintained pretty much maintained electricity and heating and we're you know, getting into we're headed towards the spring. So it looks like we made it through, which is which
is a good thing. But just I guess on a final notice as to the situation here in the city, there's growing concern that they won't have air defense because
of the possibility of America with drawing and support. And one of the primary systems we have here is the Patriot system, and there's a lot of concern here that they'll run out of AMMO and if that happens, then they won't be able to intercept those almost nightly attacks by drones or missiles, which means a lot more sadly, a lot more people to get to die unless this thing is concluded.
That was one of the questions I have on my list my list, and we can. I want to develop it a little bit further to what role Europe if they may pick up the slack at a minute or two. But you mentioned something I think it's timely to get to now. It's the third anniversary of the invasion, just within a few days of our tapic two point question. First, did you expect in those early days for it to last this long? And then part two? What has really changed since then?
I hoped that it wouldn't last this long. I thought it was distinctly possible. There was a period of time when I thought the wind was at the well. I didn't just think that the wind was at the Ukrainians back. They had a lot of momentum. They regained they regained control of Harky, they could regain control of Kirshan, even though you know they continue to fight over them. And I was hoping that you know, it would be about
an eighteen months or maybe a two year war. Then what happened, unfortunately, was that the Biden administration, apparently hearing escalation, had some really unfortunate limitations on what they could do with some of the weaponry we were sending them, and we were giving them enough weaponry to control the battle space, but they weren't. They didn't have enough longer range artillery
to strike into logistics, command and control. And more importantly than anything else, the Russians off the front lines were building defenses in anticipation of the Ukrainian offensive, and they were unimpeded because the Ukrainians couldn't shoot at them because the Biden administration in particular, although there are other European nations, the Germans in particular, who were very very afraid of escalation in retrospect, overly cautious, I.
Was just going to say, rightly so, you believe overly so.
Then when the Ukrainians launched an offensive to try and push well basically to try and push to the sea, uh, they weren't able to make the progress that they had hoped or that they had kind of been hyped up, not internally within Ukraine. But there were a lot of voices in the West saying, you know, they're gonna they're gonna really look at what they did in Hart even here so on Uh this is they're they're gonna just
crush it. Uh. And they ran into a wall, They ran into a lot of defenses that the Reference were allowed to build again because the Ukrainians were uh limited in what they could do. And then that and then that reverberated into a lot of difficulty within the Ukraine in armed forces. It is said to have contributed greatly to a change in the command here, swapping out the commanding General Zuluzhni for the current commanding General Sushi. So they had the advantage at the beginning the first year
to whatever, fifteen some on whatever. They had a long period of advantages and the potential was there for them to really push out on the Spring offensive. I guess it would have been two thousand and four twenty four, yeah, remember, and that was a real big blow for people to give support to Ukraine because it blunt that momentum. So those were the kind of major periods of the war, and then we fall into a long extended period of yeah.
That was gonna be. My question is it has it become a war of attrition almost World War One, a kind of a trench warfare where they're just lobbing at one and nobody's going anywhere. Really would you?
Well, no, because it's similar, but it's different in the sense that it is not a static line. Out east. The Russians are gaining territory, but they're gaining it extremely slow because and I've been out there and I commented on this many times before, the Ukrainians are not fools.
They were expected they were you know, they have been building defenses not for three years, but for a decade out in the Dabas, and I've been to those areas that territory and it's just defensive line after defensive line after defensive line, and they keep falling back. So it's it's not strictly speaking static. The Ukrainians are losing territory slowly but steadily, but that plays into their game plan.
They they they anticipated that They're what they're doing is they're holding Moscow back and they're making them pay for every single inch. I mean, they're the Russians are going to cross the one million man casualty mark. Probably in the next month or two. Wow, they will have lost
a million men in this war. Because Ukraine's defense is so just it's yeah, it's yeah, and it's and it's it's it's a mix between the the the groundworks, the battle works, the engineering that was done, that has been done, and then you include also going into urban centers, and also the the resistance and the will power in the training and the ferocity of the Ukrainian soldiers.
The mindset lives, yes, and the mindset you know here Phil there be a few reports and it leads to a question. You know, Trump has made these incredibly inflammatory statements, calling Zelensky the dictator, which is bs people know that yet that's here. They talked about the effect of morale, that fighting spirit that it can have, especially with a fighting force that's been added for so long. It's been
three hard years. Now what kind of effect do statements like that have on the people in Kieva and Ukraine?
Does it? Does it give them? Yeah? Some of the soldiers, some of the soldiers in the Ukrainian Armed Forces have been out there for ten years, you know, so it's an existential threat. As I said, it's an existential threat in c them. Russia wants to destroy Ukraine as an idea, as an identity, and so it's and they know their enemy better than anybody, and they know what Moscow's intent is. What is an imperial war trying to regain their most
important foundational colony, and this is colonization. It is the whole idea that Moscow has is to deny that there is such a thing as Ukraine. So they of course they're going to fight because it's everything, and it's not just their loved ones at home, it's countless generations stretching off into the future, and they know it. So I
was never I was not surprised. Apparently the Kremlin was surprised, but I was never surprised that they would put up a defense like this, because you know, they don't want to live like Russia. Russia has a very different culture, even though they like to pretend they don't. Ukrainians are pretty dead set that they are different, a different people. So when well, you know, the thing is, when Donald
Trump says these things, it's offensive, it's it's depressing. Ukrainians are sad to see what they thought to genuinely be the beacon on the hell that they would be that, you know, it's America that they aspired to be part of,
and they saw it as a partnership. And then to see the betrayal and to see the President of the United States parrotying almost word for word Kremlin talking points in Vladimir Putin's speeches, you know, they're they're very grateful for the aid that has already been given and they'll never they're not going to forget that anytime soon. But this is a massive betrayal and they know it. And the if there is an upside, it's a curious thing about Ukrainians. And I don't think it's just Ukrainians. I
think I think there's there's something in Slavic identity. I mean, you take the take the Serbs and there, and they still revere a battle that they lost badly to the Turks back in like the fifteenth century, and they celebrate it. There's there's something about, you know, like not even if we are defeated, if we go down swinging, then we have honor and it's something that informs us in our historical identity and our cultural identity.
They're not Americans to forgive me and I try to be trade or whatever, but right now with what we're talking about, that's like wow, it's.
Yeah, I mean it should be. It's I mean, maybe it's something that we need to be an America, need to be reminded of. And maybe it's the Ukrainians who will do it. I mean we could. We should all be inspired by the resilience of uk And not only that, but why they're fighting. They're fighting for the same values
that our founding fathers fought against King George. It's just unfortunately their imperial master is right next door, as opposed to an ocean away, but they're still fighting to the ideals. And what upset what I think more than insulting Zelenski, there was.
Also this this thing of the of the no elections uh uh narrative that Donald Trump put forward, disparaging Ukraine as not being a democracy and nothing could be further from the truce.
And that they were insulted on behalf of their president. They were proud that their president stood up not only against Vladimir Putin but now is standing up to Donald Trump. That gives them a certain amount of pride. The anger, the resentment I think comes from this accusation that they're not a democracy. It's an insult to every single Ukrainian the we're living under martial law here. We were living under martial law because we're at war, because we were
in Vain, and you don't under the Ukraine. And it also just shows up a blatant disregard to find out the facts of what it is you're talking about. It is illegal under the Ukrainian constitution to hold an election in periods of martial law. Law was voted on by
the parliament legally, it was all done above board. They gathered to I have an episode with a member of the parliament who was there on the day when they voted, and it's an incredibly moving story of them desperately trying to get a quorum together so that their vote would be valid. All the while the bombs were falling on the city of Kiev, and nobody knew whether or not tanks would be rolling down the main street here headed to the Parliament building. Obviously that would be a place
that they'd want to secure. So she tells the story of trying to get enough people in there to get a quorum. They were able to do it, but the guards at the building said we'll give you ten minutes because we don't know if this building has been targeted or not, and at any moment we could get a missile to you know here, And she tells the story and it is incredibly emotional that they are that they first, first of all, they put forward the plan of martial law.
Then they say to one another, during this period of martial law, we're not going to infight. And then they vote on the law. They vote on the installation of martial law, and as they are doing it, they are singing the Ukrainian anthem and they're weakened power and it's it's you know, they did it diploma. They did it democratically. That was a legal vote taken by the parliament to install martial law. And again under the constitution, you can't
hold it's illegal. Now they could gather and they could amend the law if they wanted to. They don't want to. They've got more important things to be doing. So the statement that Donald Trump came out with just this week about how it's not they were within the last week that it's not a democracy, that Zelenski is a legitimate because he hasn't been voted in that I think offended
them greater than the insults to Zelenski. Looks, lots of people understand that Donald Trump hates Zelensky, that there's a he's a that Donald Trump is a pretty petty guy and he plays favorites and he doesn't like Zolensky, and they're not happy about it. But the kind of as I say, I think pride in the fact that Telenski's standing up to both Putin and Trump. But again that that the narrative that there this place isn't the democracy is pretty offensive. No.
I talked and actually, as we were taping today, was watching a little CNN in the background, and it was an update, and you mentioned the whole thing about Ukraine's mineral wealth. Let me as you get into it and let me play the devil's advocate, if you will, at the same time by saying, first of all, this the d is that the US under Trump will continue to support if Ukraine's turns over, if you will sells the
mineral rights for their vast and very lucrative mineral deposits. Okay, here again playing the devil's advocate, Donald Trump says, well, we've spent millions and billions of dollars in Ukraine. What's wrong with recouping some of that through a quote unquote business transaction. Your thoughts Ukraine's thoughts on that. I have my own afterwards, but let's get yours first, please, they're more important than mine.
Well, I think there's a depending on what the finer details of the agreement are. I think actually it'll be welcomed here because everybody's exhausted and they just want the word to end. It's also worth noting that this wasn't Trump's idea. This was a Lindsay's ideas. Lency's floated this idea before Trump. But what happened subsequently is that Trump then came back with a deal that was I mean, it was outrageous. It was, you know, we get all of your minerals in perpetuity sort of thing, and we
also get this, and we also get that. And you know, Zelensi said, well, no, that's I was proposing making a deal so that you would you would invest, and that would strengthen our alliance. That would strengthen it, and of course we would give you favorable status and you would get to you would get you know, a very favorable deal when it comes to extraction, and of course if you wanted to work it out that that was the exchange for continued military support or financial support, then we
can discuss all these things. Trump comes back with this thing that is just like we basically get your country, and the one thing that Trump and I and further actually than just Trump, but DC as a whole, and so Brussels, I would argue as well, they need to understand something about this country that I really don't think they do, and that is that in twenty fourteen, when they had the mind on uprising here in the Capitol, the so called Revolution of dignity, something I've been coming
here for twenty five years, so I was coming here before the mind on something fundamentally changed in the character of the nation, the Ukrainian nation, and that is they said, We're not going to be a colony anymore. We are done with being colonized. We're going to blaze our own path, we have our own identity. For centuries this country has been used as a pawn in a chess game by
larger power players, and we're not doing that anymore. We're happy to have alliances, we're happy to have friends, but We're not just going to swap Moscow for DC or
Brussels or London or whatever. And you've seen them do this repeatedly that we've seen them do this where they take on board, you know, pressures or you know, kind of instructions or what have you from the West, and they say, well, we'll take that on board, but we're the ones who are going to make the decision, and so we better you know, Dunal jump better recognize that past and actually the rest of you know, the rest of the Western world in DC, the diplomatic core and
d C Apprussels I better recognized that as well.
But they're there if I might fail to jump in because I think it's a good point and I had it in one of my questions. And it's relative to what JDVA Vice President JD Vance when he was in Europe and in Germany and made that incredible speech which made it very clear that the United States was not going to play much of a role, if any, so that Europe would have to be able to pick up the slack. Are they willing to do that?
Can they do that?
Should they do that? Your your thoughts? I think it's relative to the conversation where I have right.
Now, Yeah, I think they can. They're going to have to step it up real fast. I saw that the Prime Minister of Denmark had a really moving speech here at a I think they were twelve or thirteen heads of state came here to mark the three year anniversary, and the Prime Minister of Denmark made this very impassioned speech in which she said, we can do this, but we have to start now today, not in a month,
not in two months. We need to start switching to a war economy because Ukraine is the shield that is defending liberal democracy in Western Europe. And it's one hundred percent true. The Russians will not stop with Ukraine. That is I'm sure of that. And I don't mean to say that they're going to have tanks rolling down the Charles Lys or you know whatever, you know, planes fly
dropping bombs on London. But what they will do is they will have undue influence because that threat will then be there, and the threat will be there without the aid and assistance of the United States. It's a completely new geopolitical landscape and that's down to Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin, and it's disturbing because it's almost as it's
exactly what they want. Jade Vance and Donald Trump and those in the maggot camp who are critical of our alliances with the European Union or with NATO are really not looking beyond the tip of their nose. They don't understand that actually, a prosperous, unified, safe Europe is an extremely good ally and an extremely good trading partner for US. You know, there's negotiators that happen, and every country pursues its own interests, but we trade very well with Europe,
and Europe with US. I know some people have squabbles, but at the end of the day, a unified Europe, free and democratic is a better trading partner and ally than one that is fractured. And that's what the Kremlin is trying to do. Now take that one step further, and the Transatlantic alliance is equally something that provides enormous benefit that can't be quantified. And it's not just about
dollars and cents. It's about relationships. It's about order, it's about the rule of law, it's about common cause, it's about common belief in democracy. All of these things should be bolstered and should bring us together. And yet it seems that Maga and Trump and Dance as an extension of that, must for example, as an extension of that, are really more interested in breaking apart alliances than they are in maintaining them. And that is exactly, I mean,
exactly what the Kremlin wants. And it gives me really serious anxiety that we are we have been played, and that we are in the middle of a psychological information war and a game, well not a game, because it's a war. People are dying, a conflict between the West and the Kremlin that we don't even know is happening most of us, and we're losing, in my opinion, my estimation, that war. The Ukrainians will are fighting this war as
best they can and they're not losing. They're they're seeding territory, but they're making as a discuss, they're making a recipe for every but what is happening on the global stage in what is a war, Make no mistake about it. The Kremlin things that were with us, and they are acting accordingly, and we are getting our backsides handed to us.
A great way to segue into my next question too, and we had discussed it in one of our previous programs the separation between the Russian government and the Russian people, and at that point that it was very difficult to separate the two. After all, the Russian soldiers were supporting Putin, etc. So at some point you can't separate the two. I'm afraid we're starting to see a very similar situation here in the United States, where there are many it's fractured.
You were here briefly and we actually met a few months back, but the state of the country now, the incredible amount of division here where there are people who continue to support Ukraine, while at the same time, our
elected government does not. Can Ukrainians and should they separate the two things that the American government is doing one thing and often even though there was an election without the direct and we've seen it happening over and over again without the direct approval of Congress and the people. So can I guess the ultimate question is do Ukrainians see that and see the struggle that's coming happening even internally here within the United States?
Uh?
Some do, Uh, that's fraying. Some have outright abandoned America and have said you you, you've betrayed us. You didn't hold good to your promises that you made. There. I have not a lot of anger, but there is. They're they're just they're deeply disappointed. They do feel betrayed. A lot of people do recognize that it's Donald Trump and the Maga movement and that that's not all of America. Uh, I don't know if that's going to keep going. Some Ukrainians are even savvy enough, and this is I don't.
I don't encounter this a lot, but I do encounter it where they say, look, we we get it, we have we we were under attack by Moscow in our body politic They manipulated our politics, they manipulated they created tensions within civil society so that we were at each other's throats. And they did that by design. And we see that in America and that I'm heartened that Ukrainians are expressing that. But I just we more Americans recognize the fact that Moscow is inside our body politics, inside
our societies, inside all of it. They are. They're pulling strings, they're stoking fires, they are causing division. They cannot beat us on the battlefield, so they know that if they can beat us in breaking us off from our partners and allies and friends, but also turn American against American. That that is in their interest, and they're extremely good
at it. They know all the fault lines, and many Ukrainians recognize that what they did here to divide and conquer is clearly what's happening in the United States right now.
Perfect again, perfect setup, Phil, if you will to we're going to take a little break, but I want to tease one of the one of the ways, and it's it's right out of the if you will, the fascist textbook one oh one. Control the message, control the media, okay, and we see that happening here in the United States with the AP and now the White House choosing which reporters. Obviously those who favor the White House will now be
allowed the prime seats. Anyway, we'll talk about that. I certainly need your opinion as a journalist, as a freeman, as an American and Englishman, and now an adopted Ukrainian as well. So we're going to talk about that in the future for Phil Ititner take a quick break, but we'll be right back after these brief commercial messages. This is being Frank. I'm your host, Frank Lobono. This is truly intelligent conversation. Much more to come. Don't go anywhere, We'll be right back.
Hudson Riverradio dot com.
This is Hudson River Radio dot com.
Hudson Riverradio dot com. This is Hudson River Radio dot com.
This is Hudson Riverradio dot com.
Welcome back to Being Frank, the Intelligent Conversation podcast. Thanks for sticking with us. I'm your host, Frank Lebono. Our engineer is the mailman, mister Neil Richter. Our very special guests coming to us live from keV, Ukraine is mister Phil Dner. You know, we bring our audience a fresh topic just about every week and stream from Hudson River Radio, which is located and beautiful and truly historic Stony Point,
New York. But remember you can catch Being Frank anywhere you get your favorite podcasts, and because every Being Frank is archived, you can listen to any of our programs anytime you like. Find the link to Being Frank on the Hudson River Radio Facebook page. We're at our website Hudson riverado dot com. Just click and you're there. Let's
continue our very intelligent conversation with Phil Ittner. As I mentioned, he has done us the huge favor of coming to us alive from Keev, Ukraine as he has in the past, as he has from the very beginning, Phil, I want to continue our conversation as fellow journalists too and talking about the importance of a free press, because we know that who controls the message controls the masses. It's always
been that way. As a matter of fact, if I can paraphrase Thomas Jefferson, he said, if I had a choice between no government and no free press, I would choose no government. That's how important a free press is. And yet stories are, and we know he has sued CBS an incredible amount of money billions of dollars for quote unquote editing interview, which is ridiculous. They can't see us, but you're shaking your head as a mind. Anyone in
this business knows. That's how it's done and everything that can always check it out on my blog, which is talk Frank. Forgive the Frank constant referrals, but anyway, it's marketing. But all that being said, a free press is absolutely essential. So let's get to Phil. It or your thoughts is a long time journalist who's put his life on the line to tell people the truth.
Well, I mean, it's it's of course, it's incredibly distressing that the White House is treating the Press Court, the White House Press Corps that way. The administration is treating the White House Press Corps that way, you know, excluding AP because it won't ben the knee and say the Gulf of America is. I mean, that's just absolutely unacceptable.
The there's so much to talk about when we talk about the press because it's been so vilified, and there have been some there have been some on side mistakes of our own within the media as well. And one of the big things is the fact that, you know,
so many of them are owned by corporate interests. You know, there's the old story of you know, executive producer of Walter Cronkite CBS News, Walter Kronkite tells it comes in late one day, very unusual for him, and he explains that he's late because he's been up at corporate and it's turned out that sixty minutes is you know, for the first time in CBS News, is history has returned to profit Because here's to you full are obviously under
fair usage. It was that was part of how you got your license was that you agreed to do a certain amount of political programming that and news, and that would be seen as your civic duty that would allow you to get your license. Because in the United States, the airwaves are owned by the people. It's legislated by the government, but it's owned by it's it's something owned by the people anyhow, you know. And so the point is the guy comes in and says sixty minutes to
make money. Now they're going to want money from news all the time, and you get more and more corporatization, you give more profit being the motivation for what they do with their news agenda, and like where they deploy, where they expend money. It's not cheap to go to wars, but it's necessary because we need to learn what's happening in the you know, globally. So it's not like the
news business hasn't had a responsibility as well. But this constant erosion by the administration of there is there is also not only that, but there is no truth. Everybody lies unless it's our message. That's incredibly dangerous to an informed Electorate's it's very very difficult. I'm you know, here in Ukraine, for example, I talk about how expensive it is to cover news. The press Corps is left. They only return this week to mark the third year anniversary.
But it's really expensive to maintain a presence here for a major news outlet, because you got overhead, you've got insurance, you got you know, you got to take care of your people. It's not cheap unless you build infrastructure here, Whereas, for example, in Israel, they have bureaus, they have cars, they have fixtures, they have so for them to cover that conflict, they have the overhead, but they haven't built
any infrastructure here. And I have to say, and I'll classifack to you, Frank, but I have to say, and I'm unabasked about this, and I'm afraid, you know, I'm sorry if I insult some of our former colleagues. But the Press Corps has done a miserable job of covering this war and explaining it to the American people. And why this is so important it is it has been a dismal, a dismal performance by the international Press Corps, and in particularly the American and the English speaking press Corps.
The Brits are a little bit better because it's closely to home. But the American Press Corps has absolutely abandoned this place and has done nothing good, nothing effective in explaining why this should matter to your every day you know, everyday American, your average Americans should care about what's happening in Ukraine for the moral outrage that's happening in here and the suffering and the empathy that we should all have for Ukrainians, but also it's in our past interest.
Russia as a resurgent power is a threat to everyone on this planet. Okay, the system of governance that they want to install and to push and promote and would like to see on the entire continent, it is a system of government that cares little about the individual citizen, cares nothing about their voice unless they're rich and powerful, and certainly doesn't want a free press. And we don't want to see that on the European continent because ultimately, one way or another, it will get back to us
as well. So all of that is basically to say the press needs to do a better job here, and we should be concerned about the state of our press, both in terms of what's happening in the White House, but also in terms of the fact that in so many news organizations, the bottom line, the profit margin is the priority, not informing the public. It should not fall to podcasters and you know little you know, people who care about what's happening here to deliver the news. There
should be yes, right exactly. I mean, I'm here to do it. But I shouldn't just be me yes, you know, or people of my elk. I'm not the only one here. I'm not going to put on airs, but you know it are. I'm just very disappointed in our press corper, extremely disappointed at press Corper.
Points well made, well taken. I want to make just one more point on the subject before we move on to close and hear more about your programming. I want you to let people know where you can be seen and heard talking about it, but the channels that people can literally get to you. Just one more point. And we mentioned sixty minutes in the fact that makes money.
You know, I work for CBS also, and it was you know when you talked about often, well, CBA, sixty minutes is getting this the best cameraman, the best cameras, etc. And they always looked at you and said, because they make money, and money talks so you know, with that said, but in fairness, especially recently, and we talked a little bit about it before we came on the air, and I have to say with the Evening News in general and their new format with the two host format and
sixty minutes, has really maintained their integrity overall, especially recently with very critical reports of the current administration in JD Vance, etc. Scott Pelly's report on Elon Musk to the point where the administration is suing them and CBS is not bending. Indeed, they are sticking to their journalistic integrity. So you know, I thought it was kind of important to make a statement and get your feeling that. As I said, you know,
the reality is and you mentioned it's expensive. You know, I made decent money as a photographer, you know, and that was never our primary focus. But people are paid, they have to travel, you have to feed them, you have to house them. So it's not cheap. So that's part of the reality. Just talk to that for a few minutes.
Well, you have to house them, you have to feed them and all the rest of it, but you also have to when they come into places like this, keep them safe. So you need you need, you need uh. You know, armored cars which are not cheap, you need to buy or maintain. You need to have body armor, and you know, you need to hire security officials who can give you guidance, and God forbid you get hurt.
You need to have insurance for your you know, the people I'm sadly, you know, CBS lost Paul Douglas and James Brolind and you raw and sadly, and they will never be forgotten. I will remember them for the rest of my life. That's their sacrifice that they made to try and bring to the American public the information about
the Iraq War. They you know, their family had to be compensated, and rightfully so you know, it's there's expense upon expense upon expense, but the benefit of maintaining a healthy press court far outweighs any kind of cost analysis. I firmly believe. I don't know if the corporations, I don't know if Black Rock things that way, but I
certainly do. And it was one of the great honors of my life to work for the house that Murrow built, you know, I mean, there was a time, there was always a sense of time, whether it was Edward R. Murrow or whether it was Don Hewitt, the creator of sixty minutes, whether it was Walter Cronkite or Dan Rather, these were these There was an a spree de corps at CBS, and I don't think that's gone. I know, I'm still in contact with people over at CBS. Is
I'm sure you are, Frank. There are deep, deep, deep, deep, deep concerns about the way things are going. But we have got to find a way back to having professional journalists, not podcasters with no you know, there's a place for podcasting. There's a place for individual freelancers who you know, these young guys who grab their iPads, you know, their iPhone and they run off to a riot or a fire,
and they serve a role as well. And certainly media and news media will change inevitably because the landscape has changed. What we absolutely must do and we cannot allow the powers that be, whether that is the Trump administration, any other White House administration, or in fact our law enforcement or are various other elected officials all up and down
the line, we cannot let them continue. We you know, unquestioned, there has to be professional journalists who are trained, are who take their vocation seriously and the responsibility of that vocation seriously, and I know it's out there, but I also know it's under intense pressure and intense threat. And we as consumers of news, should be out there constantly supporting people who are doing the best they can given the circumstances. And not only that, but you know, being
vocal about that support. We can't lose the fourth Estate, or we will our democracy will accelerate in its collapse. And I say that because I am deeply concerned about her democracy and the fourth of State is a big part of that.
If I might be frank here punt intented, and I'm sure you feel the same way. But it pisses me off when people start saying, oh, in the fake news and said, yeah, yeah, I've risked my life many times as they know you have just to lie to you the insanity of that, you know, in the eye, and say where were you when this was happening. I was at nine to eleven, or I was in the middle of Hurricane Katrina or whatever, where were you?
So just the fact that the fact that Paul and James died because of an ied planted by Committ wounds for the rest of our life sadly. Yeah, and that they did that so that they could lie to you. Is it is not only nonsensical, it's deeply insulting. Yeah, and it fends me greatly. But as we kind of roll off, you know, round things up. I mean, you know, I will say that there are those out here doing the best they can, but it shouldn't be us kind
of self starters doing it. But I do. I you can't see it to the video, but I have a studio here in keV that we have that we have soundproof, We've got good uh uh uh equipment, cameras and uh and video are in microphones. We get good guests. Every week, we put out a show eight pm local. I think that is uh ten am Pacific in the United States, so I guess that would be noon Eastern. I guess regardless of eight pm local. We put on a show called On the Edge. You can find it on YouTube,
uh and now on substack. And we're building our own website. But I think if you just looked on the Edge, Philip Ner, one Alan Philip, two teas and Ner. We do it weekly reliably, and we sit down for about an hour and we try and get either Ukrainian voices here in town or remotely, or we get people who have a unique perspective on the conflict, or other people who are resisting Moscow's aggression, and we would like to build our audience, not for self gratification, but because this
goes to the idea of journalists as a vocation. This is really important, guys. What's happening here is incredibly important, and it's not something where you parachute in for the three year anniversary. You have to live here and do it day in, day out, talking to people, getting a sense of things, and then sitting down and trying to relate as best you can to an audience. So I
don't want to grow on the edge for myself. I want to grow it because the audience needs to know this information and the voice of the true voice of Ukraine and those who know about Ukraine need to be amplified.
You also have a public Facebook page so that people do look in and and it's also are you post I regularly like your posts and watch your stuff through Facebook. So there are a lot of different ways that people can find Phill inner and just quickly phil personally. The future. I know you're sticking it out. But let us know.
What, well, yeah, God willing, and you know health and uh, you know, a healthy mind and body. I'm here until the end. This is too important. So where is it gonna go? I don't know. This This the how the Trump administration deals with Ukraine. I don't think we've seen. I don't think I don't think we've seen the true plan yet. And I'm deeply concerned because I do again think that the President of the United States has been
compromised by the Russian Federation and by Vladimir Putin. And he may he may do it a good turn here or a good turn there, but ultimately he is beholden and compromised by Moscow. And that's not good for Kiev. But Ukraine will resist no matter what. They will inevitably win this war because Russia doesn't have the capacity to do what it needs to do militarily, and that is to overthrow the government in Kiev and take control of the Black Sea by taking Odessa, neither of which they
have the military capacity to do. But it's gonna be a rough, rough year, and I don't know how many more years it'll be. And ultimately I don't care if Donald Trump does find some way to negotiate a acceptable ceasefire to the Ukrainians, that would be great. I'd love to go home and do documentaries about Yosemite. But short of that, him here to the end because it's too important. But it's going to be a really difficult year with America turning its back on Ukraine.
You know, I hate to spring this on you because we only have a few minutes, but you mentioned a term, and I don't think we talked about it in any d tail but if you could, I think it's important, and you mentioned it before we came on the air. We have a Manchurian candidate in the White House. If you would in just a few minutes, and again I apologize to I give you more.
Okay, but people would Lauren Bell start going off when when I know that people get very very anxious about this topic. Because there's been an information warfare campaign that's been extremely productive on the side of the Trump administration, the Trump Camp and the Kremlin. They've done an excellent job of diminishing the very real threat and damage that they're currently doing. I don't say this lightly, and I will in order to to not get to outrages and
people start thinking I'm a conspiracy theorist. The mask is off, regardless of what you think about how deep this connection and this this compromat or compromise that Trump, that prudent might have on Trump. The mask is off already because what his actions are enough to show us that Donald Trump regurgitates word for word Kremlin talking points, and that means Ukrainian soldiers the vote in the UN that denied, you know, putting the blame on Russia where it deserves
to be. It's amazing to see America voting alongside you know, Belarus and the DPRK and of course the Kremlin as as inflammatory as it is. I've studied the Russians for nearly thirty years. I am I am confident in saying that we the President of the United States, Donald J. Trump, is compromised by the Kremlin, and that should be unacceptable for every single American because Moscow has only ill intent towards a America. That's not hyperbole.
Bill Atnaer. As always, we appreciate your candor, your honesty, your intelligent conversation, and I mean this, I'm proud to call you friends and colleague. I hope to have you back. And I keep saying this, but hope springs eternal to come back with good news. At some point. The tide of the war has turned in favor of Ukraine, and so many Americans feel that way. Phil. I want you to know that, and I want the Ukrainian people to know that as well.
Thank you very much, and do tune in on the Edge every Sunday.
I absolutely I'll be there, you know. Of course, we offer a special thanks to our listeners who take a time to give us a voice in their lives. And you know, our engineer is the mailman, mister Neil Richter. He keeps us going every week. You can also check us out on the Hudson River Radio Facebook page. Remember Hudson Riverradio dot com. You can just click on our little icon and you're there and you can listen to
us anytime anywhere you like. You know, before we go, I always give you a couple of little things, a quote that I think is appropriate, and then some original music. First the quote and one of my favorites. He's just brilliant and this is the true quote from Benjamin Franklin. Those who would give up essential liberty to purchase a little temporary safety. Deserve neither liberty nor safety. Well that's
kind of right on. Now for closing music, I want to give a little preface my dear friends and guest on Being Frank. Jeannie Brice And has finally accomplished her laver of love the release of her late husband's album sing You, a brand new song. He gives me great pleasure to present Coleman Millet and life goes on. Check out the whole album. It's fantastic for our engineer mister Neil Richter and our guest mister Phil Ettner. I'm your host, Frank Lebono, and we hope to see you on the
next Being Frank. We're the only way to be is Frank.
Thanks everybody.
Listen close and you can hear soulful whisper in your ears, soul bad singing, not b seeing you when the moon and stars begin to shine. Life goes on, but not without the joy of at a song, and I can still hear her sing to you and me.
From the corner a.
Rough your ride.
Do you see the little one so sweet.
Waiting there so patiently for the one who made or life complet? Time goes by, we can learn a sing a love by life goes on, but not without the joy at a song, and I can still hear her sing, do you and Me? Time goes by, We can learn sing by life goes on without the joy et a.
Song, and I can still hear her sing, singing with the angel Lease, I can still hear her sing, She went
Me Hudson River Radio dot Com MHM