Podcasts about Chechen

Can You Segway?Book 3 in 18 parts, By FinalStand. Listen to the ► Podcast at Explicit Novels.So exactly who was going to be sympathetic to their plight, who we cared about?Beyond my fevered dream of making a difference there was a pinch of reality. See, the Cabindans and the people of Zaire were both ethnic Bakongo and the Bakongo of Zaire had also once had their own, independent (until 1914) kingdom which was now part of Angola. The Bakongo were major factions in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) -(formerly for a short time known as the nation of Zaire, from here on out to be referred to as the DRC and in the running for the most fucked up place on the planet Earth, more on that later)- and Congo (the nation) yet a minority in Angola. Having an independent nation united along ethnic and linguistic lines made sense and could expect support from their confederates across international boundaries.The Liberation Air ForceThe Earth & Sky operated under one constant dilemma ~ when would Temujin make his return? Since they didn't know and it was their job to be prepared for the eventuality if it happened tomorrow, or a century down the line, they 'stockpiled', and 'stockpiled' and 'stockpiled'.That was why they maintained large horse herds and preserved the ancient arts of Asian bowyers, armoring and weapons-craft. That was why they created secret armories, and sulfur and saltpeter sites when musketry and cannons became the new ways of warfare. They secured sources of phosphates and petroleum when they became the new thing, and so on.All of this boiled over to me being shown yet again I worked with clever, creative and under-handed people. The Khanate came up with a plan for a 'Union' Air Force {Union? More on that later} within 24 hours, and it barely touched any of their existing resources. How did they accomplish this miracle? They had stockpiled and maintained earlier generation aircraft because they didn't know when Temujin would make his re-appearance.They'd also trained pilots and ground crews for those aircraft. As you might imagine, those people grew old just as their equipment did. In time, they went into the Earth & Sky's Inactive Reserves ~ the rank & file over the age of 45. You never were 'too old' to serve in some capacity though most combat-support related work ended at 67.When Temujin made his return and the E&S transformed into the Khanate, those people went to work bringing their lovingly cared for, aging equipment up to combat-alert readiness. If the frontline units were decimated, they would have to serve, despite the grim odds of their survival. It was the terrible acceptance the Chinese would simply possess so much more war-making material than they did.Well, the Khanate kicked the PRC's ass in a titanic ass-whooping no one (else) had seen coming, or would soon forget. Factory production and replacement of worn machines was in stride to have the Khanate's Air Force ready for the next round of warfare when the Cease-fire ended and the Reunification War resumed.Always a lower priority, the Khanate military leadership was considering deactivating dozens of these reserve unit when suddenly the (Mongolian) Ikh khaany khairt akh dáé (me) had this hare-brained scheme about helping rebels in Africa, West Africa, along the Gulf of Guinea coast/Atlantic Ocean, far, far away, and it couldn't look like the Khanate was directly involved.They barely knew where Angola was. They had to look up Cabinda to figure out precisely where that was. They brought in some of their 'reservist' air staff to this briefing and one of them, a woman (roughly a third of the E&S 'fighting'/non-frontline forces were female), knew what was going on. Why?She had studied the combat records and performance of the types of aircraft she'd have to utilize... back in the 1980's and 90's and Angola had been a war zone rife with Soviet (aka Khanate) material back then. Since she was both on the ball, bright and knew the score, the War Council put her in overall command. She knew what was expected of her and off she went, new staff in hand. She was 64 years old, yet as ready and willing to serve as any 20 year old believer in the Cause.Subtlety, scarcity and audacity were the watchwords of the day. The Khanate couldn't afford any of their front-line aircraft for this 'expedition'. They really couldn't afford any of their second-rate stuff either. Fortunately, they had some updated third-rate war-fighting gear still capable of putting up an impressive show in combat ~ providing they weren't going up against a top tier opponents.For the 'volunteers' of the Union Air Force, this could very likely to be a one-way trip. They all needed crash courses (not a word any air force loves, I know) in Portuguese though hastily provided iPhones with 'apps' to act as translators were deemed to be an adequate stop-gap measure. Besides, they were advised to avoid getting captured at all cost. The E&S couldn't afford the exposure. Given the opportunity ~ this assignment really was going above and beyond ~ not one of these forty-six to sixty-seven year olds backed out.No, they rolled out fifty of their antiquated aircraft, designs dating back to the 1950's through the mid-70's, and prepared them for the over 10,000 km journey to where they were 'needed most'. 118 pilots would go (72 active plus 46 replacements) along with 400 ground crew and an equally aged air defense battalion (so their air bases didn't get blown up). Security would be provided by 'outsiders' ~ allies already on the ground and whatever rebels could be scrounged up. After the initial insertion, the Indian Air Force would fly in supplies at night into the Cabinda City and Soyo Airports.The composition,14 Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-21 jet fighters ~ though she entered service in 1959, these planes' electronics were late 20th century and she was a renowned dogfighter. 12 were the Mig-21-97 modernized variant and the other two were Mig-21 UM two-seater trainer variants which could double as reconnaissance fighters if needed.14 Sukhoi Su-22 jet fighter-bombers ~ the original design, called the Su-17, came out in 1970, the first 12 were variants with the 22M4 upgrade were an early-80's package. The other 2 were Su-22U two-seat trainers which, like their Mig-21 comrades, doubled as reconnaissance fighters. The Su-22M4's would be doing the majority of the ground attack missions for the Cabindans, though they could defend themselves in aerial combat if necessary.6 Sukhoi Su-24M2 supersonic attack aircraft ~ the first model rolled off the production lines in the Soviet Union back in 1974. By far the heaviest planes in the Cabindan Air Force, the Su-24M2's would act as their 'bomber force' as well as anti-ship deterrence.8 Mil Mi-24 VM combat helicopters ~ introduced in 1972 was still a lethal combat machine today. Unlike the NATO helicopter force, the Mi-24's did double duty as both attack helicopter and assault transports at the same time.4 Mil Mi-8 utility helicopters, first produced in 1967. Three would act as troop/cargo transports (Mi-8 TP) while the fourth was configured as a mobile hospital (the MI-17 1VA).4 Antonov An-26 turboprop aircraft, two to be used as tactical transports to bring in supplies by day and two specializing in electronic intelligence aka listening to what the enemy was up to. Though it entered production in 1969, many still remained flying today.2 Antonov An-71M AEW&C twin-jet engine aircraft. These were an old, abandoned Soviet design the Earth & Sky had continued working on primarily because the current (1970's) Russian Airborne Early Warning and Control bird had been both huge and rather ineffective ~ it couldn't easily identify low-flying planes in the ground clutter so it was mainly only good at sea. Since the E&S planned to mostly fight over the land,They kept working on the An-71 which was basically 1977's popular An-72 with some pertinent design modifications (placing the engines below the wings instead of above them as on the -72 being a big one). To solve their radar problem, they stole some from the Swedish tech firm Ericsson, which hadn't been foreseen to be a problem before now.See, the Russians in the post-Soviet era created a decent AEW&C craft the E&S gladly stole and copied the shit out of for their front line units and it was working quite nicely ~ the Beriev A-50, and wow, were the boys in the Kremlin pissed off about that these days. Whoops, or was that woot?Now, the Khanate was shipping two An-71's down to Cabinda and somewhere along the line someone just might get a 'feel' for the style of radar and jamming the Cabindans were using aka the Swedish stuff in those An-71's. The Erieye radar system could pick out individual planes at 280 miles. The over-all system could track 60 targets and plot out 10 intercepts simultaneously. NATO, they were not, but in sub-Saharan Africa, there were none better.Anyway, so why was any of this important?Why the old folks with their ancient machines? As revealed, since the Earth & Sky had no idea when Temüjin would return, they were constantly squirreling away equipment. World War 2 gave them unequaled access to Soviet military technology and training.Afterwards, under Josef Stalin's direction, thousands of Russian and German engineers and scientists were exiled to Kazakhstan, Turkmenistan, Tajikistan, and Kyrgyzstan who were then snatched up (reportedly died in the gulags/trying to escape) and the E&S began building mirror factories modeled on the 'then current' Soviet production lines.So, by the early 1950's, the E&S was building, flying and maintaining Soviet-style Antonov, Beriev, Ilyushin, Myasishchev, Mikoyan-Gurevich, Sukhoi, Tupolev and Yakovlev airplanes. First in small numbers because their pool of pilots and specialists was so small.The E&S remedied this by creating both their own 'private' flight academies and technical schools. They protected their activities with the judicious use of bribes (they were remarkably successful with their economic endeavors on both side of the Iron Curtain) and murders (including the use of the Ghost Tigers).By 1960, the proto-Khanate had an air force. Through the next two decades they refined and altered their doctrine ~ moving away from the Soviet doctrine to a more pure combined-arms approach (the Soviets divided their air power into four separate arms ~ ADD (Long Range Aviation), FA (Front Aviation), MTA (Military Transport Aviation) and the V-PVO (Soviet Air Defenses ~ which controlled air interceptors).).It wasn't until the collapse of the Soviet Union and the independence of the various former SSR's that the E&S program really began to hit its stride. Still, while Russia faltered, China's PLAAF (Peoples' Liberation Army Air Force) began to take off. Since the Chinese could produce so much more, the E&S felt it had to keep those older planes and crews up to combat readiness. The younger field crews and pilots flew the newer models as they rolled off the secret production lines.Then the Unification War appeared suddenly, the E&S-turned Khanate Air Force skunked their PLAAF rivals due to two factors, a surprise attack on a strategic level and the fatal poisoning of their pilots and ground crews before they even got into the fight. For those Chinese craft not destroyed on the ground, the effects of Anthrax eroded their fighting edge. Comparable technology gave the Khanate their critical victory and Air Supremacy over the most important battlefields.What did this meant for those out-of-date air crews and pilots who had been training to a razor's edge for a month now? Their assignment had been to face down the Russians if they invaded. They would take their planes up into the fight even though this most likely would mean their deaths, but they had to try.When Operation Fun House put Russia in a position where she wasn't likely to jump on the Khanate, this mission's importance faded. The Russian Air Force was far more stretched than the Khanate's between her agitations in the Baltic and her commitments in the Manchurian, Ukrainian, Chechen and Georgian theaters.With more new planes rolling off the production lines, these reservist units began dropping down the fuel priority list, which meant lowering their flight times thus readiness. Only my hare-brained scheme had short-circuited their timely retirement. Had I realized I was getting people's grandparents killed, I would have probably made the same call anyway. We needed them.The KanateThe Khanate's #1 air superiority dogfighter was the Mig-35F. The #2 was the Mig-29. No one was openly discussing the Khanate's super-stealthy "Su-50", if that was what it was, because its existence 'might' suggest the Khanate also stole technology from the Indian defense industry, along with their laundry list of thefts from South Korea, Japan, Taiwan, the PRC, Russia and half of NATO.Her top multi-role fighters were the Su-47, Su-35S and Su-30SM. The Su-30 'Flanker-C/MK2/MKI were their 2nd team with plenty of 3rd team Su-27M's still flying combat missions as well.Strike fighters? There weren't enough Su-34's to go around yet, so the Su-25MS remained the Khanate's dedicated Close Air Assault model.Medium transport aircraft? The An-32RE and An-38. They had small, large and gargantuan transports as well.Bombers? The rather ancient jet-powered Tu-160M2's and Tu-22M2's as well as the even older yet still worthwhile turboprops ~ from 1956's ~ the Tu-95M S16.Helicopters? While they still flew updated variants of the Mil Mi-8/17 as military transports, the more optimized Kamov Ka-52 and Mil Mi-28 had replaced them in the assault role.Bizarrely, the Khanate had overrun several Chinese production lines of the aircraft frames and components ~ enough to complete fairly modern PLAAF (Peoples Liberation Army Air Force) FC-1 and J-10 (both are small multi-role fighter remarkably similar to the US F-16 with the FC-1 being the more advanced model, using shared Chinese-Pakistani technology and was designed for export,).They did have nearly two dozen to send, but they didn't have the pilots and ground crews trained to work with them, plus the FC-1 cost roughly $32 million which wasn't fundage any legitimate Cabindan rebels could get their hands on, much less $768 million (and that would just be for the planes, not the weeks' worth of fuel, parts and munitions necessary for what was forthcoming).Meanwhile, except for the An-26, which you could get for under $700,000 and the An-71, which were only rendered valuable via 'black market tech', none of the turboprop and jet aircraft the Khanate was sending were what any sane military would normally want. The helicopters were expensive ~ the 'new' models Mi-24's cost $32 million while the Mi-17's set you back $17 million. The one's heading to Cabinda didn't look 'new'.The Opposition:In contrast, the Angolan Air Force appeared far larger and more modern. Appearances can be deceptive, and they were. Sure, the models of Russian and Soviet-made aircraft they had in their inventory had the higher numbers ~ the Su-25, -27 and -30 ~ plus they had Mig-21bis's, Mig-23's and Su-22's, but things like training and up-keep didn't appear to be priorities for the Angolans.When you took into account the rampant corruption infecting all levels of Angolan government, the conscript nature of their military, the weakness of their technical educational system, the complexity of any modern combat aircraft and the reality that poor sods forced into being Air Force ground crewmen hardly made the most inspired technicians, or most diligent care-takers of their 'valuable' stockpiles (which their officers all too often sold on the black market anyway), things didn't just look bleak for the Angolan Air Force, they were a tsunami of cumulative factors heading them for an epic disaster.It wasn't only their enemies who derided their Air Force's lack of readiness. Their allies constantly scolded them about it too. Instead of trying to fix their current inventory, the Angolans kept shopping around for new stuff. Since 'new'-new aircraft was beyond what they wanted to spend (aka put too much of a dent in the money they were siphoning off to their private off-shore accounts), they bought 'used' gear from former Soviet states ~ Belarus, Russia and Ukraine ~ who sold them stuff they had left abandoned in revetments (open to the elements to slowly rot) on the cheap.To add to the insanity, the Angolans failed to keep up their maintenance agreements so their newly fixed high-tech machines often either couldn't fly, or flew without critical systems, like radar, avionics and even radios. Maybe that wasn't for the worst because after spending millions on these occasionally-mobile paperweights, the Angolans bought the least technologically advanced missile, gun and rocket systems they could get to put on these flying misfortunes.On the spread sheets, Angola had 18 Su-30K's, 18 Su-27, 12 Su-25's, 14 Su-22's, 22 Mig-23's, 23 Mig-21bis's and 6 Embraer EMB 314 Super Tucano (a turboprop aircraft tailor-made for counter-insurgency operations), 105 helicopters with some combative ability and 21 planes with some airlift capacity. That equated to 81 either air superiority, or multi-role jet fighters versus the 12 Union Air Force (actually the Bakongo Uni o de Cabinda e Zaire, For as Armadas de Liberta  o, For a Area ~ Liberation Armed Forces, Air Force (BUCZ-FAL-FA) Mig-21-97's.It would seem lopsided except for the thousands of hours of flight experience the 'Unionists' enjoyed over their Angolan rivals. You also needed to take into account the long training and fanatic dedication of their ground crews to their pilots and their craft. Then you needed to take into account every Unionist aircraft, while an older airframe design, had updated (usually to the year 2000) technology lovingly cared for, as if the survival of their People demanded it.A second and even more critical factor was the element of surprise. At least the PRC and the PLAAF had contingencies for attacks from their neighbors in the forefront of their strategic planning. The Angolans? The only country with ANY air force in the vicinity was the Republic of South Africa (RSA) and they had ceased being a threat with the end of Apartheid and the rise of majority Black rule in that country nearly two decades earlier.In the pre-dawn hours of 'Union Independence Day', the FAL-FA was going to smash every Angolan Air base and air defense facility within 375 miles of Cabinda (the city). Every three hours after that, they would be hitting another target within their designated 'Exclusion Zone'. Yes, this 'Exclusion Zone' included a 'tiny' bit of DRC (Democratic Republic of Congo) territory. The DRC didn't have an air force to challenge them though, so,Inside this 'Exclusion Zone', anything moving by sea, river, road, rail, or air without Unionist governmental approval was subject to attack, which would require neutral parties to acknowledge some semblance of a free and independent B U C Z. Worse for Angola, this 'Zone' included Angola's capital and its largest port, Luanda, plus four more of their ten largest urban centers. This could be an economic, military and humanitarian catastrophe if mishandled.The Angolan Army did not have significant anti-aircraft assets. Why would they? Remember, no one around them had much of an air force to worry about. The FAL-FA in turn could hit military convoys with TV-guided munitions 'beyond line of sight', rendering what they did have useless. It got worse for the Army after dark. The FAL-FA could and would fly at night whereas the average Angolan formation had Zip-Zero-Nadda night fighting capacity.Then geography added its own mountain of woes. As far as Cabinda was concerned, there was no direct land line to their border from Angola. Their coastal road only went as far as the port of Soyo where the Congo River hit the South Atlantic Ocean. Across that massive gap was the DRC where the road was not picked back up. Far up the coast was the DRC town of Muanda (with an airport) and though they did have a road which went north, it did not continue to the Cabindan border.Nope. To get at Cabinda from the south meant a long, torturous travel through northeastern Angola, into the heart of the DRC then entailed hooking west to some point 'close' to the Cabindan frontier before finally hoofing it overland through partially cleared farmland and jungle. Mind you, the DRC didn't have a native air force capable of protecting the Angolans in their territory so,In fact the only 'road' to Cabinda came from the Republic of Congo (Congo) to the north and even that was a twisted route along some really bad, swampy terrain. This had been the pathway of conquest the Angolans took 39 years earlier. The difference being the tiny bands of pro-independence Cabindan guerillas back then couldn't hold a candle to the Amazons fighting to free Cabinda this time around in numbers, zeal, training and up-to-date equipment.Next option ~ to come by sea. They would face a few, stiff problems, such as the FAL-FA having ship-killer missiles, the Angolan Navy not being able to defend them and the Unionists having no compunction to not strike Pointe-Noire in the 'not so neutral' Republic of the Congo if they somehow began unloading Angolan troops. It seemed the Republic of the Congo didn't have much of an Air Force either.Before you think the FAL-FA was biting off more than they could chew, Cabinda, the province, was shaped somewhat like the US State of Delaware, was half the size of Connecticut (Cabinda was 2,810 sq. mi. to Conn.'s 5,543 sq. mi.) and only the western 20% was relatively open countryside where the Angolan Army's only advantage ~ they possessed armed fighting vehicles while the 'Unionists' did not (at this stage of planning) ~ could hopefully come into play.Centered at their capital, Cabinda (City), jets could reach any point along their border within eight minutes. Helicopters could make it in fifteen. To be safe, some of the FAL-FA would base at the town of Belize which was in the northern upcountry and much tougher to get at with the added advantage the Angolans wouldn't be expecting the FAL-FA to be using the abandoned airfield there, at least initially.Where they afraid attacking Angolan troops in the DRC would invite war with the DRC? Sure, but letting the Angolans reach the border unscathed was worse. Besides, the DRC was in such a mess it needed 23,000 UN Peacekeepers within her borders just to keep the country from falling apart. Barring outside, read European, intervention, did "Democratically-elected since 2001" President (for Life) Joseph Kabila want the FAL-FA to start dropping bombs on his capital, Kinshasa, which was well within reach of all their aircraft?Congo (the country), to the north, wasn't being propped up by the UN, or anything else except ill intentions. In reality, it hardly had much of a military at all. Its officer corps was chosen for political reliability, not merit, or capability. Their technology was old Cold War stuff with little effort to update anything and, if you suspected corruption might be a problem across all spectrums of life, you would 'probably' be right about that too.If you suspected the current President had been in charge for a while, you would be correct again (1979-1992 then 2001- and the 'whoops' was when he accidently let his country experiment with democracy which led to two civil wars). If you suspected he was a life-long Communist (along with the Presidents of the DRC and Angola), you'd be right about that as well. Somehow their shared Marxist-Leninist-Communist ideology hadn't quite translated over to alleviating the grinding poverty in any of those countries despite their vast mineral wealth,At this point in the region's history, little Cabinda had everything to gain by striving for independence and the vast majority of 'warriors' who could possibly be sent against her had terribly little to gain fighting and dying trying to stop them from achieving her goal. After all, their lives weren't going to get any better and with the Amazons ability ~ nay willingness ~ to commit battlefield atrocities, those leaders were going to find it hard going to keep sending their men off to die.And then, it got even worse.See, what I had pointed out was there were two oil refineries in Angola, and neither was in Cabinda. Cabinda would need a refinery to start making good on their oil wealth ~ aka economically bribe off the Western economies already shaken over the Khanate's first round of aggressions.But wait! There was an oil refinery just across the Congo River from Cabinda ~ which meant it was attached to mainland Angola. That had to be a passel of impossible news, right?Nope. As I said earlier, it seemed the people of northern Angola were the same racial group as the Cabindans AND majority Catholic while the ruling clique wasn't part of their ethnic confederacy plus the farther south and east into Angola you went, the less Catholic it became.But it got better. This province was historically its own little independent kingdom (called the Kingdom of Kongo) to boot! It had been abolished by Portugal back in 1914.The 'good' news didn't end there. Now, it wasn't as if the leadership of Angola was spreading the wealth around to the People much anyway, but these northerners had been particularly left out of this Marxist version of 'Trickle Down' economics.How bad was this? This northwestern province ~ called Zaire ~ didn't have any railroads, or paved roads, linking it to the rest of the freaking country. The 'coastal road' entered the province, but about a third of the way up ran into this river, which they'd failed to bridge (you had to use a single track bridge farther to the northeast, if you can believe it). It wasn't even a big river. It was still an obstacle though.How did the Angolan government and military planned to get around? Why by air and sea, of course. Well, actually by air. Angola didn't have much of a merchant marine, or Navy, to make sealift a serious consideration. Within hours of the 'Union Declaration of Independence' anything flying anywhere north of the Luanda, the capital of Angola, would essentially be asking to be blown out of the sky.Along the border between Zaire province and the rest of Angola were precisely two chokepoints. By 'chokepoints', I meant places where a squad (10 trained, modernly-equipped troopers) could either see everything for miles & miles over pretty much empty space along a river valley and the only bridge separating Zaire province from the south, or overlook a ravine which the only road had to pass through because of otherwise bad-ass, broken terrain.Two.Zaire Province had roughly the same population as Cabinda ~ 600,000. Unlike Cabinda, which consisted of Cabinda City plus a few tiny towns and rugged jungles, Zaire had two cities ~ Soyo, with her seventy thousand souls plus the refinery at the mouth of the Congo River, and M'banza-Kongo, the historical capital of the Kingdom of Kongo, spiritual center of the Bakongo People (who included the Cabindans) and set up in the highlands strategically very reminiscent of Điện Biàn Phủ.Of Zaire's provincial towns, the only other strategic one was N'Zeto with her crappy Atlantic port facility and 2,230 meter grass airport. The town was the northern terminus of the National Road 100 ~ the Coastal Road. It terminated because of the Mebridege River. There wasn't a bridge at N'Zeto though there was a small one several miles upstream. N'Zeto was also where the road from provinces east of Zaire ended up, so you had to have N'Zeto ~ and that tiny bridge ~ to move troops overland anywhere else in Zaire Province.So you would think it would be easy for the Angolan Army to defend then, except of how the Amazons planned to operate. They would infiltrate the area first then 'rise up in rebellion'. Their problem was the scope of the operation had magnified in risk of exposure, duration and forces necessary for success.The serious issue before Saint Marie and the Host in Africa were the first two. They could actually move Amazons from Brazil and North America to bolster their numbers for the upcoming offensive. Even in the short-short term, equipment wouldn't be a serious problem. What the Amazons dreaded was being left in a protracted slugfest with the Angolan Army which the Condottieri could jump in on. The Amazons exceedingly preferred to strike first then vanish.There was reason to believe a tiny number could have stayed behind in Cabinda to help the locals prepare their military until they could defend themselves. They would need more than a hundred Amazons if Cabinda wanted to incorporate Zaire. The answer was to call back their newfound buddy, the Great Khan. While he didn't have much else he could spare (the Khanate was ramping up for their invasion of the Middle East after all, the Kurds needed the help), he had other allies he could call on.India couldn't help initially since they were supposed to supply the 'Peace-keepers' once a cease-fire had been arranged. That left Temujin with his solid ally, Vietnam, and his far shakier allies, the Republic of China and Japan.First off ~ Japan could not help, which meant they couldn't supply troops who might very well end up dead, or far worse, captured.. What they did have was a surplus of older equipment the ROC troops were familiar with, so while the ROC was gearing up for their own invasion of mainland China in February, they were willing to help the Chinese kill Angolans, off the books, of course.The ROC was sending fifteen hundred troops the Khanate's way to help in this West African adventure with the understanding they'd be coming home by year's end. With Vietnam adding over eight hundred of her own Special Forces, the Amazons had the tiny 'allied' army they could leave shielding Cabinda/Zaire once the first round of blood-letting was over.To be 'fair', the Republic of China and Vietnam asked for 'volunteers'. It wasn't like either country was going to declare war on Angola directly. Nearly a thousand members of Vietnam's elite 126th Regiment of the 5th Brigade (Đặc cáng bộ) took early retirement then misplaced their equipment as they went to update their visas and inoculations before heading out for the DRC (some would be slipping over the DRC/Cabindan border).On Taiwan, it was the men and women of the 602nd Air Cavalry Brigade, 871st Special Operations Group and 101st Amphibious Reconnaissance Battalion who felt the sudden desire to 'seek enlightenment elsewhere, preferably on another continent'.They too were off to the Democratic Republic of Congo, man that country was a mess and their border security wasn't worth writing home about, that's for damn sure, via multiple Southeast Asian nations. Besides, they were being issued fraudulently visas which showed them to be from the People's Republic of China, not the ROC/Taiwan. If they were captured, they were to pretend to "be working for a Communist Revolution inside Angola and thus to be setting all of Africa on fire!" aka be Mainland Chinese.There, in the DRC, these Chinese stumbled across, some Japanese. These folks hadn't retired. No. They were on an extended assignment for the UN's mission in, the DRC. OH! And look! They'd brought tons of surplus, outdated Japanese Self Defense Forces' equipment with them, and there just so happened to be some Taiwanese who had experience in using such equipment (both used US-style gear).And here was Colonel Yoshihiro Isami of the Chūō Sokuō Shūdan (Japan's Central Readiness Force) wondering why he and his hastily assembled team had just unloaded,18 Fuji/Bell AH-1S Cobra Attack helicopters,6 Kawasaki OH-6D Loach Scout helicopters,12 Fuji-Bell 204-B-2 Hiyodori Utility helicopters,6 Kawasaki/Boeing CH-47JA Chinook Transport helicopters and4 Mitsubishi M U-2L-1 Photo Reconnaissance Aircraft.Yep! 46 more aircraft for the FAL-FA!Oh, and if this wasn't 'bad enough', the Chinese hadn't come alone. They'd brought some old aircraft from their homes to aid in the upcoming struggle. Once more, these things were relics of the Cold War yet both capable fighting machines and, given the sorry state of the opposition, definitely quite deadly. A dozen F-5E Tiger 2000 configured primarily for air superiority plus two RF-5E Tigergazer for reconnaissance, pilots plus ground crews, of course.Thus, on the eve of battle, the FAL-FA had become a true threat. Sure, all of its planes (and half of its pilots) were pretty old, but they were combat-tested and in numbers and experience no other Sub-Saharan African nation could match.The Liberation Ground Forces:But wait, there was still the niggling little problem of what all those fellas were going to fight with once they were on the ground. Assault/Battle rifles, carbines, rifles, pistols, PDW, SMGs as bullets, grenades and RPG's were all terrifyingly easy to obtain. The coast of West Africa was hardly the Port of London as far as customs security went. They were going to need some bigger toys and their host nations were going to need all their native hardware for their upcoming battles at home.And it wasn't like you could advertise for used IFV (Infantry Fighting Vehicles), APCs (armored personnel carriers) and tanks on e-Bay, Amazon.com, or Twitter. If something modern US, or NATO, was captured rolling around the beautiful Angolan countryside, shooting up hostile Angolans, all kinds of head would roll in all kinds of countries, unless the country,A) had an Executive Branch and Judiciary who wouldn't ask (or be answering) too many uncomfortable questions,B) wasn't all that vulnerable to international pressure,C) really needed the money and,D) didn't give a fuck their toys would soon be seen on BBC/CNN/Al Jazeera blowing the ever-living crap out of a ton of Africans aka doing what they were advertised to do and doing it very well in the hands of capable professionals.And politics was kind enough to hand the freedom-loving people of Cabinda & Zaire a winner, and it wasn't even from strangers, or at least people all that strange to their part of the Globe. If you would have no idea who to look for, you wouldn't be alone.That was the magic of the choice. See, the last three decades had seen the entire Globe take a colossal dump on them as a Nation and a People. They were highly unpopular for all sorts of things, such as Crimes Against Humanity and 'no', we were not talking about the Khanate.We would be talking about Република Србија / Republika Srbija aka Serbia aka the former Yugoslavia who had watched all their satellite minions (Slovenia, Croatia, Bosnia & Herzegovina, Montenegro, Kosovo and Macedonia) slip away. Despite being reduced to a tiny fraction of their former selves thus fighting two incredibly brutal and bloody World Wars for nothing, Serbia insisted on maintaining a robust armaments industry.Mind you, they didn't make the very best stuff on the planet. That didn't stop them from trying though. Of equal importance was their geographic location and the above mentioned desire for some hard currency without asking too many questions. The geography was simple, you could move even heavy gear unnoticed from central Serbia to the Montenegrin port of Bar by rail and load them up on freighters and off to the Congo you went.The Serbians produced an APC called the BVP M-80A's which weren't blowing anyone's minds away when they started rolling off the production lines back in 1982, plus some over-eager types on the Serbian Army's payroll sweetened the deal by offering 'the rebels' some BVP M-80 KC's and a KB as well.Then they slathered on the sugary-sweet Maple syrup by upgrading a few of the M-80A's to BVP M-98A's. Why would they be so generous? The KC's and KB were the Command & Control variants, so that made sense (C = company & B = battalion commander). The -98A had never been tested in the field before and they were kind of curious how the new turrets (which was the major difference) would behave. 'Our' procurement agents didn't quibble. We needed the gear.Besides, these Slavic entrepreneurs gave them an inside track on some 'disarmed/mothballed' Czech (introduced in 1963) armored mobile ambulances and Polish BWP-1 (first rolled out in 1966) APC's which were either in, or could be quickly configured into, the support variants those ground-fighters would need. The 'disarmed' part was 'fixable', thanks to both the Serbians and Finland. The 'missing' basic weaponry was something the Serbians could replace with virtually identical equipment.It just kept getting better. Unknown to me at the time, the Finnish firm, Patria Hágglunds, had sold twenty-two of their 'most excellent' AMOS turrets ~ they are a twin 120 mm mortar system ~ then the deal fell through. Whoops! Should have guarded that warehouse better. Those bitches were on a cargo plane bound for Albania inside of six hours.The ammunition for them was rather unique. Thankfully, it was uniquely sold by the Swiss, who had no trouble selling it to Serbia, thank you very much! Twenty-two BWP-1's became mobile artillery for the Unionist freedom fighters, though I understood the ship ride with the Serbian and Chinese technicians was loads of fun as they struggled to figured out how to attach those state-of-the-art death-dealing turrets to those ancient contraptions.To compensate, the Serbians added (aka as long as our money was good) two Nora B-52 155 mm 52-calibre mobile artillery pieces and one battery of Orkan CER MLRS (Multiple Launch Rocket System) for long-range artillery, two batteries of their Oganj 2000 ER MRLS for medium range carnage and six batteries of their M-94 MRLS for 'close support' as well. More field-testing new gear for the "freedom fighters" We also managed to 'purchase' ten M-84AS Main Battle tanks plus an M-84A1 armor recovery vehicle. It should have been twelve tanks, but two had 'loading issues'.Not to be deterred, our busy little procurement-beavers discovered four tanks no one was using, in neighboring Croatia. Why wasn't anyone immediately keen on their placement? They were two sets of prototypes, Croatia's improvements on the M-84; the M-95 Degman which was a 'failed redesign' and the M-84D, which was a vast up-grade for the M-84 line which had been sidelined by the 2008 Global economic collapse, after which the project stagnated.It seemed they were all in working order because late one night 'my people' exited a Croatian Army base with them, never to be seen again, until two weeks later when an intrepid news crew caught the distinctive form of the M-95 sending some sweet 125 mm loving the Angolan Army's way. Whoops yet again! At least they hit what they were aiming at and destroyed what they hit, right?By then, millions of other people would be going 'what the fuck?' right along with them as Cabinda's camouflage- and mask-wearing rebel army was laying the smack-down on the Angolans. That was okay; over a million 'free Cabindan Unionists' were in the same boat. Over a thousand Asians with their mostly-female militant translators were right there to prop up their 'Unionist Allies', but then they were the ones with the tanks, armored vehicles, planes and guns, so they were less worried than most.To pilot these tanks, APC, IFV and man this artillery, they had to go back to the Khanate. Sure enough, they had some old tankers used to crewing the T-72 from which the M-84's and -95 Degman were derived. They'd also need drivers for those BVP M-80A's and Polish BWP-1's and OT-64 SKOT's... who were, again, derived from old Soviet tech (just much better). The Serbian artillery was similar enough to Soviet stuff, but with enough new tech to make it 'more fun' for the reservists to 'figure out' how to use.More volunteers for the Liberation Armed Forces! More Apple sales, great apps and voice modulation software so that the vehicle commanders would be heard communicating in Portuguese if someone was eavesdropping. As a final offering the Turkish Navy spontaneously developed some plans to test their long range capabilities by going to, the South Atlantic.On the final leg they would have six frigates and two submarines, enough to give any navy in the region, which wasn't Brazil, something to think about. This was a show of force, not an actual threat though. If anyone called their bluff, the Khanate-Turkish forces would have to pull back. These were not assets my Brother, the Great Khan, could afford to gamble and lose.If someone didn't call that bluff, he was also sending two smaller, older corvettes and three even smaller, but newer, fast attack boats, a "gift" to the Unionists ASAP. The frigates would then race home, they had 'other' issues to deal with while the submarines would hang around for a bit. The naval gift was necessitated by the reality the Unionists would have to press their claim to their off-shore riches and that required a naval force Angola couldn't hope to counter.As things were developing, it was reckoned since a build-up of such momentous land and air power couldn't be disguised, it had to happen in a matter of days ~ four was decided to be the minimum amount of time. More than that and the government of the Democratic Republic might start asking far too many questions our hefty bribes and dubious paperwork couldn't cover. Less than that would leave the task forces launching operations with too little a chance of success.Our biggest advantage was audacity. The buildup would happen 100 km up the Congo River from Soyo, the primary target of the Southern Invasion, in the DRC's second largest port city, Boma. Though across the river was Angolan territory, there was nothing there. The city of roughly 160,000 would provide adequate cover for the initial stage of the invasion.There they grouped their vehicles & Khanate drivers with Amazon and Vietnamese combat teams. The Japanese were doing the same for their 'Chinese' counterparts for their helicopter-borne forces. Getting all their equipment in working order in the short time left was critical as was creating some level of unit dynamic. Things were chaotic. No one was happy. They were all going in anyway.What had gone wrong?While most children her age were texting their schoolmates, or tackling their homework, Aya Ruger ~ the alias of Nasusara Assiyaiá hamai ~ was getting briefings of her global, secret empire worth hundreds of billions and those of her equally nefarious compatriots. She received a very abbreviated version of what the Regents received, delivered by a member of Shawnee Arinniti's staff.When Aya hopped off her chair unexpectedly, everyone tensed. Her bodyguards' hands went to their sidearms and Lorraine (her sister by blood), also in the room on this occasion, stood and prepared to tackle her 'former' sibling to the ground if the situation escalated into an assassination attempt. No such attack was generated, so the security ratcheted down and the attendant returned her focus to her Queen. Aya paced four steps, turned and retraced her way then repeated the action three more times."How many people live in the combined areas?" she asked."The combined areas? Of Cabinda and Zaire?""Yes.""I," the woman referenced her material, "roughly 1.1 million.""What is the yearly value of the offshore oil and natural gas production?""Forty-nine billion, eighty hundred and sixty-seven million by our best estimates at this time,""How many live in Soyo City proper?""Roughly 70,000.""We take Soyo," she spoke in a small yet deliberate voice. "We take and hold Soyo as an independent city-state within the Cabindan-Zaire Union. From the maps it appears Soyo is a series of islands. It has a port and airport. It has an open border to an ocean with weaker neighbors all around.""What of the, Zairians?""Bakongo. As a people they are called the Bakongo," Aya looked up at the briefer. "We relocate those who need to work in Soyo into a new city, built at our expense, beyond the southernmost water barrier. The rest we pay to relocate elsewhere in Zaire, or Cabinda."By the looks of those around her, Aya realized she needed to further explain her decisions."This is more than some concrete home base for our People," she began patiently. "In the same way it gives our enemies a clearly delineated target to attack us, it is a statement to our allies we won't cut and run if things go truly bad.""In the same way it will provide us with diplomatic recognition beyond what tenuous handouts we are getting from Cáel Wakko Ishara's efforts through JIKIT. Also, it is a reminder we are not like the other Secret Societies in one fundamental way, we are not a business concern, or a religion. We are a People and people deserve some sort of homeland. We have gone for so long without.""But Soyo?" the aide protested. "We have no ties to it, and it backs up to, nothing.""Northern Turkey and southern Slovakia mean nothing to us now as well," Aya debated. "No place on Earth is any more precious than another. As for backing up to nothing, no. You are incorrect. It backs into a promise from our allies in the Earth & Sky that if we need support, they know where to park their planes and ships."Aya was surrounded with unhappy, disbelieving looks."The Great Khan is my mamētu meáeda," she reminded them, "and I have every reason to believe he completely grasps the concept's benefits and obligations."The looks confirmed 'but he's a man' to the tiny Queen."Aya, are you sure about this?" Lorraine was the first to break decorum."Absolutely. Do you know what he sent me when he was informed of my, ascension to the Queendom?""No," Lorraine admitted."We must go horse-riding sometime soon, Daughter of Cáel, Queen of the Amazons."More uncertain and unconvinced looks."He didn't congratulate me, or send any gifts. He could have and you would think he would have, but he didn't. He knew the hearts of me & my Atta and we weren't in the celebratory mood. No. The Great Khan sent one sentence which offered solace and quiet, atop a horse on a windswept bit of steppe."Nothing.Sigh. "I know this sounds Cáel-ish," Aya admitted, "but I strongly believe this is what we should do. We are giving the Cabindans and Bakongo in Zaire independence and the promise of a much better life than what they now face. We will be putting thousands of our sisters' lives on the line to accomplish this feat and well over two hundred million dollars.""What about governance of the city ~ Soyo?" the aide forged ahead."Amazon law," Aya didn't hesitate. "We will make allowances for the security forces of visiting dignitaries and specific allied personnel, but otherwise it will be one massive Amazon urban freehold.""I cannot imagine the Golden Mare, or the Regents, will be pleased," the attendant bowed her head."It is a matter of interconnectivity," Aya walked up and touched the woman's cheek with the back of her small hand. "We could liberate then abandon Cabinda with the hope a small band could help them keep their independence. Except we need the refinery at Soyo so the people of Cabinda can truly support that liberty.""So, we must keep Soyo and to keep Soyo, we must keep Zaire province. There is no other lesser border which makes strategic sense ~ a river, highlands, a massive river, an ocean ~ those are sustainable frontiers. You can't simply keep Soyo and not expect the enemy to strike and destroy that refinery, thus we must take Zaire province.""But the Bakongo of Zaire cannot defend themselves and will not be able to do so for at least a year, if not longer. That means we must do so, and for doing so, they will give us Soyo and we will be honest stewards of their oil wealth. We cannot expect any other power to defend this new Union and if we don't have a land stake we will be portrayed as mercenaries and expelled by hostile international forces.""So, for this project to have any chance of success, we must stay, fight and have an acknowledged presence, and if you can think of an alternative, please let me know," she exhaled."What if the Cabindans and Bakongo resist?""It is 'us', or the Angolans and they know how horrible the Angolans can be. Didn't you say the average person their lives on just $2 a day?""Yes.""We can do better than that," Aya insisted."How?" the aide persisted. "I mean, 'how in a way which will be quickly evident and meaningful?'""Oh," Aya's tiny brow furrowed. Her nose twitched as she rummaged through the vast storehouse of her brain."Get me in touch with William A. Miller, Director of the U.S. Diplomatic Security Service. He should be able to help me navigate the pathways toward getting aid and advisors into those two provinces ASAP.""I'll let Katrina know," the attendant made the notation on her pad."No. Contact him directly," Aya intervened. "We established a, rapport when we met. I think he might responded positively to a chance to mentor me in foreign relations.""Really?" Lorraine's brows arched."Yes," Aya chirped."Are you sure, Nasusara?" the attendant stared. She used 'Nasusara' whenever she thought Aya had a 'horrible' idea instead of a merely a 'bad' one."Yes. He owes me. Last time we met I didn't shoot him.""Didn't?" the woman twitched."Yes. I drew down on him with my captured Chinese QSW-06. I didn't want to kill him, but I felt I was about to have to kill Deputy National Security Advisor Blinken and he was the only other person in the room both armed and capable of stopping me.""Why is he still alive?""Cáel Ishara saw through my distraction and then took my gun from me, asked for it actually," she shyly confessed."Would you have shot him?" the aide inquired."What do you think?" Aya smiled.And Then:So, given t

In this week's episode, Lead Correspondent Shreyas Reddy discusses an NK News investigation that revealed a minor Russian construction company with links to a notorious Chechen strongman is behind a $100 million vehicle bridge designed to link Russia's Far East with North Korea. He also covers South Korea's acting president's call for heightened military readiness against North Korean nuclear and missile “provocations” as well as what's to come in the week ahead.  About the podcast: The North Korea News Podcast is a weekly podcast hosted by Jacco Zwetsloot exclusively for NK News, covering all things DPRK — from news to extended interviews with leading experts and analysts in the field, along with insight from our very own journalists.

Free preview cross-over with the Bang-Bang Podcast. In this episode, Van and Lyle are joined by writer Max Read to dissect The Sum of All Fears, the 2002 film adaptation of Tom Clancy's novel. The film thrusts CIA analyst Jack Ryan, portrayed by Ben Affleck, into a high-stakes scenario where a nuclear bomb detonates in Baltimore, pushing the U.S. and Russia to the brink of war. The movie's release shortly after 9/11 adds a layer of poignancy to its themes of terrorism and national insecurity.The discussion delves into the portrayal of neo-Nazi antagonists manipulating global powers, a narrative choice that, while admirably distancing from the novel's Middle Eastern villains, also anticipates our terrifying present. The trio likewise examines the character of Russian President Nemerov, a Vladimir Putin stand-in who, putting aside his central role in anti-Chechen violence, comes off as way too sympathetic in 2025. The narrative's sanitized depiction of nuclear devastation, particularly the aftermath of the Baltimore explosion, earn well-deserved chuckles. Most of all, Max brings his media expertise on the “‘90s Dad Thriller” to the conversation, further offering stark relief to a current moment when such innocent and fun-loving thrills have been rendered quaint—perhaps even impossible.Further ReadingMax Read's Substack“‘90s Dad Thrillers: a List,” by Max ReadThe Spook Who Sat By The Door, by Sam Greenlee"Trump dreams of a Maga empire – but he's more likely to leave us a nuclear hellscape," by Alexander HurstThe Doomsday Machine: Confessions of a Nuclear War Planner, by Daniel EllsbergCommand and Control: Nuclear Weapons, the Damascus Accident, and the Illusion of Safety, by Eric Schlossser“The Man Who Knew Too Much,” by Lyle Jeremy RubinThe Hunt for Tom Clancy Substack, by Matt Farwell

You can now text us anonymously to leave feedback, suggest future content or simply hurl abuse at us. We'll read out any texts we receive on the show. Click here to try it out!Welcome back to Bad Dads Film Review!In this episode, we dive into the gripping world of espionage with A Most Wanted Man (2014), a tense and thought-provoking thriller based on the novel by John le Carré. Featuring a powerhouse performance by Philip Seymour Hoffman in one of his final roles, the film explores the murky moral territory of counterterrorism and intelligence work in a post-9/11 world.Directed by Anton Corbijn, A Most Wanted Man takes us into the shadowy world of international espionage, set in the bustling port city of Hamburg, Germany—a crucial location in the intelligence community, especially after the 9/11 attacks.The film follows Günther Bachmann (Philip Seymour Hoffman), a weary but brilliant German intelligence officer leading a covert team tasked with tracking down potential terrorist threats. His latest target is Issa Karpov (Grigoriy Dobrygin), a Chechen refugee with possible extremist ties, who seeks asylum and access to a significant inheritance.As various players—including a determined human rights lawyer (Rachel McAdams), a wary banker (Willem Dafoe), and interfering American intelligence operatives—become entangled in the case, Bachmann is forced to navigate a treacherous web of political manoeuvring and ethical dilemmas.This isn't your typical spy thriller—it's a thinking person's espionage film, perfect for fans of John le Carré's work or anyone who enjoys intricate, morally ambiguous storytelling. While it may be too slow-paced for younger audiences, it's a gripping watch for those who appreciate substance over spectacle.With its intelligent script, stellar performances, and unsettlingly realistic take on modern espionage, A Most Wanted Man is a must-watch for fans of tense, character-driven thrillers. So grab a stiff drink, light a cigarette (if you must), and join us as we unravel the shadowy world of international intelligence.

Grey Dynamics welcomes John Lechner to the podcast. He is a journalist and researcher, focusing on security issues with a heavy approach to on-the-ground coverage. John is also an expert on Russia's growing influence in Africa. He speaks fluent Russian; advanced French, Turkish, and Georgian; and conversational Bosnian-Croatian-Serbian (BCS), Chechen, German, and Sango.You can find his articles published in Foreign Policy, War on the Rocks, Kyiv Post, The Diplomat, Africa is a Country, African Arguments, The National Interest, and Defense One, among others. Additionally, his book on the inner workings of the Wagner Group is for sale on AmazonFind John LechnerLinkedInJohn Lechner AuthorDeath Is Our Business: Russian Mercenaries and the New Era of Private WarfareRelated Links:Wagner PMC Activity in the Central African Republic: A Geospatial AnalysisPMC Wagner in Africa: ForecastAdvance Your Intelligence Career Today!We are the first fully online intelligence school helping professionals to achieve their long term goals. Our school with tons of new material is currently under construction and will be out there very soon. Meanwhile, you can sign up and be the first to know when we launch, plus get exclusive tips and offers.Get access to exclusive Grey Dynamics ReportsWith security clearance, you can take a crucial role in our intelligence community. As a cleared member, you get access to Secret & Top Secret grade publications. If you are a Top Secret holder, you also get access to our community area, where you can interact with other members and with our analysts! Subscribe today!The Grey Dynamics Podcast is available on all major platforms!YouTubeSpotifyApple PodcastGoogle PodcastAmazon Podcast Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The international war reporter John Lechner is a brave man. For his new book Death Is Our Business: Russian Mercenaries and the New Era of Private Warfare, he spent time in both Russia and the Central African Republic researching the Russian mercenary Wagner Group founded by Yevgeny Prigozhin. In our conversation, he details Prigozhin's rise, his rebellion against Putin, and his eventual death. Lechner argues that mercenary groups like Wagner are generally no more or less bloodthirsty than the governments that employ them. We also talked about the broader global trend of outsourcing warfare, from Russian mercenaries to U.S. contractors like Blackwater, and how this approach reduces political costs for governments engaging in military interventions.Here are the 5 KEEN ON AMERICA takeaways from the Lechner interview:* Wagner Group represents a broader trend of privatized warfare, following in the footsteps of Western contractors like Blackwater but expanding into offensive operations.* Yevgeny Prigozhin's personal ambition and desire to overcome his status within Putin's inner circle drove Wagner's expansion globally.* Mercenary groups like Wagner typically mirror the human rights practices of the governments that hire them, often exacerbating existing abuses rather than introducing new ones.* Prigozhin's rebellion against Putin stemmed from his narcissism and fear of losing political leverage when the Ministry of Defense attempted to absorb Wagner's fighters.* The outsourcing of warfare (through mercenaries, proxies, or technology) allows governments to pursue interventionist policies with reduced political costs, as contractor deaths don't receive the same public scrutiny as military casualties.John Lechner graduated from the Master of Science in Foreign Service (MSFS) Program at Georgetown University's School of Foreign Service. At Georgetown, John focused on security issues in Central Africa and the Sahel; Turkey; Russia, and the former Soviet Union. He is an expert on Russia's growing influence in Africa. He speaks fluent Russian; advanced French, Turkish, and Georgian; and conversational Bosnian-Croatian-Serbian (BCS), Chechen, German, and Sango (the lingua franca of the Central African Republic). After working in finance for several years, John decided to leverage his language skills and significant experience living abroad—especially in Russia and Europe—for a career in international affairs. After arriving in Washington DC, he took an internship with the Foundation for Defense of Democracies (FDD), analyzing and publishing articles on Turkish domestic politics, security, and foreign relations. While attending Georgetown he has continued to work as a freelance journalist, covering issues related to language, history, culture, and politics in eastern Ukraine, Moldova, Turkey, the Sahel, and the Central African Republic. He is an expert on the history, languages, and politics of Central Africa, Turkey, and the former Soviet Union. You can find his articles published in Foreign Policy, War on the Rocks, Kyiv Post, The Diplomat, Africa is a Country, African Arguments, The National Interest, and Defense One, among others.Named as one of the "100 most connected men" by GQ magazine, Andrew Keen is amongst the world's best known broadcasters and commentators. In addition to presenting the daily KEEN ON show, he is the host of the long-running How To Fix Democracy interview series. He is also the author of four prescient books about digital technology: CULT OF THE AMATEUR, DIGITAL VERTIGO, THE INTERNET IS NOT THE ANSWER and HOW TO FIX THE FUTURE. Andrew lives in San Francisco, is married to Cassandra Knight, Google's VP of Litigation & Discovery, and has two grown children.Keen On America is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit keenon.substack.com/subscribe

JVN sits down with journalist and author James Longman to explore one of the most fascinating questions in mental health: can you inherit trauma? Drawing from his deeply personal journey and his new book The Inherited Mind, James unpacks the science behind genetic predisposition, epigenetics, and the interplay between nature and nurture. Together, they explore how trauma shapes our brains, why mental illness remains so stigmatized, and whether healing can be passed down just as much as hardship. James shares his own family's history, the groundbreaking research that's reshaping our understanding of mental illness, and the hopeful innovations that might change how we address treatment in the future. James Longman has been a foreign correspondent for ABC news since 2017. Based in London, his work takes him all over the world -- to date, more than 45 countries and counting. He has covered some of the most important international events of our time. He was in Moscow when Vladimir Putin declared war on Ukraine and spent a month reporting from the Russian capital with the situation deteriorating by the day. He then spent more than 12 weeks in Ukraine and was one of the first reporters to see firsthand the horrors in Bucha. From the fight against the Islamic State group on the Syrian front line, confronting Chechen authorities about abuses against LGBTQ+ people, terror attacks across Europe and further abroad to tagging humpback whales in the Antarctic, Longman has one of the most varied briefs in American network news. His new book, The Inherited Mind, is out now! You can find James Longman on Instagram @jameslongman Follow us on Instagram @CuriousWithJVN to join the conversation. Jonathan is on Instagram @JVN. Transcripts for each episode are available at JonathanVanNess.com. Find books from Getting Curious guests at bookshop.org/shop/curiouswithjvn. Our senior producer is Chris McClure. Our editor & engineer is Nathanael McClure. Production support from Julie Carrillo, Anne Currie, and Chad Hall. Our theme music is “Freak” by QUIÑ; for more, head to TheQuinCat.com. Curious about bringing your brand to life on the show? Email podcastadsales@sonymusic.com. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Subscribe to our Patreon for full access to all episodes: https://www.patreon.com/rwapodcast 00:00:00 - On the failed Ukrainian Kursk offensive 00:13:30 - SITREP. Kurakhovo and Toretsk conquered 00:21:30 - Deepstate & Greenland 00:26:15 - Lost Russian Nordic clay 00:31:45 - Yakut Knife 1v1 knife battle 00:43:00 - On Yakut culture The DEEP DIVE into the Azeri plane crash, ethnic lobbies in Russia, the Chechen question and the ideology of Pan-Turkism is dropping very soon!

WATCH PREVIOUS EPISODE w/ Nicholas Irving: https://youtu.be/HevUhJjolB4 (***TIMESTAMPS in description below) ~ Nicholas Irving 'The Reaper' is an American author and former soldier. He was a special operations sniper in the 3rd Ranger Battalion for the U.S. Army. PATREON https://www.patreon.com/JulianDorey  FOLLOW JULIAN DOREY INSTAGRAM (Podcast): https://www.instagram.com/juliandoreypodcast/   INSTAGRAM (Personal): https://www.instagram.com/julianddorey/   X: https://twitter.com/julianddorey  NICK LINKS BOOK 1: https://www.amazon.com/Reaper-Autobiography-Deadliest-Special-Snipers/dp/1250080606 BOOK 2: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0CY9YNT6T?plink=GmU1SUhQkWbgFt4z&pf_rd_r=31WN1SFB91BP0BSKEDTK&pf_rd_p=fe481a04-2a3d-4d8f-9976-3312f3fd8e70&ref_=adblp13nvvxx_0_1_im IG: https://www.instagram.com/officialreaper33/ X: https://x.com/irving_nicholas LISTEN to Julian Dorey Podcast Spotify ▶ https://open.spotify.com/show/5skaSpDzq94Kh16so3c0uz   Apple ▶ https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/trendifier-with-julian-dorey/id1531416289  ****TIMESTAMPS**** 00:00 - Gnarliest Deployment, 1 Goal in Mind, Most Dangerous Battle Ground 09:02 - Terrified of Dogs, Opium/Drug Issues Today & Connections 17:47 - Drone Warfare vs Sniper Tactics 26:39 - Nick's Colleague & Him Sniping Enemies Down 38:21 - Emotional Roller Coaster of Emotions, Getting Title by Rangers 46:17 - Bolt Action Guns (Pemberton Getting Jammed 56:31 - Most Intense Operation (Near Death) 01:12:01 - Accepting Death in Firefight, Taking the Fire from ‘The Chechen' 01:25:37 - Ordered to take out ‘The Checen' Sniper, Gory War & Safe House 01:35:06 - Evacuation Starts & Marine's Recovering Them, Immediate PTSD 01:46:29 - Benjamin Cops Legacy, Going Out that Same Night in Kandahar 02:01:00 - Beginning to Leave Army, Wife Finding out Nick's Reputation 02:09:31 - Becoming a Private Contractor & Leaving, Baghdad Operations 02:16:53 - Officially Leaving & What's Next, Familial Complications 02:29:49 - Reflecting on Fall of Afghanistan, Pointless Wars CREDITS: - Host & Producer: Julian D. Dorey - In-Studio Producer & Editor: Alessi Allaman - https://www.youtube.com/@alessiallaman Julian Dorey Podcast Episode 254 - Nicholas Irving Music by Artlist.io

On October 6th, 2020 in a school outside Paris, teacher Samuel Paty gave a lesson on freedom of speech – the same lesson he had given several times before which involved showing drawings of the prophet Muhammad – to a class of teenagers.He was later beheaded outside the school in a savage attack that shocked France. The assailant Abdoullakh Anzorov, the young man of Chechen origin who wielded the knife, is dead – shot by police in the minutes after his attack.The next day one of his pupils – the 13-year-old girl – was asked by her father why she was not going to school. She told him she had been disciplined because she dared to stand up to Paty when he told Muslims to leave the class so he could show a naked picture of the prophet. It was all a lie; she was not even in school that day.Believing her, her father took to social media to condemn Paty and the story grew online.On trial are two men accused of identifying Paty as a “blasphemer” over the Internet, two friends of Anzorov who allegedly gave him logistical help, and four others who offered support on chatlines.As BBC correspondent in Paris, Hugh Schofield explains to In the News that the trial is less about the murder itself, and more about the circumstances that led to it.Presented by Bernice Harrison. Produced by John Casey. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

2024-10-13 | None of us know what forms Putin's nightmares take, but I'd hazard a guess that open conflict between his mafia lieutenants would feature in them. Adding the ethnic colour of a ‘blood feud' is just an additional theatrical flourish. This is what happened this week, as Kadyrov threatened a ‘blood feud', as he claimed a group of Russian lawmakers were planning his assassination. ---------- SILICON CURTAIN FILM FUNDRAISER - A project to make a documentary film in Ukraine, to raise awareness of Ukraine's struggle and in supporting a team running aid convoys to Ukraine's frontline towns. https://buymeacoffee.com/siliconcurtain/extras ---------- In a video posted on his Telegram account on Oct. 9 Chechen strongman Ramzan Kadyrov accused three Russian lawmakers of plotting to kill him. He warned a "blood feud" would ensue if they could not prove their innocence. "If they don't provide proof to the contrary, I officially declare a blood feud against Barakhoyev, Suleiman Kerimov, and Rizvan Kurbanov. We have witnesses, and we know the people they asked about the price of an order [for my assassination]." Kadyrov claimed to other officials from the North Caucasian republic. Kadyrov named three lawmakers, Bekhan Barakhoyev, Suleiman Kerimov, and Rizvan Kurbanov, from neighbouring Dagestan and Ingushetia, as potentially being the figures behind the plot. Before we delve into the current accusation, we must review some recent history. There was a violent incident in September at the Moscow headquarters of Wildberries, Russia's largest online retailer, in which two people were killed and several others were arrested. A full Silicon Wafers episode on this will be published next week. In that incident a fight broke out when Vladislav Bakalchuk, the estranged husband of the company's founder Tatiana Kim (formerly Bakalchuk), tried to "illegally" enter the building with his security guards. ---------- Sources and recommended reading: https://kyivindependent.com/kadyrov-claims-group-of-russian-lawmakers-are-plotting-his-assassination/ https://meduza.io/en/feature/2024/10/10/in-first-public-comments-on-wildberries-shooting-kadyrov-declares-blood-feud-against-federal-lawmakers-who-he-claims-ordered-his-murder https://www.politico.eu/article/chechnya-warlord-ramzan-kadyrov-blood-feud-russia-mps-dagestan-ingushetia-assassination-plot/ https://www.themoscowtimes.com/2024/10/10/kadyrov-declares-blood-feud-against-russian-lawmakers-in-first-remarks-on-wildberries-shootout-a86636 https://www.themoscowtimes.com/2024/10/09/chechnyas-kadyrov-speaks-out-against-russias-medieval-migration-laws-a86625 https://www.kyivpost.com/opinion/40363 ---------- SUPPORT THE CHANNEL: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/siliconcurtain https://www.patreon.com/siliconcurtain ---------- TRUSTED CHARITIES ON THE GROUND: Save Ukraine https://www.saveukraineua.org/ Superhumans - Hospital for war traumas https://superhumans.com/en/ UNBROKEN - Treatment. Prosthesis. Rehabilitation for Ukrainians in Ukraine https://unbroken.org.ua/ Come Back Alive https://savelife.in.ua/en/ Chefs For Ukraine - World Central Kitchen https://wck.org/relief/activation-chefs-for-ukraine UNITED24 - An initiative of President Zelenskyy https://u24.gov.ua/ Serhiy Prytula Charity Foundation https://prytulafoundation.org NGO “Herojam Slava” https://heroiamslava.org/ kharpp - Reconstruction project supporting communities in Kharkiv and Przemysl https://kharpp.com/ NOR DOG Animal Rescue https://www.nor-dog.org/home/ ---------- PLATFORMS: Twitter: https://twitter.com/CurtainSilicon Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/siliconcurtain/ Podcast: https://open.spotify.com/show/4thRZj6NO7y93zG11JMtqm Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/finkjonathan/ Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/siliconcurtain ----------

Gang warfare in Caucasus returns and they don't waste time. Ramzan Kadyrov and Chechen gangs vs. Ingushetia and Dagestan and their own gangs. Criminalization of Russia has now stepped over the breaking point. Also, Russia bans discord, which disrupts their massive counterattack in Kursk.Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/theeasternborder. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Activist-author Urvashi Vaid's gender politics may have been ahead of her time, but her nibling, poet-comedian Alok Vaid-Menon, finds contemporary resonance in recordings of her from This Way Out's archives (part 2 of 2, produced by Brian DeShazor). And in NewsWrap: the European Court of Justice orders all 27 E.U. states to recognize a person's legal gender transition secured in any other member state, Georgia's Parliament Speaker Shalva Papuashvili signs a “no promo homo” Protection of Family Values and Minors law after President Salome Zourabichvili refuses, detained gay Chechen men are forced to fight in Vladimir Putin's war on Ukraine, the Anglican Church of Southern Africa will not allow bishops to approve blessing same-gender couples, California Governor Gavin Newsom signs a bill to protect state-funded public libraries from book bans, families attending an LGBTQ Pride event in small town of Grove City, Ohio are unfazed by a dozen armed Nazis spewing hate, and more international LGBTQ news reported by Tanya Kane-Parry and Marcos Najera (produced by Brian DeShazor).  All this on the October 7, 2024 edition of This Way Out! Join our family of listener-donors today at http://thiswayout.org/donate/ NOTE TO RADIO STATIONS: Beginning in October, 2024, the weekly program uploaded to SoundCloud will include a pitch for This Way Out/Overnight Productions (Inc.). Stations can download a pitch-free version from radio4all.net or Pacifica's AudioPort.Org. For more information, contact Brian@ThisWayOut.org.

Wildberries founder and CEO Tatyana Kim (who recently restored her maiden name) has been having a hell of a time shaking loose her husband, Vladislav Bakalchuk, but their very public divorce is just the tip of the iceberg in what's become a battle between some of the most powerful political groups in Russia's North Caucasus. On September 18: Vladislav Bakalchuk tried to storm the company's office in the Romanov Dvor business center — just a few hundred yards from the Kremlin itself. Bakalchuk has very publicly opposed the Wildberries-RussGroup merger and recently met with Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov to plead his case, winning the dictator's support. At the Moscow office, Bakalchuk's entourage had two former senior executives, but — more importantly — he was accompanied by former and current Chechen police officers and National Guardsmen, as well as trained martial artists from Chechnya, including former world and European taekwondo champion Umar Chichaev. According to Novaya Gazeta Europe, Chichaev fired his service weapon, though his status in the National Guard is a bit fuzzy. On the other side of the conflict, defending the Wildberries office was another team of police and police-adjacent men with ties to Ingushetia. According to the newspaper Novaya Gazeta, Wildberries had recently hired a private security company with ties to Ingush State Duma deputy Bekkhan Barakhoev, who, until three years ago, worked as a vice president of a subsidiary of Russ Outdoor — the smaller company now merging with Wildberries. The most important shadow figure at Russ Outdoor, meanwhile, is Suleiman Kerimov, a billionaire senator from Dagestan. The office shootout left two Ingush men dead and more than two dozen suspects in police custody, though Vladislav Bakalchuk miraculously escaped charges as a mere witness. He claims he merely showed up for a planned business meeting, but Tatyana Kim calls the incident a failed attempt at a hostile takeover. To learn more about this story and its broader political context, The Naked Pravda spoke to Ilya Shumanov, the general director of Transparency International-Russia in exile. Timestamps for this episode: (3:08) The power struggle between Kim and Bakalchuk (4:55) Suleiman Kerimov: Dagestan's “shadow governor” (7:20) The Wildberries-RussGroup merger and its implications (9:47) Clan battles and regional tensions (21:44) The future of corporate raiding in RussiaКак поддержать нашу редакцию — даже если вы в России и вам очень страшно

Hezbollah commanders are killed in an Israeli strike in Lebanon, according to the IDF. Baseball superstar Shohei Ohtani breaks the 50-50 record. A Chechen warlord accuses Elon Musk of 'remotely disabling' his Cybertruck. And, why more people are dining alone. All that and more with Julia Chatterley. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

See the complete episode by subscribing to American Exception on Patreon! https://www.patreon.com/americanexception/membership Aaron discusses a pair of suppressed recent news articles from The Grayzone: "Historic US-Russia prisoner swap exposes CIA support for Chechen jihad" "Accused financier of Moise assassination apparently advised by US intelligence" Then goes into an (overly?) extended discussion of a new academic article that offers a critique of American Exception: Empire and the Deep State: 'Oedipus and the cabal: conspiracy theories and the decline of symbolic efficiency' NOTE: The 'I' in BRICS is for India. I likely said "Iran" because Iran is the BRICS member who, along with Russia and China, has done the most to defeat the pnac of late. Special thanks to: Dana Chavarria, production Casey Moore, graphics Michelle Boley, animated intro Mock Orange, music

The Democratic Party gathered in Chicago this week for the party's national convention ahead of November's election to ceremonially confirm their nominee in the 2024 presidential race: Vice President Kamala Harris. Elsewhere and across the aisle, Ohio Sen. JD Vance, the GOP vice presidential nominee, made an appearance in Wisconsin Tuesday, criticizing Democrats over crime in communities like Kenosha.Meanwhile, after further talks between mediators this week, a ceasefire agreement between Israel and Hamas remains elusive. Russian President Vladimir Putin made an unscheduled visit to the region of Chechnya this week, his first trip to the mainly Muslim republic within the Russian Federation in nearly 13 years. He was there to inspect Chechen troops and volunteers preparing to fight in Ukraine.We cover all this and more during the News Roundup.Want to support 1A? Give to your local public radio station and subscribe to this podcast. Have questions? Connect with us. Listen to 1A sponsor-free by signing up for 1A+ at plus.npr.org/the1a.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

On today's episode of Quick Charge, Elon Musk has a lot of fans in the Russian war criminal demographic, Unplugged Performance wants to sell you an idea, CASE debuts an all-electric backhoe, and the city of Oakland converts 100% of its school bus fleet to electric. We've also got the rumored return of Actually Smart Summon (ASS) and a lidar-powered autonomous port with remarkable accuracy. All this and making fun of the very normal, very grounded, very socially adept and emotionally intelligent Elon faithful. Enjoy! Source Links Tesla is finally about to launch one of its most comically delayed features Tesla Cybertruck might enter Russia-Ukraine war after Chechen leader puts machine gun on one Tesla Cybertruck gets modded into an electric tank for military Industry first: CASE introduces new 580EV electric backhoe Hesai, Westwell to partner on autonomous yard tractors & electric semi trucks Oakland is now first in the US to deploy a 100% electric school bus fleet – and it's V2G Prefer listening to your podcasts? Audio-only versions of Quick Charge are now available on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, TuneIn, and our RSS feed for Overcast and other podcast players. New episodes of Quick Charge are recorded Monday through Thursday (that's the plan, anyway). We'll be posting bonus audio content there as well, so be sure to follow and subscribe so you don't miss a minute of Electrek's high-voltage daily news! Got news? Let us know!Drop us a line at tips@electrek.co. You can also rate us on Apple Podcasts and Spotify, or recommend us in Overcast to help more people discover the show!

Putin's Chechen warlord pal Ramzan Kadyrov recently showed off the machine gun he has strapped to his Cybertruck...  

This is the first episode in a series that will look at a wide range of topics pertaining to Russia. Our host is Dr. Victoria Clement and she talks with Dr. Marat Iliyasov, a Chechen scholar. Their main topic of discussion is Chechnya's troubles with Putin's Russia. All opinions expressed here are those of the individual and do not necessarily reflect those of the Krulak Center, Marine Corps University, the United States Marine Corps, or any other agency of the US Government. Enjoyed this episode? Think there's room for improvement? Share your thoughts in this quick survey - all feedback is welcome! The survey may be found here: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSenRutN5m31Pfe9h7FAIppPWoN1s_2ZJyBeA7HhYhvDbazdCw/viewform?usp=sf_link Intro/outro music is "Epic" from BenSound.com (https://www.bensound.com) Follow the Krulak Center: Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/thekrulakcenter Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thekrulakcenter/ Twitter: @TheKrulakCenter BlueSky Social: @thekrulakcenter.bsky.social LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/brute-krulak-center-for-innovation-and-future-warfare

Are Our Special Forces and Intel Agencies Under Threat?On this episode of "The DUM Show," Explore the complexities surrounding the fatal shooting of a Chechen man by a Special Ops Colonel near Fort Liberty, amidst rising concerns of surveillance and potential attacks on military personnel.Stay up to date and join the club: www.thedumclub.com or read more at linktapgo.com/thedumshow Thank you!#MilitaryThreats #SpecialOpsSecurity #NationalSecurityConcernsBecome a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/the-don-t-unfriend-me-show--6012883/support.

In this episode of 'Live Players, Samo Burja and Erik Torenberg discuss the intricate dynamics of Mexican drug cartels and their impact on both Mexico's political and economic landscape. The discussion delves deep into how drug revenues sustain elites, non-state actors, and insurgencies worldwide — with notable examples from the Taliban to Chechen rebels. They also discuss the potential threats posed by Mexico's porous border to U.S. national security, the global demand for drugs, the implications of drug legalization in first world countries, and the potential geopolitical shifts involving China and the U.S. --- SPONSOR: BEEHIIV Head to Beehiiv, the newsletter platform built for growth, to power your own. Connect with premium brands, scale your audience, and deliver a beautiful UX that stands out in an inbox.

Check out the STACK for links from each show here: http://JustinBarclay.comGet up to $10,000 in free silver with qualified accounts from my new partners at Goldco!Go to http://JustinLikesGold.com to get a free 2024 Gold Kit or call 855.512.GOLD (4653)#goldopartnerTry Cue Streaming for just $2 / day and help support the good guys https://justinbarclay.com/cueUp to 80% OFF! Use promo code JUSTIN http://MyPillow.com/JustinPatriots are making the Switch! What if we could start voting with our dollars too? http://SwitchWithJustin.comGrab gear in Justin's store http://JustinBarclay.com/storeNo matter what's coming, you can be ready for your family and others. http://PrepareWithJustin.com#ad

In this episode, Adam and Nina open with breaking news from Slovakia and discuss the recent shooting of Slovak's Prime Minister- Robert Fico.Later, they move to the South Caucasus and comment on protests in Armenia and Georgia. They close with an update about Ukraine and positive news from the Czech Republic.  For the main interview, Nina is joined by Dr Marat Ilyasov, a visiting Scholar at the Global Academy of George Washington University to discuss the recent developments in Chechnya including the possible scenarios of Ramzan Kadyrov's succession.Our Patrons can also listen to bonus content where Marat discusses what the experience with two Chechen wars could suggest for the full-scale invasion of Ukraine, available here: https://www.patreon.com/posts/episode-179-wars-104412121Marat's analysis is based on his academic article which is restricted, but the abstract is available here.Support the podcast, become a patron: www.patreon.com/talkeasterneurope  Don't forget to check out the latest articles online at www.neweasterneurope.eu

In this episode of "Only Business," we delve into the key steps for launching a successful consulting business. We explore how to pinpoint your niche, gauge market demand, establish your business infrastructure, and strategically price your services. Moreover, we emphasize the significance of cultivating a robust network and establishing a strong online presence to allure clients. This episode is a treasure trove of insights for both experienced professionals embarking on an independent journey and newcomers eager to make their mark in the consulting realm. Ready to transform your consulting vision into reality? Tune in now and take the first step towards building your consulting empire with "Only Business."

A few years ago I wrote a script called Four Murders and Some Funerals, about an old lady who is the victim of a terrible miscarriage of justice. Seeking revenge she murders one of the perpetrators (by accident - long story, but it works), discovers she's a natural at bumping people off, does away with the other three, and ends up becoming a vigilante serial killer - righting wrongs wherever she finds them and usually where the law has failed. I still think it was a pretty good script, though it never got made - a bit like Miss Marple, only more savage and retributionist. Anyway, as a result of writing said script, I had to come up with a number of original ways by which an old lady might kill people: I had one person pushed down a lift shaft, another electrocuted in the bath, another shot and another poisoned. This all involved quite a bit of research, especially the various poisons. Should our heroine use cyanide, polonium, fentanyl or botulinum, for example?For obvious reasons, I wasn't quite comfortable googling all the questions I had, so I took to Tor, DuckDuckGo and internet anonymity. I'm glad I did because, believe you me, how to murder someone is one heck of an internet rabbit hole to go down. Before long I was reading about hiring Chechen hitmen and lord knows what else. Obviously, in the grand scheme of things, researching a script about a murderer is a fairly trivial use case for internet anonymity. But I don't think the day is far away when your internet search history - which Google keeps forever, by the way, unless you take steps to delete it - will be taken into account for things like insurance risk, profiling, social credit score, by potential employers and so on. I don't think several days researching how to kill someone reflects particularly well. Of relevance, one of my followers tells me that Justin Trudeau is trying to impose a law whereby police can retroactively search the Internet for ‘hate speech' violations and arrest offenders, even if the offence occurred before the law existed.But you don't have to be asking questions about how to kill someone to want anonymity. You might be living under some extreme theological regime, asking questions like is there a god; or under a totalitarian regime, asking questions about freedom; or under a corrupt and incompetent regime, asking questions about vaccine safety. You get the point. Anonymity protects you. It limits the power that others have over you and the ability they have to control you. It enables you to protect your reputation, and stop things from being used against you, especially out of context. It gives you greater control over your own data and thus your destiny. But let's say I did actually want to kill someone, and that I even researched how to do it, before deciding not to. The only crime I would be guilty of is thought. But if my search history can be used against me, it doesn't matter if, ten years later I have moved on from the murder thing, it's still there, and if the police or some activist decided to uncover it, I would, in the eyes of many, forever be guilty of murder, even if I had committed no such crime, beyond thinking about it - which, I bet, most of us have at some point in our darkest hours.For me the most powerful use case is freedom of thought. Being anonymous is liberating. I'm sure that is why masked balls proved so popular.  If you know you are being watched, you are less likely to explore new ideas outside the mainstream, ideas which family, friends, colleagues or even society may dislike. These might be philosophical, political or theological ideas, scientific or artistic. We might want to express thoughts we otherwise feel unable to express. A lot of things, if judged from a different time or place, by people who lack complete knowledge or understanding, may seem odd or worse intolerable. Anonymity protects against having to worry about how actions are perceived and against  constantly having to justify them. Anonymity is the nemesis of censorship.Get your friends to read this.This happened to a comedian friend of mine the other day. I don't want to say his name, because I don't want to draw attention to the doxxing. He was posting anonymously on Telegram. Some ideological opponent spent hours following him, going through his material and then exposed his identity, publishing all the stuff he had been saying in order to try and lose him his job. (Which he nearly did: he got suspended but thankfully re-instated). They did something similar to the tycoon Paul Marshall, who had an anonymous Twitter account.The most compelling real life example of why we need internet anonymity must be Satoshi Nakamoto. We would not have bitcoin without it. For sure, many will say, “bah, bitcoin”, but we are talking here about one of the most revolutionary technologies ever invented, and one that has the potential (I don't say it will, I say it has the potential) to fix our broken political and economic systems peacefully. How? Because it enables people to opt out. It provides an alternative money system and money is the zero patient: “Fix the money, fix the world,” runs the mantra. Remove the state's monopoly on money, you reduce its ability to create money at no cost to itself and you limit its ability to do all the terrible things it does. And please don't say, “But what about the NHS”.Subscribe to The Flying Frisby.So I favour internet anonymity, which is a much harder feat to achieve now than it used to be. But I also get that this is not a black and white issue. I've no doubt that many a murderous act has been plotted anonymously by terrorists and others looking to kill innocent civilians. Certain politicians, celebrities and others take an enormous amount of abuse from anonymous accounts: I have heard Ian Wright complain many times about the racist trolling  he gets from anonymous accounts, demanding that X, Facebook et al take the trolls to account. The privilege of anonymity gets abused, and badly. What is they say, “with freedom comes great responsibility”?With anonymity, even more so.Many government ministers will care more about the terrorist plotting and the online abuse (which they probably get more than their fair share of) than they will about the freedom to explore new ideas. And, as I say, the censors hate it because the anonymous are harder to control. So, going forward, we can expect more and more attempts to prevent it. Seven reasons we need internet anonymity:* Freedom of expression.* Protection of privacy.* Safety and security.* Overcoming barriers to access.* Encouraging innovation and creativity.* Protection against online harassment and abuse. * Preserving autonomy and control.Tell your mates. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.theflyingfrisby.com/subscribe

58 MinutesPG-13Lance is a book publisher and the host of Lance's Legion. Lance joins Pete to go over the contents of Alexander Prokhanov's book, "Chechen Blues." :ance uses its contents as a jumping-off point to talk about the Chechen people in the greater Russian Federation and to give context to the First Chechen War. Chechen BluesLance's LinksDVX PublishingVIP Summit 3-Truth To Freedom - Autonomy w/ Richard GroveSupport Pete on His WebsitePete's PatreonPete's Substack Pete's SubscribestarPete's GUMROADPete's VenmoPete's Buy Me a CoffeePete on FacebookPete on TwitterBecome a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/the-pete-quinones-show--6071361/support.

According to a new investigation from Novaya Gazeta Europe, Chechnya Governor Ramzan Kadyrov was diagnosed with pancreatic necrosis in 2019 and isn't long for this world. Since then, he's supposedly undergone “regular procedures,” including surgeries, at an elite hospital in Moscow. A bout of COVID-19 in 2020 reportedly further degraded his health, kicking off another round of sudden weight loss. His kidneys reportedly started to fail and fluid built up in his lungs, making it difficult for him to speak and walk. After Novaya released the first part of this investigation, Kadyrov's Telegram channel shared its first video in five days, posting footage of Kadyrov meeting with his cabinet to discuss the war in Ukraine. Kadyrov's speech is slurred and he barely moves. He doesn't look good. He looks like the title character in Weekend at Bernie's.  Novaya Gazeta has released two more installments in this story since that first report, and a fourth article is due out soon. On this week's episode of The Naked Pravda, Meduza spoke to journalist Kirill Martynov, the editor-in-chief of Novaya Gazeta Europe, to dig into these revelations and learn more about the predicament of Russia's second-worst autocrat. Timestamps for this episode: (5:02) Why is Ramzan Kadyrov so hard to replace as head of Chechnya? (10:31) What's so special about Major General Apti Alaudinov, the commander of the “Akhmat” Chechen Volunteer Special Forces Association? (15:18) Protecting Kadyrov's sons by putting them in the limelight (20:01) Novaya Gazeta Europe's sources for this investigationКак поддержать нашу редакцию — даже если вы в России и вам очень страшно

Tune into this episode of “Only Business” where we unlock the secrets of effective warehouse management. From small-scale setups to sprawling complexes, learn how savvy managers are maximizing efficiency, reducing waste, and boosting productivity. We'll cover the latest trends in technology, from automated systems to data-driven strategies that keep everything running smoothly. Whether you're looking to overhaul your current operations or just searching for tips to enhance your space, this episode offers practical advice and expert insights that you can't afford to miss. Join us as we delve into the world of warehouse wisdom and transform the way you manage your business's most critical spaces.

In this episode of Only Business, we sit down with Theadore Johnson, the dynamic former professional boxer turned successful entrepreneur behind TJ's Boxing Academy. Theadore shares his journey from the boxing ring to the business world, revealing how the discipline and resilience he developed as a boxer have shaped his approach to running a thriving boxing gym. We delve into the challenges he faced while starting his business, the strategies he implemented to overcome these obstacles, and the ways in which he leverages his unique background to create a standout brand. Theadore also discusses his community involvement and the impact he aims to have through TJ's Boxing Academy. Whether you're a budding entrepreneur or a seasoned business leader, Theadore's insights provide a compelling look at how passion, dedication, and community can turn a personal passion into a successful enterprise. Join us for this inspiring exploration of entrepreneurship, resilience, and the sweet science of boxing.

#ScrubHopTalk Ep. 190 - The boys finish up the "Phat or Wack?!" soundboard bracket challenge, crowning a champion, and J has some choice words about a woman in one of the sound drops. We hear about a new law in Chechnya to standardize the BPM of all music, prompting some interesting theories from Cotton on why that might be. Then we check out some vintage documentary footage of a guy trying to catch something being dropped from an airplane, and it goes exactly as wrong as you'd expect.Enjoy! Link in bio. ScrubHop.com@troxy_cotton @scrubhopking @bigtrox303 #ScrubHop#idontgiveafuckwhatlepticyouare#ifuckasfastastheslowestShirleyTemplesong#backthenthatwashowtheytestkeepingbabiesaliveScrub Hop Talk is a weekly show with JDirty, Big Trox, and Troxy Cotton. The boys bring you their take on life and pop culture, reacting to crazy videos, and showcasing a different song from their catalog every week. Brand new episodes air here at YouTube.com/ScrubHop every Sunday night at 5pm Pacific time.Please comment, like, and subscribe!For more information, visit ScrubHop.com to learn all about the music and join the movement.Big Trox's hat selection this week is brought to you by Melin Hats.This week's song:AstrosTurf - "Extemporaneous"https://youtu.be/9BWSIGI92kM?si=gAj6lkFxXUeA5cirScrubHop.comBuy the merch at:http://ScrubHopShop.bigcartel.comFollow the socials at:@ScrubHop on EVERYTHING!JDirty:http://scrubhop.com/jdirtyhttp://instagram.com/scrubhopkinghttp://twitter.com/jdirty303http://facebook.com/JDirty303Big Trox:http://scrubhop.com/bigtroxhttp://instagram.com/bigtrox303http://twitter.com/BigTrox303Troxy Cotton:http://scrubhop.com/troxycottonhttp://instagram.com/troxy_cottonhttp://twitter.com/TroxyCottonhttp://facebook.com/TroxyCottonCOWant to create live streams like this? Check out StreamYard: https://streamyard.com/pal/d/63973928...

State-Building as Lawfare: Custom, Sharia, and State Law in Postwar Chechnya (Cambridge University Press, 2023) by Dr. Egor Lazarev explores the use of state and non-state legal systems by both politicians and ordinary people in postwar Chechnya. The book addresses two interrelated puzzles: why do local rulers tolerate and even promote non-state legal systems at the expense of state law, and why do some members of repressed ethnic minorities choose to resolve their everyday disputes using state legal systems instead of non-state alternatives? The book documents how the rulers of Chechnya promote and reinvent customary law and Sharia in order to borrow legitimacy from tradition and religion, increase autonomy from the metropole, and accommodate communal authorities and former rebels. At the same time, the book shows how prolonged armed conflict disrupted the traditional social hierarchies and pushed some Chechen women to use state law, spurring state formation from below. This interview was conducted by Dr. Miranda Melcher whose forthcoming book focuses on post-conflict military integration, understanding treaty negotiation and implementation in civil war contexts, with qualitative analysis of the Angolan and Mozambican civil wars. 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

State-Building as Lawfare: Custom, Sharia, and State Law in Postwar Chechnya (Cambridge University Press, 2023) by Dr. Egor Lazarev explores the use of state and non-state legal systems by both politicians and ordinary people in postwar Chechnya. The book addresses two interrelated puzzles: why do local rulers tolerate and even promote non-state legal systems at the expense of state law, and why do some members of repressed ethnic minorities choose to resolve their everyday disputes using state legal systems instead of non-state alternatives? The book documents how the rulers of Chechnya promote and reinvent customary law and Sharia in order to borrow legitimacy from tradition and religion, increase autonomy from the metropole, and accommodate communal authorities and former rebels. At the same time, the book shows how prolonged armed conflict disrupted the traditional social hierarchies and pushed some Chechen women to use state law, spurring state formation from below. This interview was conducted by Dr. Miranda Melcher whose forthcoming book focuses on post-conflict military integration, understanding treaty negotiation and implementation in civil war contexts, with qualitative analysis of the Angolan and Mozambican civil wars. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/islamic-studies

State-Building as Lawfare: Custom, Sharia, and State Law in Postwar Chechnya (Cambridge University Press, 2023) by Dr. Egor Lazarev explores the use of state and non-state legal systems by both politicians and ordinary people in postwar Chechnya. The book addresses two interrelated puzzles: why do local rulers tolerate and even promote non-state legal systems at the expense of state law, and why do some members of repressed ethnic minorities choose to resolve their everyday disputes using state legal systems instead of non-state alternatives? The book documents how the rulers of Chechnya promote and reinvent customary law and Sharia in order to borrow legitimacy from tradition and religion, increase autonomy from the metropole, and accommodate communal authorities and former rebels. At the same time, the book shows how prolonged armed conflict disrupted the traditional social hierarchies and pushed some Chechen women to use state law, spurring state formation from below. This interview was conducted by Dr. Miranda Melcher whose forthcoming book focuses on post-conflict military integration, understanding treaty negotiation and implementation in civil war contexts, with qualitative analysis of the Angolan and Mozambican civil wars. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/political-science

State-Building as Lawfare: Custom, Sharia, and State Law in Postwar Chechnya (Cambridge University Press, 2023) by Dr. Egor Lazarev explores the use of state and non-state legal systems by both politicians and ordinary people in postwar Chechnya. The book addresses two interrelated puzzles: why do local rulers tolerate and even promote non-state legal systems at the expense of state law, and why do some members of repressed ethnic minorities choose to resolve their everyday disputes using state legal systems instead of non-state alternatives? The book documents how the rulers of Chechnya promote and reinvent customary law and Sharia in order to borrow legitimacy from tradition and religion, increase autonomy from the metropole, and accommodate communal authorities and former rebels. At the same time, the book shows how prolonged armed conflict disrupted the traditional social hierarchies and pushed some Chechen women to use state law, spurring state formation from below. This interview was conducted by Dr. Miranda Melcher whose forthcoming book focuses on post-conflict military integration, understanding treaty negotiation and implementation in civil war contexts, with qualitative analysis of the Angolan and Mozambican civil wars. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/russian-studies

In this episode of “The Only Business Podcast,” we dive into the nuanced world of office etiquette with the dynamic Ms. Daya Washington. As the proud owner of Host Helpers of Delaware, a thriving mobile server and bartending business, Daya brings a wealth of knowledge and experience to the table. Her rich background in HR allows her to offer invaluable insights into the dos and don'ts of office behavior, making this episode a must-listen for anyone aiming to navigate their professional environment with grace and efficiency. Throughout the conversation, Daya shares practical tips on everything from effective communication and conflict resolution to the importance of empathy and understanding in the workplace. Whether you're a seasoned executive or just starting your career, you'll find Daya's advice both enlightening and empowering. But that's not all—Daya also opens up about the challenges and triumphs of running Host Helpers of Delaware, offering a behind-the-scenes look at what it takes to manage a successful service-oriented business. Her stories are not only inspiring but also serve as a testament to the impact of maintaining a positive and respectful office culture. Don't miss this episode of “The Only Business Podcast.” Tune in to gain a deeper understanding of office etiquette and learn how to create a more harmonious and productive work environment. And if you find this episode as insightful as we do, make sure to subscribe and leave us a review. Your feedback helps us continue to bring you the very best in business wisdom and advice.

Three news stories summarized & contextualized by analytic journalist Colin Wright.'Worst floods in decades' hit Kazakhstan and RussiaSummary: Worse than usual seasonal flooding in parts of northern Kazakhstan have led to the evacuation of tens of thousands of people, and similarly outsized flooding across the border in Russia has halted the operations of an oil refinery in Orsk.Context: This part of the continent often experiences flooding this time of year, but higher than usual volumes of melting snow have amplified these floods so that existing systems and infrastructure that help locals cope with them are insufficient to the task, and officials in both countries are warning that things could get worse in the coming days—more evacuations necessary and more damage caused—though they expect water levels to stabilize sometime around or shortly after April 20.—BBC NewsOne Sentence News is a reader-supported publication. To support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.TSMC gets $11.6 billion in US grants and loans for three chip fabsSummary: The world's largest computer chip manufacturer, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co, or TSMC, is set to receive about $6.6 billion in grants and up to $5 billion in loans to build three chip fabrication facilities in Arizona, supporting a planned investment of more than $65 billion by TSMC in the region.Context: This is part of a larger collection of grants and loans being divvied out by the US government for chip-related infrastructure, most of which has thus far gone to US-chipmaker Intel, but TSMC is a vital component of the global chip industry, and the majority of its manufacturing capacity is currently located in Taiwan, which has become perceptually precarious of late, due to China's insistence that it will recapture what it perceives to be a portion of its territory in rebellion; there's a political component to this, too, as Arizona is one of the swing states President Biden hopes to secure before this November's election, but this sort of investment is also fundamental to the current US government priority of bringing manufacturing capacity back to the States, rather than relying on China (and other nations) to make all the things US companies design and sell.—BloombergSwiss women win landmark climate case at Europe top human rights courtSummary: The European Court of Human Rights has ruled in favor of a group of Swiss women who alleged the Swiss government had failed to do enough to combat climate change, failing to meet its own emissions-cutting targets, and had thus violated the human rights of its citizens.Context: This group of more than 2,000 Swiss women, all over the age of 64, intended to set a precedent with this case, which very well may happen, though this same court recently rejected two other, similar cases on procedural grounds, so while this could make future, similar cases across the EU easier—including six others with this court that were put on hold, pending this case's ruling—those dismissed cases suggest that this probably won't become a free-for-all, and likely doesn't represent a sure-fire way to achieve climate-related outcomes outside the typical, political path for such things.—ReutersAccording to polls, wealthier, less-populated portions of India are less likely to support Prime Minister Modi than the more densely populated, impoverished north—a portion of the country where his Hindu nationalist messaging seems to be more reliably landing with voters.—Bloomberg80 to 116Acceptable tempo range (in beats per minute) for music, according to a new law established by the Russian republic of Chechnya.This law, according to Chechnya's Minister of Culture, is meant to ensure music conforms to “the Chechen mentality,” and is intended to keep perceptually “Western” music out, as part of a larger, tradition-focused cultural agenda.—SemaforTrust Click Get full access to One Sentence News at onesentencenews.substack.com/subscribe

Die Themen: Musik in 116 BPM in Tschetschenien; Thorsten Schorn wird ESC-Kommentator; Issa Remmo ist in Privatinsolvenz; Faeser will härteres Eingreifen bei Straftaten; Hälfte der Viertklässler:innen von Ausgrenzung betroffen; Streit um Ukrainehilfen im US-Repräsentantenhaus; SPD-Thüringen gegen TV-Duell mit Höcke; Der Kanzler auf TikTok; Merkel will Trittin verabschieden und mehr Zuhören bei Markus Lanz Du möchtest mehr über unsere Werbepartner erfahren? Hier findest du alle Infos & Rabatte: https://linktr.ee/ApokalypseundFilterkaffee

The Eclipse, Be of Good Cheer, Hansen 2038, Solitude, Bless People, Only Nautical Songs, Social Tip, T-bone & The Thunderbirds, Elections Stress Disorder, Godzilla/King Kong, Pens BONUS CONTENT: Eclipse Prophecies     Quotes: “Andy and I have formed a friendship.” “In the big picture this actually ends well.” “Blessing people changes your day.” “There's something deeper and better I'm gonna look at.”

In addition to the wealth of knowledge shared in this episode, we encourage our listeners to further explore Brigitt's innovative techniques by purchasing her books on Amazon. For more daily inspiration and to stay updated on her latest projects, follow her on social media @brigitt.thompson, book her for a personal consultation to take your performance to the next level, and visit her website to discover more about her work and how it can benefit you.There was some slight audio trouble in the beginning of this episode.  We apologize, this could not be fixed in post, but we were able to adjust while recording.  

Episode Description Sign up to receive this Unreached of the Day podcast sent to you:  https://unreachedoftheday.org/resources/podcast/ People Group Summary: https://joshuaproject.net/people_groups//11317 #PrayforZERO is a podcast Sponsor.         https://prayforzero.com/ Take your place in history! We could be the generation to translate God's Word into every language. YOUR prayers can make this happen.  Take your first step and sign the Prayer Wall to receive the weekly Pray For Zero Journal:  https://prayforzero.com/prayer-wall/#join Pray for the largest Frontier People Groups (FPG): Visit JoshuaProject.net/frontier#podcast provides links to podcast recordings of the prayer guide for the 31 largest FPGs.  Go31.org/FREE provides the printed prayer guide for the largest 31 FPGs along with resources to support those wanting to enlist others in prayer for FPGs.

Terrorism is a constant threat across the world. In America, Mass shootings remain horrendous events that occur far too often. Join us today as we speak with Dr. Nina Cerfolio about her research into mass shootings and terrorism, her harrowing journey to help those in a war zone in Chechnya, and her upcoming book “Psychoanalytic and Spiritual Perspectives on Terrorism: Desire for Destruction”. Dr Cerfolio's book: Psychoanalytic and Spiritual Perspectives on Terrorism: Desire for DestructionDr Cerfolio's op-ed in Daily Beast: The Only True Revenge for Terrorism is Achieving PeaceDr Cerfolio's letter to the editor published in the New York Times: The Parkland Gunman, a Horrific Crime and Mental IllnessEditorial note: Sad Times is committed to sharing various stories from generous guests. The hope is to allow any number of stories to be shared to help people feel less alone and, perhaps, more empathetic. It is important to clarify that the guests' stories, perspectives, and sentiments do not necessarily reflect the views and beliefs of Sad Times in any way. Please note that Sad Times is in no way a substitute for medical or professional mental health support.Sad Times Website: www.sadtimespodcast.comGet your very own “Sad Schwag”: https://www.teepublic.com/stores/hysteria51/albums/253388-sad-times-podcast?ref_id=9022Follow Sad Times on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/groups/373292146649249Follow Sad Times on Instagram: @sadtimespodcast 

The new series of Fascinating People, Fascinating Places launches on 5 January 2024 with new episodes featuring the man who caught Saddam Hussein, the lawyer for the 9/11 mastermind, and much more. But in the interim, I am replaying five episodes that were selected by listeners as the best content over the last few years. If you're new to the show now is the time to catch up. If you're a long-term listener here is a chance to revisit some of the fan favorites.  Shortly after the Russian invasion of Ukraine, I had the pleasure of speaking with WSJ veteran David Satter. He was expelled from Moscow due to his investigative work that indicated Vladimir Putin came to power on the back of terrorist atrocities committed by the FSB but blamed on Chechens. In this episode, he shares a compelling story that supports his claims. On 13 September 1999 Gennadiy Seleznyov speaker of the Duma announced to the Russian parliament that a terrorist attack had hit the remote and hitherto unremarkable city of Volgodonsk. The bombing did occur but not until 3 days later. But it was this incident in conjunction with other bombings that set in motion a series of events that salvaged the reputation of President Boris Yeltsin and laid the stage for his protege Vladimir Putin to come to power. But Selezynyovs apparent clairvoyance wasn't the only indication that something more sinister was afoot. And many people believe the second Chechen war was launched on the basis of a false flag attack concocted by Vladimir Putin. In this episode, I talk to the acclaimed journalist David Satter – formerly the Moscow correspondent for The Financial Times, and special correspondent for The Wall Street Journal. He was the first investigative reporter to detail what he believes was a bloody conspiracy to bring Putin to power. Aside from his journalistic work, David Satter has written five books about Russia including Age of Delirium: The Decline and Fall of the Soviet Union which was adapted into a documentary film, and more recently he authored The Less You Know, The Better You Sleep: Russia's Road to Terror and Dictatorship under Yeltsin and Putin. In December 2013, he was expelled from Russia having been accused of violating migration laws. A claim that he denies and has been widely derided. Like many before and since his real crime appears to have been His actual offense appears to have been his efforts to expose the true nature of an opaque and sinister regime. Music and Sound: Pixabay Guests: David Satter (on Wikipedia)  

Kate Adie presents stories from Mexico, Israel, Pakistan, Georgia and Romania. On October 24, high winds started howling around the Mexican beach city of Acapulco. In barely 12 hours, unseasonably warm seawater off the coast had turned a common tropical storm into Category 5 Hurricane Otis. The ferocity of the storm was unexpected, and left locals and tourists with little time to prepare before 200-mile-per-hour winds hit - some of the strongest ever recorded on earth. James Fredrick visited Acapulco in the days after the storm. Since the start of the war between Israel and Hamas, tensions have been rising in Israel's mixed cities: places which, while majority Jewish, have a sizeable Arab population. One in five people in Israel's population are Palestinian citizens of Israel – sometimes known as Israeli Arabs – making them the largest minority in the country. Emily Wither meets a grassroots peace group working to bring people from both communities together. In October, Pakistan's government announced that any foreign national who does not have the paperwork to stay in the country would be deported from 1st November. The policy will mostly affect an estimated 1.7 million Afghan nationals in the country. In the last two months around 200,000 Afghan nationals are believed to have already left Pakistan ahead of the deadline, streaming over the Afghan border. Caroline Davies travelled to the border region to meet them. Georgia's Pankisi Gorge, a valley region not far from the border with Russia, has a troubled history. In the early 2000s the region became a base for Chechen separatists in their war with Russia, and in the decades since Pankisi has become synonymous in media coverage with Islamist extremism. In recent years, a group of Chechen women entrepreneurs have taken it upon themselves to change the negative stereotype of their community, as Sally Howard found. Romania's state healthcare service is one of the most poorly funded in the European Union. In recent years it has been the subject of a series of negative news stories, from a string of deadly hospital fires, to investigations into high-level corruption. Stephen McGrath has reported on Romania's medical system many times, but recently he found himself at the heart of it - as a patient. Producer: Viv Jones Editor: Richard Fenton-Smith Production Coordinator: Gemma Ashman

The final show in our Chechen trilogy focuses on the republic's current gangster-in-chief, Ramzan Kadyrov, and his rise to become one of the world's most fearsome—but also bumbling—despots. Kadyrov has cozied up to Vladimir Putin, dispatched hired killers to quell dissent, empowered Chechen mafiosi and even launched his own film studio to create a North Korea-style cult of personality in the Caucasian state. And of course, there's football, boxing with Mike Tyson and Kadyrov's successful forays into MMA. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

October 23, 2002. Chechen rebels storm a Moscow theater, taking hundreds hostage and demanding an end to the war in Chechnya.Support the show! Join Into History for ad-free listening and more.History Daily is a co-production of Airship and Noiser.Go to HistoryDaily.com for more history, daily.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Midnight Mike and Joe / Alex Jones clips of the week / UFOs in Maryland / Disinformation in the UFO Community / Bigfoot Video from southwest Colorado / Kremlin comments on Chechen leader  Palestinians / The Israel Conflict / CNN Faking footage / /Lindsey Graham / Iran War / What is going on with banking / Ukraine and Israel need money / Brief history of Modern Iran / Open Lines / China rewriting the bible / Stand from Alaska / Female Fans / Eating Tape Worms / The Moneyless Man / Chinese AI Sellers / End Hundreds in Maryland report UFO sightings as Congress, NASA investigate, push for transparency: Video https://youtu.be/dH4Q9CGJ9Qc?si=rVBxIJWzGGe9gJPO Bigfoot Video: People on a train in southwest Colorado may have spotted 'Bigfoot.' Thoughts? https://x.com/outthereco/status/1711828812689014879?s=20 Content Creator Willingly Eats tapeworm-Infested Fish for Views https://www.odditycentral.com/videos/content-creator-willingly-eats-tapeworm-infested-fish-for-views.html The Moneyless Man Has Been Living Money-Free for Over 15 Years https://www.odditycentral.com/news/the-moneyless-man-has-been-living-money-free-for-over-15-years.html China's AI-Powered Online Sellers Can Sell You Stuff 24/7 https://www.odditycentral.com/news/chinas-ai-powered-online-sellers-can-sell-you-stuff-24-7.html Copyright Disclaimer Under Section 107 of the Copyright Act 1976, allowance is made for "fair use" for purposes such as criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching, scholarship, and research ▀▄▀▄▀ CONTACT LINKS ▀▄▀▄▀ ► Phone: 614-388-9109 ► Skype: ourbigdumbmouth ► Website: http://obdmpod.com ► Twitch: https://www.twitch.tv/obdmpod ► Full Videos at Odysee: https://odysee.com/@obdm:0 ► Twitter: https://twitter.com/obdmpod ► Instagram: obdmpod ► Email: ourbigdumbmouth at gmail ► RSS: http://ourbigdumbmouth.libsyn.com/rss ► iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/our-big-dumb-mouth/id261189509?mt=2   - Affiliates Links - Jackery:  https://shrsl.com/3cxhf Barebones:  https://bit.ly/3G38773  - OBDM Merch - https://obdm.creator-spring.com/ Buy Tea! Mike's wife makes some good tea: Naked Gardener Teas: https://www.thenakedgardener.us/store Bags Art Store: https://www.redbubble.com/people/BagsDraws/  

Aram Shabanian stops by this week to talk to us about the strong men of the Caucasus.We start with a deep dive into what's going on in Armenia and Azerbaijan right now with a focus on the 1990s. Shabanian calls Azerbaijan's President, Ilham Aliyevl, the “Saddam Hussein of the Caucasus” and comes to grip with the realpolitik of the conflict.Then we turn our attention to Chechen dictator Ramzan Kadyrov and discuss rumors of his failing health, mixed martial arts, and how a brutal warlord became an internet meme.Angry Planet has a Substack! Join to get weekly insights into our angry planet and hear more conversations about a world in conflict.https://angryplanet.substack.com/subscribeSupport this show http://supporter.acast.com/warcollege. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The Soviet Union is toast, Chechnya is at war and Grozny, its embattled capital, is being bombed to dust. Gangs of Chechen criminals are getting rich off the bloodshed, capitalizing on gun- and drug-running networks that flourished under Communism. When the war ends a new breed of Chechen mobster-terrorist emerges, empowered by Arab Jihad and financed by goons who've grown fat on the patronage of oligarchs. After a brutal period of rocket strikes, school sieges and plane hijackings, Chechnya enters a new, stable—but semi-feudal—stage, led by a family of boxers and religious zealots: the Kadyrovs. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In this episode we track the concept of the Chechen Mafia—not an easy thing to define—from ancient invasions and the creation of the "Abrek", or "outlaw-exile," through Soviet repression, Stalin's deportations and the "Scab War" of the feared Gulag Archipelago. The rise of a Communist blackmarket later allowed Chechens in Siberia and Kazakhstan to carve out their own illicit empires, outside of Russia's "Thieves World." These newfound gangsters coalesced with an independence movement, whose bloodshed would reach all the way to central London—at the scene of a brutal, 1993 double-murder. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices