I know my new video uploads on this channel have been a little more rare lately.
Rest assured, I haven't given up on the channel.
Production on here should ramp up again soon, and when it does, it should be a lot more consistent. Probably 1-2 videos every single week.
Here's what's been going on: I've been focused on my other "new" channel, which has been growing VERY rapidly, and where I can post videos on a near daily basis. You can also see my face there! (Surprise surprise, The Icarus Project is not an AI-generated channel - there's a real human behind it!)
This "new" channel just hit 110k subscribers, and is providing me with much more consistent income that should eventually give me the ability to focus 100% of my time on my YouTube content (right now, I still have a day job).
Once I can do that, I can replace the time I currently spend on my day job and use it to create content for The Icarus Project at an accelerated pace. I believe there is a very BIG future for The Icarus Project. We gotta get that gold play button!
In the meantime I'm still posting here on The Icarus Project, just less often. Perhaps 2-3 videos per month.
If you want more from me for now, you can enjoy nearly daily content on the other channel.
The normal wave of Russian bots repeating the same thing over and over again is currently being drowned out by a wave of bots promoting a fake Elon Musk crypto token. I even saw what appeared to be some of the bots arguing with each other in a nonsensical conversation about Russia’s GDP.
Finally Elon Musk produces a solid stand against Russia - just not in the way we ever expected! 😂
Hey guys - one of our channel's new sponsors, Manscaped, is having their big Black Friday/Cyber Monday sales right now. I'm grateful for sponsors who make the research, writing, and editing for this channel possible - without them, I couldn't make the videos that I do!
Manscaped makes some really amazing electric razors (and a bunch of other stuff) that are sleek and fun to use. If you're interested in checking them out, head over to Manscaped.com and use the code ICARUS for 20% off + free shipping.
And keep your eyes out for our next upcoming video very soon!
If you haven't heard, I recently made a second channel (link below).
I've started posting to that channel daily. It's a great way to stay in touch when I'm traveling and can't get videos posted on The Icarus Project (like right now!).
It's also a great way for my predominantly European audience to see a lot of the States while learning about geopolitics and current events. For example, here's a shot I recently filmed in front of a volcano in Central Oregon.
Also, surprise surprise, there's your actual proof that the creator behind this channel isn't AI ;) I don't show my face very often on The Icarus Project, but I do have one!
I generally stay out of domestic politics on my channel, but will be doing a video soon on the upcoming U.S. presidential election. I’m curious where my audience lands.
I'm working on a new video about Russia's nuclear capabilities (or lack thereof?). There's a side note I really wanted to include in the script, but I couldn't find a way to work it in that wasn't jarring and distracting from the main narrative.
Since Russia invaded Ukraine, I've been hearing narratives that "Russia invaded because the U.S. was provoking Russia by trying to put nukes in Ukraine."
What's interesting is how horribly disjointed this narrative is from actual historical reality.
After the Soviet Union collapsed, to help maintain peace and order, the U.S. actually convinced Ukraine to give their nukes back to Russia. Ukraine agreed to this in exchange for security guarantees from the U.S., the U.K., and Russia.
This fact not only contradicts Russia's propaganda narrative, but it also leads to two other important points as well:
1) The U.S. taking action to help protect Ukraine should not be seen as a provocation by Russia, since Russia and the U.S. literally signed an agreement in the 90s that the U.S. would do exactly this in exchange for Ukraine giving up their nuclear security.
2) The idea that is often toted back home here in the U.S., that we "owe Ukraine nothing," is actually not true. The reason they were invaded by Russia is partly because they lacked their layer of nuclear protection. And WE convinced them to give up this layer of protection because WE promised to guarantee their security. At the time, we did this because we calculated it was in our best interests to do so. We should not be like the current despots of the world. We should not go back on our word.
People don't know these facts, and believe propaganda instead, because people don't know history. So I wanted to share the text of the agreement cited above, and I encourage you to read the rest as well. It's chilling considering what is currently going on.
And of course, be sure to catch the video when it's released!
Budapest Memorandum:
1. The Russian Federation, the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and the United States of America reaffirm their commitment to Ukraine, in accordance with the principles of the Final Act of the Conference on Security and Cooperation in Europe, to respect the independence and sovereignty and the existing borders of Ukraine.
2. The Russian Federation, the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and the United States of America reaffirm their obligation to refrain from the threat or use of force against the territorial integrity or political independence of Ukraine, and that none of their weapons will ever be used against Ukraine except in self-defence or otherwise in accordance with the Charter of the United Nations.
3. The Russian Federation, the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and the United States of America reaffirm their commitment to Ukraine, in accordance with the principles of the Final Act of the Conference on Security and Cooperation in Europe, to refrain from economic coercion designed to subordinate to their own interest the exercise by Ukraine of the rights inherent in its sovereignty and thus to secure advantages of any kind.
4. The Russian Federation, the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and the United States of America reaffirm their commitment to seek immediate United Nations Security Council action to provide assistance to Ukraine, as a non-nuclear-weapon State party to the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons, if Ukraine should become a victim of an act of aggression or an object of a threat of aggression in which nuclear weapons are used.
5. The Russian Federation, the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and the United States of America reaffirm, in the case of Ukraine, their commitment not to use nuclear weapons against any non-nuclear-weapon State party to the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons, except in the case of an attack on themselves, their territories or dependent territories, their armed forces, or their allies, by such a State in association or alliance with a nuclear-weapon State.
6. Ukraine, the Russian Federation, the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and the United States of America will consult in the event a situation arises that raises a question concerning these commitments.
Age-restricted and demonetized again! The last video was well on the path to 1,000,000 or more views, but now it is dead in the algorithm.
Unfortunately, Russian trolls will mass report videos that are damaging to the Kremlin's position. There is nothing in the video that violates community guidelines, but YouTube's automatic censoring systems don't seem to be believing that, and I can't seem to get a real human to review.
I've submitted an appeal, but to keep the entire channel from being flagged, unfortunately, I don't think I will be able to repost it again. We will see what happens.
It's not just about earning money on the video. Age-restrictions ruin the reach of videos, as users need to be logged in to view the video, and the majority of our viewers don't log in (they watch from televisions, etc.). What's also frustrating is that YouTube will continue to run ads on demonetized videos, and therefore collect revenue - they just don't share that revenue with the creator. It is used as a discouragement mechanism to force creators to get in line.
I will be posting the original video on Patreon, this time as a "free" tier, so that anyone can watch it: www.patreon.com/TheIcarusProject
Unfortunately, I had to take today’s video down because it was age restricted and demonetized, ruining its reach and preventing people from seeing it.
This was our #1 performing video of all time in terms of views in the first 2 hours, by a big a margin, then suddenly it stopped.
The video did not violate any stated YouTube policies, so I will look at it again tomorrow and see if there is anything I can change in it so it can be posted again. My guess is that Russian prisoners were mistaken for something worse. The new video may need to be significantly censored, unfortunately.
In the meantime, I’ll also post the original video on Patreon tomorrow as well in either case. Your support there helps keep these videos going, even when they get demonetized. There’s a link to Patreon in my channel bio.
The Icarus Project
The Icarus Project
Hey guys,
I know my new video uploads on this channel have been a little more rare lately.
Rest assured, I haven't given up on the channel.
Production on here should ramp up again soon, and when it does, it should be a lot more consistent. Probably 1-2 videos every single week.
Here's what's been going on: I've been focused on my other "new" channel, which has been growing VERY rapidly, and where I can post videos on a near daily basis. You can also see my face there! (Surprise surprise, The Icarus Project is not an AI-generated channel - there's a real human behind it!)
Here's a link: youtube.com/@PaulJWarburg/videos
This "new" channel just hit 110k subscribers, and is providing me with much more consistent income that should eventually give me the ability to focus 100% of my time on my YouTube content (right now, I still have a day job).
Once I can do that, I can replace the time I currently spend on my day job and use it to create content for The Icarus Project at an accelerated pace. I believe there is a very BIG future for The Icarus Project. We gotta get that gold play button!
In the meantime I'm still posting here on The Icarus Project, just less often. Perhaps 2-3 videos per month.
If you want more from me for now, you can enjoy nearly daily content on the other channel.
Hope to see you on both!
1 month ago (edited) | [YT] | 262
View 15 replies
The Icarus Project
YouTube comments are something else right now.
The normal wave of Russian bots repeating the same thing over and over again is currently being drowned out by a wave of bots promoting a fake Elon Musk crypto token. I even saw what appeared to be some of the bots arguing with each other in a nonsensical conversation about Russia’s GDP.
Finally Elon Musk produces a solid stand against Russia - just not in the way we ever expected! 😂
What a time to be alive.
4 months ago | [YT] | 838
View 72 replies
The Icarus Project
Hey guys - one of our channel's new sponsors, Manscaped, is having their big Black Friday/Cyber Monday sales right now. I'm grateful for sponsors who make the research, writing, and editing for this channel possible - without them, I couldn't make the videos that I do!
Manscaped makes some really amazing electric razors (and a bunch of other stuff) that are sleek and fun to use. If you're interested in checking them out, head over to Manscaped.com and use the code ICARUS for 20% off + free shipping.
And keep your eyes out for our next upcoming video very soon!
#sponsoredpost
5 months ago | [YT] | 27
View 6 replies
The Icarus Project
If you haven't heard, I recently made a second channel (link below).
I've started posting to that channel daily. It's a great way to stay in touch when I'm traveling and can't get videos posted on The Icarus Project (like right now!).
It's also a great way for my predominantly European audience to see a lot of the States while learning about geopolitics and current events. For example, here's a shot I recently filmed in front of a volcano in Central Oregon.
Also, surprise surprise, there's your actual proof that the creator behind this channel isn't AI ;) I don't show my face very often on The Icarus Project, but I do have one!
Hope to see you on the other channel as well!
youtube.com/@PaulJWarburg/
6 months ago | [YT] | 184
View 8 replies
The Icarus Project
I generally stay out of domestic politics on my channel, but will be doing a video soon on the upcoming U.S. presidential election. I’m curious where my audience lands.
6 months ago | [YT] | 236
View 171 replies
The Icarus Project
I'm working on a new video about Russia's nuclear capabilities (or lack thereof?). There's a side note I really wanted to include in the script, but I couldn't find a way to work it in that wasn't jarring and distracting from the main narrative.
Since Russia invaded Ukraine, I've been hearing narratives that "Russia invaded because the U.S. was provoking Russia by trying to put nukes in Ukraine."
What's interesting is how horribly disjointed this narrative is from actual historical reality.
After the Soviet Union collapsed, to help maintain peace and order, the U.S. actually convinced Ukraine to give their nukes back to Russia. Ukraine agreed to this in exchange for security guarantees from the U.S., the U.K., and Russia.
This fact not only contradicts Russia's propaganda narrative, but it also leads to two other important points as well:
1) The U.S. taking action to help protect Ukraine should not be seen as a provocation by Russia, since Russia and the U.S. literally signed an agreement in the 90s that the U.S. would do exactly this in exchange for Ukraine giving up their nuclear security.
2) The idea that is often toted back home here in the U.S., that we "owe Ukraine nothing," is actually not true. The reason they were invaded by Russia is partly because they lacked their layer of nuclear protection. And WE convinced them to give up this layer of protection because WE promised to guarantee their security. At the time, we did this because we calculated it was in our best interests to do so. We should not be like the current despots of the world. We should not go back on our word.
People don't know these facts, and believe propaganda instead, because people don't know history. So I wanted to share the text of the agreement cited above, and I encourage you to read the rest as well. It's chilling considering what is currently going on.
And of course, be sure to catch the video when it's released!
Budapest Memorandum:
1. The Russian Federation, the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and the United States of America reaffirm their commitment to Ukraine, in accordance with the principles of the Final Act of the Conference on Security and Cooperation in Europe, to respect the independence and sovereignty and the existing borders of Ukraine.
2. The Russian Federation, the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and the United States of America reaffirm their obligation to refrain from the threat or use of force against the territorial integrity or political independence of Ukraine, and that none of their weapons will ever be used against Ukraine except in self-defence or otherwise in accordance with the Charter of the United Nations.
3. The Russian Federation, the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and the United States of America reaffirm their commitment to Ukraine, in accordance with the principles of the Final Act of the Conference on Security and Cooperation in Europe, to refrain from economic coercion designed to subordinate to their own interest the exercise by Ukraine of the rights inherent in its sovereignty and thus to secure advantages of any kind.
4. The Russian Federation, the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and the United States of America reaffirm their commitment to seek immediate United Nations Security Council action to provide assistance to Ukraine, as a non-nuclear-weapon State party to the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons, if Ukraine should become a victim of an act of aggression or an object of a threat of aggression in which nuclear weapons are used.
5. The Russian Federation, the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and the United States of America reaffirm, in the case of Ukraine, their commitment not to use nuclear weapons against any non-nuclear-weapon State party to the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons, except in the case of an attack on themselves, their territories or dependent territories, their armed forces, or their allies, by such a State in association or alliance with a nuclear-weapon State.
6. Ukraine, the Russian Federation, the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and the United States of America will consult in the event a situation arises that raises a question concerning these commitments.
6 months ago | [YT] | 565
View 86 replies
The Icarus Project
There are two competing narratives that I have seen spreading since Russia's invasion of Ukraine:
1. NATO wasn't investing enough to defend itself, and was relying on the U.S. for military support. They were weak, and that's why Russia invaded.
2. NATO provoked Russia to war by overmilitarizing. Russia had no choice but to invade Ukraine to protect itself.
Both narratives are being spread by the same people, trying to argue for the same points. But logically, they can't both be true.
So, what do you make of this?
This is your daily reminder about the need for strong critical thinking skills when it comes to analyzing geopolitics.
Emotionalism wins the headlines, rationalism wins the conflict.
Have a great week, everyone!
8 months ago | [YT] | 779
View 143 replies
The Icarus Project
Age-restricted and demonetized again! The last video was well on the path to 1,000,000 or more views, but now it is dead in the algorithm.
Unfortunately, Russian trolls will mass report videos that are damaging to the Kremlin's position. There is nothing in the video that violates community guidelines, but YouTube's automatic censoring systems don't seem to be believing that, and I can't seem to get a real human to review.
I've submitted an appeal, but to keep the entire channel from being flagged, unfortunately, I don't think I will be able to repost it again. We will see what happens.
It's not just about earning money on the video. Age-restrictions ruin the reach of videos, as users need to be logged in to view the video, and the majority of our viewers don't log in (they watch from televisions, etc.). What's also frustrating is that YouTube will continue to run ads on demonetized videos, and therefore collect revenue - they just don't share that revenue with the creator. It is used as a discouragement mechanism to force creators to get in line.
I will be posting the original video on Patreon, this time as a "free" tier, so that anyone can watch it: www.patreon.com/TheIcarusProject
8 months ago | [YT] | 1,062
View 75 replies
The Icarus Project
Unfortunately, I had to take today’s video down because it was age restricted and demonetized, ruining its reach and preventing people from seeing it.
This was our #1 performing video of all time in terms of views in the first 2 hours, by a big a margin, then suddenly it stopped.
The video did not violate any stated YouTube policies, so I will look at it again tomorrow and see if there is anything I can change in it so it can be posted again. My guess is that Russian prisoners were mistaken for something worse. The new video may need to be significantly censored, unfortunately.
In the meantime, I’ll also post the original video on Patreon tomorrow as well in either case. Your support there helps keep these videos going, even when they get demonetized. There’s a link to Patreon in my channel bio.
8 months ago | [YT] | 503
View 49 replies
The Icarus Project
The sinking of the Kursk will now forever be a part of Putin’s legacy, for multiple reasons.
You have to love irony when it gets handed to you that easily.
8 months ago | [YT] | 703
View 42 replies
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