Podcasts about comparatively

Welcome to another installment of Fratello On Air. This week, we respond to a listener's request for a strap episode. Today's show covers how to choose, which brands we enjoy, and pairing specific watches. Enjoy it! For our listeners, the watch content begins after approximately 21 minutes.There's no other way to put it — Balazs is a strap monster! His Watch Strap Review articles are legendary and quite literally span the globe, as far as covering different makers. Comparatively speaking, Mike is a novice, but he's learned a few tricks from the master. Today, we address the topic from many angles.HandgelenkskontrolleWe kick off the show with some news about local London watch events from Fears and Vacheron Constantin. Regarding TV, Your Friends & Neighbors has started well and offers some watch-related content. For the Handgelenkskontrolle, Mike is wearing his trusty Patek Philippe Calatrava 570 after forgetting to wear a watch during a recent watch event. Balazs is sporting his bulletproof G-Shock GW-B5600-2ER with Bluetooth.Picking the right strap and more!Our listener Alex asked many questions about one of the most important accessories, the watch strap. In this episode, we discuss our favorite brands, including GLC, Gabarro, Delugs, Atelier Romane, and more! Different leather types, styles, and buckles also surface during the conversation. We mention that there's no such thing as a good, dirt-cheap leather strap, but that a good accompaniment doesn't have to cost a fortune. Finally, we respond to Alex's question about pairings with the Tudor Submariner 94010 "Snowflake" and a modern 42mm Zenith Chronomaster.We hope you enjoy today's show and look forward to bringing you more content next week. As always, if you have ideas for future episodes, please let us know!

Passion vs. PracticalityPassion may spark a business idea, but it is never enough to guarantee success. Many believe that following their passion automatically leads to profit. However, without planning, effort, and strategy, businesses struggle to survive. Therefore, we must approach business with a mindset that values numbers, structure, and sustainable action.Why Planning MattersCertainly, passion can inspire a great vision, but it does not replace the need for careful planning. Likewise, running a business without structure is like embarking on a road trip without a map. Before setting out, we must consider routes, fuel, and supplies. Comparatively, business success depends on understanding financials, setting achievable goals, and preparing for obstacles. Consequently, without a clear plan, even the strongest enthusiasm will not sustain long-term growth.Sweat Builds EquityDespite common misconceptions, effort is what truly drives business success. While motivational speeches glorify passion, real progress comes from the long hours spent managing finances, refining processes, and adapting strategies. Eventually, those who commit to consistent effort gain financial stability and business equity. Additionally, sustainable businesses are built on repeatable systems rather than fleeting excitement.The Role of Numbers in BusinessMoreover, numbers serve as a business's compass. They reveal what works, where money is lost, and how to improve profitability. Certainly, tracking costs, setting realistic sales targets, and managing cash flow ensure that a business remains sustainable. Regardless of industry, understanding financial data leads to smarter decisions and long-term security.Final ThoughtsPassion fuels ambition, but it should never dictate business decisions. Instead, we must balance enthusiasm with careful planning and disciplined effort. Otherwise, without a structured approach, businesses risk failure. Furthermore, success comes from building systems, making informed choices, and sustaining long-term progress.Lastly, for more insights into running a business successfully, listen to the I Hate Numbers podcast.

HT2193 - The Best Glass You Can Get Your Hands On The number of camera reviews to be found on YouTube and the internet is mind-boggling. The minute a new camera is announced, the usual suspects are in a panic race to post their observations of the new camera and it's capabilities and shortcomings. Comparatively speaking, lens reviews are almost non-existent. Curious, in that a bad lens ruins all photographs made with it where even the worst cameras can be used to make good photographs.

Shoot us a Text.Today is our fearless leader Paul J Daly's birthday! So we gave him the morning off and tapped in producer Nathan Southwick. We're talking all about the new Canada and Mexico tariffs that put pressure on the automotive supply chains, plus the top depreciating cars and how Google is pushing to achieve artificial general intelligence.Show Notes with links:The U.S. has enacted 25% tariffs on imports from Canada and Mexico, throwing the highly integrated North American production network into turmoil.The tariffs, effective today, March 4, apply to all imports except Canadian energy products, which face a lower 10% duty. Canada and Mexico both responded with their own tariffs.Industry experts predict vehicle prices could rise between $4,000 and $10,000, with Ford CEO Jim Farley cautioning that prolonged tariffs could "blow a hole in the U.S. industry that we have never seen."Flavio Volpe, president of the Automotive Parts Manufacturers' Association said that there is potential for U.S. and Canadian auto production to revert to "2020 pandemic-level idling and temporary layoffs within the week.”Key auto models at risk include the Toyota RAV4, Ford Mustang Mach-E, Chevrolet Equinox and Blazer, and the Honda Civic and CR-V, while European automakers with manufacturing in Mexico, including Volkswagen, Stellantis, and BMW, saw their stocks drop sharplyThe STOXX Europe 600 Automobiles and Parts index fell 3.8% and Continental AG, a major supplier, saw an 8.4% drop in shares.Used Tesla Model 3 and Model Y vehicles saw the steepest depreciation of any cars in 2024, according to Fast Company's analysis of CarGurus data.Model Y prices dropped 25.5%, while Model 3 prices fell 25% from January 2024 to January 2025.Comparatively, the Nissan Maxima only dropped 5.2%, and the Ford Mustang declined 5%.Full Top 10: Tesla Model Y, Tesla Model 3, Land Rover Range Rover, Jeep Wrangler 4xe, Chevrolet Express Cargo, Ford Transit Connect, RAM ProMaster, Land Rover Range Rover Sport, Chevrolet Bolt EV, and Ford Expedition, all with over 19% depreciationGoogle co-founder Sergey Brin is back and pushing Google DeepMind (GDM) teams to accelerate their progress toward Artificial General Intelligence (AGI). In a newly released memo, Brin outlines the urgency and expectations for Google's AI teams.Brin emphasizes the need for 60-hour work weeks, daily office attendance, and faster execution by prioritizing simple solutions, code efficiency, and small-scale experiments for faster iteration.He calls for a shift away from “nanny products” and urges teams to “trust our users” more.Brin, who has no formal role at Google beyond a board seat, stepped in over the head of Google DeepMind, Demis Hassabis, signaling the urgency of the AGI race."I think we have all the ingredients to wHosts: Paul J Daly and Kyle MountsierGet the Daily Push Back email at https://www.asotu.com/ JOIN the conversation on LinkedIn at: https://www.linkedin.com/company/asotu/ Read our most recent email at: https://www.asotu.com/media/push-back-email

Companions, History and Heroism.By FinalStand. Listen to the Podcast at Explicit Novels.There are two distinct phases of falsehood. In the first, you realize you can lie to those closest to you. In the second, you realize you shouldn't.(And the stars continue to shine forth)"Stop trying to save me," Pamela remarked, once she was sure we were alone once more."Ask me to do something I'd at least consider doing," I sighed. "Let's go back to the party, I'm not sure where we are.""You've been walking in one big circle, Dummy," she chided me.Why was she letting me off the hook for walking off with the Grand Villain in the scheme of things? Well, if she started hitting me, she probably wasn't sure she could stop."One of these days I'm going to screw up and not get out of it," I noted sadly."That is the epitaph of anyone who has ever taken up a weapon and a cause," Pamela smiled.Maybe she wasn't angry with me."Why aren't you more pissed off?" I wondered."You are a good guy, Cáel," Pamela enlightened me. "That means you are going to reach out to people you think you can save. Personally, I don't think Alal can be, but then I'm biased.""Guy coming back from the dead?" I inquired."Damn right. No more surefire way to anger an assassin than to come back from the dead," she related. "Did you take note of his body?""Not really. What did I miss?" I requested."It didn't look right," Pamela shook her head. "Nothing more specific than that. I was hoping, since you touched him, you might have picked something else up.""Nope. I was too busy slipping a GPS locator on him," I grinned."You don't have one and the technology doesn't work that way, ya numbskull," she play slapped my left bicep."Wouldn't it be cool if it did?" my grin broadened."Laugh it up, Monkey-boy," Pamela countered. "Buffy would have you tagged like a mule deer in Yellowstone.""Eek," I gasped. "Point taken.""Well, " Pamela huffed."He's going to kill my soul," I observed. "Now I'm sure of it. All of that discussion was just gauging my personality so that when he offs me, he can become Cáel Nyilas / Wakko Ishara." Pause."Good for you," Pamela let go of a tense breath. She didn't have to ask."The whole Condottieri situation is a scam," I passed on that bit of information I'd first put together with the Vizsla. "It never left Granddad's control. Currently he's going to use various other factions to kill off the Condottieri and Illuminati leadership that oppose him, then it is Unity Time.""If he takes your place, that gives him leverage on the Amazon Council plus your appeal to the 9 Clans and the Earth  and  Sky," Pamela helped me work things through. "He couldn't get his hooks into the Egyptians because they knew too much about him. Matters of race stymied his efforts with the Earth  and  Sky and Seven Pillars.""Except I saved Temujin and he's been supplying them with weapons and tech for over fifty years," I told her. "Even when he was dead, his plan was working, he had predicted the path that warfare would take, invested wisely and left orders to implement his plans. When the time came, they were ready to take out the Seven Pillars.""Without you saving Temujin, the E and S wouldn't have cared, but you," Pamela nodded. "If it comes down to his coalition of Illuminati, Condottieri, Amazons and 9 Clans, the Egyptians will join him, Global Unification has been their goal all along," she continued. "Besides, you made one hell of a positive impression on them the only time you've met. Bang up job, Stud.""Temujin will join as well. He's anything but suicidal," I finished the roll call of my fate. We were almost back to the rave by this time. "You know, you could kill me and short-circuit all of this mess," I reminded her."No way. I plan to win, damn it," Pamela patted me on the back. "Save the Dum-sel in Disrepute, slay the Evil Warlord and re-retire with a boatload great-grandbabies to spoil.""I gave the Vizsla a clue," I let Pamela know the possible complications to her plan. "In 1847, one General of the Condottieri tried to have the Italian Black Hand kill another. Unfortunately, the victim in question was a puppet for Grandpa and the assassin team attacked them both. Because they saw his face, he hunted them back to their base and slaughtered the entire Verona Chapter house of the Wolf.""He must have fucked up a few other times as well," Pamela assured me. Speaking of miscalculations, Anya, Katalin and Orsi broke from the thrashing mob and ran up to me."Your crazy ex-girlfriend called," Anya seemed steamed. "She insisted must she talk to you." At first glance, it would be 'which crazy ex-GF', except only one had Anya's phone number. I took her phone."Bonjour, ma petite amie méchante ," I greeted Anais, the Mountie, in French. Yes, I was calling her a 'meanie'."Cáel, how are you? Where are you?" she was truly concerned. I didn't doubt her sincerity. I also didn't doubt she was convinced she knew what was best for me, as well."I've talked with the Hungarian Police too," I let my pique come through. "You screwed me over. I asked you to let me handled this and you didn't.""You are still a Jerk," she snapped. "I've been trying to help. And from the sounds of it, you are at a party.""It's a rave. It is a rave brought about by the police keeping people penned up in the town all afternoon. Now, if you would stop treating me like a freaking child, you would realize that I'm actually safer in a crowd than I am alone, holed-up in some room without a weapon because you've made it so that the TEK is now keeping a sharp eye on me," I retorted."Can't you tell I'm trying to help you?" she got loud, on the cusp of becoming enraged."Yes. I called you, asking for help. I also called to apologize, without making it sound like some lame stupid stunt to get you back. I'm in real trouble here and I've put other people in danger at the same time," I told her. And yes, I planned to get some 'Anais' when I got back to North America."I'm telling you," she persisted, "let Hungarian law enforcement help you.""I'm trying to make you understand," I countered, "that this is a situation that the police can't help me with. I called you because I believed I could trust you, even though you hate me.""I'm angry with you, Cáel. I don't hate you," she grumbled. "I am trying to help.""If I didn't believe that, I wouldn't still be talking to you, Anais," I allowed. "What did Timothy tell you?""Is that all you care about?" she grumbled."Actually, this is me trying not to be a selfish jackass," I said. "People are in danger because of me and I need to make sure they are safe before I take care of myself.""That's, very unlike you," Anais sounded unsure."I've been doing some growing up since graduation," I replied. "I only wish I'd grown smarter.""I, I'm sorry about your Papa," she quieted down."They gunned him down in his own home," I told her. "Dad never touched a gun in his life and they shot him with an assault rifle.""Oh, well, I understand your Federal Justice Department is investigating the matter," Anais tried to comfort me. "I talked with your Prosecutor Castello. She wouldn't tell me much.""Pity," I mumbled. "I know they are having difficulties.""It is an American problem," she noted."Not really," I sunk in my hooks. "We've been working with MI-6 and the CIA. They are all part of that international task force I told you about {see last chapter}.""Yes, how did you get Irish diplomatic status? That doesn't make any sense," she perked up. Anais liked puzzles. Actually, she liked solving conundrums. It made her a great cop."We are missing the party," Monika protested, in German."That's right. Tell your EX-girlfriend good-bye, Cáel," Anya insisted loudly."Who is that?" Anais groused."It is Anya, the Bulgarian mechanical engineer. We've had sex since you and I last talked and I think she's feeling a tad possessive," I explained.Pause."Bastard," Anais seethed. I was sure her cunt was twitching already. "Fine. I talked with your roommate, he says you have my uniform in a dress bag and my boots in a sealed box, so I forgive you. Anyway, he said Odette called, and she gave him a number to give to you."Since it didn't have 555 in it, I had hopes it was genuine. This was not the time to give Anais the quick kiss-off."I appreciate it, Anais," I sighed with relief. "Have you decided which restaurant you want to go to when I get back?""I haven't given it much thought, Cáel," I could feel her defrosting further. "How can I keep in touch with you?""Ugh, I don't have my own phone right now. Tomorrow I'm going to steal some means of conveyance and, " I grinned."Don't tell me that," Anais complained. "I'm still an officer of the law.""Well, the new 'me' is trying to be more honest with you, Anais. I've got to get out of town tomorrow. Would you rather I lied to you, again?" I confounded her."Well, no. Try to be careful, prends soin de mon amour," she sighed."I will call you as soon as I'm able. Thank you again," I signed off."I still say, 'that one' is confused about her 'ex' status," Orsi teased me."Do you know what is worse than having one woman save your soul?" I tossed out to them. They could not divine an answer. "Having three women do it at the same time, for different reasons. Now I believe we have a party starving for our attention."(Reunions)Pamela had convinced me the motorcycle driver who belonged to our newly acquired BMW K1600 GT would be at least four hours regaining consciousness and getting himself untied. We had stopped at a petrol station along the 431, between Kiszombor, Hungary and the Romanian border. She wanted to fuel up before the border crossing, in case things didn't work out, you know, with our guns and this stolen vehicle.She was already peeved that I'd stopped in Szeged to pick up a few pounds of paprika. Rumor had it that the fields around that stretch of the Tisza produced the highest quality of that spice on the planet, especially the sweet kind. Pamela pointed out I knew 'jack' about cooking. I agreed. What I did know was cooks, the female variety.Fresh spice from the 'source' was way better than a dozen roses, even with a box of chocolates added. Did I have a cook lined up in New York? No, but I was sure I could find one. Wait! Yasmin, my Brazilian, ex-Super Cop, hottie should be back in town by now. If she didn't cook, she'd definitely have a friend I could seduce.Honest to Ishara, I was starting to believe this constant 'work-work-work' was ruining my normally poor judgment where sex and fidelity were concerned.Pamela was getting some lunch for us while I gassed up my crotch-rocket. My luck kept being, exceptional. Two Hungarian motorcycle troopers showed up; both were women and they apparently had decided that I was worthy of attention. Hey, I'm good-looking, and I was wearing a ballistic vest. (The durability of my long coat wasn't so obvious.) "Nice bike," the first one, the one directly confronting me, said. "Thanks. It is a KT1600 GT, 2009," I smiled. "What are you two on?" "Yamaha FJR1300A's," she answered. I put up the nozzle, capped the tank and walked over to her conveyance. It was a really sweet ride. "You have a gun," she noted calmly. She and her partner both had their hands on their holstered weapons. Since the flaps were still down, I wasn't panicking. "Yes. More than one in fact," I kept pretending to look over her bike while I was really scoping her out. I'd nailed all six boat girls and then had the Macedonian babe for breakfast. So I still had three good sexual bangs in me before dusk and these two were nice and pleasant enough. "Do you have permits for those?" she asked. Her partner was calling something in. "Are we still in Hungary?" I mused. The question was a joke. "I believe we are," she smiled. Sure, I may have been a dangerous felon, but I was a nice looking and engaging one."Nope. I'm afraid not," I sighed. She understood my English. "Why are you so armed?" she kept calm. "Are you law enforcement somewhere?" "Does a secretive, non-governmental, paramilitary organization count?" "No," she sighed. "That sounds rather criminal. So, what are you carrying?" That was a nice way of saying 'give me your gun'."Left, right, back, or ankle?" I replied. "Which one do you want first?" "Let's try this again. Can I see some form of ID?" she remained rather comfortable despite this having to be the most bizarre traffic stop of her career."I'm reaching around to my right rear jean pocket for it," I related. Something dating Anais had taught me was that you always tell an on-duty cop what you are doing before you do it.She nodded, so I pulled out my NY Driver's license, my US passport and my Irish Diplomatic ID. She began looking them over. "You are Cáel Nyilas?" she looked over my documents. "If that who it says I am, then yes," I grinned.For a second, she was P-O'ed, then she realized I was playing with her. She snorted in amusement and returned to looking over my stuff.   "Nyilas is a Hungarian name," she hummed. "Székely," I clarified. "My family emigrated to America at the end of World War II. I've actually come back here to look over the homeland." "You couldn't land in Bucharest?" she handed me my ID back. "What?" I feigned an insult to my intellect. "Hungarian women are far prettier.""You don't appear to be Dortmund Schuyler," her partner looked me over.

Understanding Financial JargonFinancial jargon can often feel overwhelming. However, learning these terms is crucial for business success. Comparatively, understanding financial terms is like tending to a garden—each concept plays a role in keeping your business healthy. Additionally, knowing these terms allows us to make better financial decisions.Revenue: Planting the Seeds of GrowthRevenue is the money a business earns from selling products or services. Essentially, it acts as the seeds we plant to grow our business. The more revenue generated, the larger and stronger the business becomes. Moreover, steady revenue ensures long-term sustainability.Profit: Harvesting the RewardsProfit represents what remains after covering all costs. Similarly, it is the fruit of our efforts, showing whether our business is thriving. Therefore, managing expenses wisely ensures that profits remain high. Furthermore, reinvesting profits can accelerate growth.Expenses: Nurturing the BusinessExpenses are the necessary costs of running a business. Likewise, just as plants need water and fertiliser, a business requires investment in resources, marketing, and operations. However, overspending can harm financial stability. Consequently, tracking expenses closely helps maintain profitability.Cash Flow: Monitoring the ForecastCash flow measures the movement of money in and out of a business. Notably, it is like watching the weather forecast—ensuring there is enough liquidity to cover expenses and avoid financial droughts. Furthermore, positive cash flow allows for expansion and new opportunities.Assets: The Essential ToolsAssets include valuable items a business owns, such as equipment and inventory. These are the tools that keep everything running smoothly. Therefore, managing assets properly strengthens long-term stability. Additionally, maintaining assets well ensures they provide long-term benefits.Liabilities: Controlling the WeedsLiabilities are the debts and financial obligations a business must handle. Just like weeds in a garden, they must be controlled to prevent them from overwhelming the business. Consequently, effective debt management ensures financial health. Moreover, reducing liabilities improves financial flexibility.Keep Your Business ThrivingFinancial jargon does not have to be complicated. By understanding these essential terms, we can make informed decisions and maintain a strong financial position. Furthermore, keeping our business well-managed ensures long-term growth. Additionally, a strong grasp of financial jargon builds confidence in decision-making.Listen to the I Hate Numbers podcast for more insights on financial success. Let's keep our businesses thriving!

VAT in the UK is a crucial tax that affects businesses and consumers alike. It applies to most goods and services, making it essential for companies to understand their obligations. Furthermore, businesses must register for VAT if their taxable turnover exceeds the threshold set by HMRC. However, voluntary registration can also provide advantages, such as reclaiming VAT on expenses.How VAT in the UK WorksVAT in the UK operates on a system where businesses collect tax on sales and deduct VAT paid on purchases. Consequently, they submit the difference to HMRC through regular VAT returns. Additionally, different VAT rates apply depending on the nature of the goods or services. Standard-rated items attract 20%, while reduced and zero-rated items follow different rules.Who Needs to Register for VAT?Businesses exceeding the VAT threshold must register straightaway. However, those below the limit can still register voluntarily to reclaim VAT on eligible expenses. Comparatively, small businesses should assess whether VAT registration benefits them financially. Moreover, once registered, companies must charge VAT, issue VAT invoices, and maintain accurate records.Common VAT Schemes and ReliefsSeveral VAT schemes exist to simplify reporting and improve cash flow. The Flat Rate Scheme allows businesses to pay a fixed percentage of turnover, rather than calculating VAT on every transaction. Likewise, the Cash Accounting Scheme helps businesses pay VAT only when they receive payments. Additionally, reliefs such as VAT exemptions apply to specific goods and services, reducing the tax burden for eligible businesses.Filing and Paying VAT in the UKVAT-registered businesses must submit returns periodically, generally every quarter. Late submissions or incorrect filings result in penalties, making compliance essential. Moreover, businesses must keep digital records and file returns using Making Tax Digital (MTD) software. Accordingly, accurate bookkeeping ensures smooth VAT reporting and minimises errors. Using software like Xero can simplify VAT tracking, helping businesses stay compliant with HMRC requirements.Final ThoughtsVAT in the UK impacts businesses of all sizes, requiring careful management to remain compliant. Understanding VAT rates, registration rules, and available schemes helps businesses navigate tax responsibilities effectively. Additionally, staying updated with HMRC regulations ensures businesses avoid penalties.For expert insights on finance and business, listen to the I Hate Numbers podcast. Each episode provides valuable guidance to help you take control of your numbers and make informed decisions.

The Rich Zeoli Show- Hour 1: 3:05pm- After the first week of his second term as president, Donald Trump mandated employees of the federal government work in-person, withdrew the nation from the Paris Climate Agreement, withdrew the nation from the World Health Organization (WHO) citing their willingness to cover-up China's COVID-19 transgressions, delayed enforcement of a national ban of TikTok, recognized two genders—male and female, pardoned 1,500 Americans arrested for their actions on January 6th, 2021, expanded domestic energy production, shut down the U.S. Southern border and began deportations of dangerous illegal migrants, and guaranteed free speech on social media. Trump also fulfilled a long-term campaign pledge to focus on meritocracy and pivot away from the prioritization of far-left policies like diversity, equity, and inclusion (D.E.I.) within the federal government. Rich wonders, was this the most consequential first week in modern presidential history? 3:15pm- On Sunday, the Trump Administration arrested nearly 1,000 illegal migrants who have been accused of serious crimes. Comparatively, the Biden Administration averaged 310 arrests per day, according to Axios. The New York Post reports that in a raid over the weekend, federal agents arrested 50 members of the Venezuelan prison gang Tren de Aragua in Denver, Colorado. 3:30pm- CIA Says Lab Leak the Likely Origin of COVID-19: Michael R. Gordon and Dustin Volz of The Wall Street Journal write: “The Central Intelligence Agency has now concluded that the deadly Covid-19 pandemic most likely arose from a laboratory leak, lending credibility to a view that has been the focus of sharp debate among scientists and politicians for years. In doing so, the CIA has now joined the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Energy Department in identifying a laboratory mishap in Wuhan, China, as the probable source of the Covid virus. It has killed more than 1.2 million Americans and over seven million people worldwide.” You can read the full article here: https://www.wsj.com/politics/national-security/cia-now-favors-lab-leak-theory-on-origins-of-covid-19-eff4e67c. 3:40pm- After initially rejecting deportation flights containing Colombian citizens who entered the U.S. illegally, Colombian President Gustavo Perez reversed course—even providing the U.S. with his own presidential plane to assist in the process. After Perez's refusal, President Donald Trump announced he would slap Colombia with a 25% tariff, with the promise it would quickly increase to 50%. The United States is Colombia's largest trading partner.

The Rich Zeoli Show- Full Episode (01/27/2025): 3:05pm- After the first week of his second term as president, Donald Trump mandated employees of the federal government work in-person, withdrew the nation from the Paris Climate Agreement, withdrew the nation from the World Health Organization (WHO) citing their willingness to cover-up China's COVID-19 transgressions, delayed enforcement of a national ban of TikTok, recognized two genders—male and female, pardoned 1,500 Americans arrested for their actions on January 6th, 2021, expanded domestic energy production, shut down the U.S. Southern border and began deportations of dangerous illegal migrants, and guaranteed free speech on social media. Trump also fulfilled a long-term campaign pledge to focus on meritocracy and pivot away from the prioritization of far-left policies like diversity, equity, and inclusion (D.E.I.) within the federal government. Rich wonders, was this the most consequential first week in modern presidential history? 3:15pm- On Sunday, the Trump Administration arrested nearly 1,000 illegal migrants who have been accused of serious crimes. Comparatively, the Biden Administration averaged 310 arrests per day, according to Axios. The New York Post reports that in a raid over the weekend, federal agents arrested 50 members of the Venezuelan prison gang Tren de Aragua in Denver, Colorado. 3:30pm- CIA Says Lab Leak the Likely Origin of COVID-19: Michael R. Gordon and Dustin Volz of The Wall Street Journal write: “The Central Intelligence Agency has now concluded that the deadly Covid-19 pandemic most likely arose from a laboratory leak, lending credibility to a view that has been the focus of sharp debate among scientists and politicians for years. In doing so, the CIA has now joined the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Energy Department in identifying a laboratory mishap in Wuhan, China, as the probable source of the Covid virus. It has killed more than 1.2 million Americans and over seven million people worldwide.” You can read the full article here: https://www.wsj.com/politics/national-security/cia-now-favors-lab-leak-theory-on-origins-of-covid-19-eff4e67c. 3:40pm- After initially rejecting deportation flights containing Colombian citizens who entered the U.S. illegally, Colombian President Gustavo Perez reversed course—even providing the U.S. with his own presidential plane to assist in the process. After Perez's refusal, President Donald Trump announced he would slap Colombia with a 25% tariff, with the promise it would quickly increase to 50%. The United States is Colombia's largest trading partner. 4:00pm- Robert Bork Jr.—President of the Antitrust Education Project & President of the Bork Communication Group—joins The Rich Zeoli Show to discuss the Federal Trade Commission in the Trump Administration. Will antitrust concerns persist over Microsoft's $13 billion investment in OpenAI? Could hypothetical overregulation of artificial intelligence harm American innovation—potentially allowing for foreign adversaries to better compete in the emerging industry? Plus, Bork reacts to Nvidia stock falling 17%, wiping out nearly $600 billion in market value. 4:30pm- Last week, prior to the NFC Championship game, Philadelphia Mayor Cherelle Parker misspelled “Eagles” while leading a chant to support the hometown team. Yesterday, the Eagles dominated the Washington Commanders, 55 to 23. But today, Parker spelled the team's name properly—did she just jinx the whole city right before the Super Bowl? 4:40pm- While appearing on NPR, Philadelphia District Attorney Larry Krasner stated that he is exploring the possibility of filing local charges against Pennsylvanians who unlawfully entered the U.S. Capitol on January 6th, 2021 despite President Donald Trump's recent pardons. But how does Krasner have jurisdiction over federal offenses that were already reversed? 5:00pm- Last week, prior to the NFC Championship game, Philadelphia Mayor Cherelle Park ...

Allen County, Kansas is not a place most people will be familiar with, but the story is one you've probably heard before. Located in southeast Kansas, an hour and a half from the nearest major city, it features much that's typical of rural America. Iola, the county seat, is a city of 5,300 people. It has a classic town square and lies at the junction of a couple of state highways. The beautiful Flint Hills and its majestic cattle ranches are not far away.But after the community lost its hospital in the early 2000s, the usual questions emerge - is Iola, and the whole county on the verge of permanent decline?Out of this tragic circumstance was born Thrive Allen County Jared Wheeler, their Economic Development Director, joins me to talk about the path that Iola, Humboldt and the whole county have taken since that time. And, the remarkable successes they've achieved. Humboldt, for example, was featured in 2024's “15 Best Small Towns to Visit” in Smithsonian Magazine.You might not know much, or even care much, about rural Kansas. But I think you'll still find this to be an inspiring conversation and story. Jared and I cover a lot of ground, talking about rural community development, place-making, a culture of experimentation, and even bike paths.Find more content on The Messy City on Kevin's Substack page.Music notes: all songs by low standards, ca. 2010. Videos here. If you'd like a CD for low standards, message me and you can have one for only $5.Intro: “Why Be Friends”Outro: “Fairweather Friend”Text Transcript:Kevin Klinkenberg (00:01.158)Welcome back to the Messy City Podcast. This is Kevin Klinkenberg joined in studio today by a special guest from Central, what did you call it? Central Kansas? Southeast Kansas. Southeast Kansas, yeah. Southeast Kansas, all right. Well, shout out to my buddy Jason Carter-Solomon who hooked us up. He said, you know, just was out in Iowa, Kansas and I met this guy doing really cool stuff and it's like, you've got to talk to him.And it sounded intriguing and here we are. So welcome to the show for Jared Wheeler. You got it. Jared Wheeler. I am economic development director for a nonprofit in Southeast Kansas called Thrive Allen County. So I'm thrilled to be to be here today. Well, it should be a lot of fun. I have I've been through the area a little bit, have not stopped in Humboldt, which I know is like the big.tourist draw now. Right, right. Who would have thought that a community of 2,500 people would be in the Smithsonian magazine, New York Times, all these national publications saying you got, you have to come check this place out. Yeah. So why don't we start a little bit by just talking about, first of all, what thrive Allen County is, and how you came to be a part of it. So thrive Allen County.was initiated when the hospital in Iola, Kansas was closing. And as part of the agreement, anytime a hospital closed at that point, the idea that assets would be sold and then the money put it into the, with the intention of creating a 501c3 nonprofit, specifically dedicated towards public health initiatives. So Thrive Allen County was born out of really a crisis. So it's kind of birth from a crucible.the hospital in a small town closes. If you speak rural life fluently at all, that is a recurring theme that the hospital in town closes and you are left with some amalgamation of clinics or some specialty shops or just a general practice with limited beds, no overnight stays, that sort of thing. So the hospital closes, thrive, Allen County is born.Kevin Klinkenberg (02:20.988)And its initial mandate is to improve the community health. Just to interrupt for just a sec. So give people perspective. How big is Iowa? Yeah. Iowa, Kansas is about 5,200 people. Relatively small. It's the county seat of Allen County, Kansas. The next largest community is humble of 2,500 people. So the entire county's population is 12,000. Right. So for those of you who are in urban context, you are.probably struggling to imagine that sort of lack of population density, population scarcity. It's funny. It reminds me. So I went to high school in a small town in central Missouri. That was about 12,000 people. Okay. But when I hear you say, you know, Iowa is 5,200, it just reminds me that like when you're in a smaller town, like the hundreds matter. my. Saying 5,200 versus like 5,600, that's like a big deal. Right. It's the same way, you know,parents of young children still measure their kids age in months. It's like, is it about 27 months? It's the same situation for those of us who are doing our best work in rural communities, like 5,200. Because if I say, it's about 5,000 people, somebody out there is listening going, my graduating class was 5,000 people. That makes no sense. So Thrive, that's our context in which we work. And for the last,17 years Thrive has existed to enrich the health of citizens in Allen County. And that was initially in specifically related to physical health. So we have healthcare navigators that try and make sure that as many people as possible are insured. We operate vaccination clinics throughout the county, especially in even more rural and remote context. And thenabout halfway through the lifespan of Thrive, economic development was added. And economic development is really pursued from the perspective of community health. What is going to be a source of good, benevolent disruption? That's my approach constantly is what is going to disrupt the systems that are in place that contribute to the lack of health?Kevin Klinkenberg (04:45.788)for our community members through economic development. So that's my role and I am part of, technically I'm a one man department, but we all work together at Thrive and with our partners, both public and private partners in the communities. So how big is the organization overall? We have just under 30 employees right now. Yeah, and so we're fortunate in that some of those employees are in a transition period because we operate Allen Regional Transit.which is a public transportation organization in a rural context, which I know some of y'all out there are picturing like covered wagons. That's not exactly what's going on. But so we operate a public transit organization. And then we also have within our organization, the seed of another nonprofit that will probably spin off called Thrive Kansas, which is working for the same sort of rural community health goals.that we do in Allen County, but is trying to create statewide networks to do that. And how did you, are you from the area? Man, my rural bona fides are legit. I am, I am from a town of 500 people originally called Thayer, Kansas and in the same region, Southeast Kansas again, born and raised there. And really, so you have to remember I grew up in the nineties, early two thousands. So my experience of the wider world.was purely through pop culture. We didn't go anywhere. I was as hasty as they come. I knew what sushi was. did not eat. I had not had a bite of sushi until probably when I was on my honeymoon. And my cousin and I had a wonderful time. I'm just kidding. And so that's my baseline understanding of the world. But then I...I lived and worked in churches and schools after that. Did my grad school in Portland, Oregon. And so I did intensive weeks out there. So I was spending time in Portland in the Pacific Northwest for a couple of weeks at a time for four or five semesters. And so I've experienced a lot of different contexts. And then we moved back to Southeast Kansas, my wife and family and I from Kansas City actually. And so we lived up here.Kevin Klinkenberg (07:12.294)and then moved back about nine years ago with the choice to locate our family in a rural context. that's my route towards economic or community development is incredibly circuitous. And I really, I've found that that was a point of embarrassment for me initially when I took the job, because I just thought, everybody knows this stuff better than I do. And now I'm learning more and more about our conversation off mic before that.You were in architecture school before you got into community development. And I think that's, that is true for so many people that the reason they end up in community development, economic development, especially in a rural context is because they love the place. They love the place. They are invested in it and they have lived it. And again, bear the burden of what could be, or they have lived it and they are so quintessentially formed by it.that they believe other people should benefit from that formation as well. And the same is true for me in both directions. So, really the only experience I have with your area has been driving back and forth between Kansas City and Tulsa, which is kind of like the most direct route, really. Maybe not the fastest route, it's hard to say, but it's more interesting anyway, a little more scenic.been through Iowa. don't think I actually have driven through Humboldt yet. Humboldt, as you mentioned, has been a place that's gotten a lot of attention in recent years and it's kind of on the radar for, you know, like glamping and for cycling and everything else. Why don't you talk a little bit about like how and why has the area started to get the level of attention that you mentioned before?I think there's two categories I should speak to. The first is material and then maybe the second is going to sound a little weird, but it's mythological. So materially, one of the reasons that the area has gotten attention is because quite frankly, it's cost effective to develop and to try things in Allen County. The economic ecosystem in rural Kansas has typically been one of either extraction or exploitation historically.Kevin Klinkenberg (09:35.81)It is a wildcatting pioneering economy since my goodness, since the 19th century. And so the, industries that boomed the turn of the 20th century into the 19th century were extraction based businesses. Let's pull things as pull natural resources out. mean, my goodness, near Iola, Kansas, there is literally a city called gas and it is called gas because you, you made your bones.as part of a natural gas business there, that that's the way you made it so that the name stuck and in Humboldt and Iola there, there were massive, concrete businesses. there are these huge firms that, mined a mineral from that area and then use it to turn it into cement and concrete. So it's one that's still an operation monarch cement company in Humboldt, Kansas, butThat is the case. either you're pulling a resource from the landscape and when that is exhausted, you leave. And so that that also funnels into that exploitation idea. It's extraction or exploitation. So there's a sense amongst the folks who live and this may be true if you're a real person listening, you might be nodding along or you might want to fight me either way. WhereThere's an idea, the scarcity mindset that blends in that says, well, everybody who could have left did. Everyone who had the chance and the means and the capacity to leave when it was time to leave did, and we are what remains. I don't think that's accurate. I think that's sometimes, unfortunately, the way that small communities understand themselves. They either become bitterness factories or hope factories. That's very rarely.in a community that is somewhat remote and rural, is it in between those two extremes. You're either a community of hope or you're a community of bitterness. What could have been and what might be. So those are your two extremes. And I'd love to talk to people if they feel like they live in a community that exists right in the middle of those.Kevin Klinkenberg (11:51.238)So the first reason why the community, the area is getting more attention is because materially it's more cost effective to try something new there. That economic ecosystem of extraction or exploitation is given way to one of experiment. Let's try something new. And so there are people who are either coming back to the area or they are relocating from other parts of the country.because they have an idea that is impossible due to the cost constraints of where they live. I am assuming even for our folks who are listening in Kansas City, that if I started doing cost analysis comparison between opening a storefront business of some sort in Prairie Village compared to Iola, Kansas, you will not get the population density for traffic or tail lights, butfor your permit cost, you might be able to buy a building in Iola. So that's really at end of the day, it's more cost effective in our area just because things are cheaper. I don't mean to be crass, but that's what it comes down to. That's the material side. The second one, the one that I'm maybe even more interested in is the mythological side. Why are people so interested in that area? And I wanna ask this question as I hold this off in my head.How do you think people from non-rural contexts experience or how is their perception of the rural world formed by what pop cultural artifacts, so to speak? in the fifties and sixties, I would say it's probably Mayberry, you know, it's the Andy Griffith show. And what's the essence of the rural experience? Well, everybody knows you, you're not going to get away with anything because you'reyour mom's hairdresser's aunt saw you do that. And so they're going to report back. And then as it moves forward, what there's kind of this, it's dearth of pop cultural artifacts that have, kind of monolithic effect, except I believe there is now a new pop cultural phenomenon that everyone at least is aware of that is giving people a lens to look through.Kevin Klinkenberg (14:16.988)and see the rural context. And this is going to be absolutely ridiculous to most people, but stay with me. If you're familiar, if you, if you are familiar with the incredible pieces of art, they're known as hallmark movies. You have had a rural experience because those movies never take place in urban settings. Or if they do, it's only momentary because they're trying to escape it to getto the rural place in which you are going to fall in love, achieve your dreams and feel your stress melt away. And that's silly, it's ridiculous. But at the same time, I believe there is a, I think that is a very kitschy way of seizing on a groundswell ofCollective emotion right now where people are looking for something that is more simple. Our lives are incredibly hectic. We know they're hectic. We know that we are addicted to everything and anything. So how can I simplify? And then how can I take charge of my life and do what I want to do and have some agency? And with a little bit where your dollars go a little bit farther and maybe the pace of life slows down, people feel like they have a little bit more agency.And then finally, where can I still access some version of the American dream, whatever that is? And I think that is a piece of mythology that has been so twisted and turned, but there's, it's still baked in somewhere to us. And I think at the end of the day, part of that dream in a rural context is can I be known by people and can I know other people? I'm sure you are aware of thethe emphasis and the buzzwords of, you know, quality spaces, place making third spaces. mean, we are, we are addicted to those. And in a rural context, I think the perception is when you look through the lens of an artifact, like a hallmark movie, that the entire community is a third space because you're going to bump into the person you work with elsewhere. You're going to see someone.Kevin Klinkenberg (16:38.764)at one of the three restaurants in town that you saw yesterday crossing the street or so on and so forth. So I think that's one reason why the community has been so, or the area has been of interest is because mythologically, it provides an avenue towards some essential thing that we want out of living life in community that may be a little bit more difficult.in, if not an urban context, certainly a suburban context. So if I were to put a dot in Iowa and then draw like a circle 100 miles around it, there's an awful lot of small towns within that circle. Right. What has distinguished Iowa and Humboldt that you see more positiverebound and attraction than maybe some other towns that are within that context. One thing that has really helped so much are collectivist approach to problem solving. for example, my organization Thrive Island County, especially in the area of economic development, we would be completely inept and ineffective if we didn't haveclose and active partnerships with local government and local business leaders and confederations of industry leaders as well. So that's one of the first reasons that Iola Allen County has been successful is because it's taken a collectivist approach to problem solving without any sort of political machinations behind that, or sometimes even completely devoid ofpolitical ideology, just because, something needs to change. What do we do about it? Another reason is because folks who have been successful in Allen County have taken it upon themselves, even though there isn't a whole lot of philanthropic infrastructure, or they don't see philanthropic models that you might see in a larger community. you start a foundation, that foundation does this, this is the way in which you...Kevin Klinkenberg (18:59.088)you know, are able to recoup some of what you've given away through tax breaks and so on and so forth. That infrastructure doesn't really exist in Southeast Kansas and small communities, but successful individuals have taken it upon themselves to think critically about the complex issues that their communities face, identify the areas in which they can have an impact and aggressively pursue that impact. So, andI'll be somewhat discretionary simply because the individual in question is not a huge fan of publicity, but there's an individual, a family in Humboldt, Kansas, that at the time of the pandemic redirected a considerable amount of its workforce towards making community improvements as opposed to laying off workers at their industry. That's turned into almost a parabolic story.but it is exemplary of this individual and this company's approach to community improvement. And even without a model that said, is how you do this. There's no, there's not a Carnegie library in Humboldt, Kansas, even serving as a beacon of what philanthropy looks like. This individual became a quintessential philanthropist to solveproblems and it's in his small community again, because he loves it. And that example has had a profound impact throughout the region where there are more and more folks who have been successful and have realized that their success has resulted because someone else made a provision for them and they've turned around and said, okay.How do I address the complex issues? Not merely I'm gonna endow a scholarship, which by the way, we love that, keep doing that everyone, but we need new curb and gutters in the road. I bet I could do something with that. I bet I could have an effect in that direction. So we've been very beneficial through collectivist solution making and then also,Kevin Klinkenberg (21:19.676)the inspired philanthropy of successful folks. mean, that's so interesting. It kind of hits on a broader topic. know Aaron Wren on his podcast has he's talked about this as well. But like one of the real differences today versus in communities, say 100 years ago, is that 100 years ago, the bank in town was locally owned. Right. The department store was locally owned.Right. You know, most of the, and this is true in cities of towns of almost all sizes, that your local leadership class were people who owned prominent businesses in the town. Right. And that is something that has been lost in an awful lot of communities because of, you know, just changes in the economy and so muchSo much of a shift towards sort of larger corporate owned Businesses that then just have branches in places and you just never have the same buy-in right you're like if you're like the branch manager of a bank that's got 500 Locations right you're gonna have a different buy-in than if you're like the owner of the bank. Yeah and and the same goes for for a lot of industry so I think that's it's really interesting what you mentioned that you sort of start starting from a kernel of somebody who ownedan important business and lives in the town and says, just like you said, I'm not going to just do a scholarship fund, but I'm going to invest in things that make, improve quality of life where I am. Right. And I guess that's, as you were, as you were talking about that, I, I couldn't help but wonder, and I'll, I'll ask you directly if you, do you think a community can outsource its self identity? no. Okay. Okay. So, but that's, that's the tug.When so many things are operated or owned remotely is what happens is this, I really think an existential crisis for a community to go, then what are we and who are we? And if you don't have a thing to point to that provides an place of orientation for your community, it gets really hard to then invite people to invest in that community.Kevin Klinkenberg (23:44.63)And so I think that's, I think you're exactly right. That when, when that autonomy evaporates, then you do have a, identity crisis, so to speak. And so that's one thing that's been really interesting in both Iola and Humboldt is, you know, the businesses that are added, we have some community investment, groups and, some microloan groups andso on and so forth. The businesses that have been added are not, mean, there is no retailer that's saying we'd love to drop a branch in your town of 5,000 people. It doesn't make sense for them. So what's added is homegrown. It's local entrepreneurs who we claw to find capital for them and then they take a swing and we're fortunate in that. I sit on a board of what we call a entrepreneurial community.a lending group, micro loans. although, you know, to us, they're not micro to other folks. might be, we have over 25 loans on the book right now and 99.9 % of them are making their payments with regularity. And we have businesses that are crossing that year to five to year six, year six threshold, which is enormous for anybody in the entrepreneurial world. And we've just been fortunate because, there's nobody coming to rescue us.think that is, that is a shift in mindset for small communities. That's so important and it requires a bit of, I mean, you, have to be brutally honest with yourself that you, you need to empower the folks who are there to ask why not instead of why here. Yeah. AndIf something else comes along, if something locates itself in your community, that is an extra. But if you can empower the folks who are local to take a chance, then I think you're onto something that could be sustainable. Yeah. I wonder if you can talk a little bit more, maybe some specific examples of like the homegrown approach. The reason I ask that is I'm old enough to rememberKevin Klinkenberg (26:09.818)that the standard approach to rural economic development for a long, time was go plat an industrial park on the edge of town, put the infrastructure in, and try to attract what basically were like low wage industrial jobs from big companies. that's how you will save your community. what you're describing is a really different sort of a bottom up approach to working with people who are already there.I wonder if you could talk more about like some of the successes or some of the other couple of stories you can share. Absolutely. and we still do that. I mean, I, got, I got two industrial parks right now that are planning and ready to rock. So if you're out there listening and you, and you want to, know, you need a spot for your biofuel company, hit me up. Cause I am ready to talk. so we're not, we're not opposed to that approach. I just think that, charting that as the only course is, really risky.And to be honest, I don't know how much, how reliable it is. I think it's a part of a solution model. But so for example, we have a coffee shop in Iola, Kansas. Every community has got a coffee shop at this point. It doesn't matter how small you are. This coffee shop, shout out Wild Bloom Coffee in Iola. And this coffee shop got started as alower level commercial space on the square. Like every other cute coffee shop in a small town bought the bare minimum square footage that they could afford as just one half of a building, one half of the lower level of a building. And the coffee shop has been so successful and it's been able toapply for and receive grant funding. It's been able to benefit from a neighborhood revitalization program that's a tax rebate program when they made improvements to the space. It works considerably with our organization in small business coaching and in capital pursuit through our micro loan program. And this coffee shop has now purchased the entire building that they're in. They offerKevin Klinkenberg (28:29.468)kind of a subscription based bourbon taste in nights and cigar bar evenings. And they're going to expand to catering and they they serve brunch now. And in our little coffee shop in Southeast Kansas, the other day I had the best ramen I've had in years. we have, they're really talented folks who are owning and operating that shop, but it's been able to expand consistently.due to again, these collectivist approach because there's so many people, it's not only that they serve a great product, they do. It's not only that they provide a great customer experience, which they do, but it's also because they have been willing to not only want help, but ask for help. And that's an enormous difference. Wanting help is just the awareness that you need something. Asking for help is putting your hand in the air,I said, okay, I'm willing to reach out and grab whomever is going to help out, but I'm asking for it. And so that's an example that we've had in Iola. In Humboldt, Kansas, and I can take no credit for this, there's a group known as a Boulder Humboldt. And that is a confederation of business owners, entrepreneurs, movers and shakers who have added businesses throughout Humboldt. So the best...And from my money, the best little honky tonk in Kansas is the Hitching Post in Humboldt, Kansas. And they have live music every night, every weekend night, excuse me. Probably the most expansive collection of whiskeys that you could want or need. And it is an incredibly successful business and an incredibly successful gathering place. And again, was started.by an individual who moved to Humboldt who had connections with people who had multiple generations of their family within Humboldt. And they were able to continue to build that business and be patient as it was built. they live, to your point earlier, they live and work in the community. The gentleman who owns that business is a city council person in Humboldt, Kansas. And...Kevin Klinkenberg (30:48.88)is really devoted towards overall community health and community growth. those are, and those businesses are now moving beyond. So Hitching Post is moving towards, I think it's third year of operations. So kind of living past that initial start at birth. Wild Bloom, I believe is to year four and five in Iola. So we have some wonderful businesses that are outside of what people would expect in a small community.again, because there've been collectivist approach. So hitching posts exists because of the collective that is a bold or humble and humble. Wild Bloom exists because of multiple collective groups within Iola that were, had a vested interest in these success stories. So the one, I confess the one business I remember from going through Iola is I stopped at the butcher shop right off the highway, which was a pretty incredible operation.And I think at the time I was kind of thinking about, we're not very far from ranch country. I had a cooler with me. want to buy some steaks or whatever and take them home with me. And of course the selection was incredible. The prices were way better than when I get in the city. And it's pretty much like fresh off the ranch. Right. I mean, you might have driven by cattle that were lamenting that their buddy was gone and ended up in your cooler instead.Yeah. So one of the thing I definitely I know about the area is you have this north south bike trail. Yeah. That comes through that goes for, I don't know, 100 miles or something. Yeah. Is that the Prairie Spirit? Prairie Spirit Trail. Yeah. What impact has that had on the area? So one, we have a very high rate of folks who bike or walk to work. Comparatively, I just pulled that data.We are higher than the state average, I think almost twice as high as the state average and people that walk or bike to work. So to me, that signifies two things. is it's pedestrian or bike traffic is built into the community. think part of that is because of the trails. There's 60 miles of trail in Allen County alone.Kevin Klinkenberg (33:09.622)so that's around the, what will become the new state park, Lehigh Portland state park. That's going to be on the edge of Viola. let's say it was a lake that was publicly owned and privately owned and then was deeded over to the state of Kansas and, Kansas department of wildlife and parks is turning that into a new state park. So there's a lot of trails around that and people have access to those trails for a while. Thrive Island County, maintenance is those trails on behalf of KDWP right now.we have trails though, that also we, we think of in, in rural communities, you think of your trails as out somewhere out towards the woods. I mean, you're go ride around and walk around, but there's also dedicated trails in Iola, that go to the hospital. spoiler alert, we did get a new hospital. I started the story talking about the, this, closing of the hospital, new hospitals added, to the elementary school, a new elementary school and to the high school, middle school, and also to around.Not to, we're working on getting trails all through the main thoroughfares in town, but there's also trails around Allen Community College in Iowa as well. So we are addicted to trail building and maintenance because we have a population that in many respects is income challenged. And an automobile, even though to most of us is an automatic purchase to a lot of our neighbors and friends, it's a luxury.And so if you do not have an automobile, but you need to get to work or you need to make your appointment or you need to get to school, you need to have a safe way to do so. And so I think that that trail system is. It's part of a wider, pedestrian and bike travel understanding and folks in our community are not embarrassed to do so. And it's because there's not.There's not the income stratification that exists. I mean, in some communities, if you see someone that is riding their bike to work, there's three categories either, they're, they're a granola type that just wants to show us that they're more fit and better than the rest of us. They are too poor to purchase a vehicle or they get a DUI and they can't drive right now. I mean, that is the truth in, our community because the, because of the prevalence of the trail system.Kevin Klinkenberg (35:35.002)If someone is walking or biking to work, it's really hard to codify them. I wonder if they fall into this category or that category just because it's the norm. So we're very fortunate that those trails exist and they do. It also affects, as you mentioned, the glamping outdoors, outdoor recreation, infrastructure and commercialization that exists in our area. That's very helpful. So again, in Humboldt, there is a camping, kayaking,and BMX riding facility known as Base Camp. And it is located at a trailhead. And so you can jump off Prairie Spirit or Southwind Trail. You can go into Base Camp. The, again, the state park is full of trails and also on Prairie Spirit and connect to Southwind Trails as well. Yeah. And then if you ride it far enough, you'll connect to the Flint Hills Trail. Yeah, exactly. Which is.over a hundred miles East West trail. Right. Exactly. My wife and I have ridden a few times. Okay. Cool. Yeah. we, we, one of our favorite events of the years, we go to the symphony and the foothills. Yeah. which is, I almost hate to talk about it because I don't want, I don't want it to become too popular. You don't want people to show up. Yeah. I really don't want people from the coast flying in and, and, making this, you know, too expensive, but my God, it's an incredible thing. Right.just one of the coolest events that we do on a regular basis with where the Kansas City Symphony goes out onto a active cattle ranch in the Flint Hills and performs a concert. But we've made a habit of going and writing a different section of the Flint Hills Trail every year, which is really a fun experience as well. But haven't done the Prairie Spirit, so I'm...Interested to do that. You absolutely should. mean, we, we talked to cyclists who do the same thing, who are connected using the Prairie Spirit to get to the Flint Hills. We're doing a major ride and they're always impressed with the quality of the trails. the Prairie, I, I can only say I only ride or have ridden a portion of it. so, and if you happen to see me riding, can, you can, guess a, is it.Kevin Klinkenberg (37:46.192)Poverty is a DUI or is it granola? one? What's the reason? But no, we're very fortunate that that trail system exists and fortunate that we are the custodians of that trail system. And that's one thing that I would say to, if you're in a rural context and you're just trying to think of something that you could add that would improve quality of life, would be a quality of life amenity, which by the way is an absolute necessity now.That's reason people are choosing to locate themselves in different places. Obviously housing matters, obviously childcare matters, obviously the possibility of earning a comfortable income matters. But if those three things are satisfied, they're making decisions about where to land based on, you know, is there a quality of life, amenity that I can connect myself with? You have, you have space and you have dirt. You are almost there. You are almost to the, to having a trail.or a system of trails in your community on the edge of your community. Please, please talk to Thrive Allen County. We have a lot of experience of doing trail work. We have blown it and messed it up in different places so we can help you avoid those problems as well. But that is a way in which you can activate your community and you can also contribute to the overall health of your community as well. So I want to talk a little bit more about the place making aspect of this.Like I mentioned before, went to high school in a small town in central Missouri and before that I did first through eighth grade in a small town in southern Minnesota.things that were memories that really stick out for me was, know, if you live in a small community and you're a kid, like riding a bike is a normal thing. Yeah. And I used to ride my bike everywhere. And it was accepted. It was normalized. It was easy to do and safe. There's very little traffic on most of the streets. But as soon as you hit 16 years old, like it is theKevin Klinkenberg (39:54.78)uncoolest thing in the world. You've got to have a car. You've got to be cruising around. there, one of the things that has really interested me that I've tried to, I've tried to articulate, I haven't done a great job of it, but I've thought a lot about, which is most small towns are absolutely natural places for the sort of walking, biking lifestyle that.quote unquote urbanists talk about all the time. it's actually, they were built for that originally. But it also bumps up against like the, there's a culture aspect, which seems to not embrace that in most small towns. And I experienced that. I still see it all the time. And I've often thought like really, I guess maybe I want your reaction to this. One of the things I've thought is thatone of the best economic development approaches for a lot of small towns is to be the antithesis of the big city and the big city, people think of it as urban with all this cool stuff to do. But the reality is most people are spending a ton of time in a car, getting from place to place, commute, whether not just commuting, but going shopping, kids activities, et cetera. Looking for a parking spot. Looking for a parking spot. but in a small town,those, it almost ought to be like, that's the place where you could really sell this idea of a lifestyle where you get on your bike and get to a lot of places. You could walk to the town square and that should be a real competitive advantage. wonder if you could, you think that's. Yeah. So why does that not happen? No, I think that's a, I think that is such an insightful question. and one that we struggle with a lot. so I want to, I want to tackle it in a couple of different ways.One is back to the mythology. What's a marker of success? Marker of success is to be able to have your preferred automobile and typically multiple automobiles. And that doesn't end just because you're in a small town. People still want to virtue or virility signal with their automobiles. And because of the work and the terrain in which people live in small towns in rural Kansas, automobiles are typically bigger. Automobiles are bigger anywhere.Kevin Klinkenberg (42:13.868)Always constantly. that again, back to the American dream model, excess is our love language as a culture. so at the same way you got, you have a lot of big vehicles and we need, we're going to signal that we're doing well via this big vehicle, especially if you struggle with multi-generational poverty. Here's a purchase you can make that is a signal that does not require the type of overhead as a home.So I'm going to buy this vehicle. It's going to show everyone that I'm doing okay. The only way to show everyone that is to use said vehicle until I can't make the payments on it anymore. that's not a, that's not a purely rural experience, but it's one that shows up a lot, especially in socioeconomically, depressed areas. Yeah. Here's my $50,000, vehicle in front of my $40,000 house. Sure. Sure. yeah. So that, that, that occurs a lot. There's still,There's still status signaling through via vehicles. That's the first one. Second one is it costs communities more to provide the infrastructure necessary for safe pedestrian and bicycle traffic. If you have X amount of dollars in your county budget or in your city budget to build roads and it's going to take, you know, 5 % more to add a bike lane.to change the width of your sidewalks and you have to decide either we do the project without those things or we don't do the project at all because everyone is clamoring for those things. In most cases, they're going to choose to add the infrastructure without these dedicated spaces. Part of my organization's efforts is to educate communities that you can do that in a cost effective way. You can add those things in a way that's cost effective. So,I think we're moving the needle in that direction. I think that that's still a big issue. we have some, so there's some cultural status signaling. We have some infrastructure cost challenges there. And then also the antithesis of the big city idea is very interesting because typically when people see adults riding their bikes, if you are from a rural community,Kevin Klinkenberg (44:34.576)You only see that when you go to larger communities. I remember having, again, I did grad school in Portland and Portland is an incredibly bike friendly community. If you talk to people who drive in Portland, who do not also cycle there, they lament how bike friendly it is. But if you are a person traveling in a large city, from a rural context to a large city, you see for the first time.city infrastructure that has bike lanes, has bike crossing, pedestrian cross, a lot more foot traffic, a lot more bike traffic. And it can be really alarming to your sensibility of what it is to get from place A to place B. And so, man, did we have a scare, I almost hit that person on a bike. Do I really want to deal with that back home? In a place where you're sharing literal traffic lanes as opposed to driving next to a bike lane.so on and so forth. So I think you're right. think there there is a sense in which, you do want to be the antithesis of the big city. But where you say that and you go, so make yourself more walk walkable and bikeable. There are folks in smaller towns who go, yeah, man, there's a lot of cyclists in that big city that I that I visited. And it was really difficult to navigate. I think that's shifting. We're very fortunate in that even in our town of five thousand people, there are folks who are interested in.making a transition from predominantly using their vehicle, their automobile to get around to using their bike or just walking again, twice as high as the state average of folks who getting to work that way. So I think we're seeing that, that shift. And I think that is a selling point for why we're inviting people to spend time in our area or consider moving to our area. Because if that is a lifestyle change you would like to make or that you've already embraced, thenThere's probably a way in which you can get everywhere you need to go in Iola or Humboldt or elsewhere in Allen County on your bike or on your own two feet.Kevin Klinkenberg (46:38.566)Another thing that has been really interesting the last few years, in the wake of COVID and all of the policies and changes that happened, there's been an awful lot written and talked about in regards to like people moving. People leaving cities, looking for smaller towns. Sometimes they're leaving the city and moving to the suburbs. Sometimes they're maybe moving from the suburbs to a small town or an exurb.And obviously, I don't need to rehash all of that, but there's been a lot of conversation about that for the last few years. And it feels a little bit like there's been a shift in perception in the culture about small town living in a positive way. What have you noticed the last four or five years? First, a little bit of a, I don't want to dampen that.that exuberance for small town living. But I think the data is starting to show us that people dip their toe into rural life and then they have went back to the cities or to the suburbs or so on and so forth. But in some cases, that's that's true. Just people have chosen a city, a new city, and they've left. So Austin's a great example. Austin boomed post pandemic and now their vacancy rate in particular apartments, condos, things like that.is astronomical because people are like, well, this was cool. And now I'm ready to go back to where my job is or where I lived previously. And so I think that's happening. The shuffling of the deck is resettling itself, so to speak. I do think you're right that there is a more positive perception of rural living than there used to be. I think it's because COVID taught us that everything could be truly remote.And if you can survive and maybe even thrive, and you talk to some folks and the best years of their life, with all due respect to people who lost loved ones during COVID or struggled with that, or still dealing with the health effects following COVID, there are some people who will tell you that COVID changed my life. I was at home with my family. I was taking more, more direct self-care. I was making efforts toKevin Klinkenberg (49:00.964)identify some things in my character that I want to change. It changed my life. So being remote was a positive. And so I think, what if I did that geographically as well? What if I did that socially as well? And I located myself in someplace a little more remote. Would that also be advantageous to me? And I think COVID also reminded us of the power of knowing people and being known by people.I think that is probably the primary reason in which people are choosing, if they're not business owners or entrepreneurs, people are choosing to live in smaller communities or move to smaller communities, even if the numbers aren't as great as they were immediately post-COVID, because they see an opportunity to be known by their neighbors and to know their neighbors. Because when that was taken away from us, for so many of us,that was relationally cataclysmic. And it made us, it gave us all, but it also gave us time to go, okay, how well do I really know the folks that I'm not seeing anymore? And does that bother me that I don't know them? And could I know them better? And I think in a rural context, there's still that capacity to know the people that live on your street and to really interact with them. And not that it's impossible.in an ex-urban or suburban or urban context, but it might be a little less immediate than it is in a rural context. Yeah, it kind of reminds me of the joke that the best thing about living in a small town is everybody knows everybody. The worst thing about living in a small town is everybody knows everybody. For sure. That's absolutely true. I think maybe COVID reminded us though.The worst thing isn't as bad as the best thing could be good. doubt. What are, what are some of the things that your communities need to get better at? like what, if you were to chart a positive course or continue the improvement, what, what do you need to do better? What are you trying to work on now? So one thing we need to do is accentuate a positive that I mentioned earlier, more firm and reliable collective approaches to problem solving.Kevin Klinkenberg (51:22.138)So that's one thing. A second thing that we need to get better at is our anchor institutions need to position themselves as irrepressible agencies for good. So, for example, our school districts, our community college in Iowa, Kansas, and then the city governments and county governments, they need to, we need to work together to see ourselves as innovation agents.and benevolent disruptors as opposed to status quo maintenance agencies. And again, I think that's applicable in most rural contexts and probably applicable in a lot of community contexts, because again, you are either moving towards becoming a hope factory or bitterness factory and status quo will lead you to bitterness because those who don't achieve it will become in bitter that they didn't achieve it.or those that you're trying to force feed it to as the end result of their life will wonder why you didn't chart a more hopeful course for them. So we need our anchor organizations to see themselves as agencies of good and do so without shame. And I think that is obviously a difficult thing to map out or reverse engineer, but what it requiresis leadership that is constantly in pursuit of not utilitarianism or what works, but what is going to have the best long term effect on the quality of life of the people that work for the organization or that the organization serves. those are two things that I would say even more collective approaches to problem solving. So housing is a great example.Everybody's struggling with housing right now, whether you're in an urban context or a rural context. And the old ways of solving that, just, you know, here's a here's a platable era, you know, several plaits, plaited land that the city owns. And we want a developer to come in and you can build a subdivision. And we're going to give you these tax breaks. We're going to incentivize this in so many different ways. I think that's still maybe possible in certain contexts and rural contexts. It's just not possible.Kevin Klinkenberg (53:44.828)One, because the city typically doesn't own that much land. And two, a developer then has to say, can I, what are the margins going to be? Because I'm going to have to bring a crew down here. I'm going to get supplies down here. Are there already contractors down here? There's already people. There's master craftsmen and so on and so forth. But there's not a contractor and there's not a readily available crew. So, for example, the state of Kansas right now, the Department of Commerce has offered the frame grant.that is going to give capital to community colleges that have a building trades program, construction program to help identify the gap in the housing ecosystem and address it. And I think things like that, ideas like that are going to be so important moving forward because they're going to be necessary for everyone to get on the same page. In Humboldt, Kansas, the most reliable developer, with the exception of maybe in the past year,was the school district. High school built one house every two years or so. And it was a guaranteed reliable development. One house in Kansas City, who no one will notice, in a community of 2,500 people, a new house is, I guarantee you, is the talk of the town. So I think that is something that's going to be necessary is that we continue to embrace and expect collective solutions.collaborative solutions to complex problems. And then that our anchor agencies, and this could even include our anchor institutions and maybe even our industrial partners, see themselves with a responsibility to be benevolent disruptors.One thing kind of as part of that conversation, I might be reading a little bit into this, but I certainly know from my experience that oftentimes in rural communities, there is more of an acceptance of just status quo. It is what it is. I don't mean to say this like an insulting way to anybody, but.Kevin Klinkenberg (55:58.22)not necessarily a push for excellence or striving. Maybe the better way to say it is not as much striving to achieve. And I think part of that's because it's more comfortable and easy to live in a smaller town, costs are less, et cetera, et cetera. In a big city, you find a lot more people who really striving for something. Is that an aspect at all of kind of like, as you think aboutthe next phases are achieving more in your county? No. I'll elaborate. No, if you don't, if you don't believe that striving for excellence is part of the rural expectation, you have not been to a county fair. So if you go to a county fair and see the effort that people put into things that will neverbe recognized outside of a three day event and the sweltering heat at the end of July in rural Kansas, then I don't know what to you. if it's speak with, communicate with folks who are trying to grow the best stand of wheat that they have in their life every year, speak with people who aredo not care about commodity prices, but are proud of the way that they're being fields look, or the person that is growing the best beef you've ever eaten in your life. and I think that pursuit of excellence is still there. I understand what you're saying that, and I think the, what you're, what you're actually articulating is something that's present in rural communities, which is the reluctance to be disruptive. I don't, I don't want.to in any way rock the boat because rocking the boat will, could potentially bring shame on myself. And they still on the honor and shame, social economy and small towns is still very real because most people are multiple or are part of a multiple generation. you know, family tree it's been in that area. So my gosh, if you mess up, then the shame that bring on your family.Kevin Klinkenberg (58:21.628)it moves up and down that family tree. It's not isolated to just yourself. If you are an entrepreneur in Atlanta and you have no connection to the community, you just landed there, and you try a business and it flops, but then you're able to go somewhere else. There's no shame involved in that. You, you are.a pioneer. You are, you know, you're an entrepreneur and everyone is going to be impressed by you because you had a great big idea that just didn't work. And here's 18 reasons it didn't work that you had no control over. If you're an entrepreneur in Iowa, Kansas and your business flops and you still have to live in that community and everybody's going to ask your aunt when she goes to church on Sunday, well, you know.We saw that he started that your, your nephew started that auto body place. Is this, is it still open? Didn't seem like there were many cars there. Didn't seem, didn't seem like he's doing, is he doing okay? he's, they had to close. that's terrible. And your aunt's the one who has to answer that question for you. And so I think, I don't think it's a reluctance to pursue excellence. I think it is a fear that they will somehow.do something that will be shameful. Interesting. And I think that that's very real. And that burden of failure sits heavy in a rural community. failure in a rural community historically is very obvious. It is driving by a field that is fallow. It is driving by a farmhouse that's in disrepair.because there's not money to take care of it. So it is so much louder than it can be in other places. Interesting. I appreciate that. last thing I wanted to ask about, as I've looked before at coming to Humboldt in particular, I was really impressed by just the amount of activity that is programmed in the town on a regular basis.Kevin Klinkenberg (01:00:33.979)That's something that most small towns don't do much of. I wonder if you could speak to a little bit. So like, I always think about that, like in a community there's hardware and there's software and that's like the software side and talk a little bit about what Humboldt has been doing and what that has meant for the overall success of the place. And the credit again goes toward Boulder Humboldt, that group, and then also theirCity Administrator Cole Herder, shout out Cole Herder. Listen, if you want to know what it is to be a good City Administrator in a small town, which is part PR Director, part Public Works Director, part Ombudsman and Accountant and everything else, Cole Herder and Humble Matt Rader in Iowa, those are dues that you need to put on your radar and have a coffee with.In Humboldt, that software analogy is so perfect because that directly connects to their sense of self. And so all of these events take place. For example, they brought back an event called Water Wars in the summer in which the municipal fire department is involved and it's a part parade, part massive citywide water balloon fight, part public water sports.events on the town square. And there is, it is pure frivolity, but they have embraced it because it is a spectacle of joy for the community. And in that capacity as a spectacle of joy, it ceases to be frivolous because again, if you are driving or trying to move your community toa becoming a hope factory, you need spectacles of joy. You need reasons that people can revel in the fact that they live in that place, because so often we are told as rural people, it's a shame you live there. Gosh, wouldn't it be great if you just moved somewhere else? So these spectacles of joy in which people can fully embrace, my gosh, I'm so proud or even because we don't have to defend it.Kevin Klinkenberg (01:02:54.96)And that's typically what a small town person is told they have to do. Defend why you want, why do you live there? No, I'm just going to be happy that I'm here right now. Iola just had their Christmas block party on the square in which, you know, Santa visited and kids played games and the businesses served hot chocolate. And it's, mean, it's, it is very Hallmark movie. By the way, one of the, one of the largesttown squares in Kansas. So come and visit if town squares are your thing. First of all, you and I probably aren't going to hang out at parties, but if that's what you love, come to the Iowa block party for Christmas and you will get a taste of Americana that you have been hankering for. But again, it's just a spectacle of joy and communities need those things.They need those spectacles of joy. And I think that's also to your point earlier about why people are choosing to locate themselves in rural communities, because they can do it in an unabashed way. They don't have to defend why they're doing it. doesn't have to be cool. It doesn't have to be on trend. It can just be a thing that's fun that you can revel in. And in in Humboldt and in Iowa, in Humboldt especially, there have been a group of folks who have sought to addto the community calendar, these spectacles of joy that have become a collective experience of hopefulness and celebration. And I don't know that you need to defend that. And I think we would probably all live in healthier communities if we engaged in those things without the need to qualify why they exist.Jared, I think that's a great place to wrap. Very, very, very interesting. This was a lot of fun. I think at some point down the road, I might like to have you on again and talk some more. There's probably four or five more questions that I still have in my head. I'd love to talk about. But this is super interesting. If people are trying to find you and find your communities, what's the best way to do it?Kevin Klinkenberg (01:05:09.084)ThriveAllenCounty.org. You can find out everything about the organization that I work for and you can connect with all of my colleagues there. You can email me at Jared, J-A-R-E-D at ThriveAllenCounty.org. And that's the best way to get in touch with me. I'm on LinkedIn because I'm trying to be a grownup right now. But other than that, I am willfully disengaged from social media.beyond that, for minutes, not because I'm a rural lead, but because I'm trying to protect my peace in that way. So shoot me an email, find my phone number on, on the internet. And I'd love, I'd love to talk to you. If you are rural and you want to argue with me about this stuff, please, if you are a person living in a different context and you want to chat more about this, I would love to do so. Fantastic. Jared, thanks so much.Good luck with everything and I'll definitely make a point to bring the family down and come visit one of these days. Sounds great. Thank you so much Kevin. Thanks Get full access to The Messy City at kevinklinkenberg.substack.com/subscribe

Can you believe it's our second anniversary episode? And our fiftieth? We're celebrating both, and we have a very special guest who makes an appearance. We're discussing our namesake movie, TapeHeads, a fairly obscure 1988 cult classic film starring John Cusack and Tim Robbins as two guys who want to get into the business of making rock music videos. It also stars Sam Moore and Junior Walker as their musical idols the Swanky Modes. The soundtrack is fantastic (Todd owns it on vinyl, CD, and cassette), and the score is by Fishbone, who appear in a scene as a country band. Comparatively few people have seen this underdog of a movie, and we're thrilled to be able to share it with you. Am I crying? Well, it wouldn't surprise me if I was. Let's get into trouble, baby! (TapeHeads fact checker here: Bird is the movie about Charlie Park, obviously. The Dexter Gordon movie is 'Round Midnight.) Connect with us a tapeheadspod.com RELATED LINKS: TapeHeads, at IMDB The excellent TapeHeads soundtrack, on YouTube

In this episode, host Michael Barnard engages in an enlightening conversation with Michael Raynor, co-author of The Innovator's Solution and an expert in carbon reduction strategies. Raynor shares his personal journey into sustainability, the evolution of his focus on decarbonization, and his current work developing innovative solutions for addressing corporate carbon challenges. A key topic in the discussion is the Raynor's new firm, S3 Markets, which emphasizes the need to decarbonize upstream commodities to meet net zero commitments. Rayner highlights the difficulty corporations face in managing Scope 3 emissions and suggests shifting from traditional carbon offsets to “insets,” where companies pool small investments to make a meaningful impact. This approach targets the 80-90 high-emission commodities responsible for the bulk of industrial emissions, which make up 15% of global GDP.The conversation takes a practical turn as Raynor discusses Mississauga's hydrogen bus pilot program. He recounts how he identified potential issues with the initiative and reached out directly to the city's mayor and council. His insights led to an invitation to present his findings to the Mississauga City Council on October 30th. The conversation turns to Barnard's dive into the CUTRIC (Canadian Urban Transit Research and Innovation Consortium) in advancing urban transit decarbonization through research and policy recommendations, as well as some red flags.Barnard and Raynor explore the financial and environmental trade-offs between hydrogen and battery-electric buses. Barnard provides a critical analysis of data from California and the EU's JIVE program, showing that hydrogen buses come with significant costs for refuelling infrastructure and maintenance. Comparatively, for the cost of five hydrogen buses, municipalities could procure twelve battery-electric buses, making the latter more attractive both financially and environmentally.The episode wraps up with a closer look at CUTRIC's recent report for Brampton, where Barnard identifies questionable assumptions about hydrogen system costs. One factor alone, the cost assumption for gray hydrogen could have a $200 million swing, dwarfing the $10 million variance called out justifying a blended hydrogen + battery electric fleet instead of a battery electric only fleet.Raynor examines the varying carbon costs of different hydrogen types—gray, blue, and green—and emphasizes the importance of carefully choosing technologies based on actual benefits. The battery-electric buses offer superior emissions reduction per dollar spent. 

Cáel deals with wounds, lies and the clash of cultures.In 25 parts, edited from the works of FinalStand.Listen and subscribe to the ► Podcast at Connected..“The words 'I love you' inspires joy, relief and terror.”I missed my entry to the infirmary. I was returned to clarity by the two female attendants. The younger went straight to cutting my left pants leg off while the oldest Amazon I'd seen to date began an excellent rendition of 'beef' inspector while pretending to be a physician. It was almost hilarious when she looked to Sydney, addressing her in Old Kingdom Hittite."Was he being disciplined, or did he do something stupid?""I did something stupid," I griped. "I showed up to work today." Since it was their native tongue, both of the medical attendants' eyes bugged out."He volunteered to help Aya of Epona with her archery lessons by letting her shoot at a fruit out of his hand," Sydney related."This; this isn't a wound caused by a practice arrow," the physician observed."No, that was from Leona of Marda. She attempted to kill him. When Leona threatened his controller, he presented himself for slaughter," Sydney clarified. "Hayden stopped Leona, Leona disobeyed and we need to plan Leona's funerary arrangements now.""How did you come to speak our language?" the junior attendant asked. The tone of her voice and the look in her eyes was chilling and sensual at the same time. It was chilling because of the transformation she went through as I went from a piece of equipment to a close approximation of a human being in her eyes. I was getting tired."Erotic poetry," I humored her. "I had a lover some time ago; a scholar; who wanted to share Old Kingdom Hittite; Amazon love poetry and songs in the voices of their creators. I know multiple languages no longer spoken."#Your eyes are stolen from the waterfalls descending from the highest mountains##Your hair robbed from the threads of the night sky##Your body is shaped by the Mother Rivers##Your beauty is the gift of the Goddess who knows both tears and love#I recited it in the original Chaldean Babylonian. They were all staring at me, so I translated it into Hittite. It didn't flow as smoothly."What language was that in?" the security guard inquired."Chaldean Babylonian. It is a love poem from a prince to his dead wife," I answered."It was nice, even eloquent," Sydney remarked."Wow," I sighed. "It is tragic to think not a single woman in this room has ever been romanced.""I am pretty sure every woman in this room has been with a man before," the security guard countered."After sex, what did the two of you talk about?" I regarded her."That's not what we use men for," the doctor spoke up while she began examining my wound. Pain. "We use artificial insemination and surrogates for procreation. Beyond directing them in our physical stimulation, there is no need to talk to men.""Oh," I mused sadly. "That makes sense and is richly rewarding to know. If I was more like the rest of you, I'd be laughing. Unfortunately, I have a heart and compassion, so I'll pity you all instead." The doctor didn't take my honestly well. "Ow! Good bedside; Ow!; manner there, Doc.""We don't need your pity," the security guard threatened."Sure, but then I've not bred myself into extinction out of fear of cuddling either," I grinned. "Treating men like livestock makes sense; if you are evil. You refused to allow yourselves to get attached to any male so it would be easier to kill us when our time came.""Tread carefully," Sydney cautioned me."Okay Sydney. Since you are the only female present capable of having offspring, I'll be good," I got in my parting shot. By the silence in the room, I had hit the nail on the head. "I apologize for disturbing you ladies. I'll be a good male and keep my mouth shut."That declaration didn't last long. Apparently pain-killers were not part of their medical credo. When I asked, the doctor implied I wasn't hurt nearly enough; in other words, not being amputated or decapitated. I asked if being castrated would earn me a hammer to the head. They smiled. They thought I was a funny guy once more. It was the whole 'laugh at death' mystique again.This tender, motherly moment was punctuated by the doctor's application of the staple gun (instead of stitches) to both entry and exit wounds. Sydney offered to give me something to bite down on. I insisted on sharing my pain as I screamed my lungs out during the torturous procedure."I thought you were a tough guy," the security guard sneered."And not screaming would have made me tough? Bitch, those are some fucked-up priorities. Screaming meant I didn't jolt when she was stapling my wounds shut. I've been stabbed and stitched enough to know that much," I glared.The assistant had been walking her hands over my body during the process."You have been stabbed fourteen times," she muttered."You missed the one on the right foot," I corrected."You've been stabbed fifteen times? What do you do?" Sydney wondered."I date women. You are a surprisingly dangerous breed, even without the extreme training you ladies possess," I confessed. "To be concise, I have the bad habit of dating women and their friends, acquaintances, and even family members; usually without their knowledge. It always ends badly; thus the wounds.""You betray the women you sleep with?" the doctor stared."We could banter terms and expectations about, but essentially 'yes', I do," I sighed."You seemed like such a well-behaved male," the security guard looked confused."Huh? What does my love of sex have to do with my demeanor?" I mused."I've never beat a lover, or forced myself on a woman. If you want to hold my lack of forthrightness against me, please remember you are part of a secret society that embraces kidnapping, rape and slaughter as daily practices," I smiled. "Comparatively, me not telling one woman that I'm dating her neighbor is small potatoes.""We do what we do out of necessity," the doctor insisted."That flimsy excuse is about as useful as 'you wouldn't understand; you aren't a woman/amazon/nutty-nut bar," I shook my head. "I give up. Your society has equaled, if not exceeded, every inhuman deed men have ever committed.""Congratulations; you have become crueler and more depraved than your enemies," I lauded them."Because of your ignorance, I will let that outburst go unpunished," Sydney stated. I wised up and shut up.My shirt was returned and they had to synch a large towel around my waist because my jeans were ruined and they didn't have scrubs in my size. They gave me my bloody dockers too. Sydney walked me to the front entrance. By the looks of the women we passed they knew something had happened, if not the precise nature.Security's opportunity to 'get me' on the way out was stymied by Caitlyn  and  family, Desiree, Tigger, and Buffy hanging around. The moment Aya saw me, she called out my name and came running. The only thing worse than the pain of her impacting me would have been the look on her face if I warded her off. I caught her in my arms and lifted her up."Cáel," she exclaimed. "Does it hurt?" I kept lifting her until I blew loudly on her belly."Does that hurt?" I teased her."No," she giggled."Then I'm fine. Really now, I've been hurt worse by a splinter from a toothpick," I exaggerated for her."You are lying to me," Aya shook her finger in my face."The lesson being 'don't lie to winners'," I sighed."Yep," Aya mimicked me. "Is our date for tonight still going to happen?""Oh; Aya, I can't," I groaned. "I've got three smoking hot babes coming over tonight.""Don't make me punch you," Europa play-threatened. She and Loraine had sneaked up on me while I was entertaining Aya."I don't know," Loraine gave a cautious laugh. "I like being called a smoking hot babe.""Aya, I really like you, but do you always have to drag those two around with you?" I wiggled Aya up in the air. "It's kind of creepy." She giggled."Those are my sisters, Silly," she snickered. "They will be your daughters one day too.""Time for us to go," Caitlyn intervened. As she ushered her children away, she shot me a look over my shoulder that strongly suggested she wanted to play house. Desiree moved to within a meter of me and looked me up and down."You are an idiot," she remarked, turned and left. I looked to Buffy."I'm your ride," Buffy snorted. I hobbled to her."I'm glad you are okay," Tigger waved then followed Desiree out."Thanks for a great time," I looked over my shoulder at the Amazons. "As soon as my blood supply has replenished, I'll be sure to come back and play some more."We were in the car, exiting Doebridge when Buffy finally spoke."Why do you keep thinking you can keep getting away with talking like;” she was glaring at me. "Oh Goddess; you really are laughing at death. You really believe you are going to die, don't you?""Absolutely. The moment they started chanting I realized it was unlikely I'd get out of this experience alive," I admitted."Why are you holding us to the 78 day rule?" she asked."Recall what I said about backbone, Buffy?" I reminded her."I am attached to the lifestyle I've created and I'm not going to change it to scrape out a few more days of existence," I grinned. "I hold Havenstone to that countdown because I would do it if I thought I was going to be okay." A few more minutes passed. I tried to cut the radio on. Buffy kept cutting it off. I was getting sick of it and my annoyance was showing."Did you really tell the whole dome that you would sleep with me first?" she whispered."Of course," I replied. "I said that was my intention at work and I mean to keep to it.""What about Hayden?" she asked."Well, unless you agree to a three-way, I think this is going to be an issue we'll have to work around," I shrugged."I'm not even sure I like you," Buffy mumbled. "I want you. I am not sure I like you, though.""Buffy, that's fine," I murmured. I unbuckled my seatbelt and began twisting around in my seat. My thigh was killing me, but I was a man on a mission. I put my head in Buffy's lap, gazing up at her."What are you doing?" she grinned."Annoying you; taking advantage of you; take your pick," I smiled. We drove for a while.

Bad things, worse things and making the best of what you got.In 25 parts, edited from the works of FinalStand.Listen and subscribe to the ► Podcast at Connected..  “Suddenly knowing you are about to die, rarely does anyone any good.”(Thursday)I slipped out of bed, preparing for the trip to the shower when I stepped out and saw Timothy and this black guy I didn't know doing a soft porn version of me and Rhada. Timothy was sleepily amused. His date was anything but."I thought you weren't seeing anyone?" he said in a thick Caribbean accent."That's my roommate," Timothy snorted. "My straight roommate." What can I say, I'm really good looking."I am, Dude," I promised. "I have a girl in my bed and everything. Hell, I didn't even know what the Village Voice was until last night."Timothy laughed. His date was still pissed. Timothy gave his date a final kiss the guy barely accepted. I made for the shower. When I came out, Timothy was in his bathrobe sitting on the sofa."Whoops," I shrugged. This was the first date I'd seen him on since moving in."Better to know they are the jealous kind before I invest too much time," Timothy sighed. "He is beautiful and great in bed. He's also in total denial and now jealous. I won't be returning his calls." I sat down on the sofa next to Timothy and gave him a man-bump."Sorry, Bro. Better luck next time," I consoled him."How many ladies was it last night?" Timothy muttered. He knew I was 'ambitious'."Five; wait, what is the age of consent in this state again?" I grinned."Ah, fuck," Timothy shook his head. "If the cops coming busting down the door; ""Funny you would say that," I chuckled. "Another one is a cop.""Bro, you have a death wish. Cops do background checks and carry guns," he laughed."Her mom is a cop too," I informed him. He shook his head some more."Death wish," he mumbled then headed for the shower. Comparatively, the ride to work was bland and uneventful. I was clever enough to change before setting foot in the Executive Services section.I arrived with two minutes to spare and I was still the last person to arrive. Katrina was at her desk, Desiree was on the sofa and the security team leader from yesterday and one of her aides were sitting in the chairs in front of Katrina."Come stand beside me," Katrina said. I walked over with the added benefit that no one gave any notice of my movements."Cáel, how did you feel about the exercise yesterday morning?" Katrina began."First off, I don't know these ladies' names," I said. Katrina looked at them. Clearly the two were one step above resenting every breath I took."Elsa," the leader stated."Constanza," her aide replied. I bowed my head to Elsa."Elsa, I apologize for my rash words to you, my attitude and any disgrace I put upon either Katrina and/or Desiree," I pled. "I have no excuse." That seemed to have screwed the two new ladies up. Desiree snorted. Katrina had no reaction. I could hear Elsa grind her teeth."Come between me and a charge again and I will kill you," Elsa glared."Come after a charge of mine I'll make you earn it," I snapped back."Only Katrina is keeping you alive at this moment," Elsa stood up as did Constanza."Really?" I sneered. "Katrina, please fire me. I need to take out the trash.""Cáel kneel," Katrina ordered so I knelt."This was a waste of time," Elsa grumbled."Elsa, you scored Cáel at a 92%," Katrina offered."92 out a 1000," I muttered."No, you idiot," Desiree sighed. "It was stated as a percentage. Try and act your age." Katrina coughed in surprised amusement. I thought Desiree being so verbose this early in the morning was the cause."What did he get wrong?" Katrina mused. "It is in your report. I want you to tell him.""He ignored his initial instinct to retire to the dwelling, he failed to issue orders to his charges, he missed his partner going down, and he reloaded before his clip was empty," she detailed."How many current members of the security detail have scored higher on their initial trial?" Katrina persisted. There was a long pause."One; me," Elsa answered. I was impressed; with myself. I had the inbred instincts to get myself killed for people who hated me. I snickered."You find something amusing?" Katrina looked at me."In retrospect, I should have realized it was a test. Come on, I don't have a gun license, no serious firearms training and the vast majority of Havenstone personnel hate my guts," I explained my humor. "There was no realistic way I would be assigned to guard kids.""I'm so used to being treated like shit here, I missed the obvious," I concluded. Another pause."Why did you break cover to tackle Loraine? You abandoned Aya and Europa," Elsa asked."I wasn't really thinking about it," I answered. "I saw her in the open, in danger, and I had the other two crouched down next to the car. I leapt. Sorry, it was nothing more complicated than that.""What did you think when you saw Desiree lying on the ground?" Elsa prodded."Crap; ah," I tried to recall. "Nothing really. I noticed the one woman to the North still standing. I wanted to kill her then roll over and shoot the two to the South.""They would have killed you," Constanza informed me."As opposed to what? I mistakenly thought I had bullets," I shrugged. "While I had any chance I had to keep fighting.""You could have surrendered?" Elsa studied me."You wouldn't have. Why should I?" I responded."You are not me in so many relevant ways," Elsa stated. Desiree gave an infinitesimal groan."Don't worry about it," I nodded. "Despite your failings, I'm still willing to accept you as an equal.""That is a deadly insult," Elsa seethed."Oh, look," I came back with a predatory grin, "you're angry. Kind of the way I am having done a bang up job only to have you belittle my performance despite having no training, or warning. Believing you are better than me because you have tits makes as much sense as me thinking that having a dick makes you the weaker sex. Its bigotry and stupid. Worse, it is a tactical flaw.""Tell me," Katrina rose up majestically, "that his last three sentences make no sense. Please, lie to me and say the man is wrong." Elsa didn't respond. "I asked you to test his instincts and you gave him the second hardest test we have and that's only because I vetoed the hardest. If you honestly think he cannot help us, make that pledge now." Another pause."He hit everything he aimed at," Elsa suddenly volunteered. "It was all close range. He didn't panic and he never left mission. If he had tits, I would have been impressed. I am still opposed to him having a weapon. His attitude is also grating.""I have to work with him," Desiree complained."If I express to Hayden the possibility that those men who pass Security testing be allowed to be trained with weapons, will you support me?" Katrina requested."Never!" Elsa exclaimed."Thank you for your opinion and honesty, Elsa," Katrina nodded. "I will see you later."The two security experts left the room."Stand," Katrina sighed. I stood. "You gave it your best shot, I know. Do not trouble yourself with doubts, Cáel Nyilas. No attitude you could have taken would have altered her thinking in the slightest.""Huh?" I mumbled. Katrina looked at me. My grin was infectious. "Sorry, did you say something? I was visually evaluating their potential as they were leaving the room." Translation: I was scoping out their muscular asses as they sauntered out the door. Paula and Daphne walked in."Cáel, do not talk about your activity yesterday morning, or of the events this morning with anyone," Katrina ordered. I nodded. I made for my desk but Katrina stopped me. In the same manner, she requested that Desiree stay. Three minutes before seven, the last new hire arrived, Violet."Everyone except Desiree, Daphne and Cáel leave the room. I will summon you back in a few minutes," Katrina commanded. Confused and curious, the other new hires left the room. As the door shut, she had Daphne secure the lock while she drew forth a folded piece of paper which she unfolded and handed to me. Wow, I had never thought I'd see my death sentence yet here it was."Read it," she demanded. Yes, I was boned."These are the words of Katrina, daughter of Sedona, granddaughter of Andromeda of the House of Epona, First Bearer of the Sun Spear through the Halls of Night and Death;” followed by a series of awards, accolades and honors I could barely fathom the importance of.I read it in the language it was written as this was clearly Katrina's intent. Desiree scooted to the edge of the sofa cushion. Daphne's eyes were wide, exhibiting the spectrum of excitement, fear and amazement. She spoke first."You got the 'uh' wrong," Daphne corrected me. "It is 'Andromadu' in our tongue, not 'Andromeda'.""Well this makes a few things make a lot more sense," Desiree mumbled."Katrina," Daphne gulped. "You didn't teach him, did you?""No. It was Dr. Kimberly Geisler of Bolingbrook College who taught him; so they could read erotic poetry to one another," Katrina revealed. "He was never her student; in a classroom.""Cáel not only speaks four current languages (French, Spanish, and Russian), he also is fluent in ten dead ones," Katrina related. "Dr. Geisler and I had a long chat last night. Once she opened up, she was quite informative and full of praise for our new hire."Daphne blathered something while looking at me expectantly.When I didn't respond she became disappointed. Then it hit me."You are translating from the Coptic, aren't you?" I questioned."Yes," I had her intense attention once more."What you meant to say was 'may the blessed Isis bring understanding with this greeting'," I translated for her into New Kingdom Egyptian."Once you get to Coptic you have so much Macedonian/Ptolemaic influence it is far beyond New Kingdom Egyptian," I added."

Shareholders and directors each have unique roles and responsibilities within a company, yet people often confuse the two. As we discuss this in the episode, we aim to clarify these distinctions for UK companies. However, these principles apply broadly to companies outside the UK as well.Defining Shareholders and DirectorsFirstly, shareholders are the actual owners of the company, holding shares that signify their ownership stake. They may be individuals or entities, and their liability typically extends only to unpaid shares. Comparatively, directors handle the day-to-day management of the company. Appointed by shareholders, they implement strategy, make decisions, and hold legal responsibilities in line with the Companies Act.Roles and ResponsibilitiesShareholders' RolesNotably, shareholders primarily provide investment and vote on significant decisions, including director appointments and any alterations to the articles of association. Consequently, they share in company profits through dividends. Their role remains generally passive in day-to-day operations unless they also serve as directors.Directors' ResponsibilitiesDirectors, on the other hand, have an active role, managing daily operations, hiring staff, and negotiating contracts. Additionally, they hold legal obligations to act within their powers, promote company success, and avoid conflicts of interest. Any breach of these duties could result in personal liability, especially in cases of wrongful trading.Financial BenefitsShareholders benefit from dividends and any capital growth over time, while directors may receive salaries, bonuses, and other benefits. This separation clarifies both parties' financial stakes and obligations within the business.Summing It UpAltogether, shareholders own the company, providing investments and voting on major decisions, while directors manage daily operations and uphold legal responsibilities. Although these roles may overlap in smaller companies, understanding each role's distinct duties fosters smoother company operations.To gain more insights into managing roles and responsibilities in your business, listen to the I Hate Numbers podcastThis podcast uses the following third-party services for analysis: Chartable - https://chartable.com/privacy

EXCERPT:  Florida, which famously wore the mantle of a swing state in previous elections, has recently been experiencing a more definitive sway towards the Republican camp. By Friday afternoon, early voting tally revealed an impressive lead for the Republicans, with nearly 800,000 more votes cast than their Democrat counterparts. Early and mail-in ballots amounted to a sum of 7,090,301 registrations, demonstrating a fervent engagement from the electorate. Delving into the particulars, the Republican representation constituted a remarkable 44.39 percent of the tally, with 3,147,542 ballots posted. Comparatively, Democrats found themselves composing a less significant, yet substantial part of the picture, peppering the ballot boxes with 32.78 percent amounting to 2,323,954 votes in total. The remaining 20.51 percent emerged from voters choosing not to affiliate with either party, tallying at 1,454,566. When focusing on the approach of casting ballots, conspicuous trends emerge. Early in-person voting was a favored method for Republicans, with nearly 2.2 million choosing to exercise their vote in this way. Democrats seemed more cautious, with a mere 1.2 million making their selection in person. On the other hand, Democrats found solace in voting remotely, turning to postal services for their electoral contribution. Their tally through mail-in voting was marginally higher, standing at approximately 1.1 million, compared to the Republican count of 948,000. These figures signify the varying levels of comfort and preference in voting methodology among parties. Read more on Real News Now: https://realnewsnow.com/florida-early-voting-surge-republicans-lead-with-800k-more-votes-than-democrats/  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

To receive, to give, to experience. With him and with others. Maybe we should shift our focus there for a deep breath from the tough stuff that is attempting to hold us down. SUBSCRIBE to our sister podcasts:Your Daily Prayer: https://www.lifeaudio.com/your-daily-prayer/Your Daily Bible Verse: https://www.lifeaudio.com/your-daily-bible-verse/ Full Transcript Below Finding Relief in the Focus of What Matters Most By Keri Eichberger Bible Reading Jesus replied: “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.' This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.'” - Matthew 22:37-39 It was a song I hadn't heard in years. Until a recent quick drive across town when my phone connected to CarPlay, and somehow the shuffle function turned to an old familiar Carrie Underwood tune. The words I'd once sung without so much as a second thought, suddenly captivated me with an “aha” moment. It was this sweet line: “When you figure out love is all that matters after all, it sure makes everything else seem so small.” I had been facing some hard life challenges. An unforeseen financial downfall that had hit our circumstances like a freight train, causing all sorts of difficult decisions, suffocating setbacks, and loads of comfort-cuts so to speak. Yet, this whole mess followed a major close call of loss of a loved one, fell in the midst of others in my intimate circle dealing with devastating health declines, and all surrounded by a swelling sense of God‘s presence and loving hand over it all. So when these lyrics grazed my heart, it hit me. Comparatively half of what's been holding me down in the dumps is vastly unimportant. But the loves of my life–love, is what really matters. People are what matter most. Our love for God and others–love from God and others–all of this is what actually matters. And as I become more aware and acknowledge this truth, everything else does seem much smaller. Is there some stuff going on in your world right now, clogging up the joyful halls of your heart too? Cares that, if you're being honest, have less to do with a focus on God‘s love, or love for his people, and more to do with worldly gain or a concern with the lack thereof. Maybe consumption with a job search, details of some project, our country's political state, or uncertainty of your financial future? You know, the lines of Carrie's song definitely aren't directly out of the Bible, but I think we could agree that love might matter most to God too. Hence his greatest commandments mentioned in Matthew Chapter 22, to love God and others.  Not that he doesn't care about all the other things you're struggling through right now. Because quite the opposite is true—he most certainly sees and cares for it all. But, if you're anything like me, you may gladly welcome this perspective shift for a moment. Because becoming consumed with anything of the world can absolutely start to drive us all crazy.  If you think about it—the other stuff we get all worked up over that starts to seem to matter so much. What is it that we are really wanting with, and from, it all? I think deep down we are wanting and reaching for relief. And we seek relief because we long for the comfort it brings. And how do we ultimately receive and experience true comfort? I think it's from love. The fullness of love that only God can give. And here's what's beautiful—something also reflected in the chorus of the same song, “What you've been out there searching for forever is in your hands.” God's love is in our very hands. We already have it. To receive, to give, to experience. With him and with others. Maybe we should shift our focus there for a deep breath from the tough stuff that is attempting to hold us down. Intersecting Faith & Life: Think for a minute about the people in your life that you love. And those God has graced you with their love. You know they matter more than anything else the world wants to weigh you down with, don't you? I pray you can find some precious relief you've been praying for at this very moment as you set your eyes and focus on them, on him, on what matters most. This, this love, is at your fingertips, in your hands, and in your heart. Always with you. God, God's love, God's people, and the blessing of being able to love them all back. Thank you, Lord. Amen. Discover more Christian podcasts at lifeaudio.com and inquire about advertising opportunities at lifeaudio.com/contact-us.

David Klein is the Director of Business Development for ConsulTV. David began his advertising journey running his own business doing print advertising and Google Adwords. Comparatively, the shift to programmatic advertising will be to traditional media as pay per click advertising was to the Yellow Pages. He is glad to be in a position to partner with agencies and help them maximize this enormous opportunity.  ConsulTV's platform serves paid media advertising with a focus on streaming TV ads and OTT. Because of buying volume and 100's of private placement deals, we reduce our clients' CPMs and provide more robust targeting and reporting.Connect with David on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/davidkleinsalesleader Visit ConsulTV: https://www.consult.tv/ On This Episode, We Discuss…The Seismic Shift from Traditional TV Ads to Streaming PlatformsHow Brands Can Adapt to the New Age of Digital MarketingTargeted Advertising in Streaming TVOptimizing Campaigns with Web Lift Pixels

This series is sponsored by Mira and Daniel Stokar, and this episode is sponsored by dailygiving.org.In this episode of the 18Forty Podcast, we talk to musician Matisyahu Miller—known as “Matisyahu”—who has publicly re-embraced his Judaism and Zionism since October 7.Matisyahu's public persona has long been subject to scrutiny and analysis. Comparatively few people, though, have listened to his story in depth. In this episode we discuss:How has the public expression of Matisyahu's Jewish identity ebbed and flowed throughout his life?Is there anything Matisyahu would change about the Orthodox community?How has the inwardness of Matisyahu's Jewish identity guided him throughout his life?Tune in to hear a conversation about what it means to be, in Matisyahu's words, “a pnimius Yid.”Grammy-nominated artist Matisyahu is a singer, songwriter, rapper, and alternative rock musician. He's known for his skill in blending reggae and hip hop as he provides a raw expression of his spirituality. His long and winding career consists of seven albums including chart-topping Light, Youth, Spark Seeker, Akeda, and Undercurrent with hits such as "One Day", "Sunshine", and "King Without A Crown". Through his lyrics, Matisyahu develops a personal, artistic, and sophisticated way to express the yearning for deep spiritual meaning, and as his own beliefs opened up to find more variety and depth, the desire for his performances to match the unpredictable flow of life developed as well. References:The Office Light by MatisyahuAkeda by MatisyahuHoly Brother: Inspiring Stories and Enchanted Tales about Rabbi Shlomo Carlebach by Yitta Halberstam MandelbaumThe Sabbath by Abraham Joshua HeschelPolitics Of Experience by R.D. Laing"Spiritual Schadenfreude: The Case of Matisyahu's Beard" by David BashevkinBecome a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/18forty-podcast--4344730/support.

Against all better judgment, David refuses to give up on Ian!Yes, the guys are back to review another new movie that the persistent and persuasive Mr. Fowlie hopes will make a believer out of our resident sourpuss.Unfortunately, the film at hand is the latest Netflix actioner, Rebel Ridge! Aaron Pierre stars as a stoic martial arts badass whose bike trip through Redneckville becomes a week-long gauntlet of extortion, corruption, revenge, and more tough-guy glowering than a thousand furrowed brows.It's not surprising that Ian didn't respond to this one; what is shocking is that Rebel Ridge was directed by one of his favorite filmmakers, Jeremy Saulnier Blue Ruin, Green Room). The new movie represents a departure for the indie visionary, whose blood-drenched, off-the-wall crime operas made him one of the new century's most exciting young voices. Comparatively squeaky clean in its presentation, Rebel Ridge is so lacking in Saulnier's hallmarks as to be more of a dare than a sensical film.Watch as the guys talk Rambo, rural Internet, "factoid screenwriting", and the inherent magical properties of coconut water!Subscribe, like, and comment to the Kicking the Seat YouTube channel, and check out kickseat.com for multiple movie podcasts each week!Show LinksWatch the Rebel Ridge trailer.Follow David Fowlie's film criticism at Keeping It Reel.Plus! Listen to Ian and David's other recent (and very raucous) reviews of:Duchess (2024)The Old Oak (2024)What Remains (2024)Plus! Plus! Listen to previous Kicking the Seat reviews of Jeremy Saulnier's movies!Murder Party and Blue RuinGreen Room and Hold the Dark

In PnA tradition, one of your hosts has bought a new car, Guild Wars 2 has a new expansion, and we talk a bunch about WoW. Finally, the post-show turns out to be expensive for Chris.   Guild Wars 2: Janthir Wilds WoW: The War Within Season 1 Overview Stream Deck Stuff Pedal Stream Deck+ XLR Dock USB Hub

The Rich Zeoli Show- Hour 1: 3:05pm- As we approach the 3-year anniversary of the Biden Administration's disastrous withdrawal from Afghanistan—which resulted in 13 U.S. soldiers being killed—a clip has resurfaced of Vice President Kamala Harris stating she was the “last person in the room” with President Joe Biden before the decision was made. Will voters hold her accountable for the Biden Administration's foreign policy failures? 3:15pm- On Wednesday, vice-presidential candidate J.D. Vance spoke at a campaign rally in Kent County, Michigan—where one local trucker explained that Biden-Harris economic policies, which have led to rampant inflation, made financial life difficult for him and his community. 3:30pm- Rich will be on Fox News Saturday with Jimmy Failla this weekend. Will Matt FINALLY tune in?   3:40pm- While interviewing Michael Tyler—Communications Director for the Harris-Walz campaign—CNN host Jim Acosta hilariously asked: “Would it kill you guys to have a press conference?” 3:50pm- Will the 2024 presidential race between Donald Trump and Kamala Harris be the shortest in modern U.S. history? Joe Biden made his decision to drop out of the race on July 21st. Comparatively, Lydon Banes Johnson announced his decision not to seek reelection much earlier in the election cycle: March 31st. 3:55pm- Kamala's Economic Message is Purposefully Light on Detail: Jim Tankersley and Andrew Duehren of The New York Times write, “Vice President Kamala Harris's sudden ascent to the top of the Democratic ticket has generated a host of questions about her economic agenda, including how much she will stick to the details of President Biden's positions, tweak them, or chart entirely new ones. When she begins to roll out her policy vision this week, Ms. Harris is likely to answer only some of those questions. During an economy-focused speech on Friday in Raleigh, N.C., Ms. Harris will outline a sort of reboot of the administration's economic agenda, according to four people familiar with Ms. Harris's plans. She will lay out an approach relatively light on details, they said.” You can read the full article here: https://www.nytimes.com/2024/08/14/us/politics/kamala-harris-economy-north-carolina.html

The Rich Zeoli Show- Full Episode (08/14/2024): 3:05pm- As we approach the 3-year anniversary of the Biden Administration's disastrous withdrawal from Afghanistan—which resulted in 13 U.S. soldiers being killed—a clip has resurfaced of Vice President Kamala Harris stating she was the “last person in the room” with President Joe Biden before the decision was made. Will voters hold her accountable for the Biden Administration's foreign policy failures? 3:15pm- On Wednesday, vice-presidential candidate J.D. Vance spoke at a campaign rally in Kent County, Michigan—where one local trucker explained that Biden-Harris economic policies, which have led to rampant inflation, made financial life difficult for him and his community. 3:30pm- Rich will be on Fox News Saturday with Jimmy Failla this weekend. Will Matt FINALLY tune in?   3:40pm- While interviewing Michael Tyler—Communications Director for the Harris-Walz campaign—CNN host Jim Acosta hilariously asked: “Would it kill you guys to have a press conference?” 3:50pm- Will the 2024 presidential race between Donald Trump and Kamala Harris be the shortest in modern U.S. history? Joe Biden made his decision to drop out of the race on July 21st. Comparatively, Lydon Banes Johnson announced his decision not to seek reelection much earlier in the election cycle: March 31st. 3:55pm- Kamala's Economic Message is Purposefully Light on Detail: Jim Tankersley and Andrew Duehren of The New York Times write, “Vice President Kamala Harris's sudden ascent to the top of the Democratic ticket has generated a host of questions about her economic agenda, including how much she will stick to the details of President Biden's positions, tweak them, or chart entirely new ones. When she begins to roll out her policy vision this week, Ms. Harris is likely to answer only some of those questions. During an economy-focused speech on Friday in Raleigh, N.C., Ms. Harris will outline a sort of reboot of the administration's economic agenda, according to four people familiar with Ms. Harris's plans. She will lay out an approach relatively light on details, they said.” You can read the full article here: https://www.nytimes.com/2024/08/14/us/politics/kamala-harris-economy-north-carolina.html 4:05pm- After several days of Rich complaining about his upcoming trip to the DNC Convention in Chicago, Illinois, Barrett Media hilariously wrote a piece documenting the dreaded trip. “At this point, I don't even care. I can care less. You go to these things and you see (Dan) Bongino has like 50 people with him. Clay (Travis) and Buck (Sexton) have like 50 people helping them, 37 different assistants in person getting coffee and water…We can barely plug in our equipment on our own. Sean Hannity and all the Fox News personalities are treated like royalty. I don't mind.” You can read the full article here: https://barrettmedia.com/2024/08/14/rich-zeoli-im-not-excited-in-the-least-to-broadcast-live-from-democratic-national-convention/ 4:10pm- Democrats Flee Philly, But Take Their Far-Left Policies to the Suburbs: According to a story featured in The Philadelphia Inquirer, more and more Democrats are fleeing Philadelphia—many citing high crime rates and failing public schools—and opting instead to live in the suburbs. However, despite the obvious policy failures in Philly, these new suburbanites are taking their far-left policies with them! 4:15pm- Speaking from Asheville, North Carolina on Wednesday, Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump highlighted his proposed economic policies—including ending taxes on tips and Social Security payments. During the event, Trump said of his political opponents: “MAGA is make America great again. Why would you want to stop that?” He also pledged to “make American affordable again” and blamed the Biden-Harris administration for adopting policies that are killing the American dream—noting that credit card debt is higher than it has ever been 4:45pm- During a CNN 2020 presidential town hall, Kamala Harris proudly declared she would ban fracking as president. Her 2024 campaign now claims a fracking ban is no longer part of her agenda. Can Pennsylvanians trust her? 5:00pm- Dr. Wilfred Reilly— Professor of Political Science at Kentucky State University & Author of “Lies My Liberal Teacher Told Me”—joins The Rich Zeoli Show. Did a racist “Southern Strategy” really cause the south to vote Republican? Dr. Reilly debunks the popularized myth. Plus, cancel culture attempted to ruin Kansas Chief Harrison Butker—now he is the highest paid kicker in the NFL. You can purchase Dr. Reilly's newest book here: https://a.co/d/7aYtYwN 5:40pm- CNN polling analyst Harry Enten explains that Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump likely has greater support than polls currently show—noting that in 2016 and 2020 pollsters consistently underestimated his support, particularly in swing states. 5:50pm- Democrats Throw RFK Jr. Off the Ballot in NY: Rebecca Davis O'Brien, Jesse McKinley, and Jay Root of The New York Times write: “Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s independent presidential campaign was dealt a blow on Monday when a judge ruled that his petition to appear on New York's ballot was invalid, saying Mr. Kennedy had used a “sham” address to maintain his New York residency. The ruling, if it stands, would keep Mr. Kennedy off the ballot in a state where he lived for much of his adult life and could endanger his efforts to be placed on the ballot in dozens of other states. He has three days to appeal the decision, handed down by a judge in Albany, N.Y. A group of New York residents—backed by Clear Choice, a Democrat-aligned political action committee—had challenged Mr. Kennedy's New York residency, arguing that his campaign had used a false address on the tens of thousands of nominating petitions it circulated and submitted to place him on the ballot.” You can read the full article here: https://www.nytimes.com/2024/08/12/nyregion/robert-f-kennedy-jr-new-york-residency.html 6:05pm- In a recent interview with The Washington Post, former Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi was quoted as telling Republicans: “We're out to get you, you're dead.” The outlandish rhetoric comes one month after Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump was nearly assassinated while speaking in Butler, PA. You can read the article here: https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2024/08/10/nancy-pelosi-memoir-trump/ 6:20pm- In several recently unearthed clips, Minnesota Governor Tim Walz can be heard exaggerating his military record. In one instance Waltz states: “We can make sure those weapons of war, that I carried in war, is the only place where those weapons are out.” Walz has never seen combat—retiring from the National Guard before he would have deployed to Iraq. 6:30pm- Why does Donald Trump keep talking about Hannibal Lecter? The Washington Post investigated why Trump has referenced the fictional serial killer in some of his recent speeches—answering a question that literally no one ever asked. Why did they waste their own time on this? You can read the article (if you really want to) here: https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2024/08/14/why-trump-keeps-talking-about-fictional-serial-killer-hannibal-lecter/ 6:50pm- During a CNN 2020 presidential town hall, Kamala Harris proudly declared she would ban fracking as president. Her 2024 campaign now claims a fracking ban is no longer part of her agenda. Can Pennsylvanians trust her?

Welcome to this special mini-episode of Hort Culture, where your hosts Alexis and Ray dive into the world of bokashi composting. Today, Alexis shares her fascination with this Japanese method that ferments organic waste, including items typically not compostable. She's intrigued by its efficiency and how it enriches soil without the foul odors associated with traditional composting. Comparatively, bokashi is quicker and can handle a wider variety of waste, making it a superb option for urban gardeners. Join us as we explore this sustainable practice that's revolutionizing composting in small spaces!Bokashi methodQuestions/Comments/Feedback/Suggestions for Topics: hortculturepodcast@l.uky.eduCheck us out on Instagram!

Which creatures living in the ocean are the biggest? Do we know them well? Everyone's talking about the Meg saying it's the biggest shark ever. but the question is: is it that big? Or there're other inhabitants of the ocean depth way bigger? Spoiler: there are! It might be difficult to imagine but Megalodon could grow to a maximum total length of about 15 to 18 meters. Comparatively, the great white shark typically measures more than 6 meters in length. Also, according to researchers, megalodon could be counter-shaded to better blend into its surroundings fro both above and below when on the hunt.   Music by Epidemic Sound https://www.epidemicsound.com/ Subscribe to Bright Side : https://goo.gl/rQTJZz ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Our Social Media: Facebook:   / brightside   Instagram:   / brightgram   5-Minute Crafts Youtube: https://www.goo.gl/8JVmuC Stock materials (photos, footages and other): https://www.depositphotos.com https://www.shutterstock.com https://www.eastnews.ru ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- For more videos and articles visit: http://www.brightside.me/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This is Part 3 of our Gishiwajinden Tour--following the route of the Wei embassy through the land of Wa and looking at the various locations along the way.  So far we've looked at the old land of Gaya, as represented at Gimhae, the site of the old Geumgwan Gaya, and the island of Tsushima, on the border.  This episode we look at the next island:  Iki. It might be easy to overlook Iki--it was neither the center nor exactly the periphery.  From the point of view of those in the court or those outside it was rather "mid", in a literal sense.  However, it was certainly at the center of its own vibrant history, which was certainly important to everyone there, and hosted a thriving community. It is also a great place to visit in the modern day: something of a hidden gem for anyone looking for a slightly more out of the way place to visit, with a slower pace than cities like Tokyo. For more, see our blog page:  https://www.sengokudaimyo.com/podcast/iki-koku Rough Translation: Welcome to Sengoku Daimyo's Chronicles of Japan.  My name is Joshua and this is Gishiwajinden Tour Part 3: Iki-koku. As regular listeners know, we are currently taking a break from the Chronicles.  With the Isshi Incident of 645—see Episode 107—we are about to get into the time known as “Taika” or “Great Change”.  Spoiler alert: This is the rise of Naka no Oe, aka Tenji Tennou; Nakatomi Kamako, aka Nakatomi Kamatari, the progenitor of the Fujiwara family; and more.  It is the beginning of what is known as the Ritsuryo System, the idea of a state governed by laws and punishments similar to what we see on the continent, based largely on Confucian principles, but mixed with a healthy dose of local tradition.  There is a lot there, and I want to do it justice.  And so for now I have a little bonus content for you. Earlier this year, Ellen and I took a trip based on the account in the Gishiwajinden, the Wa section of the Weizhi, the section in the Wei Chronicles regarding the trip to visit Queen Himiko of Wa.  In Part 1 we talked about our trip to Gimhae, formerly known as Geumgwan Gaya, a part of the old Gaya—or Kara—confederacy, with close ties to the archipelago.  Part 2 we talked about our next stop, the island of Tsushima.  But we didn't just talk about it in the 3rd century, because if you visit there is so much more to see from an historical perspective. This episode we are talking about the island of Iki, aka Ikijima, though in the Weizhi it is known as its own country:  Iki-koku. Relative to Tsushima, Iki island is much smaller—about one fifth the overall landmass.  However, it is much flatter as well—the highest point is only 212 meters above sea level, compared to Tsushima, which rises to about 649 meters at Mt. Yatate.  This makes Iki an island with a lot of flat land or rolling hills—perfect for the kind of wet rice paddy agriculture that created the population boom in the Yayoi period, which we will talk about here in a minute.  However, I will note that even today the population of Iki is similar to that of Tsushima despite having much less space. The flora and fauna of the island is much closer to that of the rest of the archipelago—in fact, it is nearly identical to what you would find in southwest Kyushu.  This is not surprising given how close it is.  For reference, Hitakatsu, on Tsushima is under 50km from Busan, Korea, and about 147 km to Hakata port in Fukuoka, or 138 km if you depart from Izuhara port instead.  Comparatively, it is about 76 km from Hakata to Iki, and even less—just about 42km—from Iki to Karatsu, south of Fukuoka, and these routes are dotted with islands along the way.  At its closest point, Iki is probably only 20km from Kyushu, but the ferries only stop at certain ports.  Tsushima to Iki, on the other hand, is around 68 km, from Izuhara to Iki.  Iki is about as close to Karatsu as Tsushima is to Pusan, and they are both further away from each other than from their respective larger landmasses.  That makes this leg – Tsushima to Iki - the longest leg in the trip, realistically. Today, both Iki and Tsushima, along with the Goto islands to the south, are all part of Nagasaki prefecture, despite the fact that they are both closer to Saga and Fukuoka prefectures.  This is in part because Iki came under the jurisdiction of the Hirado domain, which also was heavily involved with foreign trade through Nagasaki. Today, Iki is broken up into roughly four areas.  This includes Katsumoto, Ashibe, Indoji, and Gonoura, based around the four main port towns on the island.  Three of these ports, Ashibe, Indoji, and Gonoura, have ferries that regularly travel to either Tsushima or Kyushu. And all of them have various boats to take people out the islands around Iki, one of the major draws for many people coming to the island being to see the natural beauty of its coastline and surrounding waters.  There is also a small airport. Although Iki is small—you can drive from one end to the other in 40 minutes or less—I highly recommend renting a car, much like Tsushima.  This will be helpful to get to various sites, although be aware that while the main roads are well cared for, there are plenty of roads where it is better to go on foot rather than get stopped by fallen trees and branches in a less well maintained area.  Taxis can be had, but aren't always convenient, and that adds cost and time.  A car will give you much more freedom to get around. Iki is a popular tourist destination, with more people coming during the summer months.  We were there in the off-season, which was somewhat nice, but also meant that many restaurants and the like were closed.  Also, similar to Tsushima, there isn't a konbini—a convenience store—on every street corner.  You can certainly find them, but just be aware.  That said, we never really had a problem finding what we needed. Iki is known for several things.  One, perhaps unsurprisingly, is the squid, and you can see the squid boats in the harbor or out at night.  They have arrays of lights set up, to help draw the squid to the surface, a common technique around the world that makes squid fishing quite distinctive. In addition, Iki island is quite proud of its beef, a much more recent addition.  The flat land allows them to raise cattle, and the Iki raised wagyu cattle, known as Iki-gyu, is highly prized.  You can find several yakiniku restaurants around the island, that particular Japanese style of Korean barbecue where you grill up thinly sliced beef on a hot skillet or even an open grill at your table. An older product is the barley shochu.  Iki island is said to be the birthplace of barley shochu, developing it in the 17th century.  Back then, taxes from the island had to be paid in rice, and there wasn't enough left to make much alcohol, such as traditional sake.  As such, the local farmers started using barley and koji, instead, to make the base alcohol that they then distilled into shochu.  Shochu itself goes back to at least the 16th century, as distilling techniques reached southern Japan via either the Ryukyu kingdom or via the Korean peninsula—records are unclear, as these techniques reached both places before Japan, and Kyushu had connections to each.  That said, early shochu was made with rice, and later it would be made with cheaper ingredients, such as barley, in the case of Iki, or sweet potato, in Satsuma, modern Kagoshima.  These methods spread to other parts of Japan. There are plenty of other food options available on the island as well, and I don't think we had a bad meal anywhere we went. And so we left Izuhara port, on Tsushima, early in the morning and arrived at Ashibe port around lunchtime.  We had arranged a car to meet us at the port, and after grabbing a bite at a locally renowned yakinikuya, we decided to start getting our historical bearings on the island.   Our main objective on Iki island was to see the Yayoi site of Harunotsuji and the Iki-koku Museum, the museum of the country of Iki. Quick note for anyone looking this up:  The “Haru” in “Harunotsuji” is typically pronounced “Hara” outside of Kyushu and Okinawa.  This affects a lot of placenames in Kyushu, including Iki, and likely comes from remnants of an old dialect of Japanese spoken in this area.  Whatever the reason, if you look up the site in Japanese you may want to type “Hara-no-tsuji” to help find the right kanji. Harunotsuji site is an incredible find in regards to the Yayoi period.  It was a large settlement built on flat land in the interior of the island.  Today it is surrounded by rice fields, and fortunately nobody else seems to have built up on the raised hills where the settlement once stood, allowing the site to remain for us to find years later.  This is one of the better preserved sites from the Yayoi period, and is often touted as the likely center of activity in Iki during that period.  Of course, as with other sites, like Yoshinogari, we can only see those sites  that were preserved—those that were built upon in later generations may not have left any trace.  However, in this case there's clear evidence that there was a thriving community here.  And because of that, and the tremendous effort they've put into reconstructing the site, as well as the excellent museum, we wanted to make sure that we gave Iki a visit. There aren't many museums on Iki island, but the Iki-koku museum ranks up there with some of the best we've visited.  The building itself is built to blend into the landscape, and from the observation tower you can look out over the Harunotsuji site.  The museum provides an automated introduction to the area, with a small film depicting what they believe life was probably like back in the Yayoi period.  From there you travel down a hallway that takes you through the history of Iki, but eventually deposits you in a room focused on the Yayoi period.  Here they show a reconstructed boat, as well as a large diorama of the Harunotsuji site. One of the major finds at Harunotsuji is what appears to be a dock, reinforced with rocks, similar to what they find on the continent.  This dock was at a small stream that was once larger, and was likely used to ferry goods and people from Harunotsuji to a settlement or outpost on the shore.  It gives greater insight into what trade and life looked like. Speaking of which, props to the museum for their excellent use of often comical figures in their diorama, which is clearly made to appeal to young and old alike.  They help humanize the figures, and each part of the layout that they created of the site tells a story about what was going on. In addition to the diorama of the site, and what it may have looked like, there were also actual Yayoi era pots that were there which you could pick up and handle yourself.  I have to admit that I did this with some trepidation, even knowing that these were not particularly special, and that there are many pots and shards that are found at sites like these.  Still, it was something to actually handle a pot that was made back in that time—something that was made by an actual person living back then and used for whatever purpose before it was discarded or lost, only to be found centuries later.  Besides the room on the site, there is another side to the museum in that it is a working archaeological center.  You can see the lab where people are working, and they also have a room where you can see the stacks—the giant shelves with all of the historical and archaeological bits and bobs that weren't on display for one reason or another.  That is something that many people don't always appreciate:  For many museums, only a portion of their collection is actually on display.  It was really great to see all of that out in the open. The museum also has a café and some function rooms, as well as a giant observation tower, from which it feels like you can see the entire island, and beyond.  You could definitely look down and see the site, but you could also see some of the more distant islands as well. From the museum we went down to see the actual Harunotsuji site.  There is another museum there, which was a little less impressive but still quite informative, and it was where you park and then walk over to the site itself.  And here I admit that it was getting late, so we came back to it another day, but it doesn't really take that long to see the site itself. Most of the site sits on a rise of land that sits just a little higher than the surrounding fields, with a gentle slope to it.  It is oddly shaped, likely because they used the natural contours of the land rather than explicitly building up a terrace.  There is another rise towards one end of the settlement, with what may have been a fence around the area, indicating that the buildings in that area were set aside as special.  There are also ditches that appear to have been purposefully dug to separate a part of the rise from the area of the settlement, as buildings were apparently found on one side but not the other.  What was found was a small area surrounded by a moat, generally thought to have been used for some kind of ritual. At the site today are reconstructed buildings of multiple kinds, based on the archeological findings.  There are pit buildings, buildings sitting flush on the ground, as well as raised buildings, all based likely on the arrangements and size of post-holes and the like.  There also appears to have been some kind of gate or barrier structure, also based on postholes, which they have physically reconstructed. It is always tricky to interpret what a building looked like other than guessing at its general shape and size.  Extremely large post-holes likely held larger posts, which would make particular sense if they were for a tall structure, like a watchtower, but exact architectural features such as doorways, roof structure, etc. are derived based on other examples as well as Shinto shrine architecture, which seems to originate from some of the early Yayoi buildings. There were also some finds in the surrounding areas, including what appears to have been a stone-lined dock for boats to pull up, some kind of guard post to inspect people entering or leaving the settlement, and moats, which likely surrounded the settlement as well. Harunotsuji is not the only Yayoi site that has been excavated on Iki island, but nothing else is quite so large.  Put in context with other archaeological sites from the same time period, Harunotsuji is thought to have been the most powerful, and therefore where the ruler, or the quote-unquote “King”, of Iki would have lived. Here I'd note that the interpretation of Harunotsuji as a kingly capital is quite prevalent in the local literature, but what exactly was a “king” in this sense isn't fully explored.  As we talked about two episodes back with Gimhae and the quote-unquote “Kingdom” of Gaya, Iki-koku probably better fits the English term of a large chiefdom, rather than a kingdom.  However, that would also likely apply to Queen Himiko, as well—even if her chiefdom dwarfed Iki-koku by comparison. That said, there certainly appears to be a social stratification of some kind going on at the site, especially with a special area clearly set aside at one end of the settlement.  Was that where a shaman-king—or queen—similar to Himiko carried out private, arcane rites on behalf of the entire settlement?  Perhaps the entire island?  Or is it something else? Unfortunately, we can't really know, at least not right now.  However, we do know that it was an important part of the trade routes from the continent out to the archipelago.  This isn't just because of the Weizhi, or the common sense that this is the clearest route between the two, but also because of artifacts found at the site, which include abundant goods from the continent.  In addition we found evidence of dogs, armor, shields, and various pots. One thing I didn't see evidence of was a large funkyubo, like at Yoshinogari, where they buried people in pots on a large, communal cemetery mound.  Here the highest elevations appear to have been used for living structures.  There were graves discovered, and some of these were the pot-style burials found at Yoshinogari and the continent, and others were rectangular, stone-lined coffins, similar to those used on the Tsushima kofun:  they are lined with large, flat slabs that define a rectangle, into which the body is placed, and then flat slabs of stone are used to cover it back up. Harunotsuji shows signs of habitation from the start of the Yayoi period to the beginning of the Kofun period.  After that, though, the trail grows a bit cold. We do know, however, that people were still living on Iki through the Kofun period—we assume they didn't just pack up their bags and leave—and that is thanks to the many kofun found across the island.  There are some 280 kofun preserved today, and Edo period accounts had that number at more like 340.  Indeed, Iki has one of the largest and best preserved collection of kofun of all of Kyushu.   Many are smaller kofun, but there are plenty of groups of large kingly kofun.  A group of the larger kingly kofun can be found in the border area between Katsumoto-cho and Ashibe-cho, due west of Ashibe port.  This includes the large Soroku Kofun, Oni-no-iwaya Kofun, the Sasazuka Kofun, as well as the Kakegi kofun and the Yurihata Kofun-gun.  Soroku kofun, a large, keyhole shaped tomb, boasts a length of 91 meters, making it not only the largest on the island, but the largest in all of Nagasaki prefecture.   Kofun culture on the island differed slightly from elsewhere.  For instance, there is evidence of multiple burials in the same tomb, suggesting that they were viewed more like family mausoleums than  simply a single tomb structure. The earliest kofun found on Iki so far can be dated to about the latter half of the 5th century, with most of them being built in the 6th to 7th centuries.  Many are stone chambers with a horizontal entryway, which in the case of the Kakegi and Sasazuka kofun, are open to those who want to get in and explore.  Be aware, though, as many signs tell you, various local residents have also made these tombs their homes, including bats, centipedes, snakes, and more.  Most of them are relatively harmless, but it is always good to know what you are getting into. With the earliest kofun on the island dating to about the 5th century, this does pose a slight question yet to be answered by the archaeological record:  Where were people living in the century between the end of Harunotsuji and the start of the kofun building period?  Heck, where were people living on the island at all?  We certainly know where the dead were buried. Looking at a map, one probably assumes that many of the kingly kofun would have been built somewhat near a population center.  After all, you don't build giant burial mounds just to hide them—these would have likely been visible to people in some way, shape, or form.  I would note that modern roads, likely built on earlier pathways, wind in between the kofun, even today. Personally, I can't help but notice that the Iki Kokubunji temple, the Provincial temple built in the 8th century, was quite close to some of the kingly kofun in Katsumoto.  It is said that this temple was originally built as the family temple of the Iki clan.  As one might guess from the name, the Iki were the traditional rulers of Iki, officially appointed by Yamato as the “Agata-nushi” or district lord, and later as “Shima no Miyatsuko”—the island equivalent of a “Kuni no Miyatsuko”.  Various biographies trace the Iki back to various lineages close to or intertwined with the Nakatomi.  However, this is not without some debate, and it is entirely possible that any such ties were fabricated to give the Iki clan greater clout and stature.  It is possible, and even likely, that the Iki clan grew out of the ruling elite on Iki island. In addition, we have the old Tsukiyomi Jinja, said to be the oldest on the island, and the Kunikatanushi shrine built right next to the Kokubunji site.  The Tsukiyomi shrine is dedicated to the moon god, who is said to be the god of navigation, among other things, and this is the clan shrine of the Iki clan. It is unclear, but seems plausible that the center of the Iki polity may have shifted north, to the modern Kokubun area.  If so, and if this continued to be the area of the regional government headquarters through the Nara period and beyond, then it is possible that any earlier settlements would have simply been covered up and even erased by later buildings and structures.  I don't think we'll ever truly know, though, unless something significant is uncovered. We do have some historical records of later Iki, quite understandable as it was where many of the envoys and expeditions to and from the mainland would have stopped. In the 11th century, Iki, along with Tsushima, was attacked by pirates from the mainland, thought to be of Jurchen descent, in an event called the Toi Invasion, which caused quite a bit of destruction.  After that we see the rise of the Matsura clan.  They arose in the Matsura area of Hizen province, just a little ways over from Karatsu.  That name may be related to “Matsuro”, but we'll talk more about that when we get to Karatsu. The Matsura largely came to power thanks to their navy—which was a navy to some and pirates to others.  They ended up gaining a foothold in Iki island. Whatever plans they had, however, met with a giant setback in 1274.  As we discussed last episode, that was when the first Mongol invasion hit Japan, and after steamrolling through Tsushima they began a bloody conquest of Iki.  The video game, Ghosts of Tsushima, which we talked about fairly extensively last episode for, well, obvious reasons, actually has an expanded Iki island area for those who want to try fighting off this invasion for themselves.  There are numerous reminders across the island of the invasions, both in 1274 and 1281.  The death toll was catastrophic, and even today parents will often tell their children that if they don't behave the Mongols will come back and take them away. In 1338, soon afer the Ashikaga shogun came to power, Ashikaga Takauji and his brother, Tadayoshi, directed the erection of temples in all 66 provinces, including Iki, to pray for the repose of those who died in battle during turbulent times, including the Mongol invasions and the later civil war.  That temple is still there, just a little ways north from the Harunotsuji site. The temple building itself only dates from the Edo period, as it burned down multiple times, but it is still said that it is the oldest extant temple building on the island.  There is a large cedar tree thought to be over a thousand years old, which may have even been there during the Toi and Mongol invasions.  There are also signs of Christian activity in some of the artwork, if you know what to look for. When Europeans arrived in Japan in the 16th century, they brought not only guns, but also a new religion:  Christianity.  Priests were given permission to set up churches and convert people.  Some daimyo converted—whether out of true faith or simply to get more lucrative trading deals with Europeans—and they often made their entire fief convert as well.  When Christianity was eventually outlawed, many Christian communities went underground, becoming known as “Hidden Christians.”  A lot of these communities continued, especially in the Iki and Goto islands, which were a little further away from shogunal authority.  They continued despite the lack of priests and Bibles, often using iconography that could be plausibly passed off as Buddhist or Shinto in nature.  Many remained in hiding throughout the Edo period, only revealing themselves after the Meiji government came in and issued a law protecting the freedom of religion, including Christianity.  Around Iki you will occasionally find little hints of such communities' existence. The 16th century saw more than just European traders and new religions.  The Matsura clan retained control over the island from their base in Hirado, even during the tumultuous era of Warring States.  Last episode we talked about how Toyotomi Hideyoshi, the new Taiko, came out of that time and declared war on the Joseon court, in Korea. To start with he built Nagoya castle on Kyushu and moved himself and all of his retainers out to it.  And before you ask, no, this probably isn't the Nagoya castle you are thinking of.  Similar name, but different kanji characters Anyway, from Nagoya on the coast of Kyushu, supply lines were run out to Tsushima, and then across to Busan.  To defend against a counterattack by Joseon forces, they built castles along the way as well.  In Iki, this meant building several, including Katsumoto-jo, at the northern end of the island, under the command of Matsura Shigenobu. Later, Tokugawa Ieyasu, eager to restore good will with the peninsula, would have the castles intentionally ruined, often by removing key stones so that they could no longer be considered defensible.  Today you can climb up to the Katsumoto-jo castle site and see the stones of the main gate and get a tremendous view from the observation platform. Katsumoto Castle isn't the only thing in Katsumoto that still remains from that time.  There is a local shrine, the Shomogu Shrine, which has a gate donated by Kato Kiyomasa, one of the generals who led troops on the invasion of Korea.  They also hold a cup that he is said to have donated. This shrine is certainly interesting and worth a visit.  Traditionally, they say that it was built on the site where Jingu Tennou departed from Iki during her legendary conquest of the Korean peninsula.  According to at least one source, at that time she called the place Kazamoto, the place where the wind comes from, and when she returned she changed it to Katsumoto, the place where her victory came from.  Of course, as we know, that whole narrative is rather suspect.  It is possible that the area was known as Kazamoto and that changed to Katsumoto. It also doesn't help that this is also where the Mongol army came ashore back in the 13th century, and I suspect that not much remained from before.  Still, there is a stone that is said to have the print of Jingu's horse's foot as she left, and it was at least connected to the ocean, given its location. There is a contention that this shrine may have once been known as “Nakatsu” shrine, literally “Middle port” shrine, one of the shrines listed in the Engi Shiki.  However, there is another Nakatsu shrine that also claims this distinction, also in Katsumoto-cho.  The Shomogu shrine theory holds that this was a branch shrine of Shomogu shrine, then known as Nakatsu.  This makes some sense as the current Nakatsu shrine is more inland, not exactly lending itself to being the “Middle Port” Shrine.  Then again, it would have referred to “Nakatsumiya”, meaning the “middle shrine” or “middle palace”, which puts us back at square one. More important than the actual history of this shrine, at least in the 16th century, is the fact that those generals heading off to conquer the Korean peninsula definitely would have appreciated praying to the spirit of Jingu Tennou before heading off to try it a second time.  Shomogu Shrine clearly had a link with her by then. By the way, slight side note, the “Shomo” of “Shomogu” literally means “Holy Mother”.  In this case it is referencing the “Holy Mother” Jingu Tenno, who was pregnant when she left Japan and didn't give birth until she came back—not quite a virgin birth.  “Shomo” was also the term that Christians, particularly hidden Christians, used to reference the Virgin Mary.  While I cannot find any evidence that Shomogu Shrine was connected with Christianity—its existence and worship there predates that religion coming to the archipelago by some time—it is still one of those things that the Hidden Christians could have used to their advantage, hiding their worship of the Virgin Mary and her holy child behind the name for Jingu Tenno. Now the town of Katsumoto, although only briefly a castle town, was still quite important through the Edo period, and the main street certainly recalls a time long past.  We stayed in a ryokan there that was over 100 years old, and there is both a sake brewery, and a craft beer brewery inside an old sake brewery, just down the street.  It isn't a big town, but it has character. In the Edo period, many of the Joseon envoys stopped in Katsumoto on their way to or from the archipelago.  These envoys typically had around 400 to 450 of their own people from Korea, but by the time they reached Iki they were joined by about 800 quote-unquote “guides” from Tsushima who were there to help them with whatever they needed.  Technically it was up to the Matsura daimyo, in Hirado, to provide for their needs, but it seems that more often than not that role more immediately fell to the wealthiest family on the island, the Toi family. The Toi family—not to be confused with the Toi invasion—made their money from capturing whales; a lucrative but dangerous enterprise, especially given the state of the boats at the time.  The stone wall of their mansion can still be seen in Katsumoto, though it is now wedged in between other buildings, as the mansion itself is otherwise long gone.  They may not have been daimyo, but they were apparently the rough equivalent for the people of Iki, and certainly Katsumoto. The envoys ended up calling at Katsumoto about 19 times between 1607 and 1811—11 times on the outbound trip and 8 times going the other direction.  For one mission, in the 18th century, we are even provided the amount of food that they required, which included 1500 sweet potatoes, 15,000 eggs, 7 and a half tons of abalone, 3 tons of squid, 7 and a half tons of rice, and 15 koku of sake, equaling about 1500 standard bottles, today.  A drawing of the 1748 envoy showed parts of Katsumoto that you can still visit, today, including the old boat launch, the Shomogu shrine and nearby streets, Shigayama, and what is today “Itsukushima Shrine”, related to the worship of Susano'o's three daughters, as are the Munakata shrines and the Itsukushima shrine on Miyajima with the famous torii in the water. Besides the historical sites, Iki island offers a plethora of other activities and attractions.  The famous monkey rock, or Saruiwa, is a famed natural feature, as are many others.  There are also beaches that people appear to enjoy—though we were there in the winter, so not great—or just getting out in a boat and seeing the natural beauty of the island.  There are also many more shrines and temples to visit; Iki has its own 88 temple pilgrimage based on the 88 temple pilgrimage of places like Shikoku.  You can also do a pilgrimage of the many Shinto shrines, some of which are mentioned in historical documents like the Engi Shiki and others that are more modern.  While many of the buildings are often newer, and things have of course changed over the centuries, these sites often still contain connections to history, and may even have historical treasures in their storehouses or on the grounds. We only had a limited time, so tried to keep our trip focused on more of the Yayoi and Kofun era stuff.  We both agreed we would gladly go back again in a heartbeat. Next up, we caught the ferry from Indoji on Iki over to Karatsu port on Kyushu, what is thought to be the site of the old Matsuro kingdom.  While others might point to the modern Matsuura city area, this region is may be more likely, and we'll talk about that next episode.  In addition, we'll talk about Karatsu, which literally means “Chinese port”, and about the nearby castle ruins of Nagoya castle—an area that was, for about seven brief years, in the late 16th century the de facto capital of Japan. But that will be next time. Until then, thank you for listening and for all of your support. If you like what we are doing, tell your friends and feel free to rate us wherever you listen to podcasts.  If you feel the need to do more, and want to help us keep this going, we have information about how you can donate on Patreon or through our KoFi site, ko-fi.com/sengokudaimyo, or find the links over at our main website, SengokuDaimyo.com/Podcast, where we will have some more discussion on topics from this episode. Also, feel free to reach out to us at our Sengoku Daimyo Facebook page.  You can also email us at the.sengoku.daimyo@gmail.com.  Thank you, also, to Ellen for their work editing the podcast. And that's all for now.  Thank you again, and I'll see you next episode on Sengoku Daimyo's Chronicles of Japan.

Today’s daf is dedicated by the Hadran Women of Long Island in honor of the birth of twin grandsons to our friend and co-learner Cindy Dolgin. "May the parents, Maya Dolgin and Or Shaked, as well as the extended family and the entire Jewish people see much nachat from the new arrivals, and may they be a source of blessing to all. תזכו לגדלם לתורה לחופה ולמעשים טובים!"  Today’s daf is sponsored by the Hadran zoom family in celebration of our friend, Adina Hagege, and her husband, Eric, becoming grandparents. "May Shahari Moshe grow up surrounded with love and peace, and may he bring his grandparents much joy." If someone lends coins to another person, or returns a loan of coins, and the recipient discovers more coins than originally agreed upon, the question arises: must they return the surplus, or can it be presumed that the excess was intended as a gift? This hinges on various factors. When small gourds are typically sold at ten for a zuz, and a seller undertakes to provide the buyer with ten large gourds for a zuz, Rav ruled that this arrangement is permissible only if the seller possessed large gourds at the time of the transaction. However, some argue that Rava dissented, allowing it even if the seller didn't currently have large gourds, since small gourds naturally mature into larger ones. Comparatively, how does this scenario differ from selling milk to be milked from a goat, wool to be sheared from a sheep, or honey to be harvested from a hive? Abaye maintains that one can pre-purchase wine at a set price, even if the seller assumes the risk of the wine turning into vinegar, provided the buyer agrees that a decrease in value won't alter the price. One who has lent money cannot reside in the borrower's house for free or at a discounted rate, as it resembles usury. Rav Yosef bar Manyumi, citing Rav Nachman, extends this prohibition even to a house that the borrower isn't utilizing or leasing. However, there is a different version of Rav Nachman's statement, forbidding it only if the rental arrangement is connected with the loan agreement. In another case, Rav Yosef bar Chama would seize the slaves of his debtors, employing them for his benefit. His son Rava raised concerns about this practice, citing the lack of compensation for their labor and the appearance of engaging in usury. While Rav Yosef initially justified his actions, he eventually ceased the practice due to the latter concern.

Today’s daf is dedicated by the Hadran Women of Long Island in honor of the birth of twin grandsons to our friend and co-learner Cindy Dolgin. "May the parents, Maya Dolgin and Or Shaked, as well as the extended family and the entire Jewish people see much nachat from the new arrivals, and may they be a source of blessing to all. תזכו לגדלם לתורה לחופה ולמעשים טובים!"  Today’s daf is sponsored by the Hadran zoom family in celebration of our friend, Adina Hagege, and her husband, Eric, becoming grandparents. "May Shahari Moshe grow up surrounded with love and peace, and may he bring his grandparents much joy." If someone lends coins to another person, or returns a loan of coins, and the recipient discovers more coins than originally agreed upon, the question arises: must they return the surplus, or can it be presumed that the excess was intended as a gift? This hinges on various factors. When small gourds are typically sold at ten for a zuz, and a seller undertakes to provide the buyer with ten large gourds for a zuz, Rav ruled that this arrangement is permissible only if the seller possessed large gourds at the time of the transaction. However, some argue that Rava dissented, allowing it even if the seller didn't currently have large gourds, since small gourds naturally mature into larger ones. Comparatively, how does this scenario differ from selling milk to be milked from a goat, wool to be sheared from a sheep, or honey to be harvested from a hive? Abaye maintains that one can pre-purchase wine at a set price, even if the seller assumes the risk of the wine turning into vinegar, provided the buyer agrees that a decrease in value won't alter the price. One who has lent money cannot reside in the borrower's house for free or at a discounted rate, as it resembles usury. Rav Yosef bar Manyumi, citing Rav Nachman, extends this prohibition even to a house that the borrower isn't utilizing or leasing. However, there is a different version of Rav Nachman's statement, forbidding it only if the rental arrangement is connected with the loan agreement. In another case, Rav Yosef bar Chama would seize the slaves of his debtors, employing them for his benefit. His son Rava raised concerns about this practice, citing the lack of compensation for their labor and the appearance of engaging in usury. While Rav Yosef initially justified his actions, he eventually ceased the practice due to the latter concern.

There's a first for everything, yet this is one President Biden would not pride himself on. When it comes to approval ratings, Biden's report card shows a discouraging 38.7 percent, as recorded by Gallup. This is a newfound low, marking a historic dip in approval in the preliminary term of a president since polling commenced. Looking back through history, none of the first-term presidents post Dwight Eisenhower era managed to score lower than Biden on their 13th-quarter average. This data comes straight from Gallup, covering the time frame from January 20th to April 19th. Comparatively analyzing the same period across presidencies, former President George H.W. Bush had the second most dismal record, standing at 41.8 percent. Following him come President Obama with 45.9 percent and President Trump with 46.8 percent. These figures were reported by none other than the Washington Times, who utilized Gallup's rich data resources. Biden has seen a consecutive decline in his approval ratings in recent months. Nevertheless, the shock emerged when this gradual descent took a steep drop among his own supporters—Democrats—due to a standpoint he chose regarding Israel during an assault on the country by the terrorist group Hamas. In October, a sudden and destructive attack on Israel by Hamas, saw Biden extend his support towards the Jewish state. This decision, however, resulted in an alarming drop of 11 percentage points in a single month among Democrats, amounting to an unprecedented low of 75 percent.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

There are so many things in Scripture that teach us the significance of the priestly garments, especially the garments of the High Priest, who is Yahusha now. As we walk through Episode 13, I hope that you will be able to see how, just the like Tabernacle, how these garments also point to the priesthood of our Messiah! How is this relevant to His new priesthood (us) today? Well, one of the most significant pieces was the turban of the High Priest. In Exodus 28:36, we read that there was a gold plate sewn on the front of the turban of the High Priest with the engraving “QODESH LA YAHUAH,” which means “SET APART TO YAHUAH.” Yahuah's name was to always be placed on the forehead of the High Priest. This was a sign of how the High Priest was set-apart to Yah. And through the blessing pronounced by the High Priest (because he was the appointed mediator between Yahuah and the children of Israel), Yahuah also placed His Name on the children of Israel. Numbers 6:24-27 - “Yahuah bless you, and keep you. Yahuah make his face shine upon you and be gracious to you. Yahuah lift up his countenance upon you, and give you peace. And they shall put my name upon the children of Israel; and I will bless them.This was a priestly blessing.Yahusha, our new High Priest, is authorized to mediate this blessing, just as the Levitical High Priest was. To be blessed by Yahuah is to have His NAME placed on you. It is more than just a name—it is to be identified with and be a representation of who He is.The High Priest carried Yahuah's name and he also carried the names of the 12 tribes as 12 stones were put on the breastplate of his garment. The High Priest was always Yahuah's representative to Israel and Israel's mediator before Yahuah.Comparatively, Israel carried Yahuah's name into the world and represented the Most High to the nations. What made Israel set apart from everyone else is that they had commandments that showed the world who they worshipped. We are to be representatives of who our Creator is, to be a light to the world, and to be in covenant with Him means that we have commandments that help us to be successful in our calling.When Yahuah was revealing His Name to me, I read the passage in Exodus 28 about how the gold plate which had Yah's Name on it was placed on Aaron's forehead, and the Ruach literally took me straight to the Book of Revelation.Revelation 14:1 - Then I looked, and behold, a Lamb standing on Mount Zion, and with Him one hundred and forty-four thousand, having His Father's name written on their foreheads.Revelation 22:4 - They shall see His face, and His name shall be on their foreheads. Our new High Priest is authorized to mediate this blessing now, to place the Father's name on His children. He said He “came in His Father's Name” for a reason.2 Timothy 2:19 - Nevertheless the solid foundation of Elohim stands, having this seal: “The Master knows those who are His,” and, “Let everyone who names the name of Messiah depart from iniquity.”“Yahusha” means “Yahuah is salvation.” Every time the Messiah's Name departs from your lips, you are confessing that Yahuah is your salvation. And Yahusha was sent to do the will of the Father. The priestly garments teach us how important the Father's Name is. And if you didn't already know, the woman riding on the beast in Revelation 17 had a name on HER forehead too:And on her forehead a name was written: “MYSTERY, BABYLON THE GREAT, THE MOTHER OF HARLOTS AND OF THE ABOMINATIONS OF THE EARTH.”Let's study. Episode 13 TranscriptContact me: stephanie@promise-perspective.comVisit my website: www.promise-perspectivSupport the show

ServiceNow, the leading digital workflow company making the world work better for everyone, has published the Irish findings of its EMEA-wide ServiceNow Consumer Voice Report 2024. The second annual report spotlights ever-changing customer expectations and economic instability as the driving factors behind the ongoing decline of brand loyalty. To survive, businesses must embrace AI, allowing them to seamlessly integrate technology with human input to enhance customer experience. This year's report shows that 87% of Irish customers are less loyal to brands than two years ago, with nearly 4 out of 10 now making decisions based on affordability. However, a 'race to the bottom' mentality is not sustainable for Ireland's business landscape. In an era where competitive pressures are increasing and customer loyalty keeps decreasing, a focus on customer experience is the answer to sustaining market share and relevance. The findings indicate that consumers are looking to work with companies that can deliver intelligent experiences that seamlessly combine the human element with technology. The ServiceNow Consumer Voice Report 2024 asked 15,000 adults from ten countries across Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA), about their views on customer experience. The report revealed how far customer perceptions and habits have shifted in the past two years and the factors now impacting their loyalty. As with the 2023 study, Irish consumers sit atop the tables compared to other nations and EMEA-wide averages: Six in ten customers are now spending more than they did two years ago, with 73% attributing this increase to rising costs. Comparatively, almost half spend more and 65% attribute it to rising costs across EMEA. There is a disconnect between what appears important to customers on the surface, and what truly drives loyalty with 80% of Irish consumers saying that sustainability is important when choosing a company to buy from. Whilst in line with 2023's study (81%) Ireland places more importance on sustainability than Germany (68%), the UK and Switzerland (70%), the Netherlands (73%), France (74%), and Sweden (77%). However, 50% of consumers in Ireland versus 39% across EMEA, are less loyal to brands now because they prefer to buy the cheapest option. So, while they value the likes of sustainability when using a company, price point remains an important brand loyalty benchmark. Disappointing experiences are increasingly switching consumers off. Coupled with the growing influence of social media (+5 percentage points YoY) and the opinions of friends (+2 percentage points YoY), the battle for brand loyalty shows no signs of stabilising. "When I speak to customers and business leaders, I always hear one thing - their customers are central to their success," said Cathy Mauzaize, EMEA President at ServiceNow. "Yet, ServiceNow's latest Consumer Voice Report shows that brand loyalty is becoming increasingly difficult to win. Nonetheless, this research makes me optimistic for the role that technology like Gen AI has. Consumers believe that technology is already making a positive impact on customer experience, and it is now a fundamental consideration for all organisations." "Brands cannot compete on price alone. It's far more sustainable for business to focus on the factors, beyond cost, considered most important by customers like robust security practices, fast issue resolution, and efficient customer services," said Paul Turley, Senior Director at ServiceNow Ireland.?"In Ireland, this is especially true. Our research shows Irish customers are even more discerning than their counterparts across the EMEA region." The future of customer experience is high-tech meets high-touch The report illustrates that human and AI collaboration is important for customer satisfaction. More than a fifth (21%) in Ireland said they actively choose to avoid customer facing AI such as chatbots, yet 90% of Irish consumers also demand a variety of channel options when i...

Ron DeSantis, the Governor of Florida, voiced strong criticisms towards the Democrats in a recent interview, following the unfortunate passing of NYPD's officer Jonathan Diller. He primarily held the Democrats responsible for seemingly favoring unlawful elements and continuously detaching themselves from law enforcement agencies. Officer Jonathan Diller, 31 years young, lost his life in a tragic incident that occurred during a routine traffic stop. The alleged perpetrator of this crime was a 34-year-old man named Guy Rivera. Rivera was instructed by Diller to disembark from his vehicle, in response to which he supposedly drew out a handgun and attacked Officer Diller. According to reports, the fatal shot was aimed and landed on the officer's stomach. The background check of the assailant revealed a significant criminal history; Rivera had a record of 21 past arrests and was recently freed from incarceration in the year 2021. The reason for Rivera's previous imprisonment for half a decade was the illicit possession of a controlled substance. The threat posed by such individuals looms large over society, argues DeSantis, largely due to the alleged inadequate support from Democrat politicians for law enforcement. DeSantis further elaborated in his interview with Newsmax's Eric Bolling, focusing on the difference between the responses of former President Donald Trump and President Joe Biden to the devastating incident. Trump's empathy and responsiveness contrasted sharply with Biden's reaction, he noted. According to DeSantis, the Democrats are faltering in their support towards law enforcement officers. 'In the past, police officers, many of them used to identify as Democrats. That's no longer the reality,' commented DeSantis. This, he suggests, is a reflection of how the Democratic Party has allegedly shifted its allegiance away from law enforcement. DeSantis went on to evoke a picture of a Democratic party that has adopted an uncomfortably cozy relationship with the criminal class. This questionable stance, he suggests, allows those who break the rule of law to operate with gusty errors, damaging the very fabric of our society. The brunt of these misguided policies, according to DeSantis, is borne by those who fall within the ambit of what may be called the 'working class' and 'middle-income Americans'. DeSantis points out that the policies enacted by Democrat politicians are benefiting the elites, while simultaneously adversely affecting these segments of the population. He held that the Democratic party has lost touch with these corners of American society, accusing it of being transformed into 'the party of the elites'. It's a dynamic he finds lamentable, marking a significant shift from the party's traditional base. A clip circulating on media platforms shows the Florida Governor, reputed for his bold remarks, making sharp criticisms against the Democrats for their perceived disdain for law enforcement. He readily associated the party with a damaging 'pro-crime' stance in his remarks. The disappointment that formed the underpinning of DeSantis' commentary was fueled by Joe Biden's alleged absence from the wake for the fallen NYPD officer, Jonathan Diller. Comparatively, Biden was reported to be attending a celebrity fundraiser a few miles away from the location. This, the Governor opined, was an act of gross indifference and a testament to the ruling party's altered priorities. As the nation mourned the loss of a brave officer, it expected unity and consolation from its leaders, embodying a shared sentiment of grief that did not seem to fully materialize. The pivotal issue of tending to the safety and honor of law enforcement members has once again been cast into the national spotlight. Despite the significant risks involved in their duty, the perceived lack of support from influential players does little to assuage their apprehensions. Governor DeSantis continues to advocate for stricter punitive measures against criminals, and a return to respecting law enforcement, as he perceives it as the bedrock of a secure society. His comments signal a call for a reshaping of current party stances and policies to redefine the values held by their representative politicians. Real News Now Website Connect with Real News Now on Social Media Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/RealNewsNowApp/ X Twitter: https://twitter.com/realnewsapp Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/realnews/ TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@realnewsnowapp Threads: https://www.threads.net/@realnews/ Tumblr: https://www.tumblr.com/realnewsnow Truth Social: https://truthsocial.com/@RealNews YouTube:https://www.youtube.com/@realnewsnowapp End Wokeness: https://endthewokeness.com #realnewsnow See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Show Notes:  https://wetflyswing.com/585 Presented By:  Waters West, Northern Rockies Adventures, Togens Fly Shop, FishHound Expeditions Have you heard of the Gaspé Peninsula and thought maybe it was out of your reach for a trip? Are you worried that your spey game isn't at a high enough level to hook a salmon? Today, we have David Bishop to share tips for success and three key takeaways that will ensure you not only can do this trip but have a chance at hooking an Atlantic Salmon. Learn about fly speed, when to use dry flies versus wet flies, and uncover a fly pattern you may not have seen before. Discover how to recognize a take and why David recommends using 6lb and 8lb tippets. Show Notes with David Bishop on Gaspe Peninsula Atlantic Salmon.  01:38 - David Bishop delves into the unique challenge of fishing for Atlantic salmon and why it's often seen as an intimidating species: Species Specificity: Atlantic salmon are highly dependent on water conditions and fish behavior, unlike other species that may feed more readily. Success Rate: Internationally, the success rate for catching Atlantic salmon can be challenging, with an average of about one salmon per three days of effort. Enigmatic Nature: The mystery surrounding why Atlantic salmon take flies adds to the allure and complexity of fishing for them. Exploring the Diverse Rivers of Gaspe Peninsula 4:00 - Rivers in the Gaspé Peninsula vary in fish population and size, with some rivers known for smaller but abundant fish runs, while others like the Caspapedia River boast large, genetically healthy fish. The Gaspé Peninsula is hailed as the most accessible salmon fishing destination globally, thanks to the democratic draw system implemented by the Quebec government. 9:00 - Gaspe Peninsula offers a plethora of rivers for salmon fishing, and anglers can also explore nearby areas like the St. Lawrence River and New Brunswick for additional fishing opportunities. Compared to other international destinations, fishing in Gaspe is affordable, with daily ticket costs ranging from $60 to $180. David Bishop's Fly Fishing Journey 14:17 - David Bishop shares his early memories of fly fishing, tracing back to childhood experiences with his father and grandfather behind Simsbury High School. At the age of 10, David caught his first Atlantic salmon. Then at age 14, David worked at a fly shop and later ventured into guiding. Access to Fishing in the Gaspe Peninsula 17:00 - David elaborates on the democratic access system in the Gaspe Peninsula. Unlike some regions with exclusive and elite fishing practices, Gaspe's model ensures public access while balancing private interests. The lottery-based system ensures that a percentage of water remains open to the public each day, with clear guidelines on pricing. Comparatively, regions like the UK and Norway maintain a more privatized approach, limiting access based on wealth and waiting lists. 24:00 - There are two main ways to access the rivers: purchasing a daily access permit for non-reserved waters or participating in the draws organized by the FQSA. Saumon Quebec provides information on river access, draws, and permits. 27:00 - David Bishop discusses various lodging options for anglers visiting the Gaspe Peninsula. Choosing the Best Time for Atlantic Salmon Fishing in the Gaspe Peninsula 36:00 - For hardcore spey anglers, early June or late September are ideal for fishing gin-clear waters with fewer competitors. However, the prime time for dry fly fishing is from late June through August into early September when water temperatures are optimal. Dry Flies vs Wet Flies  45:00 - David explains the transition from wet fly to dry fly fishing based on water conditions and visibility. He distinguishes between rivers with clear visibility and those with stained waters. Clear Rivers (e.g., Bonaventure, Petite Cascapedia): Optimal for site fishing and dry fly opportunities. Stained Rivers (e.g., Cascapedia, Dartmouth): You can switch to dry flies if no action with wet flies is observed. 46:00 - When not fishing dry flies, David Bishop describes his typical setup and approach for different months and water conditions: In June with higher water, he uses larger flies ranging from size 2 to 3.0 for swinging traditional salmon flies. Some favorite flies include John Olin Longwing, Picasse, and Paul Caron's Stonefly. Fly Speed and Presentation David stresses that fly presentation plays a massive role, comprising about 90% of the success in fly fishing. He also mentions that fly selection is only about 5% of the game, debunking the idea of a "best fly". He explains that using floating lines allows him to manipulate fly speed effectively. By adjusting casting angles and mending downstream, he can control how fast the fly moves across the water, which is crucial for enticing strikes. His strategy involves covering as much water as possible to find fish that are actively taking the fly. He prefers this approach over repeatedly casting in the same spot, focusing on quality fish rather than sheer numbers. Spey Fishing Gear and Technique 59:00 - David recommends using a 12.5-foot rod ranging from 450 to 540 grain weights, with a preference for 480 or 450. He emphasizes using long leaders of 15 to 20 feet for better fly tracking and action. David also highlights the importance of tapered leaders for efficient casting and fly presentation. Show Notes:  https://wetflyswing.com/585

It's the fourth Friday in March with one still to go as we talk about a new EV brand entering the US market. We also discuss the surprising cheapest lease in America right now, as well as a smooth stop for online retailer Vroom. Show Notes with links:There's going to be yet another new EV brand in town as Volkswagen Group's sporty, electric vehicle-focused Cupra brand is set to enter the U.S. by the end of the decade, debuting with two utility vehicles and leveraging VW Group's Mexican assembly plants for production.Cupra plans to introduce an electric Formentor crossover and a larger, unnamed electric crossover SUV to the U.S., using a new distribution model the company didn't articulateIn 2023, Cupra's sales surged by 51%, with Germany as its largest market, yet it eyes the U.S. for a bigger global footprint.Focused on "young, progressive customers," Cupra will target selected states, especially on the East and West coasts and the Sun Belt, using a novel distribution model.Current vehicles include the Tavascan, Born, Formentor, Leon, Leon Sportstourer, and AtecaCupra CEO Wayne Griffiths, emphasized readiness and market fit for their U.S. venture saying"We know it's always been a matter of being well prepared and doing it right if you go to the U.S.Hyundai's Ioniq 6 SE is now America's cheapest lease deal, offering a no-money-down lease for just $239 per month for 12k miles per yearHyundai has rolled out an unadvertised lease offer to dealers for the 2024 Ioniq 6 SE, making it available until April 1, 2024.Comparatively, the Ioniq 6 SE's effective cost of $249 a month undercuts the lease cost of vehicles like the 2024 Toyota Corolla LE in Southern California by over $100 monthly.While the offer applies to a 24-month lease with a 12,000-mile annual limit, it requires only the first month's payment upfrontCost of ownership may still have a few surprises for lessees as lessees as insurance costs for Ionic 6 might be higher than expectedIt looks like our friends at Vroom are coasting to a stop as they navigate the final lap of their ecommerce operations. Vroom's journey through the used-car retail market is drawing to a close, with the company anticipating a complete wind down by the end of Q1.Vroom has successfully sold off nearly all its used vehicle inventory as part of its strategy to wind down ecommerce operations and exit the used-car retail sector.Following the sell-off, Vroom has cleared its floorplan facility debt with Ally, boasting about $94 million in cash reserves as of February's end.The company is reducing its workforce to align with its scaled-down activities.CEO Tom Shortt expressed pride in the team's professionalism during this transition, focusing on an efficient and cost-effective wind-down process. Vroom now aims to leverage its remaining entities, United Auto Credit and CarStory, to enhance stakeholder value.Hosts: Paul J Daly and Kyle MountsierGet the Daily Push Back email at https://www.asotu.com/ JOIN the conversation on LinkedIn at: https://www.linkedin.com/company/asotu/ Read our most recent email at: https://www.asotu.com/media/push-back-email

Timestamps: 2:20 - The Swiss ecosystem in the last 10 years  11:05 - Why are tradesales down?  19:19 - The rise of the Romandie  21:35 - How Switzerland compares to other startup hubs  28:17 - Going public in the US vs CH About Stefan Kyora & Thomas Heimann: Stefan Kyora is editor-in-chief at startupticker.ch, the leading Swiss news portal for startups, supporters, innovators and investors, and holds a PhD in Philosophy and Business Ethics from the University of Konstanz. Thomas Heimann is a deputy general secretary at SECA, the Swiss Private Equity & Corporate Finance Association, and the Head Risk Management & Equity Analyst at HBM Partners AG, a Swiss healthcare investor. The two of them co-authored the 2023 Swiss Venture Capital Report, which you can download for free here. During their chat with Silvan, they summarized the report's findings, as well as the conclusions we can draw from them: It is still difficult for Swiss companies to raise large rounds from Swiss investors. This isn't because we don't have plenty of VC funds, or because those funds don't invest in Swiss companies — there are many Swiss VC funds with at least 50% of their capital allocated to Swiss startups, but these are small funds investing small amounts. The total amount of funds invested in Swiss startups (both foreign and Swiss) went down in 2023 for the first time in a while. After a 10 year boom, this is to be expected, and can easily be explained if we take the unfavorable international conjuncture into account. Comparatively, Switzerland is still doing well, and is quite stable. Tradesales are also down in Switzerland, both when it comes to Swiss buyers and to foreign buyers. Thomas Heimann speculates they may increase, since larger, later stage fundraising rounds are becoming more rare. Fintech, cleantech and biotech are the most popular and well-funded sectors in Switzerland. Don't forget to give us a follow on⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Twitter⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠,⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Instagram⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠,⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Facebook⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠and⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Linkedin⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, so you can always stay up to date with our latest initiatives. That way, there's no excuse for missing out on live shows, weekly giveaways or founders' dinners.

Hey there, Rainmakers! This week, we're diving deep into the heart of Amazon selling - addressing the burning questions that crop up time and again. Whether you're in the midst of our live challenge or simply curious about the ins and outs of selling on Amazon, this episode is for you! As we peel back the layers of starting an Amazon business, we're here to quell your curiosities and set the record straight on how accessible and impactful this venture can be. First off, let's tackle the elephant in the room: Amazon's already bustling marketplace. It's a haven for entrepreneurs, offering a built-in customer base that's hard to find anywhere else. Imagine not having to worry about the ins and outs of email marketing or social media growth from the get-go. That's the beauty of Amazon. It's a platform where the customers are already waiting for you, ready to buy. And when it comes to logistics, Amazon's got your back with its all-encompassing fulfillment services. No more cluttered garages or late-night packing sessions. It's all about freeing up your space and your time. Our journey into Amazon selling began with a simple goal: to launch a product. What started as a venture into selling a quirky fidget toy evolved into a profound realization of Amazon's potential to transform our lives. The platform's ability to handle the heavy lifting of customer service and logistics was a game-changer for us. It opened our eyes to the possibility of running a business without the traditional hassles of inventory management and shipping. But what about those of you sitting there, thinking, "I'm not an inventor. I don't have a groundbreaking product idea." Good news! That's actually a great place to start. Amazon's marketplace thrives on data-driven decisions, not just innovative product ideas. By leveraging the wealth of data Amazon provides, you can identify high-demand niches and fill them with quality products. It's not about reinventing the wheel; it's about finding a wheel that's slightly better than the rest and making it your own. Of course, the question of investment is inevitable. "How much does it cost to start?" you might wonder. While the figures can vary, we're here to demystify the financial aspect of launching an Amazon business. Comparatively speaking, the potential return on investment with Amazon can far outweigh the traditional routes of entrepreneurship, such as franchising or starting a brick-and-mortar business. With a strategic approach and a focus on calculated risks, your Amazon venture can start on a solid foundation without breaking the bank. So, if you're feeling a spark of curiosity or even if you're on the fence about the whole Amazon business model, we encourage you to hit play and explore no further. Follow the link below and dive into our Family Freedom Challenge to get a comprehensive look at what it takes to make it on Amazon. This might just be the opportunity you and your family have been searching for. The potential is vast, and the time to start carving out your slice of the Amazon pie is now. Let's make it rain, together!   Connect with us: The Rainmaker Challenge: https://rainmakerchallenges.com ► Subscribe To Our YouTube Channel: https://bit.ly/33EdgBs ► Website: therainmakerfamily.com ► Facebook: www.facebook.com/diazfamilylegacy ► Instagram: instagram.com/chels_diaz instagram.com/steezdiaz instagram.com/therainmakerfamily ► Get Free Stuff On Amazon: stephensfreestuff.com/sfs Episode: minute by minute  00:04 Introduction to the Top Questions We Get About Selling on Amazon 00:47 Why Amazon for Business? 02:00 The Benefits of Amazon's Infrastructure 03:30 The Power of Partnering with Amazon 04:17 Understanding Amazon's Customer Base 05:27 Product Ideas and Innovation 06:22 The Importance of Data in Product Selection 06:38 The Amazon Grocery Store Analogy 07:34 The Rainmaker Method Explained 10:01 The Financial Aspect of Amazon Business 12:37 Creative Ways to Fund Your Amazon Business 18:45 Understanding Profit Margins 20:54 The Value of Building an Amazon Business 23:34 Conclusion and Next Steps  

Interview with Dušan Petković, Senior VP, Corporate Strategy of G Mining VenturesOur previous interview: https://www.cruxinvestor.com/posts/g-mining-ventures-tsxvgmin-large-scale-gold-production-in-2024-3885Recording date: 6th February 2024G Mining Ventures is swiftly advancing one of Brazil's largest gold projects, with the first production imminent in 2024. The Tocantinzinho (TZ) mine will churn out 175,000 low-cost ounces annually for over a decade, funding both debt repayment and ambitious growth.Success here has derisked G Mining's story, evidencing its construction expertise. The same skills now target consolidating additional assets to become a 500,000 ounce Americas producer. Attractive project metrics, capital structure and major shareholder backing give it a jump on rivals also aspiring towards mid-tier status.Specifically, G Mining possesses several compelling attributes:Gold prices recently breached $1,900/oz, extending this year's rally above 8%. Investor and central bank buying has regained momentum as inflation and recessionary fears escalate. Yet lack of exciting new projects leaves the supply pipeline quite constrained. G Mining can capitalize on this backdrop with its fully funded TZ mine set to deliver first gold pour in just over 12 months.Extensive industry experience enables G Mining's management team to directly execute all technical and engineering aspects of building projects. This degree of control, continuity and productivity optimization is unique for a junior developer. It provides confidence in meeting budgets and timeliness.TZ has adhered to the schedule despite volatile macro conditions, with completion already 76% and within 5% of costs. Comparatively few surprises minimizes financing and dilution risks as well.Construction progress allows $430 million of TZ's $457 million capital budget to be committed already. Existing cash balances cover any residual expenditure. Additionally, in-the-money warrants if exercised could contribute extra liquidity nearing production start.With capex fully funded and initial years generating 200,000+ ounces, G Mining expects to repay debt and internally finance its next chapter of acquisitive growth. Avoiding substantial dilution or project financings would be a major competitive advantage in bidding for quality assets.Respected institutions like La Mancha, Eldorado Gold and Frankin Nevada own large stakes after conducting extensive due diligence. Their vote of confidence and guidance steers strategy. La Mancha additionally brings deep operational expertise and relationships as veterans in the gold mining space.At only $115/oz in enterprise value per ounce of reserves, G Mining screens very reasonably priced at just 0.7x NPV ratios. Approaching catalysts could re-rate valuations closer to comparable single-asset producers trading above 1x NPV. Further de-risking TZ and adding acquisitions boosts upside from current levels. In turn, investors get positioning ahead of the next emerging mid-tier consolidator in the Americas.—View G Mining Ventures' company profile: https://www.cruxinvestor.com/companies/g-mining-venturesSign up for Crux Investor: https://cruxinvestor.com

Tyler Briggs continues this week's sermon series The Gospel of Luke, Part III: A Journey through Galilee in Luke 12:35-40. The return of Christ is certain, and we, as faithful children of God, must be expectant and ready for this magnificent event. Tyler provides an example of a tuning fork and how it is used to properly measure and set pitch in the musical key of C. Comparatively-speaking, our lives need to be set in tune with the assured return of Jesus Christ. 

We hope you have your evacuation plan ready, because Godzilla Minus One has landed hard, and we are boots on the ground!  Comparatively, Shin Kamen Rider is about as big as a, um, grasshopper. #godzillaminusone #godzilla #gojira #kamenrider #shinkamenrider #shinmaskedrider

Jenny Lee, vice president for Arizona International, dean of international education, and professor of educational policy studies and practice at the University of Arizona, leads the conversation on U.S. international academic collaboration and how U.S.-China tensions are affecting higher education. FASKIANOS: Welcome to CFR's Higher Education Webinar Series. I'm Irina Faskianos, vice president of the National Program and Outreach here at CFR. Today's discussion is on the record and the video and transcript will be available on our website, CFR.org/academic. As always, CFR takes no institutional positions on matters of policy. We're delighted to have Jenny Lee with us to discuss U.S. international academic collaboration. Dr. Lee is vice president for Arizona International, dean of international education, and professor of educational policy studies and practice at the University of Arizona. She is also a fellow of the American Educational Research Association. Dr. Lee formerly served as a senior fellow of NAFSA, the Association of International Educators, as chair for the Council of International Higher Education, and as a board member for the Association for the Study of Higher Education. And she has also served as a U.S. Fulbright scholar to South Africa, as a distinguished global professor at Korea University, and as an international visiting scholar at the City University of London, the University of Pretoria, and the University of Cape Town in South Africa. So, Dr. Lee, thank you very much for being with us for today's topic. I thought you could begin by giving us an overview of current trends in U.S. international academic collaboration, especially looking at what's happening with our relations with China. LEE: Sounds great. Well, thank you for the opportunity, Irina. It's a pleasure to be here and to speak with you and all those listening right now. I'll speak for about ten or so minutes, and then open it up and engage with the audience. Hopefully, you all have some good questions that will come up during my remarks. So, clearly, we're entering a very interesting and somewhat uncertain chapter in how we understand the role of higher education globally. So I will begin with some general observation so all our viewers are on the same page. Now, first and foremost, the U.S. is mostly at the top when it comes to the higher education sector. Most of us already know that the United States houses the most highly ranked institutions. And this allows the country to be the largest host of international students and scholars from around the world. According to the latest IIE Open Doors report published a couple of weeks ago, the U.S. attracted over a million students from all over the world. And we're almost back to pre-pandemic levels. We also host over 90,000 scholars. And the primary purpose for them being here is research, for about two-thirds to 75 percent of them. These international scholars, as well as international graduate students, contribute significantly to the U.S. scientific enterprise. The U.S. is also among the leading countries in scientific output and impact, and the largest international collaborator in the world. In other words, the U.S. is highly sought because of its prestigious institutions, drawing top faculty and students from around the world. And with that comes the ability to generate cutting-edge scientific breakthroughs which further secures the U.S.' global position in academia. At the same time, of course, we've seen China's economy rise significantly as the country surpassed the United States in scientific output, and more recently in impact as measured by publication citations, and is outpacing the U.S. in the extent of R&D investment. Chinese institutions have also made noticeable jumps in various global rankings, which is a pretty big feat considering the fierce competition among the world's top universities. What we're witnessing as well are geopolitical tensions between the two countries that have impacted the higher education sector. While these two countries, the U.S. and China, are the biggest global collaborators—and they collaborate more with each other than any other country—they're also rival superpowers. As global adversaries, what we are witnessing as well is increased security concerns regarding intellectual theft and espionage. I'm going to spend some time summarizing my work for those who are not familiar to provide some further context. I and my colleagues, John Haupt and Xiaojie Li, also at the University of Arizona, have conducted numerous studies about U.S.-China scientific collaboration. And what we're observing across these studies is how the scientific pursuit of knowledge, which is fundamentally borderless, is becoming bordered in the current geopolitical environment. International collaboration, long valued as positive-sum, is being treated as zero-sum. Besides the rise of China and the accompanying political rhetoric that posed China as a so-called threat, tensions also grew among accusations, as you may recall, about the origins of SARS-CoV-2 and a corresponding sharp increase in anti-Asian hate crimes in the United States. Public opinions about China were not favorable, and thus there was not a whole lot of public resistance when the FBI's China Initiative was launched in 2018. This initiative basically signaled that anyone of Chinese descent was a potential enemy of the state, including possible Chinese Communist Party spies in our own universities, even though there was no pervasive empirical or later judicial cases that proved such a damaging assumption. Nevertheless, world-renowned Chinese scientists were falsely accused of academic espionage and their careers and personal finances ruined. In my research that followed with Xiaojie Li, with support from the Committee of 100, we surveyed about 2,000 scientists in the U.S.' top research universities during the China Initiative. And we found that one in two Chinese scientists were afraid that they were being racially profiled by the FBI. We also observed that consequently scientists, especially those with Chinese descent, were less inclined to collaborate with China, less inclined to pursue federal grants, less inclined to even stay in the United States but rather to take their expertise to another country where they felt safer to pursue their research, including in China. In sum, the federal government's attempts to weed out possible Chinese spies was highly criticized as a damaging form of racial profiling affecting even U.S. citizens and, in the end, undermined the U.S.' ability to compete with China. Especially now, as we continue to observe Chinese scientists leaving the U.S. and taking their skills and talents elsewhere. With John Haupt and two academics at Tsinghua University in China, Doctors Wen Wen and Die Hu, we asked about two hundred co-collaborators in China and in the United States how were they able to overcome such geopolitical tensions and the challenges associated with COVID-19 during the pandemic? And we did learn something somewhat unexpected, and I hope valuable. Basically, we found that mutual trust between international collaborators helped overcome such perceived hurdles, including risks of being unfairly targeted. What this tells us is that a chilling effect is certainly real and remains possible, but in the end scientists have tremendous agency on what they study, where they study, and whether or not they seek funds, or where they seek funds. Regardless of the host or home country, international collaboration is important to all countries' scientific enterprise. Coauthors from different countries improve the knowledge being produced, its applicability, enlarges global audiences, and thereby increases the impact of the work. So considering the value, yet risks, where do we begin? Firstly, federal and institutional policies, of course, matter, for better or for worse. But policies do not manufacture trust. The formation of an academic tie does not suddenly occur over a cold call in the middle of a global meltdown, as often portrayed in Hollywood. Rather, this is a gradual process. And the longevity of the relationship helps strengthen that trust over time. According to our research, these collaborative relationships begin as graduate students, postdocs, visiting researchers. They occur at academic conferences and other in-person opportunities. Cutting short-term fellowships, for example, will impact the potential of a future scientific relationship, but its effects may not be felt for years. Same with denied visas and opportunities for travel. Fewer graduate students from particular countries or fields also means a different shape when it comes to global science. U.S. for instance, was not too long ago Russia's biggest foreign scientific collaborator, with the war in Ukraine, those research relationships, as well as much—with much of the Western world, have ceased. All of this, and my related empirical research, was conducted when I was a professor at my home institution. And since July, I've been serving, as Irina mentioned, as the dean and vice president of international affairs at my own institution. And I've been thinking a lot of, what does this mean for institutional practice? For those in university leadership positions, as mine, you know this is a tough challenge. Especially as domestic demand and state funding for higher education is generally declining. And at the same time, internationalization is increasingly central to senior leadership strategies. Universities are continuing vying to attract the world's students, even despite a decline of interest from China. And at the same time, research universities in particular are quite dependent on federal grants. We have our own research security offices that need to ensure our universities have good reputations and relations with our large federal funding agencies and taking every precaution to not be seen as a vulnerable site of intellectual theft. These units tend not to operate within international affairs. And I'm very well aware that in my role of trying to attract as many students from China and develop international partnerships, all of them can be suddenly erased if a Chinese University partner does not pass visual compliance or there is a sudden presidential executive order, as we experienced under the Trump administration. I'm also very well aware that of senior leaders have to choose between my educational offerings and partnerships in China versus risking a major grant from a federal agency, I will lose. We witnessed that with the shutting down of over 100 Confucius Institutes in the U.S., despite a lack of evidence of systematic espionage occurring through these centers. Public perceptions, informed or not, strongly affect the nature of our international work, as in the case of Florida. Such negative perceptions are not one country-sided, of course. A key concern for Chinese and other international students and their parents relate to safety. Gun violence, including on our own college campuses, anti-Asian hate crimes in surrounding neighborhoods, and unfavorable political environment in which studies might be interrupted as in the case of Proclamation 10043, or visa non-renewals are all contributing factors for the decline of interest from China, and uncertain future student exchange as well. In closing, when it comes to China these days no practices are guaranteed. However, I can recommend some while also keeping in mind geopolitical conditions can suddenly change for worse, or perhaps better. I mentioned earlier the value of mutual trust. At my university, we have long-standing relationships with university leaders at Chinese institutions. We've set up dual degree programs in China. Actually, about 40 percent of our international student enrollment are through such partner relationships throughout the world, in which we go to where they are. Hiring staff who speak the language and know the culture are also essential. And, like any relationship, these arrangements have developed over time. They are not built overnight. It takes intention. It takes effort. But in my experience, as trust is established the numbers have grown, and the positive impact is still being felt. Thank you. FASKIANOS: Thank you very much for that. That was terrific. Let's go now to all of you for your questions, comments. You can use this to share best practices and what you're doing to your universities or institutions. Please click the raise hand icon on your screen to ask a question. On your iPad or tablet, you can click the “more” button to access the raise hand feature. And when you're called upon, please accept the unmute prompts, state your name and affiliation, followed by your question. You can also submit a written question, they've already started coming in, by the Q&A icon. And if you can also include your affiliation there, I would appreciate it, although we will try to make sure we identify you correctly. So let's see. I'm looking for—no raised hands yet, but we do have questions written. So first question from Denis Simon, who's a professor at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill: Many U.S. universities have curtailed their exchanges and cooperation with China. You referenced that. Officials at these universities are worried that if they appear too friendly toward China they will lose all sorts of federal funding. Are these concerns justified? Are there any regulations or legislation that actually says federal funding can be removed assuming these universities are in compliance with the export controls, et cetera? LEE: All right. Well, thanks, Denis, for your question. I know there—when I saw the list of those who signed up, I know there are many here who can speak to this directly. So I encourage those to also raise their hands and provide input in the Q&A, maybe in the form of an A instead of a Q. But in any case, going to that question, you know, it's a tough environment. And so much in my role, but what I even experienced in my research, is about that perception, that overinterpretation. So maybe signaling that we have this exchange program might draw attention in ways that might lead to suspicions that, oh, well is this, you know, somehow creating an opportunity for us to disclose military secrets? I mean, that's where we take it. A friendly exchange or visit is oftentimes now having to be scrutinized and ensuring that there is no remote violation of export controls, even in educational delivery in a non-STEM field. And what we're seeing is that this—we have our highly sensitive fields, but that kind of scrutiny we're also seeing applied to the institution more broadly. So these seemingly benign programs about language or culture, about fields that are enhanced or help promote so-called American values, are also being watched. So I believe as an institutional leader, again, as I mentioned earlier, having to deal with the possibility of unwanted or unwarranted attention versus not having that program, I think some, as Denis has pointed out, are leaning towards being more cautious. Unfortunately, China—any work with China is considered a risk, even if there is no reason for risk, as we've witnessed under—or, observed under the China Initiative. I don't know if I've fully answered that question, but please follow up if I haven't. And I know others can probably say more to that issue. FASKIANOS: Great. I'll take the next question from Peter—I don't know how to pronounce— LEE: Peter Becskehazy. Hi, Peter. (Laughs.) FASKIANOS: There you go. Thank you very much. LEE: I know Peter. FASKIANOS: All right. Good. Well, I'd love if Peter asked his question directly, if he can. Oh, good. From Pima Community College. Go ahead, Peter. Q: Hello, Jenny. Nice to see you. LEE: Hi, Peter. Q: Now my question is, the University of Arizona and other universities have had an inflow of dozens of countries, adding up to the million that you mentioned. Are other countries trying to fill in slots left vacant by Chinese students and scholars? LEE: Yeah. Great question, Peter. And I think you can also share what you've observed at Pima in terms of the patterns you've witnessed. But for us, and as we are seeing nationally, we're seeing India rise. Not at the—not at higher numbers in many institutions, compared to China, but the rate is rising. It's not so simple, though, because we also have relations in India, and trying to set up agreements, and bring students. The competition in India is intense. So even though there's a relatively so-called large market, and the U.S. has been quite successful in attracting Indian students, that is perhaps where the attention is as a more, I would say—I hate to use the word “market,”—but a stable student market. There's a lot more interest in graduate-level education globally, as we've observed. These countries that formerly didn't have capacity now do have capacity. They have online offerings. They have branch campuses, dual degrees, lots of other options. And so the niche for the U.S., whereas before we didn't really have to think about a niche, is really in graduate education. Now, of course, that's not good news for Pima, that's thinking about a community college and other kinds of educational offerings. But for us, we're thinking about India a lot. Southeast Asia, of course, has always been an important partner to us. Africa continues to be a challenge. We know that when we think about population growth, Africa is the future. There's still challenges and trying to identify places where there is capacity. But also the affordability of a U.S. education is a huge challenge. So it's a great question. And, again, I'm curious to know other places in the world people recommend. Of course, Latin America, given our location, is a key strategic partner. But again, affordability becomes an issue. And again, I'm just talking about the traditional international student who would choose to come to Arizona. Not talking about research collaboration, which is less bound by affordability issues. Irina, you're muted. FASKIANOS: How long have I been doing this? OK. (Laughs.) I'm going to take the next written question from Allison Davis-White Eyes, who is vice president for diversity, equity, and inclusion at Fielding Graduate University: We have tried to work on collaborations with European universities and African universities, and met with much difficulty. What trends are you seeing in these regions? And what are emerging global markets beyond China? LEE: Great question, Allison. I mean, if you could leave the question in the future, so because I am visually looking at the question at the same time. FASKIANOS: Oh, great. Sorry. LEE: So, Allison, I'm not sure if you're referring to academic or research. Of course, within Europe, where the government does highly subsidized tuition, it's just becomes financially a bad deal, I suppose—(laughs)—for a student in the world who would normally get a free or highly reduced tuition to pay full price at our institution. So that kind of exchange of partnership, especially when it's about—when it's financially based, becomes almost impossible from my experience. But thinking about research collaboration, it depends on the level. So if it's an institutional agreement, you know, it's—often, these MOUs tend to just be on paper. It takes quite a bit of—it's very ceremonial. You need to get legal involved. It's a whole process to get an MOU. We really don't need these non-binding MOUs for research agreements. Some countries like it, just to display that they have an MOU with a U.S. institution. But essentially, it doesn't stop me as a professor to reach out to another professor at the University of Oslo, and say, hey, let's do a study. Which we actually are doing. So, yeah, feel free to be more specific, or if you want to raise your hand or speak on—and elaborate on that question. So, again, for educational exchange, it is difficult because we are—there's already a process within the EU that makes it very affordable and highly supported within the EU, or if you're part of that bigger program. Africa, again, my challenge from my role as an institutional leader is identifying places where there is already enough mass education up through high school where one would be able to consider, first of all, being admitted to a U.S. institution, but secondly, to be able to pay the cost. FASKIANOS: Allison, do you want to expand a little bit? Q: Oh, sorry. (Laughs.) FASKIANOS: There you go. There you go. Q: Right. Dr. Lee, thank you for your response. I think it was helpful, especially regarding the subsidizing of education in Europe. We've been working on some research partnerships. And we have just—you know, really, it has just been extremely difficult with European universities. And I do think part of it has to do with the way things are subsidized in Europe. I was just wondering if there were new and different ways to do it. I do appreciate your comment about the MOUs being largely ceremonial. I agree. And would like to see something with a little more substance. And that will take some creativity and a lot of partnership and work. As for Africa, we have tried to create partnerships with South Africa. I think there's some potential there. Certainly, some excitement. We've had a few students from Nigeria, extremely bright and motivated. I just would—you know, would like to hear, maybe from some other colleagues as well on the call, if there are creative ways in working with these students as well. So, thank you. LEE: Yeah, no. And just to follow up quickly, and, again, opportunities for others to share, academic collaboration, as I mentioned during my remarks, is largely built upon mutual trust. And not to say it can't happen from top down, but really does—is most successful from bottom up. And I don't mean to refer to professors at the bottom, but meaning those that are actually engaged with that work. And so just some considerations is rather than a top-down initiative or strategy, is to identify those that are visiting scholars, already from that country, have networks within that country. What's interesting, as I learned in my current role, is how little my predecessors worked with professors in these area's studies programs, because they're oftentimes treated as a separate or having different interests in mind when actually there is a lot of overlap to identify those that are actually there. Allison, by the way, I lived in South Africa for eight years. And I know it actually takes a long time. My Fulbright started off as a one year, and I had to extend it because even getting the data while I was on the ground takes time. And I'll be honest, I think part of it was taking some time just to build trust the intentions of my work, what was I going to do with that data, how is that going to be used? Was it actually going to be ways to empower them? You know, for those who study international collaboration, know this north and south divide, and I think there are places in the world that are—maybe have some guardrails up from those—not saying this is what's happening in your institution—but someone that they don't know coming from the Global North to study someone else in the Global South. And so how do we create or initiate a collaboration that is clearly, expressly mutual at the onset? And, again, this is where trust can be operationalized lots of different ways, but that even begins with that initial message. I mean, I remember when I started my work, nobody responded to me. They're like, who are you? And I don't care who you are or what your CV says. And it takes time. You know, building that relationship, and that person introducing me to that other person. Like, you know, this is how scientific networks form. And I think, to some extent, this is also how institutional collaborative relationships also form. FASKIANOS: Thank you. I'm going to go next to David Moore, who has a raised hand. Q: OK, thank you. I just got unmuted. FASKIANOS: Great. Q: Lee, I appreciate your comments. And I heard your reference to Florida earlier. I don't know if we have colleagues on this call from Florida, but I think they'll know what I'm about to say. I'm the dean of international education at Broward College in Fort Lauderdale. And as of tomorrow, December 1, Florida has to—all institutions in Florida, public institutions, colleges and universities, must be completely devoid of any partnerships in China. And not just China. There are seven countries of concern. And you probably can cite them, most of you would know the other six. But of the seven countries, Broward had four partnerships in China alone, none in the other countries that were active. And so we are now officially done, have to be. And I've had to notify the partners as well as our accrediting body, because these were international centers of Broward where they literally offer—we offered associate degrees, two-year degrees. And students could then transfer to an institution in the United States. Now, this didn't catch us too much by surprise because two and a half years ago our Florida legislature started in on this, really probably before that, where they isolated universities in Florida and said: You cannot do research—sensitive research, whatever, you know, engineering, computer science, et cetera—any research without notifying the state. And there's an elaborate process that had to be—you know, they had to go through to do this. But now it's not just research institutions. Now it's not just those kinds of collaborations. It is, in fact, all partnerships of any kind. We had to end our agent agreements where we were recruiting students from China that were—where the companies were based in China. And in course our programs were not research. They're just general education, two-year associate's degree, maybe some business. But we've been informed now it's completely done. And so I'm actually looking for institutions outside of Florida who might be willing to take over the role that we've had in transcripting students who later want to come to the United States. At least for the first two years in China, and then transferring to the upper division to the U.S. So I'm not sure. You're probably quite familiar with this. I don't know if you know the details of how it was worked out in practice. We were the only community college in the state that had any partnerships. So we were the ones that had to desist. So I want to—there are probably people on the call that are familiar with this, but there might be many others. And I just wanted to say that I'm looking to, you know, open that door to other institutions outside of Florida that might be willing in, yes, take a risk to go into China, but to—I've always felt that these kinds of programs were very good to build relationships, partnerships, communication. Ambassadors really. Where we feel like we were representing American education, whatever, you know, we call American values, democracy, you know, community. We thought we were doing good. But we found out we were—we were not. We were—we were doing something that went opposed to the prevailing political climate, at least in Florida. So that's my comment. I think people should know about it. And thank you for letting me speak to it a bit. Maybe someone will speak up and say they're interested in they can get in touch with me, David Moore at Broward College, Fort Lauderdale, Florida. LEE: David, thank you for sharing what you did. This is a really important example of where other states could very well head. And what's interesting, as David noted, we're talking about a community college. When we normally think about cutting ties, it's usually around the concerns about national security. Now, how this translates to a two-year degree that is solely educational based is a pretty far stretch, and yet is being impacted quite severely. So I think we should continue to follow this example—unfortunate example. And, David, yeah, your partners have reached out to my office, and I'm sure to others. But thank you for being available. Q: You're welcome. We have partners—we are also working with your Jakarta, Indonesia center there. So we have that connection. Thank you. LEE: Mmm hmm. Thanks. FASKIANOS: And if anybody wants to share contact information in the Q&A box, you can certainly do that. That would be great. There is a written question from Tutaleni Asino at Oklahoma State University: There was an article today in SEMAFOR highlighting that there are currently 350 U.S. students studying in China compared to 11,000 in 2019. Comparatively, there are 300,000 Chinese students in the United States. Is this a one-way problem, where the U.S. is not investing in international engagements as a result of being more inward looking and other countries having more options of who to collaborate with? LEE: Yeah. Tutaleni, that's—I think your question is an answer. And I think it's—I agree with your observation. So we are seeing that as there's state and public disinvestment in higher education, and including scrutiny about international higher education, we're also seeing a decline and cutting of foreign language programs in the United States. So here we are, a monolingual country whose students mostly go to Europe or other English-speaking countries to study abroad. A very limited number of international—U.S. students who pursue undergraduate degrees in a foreign country. And knowing that the future is global and international, at least in my opinion, does not set the U.S. up well to be globally competitive, even though much of its international policy is around this rhetoric of we need to compete with China. And so you raise a good point. How is this possible if U.S. citizens don't speak Chinese, or have no interest in learning about Chinese culture, or there's reduced opportunities even in our own institutions, I think is something to think about and ask more questions about. FASKIANOS: I'm going to take the next question from Zhen Zhu, chair and professor of marketing, director of faculty excellence, and director for international engagement at Suffolk University: How do you see the trend of U.S. students' interest in study abroad to China? LEE: There is actually growing interest. As many of you know, China—offering Chinese language in high schools is not as unusual as it used to be. There is growing interest as students are thinking about employability in global markets in multinational or international organizations or corporations. It would be fundamental, in fact, for someone who has any interest in international work to pick up the language if they can, and at your own institution. FASKIANOS: Great. Let's see. From—I'm going to take the next question from Jeff Riedinger: Is there a role for universities to play in knowledge diplomacy to sustain international relationships and collaborations in addressing global problems such as climate change and pandemics when national governments may be at odds with each other? LEE: Thanks, Jeff. And hi, Jeff. I'm just going to read over that question so I can kind of digest it a bit. Is there a role for institutions to play in knowledge diplomacy, such as climate change, pandemics, when national governments may be at odds with each other? Absolutely, 200 percent. It is occurring—knowledge diplomacy, science diplomacy. That one individual going on a Fulbright or coming to study here for some extended visit, having these collaborations and, ultimately, you know, science—knowledge production—I mean, there's no bounds. And when we think about the kind of research that may not occur because of these national governments are at odds when it comes to addressing climate change or other global issues, you know, the world is paying somewhat of a price when it comes to that in—when there are overarching concerns about national security. So, you know, my issue has always been with policy you overlook nuance, and with sweeping policies that overlook the disciplinary distinctions and contributions, what is lost in the pursuit of trying to stay ahead of another country in fields and areas that really have no economic or military value, right? But yet, have an important cultural value, or maybe will address something bigger, such as COVID-19. So as I mentioned, the work that I referenced earlier about U.S.-Chinese scientists coming together during COVID-19, were actually scientists who studied COVID-19 together. And again, this was not—this was fraught with risks. They were very well aware that there was a lot of scrutiny about any research about COVID-19 coming from China. There was scrutiny about, you know, where the data was held, who was analyzing it, who was funding it. And yet, these scientists took these risks in order to address how does the world deal with the pandemic. And this was based on interviews of those studies that were actually successful and published. This is where that mutual trust, as I've mentioned earlier, is so important. And without that mutual trust, these studies, I'm pretty certain, would never have been published, because it was not an easy path when it comes to that particular geopolitical climate during the pandemic. FASKIANOS: Jenny, I'm just going to ask a question. President Biden and President Xi met during APEC. Did anything come out of that meeting that could affect U.S.-China academic collaboration? LEE: Yeah. You know, this is tough. I mean, how do you analyze political statements? What do they really mean? And what is really going to change? I think what's clear is that there's an acknowledgment that we're interdependent, but we're also adversaries. Almost a love/hate codependent, in a relationship that we can't just easily separate but we do need each other. But the form that it takes, I think there's an understanding it needs to be more specific. And I don't think that has been clarified yet. I realize I missed part of Jeff's question on what can institutions do? That's such a good question. And I got more into the topic than the actual to-do. What can institutions do? Honestly—(laughs)—I'll just speak as a researcher, to back off a bit, right? To let scientists do what they want to do. Yes, we need to follow disclosures. We need to make sure there's no conflicts of interest. We need to follow all of these procedures. But what I also found during the China Initiative, there was also this chilling climate in which there's an overinterpretation that may put institutions at risk. And to my knowledge, institutions were not at risk to the extent to which their scientists, especially those of Chinese descent, felt scrutinized. FASKIANOS: Thank you. We have a raised hand from Dan Whitman. Q: OK, I think I'm unmuted. Thank you, Irina. And thanks, Professor Lee, for mentioning the Great Wall that that prevents us from dealing with even Europeans who have subsidized education or Africans who have no money. And just an anecdote, since you have welcomed anecdotes, I am an adjunct at George Washington University. But totally unrelated to that, just for free and just for fun, pro bono, nobody pays, nobody gets paid. A course that I'm giving by webinar, it's zero cost. The topic is crisis management, but it could be any topic. And in that group, which there are about eighty people who tune in twice a week, fifteen Kenyans, twenty-five Ukrainians, and forty Kazakhs. I mean, I don't know if there's ever been exchange between Kazakhstan and Kenya. Anyway, my point is things can be done. We share it for free. What motivates the students? A certificate. It's so easy to give them a certificate. And in many countries, they very highly value that, even though it's not a—there's no formality, there's no formal academic credit. But the students are very motivated. And possibly, there may be universities in the U.S. that could—that might want to give a professor a small stipendium to do an informal webinar course, which would create connections, which would be zero cost, basically, and would bridge that gap of funding that you've alluded to. Thank you. LEE: Yeah. Dan, thank you for that. And I think this leads to a kind of a spin-off comment about certificates. Absolutely. Micro-credentials or alternative forms of education, where there's maybe not a full-fledged undergraduate degree but some certificate, I think, is important niche, especially for returning adults or communities where they're not able to afford to take time off. So that flexibility, and obviously now with online education, just becomes so much more accessible and very low cost. Something else to keep in mind, though, is that, depending on the institution you're from, that will make a difference in certificates. I mean, an institution like George Washington University offering a certificate may have some symbolic or perceived value that may be higher than an institution that is lower or are not ranked at all. So this is where, unfortunately—I'm a big critic of global rankings. But unfortunately, it does play a role in how that certificate is being perceived and the attractiveness of that certificate. But absolutely, this is definitely a way to open access especially for places in the world that just cannot physically move or have the funds to support their studies. FASKIANOS: Great. There are two comments/questions in the Q&A that I wanted to give you a chance to respond to about Africa, from Tutaleni Asino and Fodei Batty. Dr. Asino talks about English is the language of instruction and governments in Africa where they're funding education to a higher degree, and thinks that there are opportunities there, but it sounds like all fifty-four countries are grouped together. And Dr. Batty talks a little bit about there are a lot of students from African countries pursuing graduate education in the United States. But South Africa is usually an exception to the higher education American norm in Africa. Most South Africans don't like to travel, especially travel to America. I thought maybe you could just clarify some—respond to those comments. LEE: Yeah. Absolutely. Thank you for sharing those comments. There's a book I edited called Intra-Africa Student Mobility. And I agree with the comments. And one of the things I didn't mention that I think is important to help us understand the broader global context is that there's actually considerable international activity within the continent. And there's actually considerable intra-Africa mobility within the continent. South Africa is the most important country player in Sub-Saharan Africa. It is globally ranked—has more globally ranked institutions than any other African country. And so South Africa then becomes an important hub. And, yes, as an English-speaking, among many other languages, country, that does attract African students to go oftentimes for a similar sense of shared culture, despite sometimes different languages and customs and backgrounds. And yet, nevertheless, South Africa is an important player within the continent. Not to say that there is no international mobility occurring, but there is increased capacity within the continent that would allow students and interested students to travel within the continent. Not the same extent, of course, as Europe. But the least we're seeing that rise over time. And so it's called Intra-Africa Student Mobility. Chika Sehoole and I coedited the book. We were able to get about eight African scholars to talk about the various reasons students would choose that particular African country, and what draw them. And what was really interesting about this phenomenon is that it goes against this prevailing notion of Africa's victim of brain drain or all going to the north. That's actually not what is happening. But that there is capacity building within the continent. So in trying to answer a different question, I skirted over a lot of the things I could go further into. But hopefully that book will shed light on what's happening within that continent, at least from the perspective of eight different countries. FASKIANOS: Fantastic. Thank you for that. I'm going to go next to Jonathan Scriven at Washington Adventist University in Maryland: What are some of the strategies universities are using to make education more affordable in the United States? If that is a challenge, are schools investing more or less in setting up campuses in foreign countries as a way to reach foreign students? LEE: I'm just going to read over that question. OK, yeah. Great question, Jonathan. So what's happening in my institution and many others is a way to attract students is we're providing considerable aid, merit aid, financial aid, aid even to international students. The majority may not even be paying the full sticker price. Now this, of course, will affect the revenue that would have otherwise been generated, but nevertheless is a way to deal with the fierce competition across U.S. institutions for these top students. So how to make it affordable? There's a lot of aid going around at the undergraduate, not just the graduate, levels. And so what are institutions doing? Well, for example, at the University of Arizona for our dual degrees, it's a fraction of the cost of what it would cost to be a student at our main campus. When you have a combination of hybrid or online delivery with a campus partner maybe providing most of the gen ed's and then we would teach most of the major courses as an example, that does significantly lower the cost where that student will still get a bona fide University of Arizona degree, just like they would at main campus. So these alternative forms of delivery certainly make it more affordable, especially for those that opt to stay in their home country and receive an online education, or a flipped classroom model, or a dual degree. FASKIANOS: Great. Denis Simon, if you can—why don't you ask your question? Q: Here I am. OK. Recently, on a trip to China in September, a number of faculty have told me they're no longer wanting to send their best students abroad. They want to keep them in China. And this is all part of the rise of Chinese universities, et cetera. And so it may not be simply the souring of Sino-U.S. relations that has causal effect here, but simply the fact that China now is becoming a major, you know, educational powerhouse. And that also could change the dynamics. For example, even the BRI countries could start to send their students to China instead of sending them to the United States. Do you see anything evolving like this or—and what might be the outcome? LEE: Yeah. Spot on, David. That halo effect of a U.S. degree is not the same as it was when I was a university student. Chinese students, as well as students in the world, are much more savvy. They have access to information. They have access to rankings. They know all universities are not the same. And they know that they have some institutions that are highly ranked and may offer better quality education than the U.S. So that the image of a U.S. degree, of course, is not as universally perceived as it may have been, I don't know, pre-internet, or without the—all sorts of rankings in which institutions are rated against one another. And absolutely, Chinese institutions are very difficult to get into, fiercely competitive, producing far more scientific output than some of our leading institutions. And there's another factor when it comes to Asian culture just more broadly speaking, is that social network tie. Sociologists refer to it as social capital. When a Chinese student, a Korean student, Japanese student decides to study in the United States, they may lose that social tie that may possibly put them in a disadvantage when they decide to come back and compete for a position when they may just have that U.S. credential, but may have either lessened or no longer have that relationship that may have allowed them to get a position at the university, or in a place where that alumni network would have been especially useful. So again, I don't want to generalize, you know, in any place to the world, but there is that component that I think sometimes is missed in the literature. Maintaining that social network is pretty key, especially as jobs, of course, global, you know, unemployment—places where students are competing for positions need to have every edge possible. So that also can be part of that reason they decide to stay. FASKIANOS: Great. The next question from Michael Kulma, who's at the University of Chicago. He's following on David Moore's comments about Florida: Do you know how many other states in the U.S. are enacting or are considering such policies against partnerships with China? LEE: I do not know the answer. So if anyone wants to raise their hand and share about their own state, or put it on the answer part of the question and answer. There are related concerns about DEI, diversity, equity, and inclusion. Some of that may spill over to China. Hopefully, at some point at the Council of Foreign Relations will have a discussion on Israel and Hamas conflict and how institutions are dealing with that. And so we're seeing a pretty challenging political environment that is clearly spilling over to our classrooms and to our international activities, our domestic recruitment. But I'm not answering your question, Michael. (Laughs.) I'll leave it up to someone else to answer. FASKIANOS: Great. Thank you. So we don't have very much time left. I thought maybe you could, given your research and expertise, could suggest resources—recommend resources for higher ed leaders and administrators to better understand how to promote collaboration. LEE: Sure. So promoting collaboration, it really—each person at a time. You know, again, MOUs may be signed, and maybe overarching presidents will come together and have an agreement, but there's no guarantee that will ever happen. I'd love to do a study on how many MOUs never actually materialized into real action. So where do we begin? International affairs SIOs out there, identify who are your area studies experts? Who are your visiting postdocs? Who are your Fulbright scholars from other parts of the world? They all represent their own network and are certainly are valuable resources to consider. What I've sometimes have heard even at my own institution is, you know, how do we bring these people to the table? Why are they not at the table to begin with, and then how do we bring them there? And this is a relatively low-cost way to go about this, right? Like, faculty engaged in service. What kind of opportunities can your university provide for faculty service that is aligned with their area of expertise, the areas of the world they represent, the networks they have? And many of—some of you already have experienced this directly. These partnerships often begin with our alumni, international—former international students who decide to go back home. So, again, there's just a lot of exciting opportunity. I love this field because it's never boring. There's always new ways to grow, expand new partners. But it really does begin with that essential element of trust. And that often begins with our own institutions and identifying those who've already started to build that network. FASKIANOS: Wonderful. Thank you very much. Really appreciate your being with us and for sharing your expertise and background, Dr. Lee. It's been fantastic. And to all of you, for your questions and comments, and sharing your experiences as well. You can follow Dr. Lee on X, the app formerly known as Twitter, at @JennyJ_Lee. I will send out a link to this webinar, the transcript, and the video, as well as the link to the book—your book that you mentioned, and any other resources that you want to share with the group. And I encourage you all to follow @CFR_academic on X, visit CFR.org, ForeignAffairs.com, and ThinkGlobalHealth.org for research and analysis on global issues. We also—just putting in a plug for our other series, Academic Webinar series, which is designed for students. We just sent out the winter/spring lineup and we hope that you will share that with your colleagues and your students. It is a great way for them to have access to practitioner scholars and to talk with students from around the country. So if you haven't received that lineup, you can email cfracademic@CFR.org, and we will share that with you. So, again, thank you, Jenny, for being with us, and to all of you. And wishing you safe and happy holidays. And good luck closing out this semester before we get to the holidays. (Laughs.) So thank you again. (END)

Jenny Lee, vice president for Arizona International, dean of international education, and professor of educational policy studies and practice at the University of Arizona, leads the conversation on U.S. international academic collaboration and how U.S.-China tensions are affecting higher education. FASKIANOS: Welcome to CFR's Higher Education Webinar Series. I'm Irina Faskianos, vice president of the National Program and Outreach here at CFR. Today's discussion is on the record and the video and transcript will be available on our website, CFR.org/academic. As always, CFR takes no institutional positions on matters of policy. We're delighted to have Jenny Lee with us to discuss U.S. international academic collaboration. Dr. Lee is vice president for Arizona International, dean of international education, and professor of educational policy studies and practice at the University of Arizona. She is also a fellow of the American Educational Research Association. Dr. Lee formerly served as a senior fellow of NAFSA, the Association of International Educators, as chair for the Council of International Higher Education, and as a board member for the Association for the Study of Higher Education. And she has also served as a U.S. Fulbright scholar to South Africa, as a distinguished global professor at Korea University, and as an international visiting scholar at the City University of London, the University of Pretoria, and the University of Cape Town in South Africa. So, Dr. Lee, thank you very much for being with us for today's topic. I thought you could begin by giving us an overview of current trends in U.S. international academic collaboration, especially looking at what's happening with our relations with China. LEE: Sounds great. Well, thank you for the opportunity, Irina. It's a pleasure to be here and to speak with you and all those listening right now. I'll speak for about ten or so minutes, and then open it up and engage with the audience. Hopefully, you all have some good questions that will come up during my remarks. So, clearly, we're entering a very interesting and somewhat uncertain chapter in how we understand the role of higher education globally. So I will begin with some general observation so all our viewers are on the same page. Now, first and foremost, the U.S. is mostly at the top when it comes to the higher education sector. Most of us already know that the United States houses the most highly ranked institutions. And this allows the country to be the largest host of international students and scholars from around the world. According to the latest IIE Open Doors report published a couple of weeks ago, the U.S. attracted over a million students from all over the world. And we're almost back to pre-pandemic levels. We also host over 90,000 scholars. And the primary purpose for them being here is research, for about two-thirds to 75 percent of them. These international scholars, as well as international graduate students, contribute significantly to the U.S. scientific enterprise. The U.S. is also among the leading countries in scientific output and impact, and the largest international collaborator in the world. In other words, the U.S. is highly sought because of its prestigious institutions, drawing top faculty and students from around the world. And with that comes the ability to generate cutting-edge scientific breakthroughs which further secures the U.S.' global position in academia. At the same time, of course, we've seen China's economy rise significantly as the country surpassed the United States in scientific output, and more recently in impact as measured by publication citations, and is outpacing the U.S. in the extent of R&D investment. Chinese institutions have also made noticeable jumps in various global rankings, which is a pretty big feat considering the fierce competition among the world's top universities. What we're witnessing as well are geopolitical tensions between the two countries that have impacted the higher education sector. While these two countries, the U.S. and China, are the biggest global collaborators—and they collaborate more with each other than any other country—they're also rival superpowers. As global adversaries, what we are witnessing as well is increased security concerns regarding intellectual theft and espionage. I'm going to spend some time summarizing my work for those who are not familiar to provide some further context. I and my colleagues, John Haupt and Xiaojie Li, also at the University of Arizona, have conducted numerous studies about U.S.-China scientific collaboration. And what we're observing across these studies is how the scientific pursuit of knowledge, which is fundamentally borderless, is becoming bordered in the current geopolitical environment. International collaboration, long valued as positive-sum, is being treated as zero-sum. Besides the rise of China and the accompanying political rhetoric that posed China as a so-called threat, tensions also grew among accusations, as you may recall, about the origins of SARS-CoV-2 and a corresponding sharp increase in anti-Asian hate crimes in the United States. Public opinions about China were not favorable, and thus there was not a whole lot of public resistance when the FBI's China Initiative was launched in 2018. This initiative basically signaled that anyone of Chinese descent was a potential enemy of the state, including possible Chinese Communist Party spies in our own universities, even though there was no pervasive empirical or later judicial cases that proved such a damaging assumption. Nevertheless, world-renowned Chinese scientists were falsely accused of academic espionage and their careers and personal finances ruined. In my research that followed with Xiaojie Li, with support from the Committee of 100, we surveyed about 2,000 scientists in the U.S.' top research universities during the China Initiative. And we found that one in two Chinese scientists were afraid that they were being racially profiled by the FBI. We also observed that consequently scientists, especially those with Chinese descent, were less inclined to collaborate with China, less inclined to pursue federal grants, less inclined to even stay in the United States but rather to take their expertise to another country where they felt safer to pursue their research, including in China. In sum, the federal government's attempts to weed out possible Chinese spies was highly criticized as a damaging form of racial profiling affecting even U.S. citizens and, in the end, undermined the U.S.' ability to compete with China. Especially now, as we continue to observe Chinese scientists leaving the U.S. and taking their skills and talents elsewhere. With John Haupt and two academics at Tsinghua University in China, Doctors Wen Wen and Die Hu, we asked about two hundred co-collaborators in China and in the United States how were they able to overcome such geopolitical tensions and the challenges associated with COVID-19 during the pandemic? And we did learn something somewhat unexpected, and I hope valuable. Basically, we found that mutual trust between international collaborators helped overcome such perceived hurdles, including risks of being unfairly targeted. What this tells us is that a chilling effect is certainly real and remains possible, but in the end scientists have tremendous agency on what they study, where they study, and whether or not they seek funds, or where they seek funds. Regardless of the host or home country, international collaboration is important to all countries' scientific enterprise. Coauthors from different countries improve the knowledge being produced, its applicability, enlarges global audiences, and thereby increases the impact of the work. So considering the value, yet risks, where do we begin? Firstly, federal and institutional policies, of course, matter, for better or for worse. But policies do not manufacture trust. The formation of an academic tie does not suddenly occur over a cold call in the middle of a global meltdown, as often portrayed in Hollywood. Rather, this is a gradual process. And the longevity of the relationship helps strengthen that trust over time. According to our research, these collaborative relationships begin as graduate students, postdocs, visiting researchers. They occur at academic conferences and other in-person opportunities. Cutting short-term fellowships, for example, will impact the potential of a future scientific relationship, but its effects may not be felt for years. Same with denied visas and opportunities for travel. Fewer graduate students from particular countries or fields also means a different shape when it comes to global science. U.S. for instance, was not too long ago Russia's biggest foreign scientific collaborator, with the war in Ukraine, those research relationships, as well as much—with much of the Western world, have ceased. All of this, and my related empirical research, was conducted when I was a professor at my home institution. And since July, I've been serving, as Irina mentioned, as the dean and vice president of international affairs at my own institution. And I've been thinking a lot of, what does this mean for institutional practice? For those in university leadership positions, as mine, you know this is a tough challenge. Especially as domestic demand and state funding for higher education is generally declining. And at the same time, internationalization is increasingly central to senior leadership strategies. Universities are continuing vying to attract the world's students, even despite a decline of interest from China. And at the same time, research universities in particular are quite dependent on federal grants. We have our own research security offices that need to ensure our universities have good reputations and relations with our large federal funding agencies and taking every precaution to not be seen as a vulnerable site of intellectual theft. These units tend not to operate within international affairs. And I'm very well aware that in my role of trying to attract as many students from China and develop international partnerships, all of them can be suddenly erased if a Chinese University partner does not pass visual compliance or there is a sudden presidential executive order, as we experienced under the Trump administration. I'm also very well aware that of senior leaders have to choose between my educational offerings and partnerships in China versus risking a major grant from a federal agency, I will lose. We witnessed that with the shutting down of over 100 Confucius Institutes in the U.S., despite a lack of evidence of systematic espionage occurring through these centers. Public perceptions, informed or not, strongly affect the nature of our international work, as in the case of Florida. Such negative perceptions are not one country-sided, of course. A key concern for Chinese and other international students and their parents relate to safety. Gun violence, including on our own college campuses, anti-Asian hate crimes in surrounding neighborhoods, and unfavorable political environment in which studies might be interrupted as in the case of Proclamation 10043, or visa non-renewals are all contributing factors for the decline of interest from China, and uncertain future student exchange as well. In closing, when it comes to China these days no practices are guaranteed. However, I can recommend some while also keeping in mind geopolitical conditions can suddenly change for worse, or perhaps better. I mentioned earlier the value of mutual trust. At my university, we have long-standing relationships with university leaders at Chinese institutions. We've set up dual degree programs in China. Actually, about 40 percent of our international student enrollment are through such partner relationships throughout the world, in which we go to where they are. Hiring staff who speak the language and know the culture are also essential. And, like any relationship, these arrangements have developed over time. They are not built overnight. It takes intention. It takes effort. But in my experience, as trust is established the numbers have grown, and the positive impact is still being felt. Thank you. FASKIANOS: Thank you very much for that. That was terrific. Let's go now to all of you for your questions, comments. You can use this to share best practices and what you're doing to your universities or institutions. Please click the raise hand icon on your screen to ask a question. On your iPad or tablet, you can click the “more” button to access the raise hand feature. And when you're called upon, please accept the unmute prompts, state your name and affiliation, followed by your question. You can also submit a written question, they've already started coming in, by the Q&A icon. And if you can also include your affiliation there, I would appreciate it, although we will try to make sure we identify you correctly. So let's see. I'm looking for—no raised hands yet, but we do have questions written. So first question from Denis Simon, who's a professor at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill: Many U.S. universities have curtailed their exchanges and cooperation with China. You referenced that. Officials at these universities are worried that if they appear too friendly toward China they will lose all sorts of federal funding. Are these concerns justified? Are there any regulations or legislation that actually says federal funding can be removed assuming these universities are in compliance with the export controls, et cetera? LEE: All right. Well, thanks, Denis, for your question. I know there—when I saw the list of those who signed up, I know there are many here who can speak to this directly. So I encourage those to also raise their hands and provide input in the Q&A, maybe in the form of an A instead of a Q. But in any case, going to that question, you know, it's a tough environment. And so much in my role, but what I even experienced in my research, is about that perception, that overinterpretation. So maybe signaling that we have this exchange program might draw attention in ways that might lead to suspicions that, oh, well is this, you know, somehow creating an opportunity for us to disclose military secrets? I mean, that's where we take it. A friendly exchange or visit is oftentimes now having to be scrutinized and ensuring that there is no remote violation of export controls, even in educational delivery in a non-STEM field. And what we're seeing is that this—we have our highly sensitive fields, but that kind of scrutiny we're also seeing applied to the institution more broadly. So these seemingly benign programs about language or culture, about fields that are enhanced or help promote so-called American values, are also being watched. So I believe as an institutional leader, again, as I mentioned earlier, having to deal with the possibility of unwanted or unwarranted attention versus not having that program, I think some, as Denis has pointed out, are leaning towards being more cautious. Unfortunately, China—any work with China is considered a risk, even if there is no reason for risk, as we've witnessed under—or, observed under the China Initiative. I don't know if I've fully answered that question, but please follow up if I haven't. And I know others can probably say more to that issue. FASKIANOS: Great. I'll take the next question from Peter—I don't know how to pronounce— LEE: Peter Becskehazy. Hi, Peter. (Laughs.) FASKIANOS: There you go. Thank you very much. LEE: I know Peter. FASKIANOS: All right. Good. Well, I'd love if Peter asked his question directly, if he can. Oh, good. From Pima Community College. Go ahead, Peter. Q: Hello, Jenny. Nice to see you. LEE: Hi, Peter. Q: Now my question is, the University of Arizona and other universities have had an inflow of dozens of countries, adding up to the million that you mentioned. Are other countries trying to fill in slots left vacant by Chinese students and scholars? LEE: Yeah. Great question, Peter. And I think you can also share what you've observed at Pima in terms of the patterns you've witnessed. But for us, and as we are seeing nationally, we're seeing India rise. Not at the—not at higher numbers in many institutions, compared to China, but the rate is rising. It's not so simple, though, because we also have relations in India, and trying to set up agreements, and bring students. The competition in India is intense. So even though there's a relatively so-called large market, and the U.S. has been quite successful in attracting Indian students, that is perhaps where the attention is as a more, I would say—I hate to use the word “market,”—but a stable student market. There's a lot more interest in graduate-level education globally, as we've observed. These countries that formerly didn't have capacity now do have capacity. They have online offerings. They have branch campuses, dual degrees, lots of other options. And so the niche for the U.S., whereas before we didn't really have to think about a niche, is really in graduate education. Now, of course, that's not good news for Pima, that's thinking about a community college and other kinds of educational offerings. But for us, we're thinking about India a lot. Southeast Asia, of course, has always been an important partner to us. Africa continues to be a challenge. We know that when we think about population growth, Africa is the future. There's still challenges and trying to identify places where there is capacity. But also the affordability of a U.S. education is a huge challenge. So it's a great question. And, again, I'm curious to know other places in the world people recommend. Of course, Latin America, given our location, is a key strategic partner. But again, affordability becomes an issue. And again, I'm just talking about the traditional international student who would choose to come to Arizona. Not talking about research collaboration, which is less bound by affordability issues. Irina, you're muted. FASKIANOS: How long have I been doing this? OK. (Laughs.) I'm going to take the next written question from Allison Davis-White Eyes, who is vice president for diversity, equity, and inclusion at Fielding Graduate University: We have tried to work on collaborations with European universities and African universities, and met with much difficulty. What trends are you seeing in these regions? And what are emerging global markets beyond China? LEE: Great question, Allison. I mean, if you could leave the question in the future, so because I am visually looking at the question at the same time. FASKIANOS: Oh, great. Sorry. LEE: So, Allison, I'm not sure if you're referring to academic or research. Of course, within Europe, where the government does highly subsidized tuition, it's just becomes financially a bad deal, I suppose—(laughs)—for a student in the world who would normally get a free or highly reduced tuition to pay full price at our institution. So that kind of exchange of partnership, especially when it's about—when it's financially based, becomes almost impossible from my experience. But thinking about research collaboration, it depends on the level. So if it's an institutional agreement, you know, it's—often, these MOUs tend to just be on paper. It takes quite a bit of—it's very ceremonial. You need to get legal involved. It's a whole process to get an MOU. We really don't need these non-binding MOUs for research agreements. Some countries like it, just to display that they have an MOU with a U.S. institution. But essentially, it doesn't stop me as a professor to reach out to another professor at the University of Oslo, and say, hey, let's do a study. Which we actually are doing. So, yeah, feel free to be more specific, or if you want to raise your hand or speak on—and elaborate on that question. So, again, for educational exchange, it is difficult because we are—there's already a process within the EU that makes it very affordable and highly supported within the EU, or if you're part of that bigger program. Africa, again, my challenge from my role as an institutional leader is identifying places where there is already enough mass education up through high school where one would be able to consider, first of all, being admitted to a U.S. institution, but secondly, to be able to pay the cost. FASKIANOS: Allison, do you want to expand a little bit? Q: Oh, sorry. (Laughs.) FASKIANOS: There you go. There you go. Q: Right. Dr. Lee, thank you for your response. I think it was helpful, especially regarding the subsidizing of education in Europe. We've been working on some research partnerships. And we have just—you know, really, it has just been extremely difficult with European universities. And I do think part of it has to do with the way things are subsidized in Europe. I was just wondering if there were new and different ways to do it. I do appreciate your comment about the MOUs being largely ceremonial. I agree. And would like to see something with a little more substance. And that will take some creativity and a lot of partnership and work. As for Africa, we have tried to create partnerships with South Africa. I think there's some potential there. Certainly, some excitement. We've had a few students from Nigeria, extremely bright and motivated. I just would—you know, would like to hear, maybe from some other colleagues as well on the call, if there are creative ways in working with these students as well. So, thank you. LEE: Yeah, no. And just to follow up quickly, and, again, opportunities for others to share, academic collaboration, as I mentioned during my remarks, is largely built upon mutual trust. And not to say it can't happen from top down, but really does—is most successful from bottom up. And I don't mean to refer to professors at the bottom, but meaning those that are actually engaged with that work. And so just some considerations is rather than a top-down initiative or strategy, is to identify those that are visiting scholars, already from that country, have networks within that country. What's interesting, as I learned in my current role, is how little my predecessors worked with professors in these area's studies programs, because they're oftentimes treated as a separate or having different interests in mind when actually there is a lot of overlap to identify those that are actually there. Allison, by the way, I lived in South Africa for eight years. And I know it actually takes a long time. My Fulbright started off as a one year, and I had to extend it because even getting the data while I was on the ground takes time. And I'll be honest, I think part of it was taking some time just to build trust the intentions of my work, what was I going to do with that data, how is that going to be used? Was it actually going to be ways to empower them? You know, for those who study international collaboration, know this north and south divide, and I think there are places in the world that are—maybe have some guardrails up from those—not saying this is what's happening in your institution—but someone that they don't know coming from the Global North to study someone else in the Global South. And so how do we create or initiate a collaboration that is clearly, expressly mutual at the onset? And, again, this is where trust can be operationalized lots of different ways, but that even begins with that initial message. I mean, I remember when I started my work, nobody responded to me. They're like, who are you? And I don't care who you are or what your CV says. And it takes time. You know, building that relationship, and that person introducing me to that other person. Like, you know, this is how scientific networks form. And I think, to some extent, this is also how institutional collaborative relationships also form. FASKIANOS: Thank you. I'm going to go next to David Moore, who has a raised hand. Q: OK, thank you. I just got unmuted. FASKIANOS: Great. Q: Lee, I appreciate your comments. And I heard your reference to Florida earlier. I don't know if we have colleagues on this call from Florida, but I think they'll know what I'm about to say. I'm the dean of international education at Broward College in Fort Lauderdale. And as of tomorrow, December 1, Florida has to—all institutions in Florida, public institutions, colleges and universities, must be completely devoid of any partnerships in China. And not just China. There are seven countries of concern. And you probably can cite them, most of you would know the other six. But of the seven countries, Broward had four partnerships in China alone, none in the other countries that were active. And so we are now officially done, have to be. And I've had to notify the partners as well as our accrediting body, because these were international centers of Broward where they literally offer—we offered associate degrees, two-year degrees. And students could then transfer to an institution in the United States. Now, this didn't catch us too much by surprise because two and a half years ago our Florida legislature started in on this, really probably before that, where they isolated universities in Florida and said: You cannot do research—sensitive research, whatever, you know, engineering, computer science, et cetera—any research without notifying the state. And there's an elaborate process that had to be—you know, they had to go through to do this. But now it's not just research institutions. Now it's not just those kinds of collaborations. It is, in fact, all partnerships of any kind. We had to end our agent agreements where we were recruiting students from China that were—where the companies were based in China. And in course our programs were not research. They're just general education, two-year associate's degree, maybe some business. But we've been informed now it's completely done. And so I'm actually looking for institutions outside of Florida who might be willing to take over the role that we've had in transcripting students who later want to come to the United States. At least for the first two years in China, and then transferring to the upper division to the U.S. So I'm not sure. You're probably quite familiar with this. I don't know if you know the details of how it was worked out in practice. We were the only community college in the state that had any partnerships. So we were the ones that had to desist. So I want to—there are probably people on the call that are familiar with this, but there might be many others. And I just wanted to say that I'm looking to, you know, open that door to other institutions outside of Florida that might be willing in, yes, take a risk to go into China, but to—I've always felt that these kinds of programs were very good to build relationships, partnerships, communication. Ambassadors really. Where we feel like we were representing American education, whatever, you know, we call American values, democracy, you know, community. We thought we were doing good. But we found out we were—we were not. We were—we were doing something that went opposed to the prevailing political climate, at least in Florida. So that's my comment. I think people should know about it. And thank you for letting me speak to it a bit. Maybe someone will speak up and say they're interested in they can get in touch with me, David Moore at Broward College, Fort Lauderdale, Florida. LEE: David, thank you for sharing what you did. This is a really important example of where other states could very well head. And what's interesting, as David noted, we're talking about a community college. When we normally think about cutting ties, it's usually around the concerns about national security. Now, how this translates to a two-year degree that is solely educational based is a pretty far stretch, and yet is being impacted quite severely. So I think we should continue to follow this example—unfortunate example. And, David, yeah, your partners have reached out to my office, and I'm sure to others. But thank you for being available. Q: You're welcome. We have partners—we are also working with your Jakarta, Indonesia center there. So we have that connection. Thank you. LEE: Mmm hmm. Thanks. FASKIANOS: And if anybody wants to share contact information in the Q&A box, you can certainly do that. That would be great. There is a written question from Tutaleni Asino at Oklahoma State University: There was an article today in SEMAFOR highlighting that there are currently 350 U.S. students studying in China compared to 11,000 in 2019. Comparatively, there are 300,000 Chinese students in the United States. Is this a one-way problem, where the U.S. is not investing in international engagements as a result of being more inward looking and other countries having more options of who to collaborate with? LEE: Yeah. Tutaleni, that's—I think your question is an answer. And I think it's—I agree with your observation. So we are seeing that as there's state and public disinvestment in higher education, and including scrutiny about international higher education, we're also seeing a decline and cutting of foreign language programs in the United States. So here we are, a monolingual country whose students mostly go to Europe or other English-speaking countries to study abroad. A very limited number of international—U.S. students who pursue undergraduate degrees in a foreign country. And knowing that the future is global and international, at least in my opinion, does not set the U.S. up well to be globally competitive, even though much of its international policy is around this rhetoric of we need to compete with China. And so you raise a good point. How is this possible if U.S. citizens don't speak Chinese, or have no interest in learning about Chinese culture, or there's reduced opportunities even in our own institutions, I think is something to think about and ask more questions about. FASKIANOS: I'm going to take the next question from Zhen Zhu, chair and professor of marketing, director of faculty excellence, and director for international engagement at Suffolk University: How do you see the trend of U.S. students' interest in study abroad to China? LEE: There is actually growing interest. As many of you know, China—offering Chinese language in high schools is not as unusual as it used to be. There is growing interest as students are thinking about employability in global markets in multinational or international organizations or corporations. It would be fundamental, in fact, for someone who has any interest in international work to pick up the language if they can, and at your own institution. FASKIANOS: Great. Let's see. From—I'm going to take the next question from Jeff Riedinger: Is there a role for universities to play in knowledge diplomacy to sustain international relationships and collaborations in addressing global problems such as climate change and pandemics when national governments may be at odds with each other? LEE: Thanks, Jeff. And hi, Jeff. I'm just going to read over that question so I can kind of digest it a bit. Is there a role for institutions to play in knowledge diplomacy, such as climate change, pandemics, when national governments may be at odds with each other? Absolutely, 200 percent. It is occurring—knowledge diplomacy, science diplomacy. That one individual going on a Fulbright or coming to study here for some extended visit, having these collaborations and, ultimately, you know, science—knowledge production—I mean, there's no bounds. And when we think about the kind of research that may not occur because of these national governments are at odds when it comes to addressing climate change or other global issues, you know, the world is paying somewhat of a price when it comes to that in—when there are overarching concerns about national security. So, you know, my issue has always been with policy you overlook nuance, and with sweeping policies that overlook the disciplinary distinctions and contributions, what is lost in the pursuit of trying to stay ahead of another country in fields and areas that really have no economic or military value, right? But yet, have an important cultural value, or maybe will address something bigger, such as COVID-19. So as I mentioned, the work that I referenced earlier about U.S.-Chinese scientists coming together during COVID-19, were actually scientists who studied COVID-19 together. And again, this was not—this was fraught with risks. They were very well aware that there was a lot of scrutiny about any research about COVID-19 coming from China. There was scrutiny about, you know, where the data was held, who was analyzing it, who was funding it. And yet, these scientists took these risks in order to address how does the world deal with the pandemic. And this was based on interviews of those studies that were actually successful and published. This is where that mutual trust, as I've mentioned earlier, is so important. And without that mutual trust, these studies, I'm pretty certain, would never have been published, because it was not an easy path when it comes to that particular geopolitical climate during the pandemic. FASKIANOS: Jenny, I'm just going to ask a question. President Biden and President Xi met during APEC. Did anything come out of that meeting that could affect U.S.-China academic collaboration? LEE: Yeah. You know, this is tough. I mean, how do you analyze political statements? What do they really mean? And what is really going to change? I think what's clear is that there's an acknowledgment that we're interdependent, but we're also adversaries. Almost a love/hate codependent, in a relationship that we can't just easily separate but we do need each other. But the form that it takes, I think there's an understanding it needs to be more specific. And I don't think that has been clarified yet. I realize I missed part of Jeff's question on what can institutions do? That's such a good question. And I got more into the topic than the actual to-do. What can institutions do? Honestly—(laughs)—I'll just speak as a researcher, to back off a bit, right? To let scientists do what they want to do. Yes, we need to follow disclosures. We need to make sure there's no conflicts of interest. We need to follow all of these procedures. But what I also found during the China Initiative, there was also this chilling climate in which there's an overinterpretation that may put institutions at risk. And to my knowledge, institutions were not at risk to the extent to which their scientists, especially those of Chinese descent, felt scrutinized. FASKIANOS: Thank you. We have a raised hand from Dan Whitman. Q: OK, I think I'm unmuted. Thank you, Irina. And thanks, Professor Lee, for mentioning the Great Wall that that prevents us from dealing with even Europeans who have subsidized education or Africans who have no money. And just an anecdote, since you have welcomed anecdotes, I am an adjunct at George Washington University. But totally unrelated to that, just for free and just for fun, pro bono, nobody pays, nobody gets paid. A course that I'm giving by webinar, it's zero cost. The topic is crisis management, but it could be any topic. And in that group, which there are about eighty people who tune in twice a week, fifteen Kenyans, twenty-five Ukrainians, and forty Kazakhs. I mean, I don't know if there's ever been exchange between Kazakhstan and Kenya. Anyway, my point is things can be done. We share it for free. What motivates the students? A certificate. It's so easy to give them a certificate. And in many countries, they very highly value that, even though it's not a—there's no formality, there's no formal academic credit. But the students are very motivated. And possibly, there may be universities in the U.S. that could—that might want to give a professor a small stipendium to do an informal webinar course, which would create connections, which would be zero cost, basically, and would bridge that gap of funding that you've alluded to. Thank you. LEE: Yeah. Dan, thank you for that. And I think this leads to a kind of a spin-off comment about certificates. Absolutely. Micro-credentials or alternative forms of education, where there's maybe not a full-fledged undergraduate degree but some certificate, I think, is important niche, especially for returning adults or communities where they're not able to afford to take time off. So that flexibility, and obviously now with online education, just becomes so much more accessible and very low cost. Something else to keep in mind, though, is that, depending on the institution you're from, that will make a difference in certificates. I mean, an institution like George Washington University offering a certificate may have some symbolic or perceived value that may be higher than an institution that is lower or are not ranked at all. So this is where, unfortunately—I'm a big critic of global rankings. But unfortunately, it does play a role in how that certificate is being perceived and the attractiveness of that certificate. But absolutely, this is definitely a way to open access especially for places in the world that just cannot physically move or have the funds to support their studies. FASKIANOS: Great. There are two comments/questions in the Q&A that I wanted to give you a chance to respond to about Africa, from Tutaleni Asino and Fodei Batty. Dr. Asino talks about English is the language of instruction and governments in Africa where they're funding education to a higher degree, and thinks that there are opportunities there, but it sounds like all fifty-four countries are grouped together. And Dr. Batty talks a little bit about there are a lot of students from African countries pursuing graduate education in the United States. But South Africa is usually an exception to the higher education American norm in Africa. Most South Africans don't like to travel, especially travel to America. I thought maybe you could just clarify some—respond to those comments. LEE: Yeah. Absolutely. Thank you for sharing those comments. There's a book I edited called Intra-Africa Student Mobility. And I agree with the comments. And one of the things I didn't mention that I think is important to help us understand the broader global context is that there's actually considerable international activity within the continent. And there's actually considerable intra-Africa mobility within the continent. South Africa is the most important country player in Sub-Saharan Africa. It is globally ranked—has more globally ranked institutions than any other African country. And so South Africa then becomes an important hub. And, yes, as an English-speaking, among many other languages, country, that does attract African students to go oftentimes for a similar sense of shared culture, despite sometimes different languages and customs and backgrounds. And yet, nevertheless, South Africa is an important player within the continent. Not to say that there is no international mobility occurring, but there is increased capacity within the continent that would allow students and interested students to travel within the continent. Not the same extent, of course, as Europe. But the least we're seeing that rise over time. And so it's called Intra-Africa Student Mobility. Chika Sehoole and I coedited the book. We were able to get about eight African scholars to talk about the various reasons students would choose that particular African country, and what draw them. And what was really interesting about this phenomenon is that it goes against this prevailing notion of Africa's victim of brain drain or all going to the north. That's actually not what is happening. But that there is capacity building within the continent. So in trying to answer a different question, I skirted over a lot of the things I could go further into. But hopefully that book will shed light on what's happening within that continent, at least from the perspective of eight different countries. FASKIANOS: Fantastic. Thank you for that. I'm going to go next to Jonathan Scriven at Washington Adventist University in Maryland: What are some of the strategies universities are using to make education more affordable in the United States? If that is a challenge, are schools investing more or less in setting up campuses in foreign countries as a way to reach foreign students? LEE: I'm just going to read over that question. OK, yeah. Great question, Jonathan. So what's happening in my institution and many others is a way to attract students is we're providing considerable aid, merit aid, financial aid, aid even to international students. The majority may not even be paying the full sticker price. Now this, of course, will affect the revenue that would have otherwise been generated, but nevertheless is a way to deal with the fierce competition across U.S. institutions for these top students. So how to make it affordable? There's a lot of aid going around at the undergraduate, not just the graduate, levels. And so what are institutions doing? Well, for example, at the University of Arizona for our dual degrees, it's a fraction of the cost of what it would cost to be a student at our main campus. When you have a combination of hybrid or online delivery with a campus partner maybe providing most of the gen ed's and then we would teach most of the major courses as an example, that does significantly lower the cost where that student will still get a bona fide University of Arizona degree, just like they would at main campus. So these alternative forms of delivery certainly make it more affordable, especially for those that opt to stay in their home country and receive an online education, or a flipped classroom model, or a dual degree. FASKIANOS: Great. Denis Simon, if you can—why don't you ask your question? Q: Here I am. OK. Recently, on a trip to China in September, a number of faculty have told me they're no longer wanting to send their best students abroad. They want to keep them in China. And this is all part of the rise of Chinese universities, et cetera. And so it may not be simply the souring of Sino-U.S. relations that has causal effect here, but simply the fact that China now is becoming a major, you know, educational powerhouse. And that also could change the dynamics. For example, even the BRI countries could start to send their students to China instead of sending them to the United States. Do you see anything evolving like this or—and what might be the outcome? LEE: Yeah. Spot on, David. That halo effect of a U.S. degree is not the same as it was when I was a university student. Chinese students, as well as students in the world, are much more savvy. They have access to information. They have access to rankings. They know all universities are not the same. And they know that they have some institutions that are highly ranked and may offer better quality education than the U.S. So that the image of a U.S. degree, of course, is not as universally perceived as it may have been, I don't know, pre-internet, or without the—all sorts of rankings in which institutions are rated against one another. And absolutely, Chinese institutions are very difficult to get into, fiercely competitive, producing far more scientific output than some of our leading institutions. And there's another factor when it comes to Asian culture just more broadly speaking, is that social network tie. Sociologists refer to it as social capital. When a Chinese student, a Korean student, Japanese student decides to study in the United States, they may lose that social tie that may possibly put them in a disadvantage when they decide to come back and compete for a position when they may just have that U.S. credential, but may have either lessened or no longer have that relationship that may have allowed them to get a position at the university, or in a place where that alumni network would have been especially useful. So again, I don't want to generalize, you know, in any place to the world, but there is that component that I think sometimes is missed in the literature. Maintaining that social network is pretty key, especially as jobs, of course, global, you know, unemployment—places where students are competing for positions need to have every edge possible. So that also can be part of that reason they decide to stay. FASKIANOS: Great. The next question from Michael Kulma, who's at the University of Chicago. He's following on David Moore's comments about Florida: Do you know how many other states in the U.S. are enacting or are considering such policies against partnerships with China? LEE: I do not know the answer. So if anyone wants to raise their hand and share about their own state, or put it on the answer part of the question and answer. There are related concerns about DEI, diversity, equity, and inclusion. Some of that may spill over to China. Hopefully, at some point at the Council of Foreign Relations will have a discussion on Israel and Hamas conflict and how institutions are dealing with that. And so we're seeing a pretty challenging political environment that is clearly spilling over to our classrooms and to our international activities, our domestic recruitment. But I'm not answering your question, Michael. (Laughs.) I'll leave it up to someone else to answer. FASKIANOS: Great. Thank you. So we don't have very much time left. I thought maybe you could, given your research and expertise, could suggest resources—recommend resources for higher ed leaders and administrators to better understand how to promote collaboration. LEE: Sure. So promoting collaboration, it really—each person at a time. You know, again, MOUs may be signed, and maybe overarching presidents will come together and have an agreement, but there's no guarantee that will ever happen. I'd love to do a study on how many MOUs never actually materialized into real action. So where do we begin? International affairs SIOs out there, identify who are your area studies experts? Who are your visiting postdocs? Who are your Fulbright scholars from other parts of the world? They all represent their own network and are certainly are valuable resources to consider. What I've sometimes have heard even at my own institution is, you know, how do we bring these people to the table? Why are they not at the table to begin with, and then how do we bring them there? And this is a relatively low-cost way to go about this, right? Like, faculty engaged in service. What kind of opportunities can your university provide for faculty service that is aligned with their area of expertise, the areas of the world they represent, the networks they have? And many of—some of you already have experienced this directly. These partnerships often begin with our alumni, international—former international students who decide to go back home. So, again, there's just a lot of exciting opportunity. I love this field because it's never boring. There's always new ways to grow, expand new partners. But it really does begin with that essential element of trust. And that often begins with our own institutions and identifying those who've already started to build that network. FASKIANOS: Wonderful. Thank you very much. Really appreciate your being with us and for sharing your expertise and background, Dr. Lee. It's been fantastic. And to all of you, for your questions and comments, and sharing your experiences as well. You can follow Dr. Lee on X, the app formerly known as Twitter, at @JennyJ_Lee. I will send out a link to this webinar, the transcript, and the video, as well as the link to the book—your book that you mentioned, and any other resources that you want to share with the group. And I encourage you all to follow @CFR_academic on X, visit CFR.org, ForeignAffairs.com, and ThinkGlobalHealth.org for research and analysis on global issues. We also—just putting in a plug for our other series, Academic Webinar series, which is designed for students. We just sent out the winter/spring lineup and we hope that you will share that with your colleagues and your students. It is a great way for them to have access to practitioner scholars and to talk with students from around the country. So if you haven't received that lineup, you can email cfracademic@CFR.org, and we will share that with you. So, again, thank you, Jenny, for being with us, and to all of you. And wishing you safe and happy holidays. And good luck closing out this semester before we get to the holidays. (Laughs.) So thank you again. (END)

“Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change.” James 1:17Ken Boa is a pastor and founder of Reflections Ministries. Russ Crosson is executive vice president and chief mission officer of Ronald Blue Trust. This is the second of our interviews about a book they co-authored, titled Leverage: Using Temporal Wealth for Eternal Gain. [1:35]WHAT IS BIBLICAL LEVERAGE AND IS GIVING TO CHURCH AND MINISTRIES CONSIDERED BIBLICAL LEVERAGE?(Biblical leverage is the concept of using one's financial resources in ways that align with God's will, rather than accumulating wealth for its own sake.)It's about seeking guidance from the Scriptures and the Holy Spirit to determine how much to give and where to give.The act of giving is a way to counteract the idolatry of money and wealth, avoiding the search for security and significance in financial accumulation.Biblical leverage involves sacrificial giving that transcends mere monetary value and reflects a faithful trust in God's provision. [2:35]HOW SHOULD CHRISTIANS DECIDE HOW MUCH TO GIVE?In the New Testament, the principle of giving is focused on cheerfulness and proportionality, not a mandated amount.The more one has, the greater the challenge to give proportionally and the greater the potential impact of their generosity.Sacrificial giving for the wealthy may involve forgoing personal luxuries to contribute more significantly, acting as a test of faith. [4:04]WHAT DOES SACRIFICIAL GIVING LOOK LIKE FOR THOSE WITH SIGNIFICANT WEALTH?(Sacrificial giving for the wealthy is characterized by a deliberate choice to give up something valuable or desired for the sake of contributing to God's work.) Even if the wealthy can easily afford their desires, choosing not to indulge in something and giving instead can be a form of sacrifice.The faith aspect comes into play when one decides to do without something they normally would do and contributes that resource instead.This act of giving serves as a faith test and an opportunity to grow one's faith through the conscious act of generosity. [7:06]WHAT IS IMPORTANT TO KNOW ABOUT SACRIFICIAL GIVING ACCORDING TO SCRIPTURE?Scripture invites us to focus on the eternal rather than the temporal, and the unseen rather than the visible.The challenge lies in whether wealth or God's Word defines us, our security, and our significance.The Bible instructs those with wealth to not be conceited or to place their hope in wealth but in God, referencing 1 Timothy 6:17-19: "Instruct those who are rich in this present world not to be conceited or to fix their hope on the uncertainty of riches but in God, who richly supplies us with all things to enjoy." [8:20]WHAT IS THE ROLE OF THE HOLY SPIRIT IN DECISION-MAKING ABOUT GIVING?The Holy Spirit should guide our decisions about where and how much to give, involving a more radical and deep approach than we might imagine on our own.This guidance is part of a relationship with the Holy Spirit, who is not just a force but a person who illuminates God's Word.A wise person applies scripture to their life, such as 1 Timothy 6:17-19, and actively chooses to be generous, setting aside wealth for eternal benefit.Comparatively, the Bible contrasts the wise with the 'fool' who is not rich towards God, referring to the parable of the rich fool in Luke 12. [9:50]WHAT ARE THE BARRIERS TO GIVING AND HOW DOES ACCOUNTABILITY FIT INTO STEWARDSHIP?Giving can be hindered by financial, spiritual, relational, or visionary barriers, and accountability is crucial to overcome these.Having someone to challenge and ask hard questions is important since God promises to meet our needs, as mentioned in Philippians, enabling us to be generous. [10:45]WHAT DEFINES GOOD STEWARDSHIP?Good stewardship is applying biblical principles to life and welcoming accountability, preparing to give an account of our stewardship to God.Since we will all account for our actions before God individually, it's crucial to have others who can speak into our lives and help us aim for the affirmation of a job well done by God. [11:14]HOW DOES THIS DISCUSSION REVEAL THE FALSEHOOD OF THE PROSPERITY GOSPEL?The prosperity gospel wrongly applies Old Testament promises made to a theocratic Israel to New Testament believers, suggesting a direct correlation between righteousness and financial prosperity.True New Testament teaching focuses on the fruit of the Spirit rather than material wealth and encourages us to leverage temporal possessions for eternal impact. [12:30]WHAT IS ‘REVERSE COMPOUNDING?'Reverse compounding refers to the idea that delaying generosity reduces the potential eternal impact of our giving, as our time to influence God's Kingdom is limited.It emphasizes the urgency of starting to give generously now rather than waiting, as our actions on earth have eternal significance. [13:10]WHAT PRIVILEGE DOES GIVING OFFER TO BELIEVERS?Giving is a privilege that allows us to participate in God's work, requiring us to choose gratitude and contentment, which are perspectives rather than emotions.By focusing on eternal truths over temporal wealth, we can leverage the latter for God's kingdom, living out Jesus' teaching from Luke 16:9: "Make friends for yourselves by means of the wealth of unrighteousness, so that when it fails, they will receive you into the eternal dwellings." Ken Boa and Russ Crosson have been our guests today. They're authors of Leverage: Using Temporal Wealth for Eternal Gain.  On today's program, Rob also answers listener questions: How can I start fresh financially after a divorce, with $100,000 in debt, a paid-off house, and a retirement account to be split?Unsure about taking on a mortgage to buy out my ex-husband's share of the house and how to manage our debt and retirement funds post-divorce.As a special education teacher, I'm torn about how to handle my $50,000 401(k) and future retirement planning given that my husband has a government pension. RESOURCES MENTIONED:Christian Credit CounselorsFind a Certified Kingdom Advisor Remember, you can call in to ask your questions most days at (800) 525-7000. Faith & Finance is also available on the Moody Radio Network as well as American Family Radio. Visit our website at FaithFi.comwhere you can join the FaithFi Community, and give as we expand our outreach. Remember, you can call in to ask your questions most days at (800) 525-7000. Faith & Finance is also available on the Moody Radio Network and American Family Radio. Visit our website at FaithFi.com where you can join the FaithFi Community and give as we expand our outreach.

Piperacillin/tazobactam and vancomycin have been reported in numerous clinical trials to be associated with acute kidney injury. Comparatively, cefepime with vancomycin may increase neurotoxic effects. Join host, Geoff Wall, as he evaluates a new randomized controlled trial evaluating the safety of these medications. The GameChangerVancomycin, even at appropriate doses, can cause nephrotoxicity. Piperacillin/tazobactam does not seem to increase the risk of adverse kidney outcomes. However, cefepime is associated with an increased risk of neurologic toxicity. HostGeoff Wall, PharmD, BCPS, FCCP, BCGPProfessor of Pharmacy Practice, Drake UniversityInternal Medicine/Critical Care, UnityPoint Health ReferenceTong SYC, Venkatesh B, McCreary EK. Acute Kidney Injury With Empirical Antibiotics for Sepsis. JAMA. 2023;330(16):1531–1533. doi:10.1001/jama.2023.18591https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jama/fullarticle/2810593 Pharmacist Members, REDEEM YOUR CPE HERE! Not a member? Get a Pharmacist Membership & earn CE for GameChangers Podcast episodes! (30 mins/episode)CPE Information Learning ObjectivesUpon successful completion of this knowledge-based activity, participants should be able to:1. Describe the risk of nephrotoxicity with piperacillin/tazobactam2. Discuss the factors that exacerbate neurologic adverse effects with cefepime0.05 CEU/0.5 HrUAN: 0107-0000-23-353-H01-P Initial release date: 11/13/2023Expiration date: 11/13/2024Additional CPE details can be found here.Follow CEimpact on Social Media:LinkedInInstagramDownload the CEimpact App for Free Continuing Education + so much more!

“Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change.” James 1:17Ken Boa is a pastor and founder of Reflections Ministries. Russ Crosson is executive vice president and chief mission officer of Ronald Blue Trust. This is the second of our interviews about a book they co-authored, titled Leverage: Using Temporal Wealth for Eternal Gain. [1:35]WHAT IS BIBLICAL LEVERAGE AND IS GIVING TO CHURCH AND MINISTRIES CONSIDERED BIBLICAL LEVERAGE?(Biblical leverage is the concept of using one's financial resources in ways that align with God's will, rather than accumulating wealth for its own sake.)It's about seeking guidance from the Scriptures and the Holy Spirit to determine how much to give and where to give.The act of giving is a way to counteract the idolatry of money and wealth, avoiding the search for security and significance in financial accumulation.Biblical leverage involves sacrificial giving that transcends mere monetary value and reflects a faithful trust in God's provision. [2:35]HOW SHOULD CHRISTIANS DECIDE HOW MUCH TO GIVE?In the New Testament, the principle of giving is focused on cheerfulness and proportionality, not a mandated amount.The more one has, the greater the challenge to give proportionally and the greater the potential impact of their generosity.Sacrificial giving for the wealthy may involve forgoing personal luxuries to contribute more significantly, acting as a test of faith. [4:04]WHAT DOES SACRIFICIAL GIVING LOOK LIKE FOR THOSE WITH SIGNIFICANT WEALTH?(Sacrificial giving for the wealthy is characterized by a deliberate choice to give up something valuable or desired for the sake of contributing to God's work.) Even if the wealthy can easily afford their desires, choosing not to indulge in something and giving instead can be a form of sacrifice.The faith aspect comes into play when one decides to do without something they normally would do and contributes that resource instead.This act of giving serves as a faith test and an opportunity to grow one's faith through the conscious act of generosity. [7:06]WHAT IS IMPORTANT TO KNOW ABOUT SACRIFICIAL GIVING ACCORDING TO SCRIPTURE?Scripture invites us to focus on the eternal rather than the temporal, and the unseen rather than the visible.The challenge lies in whether wealth or God's Word defines us, our security, and our significance.The Bible instructs those with wealth to not be conceited or to place their hope in wealth but in God, referencing 1 Timothy 6:17-19: "Instruct those who are rich in this present world not to be conceited or to fix their hope on the uncertainty of riches but in God, who richly supplies us with all things to enjoy." [8:20]WHAT IS THE ROLE OF THE HOLY SPIRIT IN DECISION-MAKING ABOUT GIVING?The Holy Spirit should guide our decisions about where and how much to give, involving a more radical and deep approach than we might imagine on our own.This guidance is part of a relationship with the Holy Spirit, who is not just a force but a person who illuminates God's Word.A wise person applies scripture to their life, such as 1 Timothy 6:17-19, and actively chooses to be generous, setting aside wealth for eternal benefit.Comparatively, the Bible contrasts the wise with the 'fool' who is not rich towards God, referring to the parable of the rich fool in Luke 12. [9:50]WHAT ARE THE BARRIERS TO GIVING AND HOW DOES ACCOUNTABILITY FIT INTO STEWARDSHIP?Giving can be hindered by financial, spiritual, relational, or visionary barriers, and accountability is crucial to overcome these.Having someone to challenge and ask hard questions is important since God promises to meet our needs, as mentioned in Philippians, enabling us to be generous. [10:45]WHAT DEFINES GOOD STEWARDSHIP?Good stewardship is applying biblical principles to life and welcoming accountability, preparing to give an account of our stewardship to God.Since we will all account for our actions before God individually, it's crucial to have others who can speak into our lives and help us aim for the affirmation of a job well done by God. [11:14]HOW DOES THIS DISCUSSION REVEAL THE FALSEHOOD OF THE PROSPERITY GOSPEL?The prosperity gospel wrongly applies Old Testament promises made to a theocratic Israel to New Testament believers, suggesting a direct correlation between righteousness and financial prosperity.True New Testament teaching focuses on the fruit of the Spirit rather than material wealth and encourages us to leverage temporal possessions for eternal impact. [12:30]WHAT IS ‘REVERSE COMPOUNDING?'Reverse compounding refers to the idea that delaying generosity reduces the potential eternal impact of our giving, as our time to influence God's Kingdom is limited.It emphasizes the urgency of starting to give generously now rather than waiting, as our actions on earth have eternal significance. [13:10]WHAT PRIVILEGE DOES GIVING OFFER TO BELIEVERS?Giving is a privilege that allows us to participate in God's work, requiring us to choose gratitude and contentment, which are perspectives rather than emotions.By focusing on eternal truths over temporal wealth, we can leverage the latter for God's kingdom, living out Jesus' teaching from Luke 16:9: "Make friends for yourselves by means of the wealth of unrighteousness, so that when it fails, they will receive you into the eternal dwellings." Ken Boa and Russ Crosson have been our guests today. They're authors of Leverage: Using Temporal Wealth for Eternal Gain.  On today's program, Rob also answers listener questions: How can I start fresh financially after a divorce, with $100,000 in debt, a paid-off house, and a retirement account to be split?Unsure about taking on a mortgage to buy out my ex-husband's share of the house and how to manage our debt and retirement funds post-divorce.As a special education teacher, I'm torn about how to handle my $50,000 401(k) and future retirement planning given that my husband has a government pension. RESOURCES MENTIONED:Christian Credit CounselorsFind a Certified Kingdom Advisor Remember, you can call in to ask your questions most days at (800) 525-7000. Faith & Finance is also available on the Moody Radio Network as well as American Family Radio. Visit our website at FaithFi.comwhere you can join the FaithFi Community, and give as we expand our outreach.   Remember, you can call in to ask your questions most days at (800) 525-7000. Faith & Finance is also available on the Moody Radio Network and American Family Radio. Visit our website at FaithFi.com where you can join the FaithFi Community and give as we expand our outreach.

From 'Breaking Boston' (subscribe here): Fitzy and Hart are taking their typical Tuesday trot around the NFL Neighborhood to see how brown the Patriots' grass really is compared to the other side of the fence. To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

From '6 Rings & Football Things' (subscribe here): Fitzy and Hart are taking their typical Tuesday trot around the NFL Neighborhood to see how brown the Patriots' grass really is compared to the other side of the fence. To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

After a bad weekend of press, Team USA and Austin Reaves bounced back on Tuesday with a blowout win over Italy to advance in the World Cup. The backlash against the team, and Austin Reaves along with it, disappeared for a day, at least. And for this game, Reaves wasn't the story. He played well, no question, but Tyrese Halliburton and Mikael Bridges combined for 42 points on 14-20 from the floor, and 10-14 from 3-point range.Comparatively, Reaves (12/4/3) was just hanging out.But he continues to shine in ways that reflect some of the commentary from a recent story at The Athletic from Jovan Buha, in which he reports the Lakers, always searching for that third star, wonder if Reaves could become that guy, in one form or another. They've also, though, reportedly looked at more conventional names, including Atlanta's Trae Young, a name a that always seems at least tangentially tied to the Lakers, chatter wise.But is Young a good idea, literally or figuratively, before even discussing what it might take to get him? He's a name that leads to a larger discussion about what kind of "star" the Lakers should next pursue, whether now or after LeBron retires.From there, LeBron has played in an era of incredible media scrutiny. And as Rich Paul explained to Gilbert Arenas on his podcast, a level of attention and immediacy that no other star has seen through the course of his career. Certainly not Michael Jordan, or even Kobe. The combination of 24/7 traditional media combined with the explosion of social media? It's a different animal.How much credit does he deserve for moving through it basically free of controversy?HOSTS: Andy and Brian KamenetzkySEGMENT 1: Reaves bounces back, and are the Lakers still looking for a star?SEGMENT 2: Is Trae Young a good idea? (Literally or figuratively?)SEGMENT 3: Rich Paul on LeBron and the media era in which he's played.Support Us By Supporting Our Sponsors!BirddogsGo to birddogs.com/LOCKEDONNBA or enter promo code LOCKEDONNBA for a free water bottle with any purchase. You won't want to take your birddogs off we promise you.FanDuelThis episode is brought to you by FanDuel Sportsbook, Official Sportsbook of Locked On. Right now, NEW customers can bet FIVE DOLLARS and get TWO HUNDRED in BONUS BETS - GUARANTEED. Visit FanDuel.com/LOCKEDON to get started.FANDUEL DISCLAIMER: 21+ in select states. First online real money wager only. Bonus issued as nonwithdrawable free bets that expires in 14 days. Restrictions apply. See terms at sportsbook.fanduel.com. Gambling Problem? Call 1-800-GAMBLER or visit FanDuel.com/RG (CO, IA, MD, MI, NJ, PA, IL, VA, WV), 1-800-NEXT-STEP or text NEXTSTEP to 53342 (AZ), 1-888-789-7777 or visit ccpg.org/chat (CT), 1-800-9-WITH-IT (IN), 1-800-522-4700 (WY, KS) or visit ksgamblinghelp.com (KS), 1-877-770-STOP (LA), 1-877-8-HOPENY or text HOPENY (467369) (NY), TN REDLINE 1-800-889-9789 (TN) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

After a bad weekend of press, Team USA and Austin Reaves bounced back on Tuesday with a blowout win over Italy to advance in the World Cup. The backlash against the team, and Austin Reaves along with it, disappeared for a day, at least. And for this game, Reaves wasn't the story. He played well, no question, but Tyrese Halliburton and Mikael Bridges combined for 42 points on 14-20 from the floor, and 10-14 from 3-point range. Comparatively, Reaves (12/4/3) was just hanging out. But he continues to shine in ways that reflect some of the commentary from a recent story at The Athletic from Jovan Buha, in which he reports the Lakers, always searching for that third star, wonder if Reaves could become that guy, in one form or another. They've also, though, reportedly looked at more conventional names, including Atlanta's Trae Young, a name a that always seems at least tangentially tied to the Lakers, chatter wise. But is Young a good idea, literally or figuratively, before even discussing what it might take to get him? He's a name that leads to a larger discussion about what kind of "star" the Lakers should next pursue, whether now or after LeBron retires. From there, LeBron has played in an era of incredible media scrutiny. And as Rich Paul explained to Gilbert Arenas on his podcast, a level of attention and immediacy that no other star has seen through the course of his career. Certainly not Michael Jordan, or even Kobe. The combination of 24/7 traditional media combined with the explosion of social media? It's a different animal. How much credit does he deserve for moving through it basically free of controversy? HOSTS: Andy and Brian Kamenetzky SEGMENT 1: Reaves bounces back, and are the Lakers still looking for a star? SEGMENT 2: Is Trae Young a good idea? (Literally or figuratively?) SEGMENT 3: Rich Paul on LeBron and the media era in which he's played. Support Us By Supporting Our Sponsors! Birddogs Go to birddogs.com/LOCKEDONNBA or enter promo code LOCKEDONNBA for a free water bottle with any purchase. You won't want to take your birddogs off we promise you. FanDuel This episode is brought to you by FanDuel Sportsbook, Official Sportsbook of Locked On. Right now, NEW customers can bet FIVE DOLLARS and get TWO HUNDRED in BONUS BETS - GUARANTEED. Visit FanDuel.com/LOCKEDON to get started. FANDUEL DISCLAIMER: 21+ in select states. First online real money wager only. Bonus issued as nonwithdrawable free bets that expires in 14 days. Restrictions apply. See terms at sportsbook.fanduel.com. Gambling Problem? Call 1-800-GAMBLER or visit FanDuel.com/RG (CO, IA, MD, MI, NJ, PA, IL, VA, WV), 1-800-NEXT-STEP or text NEXTSTEP to 53342 (AZ), 1-888-789-7777 or visit ccpg.org/chat (CT), 1-800-9-WITH-IT (IN), 1-800-522-4700 (WY, KS) or visit ksgamblinghelp.com (KS), 1-877-770-STOP (LA), 1-877-8-HOPENY or text HOPENY (467369) (NY), TN REDLINE 1-800-889-9789 (TN) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

We are the most affluent country in the world, yet there is more anxiety, depression, and mental health issues than ever before. Money is one of the leading causes for divorce, yet most couples continue to strive for more. Western culture has been called The Burnout Society because we are tired, stressed, and unhealthy, due to long work schedules. Comparatively, The Blue Zones, which are considered the happiest and healthiest areas of the world are also some of the poorest areas of the world. Today, we reflect on the topic of money. -- Come join The Kinetic Men in Empire, CO for the next Kinetic Men Retreat, September 27-29. Learn more here: https://thekineticman.com/events Come join David and Stu in the next group of the Kinetic Man Mastermind, which brings together a diverse group of men striving to become the best husbands, fathers, friends, and leaders possible. Applications are open for the next House! Learn More here: ⁠https://thekineticman.com/mastermind⁠ Check out the Kinetic Men Events on Meetup! https://www.meetup.com/thekineticman/events/   Join our New Kinetic Man Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/thekineticman Know someone who would make a great guest on our podcast? Let us know! takeaction@thekineticman.com

THE THESIS: I fully believe this was a planned depopulation campaign. But, that's crazy talk. No one--abortion on an industrial scale--would ever--chemically and surgically sterilizing children--kill people at that level. Humans don't do that. Plus, the media--Russia Hoax, Michigan “fednapping”--would obviously--Hunter Biden laptop--tell us--Fauci funding Wuhan Lab--about it if that were happening. THE SCRIPTURE & SCRIPTURAL RESOURCES: There is so much blackmail and bribery involved in motivating and enforcing the deadly Covid response Exodus 23:8“You shall not take a bribe, for a bribe blinds the clear-sighted and subverts the cause of the just.We can know these people by their fruits. And, their fruits are record levels of death, cancer, neurological disorders, suicide and depression.Matthew 7:15-20True and False Prophets15 “Watch out for false prophets. They come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ferocious wolves. 16 By their fruit you will recognize them. Do people pick grapes from thornbushes, or figs from thistles? 17 Likewise, every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit. 18 A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, and a bad tree cannot bear good fruit. 19 Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. 20 Thus, by their fruit you will recognize them.We must remember that we--and, by “we” I really mean "I"--cannot allow ourselves to hate these people. They are spiritual captives held in bondage to evil. Like people beset by Stockholm Syndrome, they cannot see the nature of the captor. Ephesians 6:1212 For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.We cannot battle darkness with darkness. 1 John 1:5Light and Darkness, Sin and Forgiveness5 This is the message we have heard from him and declare to you: God is light; in him there is no darkness at all.THE NEWS & COMMENT:The FigureHead has been made to pretend it's Covid killing people. No, it's people who have been double and triple injected dying, people who had their cancer screening canceled or were driven into terror by the Mockingbirds so they didn't get their screenings done. It's record numbers of heart attacks and strokes in populations not usually at risk for them. [AUDIO] - Biden now says covid is a "global health emergency" after saying on 60 Minutes a few weeks ago that the "pandemic is over"The mRNA clot-shots hijack your genes and, using gene therapy, force them to build up to 42 trillion spike proteins. They do not stay at the injection site as people were told. The CDC, FDA and Pharma knew that.[AUDIO] - “The spike protein is probably one of the most toxic proteins the human body has ever seen.” Dr. Paul Marik explains the dangers of a buildup of spike protein in the body, from inflammation to autoimmune disease. The spike protein caused deaths are being laundered like mobsters launder money. They are also laundering lockdown deaths.As we documented last week, 25% of all Covid deaths right now are dying Cancer patients.