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Just this morning, we had a three-hour meeting. When's the last time you had a three-hour Zoom call? We had one this morning from 7:00 AM to 10:00, right on the dot— we started right at seven, we ended at ten. We had maybe about ten people, and it was our beginning-of-the-year brainstorming session. Vision, mission, brainstorming for 2026 and beyond: What are our next goals for distributing knowledge that's what keeps us up at night and wakes us up early in the morning: how to do good for others. This is what Advaita Ācārya did—he couldn't sleep thinking about the plight of those in the material world who didn't have the opportunity to come in contact with true knowledge. The rich people were burning their money up doing all these crazy rituals, and poor people were wasting money on intoxication and frivolous activities. And he thought, 'Please, let me be a force in the world to reform them.' So he prayed for Lord Caitanya to come, and he helped to organize the distribution of knowledge. In fact, did you know that Advaita Ācārya went door to door? How'd you like it if Mahā-Viṣṇu came to your front door? 'Who's at the door, honey?' 'I think it's God. He's come knocking at our door.' That's how eager The Supreme Personality of Godhead is. He likes to do it, and He knows the formula. If you just go out and make yourself available—when it's cold or rainy or too hot or you don't feel like it—you're going to feel bad anyway; the material world's just like that. But if you pray, you chant, and you go out and try to give the knowledge to other people, you'll feel joyful 24 hours a day, and your thoughts will be transcendental. Because what you're going to do—if you toss and turn at night right now, you'll still toss and turn—but you're going to be thinking about: "How can I distribute Bhagavad-gītā, not just in English, but in Arabic and in Farsi, in French and Japanese, all over the world?" And if that's your preoccupation in life, you're a liberated soul. It's not hard; it's a simple process. These are heartfelt principles brought to us by Advaita Ācārya, who offered them to everybody. If you live in some far-flung place, you can restart the Hare Kṛṣṇa movement right from your place. All you have to do is have a Bhagavad-gītā and start reading it. Invite people to come over, chant a little bit, and when they get inspired, have them go out and chant for other people. The miracle happens again and again and again. Everyone's waiting for a miracle in this world, but one has already come: it's Advaita Ācārya. He showed us how to do it. ------------------------------------------------------------ To connect with His Grace Vaiśeṣika Dāsa, please visit https://www.fanthespark.com/next-steps/ask-vaisesika-dasa/?utm_source=youtube&utm_medium=video&utm_campaign=launch2025 ------------------------------------------------------------ Add to your wisdom literature collection: https://iskconsv.com/book-store/?utm_source=youtube&utm_medium=video&utm_campaign=launch2025 https://www.bbtacademic.com/books/?utm_source=youtube&utm_medium=video&utm_campaign=launch2025 https://thefourquestionsbook.com/?utm_source=youtube&utm_medium=video&utm_campaign=launch2025 ------------------------------------------------------------ Join us live on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/FanTheSpark/ Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/sound-bhakti/id1132423868 For the latest videos, subscribe https://www.youtube.com/@FanTheSpark For the latest in SoundCloud: https://soundcloud.com/fan-the-spark ------------------------------------------------------------
This episode with my friend and HBS classmate Todd Wilcox was recorded before Todd was nominated for his current role as Assistant Secretary of State, Bureau of Diplomatic Security. We speak about his background and views on business and the world. Todd Wilcox was sworn in as Assistant Secretary of State for Diplomatic Security (DS) on October 14, 2025. In this role, he leads the security and law enforcement arm of the U.S. Department of State, ensuring a safe environment for U.S. foreign policy operations. He oversees a global team of Special Agents, Diplomatic Couriers, Security Engineering Officers, Security Technical Specialists, contractors, and administrative personnel.Mr. Wilcox brings decades of leadership experience as a decorated combat veteran, former CIA case officer, and successful entrepreneur. Before joining the State Department, he founded Patriot Defense in 2005, a company dedicated to supporting those who defend America. He served as its Chief Executive Officer for 10 years before transitioning to Executive Chairman, where he guided the company's vision and acquisition strategy.Prior to his business career, Mr. Wilcox served as an Arabic-speaking CIA Field Operations Officer focused on Middle East and counterterrorism issues. His final assignment was as the CIA Liaison Officer to the FBI's Joint Terrorism Task Force in Orlando. He joined the CIA in 1997 after serving in the U.S. Army, where he earned the Green Beret as a Special Forces A-Team commander and completed a combat tour during Operation Desert Storm.Mr. Wilcox's achievements have been recognized by the U.S. Army ROTC Hall of Fame, Ernst & Young's Entrepreneur of the Year award, and the Orlando Business Journal's Veterans of Influence Award. He has served on the boards of the National Defense University Foundation, RAND Corporation's Center for Middle East Public Policy, and the Orlando Economic Partnership.An active member of the Young Professionals Organization (YPO), Mr. Wilcox also serves as Treasurer of Business Force, a nonprofit political action committee.
NHK WORLD RADIO JAPAN - Arabic News at 15:00 (JST), January 23
Hafsa Mahiou is a prominent Arab content creator, voice-over artist, and event host who has gained millions of followers across social media for her engaging and culturally resonant content. She is known for producing high-quality videos focused on lifestyle, beauty, fashion, travel, and motivational themes, primarily in Arabic, and for her distinctive professional voice that she uses in narrations and collaborations. Originally from Algeria and based in Dubai, Hafsa has become one of the influential figures in the MENA digital scene, hosting events and programs, mentoring others in content creation and marketing, and building a large, loyal audience with her authentic storytelling and positive presence online.In Collaboration with Veralux Talent | PR & Talent Management Agency#hikmatwehbipodcast #podcast#arabicpodcast #hafsa_mahiou#wstudiodxbحكمت_وهبي#حكمت_وهبي_بودكاست#
In this episode of This Is Palestine, we speak with renowned Palestinian artist Sliman Mansour to explore his childhood and artistic journey, shaped by pivotal moments in the Palestinian struggle and their influence on the art movement. From playing with clay alongside his grandmother for making beehives, to transforming clay into his symbolic works of art. From painting under Israeli military censorship to using materials from the land as symbols of identity, Mansour reflects on decades of cultural struggle, collective creation, resilience and belonging. As Israel's ongoing attacks target Palestinian life and culture, he offers a powerful meditation on why art matters, how it preserves identity, and what it means to create in the face of erasure. The interview was originally conducted in Arabic and translated into English accordingly. Thank you for tuning into This is Palestine, the official podcast of The IMEU! For more stories and resources, visit us at imeu.org. Stay connected with us: Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/theimeu/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/theIMEU Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/theIMEU/ For more insights, follow our host, Diana Buttu, on: Twitter: https://twitter.com/dianabuttu
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learn more about word order in long sentences with this video conversation
In this episode, Wendy sits down with Mike Hubbard, Director of International Trade at the Economic Development Partnership of North Carolina, for a practical, story-driven look at what actually makes exporting work. Mike breaks down how their team helps companies move from “we should sell overseas” to a real plan: covering compliance, market research, cultural training, distributor introductions, trade missions, and even grants that can reimburse costs like translation. Along the way, he shares vivid examples: a small home furnishings company that won business in the Middle East because she localized a simple postcard and website into Arabic, why “clunky” machine translation can quietly push buyers away, and how smart market selection (like targeting the UK and South Africa before Canada/Mexico for a medical device) can unlock growth faster than you'd expect. You'll learn: How to build an export strategy that isn't “go to a trade show and hope”—including the core pieces Mike insists on: compliance, market intelligence, and a written market entry plan. Why translation and cultural adaptation are revenue levers (not “nice-to-haves”)—with real examples of how localized materials signal seriousness and reduce friction for buyers. How to pick the right first markets and avoid expensive dead ends—especially when regulations, certifications, labeling rules, and relationship-based selling vary wildly by country.
Amanda Holmes reads Nizar Qabbani's “Maritime Poem,” translated from the Arabic by Rana Bitar and Robert Bensen. Have a suggestion for a poem by a (dead) writer? Email us: podcast@theamericanscholar.org. If we select your entry, you'll win a copy of a poetry collection edited by David Lehman.This episode was produced by Stephanie Bastek and features the song “Canvasback” by Chad Crouch. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
What if the reason you feel like a stranger to yourself isn’t that you’re lost, but because you’ve been performing for so long, you forgot what authenticity looks like? From childhood, so many of us learned that success meant following the script: get the degree, climb the ladder, earn the title, achieve the milestones. But somewhere along the way, that external validation became internal disconnection. In this powerful episode, bestselling author and mindfulness expert Case Kenny reveals the truth about modern identity: it’s not about finding yourself once and being done. It’s about constant reinvention through reflection. He explains why “just being yourself” might be the worst advice you’ve ever received, and how the traits you think make you too much are actually what attract the right people to you. This is a conversation for anyone who’s tired of feeling like one person at work and a stranger at home, for anyone questioning whether the life that looks good on paper actually feels good in reality. Because real fulfilment doesn’t come from collecting achievements. It begins the moment you become the same person inside the conference room and outside. The Man Who Walked Away Case Kenny didn’t just study personal development; he lived the crisis that demanded it. At 28, he was the Regional Vice President of Sales at an advertising agency, crushing quotas and living what looked like the professional dream. He knew exactly who he was supposed to be in the office: confident, successful, the man with all the answers. Then he’d go home. “I would go to my job and feel like one person, and then I leave and I don’t know who I am,” Case recalls. “I’m like, I don’t know who I am on a human level, or a boyfriend level, or a partner level, or a son level, or a brother level. And I was like, that’s problematic for me.” This acute disconnect sparked a radical experiment. In 2018, he launched a podcast not to build an audience, but to force himself into self-reflection. Each episode became a laboratory where he’d unpack an emotion, desire, or expectation and “beat it up with mindfulness and logic.” Eight years later, he’s left corporate life entirely and built a career around what he jokingly calls “sharing my feelings for a living.” Why “Just Be Yourself” Is Terrible Advice “I’m really not a big fan of advice that’s like, just be yourself,” Case explains, “because if you decide that when you’re 20, you should not be the same person at 25, 30, 35, 40.” The popular wisdom tells us to discover ourselves and commit to that identity. But Case argues this is a dangerous fallacy. Real wisdom doesn’t come from experience alone; it comes from reflecting on experience. Without constant reflection, we risk living according to outdated beliefs and values that no longer serve us. “We don’t get wisdom from life experience. We get wisdom from reflecting on life experience,” he says, paraphrasing John Dewey. The things that happen to you shape who you are, but it’s reflecting on those experiences that should have the final say in who you become. His background in languages (he double majored in Chinese and Arabic at Notre Dame) resurfaces in his work. Case views personal development through a linguistic lens, believing that the words we use to describe our experiences fundamentally shape our reality. Out-of-Town Confidence: The Framework That Changes Everything One of Case’s most powerful concepts is “out-of-town confidence,” a mental model that reframes how we approach relationships and life goals. Imagine you’re visiting Miami for the first time. You’d probably be more extroverted, more confident, more open to new experiences. Why? Because you’re not fixated on any single person or outcome. The focus is on the experience itself, and if you happen to meet someone amazing along the way, that’s a bonus. “Get the most out of life as possible, not in a crazy, selfish, narcissistic way, but just as the human endeavour,” Case explains. “And then you use that as the lens to say, is this person right for me?” This philosophy challenges the traditional narrative that finding “the one” is life’s ultimate mission. Instead, he argues we should extract maximum value from being human rather than outsourcing our happiness to external validators. The Liking Gap and Your Weird Wealth Research proves something counterintuitive: you’re more likable than you think you are. It’s called the “liking gap,” and it operates across cultures and languages. After interactions, we consistently underestimate how much the other person enjoyed our company. “You and I interact. I leave the conversation thinking, I don’t think she really liked me that much,” Case describes. “Overwhelmingly so, you are more likely to say, no, I liked Case. He seemed like a cool guy.” Even more powerful: the traits you consider “too much,” weird, or outside normal are actually nonconforming traits that research shows are more attractive than conventional ones. “Double down on the things that you think make you weird,” Case advises. “Your passion is a magnet for the right people and a filter for the wrong people.” Having It All Together Means Nothing When asked about “having it all together,” Case reframes the entire concept. We imagine perfection as possessing everything simultaneously: the career, partner, body, happiness, and friendships all at once. That’s fantasy. “I’ve had the career but not the partner, the partner but not the career, the career but not the money,” he explains. Reality is transitional, and the binary thinking of “everything or nothing” sets us up for perpetual disappointment. His alternative is simple: ask yourself one question as often as possible. “In this moment, with what I’m doing, with my habits, with my partner, with my diet, with my friends, with my city, do I feel like my most honest self?” Then adjust, pivot, and move accordingly. About Case Kenny Case Kenny is a bestselling author, podcast host, and creator who left his role as Regional VP of Sales in advertising to pursue full-time work in mindfulness, language, and personal development. With a background in Chinese and Arabic from the University of Notre Dame, he brings a unique linguistic lens to self-discovery. He’s been podcasting twice a week for eight years, helping people find clarity, kindness, and optimism in their lives. Key Takeaway You are not destined to remain the person you were at 20, 25, or even last year. The identity crisis you experience isn’t a problem to solve but an invitation to evolve. When you stop performing and start reflecting, when you bring out-of-town confidence to everyday life, and when you embrace the transitional nature of having it all, you become the same person inside the conference room and outside. Coming home to yourself means releasing the belief that there’s one right way to live and claiming your right to constant reinvention. Watch the full conversation on YouTube Find Out More About Case Kenny Website: https://casekenny.com Follow on Instagram: @case.kenny
Usama Dakdok is founder of the Straight Way of Grace Ministry. He's the speaker on Revealing the Truth About Islam. Born and raised in Egypt, Usama learned about Islam just as every other student does in a Muslim country. He studied for a university degree in Egypt which included the study of Sharia. He came to America in 1992. With his knowledge of Islam, he founded The Straight Way of Grace Ministry. Usama speaks fluent Arabic and has translated the Qur'an into English. The Council on American/Islamic Relations (CAIR) has just released a comprehensive how-to guide titled: "Unlocking Muslim Political Power: Toolkit on Promoting Muslim Civil Engagement in Local and State Governments." This program brings with it an important warning. In order to understand the urgency of the matter, one must recognize the history of the Council on American/Islamic Relations (CAIR). Usama delves into this as he explains the CAIR connection to Hamas, which clearly shows why claiming to be American and Muslim, as CAIR does, is contradictory. This is just part of why Usama believes that, "CAIR is a Muslim jihadi organization dressed in suits and ties." Become informed as Jim and Usama look into this how-to guide to see exactly what it is that Muslims are being instructed to do, not with the goal of assimilation, but rather infiltration, in order to radically change the political, governmental, educational and social/cultural landscape of America.
The unifying youth culture across the Arab region is characterized by a proud new Arab identity and the changing standards of beauty with the rise of "Arab beauty" (A beauty), which celebrates Arab features and aesthetics. The founder of Mille World and Mille Creative, Sofia Guellaty, talks about her journey launching the first Arab youth platform in the Arab world, the role of media professionals as "editors of conversations," and the emergence of a new, proud Arab identity among both Gen Z and millennials. She discusses how she uses fashion and pop culture as a tool for "soft power" to talk about liberation, representation, and diversity, moving away from superficial content. She reflects on her early career, her shift from being fascinated by the West to "unbashedly proud to be Arab," and the challenges faced by Arab talent, including visa issues and the lack of an Arab-centric market. The conversation also delves into how her platform, Mille World, aims to address the lack of authentic Arab youth representation by giving a voice to young creatives who want to define their own stories, not be perceived through a "western gaze". Explore Mille World
Usama Dakdok is founder of the Straight Way of Grace Ministry. He's the speaker on Revealing the Truth About Islam. Born and raised in Egypt, Usama learned about Islam just as every other student does in a Muslim country. He studied for a university degree in Egypt which included the study of Sharia. He came to America in 1992. With his knowledge of Islam, he founded The Straight Way of Grace Ministry. Usama speaks fluent Arabic and has translated the Qur'an into English. The Council on American/Islamic Relations (CAIR) has just released a comprehensive how-to guide titled: "Unlocking Muslim Political Power: Toolkit on Promoting Muslim Civil Engagement in Local and State Governments." This program brings with it an important warning. In order to understand the urgency of the matter, one must recognize the history of the Council on American/Islamic Relations (CAIR). Usama delves into this as he explains the CAIR connection to Hamas, which clearly shows why claiming to be American and Muslim, as CAIR does, is contradictory. This is just part of why Usama believes that, "CAIR is a Muslim jihadi organization dressed in suits and ties." Become informed as Jim and Usama look into this how-to guide to see exactly what it is that Muslims are being instructed to do, not with the goal of assimilation, but rather infiltration, in order to radically change the political, governmental, educational and social/cultural landscape of America.
Distance learning doesn't fail because of tools—it falters when leadership, policy, and systems don't align around student success. In this episode, Seth Fleischauer and Allyson Mitchell sit down with Dr. Alexandra Salas, founder and CEO of the Delmarva Digital Learning Association, to unpack what institutional readiness for digital learning actually requires.Drawing on her experience in higher education leadership, instructional design, and nonprofit systems change, Dr. Salas challenges the idea that digital learning is merely a delivery mode. Instead, she frames it as a connective infrastructure—one that can support access, belonging, wellness, and persistence when designed intentionally.The conversation moves beyond emergency remote learning to examine how organizations evaluate readiness, why frameworks matter, and what leaders must confront if digital learning is going to meaningfully support students rather than strain them.What This Episode ExploresWhy digital learning should be evaluated at the systems level—not course by courseThe difference between emergency remote teaching and sustainable digital learningHow leadership, governance, policy, and student support services shape online successWhy “online readiness” is about people and structures as much as platformsThe role of reflection frameworks (Quality Matters, OLC, ISTE, and others) in continuous improvementHow wellness, trauma-informed practices, and student belonging intersect with distance learningWhat teaching yoga online revealed about presence, connection, and learning in virtual spacesWhy distance learning is better understood as connected, accessible, future-ready learningGolden MomentDr. Salas shares an early career story from her time as an instructional designer—partnering with faculty to bring courses like anthropology, chemistry, and Arabic online before large-scale platforms made it commonplace. The moment highlights a recurring theme of the episode: trust, curiosity, and collaboration matter more than tools when innovation involves real change.Why Distance Learning?In Dr. Salas's words, distance learning isn't about distance at all. It's about access, inclusion, and possibility—especially for learners in rural or underserved communities. When aligned with strong leadership and intentional systems, digital learning becomes a bridge rather than a substitute.Mentioned Work & ResourcesDelmarva Digital Learning Association — https://delmarvadla.orgUnited States Distance Learning Association - https://usdla.org/Bestemming Yoga — https://www.bestemmingyoga.com/meet-ytNumbers and Sense by Alexandra SalasQuality Matters, OLC, Blackboard, and ISTE digital learning frameworks (referenced conceptually)Host LinksDiscover more virtual learning opportunities at CILC.org with hosts Tami Moehring and Allyson Mitchell.Seth Fleischauer's Banyan Global Learning combines live virtual field trips with international student collaborations for a unique K12 global learning experience. See https://banyangloballearning.com/global-learning-live/
Join the award-winning Sync Producer Hub. This episode highlights community wins, quick production updates, and live member Q&A. We celebrate Rodolfo's library acceptance after pivoting to Arabic hip‑hop, plus other member milestones like multiple producers hitting level 7 and anniversary shoutouts. The hosts dig into AI for music — what publishers are saying, safe ways to use AI (MIDI/chord generators), and tools like Spawn and Suno — and discuss practical workflows and legal cautions for sync. Also covered: Shades of Sync event info, MPC Key 37 workflow tips, hardware & software gear talk, and how the Hub shares exclusive sync opportunities and feedback for members.
Democrats continue causing mass hysteria about ICE, but they were fine with it back when it was President Obama running the operations. A man used self-defense to protect himself in New York City but still ended up being sent to prison for four years. Democrats would rather punish law-abiding citizens than go after career criminals. The family of Lance Twiggs — who was the partner of Tyler Robinson, the alleged shooter of Charlie Kirk — said they believe that Robinson was indeed the shooter despite many different conspiracy theories. Another state has fallen victim to Islam as a pamphlet from the Colorado Secretary of State's Office was written almost entirely in Arabic. Matthew Marsden and Adam Johnson join the show. ► Donate to Charles Foehner's GiveSendGo https://www.givesendgo.com/freecharlesfoehner ► Subscribe to my second YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/@SaraGonzalesTX?sub_confirmation=1 Sponsors: ► Patriot Mobile Call 972-PATRIOT today or go to https://www.patriotmobile.com/partners/sara and use promo code SARA for a FREE month of service. ►CBDistillery Go to https://www.cbdistillery.com and use my code SARA for 25% off. ► BlazeTV Subscribe today and save $20 with promo code SARA at https://www.blazetv.com/sara Timestamps: 00:00 – ICE Raids Then vs Now 20:03 – NYC Man Sentenced to Prison for Self Defense? 32:52 – Lance Twiggs' Family Interview 44:42 – Colorado Falls To Islam Connect with Sara on Social Media: https://twitter.com/saragonzalestx https://www.instagram.com/saragonzalestx http://facebook.com/SaraGonzalesTX ► Subscribe on Apple Podcasts https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/sara-gonzales-unfiltered/id1408958605 ► Shop American Beauty by Sara: http://americanbeautybysara.com Sara Gonzales is the host of Sara Gonzales Unfiltered, a daily news program on Blaze TV. Joined by frequent contributors & guests such as Chad Prather, Eric July, John Doyle, Jaco Booyens, Sara breaks down the latest news in politics and culture. She previously hosted "The News and Why It Matters," featuring notable guests such as Glenn Beck, Ben Shapiro, Dave Rubin, Michael Knowles, Candace Owens, Michael Malice, and more. As a conservative commentator, Sara frequently calls out the Democrats for their hypocrisy, the mainstream media for their misinformation, feminists for their toxicity, and also focuses on pro-life issues, culture, gender issues, health care, the Second Amendment, and passing conservative values to the next generation. Sara also appears as a recurring guest on the Megyn Kelly Show, The Sean Spicer Show, Tim Pool, and with Jesse Kelly on The First TV. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
In today's fiery episode of Joe Oltmann Untamed, we expose the paid agitators flooding Minneapolis streets not for genuine protest, but as hired chaos agents, with exclusive links tying Obama and Biden White House networks, Arabella Advisors, Letitia James, and Marc Elias to the anti-ICE riots. We break down the shocking classroom indoctrination in Iowa, where teacher Kim Keller allegedly screamed leftist propaganda at students about the Renee Good ICE shooting, falsely claiming she was "murdered" while following orders the school has "addressed" the matter, but parents demand transparency.Colorado is a full-blown dumpster fire. Democrat lawmakers waste tax dollars with interpretive dancing to the "Black National Anthem" on the Senate floor, push radical trans bills that threaten to strip children from parents who won't affirm gender transitions, and greenlight a controversial Wuhan-style bat lab tied to Fauci, how is this man still free? We spotlight the bizarre Arabic-heavy pamphlet from the Colorado Secretary of State's office on setting up charities, raising questions about priorities amid Muslim fraud scandals nationwide.We welcome former Intelligence NCO and contractor Mike Shelby, founder/CEO of Forward Observer and author of The Area Intelligence Handbook, for a hard-hitting intel breakdown on leftist groups fueling civil unrest patterns mirroring asymmetric warfare, hidden funding streams, foreign influences, and actionable steps for Americans to assess local risks and build resilience. Later, Patriot Loving Priest Father Manhanna and American Patriot Juan O'Savin join for a fiery follow-up on Tina Peters' hearing: what's next in her fight for justice? This is raw, unfiltered truth on orchestrated chaos, state-level betrayal, and the battle to save America. Catch the show now!
01/04/26 Fr Tariq Eissa - Epiphany Sunday (Arabic) by St. Peter's Chaldean Catholic Diocese
01/04/26 Msgr Philip Najim - Epiphany Sunday (Arabic) by St. Peter's Chaldean Catholic Diocese
01/11/26 Fr Yousif Jazrawy - 1st Sunday of Epiphany (Arabic) by St. Peter's Chaldean Catholic Diocese
01/11/26 Fr Tariq Eissa - 1st Sunday of Epiphany (Arabic) by St. Peter's Chaldean Catholic Diocese
01/11/26 Fr Sabri Kejbo - 1st Sunday of Epiphany (Arabic) by St. Peter's Chaldean Catholic Diocese
Liturgy Fraction @ St. John the Beloved Coptic Orthodox Church - Smyrna, TN ~ January 12, 2026
Worried you'll only get one student and your online preschool dream will flop?If so, you should listen in to today's Preschool All Stars story!Safaa Elamin started with just 3 family members, and for a while she only had 1 student. But instead of quitting, she listened to her community. They asked for Arabic, then Quran, then Islamic Studies—and Safaa built each class around their needs.Now she teaches 209 students worldwide. She even sells her own Arabic curriculum and fills her classes through referrals alone—no ads required!Want to know how she did it? Listen in to learn:The pay-what-you-can pricing model that made her school explodeHow she turned one parent request into a full curriculum she now sellsThe fastest way to grow your school by saying YES to this one parent requestPlease rate and review us at Apple Podcasts. (We hope we've earned your 5 stars!)GET MY FREE RESOURCES FOR YOUR PRESCHOOL JOURNEY:❤️ Get my FREE “Start Your Preschool” book (+ $7.95 s&h)❤️ Watch my FREE "How to Start a Local or Online Preschool" Workshop❤️ Join my Preschool All Stars membership to get mentorship, support, friendship, and training for every step of your preschool journeyFOLLOW ME ON MY MISSION:
learn words and phrases about food ingredients
There's an Arabic saying, "لايدرك كله لا يترك كله" or "What cannot be achieved in its entirety should not be abandoned completely."Until death, failure is psychological. Little Miss Sunshine the grandpa reminds her she's not a loser for failing, he explains that losers are the people who are too afraid to win, so they never try. Very Well Mind's "What happens after I die?"Maya Angelou's Poem "When I think of Death"Read the Poem "If you're not planning on going to heaven, go to Norway."Read the Poem "Your older self is begging you to enjoy right now"Read the Medium Post "What's worse than dying"Read Ebonee Davis' Tweet on "Trees Becoming Stronger"Read episode scripts on Julie's Medium Blog.SUPPORT JULIE (and the show!)DONATE to the Palestinian Children's Relief Fund AND THE Sudan Relief FundGET AN OCCASIONAL PERSONAL EMAIL FROM ME: www.makeyourdamnbedpodcast.comTUNE IN ON INSTAGRAM AND YOUTUBESUBSCRIBE FOR BONUS CONTENT ON PATREON.The opinions expressed by Julie Merica and Make Your Damn Bed Podcast are intended for entertainment purposes only. Make Your Damn Bed podcast is not intended or implied to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/make-your-damn-bed. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Listen To Full Sermon: "Second Mile in Monasticism" @ St. Mary & St. Moses Abbey - Sandia, TX ~ November 2, 2022https://on.soundcloud.com/c0MgwTo90BsN77Iz45
In this episode of Welcome to Cloudlandia, we explore how Miles Copeland, manager of The Police, turned Sting's unmarketable song "Desert Rose" into a 28-million-dollar advertising campaign without spending a dime. The story reveals a powerful principle most businesses miss—the difference between approaching companies at the purchasing department versus the receiving dock. Dan introduces his concept that successful entrepreneurs make two fundamental decisions: they're responsible for their own financial security, and they create value before expecting opportunity. This "receiving dock" mentality—showing up with completed value rather than asking for money upfront—changes everything about how business gets done. We also explore how AI is accelerating adaptation to change, using tariff policies as an unexpected example of how quickly markets and entire provinces can adjust when forced to. We discuss the future of pharmaceutical TV advertising, why Canada's interprovincial trade barriers fell in 60 days, and touch on everything from the benefits of mandatory service to Gavin Newsom's 2028 positioning. Throughout, Charlotte (my AI assistant) makes guest appearances, instantly answering our curiosities. SHOW HIGHLIGHTS How Miles Copeland got $28M in free advertising for Sting by giving Jaguar a music video instead of asking for payment. Why approaching the "receiving dock" with completed value beats going to the "purchasing department" with requests. Dan's two fundamental entrepreneur decisions: take responsibility for your financial security and create value before expecting opportunity. How AI is accelerating adaptation, from tariff responses to Canada eliminating interprovincial trade barriers in 60 days. Why pharmaceutical advertising might disappear from television in 3-4 years and what it means for the industry. Charlotte the AI making guest appearances as the ultimate conversation tiebreaker and Google bypass. Links: WelcomeToCloudlandia.com StrategicCoach.com DeanJackson.com ListingAgentLifestyle.com TRANSCRIPT (AI transcript provided as supporting material and may contain errors) Dean Jackson: Mr. Sullivan, Dan Sullivan: Good morning. Good morning. Dean Jackson: Good morning. Good morning. Our best to you this morning. Boy, you haven't heard that in a long time, have you? Dan Sullivan: Yeah. What was that? Dean Jackson: KE double LO Double G, Kellogg's. Best to you. Dan Sullivan: There you go. Dean Jackson: Yes, Dan Sullivan: There you go. Dean Jackson: I thought you might enjoy that as Dan Sullivan: An admin, the advertise. I bet everybody who created that is dead. Dean Jackson: I think you're probably right. Dan Sullivan: Yeah. I was just noticing that. Jaguar, did you follow the Jaguar brand change? Dean Jackson: No. What happened just recently? Dan Sullivan: Yeah. Basically maybe 24. They decided to completely rebrand. Since the rebranding, they've sold almost no cars and they fired their marketing. That's problem. Problem. Yeah. You can look it up on YouTube. There's about 25 P mode autopsies. Dean Jackson: Wow. Dan Sullivan: Where Dean Jackson: People are talking mean must. It's true. Because they haven't, there's nothing. It's pretty amazing, actually, when you think about it. The only thing, the evidence that you have that Jaguar even exists is when you see the Waymo taxis in Phoenix. Dan Sullivan: Is that Jaguar? Dean Jackson: They're Jaguars. Yeah. Dan Sullivan: I didn't know that. Yeah. Well, yeah, they just decided that they needed an upgrade. They needed to bring it into the 21st century. Couldn't have any of that traditional British, that traditional British snobby sort of thing. So yeah, when they first, they brought out this, I can't even say it was a commercial, because it wasn't clear that they were selling anything, but they had all these androgynous figures. You couldn't quite tell what their gender was. And they're dressed up in sort of electric colors, electric greens and reds, and not entirely clear what they were doing. Not entirely clear what they were trying to create, not were they selling something, didn't really know this. But not only are they, and then they brought out a new electric car, an ev. This was all for the sake of reading out their, and people said, nothing new here. Nothing new here. Not particularly interesting. Has none of the no relationship to the classic Jaguar look and everything. And as a result of that, not only are they not selling the new EV car, they're not selling any of their other models either. Dean Jackson: I can't even remember the last time you saw it. Betsy Vaughn, who runs our 90 minute book team, she has one of those Jaguar SUV things like the Waymo one. She is the last one I've seen in the wild. But my memory of Jaguar has always, in the nineties and the early two thousands, Jaguar was always distinct. You could always tell something was a Jaguar and you could never tell what year it was. I mean, it was always unique and you could tell it wasn't the latest model because they look kind of distinctly timeless. And that was something that was really, and even the color palettes of them were different. I think about that green that they had. And interesting story about Jaguar, because I listened to a podcast called How I Built This, and they had one of my, I would say this is one of my top five podcasts ever that I've listened to is an interview with Miles Copeland, who was the manager of the police, the band. And in the seventies when the police were just getting started, miles, who was the brother of Stuart Copeland, the drummer for the police. He was their manager, and he was new to managing. He was new to the business. He only got in it because his brother was in the band, and they needed a manager. So he took over. But he was very, very smart about the things that he did. He mentioned that he realized on reflection that the number one job of a manager is to make sure that people know your band exists. And then he thought, well, that's true. But there are people, it's more important that the 400 event bookers in the UK know that my band exists. And he started a magazine that only was distributed to the 400 Bookers. It looked like a regular magazine, but he only distributed it to 400 people. And it was like the big, that awareness for them. But I'll tell you that story, just to tell you that in the early two thousands when Sting was a solo artist, and he had launched a new album, and the first song on the album was a song called Desert Rose, which started out with a Arabic. It was collaboration with an Arabic singer. So the song starts out with this Arabic voice singing Arabic, an Arabic cry sort of thing. And this was right in the fall of 2001. And Speaker 1: Yeah, that's a good, Dean Jackson: They could not get any airplay on radio airplay. You couldn't get American airplay of a song that starts out with an Arabic wailing Arabic language. And so they shot a video for this song with Chebe was the guy, the Che Mumbai, I guess is the singer. So they shot a video and they were just driving through the desert between Palm Springs and Las Vegas, and they used the brand new Jaguar that had just been released, and it was really like a stunning car. It was a beautiful car that was, I think, peak Jaguar. And when Miles saw the video, he said, that's a beautiful car. And they saw the whole video. He thought you guys just made a car commercial. And he went to Jaguar and said, Hey, we just shot this video, and it's a beautiful, highlights your car, and if you want to use it in advertising, I'll give you the video. If you can make the ad look like it's an ad for Sting's new album. I can't get airplay on it now. So Jaguar looked at it. He went to the ad agency that was running Jaguar, and they loved it, loved the idea, and they came back to Miles and said, we'd love it. Here's what we edited. Here's what we did. And it looks like a music video. But kids, when was basically kids dream of being rock stars, and what do rock stars dream of? And they dream of Jaguars, right? And it was this, all the while playing this song, which looked like a music video with the thing in the corner saying from the new album, A Brand New Day by Sting. And so it looked like a music video for Sting, and they showed him an ad schedule that they were going to purchase 28 million of advertising with this. They were going to back it with a 28 million ad spend. And so he got 28 million of advertising for Stings album for free by giving them the video. And I thought, man, that is so, it was brilliant. Lucky, lucky. It was a VCR. Yeah. Lucky, Dan Sullivan: Lucky, lucky. Dean Jackson: It was a VCR collaboration. Perfectly executed. Dan Sullivan: Yeah. Yeah. It just shows that looking backwards capability, what I can say something that was just lucky looks like capability. Dean Jackson: Yeah, the whole, Dan Sullivan: I mean, basically it saved their ass. Dean Jackson: It saved Sting and Yeah. Oh yeah. But I think when you look in the, Dan Sullivan: No, it was just lucky. It was just lucky. I mean, if there hadn't been nine 11, there's no saying. There's no saying it would've gone anywhere. Dean Jackson: Right, exactly. Dan Sullivan: Well, the album would've gone, I mean, stain was famous. Speaker 1: It would've Dan Sullivan: Gone, but they probably, no, it's just a really, really good example of being really quick on your feet when something, Dean Jackson: I think, because there's other examples of things that he did that would lead me to believe it was more strategic than luck. He went to the record label, and the record label said, he said he was going to give the video to Jaguar, and they said, you're supposed to get money for licensing these things. And then he showed them the ad table that the media buy that they were willing to put behind it. And he said, oh, well, if you can match, you give me 28 million of promotion for the album, I'll go back and get some money from them for. And the label guy said, oh, well, let's not be too hasty here. But that, I think really looking at that shows treating your assets as collaboration currency rather than treating that you have to get a purchase order for it. Most people would think, oh, we need to get paid for that. The record label guy was thinking, but he said, no, we've got the video. We already shot it. It didn't cost us, wouldn't cost us anything to give it to them. But the value of the 28 million of promotion, It was a win-win for everyone. And by the way, that's how he got the record deal for the police. He went to a and m and said, he made the album first. He met a guy, a dentist, who had a studio in the back of his dental. He was aspiring musician, but he rented the studio for 4,000 pounds for a month, and he sent the police into the studio to make their album. So they had a finished album that he took to a and m and said, completely de-risk this for them. We've got the album. I'll give you the album and we'll just take the highest royalty that a and m pays. So the only decision that a and m had to make was do they like the album? Otherwise, typically they would say, we need you to sign these guys. And then they would have to put up the money to make the album and hope that they make a good album. But it was already done, so there was no risk. They just had to release it. And they ended up, because of that, making the most money of any of the a and m artists, because they didn't take an advance. They didn't put any risk on a and m. It was pretty amazing actually, the stories of it. Dan Sullivan: I always say that really successful entrepreneurs make two fundamental decisions at the beginning of their career. One is they're going to be responsible for their own financial security, number one. And number two is that they'll create value before they expect opportunity. So this is decision number two. They created value, and now the opportunity got created by the value that they got created. You're putting someone else in a position that the only risk they're taking is saying no. Dean Jackson: Yeah. And you know what it's, I've been calling this receiving doc thinking of most businesses are going to the purchasing department trying to get in line and convince somebody to write a purchase order for a future delivery of a good or service. And they're met with resistance and they're met with a rigorous evaluation process. And we've got to decide and be convinced that this is going to be a prudent thing to do, and you're limiting yourself to only getting the money that's available now. Whereas if instead of going to the purchasing department, you go around to the back and you approach a company at the receiving dock, you're met with open arms. Every company is a hundred percent enthusiastically willing to accept new money coming into the business, and you're met with no resistance. And it's kind of, that was a really interesting example of that. And you see those examples everywhere. Dan Sullivan: All cheese. Dean Jackson: All cheese. No, whiskers. That's exactly right. Dan Sullivan: Yeah. I mean, it's an interesting, funny, I'm kind of thinking about this. For some reason, my personal email number is entered into some sort of marketing network because about every day now, I get somebody who the message goes like this, dear Dan, we've been noticing your social media, and we feel that you're underselling yourself, that there's much better ways that we personally could do this. And there's something different in each one of them. But if you take a risk on us, there's a possibility. There's a possibility. You never know. Life's that we can possibly make some more money on you and all by you taking the risk. Dean Jackson: Yes, exactly. Send money. Dan Sullivan: Send money. Dean Jackson: Yeah. Dan Sullivan: Yeah. And they're quite long. They're like two or three paragraphs. They're not nine words. They might be nine paragraph emails for all I know, but it's really, really interesting. Well, they're just playing a numbers game. They're sending this out to probably 5,000 different places, and somebody might respond. So anyway, but it just shows you, you're asking someone to take a risk. Dean Jackson: Yes. Yeah. I call that a purchase order. It's exactly it. You can commit to something before and hope for the best hope that the delivery will arrive instead of just showing up with the delivery. It's kind of similar in your always be the buyer approach. Dan Sullivan: What are you seeing there? Whatcha seeing Dean Jackson: There? I mean, that kind of thinking you are looking for, well, that's my interpretation anyway, of what you're saying of always be the buyer is that are selecting from Dan Sullivan: Certain type of customer, we're looking for a certain type of customer, and then we're describing the customer, and it's based on our understanding that a certain type of customer is looking for a certain type of process that meets who they're not only that, but puts them in a community of people like themselves. Yeah. So Dean Jackson: I look at that, that's that kind of thing where one of the questions that I'll often ask people is just to get clarity is what would you do if you only got paid if your client gets the result? And that's, it's clarifying on a couple of levels. One, it clarifies what result you're actually capable of getting, because what do you have certainty, proof, and a protocol around if we're talking the vision terms. And the other part of that is if you are going to get that result, if you're only going to get paid, if they get the result, you are much more selective in who you select to engage with, rather than just like anybody that you can convince to give you the money, knowing that they're not going to be the best candidate anyway. But they take this, there's an element of external blame shifting when they don't get the result by saying, well, everything is there. It's up to them. They just didn't do anything with it. Dan Sullivan: Yeah. I mean, it's a really interesting world that we're in, because we've talked about this before with ai. Now on the scene, the sheer amount of marketing attempts at marketing Speaker 1: Is Dan Sullivan: Going through the roof, but the amount of attention that people have to entertain marketing suggestions and anything is probably going down very, very quickly. The amount of attention that they have. And it strikes me that, and then it's really interesting. There's a real high possibility that in the United States, probably within the next three or four years, there'll be no more TV advertising. The pharmaceuticals. Dean Jackson: Yeah. Very interesting. Dan Sullivan: Pharmaceuticals and the advertising industry is going crazy because a significant amount of advertising dollars really come from pharmaceuticals. Dean Jackson: Yeah. I wonder if you took out pharmaceuticals and beer, what the impact would be. Dan Sullivan: I bet pharmaceuticals is bigger than beer. Dean Jackson: I wonder. Yeah. I mean, that sounds like a job for perplexity. Yeah. Why don't we Dean Jackson: Ask what categories? Yeah, categories are the top advertising spenders. Our top advertising spenders. Dan Sullivan: Well, I think food would be one Dean Jackson: Restaurant, Dan Sullivan: But I think pharmaceuticals, but I think pharmaceuticals would be a big one. Dean Jackson: Number one is retail. The leading category, counting for the highest proportion of ad spend, 15% of total ad spend is retail entertainment. And media is number two with 12% financial services, typically among the top three with 11% pharmaceutical and healthcare holds a significant share around 10%. Automotive motor vehicles is a major one. Telecommunications one of the fastest growing sectors, food and beverage and health and beauty. Those are the top. Yeah, that makes sense. Dan Sullivan: Yeah. But you take, what was pharmaceuticals? Eight, 9%, something like that. 10%. 10%. 10%, 10%. Yeah. Well, that's a hit. Dean Jackson: I mean, it's more of a hit than Canada taking away their US liquor by That was a 1% impact. Dan Sullivan: Yeah. Dean Jackson: Yeah. Dan Sullivan: Well, that's not going anywhere right now. They're a long, long way from an agreement, a trade agreement, I'll tell you. Yeah. Well, the big thing, what supply management is, do you remember your Canadians Dean Jackson: Supply management? You mean like inventory management? First in, first out, last in, first out, Dan Sullivan: No. Supply management is paying farmers to only produce a certain amount of product in order to Dean Jackson: Keep prices up. Oh, the subsidies. Dan Sullivan: Subsidies. And that's apparently the big sticking point. And it's 10,000 farmers, and they're almost all in Ontario and Quebec, Dean Jackson: The dairy board and all that. Yeah. Dan Sullivan: Yep, yep, yep, yep. And apparently that's the real sticking point. Dean Jackson: Yeah. I had a friend grown up whose parents owned a dairy farm, and they had 200 acres, and I forget how many, many cattle or how many cows they had, but that was all under contract, I guess, right. To the dairy board. It's not free market or whatever. They're supplying milk to the dairy board, I guess, under an allocation agreement. Yeah, very. That's interesting. Dan Sullivan: Yeah, and it's guaranteed they have guaranteed prices too. Dean Jackson: They're Dan Sullivan: Guaranteed a certain amount. I was looking at that for some reason. There was an article, and I was just reading it. It was about a dairy farm, I think it was a US dairy farm, and they had 5,000 cattle. So I looked up, how much acreage do you have to have for 5,000 dairy cows? And I forget what the number was, but it prompted me to say, I wonder what the biggest dairy farm in the world is this. So I went retro. I went to Google, and it's what now? Google. You know that? Google that? You remember Google? Oh, yeah, yeah. Old, good old Google. I remember that. Used to do something called a search on Google. Yeah, Dean Jackson: I remember now. Dan Sullivan: Yeah. Well, I went retro. I went retro, and I said, and the biggest dairy farm is in China. It's 25 million acres. Dean Jackson: Wow. In context, how does that compare to, Dan Sullivan: It's a state of South Dakota. It's as big as Dean Jackson: South Dakota. Okay. That's what I was going to say. That's the entire state of Dan Sullivan: Yes, because I said, is there a state that's about the same size? Dean Jackson: I was just about to ask you that. Yeah. Dan Sullivan: It's a Russian Chinese project, and the reason is that when the Ukraine war started, there was a real cutback in what the Russians could trade and getting milk in. They had to get milk in from somewhere else. So it comes in from China, but a lot of it must be wasted because they've got a hundred thousand dairy cows, a hundred thousand dairy cows. So I'm trying to Dean Jackson: Put that, well, that seems like a lot. Dan Sullivan: It just seems like a lot. Just seems like Dean Jackson: A lot. That seems like a lot of acreage per cow. Dan Sullivan: Yeah. Well, they, one child policy, they probably have a one acre, a one 10 acre per cow Dean Jackson: Policy. Yeah, exactly. Dan Sullivan: You can just eat grass, don't do anything else. Just eat grass. Don't even move. But really interested, really, really interesting today, how things move. One of the things that's really interesting is that so far, the tariff policies have not had much. They have, first of all, the stock market is at peak right now. The stock market really peak, so it hasn't discouraged the stock market, which means that it hasn't disturbed the companies that people are investing in. The other thing is that inflation has actually gone down since they did that. Employment has gone up. So I did a search on perplexity, and I said 10 reasons why the experts who predicted disaster are being proven wrong with regard to the tariff policies. And it was very interesting. It gave me 10 answers, and all the 10 answers were that people have been at all levels. People have been incredibly more responsive and ingenious in responding to this. And my feeling is that it has a lot to do with it, especially with ai. That's something that was always seen as a negative because people could only respond to it very slowly, is now not as a negative, simply because the responsiveness is much higher. That in a certain sense, every country in the planet, on the planet, every company, on the planet, professions and everything else, when you have a change like this, everybody adjusts real quickly. They have a plan B, Dean Jackson: Plan B, anyone finds loop Pauls and plan B. That's the thing. Dan Sullivan: Since Trump dropped the notion that he is going to do tariffs on Canada, almost all the provinces have gotten together in Canada, and they've eliminated almost all trade restrictions between the provinces, which have been there since the beginning of the country, but they were gone within 60 Dean Jackson: Days Dan Sullivan: Afterwards. Dean Jackson: It was like, Hey, there, okay, maybe we should trade with each other. Dan Sullivan: Yeah, yeah. Dean Jackson: Very funny. Dan Sullivan: Which they don't because every province in Canada trades more with the United States than with the states close to them across the border than they do with any other Canadian province. Anyway. Well, the word is spreading, Dean, that if you listen to welcome to Cloud Landia, that probably there'll be an AI partner. There'll be an ai. Dean Jackson: Oh, yeah. Word is spreading. Okay, that's good. Dan Sullivan: Yeah, I like that. So let's what Charlotte think about the fact that she might be riding on the back of two humans and her fame is spreading based on the work of two humans. Dean Jackson: Yeah, exactly. Yeah, that's funny. Dan Sullivan: Does she feel a little sheepish about this? Dean Jackson: It's so funny because I think last time I asked her what she was doing when we're not there, and she does like, oh, I don't go off and explore or have curiosity or anything like that. It'll just sit here. I'm waiting for you. It was funny, Stuart, and I was here, Stuart Bell, who runs my new information, we were talking about just the visual personifying her as just silently sitting there waiting for you to ask her something or to get involved. She's never let us down. I mean, it's just so she knows all, she's a tiebreaker in any conversation, in any curiosity that you have, or there's no need to say, I wonder, and then leave it open-ended. We can just bring Charlotte into it, and it's amazing how much she knows. I definitely use her as a Google bypass for sure. I just say I asked, we were sitting at Honeycomb this morning, which is my favorite, my go-to place for breakfast and coffee, and I was saying surrounded by as many lakes as we are, there should be, the environment would be, it's on kind of a main road, so it's got a little bit noisy, and it's not as ideal as being on a lake. And it reminded me of there's a country club active adult community, and I just asked her, is Lake Ashton, are they open for breakfast? Their clubhouse is right on the lake, and she's looking just instantly looks up. Yeah. Yeah. They're open every day, but they don't open until 10, so it was like nine o'clock when we were Having this conversation. So she's saying there's a little bit of a comment about that, but there's not a lakefront cafe. There's plenty of places that would be, there's lots of excess capacity availability in a lot of places that are only open in the evenings there. There's a wonderful micro brewery called Grove Roots, which is right here in Winterhaven. It's an amazing, it's a great environment, beautiful high ceilings building that they open as a microbrew pub, and they have a rotating cast of food trucks that come there in the evenings, but they sit there vacant in the mornings, and I just think about how great that environment would be as a morning place, because it's quiet, it's spacious, it's shaded, it's all the things you would look for. And so I look at that as a capability asset that they have that's underutilized, and it wouldn't be much to partner with a coffee food truck. There was in Yorkville, right beside the Hazelton in the entrance, what used to be the entrance down into the What's now called Yorkville Village used to be Hazelton Lanes. There was a coffee truck called Jacked Up Coffee, and it was this inside. Now Dan Sullivan: It's Dean Jackson: Inside. Now it's inside. Yeah, exactly. It's inside now, but it used to sit in the breezeway on the entrance down into the Hazelton Lane. So imagine if you could get one of those trucks and just put that in the Grove Roots environment. So in the morning you've got this beautiful cafe environment, Dan Sullivan: And they could have breakfast sandwiches. Dean Jackson: Yes. That's the point. That's exactly it. There used to be a cafe in Winterhaven, pre COVID. Dan Sullivan: I mean, just stop by Starbucks and see what Starbucks has and just have that available. Exactly. In the truck. I mean, they do lots of research for you, so just take advantage of their research. But then what would you have picnic tables or something like that? They Dean Jackson: Have already. No, no. This is what I'm saying is that you'd use the Grove Roots Dan Sullivan: Existing restaurant, Dean Jackson: The existing restaurant. Yeah. Which is, they've got Adirondack chairs, they've got those kinds of chairs. They've got picnic tables, they've got regular tables and chairs inside. They've got Speaker 1: Comfy Dean Jackson: Leather sofas. They've got a whole bunch of different environments. That would be perfect. But I was saying pre COVID, there was a place in Winter Haven called Bean and Grape, and it was a cafe in the morning and a wine bar in the evening, which I thought makes the most sense of anything. You keep the cafe open and then four o'clock in the afternoon, switch it over, and it's a wine bar for a happy hour and the evening. Dan Sullivan: Yeah, I mean, it's interesting. I mean, you've got a marketing mind, plus you've got years of experience of marketing, helping people market different things. So it's really interesting that what is obvious to you other people would never think of. Dean Jackson: I'm beginning to see that. Right. That's really an interesting thing. What I have. Dan Sullivan: I mean, it's like I was reflecting on that because I've been coaching entrepreneurs for 50 years, and I've created lots of structures and created lots of tools for them. And so when you think about, I read a statistic and its function of, I think that higher education is not quite syncing with the marketplace, but in December of last year, there was that 45% of the graduates of the MBA, Harvard MBA school had not gotten jobs. This was six months later. They hadn't gotten jobs, 45% hadn't gotten jobs. And I said, well, what's surprising was these 45% hadn't already created a company while they were at Harvard Business School, and what are they looking for jobs for? Anyway, they be creating their own companies. But my sense is that what they've been doing is that they've been going to college to avoid having to go into the job market, and so they don't even know how to get, not only do they know how to create a company, they don't even know how to get a job. Dean Jackson: Yeah. There's a new school concept, like a high school in, I think it's in Austin, Texas that is, I think it's called Epic, and they are teaching kids how they do all the academic work in about two hours a day, and then the rest of the time is working on projects and creating businesses, like being entrepreneurial. And I thought it's very interesting teaching people, if people could leave high school equipped with a way to add value in a way that they're not looking to plug their umbilical cord in someone else, be an amazing thing of just giving, because you think about it, high school kids can add value. You have value to contribute. You have even at that level, and they can learn their value contribution. Dan Sullivan: I think probably the mindset for that is already there at 10 years old, I think 10 years old, that an enterprise, Dean Jackson: Well, that's when the lemonade stands, right? Dan Sullivan: Yeah. An enterprise, an enterprising attitude is probably already there at 10 years old, and it'd be interesting to test for, I mean, I think Gino Wickman from EOS, when he was grad EOS, he created a test to see whether children have an entrepreneurial mindset or not, but I got to believe that you could test for that, that you could test for that. Just the attitude of creating value before I get any opportunity. I think you could build a psychological justice Speaker 1: Around Dan Sullivan: That and that you could be feeding that. I mean, we have the Edge program in Strategic Coach. It's 18 to 24 and unique ability and the four or five concepts that you can get across in the one day period, but it makes sense. Our clients tell us that it makes a big difference. A lot of 'em, they're 18 and they're off to college or something like that, Speaker 1: And Dan Sullivan: To have that one day of edge mind adjustment mindset adjustment makes a big difference how they go through university and do that, Jim, but Leora Weinstein said that in Israel, they have all sorts of tests when you're about 10, 12, 13 years old, that indicates that this is a future jet pilot. This is a future member of the intelligence community. They've already got 'em spotted early. They got 'em spotted 13, 14 years old, because they have to go into the military anyway. They have everybody at the 18 has to go in the military. So they start the screening really early to see who are the really above average talent, above average mindset. Dean Jackson: Yeah. The interesting, I mean, I've heard of that, of doing not even just military, but service of public service or whatever being as a mandatory thing. Dan Sullivan: Yeah. Well, I went through it. Dean Jackson: Yeah, you did. Exactly. Dan Sullivan: Yeah. Yeah. And it's hard to say because it was tumultuous times, but I know that when I came out of the military, I was 23 when I came out 21, 21 to 23, that when I got to college at 23, 23 to 27, you're able to just focus. You didn't have to pay any attention to anything going outside where everybody was up in arms about the war. They were up in arms about this, or they're up in arms about being drafted and everything else, and just having that. But the other thing is that you had spent two years putting up with something that you hadn't chosen, hadn't chosen, but you had two years to do it. And I think there's some very beneficial mindsets and some very beneficial habits that comes from doing that, Dean Jackson: Being constraints, being where you can focus on something. Yeah. That's interesting. Having those things taken away. Dan Sullivan: And it's kind of interesting because you talk every once in a while in Toronto, I've met a person maybe in 50 years I've met, and these were all draft dodgers. These were Americans who moved to Canada, really to the draft, and I would say that their life got suspended when they made that decision that they haven't been able to move beyond it emotionally and psychologically Dean Jackson: Wild and just push the path, Dan Sullivan: And they want to talk about it. They really want to talk about it. I said, this happened. I'm talking to someone, and they're really emotionally involved in what they're talking about Dean Jackson: 55 years ago now. Dan Sullivan: Yeah, it's 55 years ago that this happened, and they're up in arms. They're still up in arms about it and angry and everything else. And I said, it tells me something that if I ever do something controversial, spend some time getting over the emotion that you went through and get on with life, win a lottery, Dean Jackson: That's a factor change. I think all you think about those things, Dan Sullivan: But the real thing of how your life can be suspended over something that you haven't worked through the learning yet. There's a big learning there, and the big thing is that Carter, when he was president, late seventies, he declared amnesty for everybody who was a draft dodge so they could go back to the United States. I mean, there was no problem. They went right to the Supreme Court. They didn't lose their citizenship. Actually, there's only one thing that you can lose your, if you're native born, like you're native born American, you're born American with American Speaker 1: Parents, Dan Sullivan: You're a 100% legitimate American. There's only one crime that you can do to lose your citizenship. Dean Jackson: What's that? Dan Sullivan: Treason. Dean Jackson: Treason. Yeah, treason. I was just going to say Dan Sullivan: That. Yeah. If you don't get killed, it's a capital crime. And actually that's coming up right now because of the discovery that the Obama administration with the CIA and with the FBI acted under false information for two years trying to undermine Trump when he got in president from 17 to 19, and it comes under the treason. Comes under the treason laws, and so Obama would be, he's under criminal investigation right now for treason. Dean Jackson: Oh, wow. Dan Sullivan: And they were saying, can you do that to a president, to his former president? And so the conversation has moved around. Well, wouldn't necessarily put him in prison, but you could take away his citizenship anyway. I mean, this is hypothetical. My sense is won't cut that far, but the people around him, like the CIA director and the FBI director, I can see them in prison. They could be in prison. Wow. Yeah, and there's no statutes of limitation on this. Dean Jackson: I've noticed that Gavin Newsom seems to have gotten a publicist in the last 30 or 60 days. Dan Sullivan: Yes, he is. Dean Jackson: I've seen Dan Sullivan: More. He's getting ready for 28. Dean Jackson: I've seen more Gavin Newsom in the last 30 days than I've seen ever of him, and he's very carefully positioning himself. As I said to somebody, it's almost like he's trying to carve out a third party position while still being on the democratic side. He's trying to distance himself from the wokeness, like the hatred for the rich kind of thing, while still staying aligned with the LGBT, that whole world, Speaker 1: Which Dean Jackson: I didn't realize he was the guy that authorized the first same sex marriage in San Francisco when he was the mayor of San Francisco. I thought that was it. So he's very carefully telling all the stories that position, his bonafides kind of thing, and talking about, I didn't realize that he was an entrepreneur, para restaurants and vineyards. Dan Sullivan: I think it's all positive for him except for the fact of what happened in California while it was governor. Dean Jackson: And so he's even repositioning that. I think everybody's saying that what happened, but he was looking, he's positioning that California is one of the few net positive states to the federal government, Dan Sullivan: But not a single voter in the United States That, Dean Jackson: Right. Very interesting. That's why he's telling the story. Dan Sullivan: Yeah Dean Jackson: Fair. They contribute, I think, I don't know the numbers, but 8 billion a year to the federal government, and Texas is, as the other example, is a net drain on the United States that they're a net taker from the federal government. And so it's really very, it's interesting. He's very carefully positioning all the things, really. He's speaking a thing of, because they're asking him the podcasts that he is going on, they're kind of asking him how the Democrats have failed kind of thing. And that's what, yeah, Dan Sullivan: They're at their lowest in almost history right now. Yeah. Well, he can try. I mean, every American's got the right to try, but my sense is that the tide has totally gone against the Democrats. It doesn't matter what kind of Democrat you want to position yourself at. I mean, you'll be able to get a feel for that with the midterm elections next November. Dean Jackson: Yeah. That's Dan Sullivan: Not this November. This November, but no, I think he could very definitely win the nomination. There's no question the nomination, but I think this isn't just a lot of people misinterpret maga. MAGA is the equivalent to the beginning of the country. In other words, the putting together the Constitution and the revolution and the Constitution and starting new governor, that was a movement, a huge movement. That was a movement that created it. And then the abolition movement, which put the end to slavery with the Civil War. That was the second movement. And then the labor movement, the fact that labor, there was a whole labor movement that Franklin Roosevelt took and turned it into what was called the New Deal in the 1930s. That was the movement. So you've had these three movements. I think Trump represents the next movement, and it's the complete rebellion of the part of the country that isn't highly educated against Gavin. Newsom represents the wealthy, ultra educated part of the country. I mean, he's the Getty. He's the Getty man. He's got the billions of dollars of the Getty family behind him. He was Nancy, Nancy Pelosi's nephew. He represents total establishment, democratic establishment, and I don't think he can get away from that. Dean Jackson: Interesting. Yeah, it's interesting to watch him try. I literally, I know more about him now than I've ever heard, and he's articulate and seems to be likable, so we'll see. But you're coming from this perception of, well, look what he did to California. And he's kind of dismantling that by saying, if only we could do to California, due to the country, what I've done to California. Well, Dan Sullivan: He didn't do anything for California. I mean, California 30 years ago was in incredibly better shape than California's right now. Yeah. The big problem was the bureaucrats run California. These are people who were left wing during the 1960s, 1970s, and they were the anti-war. I mean, it all started in California, the anti-war project, and these people graduated from college. First of all, they stayed in college as long as they could, and then they went into the government bureaucracy. So I mean, there's lifeguards in Los Angeles that make 500,000 a year. Dean Jackson: It's crazy, isn't it? Dan Sullivan: Yeah, yeah, yeah. It's the extraordinary money that goes to the public service in California that's destroyed the state. But I mean, anybody can try. Speaker 1: Yeah. Dan Sullivan: I remember after the Democratic Convention, Kamala was up by 10 points over Trump. Yes. Yeah, she's from San Francisco too. Dean Jackson: Yes, exactly. That's what he was saying, their history. Dan Sullivan: No, you're just seeing that because he started in South Carolina, that's where all his, because that's now the first state that counts on the nomination, but he's after the nomination right now. He's trying to position for the nomination. Anyway, we'll see. Go for it. Well, there you Speaker 1: Go. Dan Sullivan: And Elon Musk, he wants to start a new party. He can go for it too. Dean Jackson: Somebody. That's exactly right. Dan Sullivan: Yeah. Then there's other people. Dean Jackson: That's true. Dan Sullivan: Alrighty, got to jump. Dean Jackson: Okay. Have a great week
NHK WORLD RADIO JAPAN - Arabic News at 15:00 (JST), January 14
In this week's episode of Spanish Loops, we look into one of the most fascinating and misunderstood artistic languages of the Iberian Peninsula: Mudejar art.Together with Fran, we explore how Mudejar emerged in Christian territories between the 12th and 16th centuries, shaped by Muslim artisans who continued working after the Christian reconquest. While often confused with Islamic or Arabic art, Mudejar is not a religious style but a cultural and architectural hybrid, blending Islamic decorative techniques with Christian Romanesque, Gothic, and later Renaissance structures.We break down the key differences between Arabic art, developed under Islamic rule from the 8th century onward and Mudejar art, which reused elements such as horseshoe arches, intricate tilework, wooden ceilings, and geometric patterns, but placed them in churches, palaces, and civic buildings commissioned by Christian patrons.Fran and I guide you through timelines, visual clues, and real examples across Spain, helping you understand when, where, and why these styles evolved the way they did. More importantly, we share how recognizing these differences changes the way you look at Spanish cities forever.This episode is not just about art history. It's about coexistence, adaptation, and the unique cultural DNA that defines Spain.Plug in, look closer, and let the walls speak.
Vespers Sermons @ St. John the Beloved Coptic Orthodox Church - Smyrna, TN ~ January 11, 2026https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l_ElObcJeRk
Mighty Orion the hunter has a mighty resting spot for his tired feet: Cursa, the second-brightest star of Eridanus, the river. The star’s name comes from a longer Arabic phrase meaning “footstool of the central one” – Orion himself. As night falls, the star stands above Orion’s foot: Rigel, the hunter’s brightest star. Cursa is about 90 light-years away. It’s easy to see from that distance because it’s a giant. It’s several times the size and mass of the Sun, and 45 times the Sun’s brightness. Its classification as a “giant” tells us much more than just its size, though. It also tells us about its stage in life. A giant star has puffed up as a result of changes deep in its heart. It’s burned through the hydrogen in its core to make helium, so it’s moved into a new phase. In the case of Cursa, it’s fusing hydrogen in a thin shell around the core. The shell is quite hot, so it produces a lot of radiation. That pushes on the surrounding layers of gas, causing the star to expand. And that makes it brighter. Today, the surface of Cursa is thousands of degrees hotter than the Sun’s. At that temperature, the star shines almost pure white. As it continues to change, though, Cursa may get even bigger and brighter. But its surface will get cooler. So a bigger Cursa will shine redder – an angry-looking footstool for the hunter. Tomorrow: from giant to supergiant. Script by Damond Benningfield
Arabic Sunday Sermon @ St. John the Beloved Coptic Orthodox Church - Smyrna, TN ~ January 11, 2026 | Tobe 3, 1742
On today's podcast:1) Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell said the US central bank had been served grand jury subpoenas from the Justice Department threatening a criminal indictment, a dramatic escalation of the Trump administration’s attacks on the institution. In a forceful written and video statement released Sunday evening, Powell said the action was related to his June congressional testimony on ongoing renovations of the Fed’s headquarters. But he said the move “should be seen in the broader context of the administration’s threats and ongoing pressure.” In an interview with NBC News on Sunday, President Trump denied having any knowledge of the DOJ’s investigation into the central bank.2) Top diplomats from Denmark and Greenland will meet US Secretary of State Marco Rubio in Washington DC on Wednesday, TV2 reports. Denmark’s Foreign Minister Lars Lokke Rasmussen and his Greenlandic counterpart Vivian Motzfeldt are set to attend the meeting, the Danish broadcaster says, citing a calendar from the US Department of State, which also notes that changes to the schedule may occur. Denmark is banking on the meeting in Washington to defuse President Trump’s renewed push on Greenland and to help reset strained ties with the US over the strategic island.3) Iran’s Foreign Minister said security forces have “full control” of the country after two weeks of ongoing upheaval, accusing Israel and the US of fomenting the nationwide protests in which hundreds of people have been killed. Abbas Araghchi repeated claims by the Iranian government that “rioters and terrorists” had killed police and civilians and destroyed public property using “daesh-style violence,” referring to the Arabic acronym for Islamic State. Protests in Iran erupted on December 28th after a sudden collapse in the value of the currency. More than 540 have been killed in the protests and over 10,000 arrested, according to the Human Rights Activist News Agency, which is tracking demonstrations in 186 cities across Iran’s 31 provinces.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Guest: Ronald White. In his final decades, Chamberlain's war wounds continued to plague him, eventually requiring surgeries that revealed the extent of his suffering to the public. Despite financial struggles and failed business attempts, he remained active, serving as Surveyor of the Port of Portland. He endured personal losses, including the death of his brother Tom and his wife Fanny, who went blind before dying in 1905. Remarkably, Chamberlain continued learning until the end, studying Arabic and Greek during a 1905 trip to Egypt. He died in 1914 from his Civil War wounds, the conflict's last casualty1863 JULY 1-4, GETTYSBURG
The Salaf were placed at the forefront of this Ummah - not only in time, but in depth of understanding, precision of speech, and clarity of method. Their knowledge was not scattered, their words were not excessive, and their approach to the religion was guarded from speculation and unnecessary complexity. Ustadh Muhammad Tim Humble begins explaining the book Faḍl ʿIlm as-Salaf ʿalā ʿIlm al-Khalaf by Ibn Rajab al-Ḥanbal, laying the groundwork for why the Salaf were recognised as more knowledgeable than those who came after them - and by what measures that superiority is understood. This explanation introduces the central themes of the book: the Salaf's distance from Kalām, their comprehensive yet restrained speech, their exacting relationship with the Arabic language, and the standards by which sound knowledge was historically weighed. If you want to understand the foundations of why the Salaf were treated as the benchmark in matters of understanding - this is the book for you. AMAU Academy: https://www.amauacademy.com/ AMAU Junior: https://amaujunior.com/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/amauofficial/ Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/AMAU Telegram: https://t.me/amauofficial YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/AMAUofficial Twitter: https://twitter.com/AMAUofficial iTunes: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/al-madrasatu-al-umariyyah/id1524526782 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/08NJC1pIA0maaF6aKqZL4N Get in Touch: https://amau.org/getintouch BarakAllahu feekum. #AMAU #Islam #Dawah
The Salaf were placed at the forefront of this Ummah - not only in time, but in depth of understanding, precision of speech, and clarity of method. Their knowledge was not scattered, their words were not excessive, and their approach to the religion was guarded from speculation and unnecessary complexity. Ustadh Muhammad Tim Humble begins explaining the book Faḍl ʿIlm as-Salaf ʿalā ʿIlm al-Khalaf by Ibn Rajab al-Ḥanbal, laying the groundwork for why the Salaf were recognised as more knowledgeable than those who came after them - and by what measures that superiority is understood. This explanation introduces the central themes of the book: the Salaf's distance from Kalām, their comprehensive yet restrained speech, their exacting relationship with the Arabic language, and the standards by which sound knowledge was historically weighed. If you want to understand the foundations of why the Salaf were treated as the benchmark in matters of understanding - this is the book for you. AMAU Academy: https://www.amauacademy.com/ AMAU Junior: https://amaujunior.com/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/amauofficial/ Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/AMAU Telegram: https://t.me/amauofficial YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/AMAUofficial Twitter: https://twitter.com/AMAUofficial iTunes: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/al-madrasatu-al-umariyyah/id1524526782 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/08NJC1pIA0maaF6aKqZL4N Get in Touch: https://amau.org/getintouch BarakAllahu feekum. #AMAU #Islam #Dawah
Episode Description Episode Description Sign up to receive this Unreached of the Day podcast sent to you: https://joshuaproject.net/people_groups/10379 Dear Friend, The Batak people of North Sumatra didn't have a written language until 1834. Today, they're one of the largest Christian populations in Indonesia, with over 6 million believers. The transformation happened because someone, a German missionary named Ludwig Nommensen, decided their spiritual poverty was unacceptable. That was 190 years ago. Today, 4,473 people groups are still waiting for their Ludwig Nommensen moment. The People Group Adoption Program launches today, and here's how it works: It meets you where you are. You're not being asked to become a missionary in the field (though if God calls you to that, we'll cheer you on). You're being invited to use your current gifts, prayer, advocacy, networking, research to support those who are already called to go.
Human beings move as a flock. What feels like freedom is motion inside a herd. People act the way they do because of pressure, habit, fear, desire, reward, or past experience. When we make decisions, we are responding to systemic forces already acting on us, even when theologians insist on calling this a free choice, the so-called “free will.” Long before a choice is named, the path is worn.Governments, workplaces, laws, economies, religions, philosophies, ideologies, and social norms all rely on the same logic. If certain behaviors are rewarded and others punished, people will respond in predictable ways. Obedience inside these systems is never neutral. People comply because it benefits them, protects them, or helps them avoid loss. Even rebellion, blind to what it is building, follows recognizable patterns and is absorbed back into the systems it supposedly opposes.But beneath these systems sits something deeper and more diabolical: the human logos. Explanation. Justification. Language itself as causality. Words that govern reality, binding reasons to actions, beliefs to outcomes, and sacrifices to meaning. This is how systems hold together. They are not only structures of power, but temples built of language, narratives, and shared explanations. Propaganda. A world where everything makes sense.Belief, in this sense, is not faith. It is how humans explain themselves to themselves, a projection of the lamp of the body, quieting fear, justifying loss, making obedience reasonable. Over time, this explanatory language becomes a prison people inhabit. A Temple made of human hands, not of stone, but of coherence. An idol constructed from meaning.Inside this Temple, every sacrifice is justified. Every command explained. Every loss serves a purpose. Even love is rationalized. Domesticated. Hope reframed as likelihood. Language does not merely describe the system. It sanctifies it.These systems can even tolerate sacrifice, as long as the sacrifice is made for something abstract: the nation, the tribe, the future, the greater good, the “building” up or the “survival” of the community. Abstract loyalty is calculable. It can be taught, praised, rewarded, and demanded. A person who gives themselves for an idea or a cause is still operating inside logic the system understands and human language can defend.Torah insists that a true command cannot arise from within this Temple or employ its language. Scripture does not perceive human beings as autonomous agents standing outside the flock, freely acting. It finds people as they are: already bound, already oriented, already enslaved to something. That is why Torah does not ask whether people are free, but whom they serve. Egypt is not replaced by false autonomy, but by covenant. Pharaoh is not replaced by the self, the builder of temples, but by the Voice of the Shepherd, that commands, calling us out of the temples that entomb us. According to Scripture, if a rule makes sense because it works, helps, or produces good outcomes, then following it is still a calculation. It may be wise or effective, but it is not obedience. It is sycophancy. That is why the Voice of the Shepherd is heard in the wilderness, away from stable systems and the human Temple of explanation. In the wilderness, people cannot rely on strategy or outcomes. They can only hear and respond. To those who live inside the system, this looks like slavery, or worse, insanity. Far from it.It is trust.This is where love of neighbor enters, and it does not enter as an idea, let alone a Platonic ideal. A neighbor is not humanity in the abstract. A neighbor is not the future, the cause, or the system. A neighbor is the real person who stands before you and whose claim cannot be translated into principle without being lost.Your neighbor is not defined by worth, identity, or moral condition, but by proximity under obedience to the Command. Love of neighbor is irrational by decree. It does not weigh consequences. It does not ask whether the whole will survive. It does not justify itself in language the system can use. Systems assume that when forced to choose, people will sacrifice the one for the many. Love of neighbor refuses that exchange. It does not assume God's purview. It does not control. It does not judge. It does not choose the right thing. It submits to the Command: love for the one encountered. This is why love of neighbor looks dangerous from inside the Temple. It threatens coherence. It interrupts explanation. It is willing to let the world burn rather than betray the one who stands before you. It does not argue. It does not explain. It does not rebel. The moment it does, it has already been absorbed back into the prison of the human logos. Hope enters here, not as optimism and not as confidence in success. Hope is what remains when explanation fails. Hope is the willingness to act without knowing whether the act will save or destroy everything. It interrupts causality by refusing to let outcomes or narratives decide what matters. Love of neighbor does not act because things will turn out well. It acts because of the Command.The Command does not abolish cause and effect, but it interrupts it. Scripture introduces something causality and human language cannot produce: a binding word that is not an effect, not a tool, and not a story we tell ourselves. It is not obeyed because it succeeds or pays off, but because it is spoken and heard, through the claim of a real person, a flesh and blood prophet, rather than the demands of an abstract group.When people live inside societies and institutions, this kind of hearing becomes difficult. Explanation returns. Outcomes take precedence. Faithfulness is measured by effectiveness. Hope is reduced to human belief in a future that can be imagined and defended. The Temple quietly rebuilds itself.Scripture keeps pointing back to the wilderness to remind people that freedom is not about mastering systems or rejecting them, but about remaining able to hear and act when human language blinds and deafens us, to act with conviction when explanation fails, and to obey the Command of the Shepherd even when the world can no longer be justified.This is the promise in which we hope, faith in things not seen: that through his Command God alone will achieve victory for his many flocks, which in his sight are one flock:“For in hope we were saved. Now hope that is seen is not hope. For who hopes for what he sees? But if we hope for what we do not see, we wait for it with patience.” (Romans 8:24-25)Episode 576 is a searching and uncompromising meditation on language, submission, and judgment, spoken from the land itself rather than from the safety of abstraction. Recorded in Jordan on New Year's Day, the conversation between Father Marc Boulos and Father Timothy Lowe unfolds as both personal reckoning and scriptural indictment.At its core, the episode argues that modern Christianity has betrayed the text it claims to serve by severing itself from the languages in which Scripture was spoken. Translation is not neutral, and reliance on English is not innocent. To speak in God's name while neglecting Hebrew, Greek, and Arabic is to risk uttering words God never said. For the preacher, this is not an academic shortcoming but a spiritual danger, because every utterance stands under divine accounting.The discussion presses further, insisting that biblical languages are not tools but living realities that carry wisdom through shared Semitic roots. By tracing these roots across the Torah, the Gospel, and the Qur'an...
يا رب علمنا ان نصلي - لو ١١ : ١
This week we focus on the Trump Administration's seizure of Venezuelan president Nicolas Maduro as Ralph welcomes legendary former ambassador, Chas Freeman, who calls it nothing more than a “gas station stick-up.” Then our resident Constitutional scholar, Bruce Fein, lays out some of the legal ramifications of the whole affair.Ambassador Chas Freeman is a retired career diplomat who has negotiated on behalf of the United States with over 100 foreign governments in East and South Asia, Africa, Latin America, the Middle East, and both Western and Eastern Europe. Ambassador Freeman was previously a Senior Fellow at Brown University's Watson Institute for International and Public Affairs, and served as U.S. Assistant Secretary of Defense, U.S. ambassador to Saudi Arabia, acting Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs, and Deputy Chief of Mission and Chargé d'Affaires in the American embassies at both Bangkok and Beijing. He was Director for Chinese Affairs at the U.S. Department of State from 1979-1981. He was the principal American interpreter during the late President Nixon's historic visit to China in 1972. In addition to Chinese, Ambassador Freeman speaks French and Spanish at the professional level and can converse in Arabic and several other languages.We have been engaged in murder on the high seas, people who are suspected on flimsy grounds of carrying narcotics. If they are carrying narcotics, it is not to the United States [but] between Venezuela and Trinidad, from which the drugs go to Western Europe and West Africa. We have been guilty of acts of piracy, seizing vessels on the high seas, on the basis of no authority. And (very dangerously) we have seized a Russian-flagged tanker…And we are risking a war with a nuclear-armed superpower over an issue that is peripheral to Venezuela.Ambassador Chas FreemanDomestically, we have a constitutional crisis. We are the most powerful country on the planet, and our domestic constitutional crisis has turned out to be contagious to the international system. And so we're seeing the disappearance of well-established norms of human behavior, interactions between states. It will not be easy to resurrect those. The precedents we've just set could come home to trouble us.Ambassador Chas FreemanI think we have scared everybody around the world. If there is no protection from international law, people will arm themselves as heavily as they can to defend themselves. So diplomacy is not prospering in this environment. And I would just conclude by saying that the Trump administration has more than decimated our diplomatic service. About one third of the diplomatic service has left or is in the process of leaving public service of the government. So they join scientists and engineers in trying to bail out from what they consider to be an increasingly intolerable situation. Not a happy picture.Ambassador Chas FreemanBruce Fein is a Constitutional scholar and an expert on international law. Mr. Fein was Associate Deputy Attorney General under Ronald Reagan and he is the author of Constitutional Peril: The Life and Death Struggle for Our Constitution and Democracy, and American Empire: Before the Fall.The fact is, if you read the NATO Charter Article 5—I think right now we've got 32 members of NATO, and 31 countries would be obliged to take up war and arms against the United States. [The United States' intervention in Venezuela] is an invasion. It's every bit as much of an invasion as Hitler going into the Sudetenland after Munich. Everybody knows this isn't going to be a voluntary secession. If it isn't by military conquest, it'll be by coercion, by threats. So we may be at war with all the other NATO members. That's why I liken this to the Napoleonic Era when France and Napoleon were against all of Europe. He had no allies anymore, and I think we will have no allies either. Bruce FeinNews 1/9/25* Our top story this week is, of course, the kidnapping of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro. Maduro, who has served as president of the Bolivarian Republic since 2013, was abducted from his home, along with his wife, by the Fort Bragg-based Delta Force squadron. Maduro was then transported to New York and is now being held in detention pending trial. Before getting into the fallout of this operation, it is critical to note the complicity of the mainstream press. Semafor reports, “The New York Times and Washington Post learned of a secret US raid on Venezuela soon before it was scheduled to begin Friday night — but held off publishing what they knew.” The preeminent American newspapers justified their decision to withhold this critical information from the public by claiming that publishing what they knew could have endangered American soldiers. This decision however raises longstanding questions about what the role of the media should be in national security matters. Is it their responsibility to protect American forces as they carry out legally dubious missions? Or is it their responsibility to inform the public of their own government's shadowy operations if they might endanger all Americans?* Meanwhile, the future of Venezuela appears deeply uncertain. Despite pressure from the Venezuelan exile community to install one of their own to lead the country, such as Maria Corina Machado, Trump has shown little interest in this path, saying Machado “doesn't have the support within or the respect within the country,” per Reuters. Instead, he has so far supported the elevation of Vice President Delcy Rodríguez. Rodríguez, who has been “likened…to a sort of Venezuelan Deng Xiaoping,” according to NBC, has sought to court Trump in the past and it seems that for the time being at least, he is content to keep her in place so long as she is willing to accede to the demands of the American oil companies.* Whatever the long-term outlook for Venezuela in general, this incident is sure to have certain short-term consequences. At the administration level, this operation was seen as a rousing success and is likely to embolden them to attempt similar operations in other countries deemed adversarial. The Hill reports Trump said “Colombia…[is] Run by a sick man,” referring to Colombian President Gustavo Petro, but won't be for “very long.” Similarly, he remarked that “We're going to have to do something [about Mexico].” Cuba, he said, is “ready to fall.” South Carolina Senator Lindsey Graham, traveling with Trump, added that Cuba's days are “numbered.” It remains to be seen how far Trump will go with regime change operations in these sovereign nations, but the success of the Maduro abduction makes each one – and the inevitable blowback from these actions – that much more likely.* Beyond Latin America, Trump is again pressing for an American annexation of Greenland. According to the BBC, the administration is discussing “a range of options” including military force. Ironically, the White House is claiming that the acquisition of Greenland – a semi-autonomous region of Denmark – is a “national security priority,” despite Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen's warning that any attack would mean the end of NATO, rattling the foundations of U.S. international security architecture. Nevertheless, Trump has continuously returned to the idea of annexing Greenland, so do not count on this quietly fading away, consequences be damned.* Moving to domestic politics, the AP reports the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, the private entity created in 1967 to shepherd public funding to PBS, NPR and hundreds of public television and radio stations across the country, has voted to dissolve itself. The CPB has been under heavy assault by the Trump administration, which pushed Congress to defund the entity last year. Patricia Harrison, the organization's president and CEO, is quoted saying “CPB's final act would be to protect the integrity of the public media system and the democratic values by dissolving, rather than allowing the organization to remain defunded and vulnerable to additional attacks.” With the shuttering of CPB, the future of public media hangs in the balance. It will be up to the next Congress to restore funding, or allow these cherished institutions to fall into the dustbin of history.* Alongside the federal assault on public media, the federal government continues its assaults on public health. The New York Times reports Jim O'Neill, acting director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, has “announced dramatic revisions to the slate of vaccines recommended for American children,” drawing down the number from 17 to just 11. The six vaccines on the chopping block, those for hepatitis A, hepatitis B, meningococcal disease, rotavirus, influenza and respiratory syncytial virus – which, the Times notes, is the “leading cause of hospitalization in American infants,” – will only be recommended for some high-risk groups. Meanwhile, the New York Post reports Dr. Mehmet Oz, administrator for the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, has unveiled new federal guidelines recommending alcohol use. Dr. Oz is quoted saying “Alcohol is a social lubricant that brings people together…it does allow people an excuse to bond and socialize, and there's probably nothing healthier than having a good time with friends in a safe way.” He added that the takeaway should be, “Don't have it for breakfast.” Given the well documented health risks of alcohol consumption, it is difficult to see this as anything besides a sop to the alcohol industry.* In more local news, the primary race between incumbent Congressman Dan Goldman and former Comptroller Brad Lander in New York's 10th congressional district is turning into nothing short of a proxy war between different factions within the Democratic Party. Goldman, who officially announced his reelection bid this week, was immediately endorsed by New York Governor Kathy Hochul and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, per the New York Daily News. Lander on the other hand, can boast the endorsement of Mayor Zohran Mamdani along with support from Senators Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren, among other local progressives, per ABC7. With so much political muscle on both sides, this primary is sure to have important ramifications for the future direction of the Democratic Party.* For his part, Mayor Zohran Mamdani has hit the ground running. On January 5th, Mamdani signed Executive Orders No. 9, on combatting hidden junk fees, and No. 10 on fighting subscription tricks and traps. Among other things, these executive orders will Establish a Citywide Junk Fee Task Force, to be cochaired by Deputy Mayor of Economic Justice and former Biden Administration Secretary of Labor Julie Su. This announcement ends with a message stating that Mayor Mamdani “takes the protection of New York consumers and tenants seriously,” citing his recent “executive order to hold ‘Rental Ripoff' hearings in every borough,” which will “provide an opportunity for working New Yorkers to speak about the challenges they face – from poor building conditions to hidden fees on rent payments,” to be followed by a report and policy recommendations. This all from NYC.gov.* A fascinating new poll has been released by “Speaking with American Men,” also known as the SAM Project, which seeks to understand young American men of various backgrounds. One startling number from this study is that 31% report having been homeless or near-homeless in the past five years. In more direct political findings though, only 27% say Trump is delivering for them, and slightly less, 25%, say Republicans are delivering. However, despite these abysmal numbers, just 18% say Democrats are delivering for them. Clearly, while young men are not joined at the hip to the Republican Party, the Democrats have a long way to go to win them back and won't get there without profoundly changing their approach to courting this key voting bloc.* Finally, the battle between Netflix and Paramount over corporate control of Warner Bros. Discovery continues to drag on. This week, WB announced they would formally reject Paramount's latest bid, their eighth so far, arguing that it is inferior to Netflix's proposal, citing the “extraordinary amount of incremental debt,” Paramount would have to incur in order to take over the larger company. This is estimated to be over $50 million. Although Paramount's hostile bid is higher per share than Netflix's offer, Paramount's bid includes WB's cable assets, such as CNN, which the company believes will be worth more if spun off from the rest of the company. This from CNN itself. Meanwhile, Paramount – led by the Ellison family – is calling in political favors on their behalf. In a letter to the House Judiciary antitrust subcommittee, Paramount Chief Legal Officer Makan Delrahim, who led the Antitrust Division of the DOJ under Trump 2017-2021, accused the proposed Netflix WB merger of being “presumptively unlawful,” because it would “further cement [Netflix's] dominance in streaming video on demand,” per Deadline. Congress cannot directly block a merger or acquisition, that power rests with the DOJ, but it does possess oversight power in that realm and can exert pressure to this end. Given the high stakes of this fight, expect all parties to call in their chits on Capitol Hill and in the administration in order to win the big prize.This has been Francesco DeSantis, with In Case You Haven't Heard. Get full access to Ralph Nader Radio Hour at www.ralphnaderradiohour.com/subscribe
12/28/25 Fr Salar Boudagh - Feast of the Presentation (Arabic) by St. Peter's Chaldean Catholic Diocese
12/28/25 Fr Yousif Jazrawy - Feast of the Presentation (Arabic) by St. Peter's Chaldean Catholic Diocese
12/28/25 Bp Emanuel Shaleta - Feast of the Presentation (Arabic) by St. Peter's Chaldean Catholic Diocese
In this episode, we welcome Raymond Ibrahim back to the show. He is an author, translator, columnist, and vocal critic of Islam. He is an expert in Islamic history and doctrine and is fluent in English and Arabic. He is the author of multiple books including “Sword and Scimitar: Fourteen Centuries of War Between Islam and the West”, “Defenders of the West: The Christian Heroes Who Stood Against Islam”, and his newest book “The Two Swords of Christ: Five Centuries of War between Islam and the Warrior Monks of Christendom”. In this interview, we discuss why there is so much ignorance as to the true tenets of the Islamic religion, his commentary on the targeting of Christians by Muslims in Africa, an overview of “the Crusades”, an overview of the Templar Knights and the Hospitallers, how Muslims use slavery as a tool of warfare, how Muslims are taught to pretend to assimilate into countries that they hope to conquer in the future, and much more. Let's get into it… Episode notes and links HERE. Donate to support our mission of equipping men to push back darkness. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
learn how to turn a verb into its future tense with this video conversation
Sri Lanka has long sat astride the monsoon winds between the Bay of Bengal and the Arabian Sea – a small island at the centre of a very big story. For over a thousand years, Muslim pilgrims, merchants, scholars, and soldiers have passed through “Lanka” or “Sarandib”, leaving traces in Arabic, Tamil, Persian, Malay, Ottoman Turkish, Urdu, Dhivehi, and Sinhala. Serendipitous Translations: A Sourcebook on Sri Lanka in the Islamic Indian Ocean (University of Texas Press, 2026) brings together many of those voices for the first time in English. From medieval travellers marvelling at Adam's Peak to modern novelists and newspaper editors wrestling with reform, nationalism, and civil conflict. Dr. Nile Green holds the Ibn Khaldun Endowed Chair in World History at UCLA. A former Guggenheim Fellow, he is the celebrated author of ten monographs and the editor of seven books and several journal issues, with a particular focus on Islam and the Indian Ocean world. He also hosts the excellent podcast Akbar's Chamber: Experts Talk Islam. Dr. Ahmed AlMaazmi is Assistant Professor of History at the United Arab Emirates University. His research explores the intersections of empire, occult sciences, slavery, law, environmental infrastructures, and material culture in the Arabian Peninsula and the wider Indian Ocean world. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/new-books-network
Sri Lanka has long sat astride the monsoon winds between the Bay of Bengal and the Arabian Sea – a small island at the centre of a very big story. For over a thousand years, Muslim pilgrims, merchants, scholars, and soldiers have passed through “Lanka” or “Sarandib”, leaving traces in Arabic, Tamil, Persian, Malay, Ottoman Turkish, Urdu, Dhivehi, and Sinhala. Serendipitous Translations: A Sourcebook on Sri Lanka in the Islamic Indian Ocean (University of Texas Press, 2026) brings together many of those voices for the first time in English. From medieval travellers marvelling at Adam's Peak to modern novelists and newspaper editors wrestling with reform, nationalism, and civil conflict. Dr. Nile Green holds the Ibn Khaldun Endowed Chair in World History at UCLA. A former Guggenheim Fellow, he is the celebrated author of ten monographs and the editor of seven books and several journal issues, with a particular focus on Islam and the Indian Ocean world. He also hosts the excellent podcast Akbar's Chamber: Experts Talk Islam. Dr. Ahmed AlMaazmi is Assistant Professor of History at the United Arab Emirates University. His research explores the intersections of empire, occult sciences, slavery, law, environmental infrastructures, and material culture in the Arabian Peninsula and the wider Indian Ocean world. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/islamic-studies
Dr. Zeev Maghen is an Israeli scholar and professor of Arabic and Islamic history at Bar-Ilan University, and a senior fellow at the Begin-Sadat Center for Strategic Studies. He's a leading expert on Revolutionary Iran, Shi'a Islam, and Middle Eastern geopolitics, and the author of books and research on Iran's political and religious dynamics.PODCAST INFO:Podcast website: https://yishaifleisher.com/podcastYouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/YishaiFleisherTVSUPPORT & CONNECT:Buy Me a Coffee: https://buymeacoffee.com/yishaiFight4Israel: https://fight4israel.givecloud.coTwitter: https://twitter.com/YishaiFleisherLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/yishaifleisherFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/YishaiFleisher Support the show