Podcasts about afghan war

Issue 59 of the monthly magazine podcast for the discerning film nerd continues with Classics and Hidden Gems. In the Classic James finally gets round to watching 1965's The Flight of the Phoenix all the way through. In the Hidden Gem listener Nick Paticchio nominated a film for us to check out - we loved it and now we want all of you to hear about 1988's Afghan War film The Beast of War   The first part of this issue Double Reel Monthly is already available to download, and the Remakes Tribunal will be out in a week's time.

"Storytelling heals the brain." "No struggle, no story." "Life happens in moments."   Episode summary | In this episode of Return on Generosity, host Shannon Cassidy speaks with Scott Mann, a former Green Beret and founder of Rooftop Leadership. They discuss the importance of generosity in leadership, the power of storytelling, and how to build trust in low-trust environments. Scott shares his journey from military service to becoming a playwright and advocate for veterans, emphasizing the healing power of personal stories. The conversation also touches on the creation of his play 'Last Out: Elegy of a Green Beret' and the work of his nonprofit, Task Force Pineapple, which focuses on supporting veterans and their families.   R.O.G. Takeaway Tips | Generosity is key to personal and professional growth. Building trust requires understanding both yourself and others. Storytelling is a powerful tool for healing and connection. Leaders must manage emotional temperatures in conversations. Personal stories can resonate universally and foster connection. Advocacy for veterans is crucial in the current political climate. Preparing for future threats requires awareness and action. Engaging in storytelling can help individuals process their experiences.   Chapters |  00:00 Introduction to Scott Mann and His Journey 03:31 The Role of Green Berets in Building Trust 06:23 Navigating Low Trust Environments 09:26 Practical Steps for Building Trust 12:31 The Power of Storytelling in Healing 15:29 The Journey of Creating 'Last Out' 18:32 Impact of Storytelling on Audiences 21:25 The Generosity of Scars and Vulnerability 29:47 The Power of Personal Storytelling 33:37 The Hero's Journey and Its Impact 40:02 Task Force Pineapple: A New Mission 42:27 Engaging with the Community 47:19 Living a Life of Long Breaths 50:00 Introduction to Generosity and Growth 50:10 The Impact of Giving on Personal Development   Guest Bio | Lieutenant Colonel (Retired) Scott Mann is a former U.S. Army Green Beret with combat tours all over the world including Colombia, Iraq, and multiple tours in Afghanistan. He is a warrior storyteller and the President and founder of Rooftop Leadership, a leadership consulting and training company in Tampa, Florida where he shares the rapport-building skills he learned in Special Forces to help today's leaders make better human connections when stakes are high and trust is low. Scott helps organizations gain a better understanding of their internal culture while exposing the potential for conflict that exists when trust has deteriorated. In the same way he empowered local tribes in Iraq and Afghanistan to make transformative decisions using very few resources, Scott teaches corporate leaders and their teams the relationship-building techniques that drove so many of his successful combat operations. Scott is the NYT Best-selling Author of Operation Pineapple Express and #1 International Best-Selling Author of Game Changers, Going Local to Defeat Violent Extremists. He has spoken on three TEDx stages and is also a playwright and actor in his recent play brought to film about the Afghan War and the unforeseen cost of war on our Veterans called “Last Out: Elegy of a Green Beret,” which is available on Amazon Prime Video, Google Play, AppleTV, and VUDU. Scott is the founder of Task Force Pineapple and the 501c3 Operation Pineapple Express Relief where he actively advocates in Congress and on national media outlets for the safe passage and resettlement of our abandoned Afghan Allies. He is also the founder of the 501c3, The Heroes Journey, where he is dedicated to helping veterans and military families find their voice and tell their story as they transition out of military service in order to bridge the civilian-military divide. Scott has appeared on numerous TV, Radio, and Podcast media platforms to include CNN, Fox, all the major networks and syndicated radio and has been published by the Epoch Times and Daily Wire. Scott's greatest accomplishments are his 26-year marriage and his three grown sons . Resources: The Generosity of Scars | Scott Mann | TEDxSantaBarbara Task Force Pineapple  Last Out Play Schedule Amazon Prime: Last Out | Elegy of a Green Beret Romy Camargo's Story on Scott Mann's Podcast  Free N.D.I. Network Diversity Index  Free Generosity Quiz  Credits: Scott Mann, Host Shannon Cassidy, Bridge Between, Inc. Coming Next: Please join us next week, Episode 226, Special Guest, Sheena Yap Chan. 

The UnconqueredBy FinalStand. Listen to the Podcast at Explicit Novels.Politically, this was manna from Heaven. Putin couldn't strong arm both the Ukraine and the PRC. His priorities had switched, so now NATO could jump into the Ukraine which would appease their democratic constituencies.There were also larger economic/political issues to look at. Europe had constantly been threatened by Russia's interference with the oil and natural gas pipelines that first pass through Russia before crossing the Ukraine and Belarus and heading off to Central and Western Europe. A great deal of that fuel originated in what was now the Khanate.If the Khanate survived, and viewed the US and UK favorably, the 'oil and natural gas' boot would be on the other foot. If Russia threatened the European Democracies' petrochemical supplies, the Khanate could threaten to cut off Russia as well. The old Republic of Kazakhstan never had the will to confront Russia. The Khanate was turning out to be a very different beast.Because the world didn't need any more ominous rumblings, catastrophe and madness collided in Pyongyang, North Korea. North Korea was an energy exporter, with most of its power coming from coal-fired plants and hydro-electric facilities. The problem was you can't run armored vehicles and combat aircraft on electric power. You needed oil.North Korea's oil came from China, Liaoning province to be precise, and Liaoning was getting hammered around the clock by the Khanate. The oil pipeline had ruptured and it would be months before it was fixed. In that situation, a sane nation would have shopped around for other avenue of imported oil. But we were talking about North Korea here.Kim Jung-un was looking down the barrels of another famine (trucks and tractors need petrol too) as well as the far more important reduction in the Korean People's Army's readiness. He saw himself possessing the World's 4th largest military and it was in danger of running out of fuel, and Liaoning province was sitting right across the Yalu River, all helpless-like.End World News Behind the Scenes ReportIn the annals of martial history, the bloodiest, costliest battles are when elites face elites. As corny and melodramatic as it sounds, the truth is that neither has 'surrender' in their creed. They attack, defend, ambush, shoot, stab and kill one another until one side loses the capacity to carry on the struggle. It is a grapple to the death.All of Ajax's men were hardened killers, ten year veterans of the Trojan Wars every; one of them. The ranks of the 22nd Mountain Troops Battalion were filled with numerous combat-tested soldiers of the Afghan War. These Romanians were some of the finest combatants produced by the Romanian Army. The two companies earmarked for sealing off the road as a retreat route were about to find out what the price of being elite really was.They were fighting for their homeland, avenging their slain (technically, the slaughtered Amazons were Romanians) and had generations of their own warriors, dating back to the First World War, whose legacy of ferocity they had to maintain. Ajax had the advantage in technology and surprise. The Romanians had numbers, experience with the terrain and the advantage of multi-dimensional warfare.The lead vehicles of the 22nd had rounded the hilly terrain to the East of the Castle of Seven Skulls when they collided with Ajax's team rolling away from those ruins. The Mountain Troops were fast, Ajax's team was faster. One soldier stepped out of his still-braking Eagle transport.He snap-shot a Panzerfaust 3, a light anti-tank weapon, blowing up the first Romanian Piranha IIIc. Two Eagles further down the column, a second team member put another Panzerfaust into the follow-up 22nd MLVN (armored personal carrier). That was as good as it got. The third vehicle, another MLVN swung partially around its burning brethren and poured automatic fire into Ajax's lead Eagle, turning huge chunks of that 'Hummer on Steroids' transport into shrapnel.Trading vehicle for vehicle wasn't something Ajax could afford. For the Romanians, they couldn't race past the blocked road without incurring horrendous losses themselves. Besides, by holding their ground and keeping the enemy focused on them, they were fulfilling their part of the plan. The Mountain Troops disgorged from their MLVN's, spreading out into the meadow on either side of the path and were quickly bounding forward by fire.Ajax reacted quickly. His heavy weapons would allow him to attrition the enemy in front of him, yet he'd be a fool to think they were alone. He knew he was facing army troops, not police. That spelled serious trouble. He ordered his column to reverse course back into the wood cover. He lost his second Eagle to intensive fire.The warriors in the main column bailed out once they reached the shelter of the trees. Machineguns came forward and established a withering cover fire. The two survivors at the first Eagle were badly wounded. With fatalistic resolve, they lashed the advancing Romanians with grenades and their assault rifles until they were both silenced. The second Eagle's demise was much harder.Three of the four crew were alive and unharmed. Their fate was decided by 25 meters of open ground between them and their compatriots. Ajax's gunners kept firing, but the Romanians refused to be suppressed. Worse, that second MLVN was proving impossible to kill. Its driver had parked it so that barely the front of his vehicle body and turret were exposed.Two more of Ajax's precious anti-tank rockets failed to connect, though one did knock the first destroyed IFV into that troublesome vehicle. These were Ajax's brothers-in-arms, yet he knew their situation was hopeless. He cursed that his opposition wasn't made up of raw conscripts. Despite their losses, they were not wavering. Their morale remained solid.The Romanians had spread out to the north and south. They were leap-frogging their machineguns forward and it was clear he was facing over 200 men. The 22nds advance was relentless. Soon they'd be right on top of his trapped men. As a final ploy he dropped two smoke grenades around the endangered trio and every other grenade launcher dropped their payloads onto the aggressive Romanians.The three men ran for it. Their enemy were nobody's fool and sprayed their retreat path with bullets. Only one made it to safety.For the Romanian battalion's commander in his command IFV, this was its own kind of Hell. His boys were getting murdered out there. He hadn't really believed the sketchy intelligence analysis that described his expected foes as the finest trained mercenaries the world has ever seen. Now he was a believer. His opponents reacted like an organic unit. Their weapons were incredibly lethal and their discipline was chilling. Ajax's snipers picked off anyone who seemed to be in charge. One Captain fell, as did two lieutenants. One section lost all its non-commissioned officers.Despite that, individual initiative kept the 'leaderless' men of the 22nd advancing. Their snipers came into play by targeting the opposing machineguns. One gunner went down, then the other. To get one man back, Ajax had lost five dead, or seriously wounded. Ajax ordered the remaining Eagles back to the castle. The rest of the Warband would have to make a fighting retreat.He'd killed or wounded a third of the Romanians out there, yet they were still coming. Even as he pulled out, he got two more pieces of bad:First, his scouts had reported hearing helicopters as they returned toward the castle; this latest enemy was somewhere behind him, to the east.Second, two Mig-21's dropped out of the sky and raked his area with rockets and auto-cannon fire; eight more men gone.Ajax may not have been the greatest military mind of all time, but wasn't a fool. He was being boxed in. Since it was highly unlikely the Hylonome Amazons had sacrificed themselves, this was an ad hoc plan to take him out. Instead of hunting down that male Amazon as he wanted, Ajax had let the Condottieri side-track him on this mission. Now, it was proving far too costly.A whistle, a few traded hand signals and the Mycenaeans started sprinting back upslope toward the castle ruins. It wasn't a rout. His men maintained their élan and cohesion. Ajax was trading space for time and the Romanians wouldn't chase his men as fast as the Mycenaeans were moving because there was always the threat of ambush. Or, they wouldn't have if an An-30 Reconnaissance Aircraft hadn't been tracking his progress from high above.Just coming on-line, it identified the heat signatures of the Greeks and let the soldiers of the 22nd know that their enemies were trying to put some distance between them. The battalion commander knew his men had been mangled, yet believed they were still more than willing carry the fight to the enemy. Right as the 'pursuit' order went out, the promised company from the 24th Mountain troops rolled up, with the 61st Brigade's 385th artillery battalion. 'Now things were really going to get hot for those bastards', he thought.(The Seven Skulls, Cáel)I was true to my nature. I sent off my plan, Operation Funhouse, to the Russians via their attaché (a hot looking, curvaceous blonde Major) and to the Khanate through the offices of the US and UK. Only after that was done, did I ask for my favor. I wasn't going to bargain with the fate of Temujin's people. I couldn't.My only chip to play was that people in strange places thought well of me. I wasn't so naïve to believe that I got what I wanted because I'd forged emotional bonds that superseded personal ambitions or national loyalties. No, I was now on my own self-inflicted 'Ride of the Valkyries' because people in authority felt I could still be useful and they were willing to risk the lives a few hundred Romanian soldiers to pander to my eccentricities.Our intelligence came from Google Maps, a woman's recollections from twenty-five years ago and the frighteningly precise memories of a battle-scarred 11 year old girl. For the 24th Mountain Troops battalion intelligence officer, it was a stunning introduction to Amazons. The girl was one year away from her Rite of Passage and she'd been raised to take in the terrain and the sounds of battle.Several times, he tried to trick her, altering information she had provided minutes earlier, but the girl corrected him every time. Seventeen minutes and the man relayed to his battalion commander his belief that the girl's story was solid. The men and women of the 24th may not have known the specific of the valley we were going to, yet this was their backyard.They knew the rocks, trees and bushes. They knew the ground was crinkled and what marsh soil looked like, without stepping into it. They could do this, attack a rogue mercenary band threatening their native land. They were going to do this and do it quick. Me and mine coming along was problematic. But Me being one of the first ones in, I had to play my trump card."I am Magyarorszag es Erdely Hercege," I proclaimed. "I have returned to my people in their hour of need. Besides, I'm the only one who can kill their leader.""You can kill Ajax?" Riki snorted in disbelief. "Ajax from the Trojan Wars? That Ajax?""Don't sweat it," I put my arm around her shoulder. "I got this covered. Get me close and I can make him dead.""You've lost your mind," Rachel muttered."I love you to," I grinned. To the Captain of the first company to rappel next to the ruins, "I'm your Prince. Let's do this.""Do you have any combat experience?" he shook his head."There are a whole bunch of dead Chinese who think so," I assured him."Let him go," Sakuniyas stated regally. "He is the Scion of Alal. He is invincible in battle." Hey, I liked that. Someone believed in me."Do you believe that?" Pamela asked Saku."Of course not, but if he's about to die, he should be allowed to feel good about himself," she told Pamela. Shit, I wish I hadn't heard that part."Oh, in that case, I agree. Let him go," Pamela added her preference to the final decision. The real weight in that Captain's final call was the small, well-armed group of supporters who seemed rather insistent that I get a chance at Valhalla.He took it well. The officer even announced to the entire battalion that their feudal overlord was leading them into the fight. My codename was 'Prince'. I hope I didn't turn out like the singer, I had no aspirations for being Machiavelli's 'hero', but being remember as someone like Prince Harry wouldn't be so bad.What I did know was this was my choice of actions and I couldn't send others into the madness I had inspired. I didn't blame myself for the deaths. Those were inevitable if Ajax was going to die. I didn't blame myself for Ajax, that was the Weave of Fate being a bastardly bitch. No, I had to kill Ajax because I was an idiot, and I loved my companions, and if it wasn't me making the attempt and possibly dying, it would be one of them. Not on my watch.Our IAR 330 Puma Helicopter lifted off into the sky. Our two companion birds, another troop carrier and an assault variant of the Puma, followed suit and soon we linked up with the rest of the company that was going to rappel into the clearing next to the ruins. Could I rappel? Sure, I lied. Hey, I'd made it to the top of the rope in gym class at the end of my senior year. That had to count for something.I was even lucky to have the lynchpin of my master plan sitting next to me. One in sixteen, what were the odds? "You, what's your name?" I asked the soldier barely older than me. "Master Corporal Menner," he grinned. Maybe he sensed my insanity. "Székely?" I asked. He nodded.   "Do you believe I am your Prince?""Either that, or you are crazy," he kept grinning. I leaned over and after some helmet shuffling, I whispered my request in his ear. I didn't demand that he agree, only that if he didn't, he wouldn't turn me in. Our eyes met."Why?" he was now filled with disbelief. I had passed beyond the realm of comedian to the land where all crazy ideas go off to die."It is the only way. Trust me, I don't love this plan either, but it is the only way I can think of to keep as many of you alive as possible," I explained. "He's a monster.""How will this help?" he was still confused, even if he was being swept away with my intensity."I don't have time to explain. All I can tell you is that I'm not crazy and I don't want to die, but this is the only thing I can think of to keep my people alive," I remained firm and confident in my beliefs."I will have to think about it," he conceded. At least he wasn't insisting I be forcibly committed to a mental institution. I did annoy one of the two crewmen in the back with the rest of us combatants when I stood up and looked out the side window. I glimpsed it, her, flowing through the forest beneath us. After I sat back down, the Captain flagged me.I had forgotten to cut on my communications rig on. "First Force (the two companies of the 22nd) has encountered the enemy before they could exit into the flatlands," he paused, somewhat shocked. "They are taking heavy casualties. It is just like you warned us. These foes are exceedingly lethal." "Don't worry about it," I overflowed with charisma. "Just follow me and we'll be fine." "But, I thought you said you didn't know anything about the compound?" the Captain looked at me funny."I don't. I'm relying on luck," I pumped my eyebrows. The Captain knew enough English to groan."I have a sudden desire to club a baby seal," Rachel stared at me intently. Who, me? "Let me and my men take the point," the Captain insisted. "Captain, either I'm diving headfirst out of our ride, or you are letting me rappel down in the first wave, either way, my boots are the first on the ground," I demanded. "No," the Captain shook his head. "You are a civilian." "Captain," I leaned forward. "Everyone else is fighting and dying because I made a judgment call. You can't ask me to hold back now."That shone through. Over his battalion frequency, he could hear the confusion and chaos chiseling away at his brethren in the 22nd. He could tell by my countenance that I both knew the enemy he was going to fight and that I wasn't ruled by guilt, or a death wish. I wanted to go first because I thought I could make the difference between someone else's life and death. "Who are the other three with you?" he stated. Four could rappel down at a time. "Rachel, Chaz and Master Corporal Menner here," I indicated. Rachel didn't freak, the Colour Sergeant looked my way and gave his acknowledgement, as did Menner. "I'll go down with you, Captain," Pamela spoke up.Of my group, Delilah, Wiesława and Virginia had stayed behind to guard Odette, Riki, the Lovasz sisters and the Loma family. Two troopers of the 24th joined them to provide extra security if needed. Vincent had pulled seniority to be the sole American going. With Chaz and Delilah, there hadn't been a real discussion about it. Chaz was the professional ground-pounder.Selena had volunteered to go even though this wasn't really her fight. She claimed the right of revenge for Ajax's attempt to kill the Vizsla, but I thought it was something else, some desire to step forward and make the point that the Black Hand were invested in this global struggle. There had been no doubt that Rachel  and  her team plus Sakuniyas and Pamela would be joining me.In my estimation, we were over the target area way too fast. I hadn't thought of a good reason to talk myself out of this harebrained scheme of mine. The side doors of the Puma opened. Rachel would be going down on my side."Look and see what Rachel does and do the same thing," Pamela yelled to me over the roar of the engines."And don't lock your knees or you'll sprain your ankles," she added. It was just another day of 'on the job' training at Havenstone Commercial Investments, I rationalized. I was scared, which was also a good indicator that I was still marginally sane. Rachel made her movements slow and steady.I went down a second later, barely remembering to avoid rope burn through my gloves and not bust my feet when I hit bottom. Rachel crouched. She was waiting for follow up troops before advancing. Me, I ran straight toward the ruins. Why? It was Alal once more. From the relayed chatter from the 22nd and whatever spy plane the Romanians had above, I 'knew' that Ajax hadn't made it back to the fortifications yet.If we hurried, we could beat him there. Then we would be ambushing his ass for a change. It almost worked. Whatever Chaz and Menner thought of my actions, they kept it to themselves. I didn't have to be a psychic to realize Rachel wasn't a fan. I leapt over the first Amazon corpse. The second one I passed was sitting with her back to the tree, hands tied around the trunk and had been tortured before she died.I believed that was when the momentum shifted. This was barbarism and the three following me knew it. Menner relayed our findings to his Captain even as the first helicopter was pulling away. My mind was picking up the details and processing somewhere in the back of my mind so as not to distracting me from the task of staying alive.A pile of bodies lumped too close together, they had been executed. A small girl, three, or four, with a close-contact wound to the temple. The smell of burnt flesh, more torture. Whatever Code of Military Conduct the Mycenaeans had, it wasn't the rules we, their opponents, fought by today. We were outraged and help was coming.We were running in from the northeast. Three meter from what had once been a doorway, I broke free of the underbrush and saw the closest Greek and the row of vehicles behind him. He was to my east, maybe ten meters away. I wasn't stopping. The terrain had funneled us down so that we weren't coming directly from the helicopter's noise.That must have been the reason he wasn't staring at us when we appeared. I didn't stop. Chaz and Menner were right behind me. Rachel only slowed enough to fire her P-90 at full-auto at the man as she ran. She killed him. The three of us ran across the open-aired, ruined room until we found the doorway to the other side of the building. From there, we had a good view of Ajax's remaining Eagles and the eight remaining men with them."I'm going for higher ground," Chaz growled before he took off."Rachel, go back and secure the corner we came in by," I shouted. She grimaced but obeyed. Menner had his own ideas. He fired off his first rocket-propelled grenade from his AG-7 at the farthest Eagle he could clearly see, blowing it to smithereens. I added the

Welcome to our final episode of Citywide Bytes for the 2024 season. We're taking a break to recharge and come back in 2025 and believe me, we have a lot planned. Capping off this season I am very excited to be talking about the musical audiobook “Hannah: The Soldier Diaries” and joining me is the story's creator — theater writer, producer and author Steve Wallis. Here's a look at the plot: When the gorgeous Hannah meets Lance Corporal Jack Webb in summer 2012, she is quickly smitten. However, Hannah has to decide quickly whether to embark on a whirlwind affair or walk away, as the couple only has four weeks together before Jack has to return to the army to fight in the Afghan War. Hannah follows her heart and spends the most amazing four weeks of her life with Jack before he has to leave. Then, over two months later, Jack is missing, and Hannah — who is three months' pregnant — is beside herself with worry. Out of nowhere, a face she knows only too well appears at her door. Are all Hannah's worries over? Or is this the beginning of the end for Hannah and Jack? Steve and I go into the origins of the project and how his own grandparents' relationship amidst World War II inspired the story. Steve talks about the main characters, Hannah and Jack, how they were created and how they grow over the course of the story. We also talk about the stage version that's been done and learn some big news about a new project! Zoe Wright provided the narration, voices and singing and we learn how she and Steve met and the collaboration process as they brought this story to life. “Hannah” has a second part dropping in December and we talk a bit [just a bit!] about the cliffhanger ending and what lies in store.

In this Urban Valor episode, we sit down with Army Blackhawk Pilot Veteran Josh Halu, who shares his journey from a challenging childhood to serving as a Battle Captain in Afghanistan. Born in Jerusalem and raised in Denver, Josh faced unimaginable hardship at a young age, with his father's tragic death marking a pivotal moment in his life. Fueled by resilience, he set his sights on West Point, ultimately becoming a US Army Blackhawk pilot.Join us as Josh opens up about his experiences in Afghanistan, where he led critical rescue missions for downed aircraft, known as “Fallen Angels,” in hostile territory. Josh also discusses his path to healing and the methods he's used to cope with trauma.

In 2009, Clint was awarded the Medal of Honor for his actions during the battle of Kamdesh during the Afghan War, which he recalls in his book, Red Platoon: A True Story of American Valor, a New York Times bestseller. For Veterans Day, Clint shares his insights into why his outpost was a deathtrap, his efforts to prevent veteran suicide, and his survival during that 15-hour battle. Tip o' the hat to our excellent sponsors PureTalk.com/Rowe Save 50% off your first month! BuildSubmarines.com Explore available careers! BetterHelp.com/MikeRowe Get 10% off your first month!

Former Royal Marine Commando officer and filmmaker James Glancy joins us to discuss his latest release: 'AFGHANISTAN - The greatest foreign policy disaster since Vietnam'Out NOW on Substack at Outpost Studios: http://outpoststudios.netConnect with James on Instagram: @jaglancyOn X (Twitter): @jaglancySupport the show

In August's edition of the Talking Lead AK KORNER, presented by Pioneer Arms Corp USA:  We discuss a brief history of the Soviet War with Afghanistan during the years 1979-1989 and some of the tactics, gear and small arms used on both sides of the conflict.  Joining us is a Veteran Soviet Soldier during that […] The post Talking Lead 546 – AK KORNER S6 Ep8: Soviet – Afghan War (Small Arms) appeared first on Firearms Radio Network.

Celebrate Military Monday and Music Monday with this episode of Big Blend Radio that features professional theater writer, producer, and author Steve Wallis. Hear about "Hannah: The Soldier Diaries," a powerful story of love, loss, and hope that takes listeners through a theater-like experience, with an audiobook that immerses listeners in an emotionally charged narrative from the comfort of their own homes.  Wallis invites listeners to meet Hannah as she begins a relationship with Lance Corporal Jack Webb in summer 2012 and is quickly smitten. Hannah has to decide quickly whether to embark on a whirlwind affair or walk away, as the couple only has four weeks together before Jack has to return to the army to fight in the Afghan War. More: https://hannahthesoldierdiaries.co.uk/  

可以搜索公号【璐璐的英文小酒馆】或者添加【luluxjg2】咨询课程or加入社群，查看文稿和其他精彩内容哦~The Reigate Squires Sherlock Holmes was sick. The great detective had been working too hard lately. For two whole months, he had been busy with his latest case, working over fifteen hours a day, and it had made him very tired and weak. As his doctor and closest friend, I told him he needed a break. It was April in the year 1887, and I thought a week of spring sunshine in the countryside would be good for him. My old friend Colonel Hayter had bought a house near Reigate in Surrey and had said we could visit anytime. This was the perfect time to accept his offer. Holmes, luckily, didn't need much convincing, and on the morning of April 25, we left our Baker Street home for Waterloo Station. By the middle of the afternoon, we had arrived at the colonel's house. After dinner, while Holmes rested on the sofa, the colonel showed me his collection of weapons from the Afghan War, where we had met. "By the way," he said suddenly, "I think I'll take one of these pistols upstairs with me tonight in case of a break-in." "A break-in?" I exclaimed. "Yes! We had an incident not far from here last Monday. Burglars broke into the house of a local businessman named Acton. They didn't do much damage, but the burglars are still free, and one can't be too careful." Holmes, who I thought was asleep, opened one eye. "Did they leave any clues?" he asked. "Not that I know of," said Hayter. "It was a very minor burglary, not worth your attention, Mr. Holmes. The thieves ransacked the library. They made a mess, breaking open drawers and pulling things off shelves. All they took was a book, two candlesticks, a paperweight, a small clock, and a ball of string." "What a strange mix of items!" I said. "They probably grabbed the first things they saw," said Hayter. "The local police should learn something from that list," Holmes said, sitting up straighter on the sofa. "To me, it seems clear that ..." I held up my hand. "You're here to rest, my friend. I don't want you getting involved in another problem right now." Holmes shrugged and sighed, and we changed the topic to something less serious. But my attempts to make this a relaxing trip failed because peaceful Reigate suddenly became a crime scene. The next morning, we were eating breakfast when Hayter's butler ran in looking very worried. "Have you heard the news, sir?" he gasped. "At the Cunninghams'?" "Another burglary?" asked the colonel, his coffee cup in mid-air. "Murder, sir!" The colonel whistled. "By Jove! Who was killed, the father or the son?" "Neither, sir. It was William, their coachman. Shot through the heart, sir." "Who shot him?" "The burglar, sir. Then he ran away and got away. He had just broken through the side door when William arrived and confronted him. William died trying to protect his master's property." "What time was this?" asked Hayter. "Around midnight, sir." "We'll visit this morning to offer our sympathies," said the colonel, sitting back down to his breakfast.

On this Moats, George Galloway reflects on the failures of the Afghan War, three years after the US fled Afghanistan blowing $3 trillion to replace the Taliban with .. the Taliban, who have thrown a Bagram Victory Parade with all the gear the US left behind. The Ukraine invasion of Kursk: PR stunt or a masterstroke? + Israel and the ongoing genocide in Gaza.US Journalist and geopolitical analyst Fiorella Isabel joins George in conversation on the failed US regime change operation to oust elected President Maduro in Venezuela. Professor Seyed Mohammed Marandi joins Moats to give his thoughts on Israel and the ongoing genocide in Gaza.Fiorella Isabel: US Journalist and geopolitical analyst Fiorella Isabel - Twitter: https://x.com/FiorellaIsabelM/highlights Professor Seyed Mohammad Marandi: Professor of English Literature and Orientalism at the University of Tehran - Twitter: https://twitter.com/s_m_marandi- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Prof.MohammadMarandi/ Become a MOATS Graduate at https://plus.acast.com/s/moatswithgorgegalloway. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Broadcasting LIVE from Reliance One, the fellas had a very Special Guest on the show, Lt. Col Scott Mann! Scott is a retired Lieutenant Colonel with almost 23 years of active-duty service. He spent nearly 18 years in Army Special Forces (Green Berets) with tours throughout Central and South America, along with three combat tours in Afghanistan.  He is the founder of Task Force Pineapple, which has enabled the evacuation of 1,000 Afghan Allies during the August 2021 NATO withdrawal from Afghanistan. He wrote the book, Operation Pineapple Express, which became a New York Times Best Seller, and chronicled the courage of at-risk Afghans risking everything for freedom and the volunteer efforts of veterans and other volunteers who supported them.  Scott also authored the #1 International Best Seller, Game Changers, Going Local to Defeat Violent Extremists, a comprehensive work that spells out the Afghanistan community engagement methodology to law enforcement and special operations forces.  Scott's newest book, Nobody Is Coming To Save You, it is on pre-order on Amazon and will be released on October 1st!  The Foreward / “Blurb+” is written by Mike Rowe and it is outstanding! Scott is a small business owner of Rooftop Leadership, leadership coach, and professional storyteller. His non-profit, the Heroes Journey, conducts storytelling workshops for veterans, military family members, and Afghan Veterans to help them find their voice and tell their story in military transition. Scott is also a playwright and actor who wrote and performs, with a military veteran cast, the awardwinning play, Last Out - Elegy of a Green Beret, a theatrical rendition of the Afghan War and the journey from moral injury to moral recovery.  Scott also founded Operation Pineapple Express Relief, a non-profit 501C3 that provides episodic financial relief to Afghan Allies who are in duress within safe passage and resettlement.  He has made regular appearances on CNN, Fox News, CBS, NBC, and other major networks. regarding the Afghanistan Withdrawal, Global Terrorism, and Veterans' mental health and moral injury issues The Best Way to Follow Lt. Col Scott Mann:  www.scottmann.com TedTalk:  The Generosity of Scars (Scott asked that we include this in our show notes) Last Out Preview:  Last Out Preview and Interview with Gary Sinise:  Facebook: Scott Mann, https://www.facebook.com/ScottMannAuthor Instagram: scottmannauthor, https://www.instagram.com/scottmannauthor LinkedIn: Scott Mann, www.linkedin.com/in/davidscottmann Twitter: @RooftopLeader, https://twitter.com/RooftopLeader Love,   CT, Rich … and Phil!!!   (me) (Rich) (Phil)  

Find me and the show on social media. Click the following links or search @DrWilmerLeon on X/Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, and YouTube! Our guest this week, Steve Poikenon can be found at his website here.  FULL TRANSCRIPT: Dr Leon (00:00): Now, usually I start this part of the show with a question or a few questions, but today I have to make a statement. After 13 years of either being held up in the Ecuadorian Embassy in Britain, or being in Belmar Prison in solitary confinement, Julian Assange walks free. Why does this matter what led the Biden administration to finally come to its senses and accept a deal? Why should this matter to you? Announcer (00:42): Connecting the dots with Dr. Wilmer Leon, where the analysis of politics, culture, and history converge. Dr Leon (00:49): Welcome to the Connecting the Dots podcast with Dr. Wilmer Leon. I'm Wilmer Leon. We have a tendency to view current events as though they happen in a vacuum, failing to understand the broader historical context in which most events take place. During each episode, my guests and I have probing, provocative, and in-depth discussions that connect the dots between the events and the broader historical context in which they take place. This enables you to gain a better understanding and to analyze events that impact the global village in which we live. On today's episode. The issue before us is what's the significance of WikiLeaks and what's the impact on the freedom of the press? My guest for today's conversation is the host of AM Wake Up and Slow Newsday, which you can watch live on Rock Fin and Rumble, and you can listen anywhere. Podcasts are served. Steve Poin and Steve, welcome. Steve Poikenon (01:51): Thank you very much, Wilmer. It's good to see you not on the radio, Dr Leon (01:57): Man. Well, I have the perfect face for radio from what they tell me, and it's great to see you to be able to put a face with a voice. We've been talking for a couple years now, and it's finally great to be able to put a face with a voice. So footage tweeted by WikiLeaks, I think Julian Assange's wife showed him walking up the stairs onto an aircraft bound for Sipan in the US administered Mariana Islands. He has agreed to plead guilty to one count under the espionage act of conspiracy to disseminate national defense information. Steve, what were your thoughts when you first heard the news that Julian Assange was free? Steve Poikenon (02:44): I was a little stunned. This is something that we've discussed on and off over the last couple of years, and certainly in the last couple of months there have been substantiated rumors that the Biden Justice Department was preparing some sort of plea deal, whether or not the Assange team was going to accept it. That was the thing that we didn't have any certainty about whatsoever. They obviously have gone forward with accepting the deal. He should be, at this point, touching down or walking into the courtroom in the Marianas Islands says a lot about the state of the US empire that we even have a district courthouse in the Mariana Islands. That's just wild to me to begin with, but from the best that I can tell, and Wilmer, you may correct me if I'm wrong, from the best that I can tell, there's nothing in the initial plea agreement that says Julian won't be allowed near a computer or won't be able to access the internet. (03:51) Can't give speeches or interviews or can't have documentaries made about a situation. So by all accounts, up to this point, it appears that when he walks out of the courtroom later in the next couple of hours, he will be a legitimately free human being, and that is a win in and of itself. I'm a father. I can't imagine being taken away from my kids for making the US government angry and then having to know that they're growing up without me. And so the ability for him to take part in raising his own children, I think is the biggest godsend out of all of this. And then we can get into the implications and the impact that this is going to have on press freedom and citizen journalism and everything else going forward. But the huge win here is that he's no longer an inmate in the Guantanamo Bay of the United Kingdom where he was being held with the worst criminals on the island, having never once committed any crime of any sort of significance that would warrant that cell. Dr Leon (05:12): Do you have any idea in terms of why the Mariana Islands other than is the closest space that will enable him then to go from there to his home of Australia? Steve Poikenon (05:25): I think that was the ultimate deciding factor was proximity to Australia. It's not like the US can't construct a kangaroo court anywhere, and it's not like if they didn't have a different provisional, different courthouse, they wouldn't be going through the same sort of performative motions in the eyes of the Biden administration. I think the guilty plea is the thing that they were looking for, something that they could make at least a political, if not a legal for, and then also to not have it be an election issue going forward. Dr Leon (06:04): And from what I understand, this is not precedent setting because this was the result. This is the outcome of a plea deal. This did not actually come as the result of a trial. Steve Poikenon (06:17): If they would've gone to trial and evidence presented and a conviction was rendered and then upheld by a judge, then it would establish a legal precedent because he pled and pled out to time served for what he'd already done. The only thing that it can be used to set a precedent for is politically, or I guess emotionally or spiritually, where people are more hesitant to approach national security reporting or classified information, talk about it, disseminate any of that. And that is I think the real ultimate goal of not just the Biden administration, but the Trump administration and ultimately the Obama administration from where all of this stems is to redefine journalism in the future. Dr Leon (07:10): I want to read from the paragraph from the Washington Post as they reported out this story, Julian Assange's plea deal, sparks global celebration and condemnation reactions were divided as WikiLeaks. Julian Assange heads to a US Pacific territory to cement a plea deal that could soon set him free. WikiLeaks founder, Julian Assange's tentative plea deal with the United States, which could soon bring an end to his years long international legal legal saga, drew celebration and criticism reflecting the divisive nature of his role in obtaining and publishing classified military and diplomatic documents. A couple of things. One is the condemnation side of this. The only folks that I can see that would be condemning this deal are people that are tied to the Trump administration, people that are tied to the Biden administration. I don't understand where they get this idea that there's all this divisiveness and condemnation. Steve Poikenon (08:23): There were the usual, the people you just spoke of, but Mike Pence was one of the loudest. There have been a number of former Trump administration officials and a number of former Obama administration intelligence apparatus and national security apparatus officials who have expressed distaste. This now and again, realize that to be opposed to this means you wanted to see a 50-year-old man, 51-year-old man get effectively tortured to death in a US prison for the rest of his life. That's what being in opposition to this effectively means. The reasoning behind it though is because information is currency. Assange and WikiLeaks were a broker of this information that wasn't part of the sanctioned club, and so Pompeo called them a hostile rogue intelligence agency, non-state intelligence agency. If you are viewed like that amongst the apparatus that's making the national security decisions, it doesn't matter what the end result is, if it's not your wholesale destruction, they're going to be displeased. Dr Leon (09:43): There's another paragraph. While Assange supporters saw him as a courageous whistleblower of government misdeeds, his critics saw him as a self-promoter oblivious to the harm that his leaks might cause, oblivious to the harm that his leaks might cause. There has not been one shred of evidence presented to show that any harm other than embarrassment by Hillary Clinton and some of the other government officials who were identified through these WikiLeaks releases, maybe their egos were damaged. But short of that, there's been no harm. WikiLeaks publication of the Afghan War logs did not obscure the names of Afghan civilians who provided information to the US military and omission that dismayed human rights groups and national security officials. Who are they talking about? Steve? Steve Poikenon (10:49): Okay, so when they say that the harm that they're talking about, it's not just their ego, it's their ability to continue to spy on their friends and allies that was harmed. It was the harm that was done by letting people know what the US government is doing with our tax dollars and our names. But Wim Dr Leon (11:07): Steve, it's not as though the allies did not know that they were being spied on. Remember what happened with Bill Clinton and Angela Merkel's? I think it was the Clinton administration and Angela Merkel's cell phone. I mean, it's not as though we don't know. We don't know Israel. It's not as though we don't know that Israel is spying on us. I mean, it's the game that they play. Steve Poikenon (11:31): It is the game that they play, but we're not supposed to know. And the rest of the diplomatic core is all that operates on the pretense and the fiction that it's not happening. That everybody's there to politely try to sort out the ills of the world and that all of the espionage going on in the background is never to be brought up. It doesn't have to stop. You just can't talk about it. If you bring it to light, then the whole operation gets blown up. And that's why WikiLeaks is parent company is called the Sunshine Press. The whole point of it is to bring it into the daylight, that kind of stance from a political point of view, from a journalistic point of view that's going to get you targeted, which is as we saw exactly what happened leading to 13 years of illegal and arbitrary detention. (12:29) Just one quick point to what you were talking about though, when you see major press outlets come out now in defensive Assange, these are, and you had mentioned it, I think even this morning, some of these instant outlets that are reporting on it are outlets that shared the same information. Are these guys then going to look at the plea agreement and go, golly, if Julian Assange isn't being charged as a journalist, does that mean that everyone who has ever shared a piece of classified information can be charged under the Espionage Act? Because Wilmer, I don't know about you. When I read the plea, when I read the plea deal, they're charging Assange as a private citizen. They're not charging 'em as a publisher. They're not charging 'em as a government contractor or a government employee. And those are prior to this, the only people that could get a charge for conspiring to disseminate classified information in this manner. So is that saying that Nick, the janitor or Dan the trucker or whoever your English teacher is now susceptible to Espionage Act charges? Dr Leon (13:48): Well, I think one of the reasons why they're not charging him as a journalist, because that was one of the issues that was being presented in his defense, is that as a journalist, he has the right to disseminate this information. So if they charged him as a journalist, then I think that would probably throw a wrench in their own argument. But to your point, one of the ironies here is when you read the Washington Poll story and the New York Times reporting out on this is that they were complicit in disseminating the information that he made available. Hence during the Obama administration, they called it the New York Times conundrum, and many say that the reason the Obama administration didn't charge him is because Barack Obama didn't want to open up that can of worms. Steve Poikenon (14:45): Well, certainly the idea that the Biden administration would try to with less competent people than were in the Obama administration is somewhat ridiculous. The only reason they could get a plea deal out of the guy is because they'd been torturing him for five years on top of the seven and a half, eight, almost eight years of being confined to one and a half rooms in the most spied on building in London, which is saying a lot because London has more cameras per capita than any other major city. But more cameras were pointed at the Ecuadorian Embassy than anywhere else in London for a very long time. That kind of constant surveillance is going to wreak havoc on an individual. And I got to tell you, Wilmer, it really did surprise me seeing the video, the very brief videos that we have seen of Julian, the last I had heard, he had been in very poor health. He had suffered a stroke or a mini stroke 18 months ago, 20 months ago, something like that. So to see him moving that rapidly, being able to stand walking Dr Leon (15:59): Up the stairs to the plane, Steve Poikenon (16:01): Being able to stand that upright when we had all been told that his back was wrecked and stuff like that, I'm really, really taken away by that. And I can only hope that he remains in that good of health or gets a little bit better shape from here on out because I was imagining the worst I was. And we haven't seen that. So that's very heartening. Dr Leon (16:32): This some will say is a very obvious question, but I think it still needs to be asked and answered Why this deal? Why now? Because when I look at, when I read the plea, when I see what the Biden administration got out of this, could have done this five years ago, he's out on bond. They could have allowed bond five years ago. He could have, instead of being tortured in solitary confinement in Belmar prison, he could have been walking the streets of Piccadilly Circus. So why now? Steve Poikenon (17:14): There's a number of different factors, and one is that it does get eliminated as an election year issue. Trump, regardless of the reality that he's the guy who had Julian arrested was able to successfully run on, we love the WikiLeaks. Have you seen the WikiLeaks? Can't get enough of the WikiLeaks. He was able to gain a lot of ground with that. So it is popular among Americans to want to at least think you have some sort of transparency with your government or think you might be able to have some sort of citizen accountability with your government, which is one of the benefits that WikiLeaks provided. So that's off the table, the Biden administration, because people have goldfish, brain can try to spin it as well. Donald Trump's the guy who had 'em thrown in jail and we're the guys who let him out. Well, you didn't let him out. (18:11) You made him plead guilty to something he didn't do after torturing him for five years and threatening every one and everything that he held dear, that's coercion. That's not a liberation. That's coercion. That's not a victory in any way, shape or form. And I've seen some on the progressive left already try to be like, Hey, man, Trump locked him up, bite him, let him out because he forced him to plead guilty to something that he didn't do. I think we all just need to keep circulating that last part until it sinks in. But we discussed for a number of years on the critical hour how it is a huge problem for the Biden administration or any administration to have Julian Assange on American soil even if the trial takes place behind closed doors in the Eastern District of Virginia, because then you are really putting the press on trial in America for everyone to be forced to pay attention to. And that's something that not Joe Biden, not Donald Trump, definitely not Merrick Garland is capable of dealing with or quelling in a manner that doesn't look like a total brutal dictatorship. And that's what it was going to turn into. Dr Leon (19:35): We have been saying for a couple of years, the one thing, the Biden, for all of the discussion about extradition and all these appeals and the United States sending attorneys to London and going through the barrister and all of that stuff that they were doing, we kept saying, they do not want this man on American soil. They were trying to kill him through the process. Let's drag this thing out for as long as we possibly can and hope the man dies in Belmar prison. We were saying the last, in fact, I remember having a very extensive conversation with you where I was saying, I think the time has come for the Assange Camp to flip the script and take the deal. Tell Merrick Garland, we want to come to the United States. Please extradite us. We want to be on American soil. And we kicked that around for a while. Steve Poikenon (20:41): Yeah, you're absolutely right. And the last thing that any government wants to deal with is having all of its media suddenly turn against it. And in the US, even though the mainstream media is a wholly owned subsidiary of the state, there are people who are allowed to operate with a little bit more freedom. And those are the people who usually command the largest audiences because they're allowed to show a little bit of authenticity on mainstream airwaves, and people are desperate for that. So they don't want their press turning on 'em. They don't want free Assange banners every time they pan into the crowd at a sporting event. They don't want free Assange banners signs every time they go do a man on the street interview. They were in the worst possible position you could be having to make up your case entirely. And having a still somewhat engaged public to where they could mount not just a resistance, but a real jury nullification campaign and a real on the ground, real time education of exactly what their government is trying to do. Via the prosecution of Julian Assange, again, under the Espionage Act of 1917, we're going to take an Australian citizen with a publishing company, publishing outlet, registered in Iceland, give him fake charges in Sweden, imprison him in London and have a Icelandic FBI snitch, make up a whole bunch of stories about him, then recant his testimony. I think Aile, because that's the thing that happened. Pedophile. Yeah, a convicted, convicted pedophile. Dr Leon (22:40): And you haven't even gone through what we did as it relates to Ecuador and what we did in terms of the Ecuadorian election to be, now I'm drawing a blank on the president. Steve Poikenon (22:51): Lennon Moreno was more Moreno. Yeah. Dr Leon (22:55): We didn't even go through what the machinations that the United States went through to get Assange out of the Ecuadorian Embassy. Steve Poikenon (23:05): Yeah. Or touch on the security company that was there at the embassy, uc Global, which was hired first by the Ecuadorian government to provide security then by the CIA via a spook convention effectively at one of Sheldon Adelson's casinos, who was one of Trump's biggest donors at the time, where the head of the security company wound up getting arrested, trying to flee the country after it was discovered that he had had this double dealing with the CIA. And then it was revealed that because of the illegal spying equipment morales's company had placed in assange's rooms at the embassy that led to a planning session with the American CIA where they were plotting out how to kidnap and murder Julian Assange. That was Mike. Dr Leon (23:56): They Steve Poikenon (23:56): Came to, Dr Leon (23:57): That was Mike Ell at the time. And so what folks, and you laying this out, what folks really need to understand is this is not some tinfoil hat conspiracy theory. All you got to do folks is Google it. It's there in mainstream press that this is what the United States went through trying. These are the illegal machinations that the United States government went through in order to try to get this guy. Steve Poikenon (24:28): Absolutely. And people feel certain ways about the gray zone or what, you don't have to read the initial reporting that Max Blumenthal did based off of the reporting that the Spanish outlet El Pais did. Michael Isikoff, two years later, 18 months later, Michael Isikoff through Yahoo News, did the same story, picked it up and took out some of the more poignant points so that he could fit it into a Yahoo story and put out that version of it. But it's there in several mainstream outlets everybody should know. Mike Pompeo tried to have a journalist and publisher assassinated or kidnapped and then assassinated just to prevent him from being able to testify in his own defense is all you can really assume at that point. You're trying to take him out while you have him basically captured. You want to make sure he never works a day in his life again, and you damn sure want to make sure that he doesn't testify because then it becomes part of a court record and then somebody can sue to have that court record or it'll be public Dr Leon (25:40): As a wrap up to this part of the conversation. So I never thought I'd see, this day I thought Julian Sal was going to die in Bell Marsh. What do you see as being the more immediate impacts to this as it relates to press freedom and journalism and some of the longer term impacts? And some of that, I know we won't really know until we hear from him, but your thoughts, Steve Poikenon (26:10): I hope it inspires people to kind of see where the new limits are, because most journalists have just been not necessarily holding back, but the amount of leak based journalism has basically vanished the amount of journalists truly going out there and trying to bring to light some major problems. Boeing comes to Dr Leon (26:35): Mind. Investigative journalism. Steve Poikenon (26:37): Yeah. I want to believe that Julian Assange breathing air again will be a beacon to people to do investigative journalism more often, better than they have been, however you want to frame it. I want that to be a spark that pushes the current boundaries and hopefully pushes 'em back a little bit because it's been relatively restrictive over the last several years. Dr Leon (27:08): There's another issue related to this. It was in consortium news, help us fight theocracy Psychological operations or PSYOPs are operations to convey selected information and indicators to audiences to influence their emotions, motives and objective reasoning, and ultimately the behavior of governments, organizations and groups and individuals. William Casey, the CIA director under Ronald Reagan said, we'll know our disinformation program is complete when everything the American public believes is false. And what happened with Julian Assange, I think is a perfect example of this type of behavior by the American government. Steve Poikenon (28:02): It is. And if you look at the amount of government shenanigans that have occurred in the last four, five years since they yanked Julian out of the embassy, there we're seeing more and more lawsuits being brought against major pharmaceutical companies for vital information that they withheld during the last several years were we found out that a lot of what we were originally told about the January 6th incident, and a lot of what happened then was not necessarily true. There's been multiple court cases that have kept political parties from taking part in the American political process. They've kept, Lawfare has been levied against everyone from the aru, the Aru fellas, Dr Leon (29:07): Mali. Yes. Steve Poikenon (29:09): Yeah, I can never, I know, yes. Ella is something that is just not chambered for me. It's not. But from those guys to, like Alex Jones has been a victim of lawfare. Donald Trump has been a victim of Lawfare, and the entire time there hasn't been a really adversarial reporting outlet with the international foundation that WikiLeaks has with the international audience, that WikiLeaks has to mount a citizen and open source intelligence challenge to any of this and the myriad ways, not just through the restrict Act or the new antisemitism bill or a number of the different laws in Europe and Europe, has the internet been shrunk down significantly? But Elon Musk's purchase of Twitter stating that he wants to turn it into WeChat where your entire internet based existence is on through this one app. I would imagine that Julian Assange would have a lot to say about what Elon Musk has been up to. (30:24) He'd have a lot to say about what happened with the WHO or the NIH over the last several years, but we haven't had that opportunity. And that to me is something that the US government can put as a Big W in their column. That's something that MI six could put as a Big W in their column and really goes right back to those forward documents where they were outlining the plan for what they wanted to do with WikiLeaks. They didn't get to scatter the organization to the winds the way they necessarily described 14 years ago. But when's the last time we got a WikiLeaks drop? Dr Leon (31:07): Well, and for folks that may not understand the significance of this, of course, it was the shooting of the civilians, the murder of the civilians in Iraq and the journalists in Iraq that were shot during the war. And WikiLeaks put that footage out for everybody to see the war crimes that were being committed. So if WikiLeaks had been allowed to continue to operate, I would think our understanding of Ukraine would be different. Our understanding of what's being done in Taiwan would be different. Our understanding of what's being done or trying to be done in North Korea would be different. We would have a lot more insight and information into the illegalities, whether they be international law, whether they be American law, whether they be war crimes, that the United States and its allies have been engaging in these various engagements around the world. Steve Poikenon (32:15): You're correct. And let's also recall that WikiLeaks and WikiLeaks alone disclosed the transpacific partnership. They were the outlet that that agreement came to. They published it, people looked at it and went, no, you want to do what? No, no. And those kinds of trade agreements being disclosed that were done in the dark, away from the eyes of the American public with zero opportunity for public comment or any sort of pushback that made WikiLeaks more dangerous in my opinion, then disclosing video of something that according to even the guys in the helicopter was like a three times a day event in Iraq. And it's something that people in the military kind of shrugged off like, well, yeah, that's what we do. But to the average citizen, it's shocking and horrifying, but not as shocking and horrifying as the United States government wants to set up a corporate court, and it will be a couple of CEOs that determine your future. And if you say something untoward about them on the internet, then they're appointed magistrates from the corporation will decide your faith. That's what the TPP was promising. And any outlet that is going to disclose information like that is suddenly become the most dangerous organization on the planet. Dr Leon (33:49): And when you said that, that I'm drawing a blank on his name, the attorney that sued ExxonMobil in Brazil, Steve Poikenon (33:58): Steven Inger, Dr Leon (33:59): Steven Inger, and how Mobil ExxonMobil was able to use a judge. I mean, they just flipped that whole thing. Don Zinger on behalf of the Indians in Brazil, sues ExxonMobil wins an ungodly amount of money, and he winds up going to jail and ExxonMobil because of what they were able to do with the judicial system in New York, it was criminal. So when you talk about a corporate magistrate, Don Zinger is what popped into my head. Steve Poikenon (34:42): And it was because of an agreement that happened during the Trump administration that that was even possible. And they basically dismantled the TPP, they put certain parts of it into different trade agreements and provisions, and then they got the quasi corporate court because the judge, I believe had been a former Chevron attorney. Correct. And that's how that may even be how he got his judgeship was Chevron bought his way into the judgeship. And that is kind of ordinary corruption, but it's ordinary corruption that also has multinational trade agreements codifying it. And again, in the absence of a WikiLeaks or an organization like it, disclosing these kinds of agreements on the regular, you're not going to get the rapid dissemination of that information amount, a successful pushback in time to stop it. You're not going to be able to get people on the same page understanding it because there's no trust with a number of these. (35:48) All of these other outlets are so disparate, nobody's really consolidated in a way that will lend the immediate mass public trust in what you're doing. Like Lit WikiLeaks had built up over a number of years to the point that when 2015, they disclosed the tpp, people from all over the world held rallies immediately, and there were people out in the streets immediately, and it became an election year issue and it wasn't. And people had to change their tone on it and say to the point where Donald Trump even won a lot of people over by saying, it's a bad deal. It's bad. I don't want to be any part of it. Hillary Clinton had to answer for it. They all had to answer for it. On that debate stage back in 2016, it became a real issue. And so if we don't have these kinds of things moving forward, we're going to be in a significantly less informed spot than we were a decade ago. And in the internet age, that should not be how information is progressing. Dr Leon (36:51): And final point here, and I want to go back to this William Casey quote, and this is the former director of the ccia A and Ronald Reagan will know our disinformation program is complete when everything the American public believes is false. And that takes me, you've heard me say this too many times, Edward Bernas and the book Propaganda folks, you need to get a copy and you need to read Propaganda by Edward Bernas because that's to a great degree what Bill Casey was talking about. And this whole idea, the whole idea of psychological operations, PSYOPs and the PS ocracy. Steve Poikenon (37:47): Yeah. And fifth generation warfare is an asymmetrical warfare conducted on the citizenry, and that's conducted via all elements of propaganda. We're 12 years into living in a reality, a post Smith month modernization act reality. When the Smith Modernization Act passed and went into effect, government propaganda, military propaganda, and government analysts and experts became part and parcel of the media the better part of a halfway through a generation's worth of 24 hour, seven day a week asymmetrical warfare where the vast majority of the people walking around don't even know that they're at war, let alone with their own government, nor that their own government openly declared war on them. That's how good the propaganda is. Everybody should study Bnes. Everybody needs to internalize that the United States is the most propagandized country on the planet. And the only way that we can get out of that is if we understand the landscape that we're standing on and we start to look at how not necessarily individual people that make up that landscape operate, but the institutions that allow for those people to move freely on that landscape operate. And those institutions, we've been shown over and over and over again to be untrustworthy, to be acting not in our interest, to be acting at the behest of not even people in their own country. And yet for some reason, we still get Berna back into thinking that you can vote your way out of an oligarchy Dr Leon (39:44): And so quickly am wake up slow news day. Where do people go? What do they get when they listen to it? Steve Poikenon (39:50): You can go to am wakeup show.com for absolutely everything. We are live Monday through Thursday from 7:00 AM to 10:00 AM Pacific us. There's content on the channel pretty much all the time. We stream out live on Rock fin and Rumble, and then you can catch them pretty much anywhere and everywhere else. And yeah, just thank you so much for having me on. I really have always enjoyed our conversations. Very glad to do your show. Dr Leon (40:22): Well, I got to thank you my guest, Steve Kin, for joining me today. I greatly, greatly appreciate you giving me time out of your schedule, and I always look forward to the conversations that we have and look forward to having many more with you here on Connecting the Dots. Thank you, Steve. Steve Poikenon (40:37): Thank you, Wilmer. Dr Leon (40:39): And thank you so much for listening to the Connecting the Dots podcast with me, Dr. Wilmer Leon, and Steve mentioned the Smith Mut Act, M-U-N-D-T Act. You all can Google that. Look it up. But simply put, for about 60 years that act prohibited the United States Department of State and the broadcasting Board of Governors from disseminating government produced programming within the United States over fear that these agencies would propagandize the American people. However, in around 2013, Congress abolished the domestic dissemination ban, which now has led to this big heated debate about the role of the federal government in free public discourse. Folks, stay tuned for new episodes every week and follow and subscribe. Leave a review, share the show, make a contribution. We would greatly, greatly, greatly appreciate it. Doing this every week is not an inexpensive venture. Your assistance is greatly appreciated. Follow us on social media. You can find all the links below to the show. And remember that this is where the analysis of politics and culture and history converge talk without analysis is just chatter, and we don't chatter here on connecting the dots. See you again next time. Until then, I'm Dr. Woman Leon. Have a great one. Peace. I'm out Announcer (42:20): Connecting the dots with Dr. Wilmer Leon, where the analysis of politics, culture, and history converge.

This week we're going back to the 1980s with Charlie Wilson's War! Join us as we learn about the horrific things people used to do with safety pins, Soviet ambitions in the Persian Gulf, Gust Avrokotos, refugees from the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan, and more! Sources: "Advertisement: Maybelline." Seventeen, 07, 1982, 18-19 "Mascara Magic." Seventeen, 05, 1981 "Advertisement: Maybelline." Cosmopolitan, 11, 1978, 117 "Dear Beauty Editor." Seventeen, 02, 1978, 10 The Wilson Center Digital Archive, Sources available at https://digitalarchive.wilsoncenter.org/topics/soviet-invasion-afghanistan The Soviet Occupation of Afghanistan, PBS Newshour: https://www.pbs.org/newshour/politics/asia-july-dec06-soviet_10-10 Francis Fukuyama, "The Soviet Threat to the Persian Gulf" Rand Corporation, 1981, available at https://www.rand.org/content/dam/rand/pubs/papers/2008/P6596.pdf' Jonathon Green, "slang," The Oxford Companion to Sugar and Sweets (Oxford University Press, 2015) "cake eater," Oxford English Dictionary (2020).  Ngram Google Books Tazreena Sajjad, "Analysis: Where do Afghanistan's refugees go?" PBS News Hour (24 August 2021). https://www.pbs.org/newshour/world/analysis-where-do-afghanistans-refugees-go  "Afghanistan's refugees: forty years of dispossession," Amnesty International (20 June 2019), https://www.amnesty.org/en/latest/news/2019/06/afghanistan-refugees-forty-years/  "Afghan Migration After the Soviet Invasion," NatGeo, https://media.nationalgeographic.org/assets/file/afghan_MIG.pdf  Meindersma, Christa. "Afghanistan." In Encyclopedia of Human Rights (Oxford University Press, 2009). “The MacNeil/Lehrer Report; Interview with Perez de Cuellar,” 1982-02-18, NewsHour Productions, American Archive of Public Broadcasting (GBH and the Library of Congress), Boston, MA and Washington, DC, accessed April 25, 2024, http://americanarchive.org/catalog/cpb-aacip-507-xk84j0c044  Amina Khan, "Protracted Afghan Refugee Situation," Strategic Studies 37, no.1 (2017): 42-65.  Pervaiz Iqbal Cheema, "Impact of the Afghan War on Pakistan," Pakistan Horizon 41, no.1 (1988): 23-45.  Patricia Sullivan, "CIA Agent Gust Avrokotos Dies at 67," Washington Post, available at https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/local/2005/12/25/cia-agent-gust-l-avrakotos-dies-at-age-67/22a47f22-6594-4b9d-a90a-6f7914aa909a/ Roger Ebert, "Evil Empire falls victim to clout," 20 December 2007, https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/charlie-wilsons-war-2007  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charlie_Wilson%27s_War_(film) https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-reviews/charlie-wilsons-war-2-159301/ 

How could the Russia-Ukraine war have been prevented? How could America have ended the Afghan War successfully, at a fraction of the cost? Should you spike your smartphone into the trash? Blackwater founder Erik Prince knows more about the shadowy world of defense spending, military strategy, and espionage than almost anyone alive. This Memorial Day, Prince joins Charlie to talk about the the future of warfare, spying, domestic surveillance, and a lot more.Support the show: http://www.charliekirk.com/supportSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

How could the Russia-Ukraine war have been prevented? How could America have ended the Afghan War successfully, at a fraction of the cost? Should you spike your smartphone into the trash? Blackwater founder Erik Prince knows more about the shadowy world of defense spending, military strategy, and espionage than almost anyone alive. This Memorial Day, Prince joins Charlie to talk about the the future of warfare, spying, domestic surveillance, and a lot more.Support the show: http://www.charliekirk.com/supportSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

GUEST: Dakota Meyer KNOWN FOR  Medal of Honor Recipient; NYT Best Selling Author; CEO “Own The Dash” TOPICS  Why to What; PTSD; The Greatest Generation; the problem with glorifying combat; what it's really like to be shot at;  "The Box Method"; Ironman Training; why military life is simpler than civilian life; fathering three strong daughters; serving as a firefighter; choosing growth over comfort; Owning the Dash; veteran suicide; and so much more.  ABOUT DAKOTA Dakota Meyer is a United States Marine, a combat veteran, the second-youngest living Medal of Honor recipient, and the third living recipient of either the Iraq War or the War in Afghanistan. Meyer was born and raised in Columbia, KY, and is a father of 3 beautiful daughters. In 2007 Dakota became one of the youngest school-trained snipers in the Marine Corps.  After leaving the military Dakota has continued his passion for serving. Dakota serves his community through his work as a Firefighter and First Responder and as an active father, church member, and volunteer. Dakota has written two books - “Into the Fire: A Firsthand Account of the Most Extraordinary Battle in the Afghan War” and “The Way Forward.” He is currently working on his next book, “Why To What.” “Own the Dash” “There are 2 dates on your tombstone: Birthdate - Death Date. What really matters is the dash in between.” FOLLOW Dakota Dakota's Instagram: http://www.instagram.com/dakotameyer0317 Dakota's Website: http://www.dakotameyer.com  Your Human Podcast: https://shorturl.at/moAT0    FOLLOW SPENCER COURSEN  Spencer's Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/s.coursen/  Spencer's Website: www.SpencerCoursen.com   RECORDING STUDIO Podcast Recorded Studio: Record ATX https://www.recordatx.com/    THEME MUSIC "Underground Moments" by Cushy https://www.epidemicsound.com/artists/cushy/     PODCAST AND VIDEO PRODUCTION Ronin6 Media and Lauren Brown   HEAD OF OPERATIONS Lauren Brown   GUEST BOOKING Lauren Brown   SPECIAL THANKS Lauren Brown (IG @laurenelizabethb)The

On toady's episode we have war veteran and podcaster Nick Aicardi. Nick has a fascinating story, he signed up to the Marines after 9/11 and served in the Afghan war. We talk through his story and some of the people he met along the way. We go into current affairs, conspiracies, politics, and delve into the impact of war on mental health.Nick's Hard To Kill podcast IG - https://www.instagram.com/hardtokillp0dHard To Kill Podcast - https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC5Ab2FBsV5q6_fabi-3OUXwThe Dark Finds Podcast IG - https://www.instagram.com/darkfindspodcast/Dark Finds IG - https://www.instagram.com/dark.finds/Dark Finds book - https://www.amazon.com/Dark-Finds-Gary-Colton/dp/1805173634/ref=sr_1_1?crid=32IWLIEEN8XIL&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.jWppV6gOilTHk6itSI62xFyZofDLqZaAGrV8IKerjvZohGZjUd3KvPxsgUkBJ78z8XEGyPZeP52JjjdOIMtbLEN0mYRhEMRPNabOeldbbsloU1KoDPhHtIh6F_L6x0-pYumWLWcH7HTmb2aOaEaEYpEu28omqTEkp918T8eht9xT4YXOtQ5rZv83t-EaPFx_RjtcYp-L2ChbpHanxrSYe74KTjKVc1Q5UimOL-Uy29U.8aZCNrUTp2x5nwv61oqsXycYbZQwBLRuW28Q-hEWmfE&dib_tag=se&keywords=dark+finds+book&qid=1713961123&sprefix=%2Caps%2C163&sr=8-1Dark Finds YT - https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCap737Yzv3XONh8GaARy5bwHelp keep the content going - patreon.com/DarkFindsPodcast Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Joined today by Rhodes scholar, poet and author Mark Abley. Mark talks about his allegiance to Red Wings hockey, the Rough Riders and makes his case for Montreal bagels over NYC ones. We chat about his flex being a Rhodes Scholar, the decision to leave Oxford to backpack the "Hippie Trail" and his awesome new book "Strange Bewildering Time: Istanbul to Kathmandu in the last year of the Hippie Trail". Mark reminisces about traveling through Turkey, Iran, Pakistan and other countries in 1978 during the start of the Afghan War and the Iranian Revolution, why he kept writing in his journals and why after 45 years, it was time to write this book. Mark shares what it was like reading the words from his younger self, the differences in travel from then to now, and the differences with the Hippie Trail and the Silk Road. Mark let's us know about the difficulties of traveling with a friend, if their friendship lasted and what she thought of his book. From other books Mark finds fascinating to his obsession with languages, and much more. Check out Mark's books and site here: https://www.amazon.com/stores/Mark-Abley/author/B0B6WVRYJ8?ref=ap_rdr&isDramIntegrated=true&shoppingPortalEnabled=true

This segment has been extracted from the full-length episode, which originally aired on January 31, 2023. It has been REDEPLOYED. Today's guest is retired U.S. Army Infantry captain Sean Parnell.   As a 10th Mountain Division soldier, Sean served in some of the heaviest combat of the Afghan War.  Join Jack and Sean as they discuss Sean's first day deployed to Afghanistan.  Sean captured his experiences in Afghanistan in the New York Times bestselling book Outlaw Platoon and is currently the host of the Sean Parnell Battle Ground Podcast, which airs daily at 5pm EST. To learn more about Sean, follow him on Instagram @officialseanparnell and visit his website, officialseanparnell.com. SPONSORS: Red Sky Mourning – The 7th novel in the James Reece Terminal List series. Pre-order today! http://jackcarr.co/rsm  Bravo Company Manufacturing: Visit us on the web at http://jackcarr.co/bcm and on Instagram @BravoCompanyUSA.com  SIG: Celebrating the 40th Anniversary of the legendary SIG SAUER P226. Learn more here - https://jackcarr.co/SIG40thP226  Jack Carr Gear: Explore the gear here - https://jackcarr.co/gear

This segment has been extracted from the full-length episode, which originally aired on January 31, 2023. It has been REDEPLOYED. Today's guest is retired U.S. Army Infantry captain Sean Parnell.   As a 10th Mountain Division soldier, Sean served in some of the heaviest combat of the Afghan War.  Join Jack and Sean as they discuss Sean's first day deployed to Afghanistan.  Sean captured his experiences in Afghanistan in the New York Times bestselling book Outlaw Platoon and is currently the host of the Sean Parnell Battle Ground Podcast, which airs daily at 5pm EST. To learn more about Sean, follow him on Instagram @officialseanparnell and visit his website, officialseanparnell.com. SPONSORS: Red Sky Mourning – The 7th novel in the James Reece Terminal List series. Pre-order today! http://jackcarr.co/rsm  Bravo Company Manufacturing: Visit us on the web at http://jackcarr.co/bcm and on Instagram @BravoCompanyUSA.com  SIG: Celebrating the 40th Anniversary of the legendary SIG SAUER P226. Learn more here - https://jackcarr.co/SIG40thP226  Jack Carr Gear: Explore the gear here - https://jackcarr.co/gear

Mikael was on the ground during the catastrophic US evacuation from Afghanistan in August 2021. He made it his mission to save as many Aghan allies as possible and is personally responsible for the safe exit of 20 allies. While some made it out, Mikael talks about the deep moral injury this abandonment has caused.   When it became apparent that it was impossible to evacuate everyone in Hamid Karzai International Airport (HKIA), Digital Dunkirk was born—an ad hoc, public-private, digital-based effort involving thousands of people around the world that came together to save as many people from the carnage of the Taliban.   Get your copy of Life and Death at Abbey Gate: https://amzn.to/42Sehnx   Learn more about Mikael Cook and Digital Dunkirk: Website - https://www.mikaelcook.com/   Join the SOFREP Book Club here: https://sofrep.com/book-club See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Today we wanted to share an episode from a little while back. We believe that it provides immense value and there are some new listeners, so we wanted to re-post it. On today's episode, Dennis speaks with former Force Recon Marine, DoD Contractor with eight deployments to Afghanistan, Author and Founder of Mighty Oaks Foundation, Chad Robichaux. Chad is a former Force Recon Marine and DoD Contractor with eight deployments to Afghanistan as part of a Joint Special Operations Command (JSOC) Task Force. After overcoming his personal battles with PTSd and nearly becoming a veteran suicide statistic, Chad founded the Mighty Oaks Foundation, a leading non-profit, serving the active duty, military veteran and first responder communities around the world with highly successful faith-based combat trauma and resiliency programs. Having spoken to over 400,000 active-duty troops and led life-saving programs for over 4,500 active military and veterans at four Mighty Oaks Ranches around the Nation, Chad has become a go-to resource and is considered a subject matter expert on faith-based solutions to PTSd, having advised the former Presidential Administration, Congress, the VA, the DoD, and was appointed to serve as the Chairman of a White House Veterans Coalition. Chad is also the Co-Founder of Save Our Allies, a non-profit that's mission is focused on the evacuation and recovery of Americans, our allies and vulnerable people trapped in Afghanistan. Save Our Allies began as a personal quest for Chad, as he set out to rescue his long-time friend and Afghanistan interpreter, but the mission quickly evolved because of Chad's compassion for people and his servant heart. Since its inception, Save Our Allies has safely evacuated over 17,000 people that were trapped in Afghanistan and is now helping in Ukraine. Chad is a bestselling author and has written a number of books related to veteran care and overcoming life's challenges, donating over 250,000 copies to the troops during his resiliency speaking tours. He is regularly featured on national media outlets and his story was notably shared in a short film by I Am Second and the documentary, Never Fight Alone. Currently, a life-story motion picture movie is being produced based on Chad's #1 best-selling book, An Unfair Advantage. Today, Chad discusses his story that led him to join the Marines at 17 years old, war stories of the Afghan War, his rescue missions throughout his career and why he continues that mission today and the importance of having compassion for those in need. Find out more about Chad here: https://chadrobichaux.com/ Donate to help the rescue missions here: https://donate.mightyoaksprograms.org/?utm_campaign={campaign_id}&utm_source=google-ads&utm_medium=cpc&gclid=CjwKCAjwg4SpBhAKEiwAdyLwvC1425XOR4UcUygWmrDf70z0htRKTI02iPwqNhmeflbXutKWz190_hoCvdYQAvD_BwE Follow Chad here: https://www.instagram.com/chadrobo_official/?hl=en If you like what you are hearing and want to stay in the loop with the latest in Street Cop Training, please follow our Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/StreetCopTraining Don't forget to subscribe and rate the podcast, it truly helps! Sign up for classes here: https://streetcoptraining.com/course-list/Follow our podcast here: https://streetcoptraining.com/street-cop-podcast/    or    https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/street-cop-podcast/id1538474515

Today's guest on the Danger Close Podcast with Jack Carr is retired U.S. Army Infantry captain Sean Parnell. As a 10th Mountain Division soldier, Sean served in some of the heaviest combat of the Afghan War. Join Jack and Sean as they discuss Sean's 485 days of fierce fighting on the Afghan-Pakistan border in 2006-2007 and key leadership take-aways from Sean's time in service. They also discuss Sean's two congressional runs and the power, money and manipulations at play from at home and abroad on the U.S. political system. Sean captured his experiences in Afghanistan in the New York Times bestselling book Outlaw Platoon and is currently the host of the Sean Parnell Battle Ground Podcast, which airs daily at 5pm EST. To learn more about Sean, follow him on Instagram @officialseanparnell and visit his website, https://officialseanparnell.com/. SPONSORS: Red Sky Mourning – The 7th novel in the James Reece Terminal List series. Pre-order here - http://jackcarr.co/rsm Bravo Company Manufacturing: Visit us on the web here - http://jackcarr.co/bcm and on Instagram @BravoCompanyUSA SIG: Celebrating the 40th Anniversary of the legendary SIG SAUER P226. Learn more here - https://jackcarr.co/40th-p226 Jack Carr Gear: Explore the gear here - https://jackcarr.co/gear

Foreign Area Officer, writer, and professor Jason Criss Howk joins us to discuss Pakistan's role in the Afghan War and the way forward for Afghanistan. Jason is also the founder and director of the Global Friends of Afghanistan (GFA), a US-based non-profit organization that educates people about the history, culture, and current events affecting Afghanistan.To learn more and to contribute to the Global Friends of Afghanistan mission, please visit GFA at https://www.globalfriendsofafghanistan.org/You can follow Jason on Twitter at https://twitter.com/jason_c_howkJason's book U.S. War Option in Afghanistan can be purchased on Amazon at https://www.amazon.com/U-S-War-Options-Afghanistan-Choose/dp/B09XV9NPZV/ref=tmm_pap_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=&sr=_________________________________________ Where to Listen:Apple: https://bit.ly/theboardwalkapple Spotify: https://bit.ly/theboardwalkspotify Pandora: https://bit.ly/3xZ8bk9 Google Podcasts: https://bit.ly/3gbZ6ya Amazon Music: https://amzn.to/37UuZXQ Stitcher: https://bit.ly/3AQNadj  iHeart Radio: https://bit.ly/3y0Vfdw TuneIn: https://bit.ly/2W1VEPN Buzzsprout: https://bit.ly/37PIdoy  Be sure to like, follow, subscribe, rate, review, and share wherever you listen to our podcast. New episodes of The Boardwalk are published every Saturday morning.  Our Social Media Sites:Instagram: @theboardwalkpodcast Facebook: @TheBoardwalkPodcastTwitter: @theboardwalkpod You can also reach us by email at: theboardwalkpodcast@gmail.com  The views expressed by the hosts and guests of this podcast do not represent the views of the United States Government or the United States Department of Defense.  

Mikael Cook is a former U.S. Army Staff Sergeant and veteran of the war in Afghanistan. During the August 2021 evacuation of Afghanistan, Mikael was apart of the #DigitalDunkirk team that saved thousands of our Afghan allies that had been left for dead. He was personally responsible for the evacuation of 20 of our allies, most of whom have now joined him in Michigan. Mikael is an active member of the veteran community and continues his advocacy work for the Afghan allies left behind.Order Life and Death at Abbey Gate here: https://www.amazon.com/Life-Death-Abbey-Gate-Afghanistan/dp/1636243967You can become a supporter of the podcast for as little as £1 a month. https://www.patreon.com/vsompodcastVSOM socials: @veteranstateofmindThank you to our sponsors! The show doesn't happen without them!Combat Fuel - www.combat-fuel.co.uk Use code VSOM at checkout for a discount on your potions.Zulu Alpha Strap Company - https://zulualphastraps.com/Signup to the email list: https://veteranstateofmind.us20.list-manage.com/subscribe?u=423cabd326f924101bf64629f&id=ab59886d21Audiobooks available at: https://www.audible.co.uk/search?searchAuthor=Geraint+JonesGeraint's latest book, co-authored with Levison Wood, is now available on audio, in hardback, and as an e-book: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Escape-Kabul-Inside-Levison-Wood/dp/1399718126Support the show

William (Will) Yeske is a combat veteran who served 11 years in the United States Army. He is a serial entrepreneur who brings significant expertise in marketing, IT, and project management. He currently runs and operates a marketing company, No Limits Marketing Group (NLMG), founded to help small businesses survive the COVID-19 pandemic. It uses a combination of modern marketing techniques coupled with a non-lethal targeting framework learned within the military to provide clients with winning strategies. Will was also a founding board member of a Veteran non-profit, Rally for the Troops (now part of Racing for Heroes) and has worked on other veteran-based projects.He is currently attending Columbia Business School while running current business projects, creating new possibilities for future endeavors, and parenting his two children alongside his partner, who is also a United States military veteran.“DAMN THE VALLEY” was a phrase regularly uttered by the men that spent any amount of time in the Arghandab River Valley during the deployment of 2 Fury to Afghanistan in 2009–2010. The valley has claimed bodies from the troops of Alexander the Great, the British Empire, and more recently, the Russian Army. Operating in the valley was like nothing the men could have envisaged, they called it the “meat grinder.” It was a deployment that the media didn't talk about, and the government doesn't acknowledge. Three of the company were KIA, more than a dozen suffered life-changing injuries, and half the company had Purple Hearts—not many modern-day deployments have a 52% casualty rate. At one point, the entire prosthetics ward at Walter Reed was full of the men who patrolled that deadly area of the world. Since their return, many of the survivors have struggled to move on with their lives, and the unit has been declared at "extraordinary risk" by the Department of Veteran Affairs. No one who entered that region was left unscathed. This book shares the perspective of the men that were on the ground for that deployment during the fighting season of 2010. "A riveting, unsparing, gritty, first-hand account of life in a great airborne unit that engaged in some of the toughest fighting in Afghanistan, in "the Arghandab," a district whose name became a metaphor for brutal close combat against tenacious enemies. Damn the Valley captures vividly the intense dynamics and relationships in the brotherhood of the close fight in the toughest imaginable conditions - and also the extraordinary reliance of paratroopers on their airborne buddies on their left and right and their leaders. A great read!"General David Petraeus, former Commander of the Surge in Iraq, US Central Command, and NATO/US Forces in Afghanistan; former Director of the CIA; and co-author of "Conflict: The Evolution of Warfare from 1945 to Ukraine" “Sobering, powerful, factual; this is a must-read first-person story which brilliantly and empathically illuminates the facets of a soldier's life during combat in one of Afghanistan's toughest districts. This is a rare glimpse into the realities real American heroes face to pay for our freedom. As the Fury commander there, for 24 months, I understand we asked soldiers to sacrifice on our behalf with ill-defined goals. Thus the book quote resonated with me, that the only way to WIN was to, 'continually do [sic] the right thing in the face of everything that screams to you that it wasn't worth it to stay on the path of the righteous.' They served with honor!"Brian Mennes Major General (Ret) former Deputy Commander 18th Airborne Corps, US Army“Yeske provides a riveting account of the brutality and unforgiving nature of direct combat from the paratroopers who had to deal with it in one of the most dangerous and contentious areas and times of the Afghan War. He also clearly articulates the interpersonal nature of small unit combat, and his writing makes the reader feel as if they are there, on patrol, or under fire with him and his buddies. I recommend this book to any small unit leader to understand what combat is about and to any leader in general to understand what our troops at the tactical level must endure during extended combat.”John Wayne Troxell, SEAC (Ret), USA, 3rd Senior Enlisted Advisor to the Chairman, JCS, and author of "Surrender or Die! Reflections of a Combat Leaderhttps://damnthevalleybook.com/ https://www.facebook.com/damnthevalleybook https://www.instagram.com/damnthevalleybook/https://www.linkedin.com/in/williamyeske http://tiktok.com/@damnthevalleybookhttps://x.com/WYeske https://youtube.com/@damnthevalleybook

This is Kyle and my novel "Bottled in Bagram" will be released January 2, 2024. Pre-orders are up now for the digital version with paperback to follow:Pre-Order HereRead Chapter One on my Substack!David Ryan is an intelligence analyst working on board a small reconnaissance aircraft in the final years of the Afghan War. On a routine approach into Bagram, his aircraft is attacked and the camera operator, Sam Stokes, is wounded. While the crew works to conceal their whiskey smuggling operation, the commander vows revenge, and the full might of US aviation and intelligence is unleashed to find the shooter.Bottled in Bagram follows the aviators of Task Force Daytona as they fight their own individual conflicts amid the failing Afghan War. Officers want promotions, the enlisted want to perpetuate their alcoholism, and others are trying to sell their used panties on the internet. Intelligence analysts who predict Afghanistan's imminent collapse are ignored to not rock the rudderless boat of military bureaucracy. David and his comrades must deal with boredom, devastating violence, mental illness, and filling sandbags in this dark satire of the Global War on Terror. Fans of Joseph Heller's Catch 22 and W.C. Heinz's MASH may enjoy this take on a modern war. 

We are honored to have Yousuf Sediq join us to tell a few stories from his time in the Afghan War as an interpreter and a soldier. You can purchase his book "5000 Days of War" here: https://bit.ly/40PmqIm_________________________________________ Where to Listen:Apple: https://bit.ly/theboardwalkapple Spotify: https://bit.ly/theboardwalkspotify Pandora: https://bit.ly/3xZ8bk9 Google Podcasts: https://bit.ly/3gbZ6ya Amazon Music: https://amzn.to/37UuZXQ Stitcher: https://bit.ly/3AQNadj  iHeart Radio: https://bit.ly/3y0Vfdw TuneIn: https://bit.ly/2W1VEPN Buzzsprout: https://bit.ly/37PIdoy  Be sure to like, follow, subscribe, rate, review, and share wherever you listen to our podcast. New episodes of The Boardwalk are published every Saturday morning.  Our Social Media Sites:Instagram: @theboardwalkpodcast Facebook: @TheBoardwalkPodcastTwitter: @theboardwalkpod You can also reach us by email at: theboardwalkpodcast@gmail.com  The views expressed by the hosts and guests of this podcast do not represent the views of the United States Government or the United States Department of Defense.   #afghanistan #nato #taliban #kandahar #kabul #oef #waronterror #isaf #theboardwalk #theboardwalkpodcast #militaryintelligence #andsf #helmand #bagram #balkh #mazari #panjshir #northernalliance #resistance #massoud 

In 2007, military historian Sean Maloney was commissioned to write Canada's account of the war in Afghanistan. Unlike other official histories, this one would be documented as it was being fought. The three-volume The Canadian Army in Afghanistan, was set to be published in 2014, but it didn't see the light of day for nearly a decade due to, according to Maloney, concerns within the military. The book was quietly, and some say reluctantly, released last summer. CBC senior defence reporter Murray Brewster on the long delay, what's actually in the book, and why historical accounts of war can be so divisive. For transcripts of Front Burner, please visit: https://www.cbc.ca/radio/frontburner/transcripts Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday.

 Massoud Hossaini is a Pulitzer Prize winning photojournalist who covered the entirety of the Afghan War. We are honored to have him join us. As a warning, this conversation gets heavy and dark toward the end and deals with feelings about the war and life in general. _________________________________________ Where to Listen:Apple: https://bit.ly/theboardwalkapple Spotify: https://bit.ly/theboardwalkspotify Pandora: https://bit.ly/3xZ8bk9 Google Podcasts: https://bit.ly/3gbZ6ya Amazon Music: https://amzn.to/37UuZXQ Stitcher: https://bit.ly/3AQNadj  iHeart Radio: https://bit.ly/3y0Vfdw TuneIn: https://bit.ly/2W1VEPN Buzzsprout: https://bit.ly/37PIdoy  Be sure to like, follow, subscribe, rate, review, and share wherever you listen to our podcast. New episodes of The Boardwalk are published every Saturday morning.  Our Social Media Sites:Instagram: @theboardwalkpodcast Facebook: @TheBoardwalkPodcastTwitter: @theboardwalkpod You can also reach us by email at: theboardwalkpodcast@gmail.com  The views expressed by the hosts and guests of this podcast do not represent the views of the United States Government or the United States Department of Defense.   #afghanistan #nato #taliban #kandahar #kabul #oef #waronterror #isaf #theboardwalk #theboardwalkpodcast #militaryintelligence #andsf #helmand #bagram #balkh #mazari #panjshir #northernalliance #resistance #massoud 

Alex tells the story of the Siege of Bala Hissar, and the fort's defenders – who were faithful even unto death. Sources: Lessons From History: Hidden heroes and villains of ...

Miles Lagoze is a Combat Camera Marine veteran and the critically acclaimed director of Combat Obscura, a 2019 documentary that utilizes footage he captured during his unit's historic mission to secure ground in the northern Sangin and Kajaki districts of Afghanistan. His debut book is titled Whistles from the Graveyard.    Lagoze recounts his enlistment at the age of 18 and the controversy he faced while using a government-issued camera for his film. The documentary presents a raw and graphic portrayal of the Afghan War, often evoking polarized reactions from audiences. Meanwhile, Whistles from the Graveyard uncovers the grim reality faced by the men and women deployed to fight America's longest war.     Watch Combat Obscura: https://www.amazon.com/Combat-Obscura-Miles-Lagoze/dp/B07N8JZG1C   Get your copy of Whistles from the Graveyard: https://amzn.to/3s34Eoa   Join the SOFREP Book Club here: https://sofrep.com/book-club See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

On today's episode, Dennis speaks with former Force Recon Marine, DoD Contractor with eight deployments to Afghanistan, Author and Founder of Mighty Oaks Foundation, Chad Robichaux. Chad is a former Force Recon Marine and DoD Contractor with eight deployments to Afghanistan as part of a Joint Special Operations Command (JSOC) Task Force. After overcoming his personal battles with PTSd and nearly becoming a veteran suicide statistic, Chad founded the Mighty Oaks Foundation, a leading non-profit, serving the active duty, military veteran and first responder communities around the world with highly successful faith-based combat trauma and resiliency programs. Having spoken to over 400,000 active-duty troops and led life-saving programs for over 4,500 active military and veterans at four Mighty Oaks Ranches around the Nation, Chad has become a go-to resource and is considered a subject matter expert on faith-based solutions to PTSd, having advised the former Presidential Administration, Congress, the VA, the DoD, and was appointed to serve as the Chairman of a White House Veterans Coalition. Chad is also the Co-Founder of Save Our Allies, a non-profit that's mission is focused on the evacuation and recovery of Americans, our allies and vulnerable people trapped in Afghanistan. Save Our Allies began as a personal quest for Chad, as he set out to rescue his long-time friend and Afghanistan interpreter, but the mission quickly evolved because of Chad's compassion for people and his servant heart. Since its inception, Save Our Allies has safely evacuated over 17,000 people that were trapped in Afghanistan and is now helping in Ukraine. Chad is a bestselling author and has written a number of books related to veteran care and overcoming life's challenges, donating over 250,000 copies to the troops during his resiliency speaking tours. He is regularly featured on national media outlets and his story was notably shared in a short film by I Am Second and the documentary, Never Fight Alone. Currently, a life-story motion picture movie is being produced based on Chad's #1 best-selling book, An Unfair Advantage. Today, Chad discusses his story that led him to join the Marines at 17 years old, war stories of the Afghan War, his rescue missions throughout his career and why he continues that mission today and the importance of having compassion for those in need. Find out more about Chad here: https://chadrobichaux.com/ Donate to help the rescue missions here: https://donate.mightyoaksprograms.org/?utm_campaign={campaign_id}&utm_source=google-ads&utm_medium=cpc&gclid=CjwKCAjwg4SpBhAKEiwAdyLwvC1425XOR4UcUygWmrDf70z0htRKTI02iPwqNhmeflbXutKWz190_hoCvdYQAvD_BwE Follow Chad here: https://www.instagram.com/chadrobo_official/?hl=en If you like what you are hearing and want to stay in the loop with the latest in Street Cop Training, please follow our Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/StreetCopTraining Don't forget to subscribe and rate the podcast, it truly helps! Sign up for classes here: https://streetcoptraining.com/course-list/Follow our podcast here: https://streetcoptraining.com/street-cop-podcast/    or    https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/street-cop-podcast/id1538474515

Sean Parnell is the author of the bestselling memoir Outlaw Platoon. He is a retired Army Infantry captain who served in some of the heaviest combat of the Afghan War. He recounts those battles in vivid detail during his leadership presentations for the nation's most successful teams and corporations. He is also the Co-Founder of the American Warrior Initiative, a charity that honors and and empowers our nation's veterans.    Rumble: https://rumble.com/c/BattlegroundPodcast   Twitter: @SeanParnellUSA   Instagram: @officialseanparnell   Outlaw Platoon: https://www.amazon.com/Outlaw-Platoon-Renegades-Brotherhood-Afghanistan/dp/0062066404 #veterans #combatveterans #infantry #gwot #armyranger Buy the book! https://www.amazon.com/Honed-Finding-Your-Edge-Over-ebook/dp/B09C11QYR4/ref=sr_1_1?crid=1L3GKMD0L3Z1H&dchild=1&keywords=honed+finding+your+edge+as+a+man+over+40&qid=1630362562&sprefix=honed%2Caps%2C210&sr=8-1   Greybeard Performance: https://greybeardperformance.com Mike Simpson has served over three decades in the military as an Airborne Ranger, a Special Forces Operator, and finally as a Doctor of Emergency Medicine assigned to the Joint Special Operations Command (JSOC). Throughout his career, Mike has deployed to 17 different countries, from counter-narcotics operations in the jungles of South America, to the Global War on Terror (GWOT) in Southwest Asia and North Africa. Along the way, Mike has been trained as a demolitions expert, SWAT Sniper, High Altitude Low Opening (HALO) parachutist, civilian paramedic, Special Forces Medic, Operations and intelligence Sergeant, and finally, a board certified Emergency Medicine Physician. Mike is also a martial arts enthusiast, who trains in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu and Muay Thai. His passion for martial arts motivated him to become a practicing fight doctor. As one of the foremost experts in both tactical trauma medicine and combat sports medicine, Mike is highly sought after as a lecturer and instructor, working extensively with Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) fighters, law enforcement, and military organizations providing medical care and training. He co-stars on Hunting Hitler on the History Channel. Email: doc@drmikesimpson.com

On todays Failure To Stop Last Call episode, we are covering the new updates on the Bowe Bergdahl case. Bowe Bergdahl was the US Army deserter in the Afghan War that made national headlines for years. His Court Martial Conviction has now been voided by a US judge but why. What is the whole story? We have it here on Last Call of the Day, the episode of the week that gives first responders something else to talk about other than the job. Failure to Stop is a podcast channel with five different shows a week to keep first responders entertained, informed, and aware of whats going on in the world today. SPONSORED BY: Ghostbed.com/wolfpack | Code: Wolfpack Factor Fresh | Promo Code: Wolfpack50 - 50% off Mybookie.com | promo code: Wolfpack Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Independent Senator Jacqui Lambie has met with Defence Minister Richard Marles a day after referring Afghan war crimes allegations to the International Criminal Court. - Независната сенаторка Џеки Ламби се состана со министерот за одбрана Ричард Марлс еден ден откако ги упати наводите за воени злосторства во Авганистан до Меѓународниот кривичен суд.

Independent Senator Jacqui Lambie has met with Defence Minister Richard Marles a day after referring Afghan war crimes allegations to the International Criminal Court.

Wes, Eneasz, and David keep the rationalist community informed about what's going on outside of the rationalist community. Support us on Substack!News discussed:Oathkeeper leader Stewart Rhodes gets 18 years for seditious conspiracy“He was the one giving the orders,” Judge Mehta saidMajor loss of access to transgender healthcare in FloridaAlso, Oklahoma passed a super anti-trans bill in FebruaryElon comes out as pro-criminalization of sex changes for minors :( Meta says it'll stop linking news sites in CA if Link Tax passesThey're testing on Canadians Facebook refusing to pay off a couple of Australian news orgsHappy News!Afghan War ended with 0 US MIAsOpenAI working on “Processes Supervision”NewLimit raises $40M to extend life Pairwise used CRISPR to make raw mustard greens not taste badUsing artificial intelligence researchers found a new type of antibioticFirst Einstein Shape discovered by David SmithAnother one! Based on Hat, meet Spectre, which does it without reflected tilesNeuralink wins FDA approval for human study of brain implantsIn just a few months, the U.S. received more than 1.5 million requests from individuals hoping to sponsor the entry of migrants! TN anti-drag law is unconstitutional on multiple grounds First Recorded Stand-Up Comedy SketchFirst-Ever X-Ray of a Single Atom CapturedAndrew Carr 32-year-old owner of ABC Cleaning Services, says he was fed up with the paths and cobbles in Alnwick, Northumberland, being covered in chewing gum and dog poo. Turned his powerful pressure washer on the walkways nearby after a job. Everyone loves him. Now he does it every Sunday morning.Got something to say? Come chat with us on the Bayesian Conspiracy Discord or email us at themindkillerpodcast@gmail.com. Say something smart and we'll mention you on the next show!Follow us!RSS: http://feeds.feedburner.com/themindkillerGoogle: https://play.google.com/music/listen#/ps/Iqs7r7t6cdxw465zdulvwikhekmPocket Casts: https://pca.st/vvcmifu6 Stitcher: https://www.stitcher.com/podcast/the-mind-killer Apple: Intro/outro music: On Sale by Golden Duck Orchestra This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit mindkiller.substack.com/subscribe

Life is a Battleground. It's our job to never surrender. Sean Parnell is a retired U.S. Army Infantry captain who served in some of the heaviest combat of the Afghan War.  He is the author of the bestselling memoir Outlaw Platoon and the Eric Steele novels. He is also the cofounder of the American Warrior Initiative, a charity that honors and empowers our veterans. Join Sean as he talks about leadership & life with America's most accomplished warriors, authors, media personalities, executives & political leaders.   New episodes drop every Wednesday   You can also watch Sean (@seanparnell85) on his YouTube channel hereFollow Clay & Buck on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/clayandbuckSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Life is a Battleground. It's our job to never surrender. Sean Parnell is a retired U.S. Army Infantry captain who served in some of the heaviest combat of the Afghan War.  He is the author of the bestselling memoir Outlaw Platoon and the Eric Steele novels. He is also the cofounder of the American Warrior Initiative, a charity that honors and empowers our veterans. Join Sean as he talks about leadership & life with America's most accomplished warriors, authors, media personalities, executives & political leaders.   New episodes drop every Wednesday   You can also watch Sean (@seanparnell85) on his YouTube channel here

On October 7, 2001, the Afghan War begins. To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

This will be the last episode we do on Afghanistan for a bit. We wanted to give the final word to a U.S. Marine who served there.We're now a year out from the fall of Kabul and what looks like the end of America's uniformed involvement in Afghanistan. There are as many as 70,000 Afghans who helped the United States during the war who are still looking to get out.Elliot Ackerman, who served in the region as a Marine and as a CIA operative, was trying to help as the last flights were taking off from Kabul's Airport.It was, as Ackerman saw it, the Fifth Act of the Afghan War.He's joining us today to talk about both his war and his views of the fall. He's the author of both novels and non-fiction, including Dark at the Crossing, Green on Blue, and Red Dress in Black and White. We'll put the full list in the show notes. His latest book, looking at these final days is The Fifth Act: America's End in Afghanistan.Angry Planet has a substack! Join the Information War to get weekly insights into our angry planet and hear more conversations about a world in conflict.https://angryplanet.substack.com/subscribeYou can listen to Angry Planet on iTunes, Stitcher, Google Play or follow our RSS directly. Our website is angryplanetpod.com. You can reach us on our Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/angryplanetpodcast/; and on Twitter: @angryplanetpod.Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/warcollege. Our GDPR privacy policy was updated on August 8, 2022. Visit acast.com/privacy for more information.

Lee Camp goes over corrupt history of US college debt. Graham show FIOA docs revealing the DOD had script approval for Afghanistan war films. 

In his new book "The Fifth Act: America's End in Afghanistan," combat veteran and acclaimed novelist Elliot Ackerman documents the horrors of America's evacuation from Afghanistan. He talks with Brian Stelter about why he wrote the book; what people need to know about the August 2021 withdrawal; and the media's coverage of war. In "our obsession not to repeat Saigon... we actually created, I think, a far more terrible image and grisly image," he says. Ackerman also shares how the war in Ukraine relates to last year's images from Kabul. He predicts that "America might be done with Afghanistan, Afghanistan is certainly not done with America."To learn more about how CNN protects listener privacy, visit cnn.com/privacy

Gabriel Shipton is a Film Producer & advocate for his brother Julian Assange; Stella Moris is a lawyer & wife to Julian Assange. In this interview, we discuss the unprecedented State assault on Assange's freedom, the effects on his mental & physical well-being, & the threat to journalism. - - - - On March 15th 2006, US forces dropped from helicopters onto the roof of a house in a village north of Baghdad. The mission was reportedly to intercept a member of al-Qaeda who was visiting the dwelling. The US troops gathered 11 family members in one room, handcuffed them, and shot them all in the head. This included 5 children under 6, one of whom was a 6-month-old baby. US soldiers then called in an airstrike to destroy evidence of their crimes. Iraqi police reported the details of the incident at the time, but the US military refuted these claims, stating a fire-fight with insurgents caused the deaths, and that “[US forces] take every precaution to keep civilians out of harm's way.” Their investigations ended, effectively neutering any other external examination of their conduct. This was until 2010 when WikiLeaks released a series of classified US documents on the Afghan War, Iraq War, and cables between the US State Department and its diplomatic missions around the world. One such cable was from a March 2006 investigation of the above incident by the UN, which corroborated the Iraqi police's accusations that a horrific war crime had been committed. WikiLeaks releases in 2010 highlighted hundreds of other unreported civilian deaths at the hands of the US military in both the Afghan and Iraq conflicts, including military coverup of the torture (using drills and acid) and execution of Iraqi detainees by Iraqi authorities. Julian Assange is the only person linked to these incidents who has been punished. In August it will be 10 years since he sought asylum in the Ecuadorian Embassy in London. During that time the CIA had planned to kidnap and execute him. Then, 3 years ago Assange was arrested in the embassy and taken to the UK's highest security prison, Belmarsh, where he's still kept. All because he published source material, a journalistic practice acting as a bedrock of democracy. US authorities have indicted Assange, an Australian citizen residing in the UK, using their 1917 espionage act; this has never previously been used against a journalist. The US is seeking to extradite Assange using a 2003 UK-US treaty, which was hurriedly brought into law without oversight as a response to the war on terror. The rights of individuals in the UK are limited by this treaty. To compound issues further, Assange will not benefit from US constitutional rights. The full weight of the US and UK states is being used against Assange. His physical and mental condition is deteriorating. Assange's treatment is being used as a warning to others. Whatever your preconceived ideas are about this case, the implications are chilling: the US is seeking to make journalism a crime, and those they accuse suffer.

“He represents democracy and freedom at its strongest, and they've put him in prison. It's in everyone's interest that Julian is freed, it's a disgusting injustice that demeans our democracies and has a real effect on our freedoms because it sets a precedent. What they're doing to Julian, they will do, it's not just that they can do, they will do to others, it's a matter of time.”— Stella MorisGabriel Shipton is a Film Producer & advocate for his brother Julian Assange; Stella Moris is a lawyer & wife to Julian Assange. In this interview, we discuss the unprecedented State assault on Assange's freedom, the effects on his mental & physical well-being, & the threat to journalism. - - - - On March 15th 2006, US forces dropped from helicopters onto the roof of a house in a village north of Baghdad. The mission was reportedly to intercept a member of al-Qaeda who was visiting the dwelling. The US troops gathered 11 family members in one room, handcuffed them, and shot them all in the head. This included 5 children under 6, one of whom was a 6-month-old baby. US soldiers then called in an airstrike to destroy evidence of their crimes.Iraqi police reported the details of the incident at the time, but the US military refuted these claims, stating a fire-fight with insurgents caused the deaths, and that “[US forces] take every precaution to keep civilians out of harm's way.” Their investigations ended, effectively neutering any other external examination of their conduct.This was until 2010 when WikiLeaks released a series of classified US documents on the Afghan War, Iraq War, and cables between the US State Department and its diplomatic missions around the world. One such cable was from a March 2006 investigation of the above incident by the UN, which corroborated the Iraqi police's accusations that a horrific war crime had been committed.WikiLeaks releases in 2010 highlighted hundreds of other unreported civilian deaths at the hands of the US military in both the Afghan and Iraq conflicts, including military coverup of the torture (using drills and acid) and execution of Iraqi detainees by Iraqi authorities. Julian Assange is the only person linked to these incidents who has been punished. In August it will be 10 years since he sought asylum in the Ecuadorian Embassy in London. During that time the CIA had planned to kidnap and execute him. Then, 3 years ago Assange was arrested in the embassy and taken to the UK's highest security prison, Belmarsh, where he's still kept. All because he published source material, a journalistic practice acting as a bedrock of democracy. US authorities have indicted Assange, an Australian citizen residing in the UK, using their 1917 espionage act; this has never previously been used against a journalist. The US is seeking to extradite Assange using a 2003 UK-US treaty, which was hurriedly brought into law without oversight as a response to the war on terror. The rights of individuals in the UK are limited by this treaty. To compound issues further, Assange will not benefit from US constitutional rights. The full weight of the US and UK states is being used against Assange. His physical and mental condition is deteriorating. Assange's treatment is being used as a warning to others. Whatever your preconceived ideas are about this case, the implications are chilling: the US is seeking to make journalism a crime, and those they accuse suffer.- - - - This episode's sponsors:Gemini - Buy Bitcoin instantlyBlockFi - The future of Bitcoin financial servicesBitcasino - The Future of Gaming is herePacific Bitcoin - Bitcoin‑only event, Nov 10 & 11, 2022Ledger - State of the art Bitcoin hardware walletCompass Mining - Bitcoin mining & hostingCake Wallet - Open-source, privacy-focused Bitcoin walletBCB Group - Global digital financial Services-----WBD525 - Show Notes-----If you enjoy The What Bitcoin Did Podcast you can help support the show by doing the following:Become a Patron and get access to shows early or help contributeMake a tip:Bitcoin: 3FiC6w7eb3dkcaNHMAnj39ANTAkv8Ufi2SQR Codes: BitcoinIf you do send a tip then please email me so that I can say thank youSubscribe on iTunes | Spotify | Stitcher | SoundCloud | YouTube | Deezer | TuneIn | RSS FeedLeave a review on iTunesShare the show and episodes with your friends and familySubscribe to the newsletter on my websiteFollow me on Twitter Personal | Twitter Podcast | Instagram | Medium | YouTubeIf you are interested in sponsoring the show, you can read more about that here or please feel free to drop me an email to discuss options.

Afghan war veteran Jason Kander was once a rising star in the Democratic Party until post-traumatic stress changed the direction of his life, which he explores in his new memoir, "Invisible Storm: A Soldier's Memoir of Politics and PTSD." Kander, who is now president of national expansion with the Veterans Community Project, joins Geoff Bennett to discuss. PBS NewsHour is supported by - https://www.pbs.org/newshour/about/funders

Joe Kent is a retired Green Beret who served over 20 years and has completed 11 combat deployments in the Middle East. The veteran is currently running for Washington's 3rd congressional district, looking to unseat Rep. Jaime Herrera Beutler. Kent is a gold star husband — his wife, Navy Senior Chief Petty Officer Shannon Kent, was killed in action fighting ISIS in Syria on Jan. 16, 2019. He cites this, the disastrous Biden administration, and his belief in an "America First" agenda as what motivated him to run. Despite being relatively new to the political scene, he's ready to take on the establishment and bring an end to the endless wars. He joins us in-studio to discuss his campaign and why he decided to run for congress. Joe Kent: Candidate for Washington's 3rd Congressional District Twitter - @JoeKent16Jan19 Instagram - @JoeKent16Jan19 Website - www.joekentforcongress.com Subscribe to You Are Here YouTube: https://bit.ly/2XNLhQw • Watch MORE You Are Here on BlazeTV: https://bit.ly/38WB2vw • Check out Elijah Schaffer's YouTube channel: https://bit.ly/3C0yWH8 • Check out Sydney Watson's YouTube channel: https://bit.ly/2YIedK5 • Follow Sydney Watson on Twitter: https://twitter.com/SydneyLWatson • Follow Elijah Schaffer on Twitter: https://twitter.com/ElijahSchaffer Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices