Podcasts about Ecuador

Pick a controversial topic. Whether it's immigration, race, climate change, the role of religion, or the economy, many of our assumptions that we view as completely reasonable can seem whacky or wrong to others. This may well include very smart, thoughtful people, who've had very different life experiences than our own.Our guest for this episode is Chauncey Williams, a Democratic-leaning Braver Angels volunteer in Denver.He was shocked when Donald Trump was first elected President in 2016. But instead of retreating into his political silo, Chauncey began a unique project. On different occasions he set up a table with two chairs in local parks, and invited total strangers to have conversations about important public matters. “One of the important things I came to realize is that I walk into a lot of those conversations with a host of assumptions about folks that aren't always true,” Chauncey told us. “I've often been fascinated and humbled by realizing my own limitations in knowledge, and having that revealed,” he said. “I've had this happen on more than one occasion… As uncomfortable as it is, I also welcome it.”In our revealing interview Chauncey shares what he learned from his “chats in a park” project. We hear two audio extracts from his nuanced conversations— one with an outspoken conservative who challenged Chauncey on his views of drop boxes during elections, and another with a recent immigrant from Ecuador who explained what diversity meant to him and his family.Chauncey Williams lives in Colorado where he is involved with the Southern Front Range and Denver Alliances. This year, he helped launch a "Share Your Story" event to learn how others came to their views on specific political topics and on politics, generally. He is a member of Braver Angels Denver Alliance.“How Do We Fix It?” reports on the people, projects and ideas of Braver Angels, the cross-partisan citizen's movement that brings red, blue, and other Americans together in a working alliance. Braver Angels is building new ways for Americans to talk to one another, and act as courageous citizens. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Viajar por Latinoamérica es una experiencia increíble, pero el tema del dinero puede generar muchas dudas:

La reforma electoral, va: Laura Itzel CastilloDetienen a dos personas dedicadas al robo de autos en ÁO Llega personal militar de EU a su base en Ecuador 

Donate (no account necessary) | Subscribe (account required) President Trump prepares to address the nation tonight, fueling speculation about what he may announce. Bryan walks through the most likely possibilities, from the economy and falling inflation to explosive new revelations showing the Biden DOJ pushed ahead with the Mar-a-Lago raid despite FBI warnings that no probable cause existed. Trump may also signal major changes on marijuana policy or escalate pressure on Venezuela, as the White House orders a blockade of oil tankers that could trigger cascading unrest in Caracas and Havana. Abroad, China hardens its grip on the Panama Canal by blocking US-led efforts to reclaim port operations, raising the stakes for American naval access. Trump counters Beijing's influence by naming Peru a major non-NATO ally, part of a broader strategy to lock down South America's Pacific coast alongside new conservative governments in Chile and Ecuador. In Europe, the Green Revolution falters as Brussels backs away from banning combustion engines and Ford writes down nearly $20 billion after abandoning its electric truck push. The episode closes with remarkable scientific news from Japan, where researchers discovered a bacteria found in the Japanese tree frog that eradicated tumors in mice with a 100 percent success rate, offering new hope for future cancer treatments.    "And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free." - John 8:32     Keywords: Trump national address, US economy data, Mar-a-Lago FBI raid documents, DOJ lawfare, marijuana reclassification, Venezuela oil blockade, Panama Canal China, Peru non-NATO ally, South America strategy, EV collapse Europe, Ford EV losses, combustion engine reversal, Japanese tree frog cancer research

With Jessica den Outer.  For centuries, our legal systems have treated nature as something to be owned and exploited, for human gain. In recent decades, the tenor of conversation may have shifted towards conservation and protection, but nature remains an object. The environmental laws, treaties and international agreements we enact have little impact; ecosystems continue to collapse, global temperatures continue to rise. But a bold new movement is challenging this paradigm, calling time on inadequate, anthropocentric lawmaking, and ushering in an exciting new ecocentric approach based around the rights of nature. Jessica den Outer joins us on the show to talk about the history of this new legal movement, and dive into some of the challenges it is facing, and opportunities it is creating, around the world. We discuss the legal personality of the Whanganui River in Aotearoa / New Zealand, the enshrining of the rights of nature in the National Constitution of Ecuador, and the strength of grassroots movements for the Mar Menor in Spain and the River Ouse in Sussex, England. The Forest Fights Back: A Global Movement for the Rights of Nature is 40% off for podcast listeners on plutobooks.com. Use the coupon PODCAST at the checkout.

What does it really look like to live on mission, right where you are? In this episode of NorthWoods Church Matters, Lexi sits down with Ryan Moore, Missions Pastor at NorthWoods, to reflect on the Do Not Be Silent Missions Conference and unpack how God is calling ordinary believers to faithful, everyday obedience. Ryan shares personal stories from hosting missionaries from around the world, explains how evangelism fits into discipleship, and offers practical next steps for anyone who feels stirred to witnessing but unsure where to begin. From sharing the gospel with neighbors, to serving locally, to joining mission teams headed to Peru, Ecuador, Ireland, Puerto Rico, and beyond, this conversation paints a compelling picture of what it means to live "from Evansville to everywhere." You'll also hear exciting updates about: Local NorthWoods mission partnerships and volunteer opportunities Upcoming 2026 mission trips NorthWoods' growing Deaf Ministry And more! The book Lexi mentioned: Neighborhoods Reimagined: How the Beatitudes Inspire our Call to be Good Neighbors by Chris McKinney  

The U.S. embassy in Quito said it is a short-term joint effort, as Ecuador confirmed the arrival of U.S. planes loaded with military material.

Today's Witness Wednesday is about my trip to Ecuador. Let me explain in a bit more detail how and why I decided to go to Ecuador. My brother-in-law, Daniel's best friend, has been in the hospital for a month now. He had a heart attack and then a stroke. Daniel sent me a message asking me to pray for his friend Anival. I then sent this prayer request out to all those I know who could pray for him. Everyone started to pray for him, and I asked Daniel for an update. He said he was still in a coma and they were waiting for him to wake up so they could do the CT scan. However, they were decreasing the sedation, and he wasn't waking up.Then Daniel asked me for more prayers as they did the CT scan, and it said that there was more damage than they thought. It showed that he still had oxygen bubbles in his brain. When I got this text message from Daniel, I relayed it to all those who were praying for him, as I feel the more specific we can pray for someone, the better, as it shows all the more glory to God when he answers our specific prayers. Then I got another message from Daniel a week or so later, saying that Anival got worse and they need him to start breathing on his own so that he can start eating, as he is not getting enough nutrients.When I got this message from Daniel, I also felt like I got a message from the Holy Spirit asking me to go to Ecuador to pray over Anibal in person. I thought this sounded a bit crazy, so I did what everyone should do when they feel like the Holy Spirit is telling them to do something that seems crazy. I discerned it with my spiritual director. I told her what I thought I heard, and I asked her to pray about it and see what the Holy Spirit says to her about it.She said the first thing she heard was “go” and then she asked Him to confirm it for her. The way this usually happens for her is that she sees the word she heard other places throughout the day. In this instance, she saw what looked like “go” on two different license plates throughout her day. She felt that was the confirmation she was looking for. As I was walking into the prayer group on Thursday morning, I asked the Lord to let me hear something at the meeting that confirmed that He wanted me to go. I was surprised because I didn't really hear anything during the meeting. Then, at the end, while we were cleaning up, one of our members, who just went to the national conference for Charismatic Catholics in the United States, said, “The main message of the entire conference was to Go Out. Don't just stay in the comfort of praying within your prayer group, but be bold and go out into the world and pray with others.” I took this as the confirmation that I had asked the Lord for.Now it was time to talk to my husband about it. It was not a good time for me to go to Ecuador, as he works for the government, so he is not getting a paycheck right now. Also, he was going out of the country to visit our son Noah since he is away in Scotland for school and happened to have a week off for his Birthday. Tony is not working and has a free travel credit. They were staying with a friend, so it would not be an expensive trip, and the timing was great for that trip. Another reason the timing wasn't great for this call to go to Ecuador is that in order for me to go with my sister, Daniel, and their daughter, I would have to leave before Tony got back. This isn't a big deal, as our kids at home are 17 and 21. They would be fine without us for a night, but it would have been better if we didn't have to leave them alone for a night.Anyway, I talked with Tony about the trip, and he wasn't thrilled with the idea of me going, especially since he is not getting paid and we would both be out of the country at the same time. However, he didn't say I couldn't go, and I felt strongly that I was supposed to go, so I looked at getting a ticket. Before going to dinner, the tickets were $576. When I got home from dinner and tried to buy the ticket, it had gone up to $698. I went back and forth between Expedia and Travelocity, and I couldn't find a ticket for less than $600 now.  I sent my sister a message explaining that the tickets were too much, and so I didn't think I could go. Then, I had a chat with God. I explained that there was no way I could spend $700 on a ticket when Tony wasn't thrilled about me going in the first place. I told him that if he wanted me to go He was going to have to do something about these ticket prices. I switched back to Expedia one last night before giving up for the night, and there was one ticket for $540. Thank you, Jesus!! I bought it and was excited that I would be on my way to Ecuador in just one week.There were lots of things that were trying to get in the way of my going on this trip, which is another way I knew I was supposed to go, and that God was going to move powerfully. Whenever we are about to do some amazing work for the Lord, the enemy tries to put up a million roadblocks. I fought through each one of them. I discerned them to make sure they weren't legitimate reasons why I shouldn't go, and ultimately decided it was ok if I went.I got there last Friday night, and so it wasn't until the next morning that we got to go to the hospital. They have a much different visitation schedule than we have in the States. They are only allowed to visit their loved ones for 15 minutes twice a day, and it can be only one person at a time. Also, sometimes they switch up the times. One day, we waited for over an hour and a half before I was able to go in and pray over him. The first day, we missed the visitation time as they did it early that day, around 11. However, they talked with the staff, and they allowed me to go in and pray for a few minutes. I wasn't really sure what to say, but I just let him know that he was loved by the Lord, by Jesus, and by Mother Mary. I prayed commands over his body to be healed. I asked the Lord for a healing. I begged the Lord for a healing. I said all I could think to say.Someone came and knocked on the door and told me my time was up. I went out into the hallway and waited with the family. Then the doctor came and talked with Daniel, Anival's sister, and his daughter. They said there was an infection in his finger, and they needed to amputate the finger or it would spread to the other fingers. They also said most of the brain area was dead, so that he would never walk again. He would be paralyzed from the neck down. This, of course, made the family very upset. I sent out an updated prayer request, letting everyone know the new details.After leaving the hospital on Saturday, I asked the Lord for a sign that He would heal Anival. I saw what appeared to be the shadow of a chalice with the Eucharist on it. I also saw a bumper sticker that said Nothing is impossible for God. Nada es imposible para Dios. I knew those were both signs from the Lord that He would work in this situation.We weren't in that town on Sunday, so the next time I could pray was Monday. We went on Monday morning and Monday evening. When we went in the morning, they talked to the doctor on call, and he said they do not need to amputate the finger. Thank you, Lord, prayers answered!! Daniel also asked if they could do another CT scan of the brain, as we saw Anibal cry and smile, and they hadn't seen this. They said they would do another one.I have not heard if they have done it yet or not, but the family was in a much better place on Monday than they were after the news on Saturday. I really felt as if Anibal could understand what I was saying on Monday, not as much on Saturday. Saturday, he did seem to smile and look at me a bit. However, on Monday, especially the second time, his face seemed to come alive. He had tears coming out of at least one eye when I told him how loved he was and that God was there with him. I told him he was never alone and no matter what, he could always talk to the Lord and ask for whatever he wanted. I told him God loves to do impossible things, so ask big! I explained it didn't matter what he had done in the past; the second we tell God and ask for forgiveness, we are forgiven. I asked him to fight hard to stay with his family and he seemed to respond. I commanded his body to heal. I explained that God had asked me to come all the way from America to tell Anibal how much he is loved by God.I got home late Tuesday night, and my brother-in-law, Daniel, checked in on Wednesday to see how I was doing. I told him that this is the part I have a hard time with; we all probably do. Now is the time to trust in the waiting. Now is the time to thank the Lord for the work we haven't yet seen and to keep hoping that, in His time, He will heal Anival. I believe He will heal him. Around dinner time on Wednesday, Daniel sent me another text message that was like music to my ears. It said that I just got news and that Anibal woke up! He finally regained consciousness after over 30 days. He also said he responded to the order of the doctor when they said to open the mouth and other things with the face.  Thank you, God! Thank you, Jesus! You are so good!!! Praise God!! When I checked in on Sunday, they said he is better. He is actually getting a bit anxious because he knows where he is, but doesn't know what happened. This is good. Not that he is anxious, but that his brain is recognizing where he is and that it is thinking. They also said he is feeling more pain. Which again, we don't want him to be in pain, but it could mean he is not paralyzed and his limbs are trying to respond.Whatever all of that means, I believe Anibal will get to walk out of the hospital and be reunited with his family and dance with his daughter again someday. I am not a fan of waiting, but sometimes it is necessary, as God knows the best time to work His miracles. God is in all of this. That is something I know with my whole being. I am 100% sure God is in this, and I am so excited to see how it all unfolds.Thank you, Lord! Thank you for calling me to go on this trip and for allowing me to be part of this miracle. Thank you for the amazing time I got to spend with family. I made some wonderful memories this weekend. Thank you for the miracles you are working in this situation. Thank you for the results of this next brain scan. Thank you for whatever progress in healing is made before the scan. If it's not all the way healed, Lord, please make sure they do another one. Lord, thank you for the full restoration of his mind and body. Thank you, Lord, all the Glory is yours!!Don't worry, I will keep you updated as I know so many of you are also praying for Anibal! We can all celebrate together when he gets to go home and resume his life again. www.findingtruenorthcoaching.comCLICK HERE TO DONATECLICK HERE to sign up for Mentoring CLICK HERE to sign up for Daily "Word from the Lord" emailsCLICK HERE to sign up for my newsletter & receive a free audio training about inviting Jesus into your daily lifeCLICK HERE to buy my book Total Trust in God's Safe Embrace

Ernesto Araujo and Alejandro Pena Esclusa analyze Latin America's rightward shift, citing Chile's rejection of a leftist constitution and election disputes in Honduras. They attribute leftist defeats to the failure of socialism and credit the "Trump Corollary" to the Monroe Doctrine for encouraging democratic changes against regional narco-regimes. CHILE, ECUADOR, BOLIVIIA

The Andean Condor is one of the largest flying birds in the world. With a wingspan that can stretch over 10 feet across, the condor doesn't flap so much as sail, using rising thermals to glide across the Andes for hours. Once revered in Inca mythology as a messenger of the gods, the Andean Condor now graces the coat of arms of Bolivia, Chile, Colombia, and Ecuador. But like many scavengers, condor populations are declining due to threats like lead poisoning and habitat loss.More info and transcript at BirdNote.org.Want more BirdNote? Subscribe to our weekly newsletter. Sign up for BirdNote+ to get ad-free listening and other perks. BirdNote is a nonprofit. Your tax-deductible gift makes these shows possible.  Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Chevron has been awarded $220 Million in the Ecuadoran Amazon pollution case. The award comes from the Investor-State Dispute Settlement (ISDS) system, part of Hague-based Permanent Court of Arbitration. From 1964-1992, Texaco polluted thousands of acres of Amazonian rainforest and poisoned its residents. In 1993, those residents took Texaco to court. In 2001, Chevron acquired Texaco and took its debts (including the billions it owes Amazonian residents). In 2011, an Ecuadoran court awarded the residents $9.5 billion in damages for the pollution and poisoning. Since then, Chevron has waged a legal and public relations against the Indigenous people of the Amazon and their lawyers. This award is part of a 16 year process through the ISDS system. In our latest, Scott talks with Paul Paz y Mino (@paulpaz.bsky.social) about Chevron's history in Ecuador and this case. Bio// Paul Paz y Mino- Deputy Director at Amazon Watch.Paul has lived in Chiapas, Mexico and Quito, Ecuador, promoting human rights and community development and working directly with Indigenous communities. ----------------------

Chef Jose Garces' Culinary Journey*Growing up, Chef Garces learned traditional dishes like ceviche, empanadas, and pan de bono from his mother and grandmother, while his father enjoyed grilling steaks. He emphasized the importance of sofrito, a foundational cooking technique using onions, garlic, and peppers, which he still prepares in large batches. Exploring Latin Culinary TraditionsJose and Amaris discussed the importance of sofrito in Latin cooking and its variations across families. Jose shared his journey from French classical training to embracing Latin cuisine, highlighting the foundational role of sofrito and other base ingredients in different culinary traditions. They also talked about Jose's experience with paella, which he has been perfecting for 20 years, emphasizing the complexity and precision required to make a great dish. Amaris praised Jose's interpretation of paella, which she found to be authentic and reminiscent of her experiences in Spain.Brand Expansion PlansJose discussed plans to expand the tapas-based concept Amada to Chicago in the spring and Dallas in the fall. He emphasized the importance of perfecting the paella recipe and mentioned that his team would be filming and annotating the process to ensure consistency. Jose also shared his experience with opening various restaurants, including Village Whiskey, and explained the decision-making process behind each venture.Brand Expansion and Partnership UpdatesJose discussed his brand's expansion to Nashville, planned for late 2026, and highlighted its southern-inspired menu and recent improvements. He mentioned a partnership with SPB Hospitality to enhance the beverage program and emphasized the brand's collaboration with Aramark at the Xfinity Mobile Center. Jose also shared his experience with Cook Unity, a home meal service, where he has been a chef partner since 2021, offering fresh, ready-to-eat meals in six markets. Amaris expressed her positive experience with the service and noted the quality and convenience of the meals.Community Initiatives and Future InvolvementsJose highlighted the importance of supporting restaurant workers through initiatives like English language classes and health screenings, and how his recently renamed foundation, Communidad Garces, reflects his service-oriented mission. Jose also expressed his excitement for the successful future of his newly-opened Japanese restaurant Okatshe, located in Allentown, PA. And he was very enthusiastic while expressing the value of not only supporting local purveyors, but ensuring the healthiest meals by utilizing local, sustainably sourced ingredients.*The following description was aided by an AI summarization, with original material included.

El cóndor andino (Vultur gryphus) es una de las aves voladoras más grandes del mundo. Con una envergadura que supera los tres metros, el cóndor no aletea tanto como navega el viento, aprovechando las corrientes térmicas para deslizarse durante horas sobre la cordillera de los Andes. Alguna vez venerado en la mitología inca como mensajero de los dioses, hoy el cóndor andino aparece en los escudos nacionales de Bolivia, Chile, Colombia y Ecuador. Pero, como muchas especies carroñeras, su población está disminuyendo debido a amenazas como el envenenamiento por plomo y la pérdida de hábitat.Listen to this episode in English here. Más información y transcripción en BirdNote.org.¿Quieres más BirdNote? Suscríbete a nuestro boletín semanal. Regístrese en BirdNote+ para escuchar música sin publicidad y otras ventajas.BirdNote es una organización sin fines de lucro. Su donación deducible de impuestos hace posible estos espectáculos. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

What happens when your voice is built through visuals, not volume? In this Unstoppable Mindset episode, I talk with photographer and storyteller Mobeen Ansari about growing up with hearing loss, learning speech with support from his family and the John Tracy Center, and using technology to stay connected in real time. We also explore how his art became a bridge across culture and faith, from documenting religious minorities in Pakistan to chronicling everyday heroes, and why he feels urgency to photograph climate change before more communities, heritage sites, and ways of life are lost. You'll hear how purpose grows when you share your story in a way that helps others feel less alone, and why Mobeen believes one story can become a blueprint for someone else to navigate their own challenge. Highlights: 00:03:54 - Learn how early family support can shape confidence, communication, and independence for life. 00:08:31 - Discover how deciding when to capture a moment can define your values as a storyteller. 00:15:14 - Learn practical ways to stay fully present in conversations when hearing is a daily challenge. 00:23:24 - See how unexpected role models can redefine what living fully looks like at any stage of life. 00:39:15 - Understand how visual storytelling can cross cultural and faith boundaries without words. 00:46:38 - Learn why documenting climate change now matters before stories, places, and communities disappear. About the Guest: Mobeen Ansari is a photographer, filmmaker and artist from Islamabad, Pakistan. Having a background in fine arts, he picked up the camera during high school and photographed his surroundings and friends- a path that motivated him to be a pictorial historian. His journey as a photographer and artist is deeply linked to a challenge that he had faced since after his birth.  Three weeks after he was born, Mobeen was diagnosed with hearing loss due to meningitis, and this challenge has inspired him to observe people more visually, which eventually led him to being an artist. He does advocacy for people with hearing loss.  Mobeen's work focuses on his home country of Pakistan and its people, promoting a diverse & poetic image of his country through his photos & films. As a photojournalist he focuses on human interest stories and has extensively worked on topics of climate change, global health and migration. Mobeen has published three photography books. His first one, ‘Dharkan: The Heartbeat of a Nation', features portraits of iconic people of Pakistan from all walks of life. His second book, called ‘White in the Flag' is based on the lives & festivities of religious minorities in Pakistan. Both these books have had two volumes published over the years. His third book is called ‘Miraas' which is also about iconic people of Pakistan and follows ‘Dharkan' as a sequel. Mobeen has also made two silent movies; 'Hellhole' is a black and white short film, based on the life of a sanitation worker, and ‘Lady of the Emerald Scarf' is based on the life of Aziza, a carpet maker in Guilmit in Northern Pakistan. He has exhibited in Pakistan & around the world, namely in UK, Italy, China Iraq, & across the US and UAE. His photographs have been displayed in many famous places as well, including Times Square in New York City. Mobeen is also a recipient of the Swedish Red Cross Journalism prize for his photography on the story of FIFA World Cup football manufacture in Sialkot. Ways to connect with Mobeen**:** www.mobeenansari.com Facebook: www.facebook.com/mobeenart  Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mobeenansari/ Instagram: @mobeenansariphoto X: @Mobeen_Ansari About the Host: Michael Hingson is a New York Times best-selling author, international lecturer, and Chief Vision Officer for accessiBe. Michael, blind since birth, survived the 9/11 attacks with the help of his guide dog Roselle. This story is the subject of his best-selling book, Thunder Dog. Michael gives over 100 presentations around the world each year speaking to influential groups such as Exxon Mobile, AT&T, Federal Express, Scripps College, Rutgers University, Children's Hospital, and the American Red Cross just to name a few. He is Ambassador for the National Braille Literacy Campaign for the National Federation of the Blind and also serves as Ambassador for the American Humane Association's 2012 Hero Dog Awards. https://michaelhingson.com https://www.facebook.com/michael.hingson.author.speaker/ https://twitter.com/mhingson https://www.youtube.com/user/mhingson https://www.linkedin.com/in/michaelhingson/ accessiBe Links https://accessibe.com/ https://www.youtube.com/c/accessiBe https://www.linkedin.com/company/accessibe/mycompany/ https://www.facebook.com/accessibe/ Thanks for listening! Thanks so much for listening to our podcast! If you enjoyed this episode and think that others could benefit from listening, please share it using the social media buttons on this page. Do you have some feedback or questions about this episode? Leave a comment in the section below! Subscribe to the podcast If you would like to get automatic updates of new podcast episodes, you can subscribe to the podcast on Apple Podcasts or Stitcher. You can subscribe in your favorite podcast app. You can also support our podcast through our tip jar https://tips.pinecast.com/jar/unstoppable-mindset . Leave us an Apple Podcasts review Ratings and reviews from our listeners are extremely valuable to us and greatly appreciated. They help our podcast rank higher on Apple Podcasts, which exposes our show to more awesome listeners like you. If you have a minute, please leave an honest review on Apple Podcasts. Transcription Notes: Michael Hingson  00:00 Access Cast and accessiBe Initiative presents Unstoppable Mindset. The podcast where inclusion, diversity and the unexpected meet. Hi, I'm Michael Hingson, Chief Vision Officer for accessiBe and the author of the number one New York Times bestselling book, Thunder dog, the story of a blind man, his guide dog and the triumph of trust. Thanks for joining me on my podcast as we explore our own blinding fears of inclusion unacceptance and our resistance to change. We will discover the idea that no matter the situation, or the people we encounter, our own fears, and prejudices often are our strongest barriers to moving forward. The unstoppable mindset podcast is sponsored by accessiBe, that's a c c e s s i capital B e. Visit www.accessibe.com to learn how you can make your website accessible for persons with disabilities. And to help make the internet fully inclusive by the year 2025. Glad you dropped by we're happy to meet you and to have you here with us. Michael Hingson  01:20 Well, hi everyone, and welcome to another episode of unstoppable mindset. I am your host. Michael Hingson, we're really glad that you are here, and today we are going to talk to Mobeen Ansari, and Mobeen is in Islamabad. I believe you're still in Islamabad, aren't you? There we go. I am, yeah. And so, so he is 12 hours ahead of where we are. So it is four in the afternoon here, and I can't believe it, but he's up at four in the morning where he is actually I get up around the same time most mornings, but I go to bed earlier than he does. Anyway. We're really glad that he is here. He is a photographer, he speaks he's a journalist in so many ways, and we're going to talk about all of that as we go forward. Mobin also is profoundly hard of hearing. Uses hearing aids. He was diagnosed as being hard of hearing when he was three weeks old. So I'm sure we're going to talk about that a little bit near the beginning, so we'll go ahead and start. So mo bean, I want to welcome you to unstoppable mindset. We're really glad that you're here. Mobeen Ansari  02:32 It's a pleasure to be here, and I'm honored to plan your show. Thank you so much. Michael Hingson  02:37 Well, thank you very much, and I'm glad that we're able to make this work, and I should explain that he is able to read what is going on the screen. I use a program called otter to transcribe when necessary, whatever I and other people in a meeting, or in this case, in a podcast, are saying, and well being is able to read all of that. So that's one of the ways, and one of the reasons that we get to do this in real time. So it's really kind of cool, and I'm really excited by that. Well, let's go ahead and move forward. Why don't you tell us a little about the early Beau beam growing up? And obviously that starts, that's where your adventure starts in a lot of ways. So why don't you tell us about you growing up and all that. Mobeen Ansari  03:22 So I'm glad you mentioned the captions part, because, you know, that has been really, really revolutionary. That has been quite a lifesaver, be it, you know, Netflix, be it anywhere I go into your life, I read captions like there's an app on my phone that I use for real life competitions, and that's where I, you know, get everything. That's where technology is pretty cool. So I do that because of my hearing does, as you mentioned, when I was three weeks old, I had severe meningitis due to it, had lost hearing in both my ear and so when my hearing loss were diagnosed, it was, you know, around the time we didn't have resources, the technology that we do today. Michael Hingson  04:15 When was that? What year was that about? Mobeen Ansari  04:19 1986 okay, sorry, 1987 so yeah, so they figured that I had locked my hearing at three weeks of age, but didn't properly diagnose it until I think I was three months old. So yeah, then January was my diagnosis, okay. Michael Hingson  04:44 And so how did you how did you function, how did you do things when you were, when you were a young child? Because at that point was kind of well, much before you could use a hearing aid and learn to speak and so on. So what? Mobeen Ansari  05:00 You do. So my parents would have a better memory of that than I would, but I would say that they were, you know, extra hard. They went an extra mile. I mean, I would say, you know, 100 extra mile. My mother learned to be a peace therapist, and my father. He learned to be he learned how to read audiogram, to learn the audiology, familiarize himself with hearing a technology with an engineer support. My parents work around me. David went to a lot of doctors, obviously, I was a very difficult child, but I think that actually laid the foundation in me becoming an artist. Because, you know, today, the hearing is it fits right into my ear so you cannot see it, basically because my hair is longer. But back then, hearing aids used to be almost like on a harness, and you to be full of quiet, so you would actually stick out like a sore thumb. So, you know, obviously you stand out in a crowd. So I would be very conscious, and I would often, you know, get asked what this is. So I would say, this is a radio but for most part of my childhood, I was very introverted, but I absolutely love art. My grandmother's for the painter, and she was also photographer, as well as my grandfather, the hobbyist photographer, and you know, seeing them create all of the visuals in different ways, I was inspired, and I would tell my stories in form of sketching or making modified action figures. And photography was something I picked up way later on in high school, when the first digital camera had just come out, and I finally started in a really interacting with the world. Michael Hingson  07:13 So early on you you drew because you didn't really use the camera yet. And I think it's very interesting how much your parents worked to make sure they could really help you. As you said, Your mother was a speech you became a speech therapist, and your father learned about the technologies and so on. So when did you start using hearing aids? That's Mobeen Ansari  07:42 a good question. I think I probably started using it when I was two years old. Okay, yeah, yeah, that's gonna start using it, but then, you know, I think I'll probably have to ask my parents capacity, but a moment, Mobeen Ansari  08:08 you know, go ahead, I think they worked around me. They really improvised on the situation. They learned at the went along, and I think I learned speech gradually. Did a lot of, you know, technical know, how about this? But I would also have to credit John Troy clinic in Los Angeles, because, you know, back then, there was no mobile phone, there were no emails, but my mother would put in touch with John Troy center in LA and they would send a lot of material back and forth for many years, and they would provide a guidance. They would provide her a lot of articles, a lot of details on how to help me learn speech. A lot of visuals were involved. And because of the emphasis on visuals, I think that kind of pushed me further to become an artist, because I would speak more, but with just so to Michael Hingson  09:25 say so, it was sort of a natural progression for you, at least it seemed that way to you, to start using art as a way to communicate, as opposed as opposed to talking. Mobeen Ansari  09:39 Yeah, absolutely, you know, so I would like pass forward a little bit to my high school. You know, I was always a very shy child up until, you know, my early teens, and the first camera had just come out, this was like 2001 2002 at. It. That's when my dad got one, and I would take that to school today. You know, everyone has a smartphone back then, if you had a camera, you're pretty cool. And that is what. I started taking pictures of my friends. I started taking pictures of my teachers, of landscapes around me. And I would even capture, you know, funniest of things, like my friend getting late for school, and one day, a friend of mine got into a fight because somebody stole his girlfriend, or something like that happened, you know, that was a long time ago, and he lost the fight, and he turned off into the world court to cry, and he was just sort of, you're trying to hide all his vulnerability. I happened to be in the same place as him, and I had my camera, and I was like, should I capture this moment, or should I let this permit go? And well, I decided to capture it, and that is when human emotion truly started to fascinate me. So I was born in a very old city. I live in the capital of Islamabad right now, but I was born in the city of travel to be and that is home to lots of old, you know, heritage sites, lots of old places, lots of old, interesting scenes. And you know, that always inspired you, that always makes you feel alive. And I guess all of these things came together. And, you know, I really got into the art of picture storytelling. And by the end of my high school graduation, everybody was given an award. The certificate that I was given was, it was called pictorial historian, and that is what inspired me to really document everything. Document my country. Document is people, document landscape. In fact, that award it actually has in my studio right now been there for, you know, over 21 years, but it inspired me luck to this day. Michael Hingson  12:20 So going back to the story you just told, did you tell your friend that you took pictures of him when he was crying? Mobeen Ansari  12:32 Eventually, yes, I would not talk. You're familiar with the content back then, but the Catholic friend, I know so I mean, you know everyone, you're all kids, so yeah, very, yeah, that was a very normal circumstance. But yeah, you know, Michael Hingson  12:52 how did he react when you told him, Mobeen Ansari  12:56 Oh, he was fine. It's pretty cool about it, okay, but I should probably touch base with him. I haven't spoken to him for many years that Yeah, Michael Hingson  13:08 well, but as long as Yeah, but obviously you were, you were good friends, and you were able to continue that. So that's, that's pretty cool. So you, your hearing aids were also probably pretty large and pretty clunky as well, weren't they? Mobeen Ansari  13:26 Yeah, they were. But you know, with time my hearing aid became smaller. Oh sure. So hearing aid model that I'm wearing right now that kind of started coming in place from 1995 1995 96 onwards. But you know, like, even today, it's called like BDE behind the ear, hearing it even today, I still wear the large format because my hearing loss is more it's on the profound side, right? Just like if I take my hearing, it off. I cannot hear but that's a great thing, because if I don't want to listen to anybody, right, and I can sleep peacefully at night. Michael Hingson  14:21 Have you ever used bone conduction headphones or earphones? Mobeen Ansari  14:30 But I have actually used something I forgot what is called, but these are very specific kind of ear bone that get plugged into your hearing it. So once you plug into that, you cannot hear anything else. But it discontinued that. So now they use Bluetooth. Michael Hingson  14:49 Well, bone conduction headphones are, are, are devices that, rather than projecting the audio into your ear, they actually. Be projected straight into the bone and bypassing most of the ear. And I know a number of people have found them to be useful, like, if you want to listen to music and so on, or listen to audio, you can connect them. There are Bluetooth versions, and then there are cable versions, but the sound doesn't go into your ear. It goes into the bone, which is why they call it bone conduction. Mobeen Ansari  15:26 Okay, that's interesting, I think. Michael Hingson  15:29 And some of them do work with hearing aids as well. Mobeen Ansari  15:34 Okay, yeah, I think I've experienced that when they do the audio can test they put, like at the back of your head or something? Michael Hingson  15:43 Yeah, the the most common one, at least in the United States, and I suspect most places, is made by a company called aftershocks. I think it's spelled A, F, T, E, R, S, H, O, k, s, but something to think about. Anyway. So you went through high school mostly were, were your student colleagues and friends, and maybe not always friends? Were they pretty tolerant of the fact that you were a little bit different than they were. Did you ever have major problems with people? Mobeen Ansari  16:22 You know, I've actually had a great support system, and for most part, I actually had a lot of amazing friends from college who are still my, you know, friend to the dead, sorry, from school. I'm actually closer to my friend from school than I am two friends of college difficulties. You know, if you're different, you'll always be prone to people who sort of are not sure how to navigate that, or just want, you know, sort of test things out. So to say, so it wasn't without his problems, but for most part of it's surprisingly, surprisingly, I've had a great support system, but, you know, the biggest challenge was actually not being able to understand conversation. So I'm going to go a bit back and forth on the timeline here. You know, if so, in 2021, I had something known as menus disease. Menier disease is something, it's an irregular infection that arises from stress, and what happens is that you're hearing it drops and it is replaced by drinking and bathing and all sorts of real according to my experience, it affects those with hearing loss much more than it affects those with regular, normal hearing. It's almost like tinnitus on steroids. That is how I would type it. And I've had about three occurrences of that, either going to stress or being around loud situations and noises, and that is where it became so challenging that it became difficult to hear, even with hearing it or lip reading. So that is why I use a transcriber app wherever I go, and that been a lifesaver, you know. So I believe that every time I have evolved to life, every time I have grown up, I've been able to better understand people to like at the last, you know, four years I've been using this application to now, I think I'm catching up on all the nuances of conversation that I've missed. Right if I would talk to you five years ago, I would probably understand 40% of what you're saying. I would understand it by reading your lips or your body language or ask you to write or take something for me, but now with this app, I'm able to actually get to 99% of the conversation. So I think with time, people have actually become more tired and more accepting, and now there is more awareness. I think, awareness, right? Michael Hingson  19:24 Well, yeah, I was gonna say it's been an only like the last four years or so, that a lot of this has become very doable in real time, and I think also AI has helped the process. But do you find that the apps and the other technologies, like what we use here, do you find that occasionally it does make mistakes, or do you not even see that very much at all? Mobeen Ansari  19:55 You know it does make mistakes, and the biggest problem is when there is no data, when there is no. Wide network, or if it runs out of battery, you know, because now I kind of almost 24/7 so my battery just integrate that very fast. And also because, you know, if I travel in remote regions of Pakistan, because I'm a photographer, my job to travel to all of these places, all of these hidden corners. So I need to have conversation, especially in those places. And if that ad didn't work there, then we have a problem. Yeah, that is when it's problem. Sometimes, depending on accidents, it doesn't pick up everything. So, you know, sometimes that happens, but I think technology is improving. Michael Hingson  20:50 Let me ask the question. Let me ask the question this way. Certainly we're speaking essentially from two different parts of the world. When you hear, when you hear or see me speak, because you're you're able to read the transcriptions. I'm assuming it's pretty accurate. What is it like when you're speaking? Does the system that we're using here understand you well as in addition to understanding me? Mobeen Ansari  21:18 Well, yes, I think it does so like, you know, I just occasionally look down to see if it's catching up on everything. Yeah, on that note, I ought to try and improve my speech over time. I used to speak very fast. I used to mumble a lot, and so now I become more mindful of it, hopefully during covid. You know, during covid, a lot of podcasts started coming out, and I had my own actually, so I would, like brought myself back. I would look at this recording, and I would see what kind of mistakes I'm making. So I'm not sure if transcription pick up everything I'm saying, but I do try and improve myself, just like the next chapter of my life where I'm trying to improve my speech, my enunciation Michael Hingson  22:16 Well, and that's why I was was asking, it must be a great help to you to be able to look at your speaking through the eyes of the Translate. Well, not translation, but through the eyes of the speech program, so you're able to see what it's doing. And as you said, you can use it to practice. You can use it to improve your speech. Probably it is true that slowing down speech helps the system understand it better as well. Yeah, yeah. So that makes sense. Well, when you were growing up, your parents clearly were very supportive. Did they really encourage you to do whatever you wanted to do? Do they have any preconceived notions of what kind of work you should do when you grew up? Or do they really leave it to you and and say we're going to support you with whatever you do? Mobeen Ansari  23:21 Oh, they were supportive. And whatever I wanted to do, they were very supportive in what my brother had gone to do I had to enter brothers. So they were engineers. And you know what my my parents were always, always, you know, very encouraging of whatever period we wanted to follow. So I get the a lot of credit goes to my my parents, also, because they even put their very distinct fields. They actually had a great understanding of arts and photography, especially my dad, and that really helped me have conversations. You know, when I was younger to have a better understanding of art. You know, because my grandmother used to paint a lot, and because she did photography. When she migrated from India to Pakistan in 1947 she took, like, really, really powerful pictures. And I think that instilled a lot of this in me as well. I've had a great support that way. Michael Hingson  24:26 Yeah, so your grandmother helps as well. Mobeen Ansari  24:32 Oh yeah, oh yeah. She did very, very ahead of her time. She's very cool, and she made really large scale painting. So she was an example of always making the best of life, no matter where you are, no matter how old you are. She actually practiced a Kibana in the 80s. So that was pretty cool. So, you know. Yeah, she played a major part in my life. Michael Hingson  25:05 When did you start learning English? Because that I won't say it was a harder challenge for you. Was a different challenge, but clearly, I assume you learned originally Pakistani and so on. But how did you go about learning English? Mobeen Ansari  25:23 Oh, so I learned about the languages when I started speech. So I mean to be split the languages of Urdu. You are, be you. So I started learning about my mother tongue and English at the same time. You know, basically both languages at work to both ran in parallel, but other today, I have to speak a bit of Italian and a few other regional languages of Pakistan so and in my school. I don't know why, but we had French as a subject, but now I've completely forgotten French at Yeah, this kind of, it kind of helped a lot. It's pretty cool, very interesting. But yeah, I mean, I love to speak English. Just when I learned speech, what Michael Hingson  26:19 did you major in when you went to college? Mobeen Ansari  26:24 So I majored in painting. I went to National College of Arts, and I did my bachelor's in fine arts, and I did my majors in painting, and I did my minor in printmaking and sculpture. So my background was always rooted in fine arts. Photography was something that ran in parallel until I decided that photography was the ultimate medium that I absolutely love doing that became kind of the voice of my heart or a medium of oppression and tougher and bone today for Michael Hingson  27:11 did they even have a major in photography when you went to college? Mobeen Ansari  27:17 No, photography was something that I learned, you know, as a hobby, because I learned that during school, and I was self taught. One of my uncles is a globally renowned photographer. So he also taught me, you know, the art of lighting. He also taught me on how to interact with people, on how to set up appointments. He taught me so many things. So you could say that being a painter helped me become a better photographer. Being a photographer helped me become a better painter. So both went hand in hand report co existed. Yeah, so photography is something that I don't exactly have a degree in, but something that I learned because I'm more of an art photographer. I'm more of an artist than I am a photographer, Michael Hingson  28:17 okay, but you're using photography as kind of the main vehicle to display or project your art, absolutely. Mobeen Ansari  28:30 So what I try to do is I still try to incorporate painting into my photography, meaning I try to use the kind of lighting that you see in painting all of these subtle colors that Rembrandt of Caravaggio use, so I tried to sort of incorporate that. And anytime I press my photograph, I don't print it on paper, I print it on canvas. There's a paint really element to it, so so that my photo don't come up as a challenge, or just photos bottles or commercial in nature, but that they look like painting. And I think I have probably achieved that to a degree, because a lot of people asked me, Do you know, like, Okay, how much I did painting for and create painting. So I think you know, whatever my objective was, I think I'm probably just, you know, I'm getting there. Probably that's what my aim is. So you have a photography my main objective with the main voice that I use, and it has helped me tell stories of my homeland. It has helped me to tell stories of my life. It has helped me tell stories of people around Michael Hingson  29:49 me, but you're but what you do is as I understand you, you're, you may take pictures. You may capture the images. With a camera, but then you put them on canvas. Mobeen Ansari  30:05 Yeah, I just every time I have an exhibition or a display pictures which are present in my room right now, I always print them on Canvas, because when you print them on Canvas, the colors become more richer, right, Michael Hingson  30:22 more mentally. But what? But what you're doing, but what you're putting on Canvas are the pictures that you've taken with your camera. Mobeen Ansari  30:31 Oh, yeah, yeah, okay. But occasionally, occasionally, I tried to do something like I would print my photos on Canvas, and then I would try to paint on them. It's something that I've been experimenting with, but I'm not directly quite there yet. Conceptually, let's see in the future when these two things make properly. But now photographs? Michael Hingson  31:02 Yeah, it's a big challenge. I i can imagine that it would be a challenge to try to be able to print them on cameras and then canvas, and then do some painting, because it is two different media, but in a sense, but it will be interesting to see if you're able to be successful with that in the future. What would you say? It's easier today, though, to to print your pictures on Canvas, because you're able to do it from digital photographs, as opposed to what you must have needed to do, oh, 20 years ago and so on, where you had film and you had negatives and so on, and printing them like you do today was a whole different thing to do. Mobeen Ansari  31:50 Oh yeah, it's same to think good yesterday, somebody asked me if I do photography on an analog camera, and I have a lot of them, like lots and lots of them, I still have a lot of black and white film, but the problem is, nobody could develop them. I don't have that room. So otherwise I would do that very often. Otherwise I have a few functional cameras that tend to it. I'm consciously just thinking of reviving that. Let's see what happens to it. So I think it's become very difficult. You know also, because Pakistan has a small community of photographers, so the last person who everybody would go to for developing the film or making sure that the analog cameras became functional. He unfortunately passed away a few years ago, so I'm sort of trying to find somebody who can help me do this. It's a very fascinating process, but I haven't done any analog film camera photography for the last 15 years now, definitely a different ball game with, you know, typical cameras, yeah, the pattern, you could just take 36 pictures, and today you can just, you know, take 300 and do all sorts of trial and error. But I tried, you know, I think I'm a bit of a purist when it comes to photography, so I kind of try and make sure that I get the shots at the very first photograph, you know, because that's how my dad trained me on analog cameras, because back then, you couldn't see how the pictures are going to turn out until you printed them. So every time my dad took a picture, he would spend maybe two or three minutes on the setting, and he would really make the person in front of him wait a long time. And then you need to work on shutter speed or the aperture or the ISO, and once you would take that picture is perfect, no need to anything to it, Michael Hingson  34:09 but, but transposing it, but, but transferring it to from an analog picture back then to Canvas must have been a lot more of a challenge than it is today. Mobeen Ansari  34:24 No back then, working canvas printing. Canvas printing was something that I guess I just started discovering from 2014 onwards. So it would like during that this is laid up, Michael Hingson  34:38 but you were still able to do it because you just substituted Canvas for the the typical photographic paper that you normally would use is what I hear you say, Mobeen Ansari  34:50 Oh yeah, Canvas printing was something that I figured out much later on, right? Michael Hingson  34:59 Um. But you were still able to do it with some analog pictures until digital cameras really came into existence. Or did you always use it with a digital camera? Mobeen Ansari  35:11 So I basically, when I started off, I started with the handle camera. And obviously, you know, back in the 90s, if somebody asked you to take a picture, or we have to take a picture of something, you just had the analog camera at hand. Yeah. And my grandparents, my dad, they all had, you know, analog cameras. Some of it, I still have it Michael Hingson  35:36 with me, but were you able to do canvas painting from the analog cameras? No, yeah, that's what I was wondering. Mobeen Ansari  35:43 No, I haven't tried, yeah, but I think must have been possible, but I've only tried Canvas printing in the digital real. Michael Hingson  35:53 Do you are you finding other people do the same thing? Are there? Are there a number of people that do canvas painting? Mobeen Ansari  36:02 I lot of them do. I think it's not very common because it's very expensive to print it on canvas. Yeah, because you know, once you once you test again, but you don't know how it's going to turn out. A lot of images, they turn out very rough. The pictures trade, and if can, with print, expose to the camera, sometimes, sorry, the canvas print exposed to the sun, then there's the risk of a lot of fading that can happen. So there's a lot of risk involved. Obviously, printing is a lot better now. It can withstand exposure to heat and sun, but Canvas printing is not as common as you know, matte paper printing, non reflective, matte paper. Some photographers do. It depends on what kind of images you want to get out? Yeah, what's your budget is, and what kind of field you're hoping to get out of it. My aim is very specific, because I aim to make it very Painterly. That's my objective with the canvas. Michael Hingson  37:17 Yeah, you want them to look like paintings? Mobeen Ansari  37:21 Yeah? Yeah, absolutely, Michael Hingson  37:23 which, which? I understand it's, it is a fascinating thing. I hadn't really heard of the whole idea of canvas painting with photograph or photography before, but it sounds really fascinating to to have that Yeah, and it makes you a unique kind of person when you do that, but if it works, and you're able to make it work, that's really a pretty cool thing to do. So you have you you've done both painting and photography and well, and sculpting as well. What made you really decide, what was the turning point that made you decide to to go to photography is kind of your main way of capturing images. Mobeen Ansari  38:12 So it was with high school, because I was still studying, you know, art as a subject back then, but I was still consistently doing that. And then, like earlier, I mentioned to you that my school gave me an award called pictorial historian. That is what inspired me to follow this girl. That is what set me on this path. That is what made me find this whole purpose of capturing history. You know, Pakistan is home to a lot of rich cultures, rich landscapes, incredible heritage sites. And I think that's when I became fascinated. Because, you know, so many Pakistanis have these incredible stories of resilience entrepreneurship, and they have incredible faces, and, you know, so I guess that what made me want to capture it really. So I think, yeah, it was in high school, and then eventually in college, because, you know, port and school and college, I would be asked to take pictures of events. I'll be asked to take pictures of things around me. Where I went to college, it was surrounded by all kinds of, you know, old temples and churches and old houses and very old streets. So that, really, you know, always kept me inspired. So I get over time. I think it's just always been there in my heart. I decided to really, really go for it during college. Well. Michael Hingson  40:00 But you've, you've done pretty well with it. Needless to say, which is, which is really exciting and which is certainly very rewarding. Have you? Have you done any pictures that have really been famous, that that people regard as exceptionally well done? Mobeen Ansari  40:22 I Yes, obviously, that's it for the audience to decide. But right, I understand, yeah, I mean, but judging from my path exhibitions, and judging from system media, there have been quite a few, including the monitor out of just last week, I went to this abandoned railway station, which was on a British colonial time, abandoned now, but that became a very, very successful photograph. I was pretty surprised to see the feedback. But yes, in my career, they have been about, maybe about 10 to 15 picture that really, really stood out or transcended barriers. Because coming out is about transcending barriers. Art is about transcending barriers, whether it is cultural or political, anything right if a person entered a part of the world views a portrait that I've taken in Pakistan, and define the connection with the subject. My mission is accomplished, because that's what I would love to do through art, to connect the world through art, through art and in the absence of verbal communication. I would like for this to be a visual communication to show where I'm coming from, or the very interesting people that I beat. And that is that sort of what I do. So I guess you know, there have been some portraits. I've taken some landscapes or some heritage sites, and including the subjects that I have photography of my book that acting have probably stood out in mind of people. Michael Hingson  42:14 So you have published three books so far, right? Yes, but tell me about your books, if you would. Mobeen Ansari  42:24 So my first book is called Harkin. I will just hold it up for the camera. It is my first book, and what is it called? It is called turken, and the book is about iconic people of Pakistan who have impacted this history, be it philanthropist, be it sports people, be it people in music or in performing arts, or be it Even people who are sanitation workers or electricians to it's about people who who have impacted the country, whether they are famous or not, but who I consider to be icons. Some of them are really, really, really famous, very well known people around the world, you know, obviously based in Pakistan. So my book is about chronicling them. It's about documenting them. It's about celebrating them. My second book without, okay, most Michael Hingson  43:29 people are going to listen to the podcast anyway, but go ahead. Yeah. Mobeen Ansari  43:35 So basically it's writing the flag is about the religious minorities of Pakistan, because, you know, Pakistan is largely a Muslim country. But when people around the world, they look at Pakistan, they don't realize that it's a multicultural society. There's so many religions. Pakistan is home to a lot of ancient civilizations, a lot of religions that are there. And so this book document life and festivities of religious minorities of Pakistan. You know, like I in my childhood, have actually attended Easter mass, Christmas and all of these festivities, because my father's best friend was a Christian. So we had that exposure to, you know, different faiths, how people practice them. So I wanted to document that. That's my second book. Michael Hingson  44:39 It's wonderful that you had, it's wonderful that you had parents that were willing to not only experience but share experiences with you about different cultures, different people, so that it gave you a broader view of society, which is really cool. Mobeen Ansari  44:58 Yeah. Absolutely, absolutely. So your third book? So my third book is a sequel to my first one, same topic, people who have impacted the country. And you know, with the Pakistan has a huge, huge population, it had no shortage of heroes and heroines and people who have created history in the country. So my first book has 98 people, obviously, which is not enough to feature everybody. So my second book, it features 115 people. So it features people who are not in the first book. Michael Hingson  45:41 Your third book? Yeah, okay, yeah. Well, there's, you know, I appreciate that there's a very rich culture, and I'm really glad that you're, you're making Chronicles or or records of all of that. Is there a fourth book coming? Have you started working on a fourth book yet? Mobeen Ansari  46:05 You know in fact, yes, there is. Whenever people hear about my book, they assume that there's going to be landscape or portraits or street photography or something that is more anthropological in nature. That's the photography I truly enjoy doing. These are the photographs that are displayed in my studio right now. So, but I would never really study for it, because Pakistan had, you know, we have poor provinces. And when I started these books, I hadn't really documented everything. You know, I come from the urban city, and, you know, I just, just only take taking pictures in main cities at that time. But now I have taken pictures everywhere. I've been literally to every nook and cranny in the country. So now I have a better understanding, a better visual representation. So a fourth book, it may be down the line, maybe five years, 10 years, I don't know yet. Michael Hingson  47:13 Well, one thing that I know you're interested in, that you've, you've at least thought about, is the whole idea behind climate change and the environment. And I know you've done some work to travel and document climate change and the environment and so on. Tell us, tell us more about that and where that might be going. Mobeen Ansari  47:36 So on tape, note, Michael, you know there's a lot of flooding going on in Pakistan. You know, in just one day, almost 314 people died, but many others you had missing. You had some of the worst flooding test time round. And to be reeling from that, and we had some major flooding some teachers back in. Well, climate change is no longer a wake up call. We had to take action years ago, if not, you know, yesterday and till right now, we are seeing effects of it. And you know, Pakistan has a lot of high mountain peaks. It has, it is home to the second highest mountain in the world, Ketu, and it has a lot of glaciers. You know, people talk about melting polar ice caps. People talk about effects of climate change around the world, but I think it had to be seen everywhere. So in Pakistan, especially, climate change is really, really rearing space. So I have traveled to the north to capture melting glacier, to capture stories of how it affects different communities, the water supply and the agriculture. So that is what I'm trying to do. And if I take pictures of a desert down south where a sand dune is spreading over agricultural land that it wasn't doing up until seven months ago. So you know climate change is it's everywhere. Right now, we are experiencing rains every day. It's been the longest monsoon. So it has also affected the way of life. It has also affected ancient heritage sites. Some of these heritage sites, which are over 3000 years old, and they have bestowed, you know, so much, but they are not able to withstand what we are facing right now. Um, and unfortunately, you know, with unregulated construction, with carbon emissions here and around the world, where deforestation, I felt that there was a strong need to document these places, to bring awareness of what is happening to bring awareness to what we would lose if we don't look after mother nature, that the work I have been doing on climate change, as well as topics of global health and migration, so those two topics are also very close To My Heart. Michael Hingson  50:40 Have you done any traveling outside Pakistan? Mobeen Ansari  50:45 Oh, yeah. I mean, I've been traveling abroad since I was very little. I have exhibited in Italy, in the United States. I was just in the US debris. My brother lives in Dallas, so, yeah, I keep traveling because, because my workshop, because of my book events, or my exhibition, usually here and around the world. Michael Hingson  51:14 Have you done any photography work here in the United States? Mobeen Ansari  51:19 Yeah, I have, I mean, in the US, I just don't directly do photography, but I do workshop, because whatever tool that I captured from Pakistan, I do it there. Okay, funny thing is, a funny thing is that, you know, when you take so many pictures in Pakistan, you become so used to rustic beauty and a very specific kind of beauty that you have a hard time capturing what's outside. But I've always, always just enjoyed taking pictures in in Mexico and Netherlands, in Italy, in India, because they that rustic beauty. But for the first time, you know, I actually spent some time on photography. This year, I went to Chicago, and I was able to take pictures of Chicago landscape, Chicago cityscape, completely. You know, Snowden, that was a pretty cool kind of palette to work with. Got to take some night pictures with everything Snowden, traveling Chicago, downtown. So yeah, sometimes I do photography in the US, but I'm mostly there to do workshops or exhibitions or meet my brothers. Michael Hingson  52:34 What is your your work process? In other words, how do you decide what ideas for you are worthwhile pursuing and and recording and chronicling. Mobeen Ansari  52:46 So I think it depends on where their story, where there is a lot of uniqueness, that is what stands out to me, and obviously beauty there. But they have to be there. They have to be some uniqueness, you know, like, if you look at one of the pictures behind me, this is a person who used to run a library that had been there since 1933 his father, he had this really, really cool library. And you know, to that guy would always maintain it, that library would have, you know, three old books, you know, a philosophy of religion, of theology, and there was even a handwritten, 600 years old copy of the Quran with his religious book for Muslims. So, you know, I found these stories very interesting. So I found it interesting because he was so passionate about literature, and his library was pretty cool. So that's something that you don't get to see. So I love seeing where there is a soul, where there is a connection. I love taking pictures of indigenous communities, and obviously, you know, landscapes as well. Okay? Also, you know, when it comes to climate change, when it comes to migration, when it comes to global health, that's what I take picture to raise awareness. Michael Hingson  54:33 Yeah, and your job is to raise awareness. Mobeen Ansari  54:41 So that's what I try to do, if I'm well informed about it, or if I feel that is something that needed a light to be shown on it, that's what I do. Took my photograph, and also, you know. Whatever had this appeal, whatever has a beauty, whatever has a story that's in spur of the moment. Sometimes it determined beforehand, like this year, particularly, it particularly helped me understand how to pick my subject. Even though I've been doing this for 22 years, this year, I did not do as much photography as I normally do, and I'm very, very picky about it. Like last week I went to this abandoned railway station. I decided to capture it because it's very fascinating. It's no longer used, but the local residents of that area, they still use it. And if you look at it, it kind of almost looks like it's almost science fiction film. So, you know, I'm a big star. Was that Big Star Trek fan? So, yes, I'm in port the camps. So I also like something that had these elements of fantasy to it. So my work, it can be all over the place, sometimes, Michael Hingson  56:09 well, as a as a speaker, it's, it's clearly very important to you to share your own personal journey and your own experiences. Why is that? Why do you want to share what you do with others? Mobeen Ansari  56:28 So earlier, I mentioned to you that John Tracy center played a major, major role in my life. He helped my mother. They provided all the materials. You know, in late 80s, early 90s, and so I will tell you what happened. So my aunt, my mom's sister, she used to live in the US, and when my hearing loss were diagnosed, my mother jumped right into action. I mean, both my parents did. So my mother, she landed in New York, and to my aunt would live in New Jersey. So every day she would go to New York, and she landed in New York League of hard of hearing. And a lady over there asked my mom, do you want your child to speak, or do you want him to learn? Frank Lacher and my mother, without any hesitation, she said, I want my child to speak and to see what put in touch with John Troy center and rest with history, and they provided with everything that needed. So I am affiliated with the center as an alumni. And whenever I'm with the US, whenever I'm in LA, I visit the center to see how I can support parents of those with hearing loss, and I remember when I went in 2016 2018 I gave a little talk to the parents of those with hair in glass. And I got to two other place as well, where I spent my childhood joint. Every time I went there, I saw the same fears. I saw the same determination in parents of those with hearing loss, as I saw in my parents eyes. And by the end of my talk, they came up to me, and they would tell me, you know, that sharing my experiences helped them. It motivated them. It helped them not be discouraged, because having a child hearing loss is not easy. And you know, like there was this lady from Ecuador, and you know, she spoke in Spanish, and she see other translators, you know, tell me this, so to be able to reach out with those stories, to be able to provide encouragement and any little guidance, or whatever little knowledge I have from my experience, it gave me this purpose. And a lot of people, I think, you know, you feel less lonely in this you feel hurt, you feel seen. And when you share experiences, then you have sort of a blueprint how you want to navigate in one small thing can help the other person. That's fantastic. That's why I share my personal experiences, not just to help those with hearing loss, but with any challenge. Because you know when you. Have a challenge when you have, you know, when a person is differently able, so it's a whole community in itself. You know, we lift each other up, and if one story can help do that, because, you know, like for me, my parents told me, never let your hearing loss be seen as a disability. Never let it be seen as a weakness, but let it be seen as a challenge that makes you stronger and that will aspire to do be it when I get it lost all of my life, be it when I had the latest or many years, or anything. So I want to be able to become stronger from to share my experiences with it. And that is why I feel it's important to share the story. Michael Hingson  1:00:56 And I think that's absolutely appropriate, and that's absolutely right. Do you have a family of your own? Are you married? Do you have any children or anything? Not yet. Not yet. You're still working on that, huh? Mobeen Ansari  1:01:10 Well, so to say, Yeah, I've just been married to my work for way too long. Michael Hingson  1:01:16 Oh, there you are. There's nothing wrong with that. You've got something that you Mobeen Ansari  1:01:22 kind of get batting after a while, yeah. Michael Hingson  1:01:26 Well, if the time, if the right person comes along, then it, then that will happen. But meanwhile, you're, you're doing a lot of good work, and I really appreciate it. And I hope everyone who listens and watches this podcast appreciates it as well. If people want to reach out to you, how do they do that? Mobeen Ansari  1:01:45 They can send me an email, which is out there for everybody on my website. I'm on all my social media as well. My email is being.ansarima.com Michael Hingson  1:01:57 so can you spell that? Can you Yeah, M, o b e n, dot a do it once more, M O B, E N, Mobeen Ansari  1:02:07 M O B, double, e n, dot, a n, S, A R, i@gmail.com Michael Hingson  1:02:17 at gmail.com, okay, and your website is.com Mobeen Ansari  1:02:26 same as my name. Michael Hingson  1:02:27 So, okay, so it's mo bean.ansari@our.www.mo Michael Hingson  1:02:35 bean dot Ansari, or just mo Bean on, sorry, Mobeen Ansari  1:02:41 just moving on, sorry. We com, no.no. Michael Hingson  1:02:44 Dot between mobien and Ansari, okay, so it's www, dot mobile being on sorry, yeah, so it's www, dot, M, O, B, E, N, A, N, S, A, R, i.com Yes. Well, great. I have absolutely enjoyed you being with us today. I really appreciate your time and your insights, and I value a lot what you do. I think you represent so many things so well. So thank you for being here with us, and I want to thank all of you who are out there listening and watching the podcast today, I'd love to hear your thoughts. Please email me at Michael H, i@accessibe.com that's m, I, C, H, A, E, L, H, I at accessibe, A, C, C, E, S, S, i, b, e.com, and we appreciate it if you would give us a five star rating wherever you are observing the podcast. Please do that. We value that a great deal. And if you know anyone else who ought to be a guest, please let me know. We're always looking for people and mobeen you as well. If you know anyone else who you think ought to be a guest on the podcast, I would appreciate it if you would introduce us. But for now, I just want to thank you one more time for being here. This has been absolutely wonderful. Thank you for being on the podcast with us today. Mobeen Ansari  1:04:08 Thank you so much. It's been wonderful, and thank you for giving me the platform to share my stories. And I hope that it helps whoever watching this. Up to date. Michael Hingson  1:04:26 You have been listening to the Unstoppable Mindset podcast. Thanks for dropping by. I hope that you'll join us again next week, and in future weeks for upcoming episodes. To subscribe to our podcast and to learn about upcoming episodes, please visit www dot Michael hingson.com slash podcast. Michael Hingson is spelled m i c h a e l h i n g s o n. While you're on the site., please use the form there to recommend people who we ought to interview in upcoming editions of the show. And also, we ask you and urge you to invite your friends to join us in the future. If you know of any one or any organization needing a speaker for an event, please email me at speaker at Michael hingson.com. I appreciate it very much. To learn more about the concept of blinded by fear, please visit www dot Michael hingson.com forward slash blinded by fear and while you're there, feel free to pick up a copy of my free eBook entitled blinded by fear. The unstoppable mindset podcast is provided by access cast an initiative of accessiBe and is sponsored by accessiBe. Please visit www.accessibe.com . AccessiBe is spelled a c c e s s i b e. There you can learn all about how you can make your website inclusive for all persons with disabilities and how you can help make the internet fully inclusive by 2025. Thanks again for Listening. Please come back and visit us again next week.

Allen, Joel, and Yolanda recap the UK Offshore Wind Supply Chain Spotlight in Edinburgh and Great British Energy’s £1 billion manufacturing push. Plus Ørsted’s European onshore wind sale, Xocean’s unmanned survey tech at Moray West, and why small suppliers must scale or risk being left behind. Sign up now for Uptime Tech News, our weekly email update on all things wind technology. This episode is sponsored by Weather Guard Lightning Tech. Learn more about Weather Guard’s StrikeTape Wind Turbine LPS retrofit. Follow the show on Facebook, YouTube, Twitter, Linkedin and visit Weather Guard on the web. And subscribe to Rosemary Barnes’ YouTube channel here. Have a question we can answer on the show? Email us! You are listening to the Uptime Wind Energy Podcast brought to you by build turbines.com. Learn, train, and be a part of the Clean Energy Revolution. Visit build turbines.com today. Now, here’s your host. Allen Hall, Joel Saxon, Phil Totaro, and Rosemary Barnes. Allen Hall: Welcome to the Uptime Wind Energy Podcast. I’m your host Allen Hall in Charlotte, North Carolina, the Queen City. I have Yolanda Pone and Joel Saxon back in Austin, Texas. Rosemary Barnes is taking the week off. We just got back from Scotland, Joel and I did, and we had a really great experience at the UK offshore wind supply chain spotlight 2025 in Edinburgh, where we met with a number of wind energy suppliers and technology advocates. A Joel Saxum: lot going on there, Joel. Yeah. One of the really cool things I enjoyed about that, um, get together the innovation spotlight. [00:01:00] One, the way they had it set up kind of an exhibition space, but not really an exhibition. It was like just a place to gather and everybody kind of had their own stand, but it was more how can we facilitate this conversation And then in the same spot, kind of like we’ve seen in other conferences, the speaking slots. So you could be kind of one in ear, oh one in year here, listening to all the great things that they’re doing. But having those technical conversations. And I guess the second thing I wanted to share was. Thank you to all of the, the UK companies, right? So the, all the Scottish people that we met over there, all the people from, from England and, and around, uh, the whole island there, everybody was very, very open and wanting to have conversations and wanting to share their technology, their solutions. Um, how they’re helping the industry or, or what other people can do to collaborate with them to help the industry. That’s what a lot of this, uh, spotlight was about. So from our, our seat, um, that’s something that we, you know, of course with the podcast, we’re always trying to share collaboration, kind of breed success for everybody. So kudos to the ORE [00:02:00] Catapult for putting that event on. Allen Hall: Yeah, a big thing. So, or Catapult, it was a great event. I’ve met a lot of people that I’ve only known through LinkedIn, so it’s good to see them face to face and. Something that we’ve had on the podcast. So we did a number of podcast recordings while we’re there. They’ll be coming out over the next several weeks, so stay tuned for it. You know, one of the main topics at that event in Edinburg was the great British Energy announcement. This is huge, Joel. Uh, so, you know, you know, the United Kingdoms has been really pushing offshore wind ambitions for years, but they don’t have a lot of manufacturing in country. Well, that’s all about the change. Uh, great British energy. Which is a government backed energy company just unveiled a 1 billion pound program called Energy Engineered in the uk, and their mission is pretty straightforward. Build it in the uk, employ people in the uk, and keep the economic benefits of the clean energy transition on British soil. 300 million pounds of that is really [00:03:00] going to be focused on supply chain immediately. That can happen in Northern Ireland, Scotland, Wales, and England. It’s a big promotion for the UK on the wind energy side. I see good things coming out of this. What were your thoughts when you heard that Joel Saxum: announcement, Joel? The offshore wind play. Right. It’s like something like this doesn’t happen to economies very often. Right. It’s not very often that we have like this just new industry that pops outta nowhere. Right. We’re, we’re not making, you know, it’s like when, when. Automotive industry popped up in the, you know, the early 19 hundreds. Like that was this crazy new thing. It’s an industrial revolution. It’s all this new opportunity. So offshore wind in, in my idea, same kind of play, right? It’s this new thing or newer thing. Um, and as a government, um, coming together to say, Hey, this is happening. We have the resources here. We’re gonna be deploying these things here. Why would we not take advantage of building this here? I mean. Any politician that says I’m bringing jobs or I’m bringing in, you [00:04:00] know, um, bringing in funds to be able to prop up an industry or to, uh, you know, start a manufacturing facility here or support an engineering department here, um, to be able to take advantage of something like this. Absolutely right. Why offshore this stuff when you can do it Here, you’ve got the people, you have the engineering expertise. It’s your coastline. You’ve operated offshore. You know how to build them, operate ’em, all of these different things. Keep as much of that in-house as you can. I, I mean, we’ve, we’ve watched it in the US over the last few years. Kind of try to prop up a supply chain here as well. But, you know, with regulations and everything changing, it’s too risky to invest. What the, it looks like what the UK has seen over there is, well, we might as well invest here. We’ll throw the money at it. Let’s, let’s make it happen on our shores. The Allen Hall: comparison’s obvious to the IRA Bill Yolanda and the IRA bill came out, what, A little over two years ago, three years ago, roughly. We didn’t see a lot of activity [00:05:00] on the manufacturing side of building new factories to do wind. In fact, there was a lot of talk about it initially and then it. It really died down within probably a year or so. Uh, you know, obviously it’s not a universal statement. There were some industries model piles and some steelworks and that kind of thing that would would happen. But sometimes these exercises are a little treacherous and hard to walk down. What’s your thoughts on the UK government stepping in and really. Putting their money where the mouth is. Yolanda Padron: I think it’s, I mean, it’s, it’s great, right? It’s great for the industry. It’ll, it’ll be a great case, I think, for us to look at just moving forward and to, like you said, government’s putting their money where their mouth is and what exactly that means. You know, not something where it’s a short term promise and then things get stalled, or corporations start looking [00:06:00] elsewhere. If every player works the way that they’re, it’s looking like they’re going to play right now, then it, it could be a really good thing for the industry. Allen Hall: Well, the, the United States always did it in a complicated way through tax policy, which means it runs through the IRS. So any bill that passes Congress and gets signed by the president, they like to run through the IRS, and then they make the tax regulations, which takes six months to 12 months, and then when they come out, need a tax attorney to tell you what is actually written and what it means. Joel, when we went through the IRA bill, we went through it a couple of times actually, and we were looking for those great investments in new technology companies. I just remember seeing it. That isn’t part of the issue, the complexity, and maybe that’s where GB Energy is trying to do something different where there’s trying to simplify the process. Joel Saxum: Yeah. The complexity of the problem over here is like that. With any. Business type stuff, right? Even when you get to the stage of, um, oh, this is a write off, this is this [00:07:00] for small businesses and those things, so it’s like a delayed benefit. You gotta plan for this thing. Or there’s a tax credit here, there. Even when we had the, um, the electric vehicle tax credits for, uh, individuals, right? That wasn’t not something you got right away. It was something you had to apply for and that was like later on and like could be. 15 months from now before you see anything of it. And so it’s all kind of like a difficult muddy water thing in the i a bill. You’re a hundred percent correct. Right. Then we passed that thing. We didn’t have the, the rules locked down for like two years. Right. And I remember we had, we had a couple experts on the podcast talking about that, and it was like, oh, the 45 x and the 45 y and the, the C this and the be that, and it was like. You needed to have a degree in this thing to figure it out, whereas the, what it sounds like to me, right, and I’m not on the inside of this policy, I dunno exactly how it’s getting executed. What it sounds like to me is this is more grant based or, and or loan program based. So it’s kinda like, hey, apply and we’ll give you the money, or we’ll fund a loan that supports some money of with low interest, zero [00:08:00] interest, whatever that may be. Um, that seems like a more direct way, one to measure ROI. Right, and or to get things done. Just just to get things done. Right. If someone said, Hey, hey, weather guard, lightning Tech. We have a grant here. We’d like to give you a hundred grand to do this. Or it was like, yeah, if you put this much effort in and then next year tax season you might see this and this and this. It’s like, I don’t have time to deal with that. Yolanda Padron: Yeah. We might also just change the rules on you a little bit, and then maybe down the line we’ll see where we go. Yeah. It does seem like they’re, they’re setting up the dominoes to fall in place a bit better. This way. Yeah, absolutely. Joel Saxum: That’s a, that’s a great way to put it, Yolanda. Let’s setting up the dominoes to fall in place. So it’s kinda like, Hey. These are the things we want to get done. This is what we wanna do as an industry. Here’s a pool of money for it, and here’s how you get access to it. Allen Hall: A lot’s gonna change. I remember, was it a couple of months ago, maybe, maybe a year ago, time flies guys. Uh, we were just talking about. That on the way home from [00:09:00]Scotland, like how many people have had in the podcast? It’s a lot over 60 have been on the podcast as guests. Uh, one of the people we want to have on is, uh, Dan McGrail, who’s the CEO of Great British Energy because, uh, we had talked about with Rosemary the possibility of building turbines all in. The uk, they have blade factories. All this stuff is doable, right? They have technology. This is not complicated work. It just needs to be set up and run. And maybe this is the goal is to just run, it may maybe not be OEM focused. I I, that’s what I’m trying to sort through right now as, is it vestas focused? Is it GE focused? Is it Siemens Keesa focused? Is there a focus or will these turbines have GB energy? Stamped on the side of them. I would Joel Saxum: see love to see support for sub-component suppliers. Yeah, I would too. Yeah. The reason being is, is like that’s, that’s more near and dear to my heart. That’s what [00:10:00] I’ve done in my career, is been a part of a lot of different, smaller businesses that are really making a difference by putting in, you know, great engineering comes from small businesses. That’s one of my, my things that I’ve always seen. It seems to be easier to get things done. In a different way with a small business than it does to engineering by committee with 50 people on a team faster, sometimes better. Uh, that’s just my experience, right? So I would like to see these smaller businesses propped up, because again, we need the OEMs. Yes, absolutely. But also spread it around, right? Spread the wealth a little bit. Uh, you know, a, a factory here, a factory there, a engineering facility here. The, uh, you know, an execution plant here. Some things like that. I would love to see more of these kind of, uh, spread around like the, like GB energy’s money spreads around, like fairy dust. Just kind of plant a little here, plant a little in this city, make a little here, instead of just lumping it to one or lumping it into one big, um, OEM. And that doesn’t necessarily [00:11:00] have to be an OEM, right? It could be a blade manufacturer that I’m talking about, or. Or a big, big gearbox thing or something like that. We need those things, and I, I’m all for support for them, but I just don’t think that all of its support should go to them. Speaker 7: Australia’s wind farms are growing fast, but are your operations keeping up? Join us February 17th and 18th at Melbourne’s Poolman on the park for Wind Energy o and M Australia 2026, where you’ll connect with the experts solving real problems in maintenance asset management. And OEM relations. Walk away with practical strategies to cut costs and boost uptime that you can use the moment you’re back on site. Register now at W OM a 2020 six.com. Wind Energy o and m Australia is created by Wind Professionals for wind professionals because this industry needs solutions, not speeches. Allen Hall: If you haven’t booked your tickets to Wind Energy o and m Australia 2026, you need to be doing [00:12:00] that. Today, uh, the event is on February 17th and 18th in Melbourne, Australia. Uh, we’ll have experts from around the world talking everything o and m, and there’s so many good people are gonna be on the agenda, Joel, and a lot of big companies sponsoring this Joel Saxum: year. Allen Hall: You want to give us a highlight? Joel Saxum: Yeah, so like you said, Alan, we have a ton of sponsors going to be there and, and I’d like to say the sponsors. Thank you ahead of time. Of course. Right. We’re, we’re, we’re super excited for them to get involved because as we’ve put this event together. We’re trying to do this no sales pitches, right? So we wanna do this, not pay to play. We want people here that are going to actually share and learn from each other. And the sponsors have been kind enough to get on board with that message and follow through with it. So, like our lead industry sponsor Tilt, uh, Brandon, the team over there, fantastic. Um, they have, they’re, they’re the, their key sponsor here and they’re supporting a lot of this. So the money’s going to applying in experts from all over the [00:13:00] world, putting this thing together. Uh, so we have an, uh. A forum to be able to talk at, uh, C-I-C-N-D-T. From here in the States, uh, we’ve got Palisades, who’s another operator in the, uh, Australian market, uh, rig com. ISP over there doing blade work and it just keeps rolling down. We’ve got squadron on board, squadron’s gonna do one of the coffee carts. Um, so I know that we’ve got a limited bit of tickets left. I think we are 250 in the venue and that’s what the plan is. I think we’re sitting at about half of that leftover. Allen Hall: Yeah, it’s getting close to running out. And I know in Australia everybody likes to purchase their tickets at the last minute. That’s great. And but you don’t wanna miss out because there is limited seating to this event. And you wanna go to WMA w om a 2020 six.com. Look at all the activities. Book some tickets. Plan to book your travel if you’re traveling from the United States or elsewhere. You need a couple of weeks [00:14:00]hopefully to do that ’cause that’s when the airline prices are lower. If you can book a a couple of weeks ahead of time. So now’s the time to go on Woma 2020 six.com. Check out the conference, get your tickets purchased, start buying your airline tickets, and get in your hotel arranged. Now’s the time to do that. Well, as you know, war has been selling off pieces of itself after setbacks in the America market. Uh, sounds like two heavyweight bidders are looking for one of those pieces. Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners and ENG G are allegedly competing for Seds European. Onshore Wind business, a portfolio valued at roughly 1 billion euros. Supposedly the bids are gonna be due this week, although nothing is certain in a billion dollar deals. This is a little bit odd. I understand why Stead is doing it, because they’re, they’re trying to fundraise, but if they do this. They will be essentially European offshore wind only [00:15:00] with some American onshore and a little bit American offshore. Not much. Uh, that will be their future. Are they gonna stay with America one onshore or, and American offshore? Is that a thing? Or they just could, could be all European offshore wind. Is that where Osted is headed? It’s a complicated mix because, you know, they’re, they’re, they’ve negotiated a couple of other deals. Most recently to raise cash. They’re supposedly selling, uh, another set of wind farms. I dunno how official that is, but it’s, it seems like there’s some news stories percolating up out there trying to raise more cash by selling large percentages of offshore wind farms. Where does Joel Saxum: this all end? I don’t know. The interesting thing is like if you looked at Ted, uh, man, two years ago, like if you Googled anything or used a jet, GPT or whatever it was like, gimme the. Three largest wind operators in the world. They were the top three all the time. Right. And, and most valuable. At one point in time, they were worth like, [00:16:00] uh, I don’t wanna say the wrong number, but I, I thought, I thought 25 billion or something like that. They were worth. ATS at one point in time. Market share. Allen Hall: Yeah, Joel Saxum: I think that seems right. So like they, they were huge and it just seems like, yeah, they’re trying to survive, but in survival mode, they’ve just kind, they’re just dwindling themselves down to being just o just a small offshore company. And, or not small, but a small, just a, just a siloed offshore company. A large offshore company. Yeah. Yeah. But I mean, like, even just, there was, there’s another article, um. Today we’re, we’re talking here, CIP and Engie looking to buy their European onshore business. They’ve also are putting up like, uh, was it greater Ang of four in Taiwan for, for sale as well. So, I mean, like you said, where does it stop? I don’t know. Um, CIP is an interesting play. Uh, an Eng, CIP and Engie kind of battling this one out ’cause the CIP management team is a bunch of ex or said people, so they know that play very well. Um, ENGIE of course, being a big French [00:17:00] utility. So that one will sell, right? They’re, their European offshore or onshore assets will be gone shortly. Uh, they’ll be sitting with a bunch of offshore assets that they own and partially own around the world. Uh, and of course their, their, I think their US onshore fleet is about a gigawatt, maybe a and a half. Um, that could be the next domino to fall. You don’t, I, sorry, Yolanda, I used your, your, your, uh, euphemism from before, but, um. That they’re actively parting ways with some stuff. I don’t know when it stops. Allen Hall: It is odd, right? EOR has basically stopped a lot of renewables. Stat Craft has pulled back quite a bit. Another Norwegian company. A lot of the nor Northern European companies are slowing down in wind altogether, trying to stick to onshore for the most part. Offshore will still be developed, but just not at the pace that it needed to be developed. There is a lot of money moving around. Billions [00:18:00] and billions of, of euros and dollars moving. And I guess my, my thought is, I’m not sure from a market standpoint where Orid is headed, or even Ecuador for that matter, besides maybe moving back into oil and gas. They never really left it. The direction of the company is a little unknown because these, uh, news articles about sales. Are not really prefaced, right? It’s just like, all right, Taiwan, we’re selling more than 50% of the projects in Taiwan. We’re out, we’re selling European onshore pow, which there’d been some rumors about that, that I had heard, but nothing was really locked in, obviously, until you really start seeing some reliable news sources. Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners is an interesting play just because it kind of keeps it. Up in Denmark and not in France with Engie. That’s what I’m, in my [00:19:00] head. I’m thinking Sted is not likely to sell it to Engie just because they’re French. This is a national, uh, security issue for Denmark Sted. Is it, I I how Engie is involved in this maybe to help set a, a baseline of what the valuation is so that CIP can then purchase it. Do you see CIP losing this, Joel? Joel Saxum: No, I don’t think so. I think, yeah, I think CCIP has to land with this one and, and CI P’s been building a portfolio quietly, building a, not, I guess not quietly, they’ve been building a portfolio for the last few years. It’s pretty stout, uh, pretty fairly sizable. Right? And it, it’s an interesting play watching this for me because you, you see all these people kind of rotating out. And it, and it has to do with the, the, in my opinion, it has to do with the macroeconomics of things, right? Once, when you develop something and you get through, like in, into the teething pain cycle and all that kind of stuff. [00:20:00] The asset is not designed to have a 50, 70%, you know, margin, right? That’s not how wind works. Wind, wind operates of small margins and a lot of times in the early, a early stages of a project, you end up running into issues that eat those margins away. So when you’re talking about small margins, they’re six to 10% is what you kind of see. Um, and it’s pretty easy to eat away a 6% or a 10% margin. If you have some kind of serial defect you have to deal with, uh, or that, that the OEM’s fighting you on and, and you know, whether or not they take responsibility for it or you have to pay for it. A lot of times those processes can drag out for 12, 24, 36 months until you get made whole. So the early state, the first, you know, five years of a lot of these projects, five to eight years, are very expensive. And then once you get through kind of those things and the thing starts just chugging. Then you actually are starting to make money, and that’s where CIP P’S buying these assets is in that years after it’s gone through its teething pains and the company that developed it is like, man, [00:21:00] we need to get outta this thing. We’ve just been burning through cash. Then CI P’s kinda swooping in and grabbing ’em. And I think that this is another one of those plays. Allen Hall: So they’re gonna live with a smaller margin or they’re gonna operate the assets differently. Joel Saxum: The assets may be being operated better now than they were when they started, just in that, in, they exist, the starting company simply because the, some of the issues have been solved. They’ve been sorted through the things where you have early, early failures of bearings or some stuff like the early fairings of gearboxes. Those things have been sorted out, so then CIP swoops in and grabs them after the, the teething issues that have been gone. Allen Hall: Does evaluation change greatly because of the way horse did, manages their assets? Up or down? Joel Saxum: I would say generally it would go up. Yeah. I don’t necessarily think it’s dependent on o and m right now. I think it’s just a, it’s a time to buy cheap assets, right? Like you see, you see over here in the States, you see a lot of acquisitions going on. People divesting, they’re not divesting because they’re like, oh, we’re gonna make a ton of money off this. They may need the cash. They’re [00:22:00] divesting in, in, um, what’s the term, like under duress? A lot of them, it may not look like it from the outside in a big way, but that’s kind of what’s happening. Yolanda Padron: Yeah, I think it’ll be really interesting to see, uh, you know, there were a lot of layoffs in Ted and Europe as well, so seeing if maybe some of the people who can make those assets perform better. Come back just with a different t-shirt on. Allen Hall: As wind energy professionals staying informed is crucial, and let’s face it difficult. That’s why the Uptime podcast recommends PES Wind Magazine. PES Wind offers a diverse range of in-depth articles and expert insights that dive into the most pressing issues facing our energy future. Whether you’re an industry veteran or new to wind, PES wind has the high quality content you need. Don’t miss out. Visit PES wind.com today in this quarter’s, PES Wind Magazine, which you can download a copy at PES [00:23:00] wind.com. There’s an article by Xan and they were, uh, contracted by Ocean Winds to evaluate the sea floor from. The sea floor at Moray West, which is way, way, way up north on the northern end of Scotland. A pretty rough area, Joel. And, but what ex Ocean did was they used unmanned survey equipment to monitor the ocean floor where the mono piles were gonna replace for the Moey West Wind Farm. That is a really difficult area to operate any sort of boat, but. Uh, the reason we’re doing this remotely unmanned was that it, it gave them sort of a, a less costly way to get high resolution images of the sea bottom. This is interesting because ocean wind was developing more a West apparently hadn’t used anything like this before, but the results, at [00:24:00] least from what I can see in PS win, look Joel Saxum: great. Yeah. This is a technology that’s been, um. Man, it’s been under development by a lot of companies in the last six, eight years. And now it’s starting to get to the point where it is, I mean, we’re, we’re TRL nine plus, right? There’s a lot of these solutions out there that are commercially ready. Xans been a top of this list since, man, since I was playing in that oil and gas world, to be honest with you. Like 20 18, 20 17, uh, really cool looking boats. That’s besides the point. Uh, but when they show up at trade shows and stuff with ’em, you’re like, ah, oh, that thing’s neat looking. Um, but it, it, it, it solves all kinds of problems, right? So when you go offshore and you’re just gonna do, say you’re just gonna go out there and do multibeam, so you’re just gonna do echo sound where you’re just looking to see depths and what’s on the sea floor. The minimum kind of vessel you need for that is 10 to 15 meters long. You need probably two to six people on that vessel. And that’s just, if you’re going out doing shift work, if you’re staying out there [00:25:00] and working 24 7, that vessel grows to. 30 meters instantly, right? So now you’re burning thousands and thousands of dollars in fuel. You’ve got food on board. You got all, it’s just a pain to put this vessel out there. You take all of those people out of harm’s way. You take all the costs away and they, and you put two of them, or one or two of them on shore in a facility, and then you put this three meter vessel out there that’s fully autonomous. No people, but collects the same style of data. I mean, it’s a no brainer, right? So you’re getting the same style of data and if, and the thing’s working 24 7, there is no need to have someone sleep. There’s a not a technician issue. There’s not, none of this is, is a problem anymore. Nobody’s getting seasick, right? So you’re sitting, you’re, you’re sitting back on shore, uh, going to work, uh, with no PPE on, um, having a, having a coffee from Starbucks down the street. And you’re running this thing 24 7, you’re collecting all [00:26:00] that fantastic data. Uh, it is just, like I said, it’s a no brainer. Now, now they’re getting to the stage where they’re putting ’em out as swarms, so you can cover whole fields. You’re doing live cable inspections. It’s, it’s pretty fantastic. So Exo ocean’s really making the next generation of robotics o offshore. Allen Hall: Yeah. And that’s gonna drive down the cost of energy. These kind of developments make huge strides in lowering costs, and this is why you need to read PES Win Magazine. So there’s a. Great articles all throughout the magazine. This quarter’s issue is, is Heavy with articles. Get your free copy@pswin.com today. As you know, in the wind industry, survival has always belonged to those who can keep up, uh, and Sorn freeze. Nuon knows better than most with his decades of experience at LM Wind Power and Uzon. He now chairs two Danish subcontractors, Polytech and Jupiter. Bach. Uh, his message to smaller suppliers in, in a recent article is. Pretty blunt. It [00:27:00]says the manufacturers, big OEMs want fewer partners and larger partners who can take on more responsibility. And if you cannot invest and grow with those manufacturers, you’ll be left behind the winners. It says it will be those who stay close to the turbine makers and adapt as the industry evolves. Joel, this is a really interesting discussion that, uh, Soren put out there. Obviously he’s invested in Polytech and Jupiter, Bach, uh, to great suppliers obviously, but small businesses are where a lot of the key technologies have been driven over the last five, six years. In wind, or more broadly the last 20 years in wind, a lot of great technology has come out of places that you wouldn’t have thought of. The OEMs have not been the bastion of innovation. I would say it [00:28:00] is necessary. You have both, wouldn’t you think? You have to have the small business innovation to prove out ideas and to show that they work, but you also have to have the large manufacturers to implement those ideas more broadly without either one of them, nobody wins. Joel Saxum: I fully agree and I think that one of the things that’s a little bit, uh, more of a granular comment there is. I think sometimes you need the OEMs and the other suppliers within the supply chain to open their doors a little bit, right? So this is, this is me wearing my, my small business, small innovative business, uh, in the wind industry cap. And that is, man, sometimes it is hard to get a conversation with a large subsupplier or with an OEM when you have something that can help them. And they just don’t want to communicate, don’t want to help. It’s just our way or the highway kind of thing. And if you watch, like we, so the podcast gives us an kind of, or not [00:29:00] gives us, it forces us to have kind of an op, an opportunity to look at, you know, what are the, what are the financial statements of some of these OEMs? What are the financial statements of some of their large sub-suppliers? You know? ’cause if they’re located in countries where that stuff is public knowledge, you can see how and what they’re doing. And if you, if you look at business in a general way where you rely on one customer or two customers to, for your whole business, you’re gonna be hurting. Um, especially in the way we look at things or what we’re seeing in the wind industry right now is if you’re, if you are a large company to say you do a hundred million in revenue and your customers are ge Vestas. Depending on what happens regulatory wise, in some random country somewhere your a hundred million dollars could shrink to 50 real quick. Um, so I don’t think that that’s a great way to do business. I think, you know, having a bit of diversification probably helps you a little bit. The OEMs Allen Hall: have a particular job to do. They need to deliver turbines onsite on time and create power for their customer. That’s our main [00:30:00] focus. They are a generator. Driven company, they make generators on steel towers with a propeller system basically. Right. Just simplify it way, way down. There’s not a lot of technology in that itself. Obviously there’s control systems, obviously there’s electronics involved, but the concept from this basic fundamentals is not difficult to to grasp. The difficulty is in execution. Showing that that product can last for 20 years, and that product can last in different environments. Australia, United States, up in Scandinavia, Canada, way down south and Brazil. There’s some really rough environments there and the OEMs are relying upon in industry, uh, guidance from like the IECs and then the dvs, uh, uls Tube. Nord. Uh. Bvs where they’re trying to make these turbines comply to a [00:31:00] set of essentially regulations, which just simplify it. You can do that. But as we have seen historically in the wind industry, if you make a turbine that just meets those requirements, you do not necessarily have a successful product. You have a product that is marginal, and as Yolanda has pointed out to me numerous times, there’s a lot of real issues in wind turbines. That probably could have been solved five years ago by small mobile companies with outside of the box ideas that could have given the OEMs a huge advantage, especially in blades. Yolanda Padron: Yeah, and I think a lot of these companies are, they’re looking at things from a different point of view, right? They’re smaller companies. You have people who could know the product, they know the real issue that’s going on on the ground. They know. Kind of what they need to do, what the next step is to move forward in their solution.[00:32:00] Right? But it’s not like it’s a, a company where you need 30 people to sign off before you can go onto the next stage, and then you need 30 more people to sign off before you can get funding to do something else. And so yes, the OEMs are doing a good job in their scope. If they’re meeting their scope, they are doing a good job. You know, if I, if I take like bread and cheese, then yes, I have a sandwich, right? Like, it might not be the best sandwich in the world, but I have a sandwich. So like, they’re making the sandwich and that’s great. But if you want something to, to actually work and to last and to, to give everybody else the, the idea that. You know, wind is profitable and we can all benefit from it. You have to get all those different layers in there, right? You have to make [00:33:00] sure that you know, if you have a big lightning issue, then you get the right people in the room to get that retrofit in there to solve your lightning issue. If you have a big leading edge erosion issue, then you get those right people in the room to solve everything, and it’s not always going to be a one size fits all. Right, but you do need those smaller companies to, to be in the room with you. Joel Saxum: I’m a hundred percent agreeing with you, Yolanda, and I think that this is the issue here is that at some level then an OEM, an OEM engineering head would have to admit that they’re not the end all be all, and that they may have got a couple of things wrong. And what, what I would love to see and who, and maybe maybe ask you this question, who of the major four Western OEMs. Do you think would be open to like an industry advisory board? Nordex, you think it’s Nordex? I think Yolanda Padron: that’s the closest one so far that we’ve seen. Right? Joel Saxum: Yeah. I, I, I agree with you, and I’m saying that because I don’t think any of the other ones would ever admit that they have an [00:34:00] issue, right? They have attorneys and they have problems, Allen Hall: so they really can’t, but I, I think internally they know that they haven’t optimized their production, they haven’t optimized their performance out in the field. They’re trying to improve availability, that’s for sure. Estes has spent a great deal of time over the last year or two improving availability so that the money is being spent. The question is, do they have all the right answers or the overspending to get to the availability that they want to deliver to their customers? That’s a great question because I do think that we we’re just in Scotland and there’s a number of technology companies in the UK that I think, wow, they should be implementing some of these. Ideas and these products that have been proven, especially the ones that have been out for a couple of years, they should be implemented tomorrow, but they’re not yet because they can’t get through the door of an OEM because the OEM doesn’t want to hear it. Joel Saxum: Yeah, agreed. Agreed. Right. Well, well, like I, the, the, the example that keeps popping into my mind is Pete Andrews and the team over [00:35:00] at Echo Bolt, simply because they have a solution that works. It’s simple. They’ve done the legwork to make sure that this thing can be optimized and utilized by technicians in the field around the world. But they, it just like, they haven’t gotten the buy-in from, from whoever, uh, that it seems to be, you know, there’s a hurdle here. Uh, and that hurdle may be the Atlantic Ocean. I don’t know. Uh, but I would love to see, I would love to see their, uh, solution for bolted connections, uh, and monitoring bolted connections kicked around the world because I think you could save. Uh, the wind industry a ton, a ton, a ton of money. And that is an example of a small business full of subject matter experts that made a solution that can solve a problem, whether you’re an OEM or you’re an operator or whatever. There’s there that’s there, utilize them, right? Those are the kind of things that we need in this industry. Yolanda Padron: And it’s also those smaller companies too that will look at your feedback and then they’ll say, oh. Okay, do I need to adjust here? [00:36:00] Did I not focus on this one parameter that your specific site has? Right. And you don’t see that from the OEMs ’cause they have so, uh, they have so many problems that they’re trying to tackle at once that it gets really difficult to, not just to hone in on one, but to, to tell everybody, oh, I, I have this perfect solution for everything. Here you go. Allen Hall: Right. I think there’s an internal conflict in the engineering departments and manufacturing departments of any OEM, regardless if it’s in wind or in any other industry, is that they have a system to make this product and they’re pretty confident in it, otherwise they wouldn’t be doing it. They don’t want to hear outside noise is I, I would describe it as noise. Like, uh, if you have a great solution that would help out their manufacturing process. But I work here, I know how, I know the ins and outs that that new idea by a small company won’t work here. Those [00:37:00] barriers have to be knocked down internally in the OEMs. The OEM management should be going through and saying, Hey, look, if I find me the manager of this operation, if I find a company that could help us and save us money, and you’re being a roadblock, guess what? See ya. Hit the road because there is no way you can let those opportunities pass you by. In today’s marketplace, you need to be grabbing hold of every opportunity to lower your cost, to improve your product availability, to improve your relationship with your customers. How do you do that? Quickly, you look at the companies that are providing solutions and you grab them, grab them, and hold on for your life and listen to what they have to say because they have probably done more research into your product than your people have. That wraps up another episode of the Uptime Wind Energy Podcast. If today’s discussion sparked any questions or ideas, we’d love to hear from you. Reach out to us on LinkedIn and don’t forget to subscribe so you never miss an episode. If you [00:38:00] found value in today’s discussion, please leave us a review. It really helps other wind energy professionals discover the show and we’ll catch you here next week on the Uptime Wind Energy Podcast.

Our Christmas episode is here, so get your nog on. And why not open an entry in a very special fantasy miniatures advent calendar slash tabletop game from Oakbound Studio - Once Upon A Time In The Woods. And when we're not unwrapping gifts, we're talking about Ecuador, 2001, and the grip of football with despelote from Julián Cordero, Sebastian Valbuena, and Panic, and the surreal, delicate, thoughtful adventure that is A Pizza Delivery from Eric Osuna and Dolores Entertainment. All that, and it's all downhill from here, on Ep237. 00:00 - 40th birthdays 10:38 - Pete's Present 14:53 - despelote 28:58 - Kris' Present 32:16 - A Pizza Delivery 40:54 - Dan's Present 44:50 - Once Upon A Time In The Woods: Adventure Calendar 59:10 - Sam's Present On this episode were Dan (@ThisDanFrost), Kris (@DigitalStrider), Peter (@XeroXeroXero), and Sam (@MrSamTurner). Our Spotify Playlist brings together lots of great thematic music inspired by the stuff we talk about, our Steam Curator page collects every video game we've ever reviewed available on the platform, and our BoardGameGeek page does the same for every boardgame. And if you'd like to see what we're up to between podcasts, your best bet is our Instagram page. Links to where you can find us - StayingInPodcast.com Note: sometimes we'll have been sent a review copy of the thing we're talking about on the podcast. It doesn't skew how we think about that thing, and we don't receive compensation for anything we discuss, but we thought you might like to know this is the case.

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Cierre presencial en 15 escuelas de educación básica en Sinaloa  Migrantes liberados tras secuestro en ChihuahuaMás información en nuestro Podcast

La violencia progresará en America Latina y el Caribe en 2026, es la conclusión de la ONG Acled, dedicada al análisis de los conflictos, teniendo en cuenta el aumento de las actividades ilícitas en la región. En este programa se analizan los factores del contexto actual que ha tenido en cuenta la organización en su informe. El mayor despliegue de tropas de Estados Unidos en el Caribe, el régimen de excepción en El Salvador o el aumento de ataques con drones por parte de las guerrillas en Colombia, son solo algunos de los síntomas que hacen que la ONG Acled, considere que la violencia se extenderá en 2026 por América Latina y el Caribe. Sandra Pellegrini, analista senior de la organización, explica que la violencia de las organizaciones criminales es un problema que ya estaba instalado en varios países, pero que la presión de la administración del presidente Donald Trump ha exacerbado: "La influencia de Estados Unidos es indirecta. Lo que ha hecho Estados Unidos ha sido presionar a gobiernos de las regiones a adoptar medidas que Estados Unidos, o más bien la administración de Trump, ve alineada a sus políticas ideológicas. Estamos observando, especialmente en países latinoamericanos y caribeños que van hacia procesos electorales en el 2026, una aceleración, una  adopción de políticas militarizadas." Donald Trump estrenó su mandato con una orden ejecutiva que declaraba a varias de estas organizaciones criminales latinoamericanas como "terroristas", y esto animó a varios países —como Argentina, Ecuador o Guatemala— a hacer lo mismo. Esto permite a los Gobiernos a responder militarmente contra estos grupos, algo que Acled califica de ineficaz: "No tenemos resultados concluyentes de que llevan a disminuciones de violencia sostenida en el tiempo y geográficamente; y en otros casos, hemos observado que operativos militarizados incluso, pueden conllevar a un aumento de las violencias, pueden tener como consecuencia de fragmentar un grupo criminal y reactivar una pelea por el poder dentro de esos grupos o de esas facciones. Tenemos, por ejemplo, el caso de México, donde el arresto de "El Mayo", uno de los líderes del cártel de Sinaloa, ha llevado a una pelea letal que sigue hasta el día de hoy. Y también en el caso de El Salvador, hemos observado que esos operativos han llevado a disputas para el poder interno y la creación de nuevas facciones." Además, este discurso empieza a instrumentalizarse en los procesos electorales de varios países, concluye Sandra Pellegrini: "Muchas figuras políticas que están haciendo campañas en el proceso electoral (están) promoviendo una seguridad militarizada porque han visto que justamente en el caso del Salvador ha llevado a esos niveles de popularidad del presidente Nayib Bukele. Entonces yo creo que hay un motivo bastante fuerte electoralmente." En su informe, Acled teme que los estados se vuelvan los principales actores de la violencia en la región y alerta del riesgo de abusos como ejecuciones extrajudiciales o desapariciones forzadas.

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Meret Räber lebt mit ihrem Mann Bernardo im Rio Hurtado Tal im Norden von Chile. In Seron betreiben die beiden ihre eigene grosse Farm. Mit Pferden führen sie Gäste durch die wilde Landschaft der Anden und lassen sie die chilenische Kultur hautnah erleben. Aufgewachsen in Oberburg im Kanton Bern, entdeckte Meret Räber in Südamerika ihre zweite Heimat. Nach Stationen in Argentinien, Ecuador und Chile entschied sie sich, ihr Leben den Anden zu widmen. Meret Räber kennt das Rio Hurtado Tal schon seit vielen Jahren. 2009 war sie Touren-Guide auf einer Hazienda im Tal und machte auch Führungen in der zur Anlage gehörenden Sternwarte. Im Rio Hurtado Tal befinden sich zahlreiche bedeutende Sternwarten: «Der Norden Chiles ist weltbekannt für seinen klaren Sternenhimmel.» Bei der Arbeit lernte sie damals ihren chilenischen Mann Bernardo kennen, mit dem sie nach der Heirat ihr eigenes Projekt startete. Meret und Bernardo – Ein starkes Team Meret Räber und ihr Mann Bernardo Rojas haben im Rio Hurtado Tal, im Dorf Seron, ihre eigene Farm aufgebaut. Beide sind handwerklich begabt und haben mit viel Einsatz und Kreativität ein Zuhause geschaffen, das zugleich Ausgangspunkt für ihre Arbeit ist. Auf der Farm organisieren sie Reitausflüge und lassen Gäste die Natur und Tradition der Anden hautnah erleben.

La violencia progresará en America Latina y el Caribe en 2026, es la conclusión de la ONG Acled, dedicada al análisis de los conflictos, teniendo en cuenta el aumento de las actividades ilícitas en la región. En este programa se analizan los factores del contexto actual que ha tenido en cuenta la organización en su informe. El mayor despliegue de tropas de Estados Unidos en el Caribe, el régimen de excepción en El Salvador o el aumento de ataques con drones por parte de las guerrillas en Colombia, son solo algunos de los síntomas que hacen que la ONG Acled, considere que la violencia se extenderá en 2026 por América Latina y el Caribe. Sandra Pellegrini, analista senior de la organización, explica que la violencia de las organizaciones criminales es un problema que ya estaba instalado en varios países, pero que la presión de la administración del presidente Donald Trump ha exacerbado: "La influencia de Estados Unidos es indirecta. Lo que ha hecho Estados Unidos ha sido presionar a gobiernos de las regiones a adoptar medidas que Estados Unidos, o más bien la administración de Trump, ve alineada a sus políticas ideológicas. Estamos observando, especialmente en países latinoamericanos y caribeños que van hacia procesos electorales en el 2026, una aceleración, una  adopción de políticas militarizadas." Donald Trump estrenó su mandato con una orden ejecutiva que declaraba a varias de estas organizaciones criminales latinoamericanas como "terroristas", y esto animó a varios países —como Argentina, Ecuador o Guatemala— a hacer lo mismo. Esto permite a los Gobiernos a responder militarmente contra estos grupos, algo que Acled califica de ineficaz: "No tenemos resultados concluyentes de que llevan a disminuciones de violencia sostenida en el tiempo y geográficamente; y en otros casos, hemos observado que operativos militarizados incluso, pueden conllevar a un aumento de las violencias, pueden tener como consecuencia de fragmentar un grupo criminal y reactivar una pelea por el poder dentro de esos grupos o de esas facciones. Tenemos, por ejemplo, el caso de México, donde el arresto de "El Mayo", uno de los líderes del cártel de Sinaloa, ha llevado a una pelea letal que sigue hasta el día de hoy. Y también en el caso de El Salvador, hemos observado que esos operativos han llevado a disputas para el poder interno y la creación de nuevas facciones." Además, este discurso empieza a instrumentalizarse en los procesos electorales de varios países, concluye Sandra Pellegrini: "Muchas figuras políticas que están haciendo campañas en el proceso electoral (están) promoviendo una seguridad militarizada porque han visto que justamente en el caso del Salvador ha llevado a esos niveles de popularidad del presidente Nayib Bukele. Entonces yo creo que hay un motivo bastante fuerte electoralmente." En su informe, Acled teme que los estados se vuelvan los principales actores de la violencia en la región y alerta del riesgo de abusos como ejecuciones extrajudiciales o desapariciones forzadas.

Se registran movimientos militares de EE.UU. en Puerto Rico.LLuvias torrenciales e inundaciones historias se presentaron en Washington.Kilmar Ábrego García sale libre tras su cita con ICE.Millones de latinos enfrentan costos más altos en el seguro médico o la pérdida total de cobertura.Se espera un récord de viajeros para esta temporada de fin de año.En México personal de aduana, policía y militares extorsionan a los viajeros mexicanos.Demócratas revelan nuevas fotos de Trump y Clinton con Epstein y otras poderosas figuras públicas.El impacto de los aranceles en las festividades navideñas.Hacen procesión por inmigrantes detenidos en el dia de la virgen de Guadalupe.Peregrinos rinden homenaje a la virgen y abandonan a sus perros.En México localizan cuatro fosas clandestinas en el municipio de Comal.Escucha de lunes a viernes el ‘Noticiero Univision Edición Nocturna' con Elián Zidán.       

NotiMundo Estelar - Sebastián Tipán, Irregularidades en la contratación agravan la corrupción en Ecuador by FM Mundo 98.1

Felipe Avello en vivo desde el teatro Nescafé de las Artes 2025

Veronique Gorris  ist Ärztin, Mitbegründerin der Pachamama Schule und Honorargeneralkonsulin von Österreich in Ecuador, Mutter, Körpertherapeutin, Lehrende und Künstlerin ... und vieles mehr. Mit Veronika Bonelli blickt sie zurück auf die vielseitigen Erfahrungen in ihrem Leben. Was sie gelernt hat, was sie gerne weitergeben möchte und worauf sie immer noch neugierig ist, hören Sie in den Lebenswegen am 14. Dezember.Ihr Gedichtband "Zwischenräume" ist im Metanoia Verlag erschienen.Musik: Josef Strauss, Dorfschwalben aus Österreich (Neujahrskonzert 2025)Alberto Kuselman, Orden DivinoKeith Jarrett, The Köln Concert, Part II

Bitcoin se comporta como un activo financiero digital accesible de múltiples maneras y en este episodio analizaremos algunas formas de evitar estafas adquiriendo Bitcoin de forma p2p.La forma más fácil y segura de comprar Bitcoin en Ecuador:⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://bitcoin.com.ec⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Compra tarjetas regalo con Bitcoin en Bitrefill: ⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.bitrefill.com/invite/iytw5ssw⁠⁠⁠⁠Compra tu LEDGER AQUI: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://shop.ledger.com/?r=4a67f8edc2af⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Contacto: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@jlandy⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠r⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://linktr.ee/bitcoinycriptos⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Escúchanos en Fountain y apoyarnos con algunos sats : ⚡️⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.fountain.fm/show/XYcV41nUHGGmXAf19NK7⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Recursos mencionados en este podcast:5 errores mas comunes al comprar Bitcoin P2PLibros recomendados sobre Bitcoin. ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠El pequeño libro de Bitcoin⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Diplomado en Bitcoin⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

¿Y si la paz que tu corazón anhela esta Navidad no fuera un sentimiento pasajero, sino el regalo de un Rey eterno? En este cierre de nuestra serie Una promesa navideña, meditamos en Cristo como Príncipe de Paz según Isaías 9:6, y escuchamos una conversación especial entre Daniel Warne y Rey desde Quito, Ecuador, sobre cómo esta paz transforma la vida en medio de tiempos turbulentos.  

Decisiones con Jorge Ortiz - ¿El 2026 será mejor para el Ecuador? - 12 de diciembre de 2025 by FM Mundo 98.1

Decisiones con Jorge Ortiz - 12 de diciembre 2025 - ¿El 2026 será mejor para el Ecuador? by FM Mundo 98.1

24 Stille-Momente.Im radio klassik Stephansdom-AdventkalenderDie angeblich stillste Zeit des Jahres, den Advent, erleben viele Menschen im Gegenteil als hektisch, laut und turbulent. Aber nicht nur im Dezember sehnen sich viele nach mehr Ruhe und  Zeit für sich.  Doch wo finden wir echte Stille ohne Ablenkung? Wie lange halten wir sie aus? Was macht sie mit uns? Wir öffnen täglich eine Tür in innere Räume der Stille.14. Dezember: Veronique Gorris ist Mitbegründerin der Pachamama Schule und Honorargeneralkonsulin von Österreich in Ecuador, Ärztin, Körpertherapeutin  und Künstlerin. Heute um 17:30 hören Sie sie in der Sendung Lebenswege.

Los beneficiarios que estén en Estados Unidos y no hayan solicitado la residencia permanente deberán abandonar el país el próximo 14 de enero.

Survivor 49 is here! Survivor Legend Jonny Fairplay, Special Guest Survivor 43 Winner Mike Gabler, and Producer Bobby Goodsby are here to discuss the latest episode. Hang out as we break down the latest episode of Survivor 49!Special thanks to the best Whiskey on the Planet Watertown Whiskey! Check them out on instagram: https://www.instagram.com/watertownwhiskey/?hl=en Tell them Fairplay sent you! Please Drink Responsibly https://watertownwhiskey.com/Our new Website is live! Check it out at: www.realityaftershow.comJoin our Patreon at RealityPatron.com ands listen to Gabe's Ecuador adventures!If you would like a cameo from Jonny Fairplay order one now! cameo.com/jonnyfairplayCheck us out on Tiktok @fairplaytokGet your shirt JUST like Jonny Fairplay at fairplayshirts.com #survivor #CBS #survivoraftershow #realityaftershow #RAS #Survivor49 #survivor50

Text us your questions and thoughts!Sometimes the fastest way to grow your influence isn't chasing a bigger title,  it's expanding your understanding of how the business actually works.In this episode, we sit down with Emily Nguema, Senior Manager, Commercial Operations at Relay Technologies, to unpack her non-linear journey from studying languages and doing humanitarian work in Ecuador to partner success, edtech, and ultimately a far-reaching role in commercial operations. Through every pivot, one thread stays constant: value - how to define it, measure it, and translate it into stories executives can do something with.We explore:What it really looks like to shift from senior CSM to commercial opsHow embracing ambiguity becomes a competitive advantage in fast-moving orgsEmily's personal operating system (weekly roadmaps, calendar-bound priorities, and celebrating small wins like it's a sport)Humility as the hidden accelerator for influence and leadershipCareer decisions that prioritize learning, exposure, and meaningful impact over titlesYou'll also hear a fresh take on consultative customer success, executive-ready storytelling, and the mindset shift that helps CS professionals influence at higher levels (long before they have a formal leadership title).If you're eyeing a move into operations, or simply want your customer success strategy to resonate in the boardroom, this episode will give you both the frameworks and the courage to go for it.And if this conversation sparked something for you, share it with a colleague or teammate who needs the boost today.

El 70% de la droga que se comercializa a nivel mundial transita por Ecuador, ha afirmado el mandatario Daniel Noboa, cuya familia ha sido señalada por medios investigativos de estar involucrada en el tráfico de cocaína hacia Europa. RFI habló con Andrés Durán, periodista ecuatoriano que ha huido del país tras recibir amenazas por haber denunciado los vínculos entre la compañía bananera Noboa Trading y el narcotráfico. En 2023, el periodista Andrés Durán obtuvo documentos relativos a la incautación de centenas de kilos de cocaína en el puerto de Naportec, Guayaquil, en camino hacia Europa. "Empiezo a comprender la dinámica del crimen organizado a través del tráfico de cocaína camuflada en contenedores de banano", recuerda. Esto ocurrió antes de que Daniel Noboa fuera elegido presidente. Noboa Trading es la empresa de la familia del mandatario, le pertenecía al padre y ahora el grupo Noboa tiene control sobre el cultivo, el empaque y el transporte de banano de exportación. "Básicamente me termino chocando con el primer caso, en el año 2020, de un contenedor que fue exportado a un puerto de Croacia. Ese fue el primer hallazgo. Tuvo una parada en Polonia y empiezo yo a identificar la ruta que hacían los contenedores de banano", explica Durán. "En la práctica, son tres contenedores que fueron 'contaminados' entre comillas, con cocaína. Los casos se dan en los años 2020, 2022 y 2024". Tras las incautaciones, se detiene siempre al mismo contratista encargado del control antinarcóticos de los contenedores, un hombre llamado José Luis Rivera Baquerizo, que Andrés Durán asegura ser un hombre humilde usado por los directivos de la empresa. "Es el único procesado en los tres casos", dice. "¿Cómo una persona con una discapacidad física del 52% logró cargar solo cerca de media tonelada de cocaína? Recibió el apoyo y la ayuda de otras personas que permitieron generar la contaminación. La empresa y el gobierno de Noboa alegan que fue una especie de gancho ciego, es decir, que la compañía no tenían idea de que fueron contaminados. Y si la Fiscalía dice que el único procesado es este señor, que expliquen cuál fue el modus operandi". ¿Gancho ciego? Daniel Noboa niega las denuncias y responde que la empresa ha cooperado con la justicia. El abogado de Rivera Baquerizo es un asesor de Daniel Noboa. El sospechoso fue dejado en libertad en cada caso, en procesos que Durán califica de turbios, porque habría forma de evidenciar cuando y cómo llegó la droga a la carga. "Cada contenedor tiene un aparato que se conoce como 'Recorder', que monitorea en tiempo real la temperatura del contenedor. Entonces, el momento en el que se abre un contenedor, el Recorder, registra esa apertura. Ninguna de esas pericias se hicieron, aunque eran responsabilidad de la Fiscalía General del Estado". Durán apunta un prontuario de irregularidades que gravitaron alrededor del proceso, como fiscales removidos de los casos o perfiles dudosos. "Por ejemplo que el fiscal de la primera causa de tráfico de cocaína de la compañía Noboa Trading es el mismo fiscal que emitió un dictamen absentivo, es decir, que se abstuvo de acusar a uno de los líderes de la banda delictiva Los Águilas, involucrado de manera directa con los Choneros: Junior Roldán, alias JR", afirma. En marzo de 2025, Andrés Durán anunció que las amenazas de muerte en su contra lo obligaron a exiliarse en el exterior.

This session will examine key considerations for leaders, senders, and international travelers/workers in the areas of duty of care, risk assessment, contingency planning, security, and common pitfalls ("lessons learned") in international mission work.

Al parecer, dos personas iban a bordo del vehículo que explotó en Coahuayana, Michoacán. Así lo informó el secretario de Seguridad federal, Omar García Harfuch, este martes. Claudia Sheinbaum ya respondió a la amenaza de los nuevos aranceles de Trump. El Gobierno reconoció una deuda en el agua que debe dar a Estados Unidos y dijo que está actuando conforme al deal. Además… México es el segundo país donde más asesinan periodistas; Un juez federal autorizó que el Departamento de Justicia de EE.UU publique documentos inéditos del caso de tráfico sexual contra Ghislaine Maxwell; Altagracia Gómez confirmó la cancelación del contrato millonario entre Minsa y Diconsa; Atacaron a balazos al subsecretario de Operaciones de la Secretaría de Seguridad de Colima; Australia implementó una ley que prohíbe a menores de 16 años tener cuentas de redes; Y Fátima Bosch otra vez está en el centro de la polémica.Y para #ElVasoMedioLleno… Científicos crearon la reserva Ridgely, en Ecuador, para proteger al loro carirrojo, especie en peligro de extinción.Para enterarte de más noticias como estas, síguenos en redes sociales. Estamos en todas las plataformas como @telokwento. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

NotiMundo Estelar - Carlos Tenorio, Mundial 2026, Ecuador y sus rivales by FM Mundo 98.1

(12.2.2025-12.9.2025) Louvre lockdown? Tune in. #applepodcasts⁠ ⁠#spotifypodcasts⁠ ⁠#youtube #amazon⁠ ⁠#patreon⁠patreon.com/isaiahnews

DESCRIPCIÓN:1.  Gobierno detiene desembolso de fondos a Miss Universe2.  No procede desestimación: Caso contra Anthonieska Avilés Cabreracontinuará ante el Tribunal de Adultos3.  Declarada la guerra entre los alcaldes por inminente destape de lacorrupción organizada y la jefa de EPA pone punto final a las casetas de laParguera4.  Gobernadora busca recuperar acceso a los mercados internacionales ysalir de la Junta Fiscal5.  Más del 80% de las empresas en la isla buscarán mantener o retenerpersonal en primer trimestre del 20266.  Cuentas por cobrar de LUMA generan dudas en vista tarifaria porinconsistencias en los datos .El negociado resaltó que no existe una baseconfiable para evaluar el monto real de facturas pendientes de cobro.7.  Departamento de la Familia inicia reclutamiento de más de 200 plazas8.  Aviones F-18 de EEUU sobrevolaron espacio aéreo venezolano9.  Nasralla denuncia "fraude monumental" y pide escrutinio"acta por acta" en Honduras10.            La ultraderechafrancesa quiere reabrir los burdeles y poner al mando a profesionales del sexo:"Serían emperatrices en su reino11.            Maria Corina noasistirá a la entrega del premio Nobel, pero los presidentes de Panamá,Ecuador, Paraguay y Argentina viajan a Oslo como invitados de la dirigente dela oposición venezolana Este es un programa independiente y sindicalizado. Esto significa que este programa se produce de manera independiente, pero se transmite de manera sindicalizada, o sea, por las emisoras y cadenas de radio que son más fuertes en sus respectivas regiones. También se transmite por sus plataformas digitales, aplicaciones para dispositivos móviles y redes sociales.  Estas emisoras de radio son:1.    Cadena WIAC - WYAC 930 AM Cabo Rojo- Mayagüez2.    Cadena WIAC – WISA 1390 AM Isabela3.    Cadena WIAC – WIAC 740 AM Área norte y zona metropolitana4.    WLRP 1460 AM Radio Raíces La voz del Pepino en San Sebastián5.    X61 – 610 AM en Patillas6.    X61 – 94.3 FM Patillas y todo el sureste7.    WPAB 550 AM - Ponce8.    ECO 93.1 FM – En todo Puerto Rico9.    WOQI 1020 AM – Radio Casa Pueblo desde Adjuntas 10. Mundo Latino PR.com, la emisora web de música tropical y comentario Una vez sale del aire, el programa queda grabado y está disponible en las plataformas de podcasts tales como Spotify, Soundcloud, Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts y otras plataformas https://anchor.fm/sandrarodriguezcotto También nos pueden seguir en:REDES SOCIALES:  Facebook, X (Twitter), Instagram, Threads, LinkedIn, Tumblr, TikTok BLOG:  En Blanco y Negro con Sandra http://enblancoynegromedia.blogspot.com  SUSCRIPCIÓN: Substack, plataforma de suscripción de prensa independientehttps://substack.com/@sandrarodriguezcotto OTROS MEDIOS DIGITALES: ¡Ey! Boricua, Revista Seguros. Revista Crónicas y otrosEstas son algunas de las noticias que tenemos hoy En Blanco y Negro con Sandra. 

What the K-Shaped Economy Means for Your Queer Money & RetirementThis episode is brought to you by the letter K — Kiki, killer… and K-shaped economy.If it feels like some people are living in Taylor Swift box seats while you're doing math at Dollar Tree, you're not imagining it. That's the K-shaped economy in action: one line shooting straight up for the wealthy, while everyone else — including millions of LGBTQ+ folks — slides down the bottom leg.On Queer Money® episode 619, we break down what the K-shaped economy is, where it came from, how it shows up in your everyday life, and, most importantly, what you can actually do about it. From grocery bills and wage stagnation to stacked vulnerability and early retirement abroad, we connect the dots so you can respond with strategy, not panic.This isn't just “the economy.”It's your retirement, your stability, your next money move.TAKEAWAYSThe K-shaped economy describes two economies at once:one group's income, confidence, and wealth going up, while everyone else slides down.Pandemic recovery supercharged inequality: asset owners, high earners, and remote workers jumped ahead while service and frontline workers fell behind.High-income households now drive a disproportionate share of spending growth, especially on travel and luxury, while lower-income households are trading down, couponing, juggling bills, and using more credit.Groceries and essentials are taking up a bigger percent of low- and middle-income budgets, even when they're not buying dramatically more.Wage growth for low-income earners is at its slowest since 2016, while high-income wage growth is at its fastest.LGBTQ+ folks are hit harder because of stacked vulnerability: lower average pay, higher debt, less family support, more career interruptions, more discrimination.The K-shaped economy rewards assets, not effort — which is why consistent investing and debt reduction matter so much.Early retirement abroad isn't a fantasy escape; it's a rational response to lower cost of living + better healthcare + more safety in some countries.You can't fix inequality by yourself, but you canBuild an FU fundReduce high-interest debtLower fixed expensesInvest consistently (even small amounts)Think globally about where you liveTalk honestly about money with your queer communityRELATED QUEER MONEY® EPISODES TO PROMOTE“Best Places for LGBTQ+ Retirement in Portugal” (why Portugal keeps winning)“Top Cities in Italy for LGBTQ+ Retirement”“Retire in Ecuador? LGBTQ+ Retirement Ratings”“Affordable Gay-Friendly Cities in the U.S.”“Why 72% of LGBTQ+ Folks Feel High Financial Stress”Mentioned in this episode:Ready to retire where you can be yourself... fully?Learn more about the Portugal Golden Opportunites Fund with OptimizeGet Your Portugal Golden Visa Here!

On December 8, Laura plans to go to sleep on the far side of the Equator.

Juanma es sociólogo y documentalista que pasó años viajando por Latinoamérica investigando qué significa realmente el buen vivir. Desde comunidades zapatistas hasta movimientos campesinos, nos comparte lo que aprendió sobre construir alternativas reales y tejer poder desde abajo.Una conversación profunda sobre la consulta popular en Ecuador, los derechos de la naturaleza, y cómo construir comunidad en tiempos difíciles.Brazos abiertos en www.radiosemilla.com/membresiaNotas del episodio https://www.instagram.com/juanma.crespo/Proyecto Aliado - Alma Calenda: Calendario-Almanaque Lunar y Biodinámico de la Zona Ecuatorial, -10% para miembros! Entra en instagram.com/alma.calenda ----------------Escucha Radio Semilla en:Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/7r8Nb90iI52NzP7dPTHrbw?si=qOncz7SZR16oLFSYeue6iwYoutube: ⁠⁠https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCpTL1798UT7oe35ORA1i_8wRedes:⁠⁠instagram.com/radiosemillapodcast⁠⁠⁠⁠x.com/semilla_radio⁠⁠⁠⁠facebook.com/radiosemillapodcast⁠⁠

Die Lose sind gezogen. Unsere WM-Gruppe steht fest: Drei Glückslose für Deutschland? Deutschland trifft bei der Fußball-WM 2026 in Kanada, den USA und Mexiko in Gruppe E auf Ecuador, die Elfenbeinküste und WM-Neuling Curacao. Gemeinsam mit Marcel Reif schauen wir auf unsere WM-Gruppe! Außerdem sprechen wir über Manuel Neuer. Der Vertrag des Bayern-Keepers läuft im Sommer aus. Verlängert er noch einmal beim FC Bayern? Bei Eintracht Frankfurt läuft es aktuell gar nicht! Leipzig feiert einen 6:0-Sieg gegen Frankfurt! Wir diskutieren über die Glaubwürdigkeit des Trainers: Debakel für Frankfurt! Wann wackelt Dino Toppmöller? Wir werfen auch einen Blick in die Premier League: Das Beben um Mohamed Salah erschüttert den FC Liverpool. Der Ägypter hat sich öffentlich geäußert, nachdem er zum dritten Mal in Folge auf der Bank gesessen hatte. Er betonte, wie ungerecht er sich behandelt fühle, dass er keine Lust darauf habe, zum Sündenbock für die Krise der „Reds“ gemacht zu werden und deutete seinen Abschied bereits im Winter an.

For the Glory KC is back with the 156th episode of the show!The headline for Kansas City soccer this week is the World Cup! The FIFA World Cup draw went down last Friday with games announced on Saturday. Kansas City get six games in the 2026 World Cup, and the first four matchups are now known:1st: Argentina vs. Algeria on June 16th at 8PM 2nd: Ecuador vs Curacao, June 20th at 7PM3rd: Tunisia vs. Netherlands, June 25th at 6PM4th: Algeria vs. Austria, June 27th at 9PMKC also host a July 3rd round of 32 game and a July 11th quarterfinal, that could feature Messi vs. Ronaldo. If Argentina and Portugal win their groups and their first two knockout games then the biggest game in the world (before the final) will be in Kansas City. That's all assuming Messi even plays. And that they are both healthy. It's a long-shot, but it could happen!The United States Men's National team also found out their group, and it's quite winnable. They start off against Paraguay and also play Australia and the winner of the UEFA playoff between Turkiye, Slovakia, Romania and Kosovo. The USMNT could even play in Kansas City if everything falls the right way, but part of that is them ending up third in their group, which would be a disappointment. Sporting Kansas City are still top of mind with a few big moments this week. First, Kerry Zavagnin officially parted ways with the club after 26 years. Sheena and I give our thoughts and then we share the rumor of two potential replacement coaching candidates. Raphael Wicky, who is a rumored finalist, is who we know the most about after this time with the Chicago Fire.In other Sporting KC news, they have a rumored goalkeeper trade. It'll be the team's fourth keeper if Stefan Cleveland officially arrives from Austin FC. He's never been a long-term starter, but at 31-years-old he can push John Pulskamp and share what he's learned behind some of the best keepers in the league while playing for the Seattle Sounders and Austin FC.In KC Current news, the team signed new two-year contracts with Mary Long and Katie Scott, officially said goodbye to goalkeeper Laurel Ivory and saw their former star defender, Hailie Mace, sign with the Orlando Pride.They also had a less than stellar showing in the World Sevens Football competition over the weekend.In the Digital Crawl, we hit on a few more topics, including:Trinity Rodman possible leaving the NWSLMLS Cup between Inter Miami and the Vancouver WhitecapsKS Astras win their MASLW openerFormer Swope Park Rangers coach, Marc dos Santos, gets a big upgradeHere is a rundown of topics and start times:World Cup and Kansas City - Sporting KC Coaching Update - SKC Round-Up including a rumored trade - KC Current World Sevens and more - She Scores - Digital Crawl - Upcoming GameKS Astras vs. Iowa Raptors, Sat. Dec. 13th @ 4:00PMAs a special gift to For the Glory KC listeners and KC Soccer Journal readers, Backheeled dot com is giving away 30 days of their amazing, independent American soccer coverage for free. If you decide you want to turn that into a paid membership, they'll give you 10 percent off too. Just follow this link!Big thanks to Splitter Conspiracy (listen to them here) for our theme music made with the permission of the KC Cauldron.

For twenty years, the 2004 cupping form profoundly shaped the specialty coffee world.   But on the hillsides of coffee farms, some of the form's byproducts have been disadvantaging producers.    In this episode, we follow two producers whose lives collided with the myth of universal quality. These stories reveal how a single idea of “quality” can close doors for the people with the least power in the supply chain.    The new coffee evaluation form, the CVA, is still young, and with any luck it will keep evolving. I hope for a form that can empower even the smallest producers.    Please support my work directly at Ko-fi.com/FilterStories   Other ways you can help: Leave a 5 star rating on Spotify Follow me on Instagram and tag me in an Instagram story Write a review on Apple Podcasts Discover how I make these Filter Stories episodes by subscribing to my Substack newsletter   Go deeper into the story of quality: The original Filter Stories episode about Murray Cooper in Ecuador, Firefly Specialty Coffee Association's new Coffee Value Assessment 2004 cupping form from the Specialty Coffee Association of America SCAA Coffee Cuppers Handbook (4th edition, 2011) Kenneth Liberman's book, "Tasting Coffee: An Inquiry into Objectivity" SCA's video series on the CVA presented by Peter Giuliano     Live in Berlin? Join me for a free decaf cupping at Communal Coffee on the 12th December 2025. Reserve your ticket here: https://bit.ly/4nZXyrf.

Her family came from Ecuador, where the dead were never truly gone—where they stepped into kitchens and bedrooms with the same ease as memory. Her grandmother saw them. Her mother felt them. Her aunts carried the same knowing. But she resisted it… until the day resistance no longer mattered. At fourteen, a simple card game cracked something open. Predictions became realities. Casual words became fate. And one truth she should never have spoken unfolded exactly as she said it would. The gift had surfaced—and it would not go back to sleep. But the real awakening came years later, on an ordinary night among friends, when something inside her shifted without warning. Past lives surfaced. Hidden wounds rose to the surface. She spoke truths she had no way of knowing—except that she did. It wasn't intuition. It was clarity. A switch flipping on. And the dead noticed. We explore a lineage shaped by the unseen, a gift strengthened across generations, and the unnerving moment a woman realized she wasn't just sensing the other side… she was being acknowledged by it. #SpiritualAwakening #AncestralGift #PsychicLineage #MediumStories #EcuadorParanormal #HauntedHeritage #PsychicMedium #PastLivesRevealed #SpiritCommunication #UnexplainedPhenomena Love real ghost stories? Don't just listen—join us on YouTube and be part of the largest community of real paranormal encounters anywhere. Subscribe now and never miss a chilling new story:

Her family came from Ecuador, where the dead were never truly gone—where they stepped into kitchens and bedrooms with the same ease as memory. Her grandmother saw them. Her mother felt them. Her aunts carried the same knowing. But she resisted it… until the day resistance no longer mattered. At fourteen, a simple card game cracked something open. Predictions became realities. Casual words became fate. And one truth she should never have spoken unfolded exactly as she said it would. The gift had surfaced—and it would not go back to sleep. But the real awakening came years later, on an ordinary night among friends, when something inside her shifted without warning. Past lives surfaced. Hidden wounds rose to the surface. She spoke truths she had no way of knowing—except that she did. It wasn't intuition. It was clarity. A switch flipping on. And the dead noticed. We explore a lineage shaped by the unseen, a gift strengthened across generations, and the unnerving moment a woman realized she wasn't just sensing the other side… she was being acknowledged by it. #SpiritualAwakening #AncestralGift #PsychicLineage #MediumStories #EcuadorParanormal #HauntedHeritage #PsychicMedium #PastLivesRevealed #SpiritCommunication #UnexplainedPhenomena Love real ghost stories? Don't just listen—join us on YouTube and be part of the largest community of real paranormal encounters anywhere. Subscribe now and never miss a chilling new story:

Watch The X22 Report On Video No videos found (function(w,d,s,i){w.ldAdInit=w.ldAdInit||[];w.ldAdInit.push({slot:17532056201798502,size:[0, 0],id:"ld-9437-3289"});if(!d.getElementById(i)){var j=d.createElement(s),p=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0];j.async=true;j.src="https://cdn2.decide.dev/_js/ajs.js";j.id=i;p.parentNode.insertBefore(j,p);}})(window,document,"script","ld-ajs");pt> Click On Picture To See Larger PictureCalifornia is imploding, they want to retroactively tax billionaires, they are becoming desperate. Trump has brought fuel down below $2 in Co. Trump shows the country he has reversed everything that Biden has done. Trump lets the people know that Liberation day is coming, we will be liberated from the [CB]. The [DS] is panicking, Trump is dismantling the drug, human, child trafficking networks. Trump is exposing which countries are involved in manipulating the election. The [DS] is fighting back trying to remove the leaders of the agencies, this will fail. The [DS] will push for riots and war and Trump is already putting things into place to counter all of this. Liberation Day is approaching. Economy https://twitter.com/amuse/status/1995869912196161753?s=20   unveiled a retroactive billionaire tax targeting 2025 residency. The 5% levy applies even if the individual has already relocated, turning “temporary” fiscal policy into a weapon against those who stayed too long. While courts have sometimes upheld narrow retroactive taxes, justices from Scalia to O'Connor have warned against exactly this kind of “bait-and-switch” confiscation. As California's population and revenue base shrink, the state appears willing to gamble on a constitutionally dubious wealth grab to plug the holes. (function(w,d,s,i){w.ldAdInit=w.ldAdInit||[];w.ldAdInit.push({slot:18510697282300316,size:[0, 0],id:"ld-8599-9832"});if(!d.getElementById(i)){var j=d.createElement(s),p=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0];j.async=true;j.src="https://cdn2.decide.dev/_js/ajs.js";j.id=i;p.parentNode.insertBefore(j,p);}})(window,document,"script","ld-ajs"); https://twitter.com/_johnnymaga/status/1995607860026507467?s=20 Manufacturing Surveys Show Conflicting Signals: Growth or Contraction? Two closely watched surveys of U.S. manufacturing activity painted sharply divergent pictures in November, with one showing continued expansion and the other reporting accelerating contraction, highlighting deep uncertainty about the sector's health amid ongoing adjustment to the new rules of global trade. The S&P Global U.S. Manufacturing PMI registered 52.2 in November, marking the fourth consecutive month above the 50 threshold that separates expansion from contraction. However, the reading slipped from 52.5 in October. By contrast, the ISM Manufacturing PMI fell to 48.2, down from 48.7 in October and marking the ninth consecutive month of contraction. The divergence places the two surveys on opposite sides of the expansion-contraction divide, an unusual occurrence that suggests significantly different conditions across the manufacturing landscape.  https://twitter.com/ShadowofEzra/status/1995904464625000594?s=20   the national debt. He adds that in the future Americans will no longer have to pay income tax at all. https://twitter.com/WatcherGuru/status/1995906384764846376?s=20 Reminder, that the objective of the tariffs is not just using trade to secure peace. It's about freeing the American People from slavery via income tax. That's why Trump called it “Liberation Day” when he implemented the tariff economic plan. The goal is no income tax. Political/Rights https://twitter.com/LiberalsLeaving/status/1995524375534321766?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1995524375534321766%7Ctwgr%5E1abd29295b52f4bb4422e1469e33d198815032f8%7Ctwcon%5Es1_c10&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.thegatewaypundit.com%2F2025%2F12%2Fellen-degeneres-planning-crawl-back-united-states-after%2F  OUTRAGE: New York Quietly Releases Nearly 7,000 Dangerous Illegal Migrants Including Rapists, Killers, Terrorists, and Repeat Offenders With Zero Notice to ICE   U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Director Todd Lyons has issued an explosive letter to New York Attorney General Letitia James, demanding immediate action after state and local officials quietly released nearly 7,000 criminal illegal aliens, including rapists, killers, gang members, and repeat violent offenders, without honoring ICE detainers and without a single notification to federal authorities. Since January 20, New York has released 6,947 criminal illegal aliens back onto the streets. These offenders are tied to: 29 homicides 2,509 assaults 199 burglaries 305 robberies 392 dangerous drug offenses 300 weapons offenses 207 sexual predatory offenses Worse, another 7,113 criminal aliens remain in New York custody today, all with active ICE detainers that state officials continue to ignore. These detainees include: 148 charged with homicide 717 charged with assault 134 charged with burglary 106 charged with robbery 235 dangerous drug offenses 152 weapons offenses 260 sexual predatory offenses Source: thegatewaypundit.com  https://twitter.com/DataRepublican/status/1995618958586904896?s=20 https://twitter.com/ColonelTowner/status/1995674641591873840?s=20   similar and blind sided the CIA and a few months later another one was exposed that wasn't on the completed list. They're paid out of proprietary companies that no one tracks. https://twitter.com/mattvanswol/status/1995652622112760293?s=20   invaders to slaughter our heroes, suck dry our hard-earned tax dollars, or snatch the benefits owed to AMERICANS. WE DON’T WANT THEM. NOT ONE. https://twitter.com/libsoftiktok/status/1995735514469527661?s=20 DOGE Geopolitical https://twitter.com/JoeLang51440671/status/1995662088337768634?s=20 Delegation of U.S. Representatives From Intelligence Committee Traveled to Honduras to “Observe” Election   , a delegation of U.S. Representatives traveled to Honduras to personally “participate in observation” of their elections to “underscore the United States' continued support for transparent, credible, and peaceful democratic processes in the region,” according to a press release from Representative Rick Crawford, the Chairman of the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence. https://twitter.com/RepRickCrawford/status/1995625707318509587?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1995625707318509587%7Ctwgr%5Ecbef4e85d24884b779ca77c501bc569911e36442%7Ctwcon%5Es1_c10&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.thegatewaypundit.com%2F2025%2F12%2Fdelegation-u-s-representatives-intelligence-committee-traveled-honduras%2F  Hemisphere neighborhood rests heavily on our key allies’ ability to instill trust in their commitment to democracy and the administering of free and fair elections. The people of Honduras made it very clear they wanted U.S. eyes on this election, and they showed up in droves at voting locations yesterday to peacefully exercise their right to determine the future of their country. Source: thegatewaypundit.com War/Peace Trump gives Maduro a week to leave Venezuela… and the latter requests a full pardon Trump gives Maduro a week to leave Venezuela… and the latter requests a full pardon   Maduro also expressed his willingness to leave his country on the condition that he and his family members receive a full legal pardon that includes lifting all US sanctions and ending the high-profile case he faces before the International Criminal Court. These developments come as Maduro appeared before a crowd near the presidential palace, affirming his “absolute loyalty” to the Venezuelan people, surrounded by senior officials in his government. Source:  iraqidinarchat.net  Trump's Latin American Allies Against Venezuela  alliances are shaping up in the Caribbean, with many countries abandoning Venezuela and supporting the United States. Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro is becoming increasingly isolated as regional governments shift away from Chavismo and move closer to Washington. Honduras and St. Vincent and the Grenadines, once reliable partners for Caracas, have both elected new governments that pledged to distance themselves from Maduro.  Honduras   Argentina, Ecuador, El Salvador, and Bolivia have also deteriorated as those countries shifted to the right. Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands, both U.S. territories, have seen a renewed military buildup, with fighter jets and transport aircraft operating from Cold War-era facilities such as Roosevelt Roads and new activity at St. Croix's airport. Grenada is considering a U.S. request to host temporary radar equipment and personnel at Maurice Bishop International Airport. The government is still weighing technical and safety concerns, and the decision is complicated by the 1983 U.S. invasion and the airport's symbolic significance. Colombia remains the strongest partner, working closely with the United States on counter-narcotics, sanctions enforcement, and intelligence sharing, while also coordinating policy on the region's largest population of Venezuelan refugees. Paraguay and Uruguay consistently vote with Washington at the OAS to isolate Maduro and support democratic transition efforts. Ecuador works with the United States on organized crime, Venezuelan gang activity, and sanctions evasion, and has been publicly critical of the regime.  Maduro's remaining allies in the region are Cuba and Nicaragua, but neither is positioned to provide meaningful assistance. Cuba publicly supports Venezuela but is facing a severe economic crisis and avoids committing to any response if the United States takes military action  source: thegatewaypundit.com  https://twitter.com/DC_Draino/status/1995595335771836726?s=20 https://twitter.com/DC_Draino/status/1995682004151783727?s=20 New York Times Catches Washington Post Red-Handed Defaming Pete Hegseth as a ‘War Criminal' Regarding Previous Strike on Narcotrafficking Boats – Reveals Full Story Behind Attack  The narrative regarding Secretary of War Pete Hegseth ordering the killing of survivors in a boat attack in the Caribbean has officially been debunked by a highly unlikely source, which revealed the full story behind the attack. Source:thegatewaypundit.com https://twitter.com/SeanParnellUSA/status/1995674824715501844?s=20 https://twitter.com/JDVance/status/1995883027881144762?s=20   countless “anonymous” leaks meant to undermine him and thwart President Trump and other Realists in the Administration. Bogus story after bogus story. It's the same tired playbook. And for their next act? —They want him tried for war crimes. Yep—war crimes. They intend to prosecute another political opponent. They have lost it. Congressional Democrats are fueled by a radicalized Leftist base and are hellbent on power. The rules don't matter to them. At all. Sound familiar? Russiagate, Dem censorship, Covid tyranny, Dem weaponization of DOJ TO MY FELLOW REPUBLICANS: Understand this reality and never bend the knee to this bullshit. Fight back. The liberal media will never love you. If Europe wants a war, we are ready to fight now, says Vladimir Putin   Putin Says ‘Ready For War’ Against Europe If Attacks On Russian Tankers, Energy Continue   Europe, which has been largely sidelined when it comes to the US peace plan version, Putin is angry. He denounced a recent series of drone strikes on oil and gas tankers carrying Russian energy exports acts of “piracy”. He also on Tuesday made clear that European demands related to Moscow are not at all acceptable, suggesting that they are by intention an effort to prod and anger Russia. He said that “Europe only proposes unacceptable demands,” according to Interfax. “They are on the side of war,” he said of the Europeans. “Russia has no intention of going to war with European countries. But if Europe wants war Russia is ready” – Putin has told journalists before meeting Witkoff and Kushner. https://twitter.com/clashreport/status/1995873487806751007?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1995873487806751007%7Ctwgr%5Ebba698f8622537fd3d54c6bdae932a981c0c754e%7Ctwcon%5Es1_c10&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.zerohedge.com%2Fgeopolitical%2Fputin-threatens-ready-war-against-europe-if-attacks-russian-tankers-energy-continue *  Source: zerohedge.com https://twitter.com/BRICSinfo/status/1995883653524848869?s=20 Trump's Push to End the Ukraine War Is Sowing Fresh Fear About NATO's Future This week will bring a split screen that will reinforce growing doubts in Europe about the American commitment to the alliance that has served as the bedrock of Western unity since the end of World War II. On one side, White House special envoy Steve Witkoff will be in Moscow for the latest round of peace talks with the Kremlin over the Ukraine war. Witkoff, who has yet to visit Ukraine, is making his sixth trip to Moscow this year. Source: wsj.com Medical/False Flags https://twitter.com/tracybeanz/status/1995856194779402737?s=20  . Why is this? False Alarms: Rethinking Breast Cancer Screening https://twitter.com/disclosetv/status/1995887210965729768?s=20 [DS] Agenda  https://twitter.com/SecDuffy/status/1995649610488914054?s=20   fix this or lose $30 million in federal funding  https://twitter.com/SecScottBessent/status/1995615377284628908?s=20 @POTUS @realDonaldTrump , we are acting fast to ensure Americans' taxes are not funding acts of global terror. We will share our findings as our investigation continues. “President Trump is Threatening to Kill Me!” – Dem Senator Mark Kelly Goes on Insane Rant During Presser on ‘Pentagon Intimidation' (VIDEO) Democrat Senator Mark Kelly claimed Trump threatened to kill him during a press conference on ‘Pentagon intimidation' on Monday. Mark Kelly is one of the ‘Seditious Six' Democrat lawmakers who urged members of the military to defy Trump's orders. Source: thegatewaypundit.com https://twitter.com/amuse/status/1995606715190890968?s=20   run a foreign influence operation targeting the very government his twin serves in. United24, created by Ukraine's Ministry of Digital Transformation using a USAID-funded infrastructure, appointed Scott Kelly, Senator Mark Kelly’s twin brother, as its ambassador to help raise money for the propaganda outlet. Since then it has raised $2.72 billion, much of it routed quietly via cryptocurrency. United24 produces coordinated messaging marketed as “fact-checking” and “anti-corruption efforts,” but in practice operates as a state propaganda engine shaping US public opinion and Congressional support for Ukraine's war. JUST IN: Schumer Claims Three of His New York Offices Received “MAGA” Bomb Threats (VIDEO)  Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer on Monday claimed three of his offices received “MAGA” bomb threats.   Schumer said he was informed that his offices received the threats from emails with the subject line ‘MAGA' from an email address claiming the ‘2020 election was rigged.' https://twitter.com/tararosenblum/status/1995601284892971273?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1995601284892971273%7Ctwgr%5Ec0381dd15615388f5e8a8ba9d4cced6b8217b451%7Ctwcon%5Es1_c10&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.thegatewaypundit.com%2F2025%2F12%2Fschumer-claims-three-his-new-york-offices-received%2F Source: thegatewaypundit.com https://twitter.com/TonySeruga/status/1995838817975370228?s=20   Scott Kelly (Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky appointed Mark Kelly's twin brother, Scott Kelly as an ambassador for Ukraine’s official fundraising platform, UNITED24) to leak ‘stories’ to the media and undermine Secretary Hegseth. https://twitter.com/TonySeruga/status/1995847809627766919?s=20   Nuland, Samantha Power, Lisa Monaco, and Susan Rice. https://twitter.com/TonySeruga/status/1946588339488038984?s=20 minutes to the Obama's War Room residence, sight unseen. President Trump's Plan https://twitter.com/nicksortor/status/1995914978730144246?s=20  and will begin to stop moving federal funds into those states until they comply.” https:/twitter.com/amuse/status/1995847602743439722?s=20 Amuse: LAWFARE: Trump just removed another 8 pro-illegal immigration judges in Manhattan, 90 fired so far as he restores rule of law to the immigration courts. On December 1, the Trump administration dismissed eight immigration judges at 26 Federal Plaza in Manhattan for patterns of excessive asylum approvals, refusal to enforce statutory standards and unmanageable processing delays. This brings Trump's total removals to 90 judges nationwide. The administration says the effort is necessary to dismantle the pipeline of activist judges who reward illegal entry with near-automatic asylum approvals. Conservatives call it long-overdue accountability; opponents concede the judges had serious performance issues. https://twitter.com/DC_Draino/status/1995586287064039445?s=20   witnessing a Judicial Insurrection. BREAKING: DOJ to Hit Comey, Letitia James with New Indictments As Soon as This Week The DOJ is seeking new indictments against James Comey and Letitia James after a Clinton judge dismissed both of their cases last week. A grand jury in the Eastern District of Virginia indicted former FBI Director James Comey in September. He was indicted on two counts – false statements and obstruction of a congressional proceeding. New York Attorney General Letitia James was indicted by a federal grand jury in the Eastern District of Virginia last month. Source: thegatewaypundit.com https://twitter.com/amuse/status/1995886116356968591?s=20   grip on power. Democrats tried to block all three from serving. When that failed, they turned to nonstop “anonymous sources,” fake jacket stories, bogus intelligence leaks, and now a desperate push to prosecute Hegseth for imaginary war crimes. Their radicalized base demands a new Russiagate every month, and congressional Democrats are delivering, rules be damned. This is the same machinery that fueled censorship, Covid authoritarianism, and DOJ abuse. The only response: refuse to bow. https://twitter.com/nicksortor/status/1995623545377096023?s=20    Trump is back to pushing for the Senate to terminate the filibuster.   (function(w,d,s,i){w.ldAdInit=w.ldAdInit||[];w.ldAdInit.push({slot:13499335648425062,size:[0, 0],id:"ld-7164-1323"});if(!d.getElementById(i)){var j=d.createElement(s),p=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0];j.async=true;j.src="//cdn2.customads.co/_js/ajs.js";j.id=i;p.parentNode.insertBefore(j,p);}})(window,document,"script","ld-ajs");