Podcasts about French Guiana

Murmur of Rain is a Gothic-tinged historical romance set in France and Haiti in the 1890s by Patricia Vaughn. Lauren Dufort is the daughter of a descendent of enslaved people in French Guiana and a white Frenchman. Her parents were deeply in love, but their marriage estranged them from society, so when Lauren is orphaned as a teen, she is raised by her paternal aunt, Claude, who runs a gentleman's club, knowing that her mixed-race identity may keep her from ever making a love match in 19th century France. But when handsome Haitian Roget de Martier arrives at Claude's club, Lauren is immediately smitten and he seems to reciprocate interests. There are hints of secrets about his past and family in Haiti, but when the rich gentleman proposes marriage instead of a mistress arrangement, Lauren's head and heart both feel like this is her best chance at happiness.Support us on our Patreon!Visit our website for transcripts and show notes: reformedrakes.comFollow us on social media:Twitter: @reformedrakesInstagram: @reformedrakesBluesky: @reformedrakesBeth's SubstackChels' SubstackEmma's SubstackThank you for listening!

Lecture 6 Part 2LECTURE OUTLINE: Reimagining the Caribbean — History, Identity & Invention1. Defining Key Terms & Unsettling MythsWhat is the Caribbean?What it is not:Not simply “a group of islands surrounded by the Caribbean Sea.”That colonial compass would erase Belize, Guyana, Suriname, and French Guiana.The Caribbean is not just geography — it's history, identity, and ideology.A Construct, An Invention:Ian Meeks and Norman Girvan argue the Caribbean is an invention, molded by the European gaze since 1492.The so-called “discovery” was really colonial construction — cultural erasure dressed as exploration.The Socio-Political Caribbean:Social scientists ask: In whose interest is society designed?Whose narrative dominates?Often, the Caribbean's story has been told through the lens of its colonizers — not its people.Economic Caribbean – A Dependent Capitalist Model:According to Neoliberalism (2021) and the "Washington Consensus", Caribbean economies were shaped to serve external interests.Ramesh Ramsaran: Structural Adjustment transferred power from local to global hands — a feature of life in the Global South.These are the legacies of debt, austerity, and manufactured dependency.Global South vs Global North:New language, same old hierarchies.The “Global South” replaces “Third World” — a more palatable term, but still denotes marginalization.2. A People in Paradox: Race, Identity & AgencyThe Problem of the Caribbean is the Problem of the Black and Brown PositionWherever Black or Brown bodies are found — so too is systemic exclusion.Not due to essence, but to constructed inferiority.Colonization as Psychological Violence:Fanon: Colonization turns man against himself.Du Bois: The Black soul peers through a veil, always asking: “Am I enough?”Morrison: We are told to strive toward whiteness — only to find we can never truly arrive.Depersonalization & Loss of Agency:Colonialism stripped humanity. The enslaved weren't just shackled in body — but in being.This leads to malady: acting against our own interests.Afrocentricity vs Eurocentricity:Afrocentricity: a way of seeing.Eurocentricity: the only way of seeing.The former offers liberation. The latter demands assimilation.Diaspora Realities:Caribbean immigrants are often seen as threats cloaked in exoticism — "two sharp teeth," as you wrote.Their potential is feared, their labor exploited.Kenneth Clark's “Dark Ghettoes”:Ghettoes aren't just places — they are conditions.Whether in Philly or Kingston, Harlem or Port of Spain, these spaces reflect economic colonization.Externally: Poor housing, crime, disease.Internally: Apathy, self-loathing, compensatory bravado.3. Postcolonialism – Not the End, But the EchoPostcolonial ≠ Post-ColonizationFanon in Black Skin, White Masks: Black and White locked in a tragic performance — each role scripted by Empire.In Wretched of the Earth: Freedom is radical; it requires rupture, not reform.The Paradox of Independence:Haiti and Cuba led revolutions — and were punished for their audacity.Independence does not equal inclusion.4. Center vs Periphery — Who Gets to Speak?Homi Bhabha's Lens:The center is the mainstream — the dominant culture, the "norm."The periphery is where African spirituality, literature, and lifeways have been cast.In the Caribbean, this leads to self-scorn: bleaching skin, abandoning roots, ridiculing Revivalists or Rastafari.5. Supplementary Content for Today's SessionReading & Discussion: CLR James – The Black JacobinsCLR James (a Trini) told the story of Haitian revolutionaries, but through a European framework.His education gave him tools, but not always the right lens.We question: Was this truly “history from below?”By Rev. Renaldo McKenzie, Professor of Caribbean Thought at Jamaica Theological Seminary, Author of NeoliberalismSubscribe https://anchor.fm/theneoliberalVisit us: https://theneoliberal.com https://renaldocmckenzie.com

What is the Caribbean?What it is not:Not simply “a group of islands surrounded by the Caribbean Sea.”That colonial compass would erase Belize, Guyana, Suriname, and French Guiana.The Caribbean is not just geography — it's history, identity, and ideology.A Construct, An Invention:Ian Meeks and Norman Girvan argue the Caribbean is an invention, molded by the European gaze since 1492.The so-called “discovery” was really colonial construction — cultural erasure dressed as exploration.The Socio-Political Caribbean:Social scientists ask: In whose interest is society designed?Whose narrative dominates?Often, the Caribbean's story has been told through the lens of its colonizers — not its people.Economic Caribbean – A Dependent Capitalist Model:According to Neoliberalism (2021) and the "Washington Consensus", Caribbean economies were shaped to serve external interests.Ramesh Ramsaran: Structural Adjustment transferred power from local to global hands — a feature of life in the Global South.These are the legacies of debt, austerity, and manufactured dependency.Global South vs Global North:New language, same old hierarchies.The “Global South” replaces “Third World” — a more palatable term, but still denotes marginalization.The Problem of the Caribbean is the Problem of the Black and Brown PositionWherever Black or Brown bodies are found — so too is systemic exclusion.Not due to essence, but to constructed inferiority.Colonization as Psychological Violence:Fanon: Colonization turns man against himself.Du Bois: The Black soul peers through a veil, always asking: “Am I enough?”Morrison: We are told to strive toward whiteness — only to find we can never truly arrive.Depersonalization & Loss of Agency:Colonialism stripped humanity. The enslaved weren't just shackled in body — but in being.This leads to malady: acting against our own interests.Afrocentricity vs Eurocentricity:Afrocentricity: a way of seeing.Eurocentricity: the only way of seeing.The former offers liberation. The latter demands assimilation.Diaspora Realities:Caribbean immigrants are often seen as threats cloaked in exoticism — "two sharp teeth," as you wrote.Their potential is feared, their labor exploited.Kenneth Clark's “Dark Ghettoes”:Ghettoes aren't just places — they are conditions.Whether in Philly or Kingston, Harlem or Port of Spain, these spaces reflect economic colonization.Externally: Poor housing, crime, disease.Internally: Apathy, self-loathing, compensatory bravado.Postcolonial ≠ Post-ColonizationFanon in Black Skin, White Masks: Black and White locked in a tragic performance — each role scripted by Empire.In Wretched of the Earth: Freedom is radical; it requires rupture, not reform.The Paradox of Independence:Haiti and Cuba led revolutions — and were punished for their audacity.Independence does not equal inclusion.Homi Bhabha's Lens:The center is the mainstream — the dominant culture, the "norm."The periphery is where African spirituality, literature, and lifeways have been cast.In the Caribbean, this leads to self-scorn: bleaching skin, abandoning roots, ridiculing Revivalists or Rastafari.Advocating a position of pre-colonial victory and agency.Reframes the narrative of discovery with African presence before 1492.CLR James (a Trini) told the story of Haitian revolutionaries, but through a European framework.His education gave him tools, but not always the right lens.We question: Was this truly “history from below?”We must not be content with being “included” in someone else's story.We must write our own — in our tongues, through our eyes, from our depths.As Toni Morrison said: “Definitions belong to the definers, not the defined.”Let us reclaim that power. End or Part 1.Rev. Renaldo McKenzie is Professor of Caribbean Thought and Author of Neoliberalism. Visit us at The Neoliberal Corporationhttps://theneoliberal.com

The end of the cruel Peace & the start of the desperate War.Based on ‘One In Ten' by FinalStand, adapted into 17 parts. Listen to the ► Podcast at Explicit Novels.A frightened Mother Mouse will devour her young; similarly, a frightened culture will devour its future.It wasn't like a magic force field bubble protected us until our 16th birthday. I couldn't recall all the times after I was 13 some woman asked me, or my Mother, when my 16th birthday would be. Back then, I didn't think much about it. In hindsight, those women were wondering when I would become legally sexually vulnerable. In way too many cases, women with access to teenage boys didn't wait.Even if they did,"It was my Aunt," Barabbas confessed. "She and her boss."You would think a sixteen, or seventeen, year old guy getting to sleep with a Milf would be a trip. It could be. For the boys with better developed empathy, you started to realize a woman you trusted was using your sexuality for their own advancement. Then you began feeling like a whore."She got me a job, but I quit after four months, you know,” he trailed off."Yeah," I sighed sympathetically."Yeah," Lowry snorted, "when the rest decided you should be putting out for free.""That was completely unnecessary," I glared at him."But true," he defied me."True," Barabbas agreed with a familiar degree of rejection."Mom flipped out when she figured out what Tamara; my sister; was doing," Pierre picked up his tale. "I was seventeen by that time. She helped pay for my college." We assumed the 'she' was his sister; the one who pimped him out."I hit one once," Lowry bragged. I found that somewhat difficult to believe."What happened?" Pierre asked."She kicked my ass," he chuckled. "Ex-military Reservist. Beat me like I had a cock." I read somewhere in the old days it was more common to say 'like a little bitch.' Now it was 'like I had a cock' because they didn't like teaching men to be 'too violent' aka how to defend ourselves.No one else felt like inquiring, so Barabbas did the deed."Go to the cops?""For what?" he shook his head. "I threw the first punch, and the second. Fucking Bitch. We both looked pretty rough, but I lost."Another pause."What was it like to hit one with your stick?" Lowry shot me a look."Good, damn good, and stupid. I mean, I could have ended up like you with a crowd of women on a subway kicking and stomping on me and I would have ended up in jail too," I related. "Still, it felt good, just to tell one to keep her hands to herself, ya know?" I got nods all around. We were all young, healthy and relatively handsome."Yeah, you could have gotten your ass kicked," Barabbas reminded me."In fact, one of the major reasons I didn't, gave me the pistol I'm carrying," I twitched it slightly. "The first time they came for me, I asked them ~ the Vanishers ~ to wait, and they did.""Why in the fuck would you do that?" Lowry blurted out, shocked and skeptical."At the time, I didn't trust them since I figured they were nothing more than another bunch of women telling me what to do. I wanted to use them to escape. I didn't want to spend the rest of my life serving them if it meant the same fucked-up existence I was currently living," I shared the enlightenment."What changed your mind?" Pierre's eyes lit up."I figured out their prime motivation, the nature of the conspiracy and that I had no rational chance to escape them," I answered. "Every angle I was figuring out, they had figured out years ago. On the plus side, their core philosophy requires them to engage men as equals for both biological and social reasons ~ which means they are the best game in town. In case you missed it, the Vanishers didn't 'vanish' me. I escaped on my own. They have agreed to join forces with my group; no lie.""Your group has a lot of girls," Lowry drolly noted."Lowry, exactly how was I going to recruit any male to my cause without dropping the entire Metropolitan G E D (Gender Enforcement Division) on me?""Flyers?" Barabbas joked softly."He's got a point," Pierre rallied to my cause. "As far as any of you have confessed, none of us had any guy, or girl, friends. It is why we were selected.""Okay, fine. Now what?" Lowry conceded to the consensus."We wake up tomorrow working toward equality," I huffed. "We are all going to have to learn to fight and shoot because the entire group is going to be in danger for some time to come. Society, as in Global Society, is going to come crashing down. And that means anarchy, lawlessness and barbarism before it violently spasms off into extinction.""We have lived our lives effectively as slaves, though no woman inside that house will admit it truly in their hearts. For the first time in our lives, we can change our futures. I'm sure if we surrender to whomever kills the others, they will enslave us once more and leave us with far fewer illusions about our status. Or, we can chose to fight and, if worst comes to worst, die free. I'm not going back to what I was. That means I will need to learn how to survive; and that means fighting. Not because I hate women, but because there are several I love and respect and I don't want to let them down ~ as their equal.""Tonight, think about what I've told you. Tomorrow morning, I hope you join up with us," I concluded my 'pep talk.'"And if we don't?" Lowry stared defiantly."That is something you are free to do too," I shrugged. "I'm not going to tell you what to do. Let's go back inside. It is late."We'd almost made it back when Lowry put a hand on my shoulder."Can I see the gun now?""This thing? Like this?" I half-turned, made eye contact then flick my eyes down to the pistol then back to him again."Yeah.""Have you ever handled a loaded firearm before?" I requested."Yeah, plenty of times, in my dreams," he mocked me."You are a moron," I felt my blood simmering. "This isn't a game, this (the pistol) isn't a toy, and you have not been paying attention." I put both hands on the pistol, removed the magazine then removed the chambered bullet. Lastly, ass-first, I handed him the empty pistol with my left hand while keeping the ammunition in my right."Moron, huh?" he chuckled. "Gonna give me the bullets?""No, no, I'm not going to give you the bullets because you don't know what you are doing. Unlike you, I actually have had a firearm lesson. More to the point, I won't give you a loaded firearm because I think I've stressed the lady, or ladies, watching over us right now enough for one night.""Huh?" Lowry and Barabbas echoed. Pierre looked around."Wes didn't keep us inside to play '20 Questions' for her own amusement. She kept us occupied so her other teammate, or teammates, could move to this side of the house, so they could watch over us while giving you three the delusion we were alone. They are professionals in camouflage gear with night-vision goggles, so unless they had to move rapidly through the underbrush, we weren't likely to detect them.""I played along because I felt it was necessary for you three to open up a little bit. Life is only going to get tougher over the next few months. None of us want to have a chat with heavily armed women staring over our shoulders, so I took us outside where it would appear we were alone," I explained."You lied to us," Lowry snipped."No. My words were true. What I did was allow you to deceive yourself as to our level of security and amount of company. I did what I did for the good of the group, regardless of gender, Gentlemen. It is how we all need to start thinking. Something else you might want to think about is: everyone I love is with me here today. A good number of people who decided getting in my way was a good thing aren't even alive anymore. I will gladly embrace any one of you as brothers. If you are an obstacle, I will fucking see you gone, one way or another; clear?""We are guys," Lowry insisted smugly. Old thinking: women protected men."I; don't; care," I glared back. "You may be a sperm-shooter, but inside me is the only surefire cure for the Gender Plague. I repeat: people I love, and there are several, are all alive today because I cared and took an active hand in their survival. My enemies are mostly dead. Being a man will save you from the women in there. It won't save you from me.""You'd kill us?" Pierre whispered."Pierre, my Mother died over a year ago. Where are your Mother and Sister? You don't give a damn about a single fucking human being and yet you expect me to trust you? Why?" I challenged him. "I've already proved to multiple people I can reach beyond my shell and give a fuck. Until you rejoin the Human Race, I value the rest of those battling alongside me far more than you, or anyone else regardless of whether they have a penis, or a vagina. I'm not going to snap your neck, stab, or shoot you. I'm simply not going to bother trying to save you. The World is doing a bang-up job of killing the rest of Humanity off, without my assistance.""I really ought to punch you," Lowry threatened."Give it your best shot," I took a step toward him. That wasn't what he, or I, was expecting. I put down my poor judgment and combative demeanor to exhaustion."Don't, guys," Barabbas interceded."You are an Asshole," Lowry snarled."And you are consistently ignoring reality," I snapped back. "For instance, we are not alone out here, plus we are also at the door." I knocked once. The door swung open to reveal a rather attentive and unhappy Wes Prince. I handed her the bullet and magazine."You were listening in?" Lowry turned his anger on her. Wes' eyes went from me, to him, out into the darkness then back to me, though her words were to Lowry."Yes. Of course I was listening in. I wouldn't call him an Asshole. I'd go for Smart-ass." To me, "Do you enjoy being annoyingly correct?""No. I'd be ecstatic to realize I was completely wrong about everything and had lapsed into a mad delusion," I related, my own anger seeping away. "Being right means I have to keep appreciating and respecting you and your compatriots and taking responsibility for my own clumsy contributions to our current situation, which I don't want to do. I want to go to bed.""Come on in and go to bed then," she softened. She made a slight hand gesture. "My pistol, please, Mr. Pritchard?" she requested of Lowry. Grudgingly he gave her the firearm. She stepped aside. Lowry went first, Barabbas second. Pierre gasped slightly because as he went up the steps he noticed the two Vanishers coming toward us from outside ~ the ones I had predicted to be watching us.I went in after Pierre. Wes followed along. Capri and Kuiko were waiting. The lights had already been dimmed throughout most of the rest of the dwelling."Who were those other two guys?" Wes stopped me."Sergeant Major Daly was a Marine N C O and improv poet renowned for his battlefield musings. His most famous philosophical insight into the fighting spirit of men came in World War One. In his words "Come on, you sons of bitches, do you want to live forever?" He also won two Medals of Honor, so he must have had some talent.""Company Sergeant-Major John Robert Osborn was a Canadian; that was the country which now makes up the northern third of our current Federation; who found himself misplaced on the island of Hong Kong in late 1941; him, a handful of lads from Winnipeg and a shitload more Japanese. He and the Japanese ended up in a game of grenade tag,”"Grenade tag?" one of my two 'silent' guardians interrupted."Yes ~ grenade tag. Apparently in the olden days, grenades didn't airburst, or explode on impact. You pulled a pin and threw it at the enemy, then waited for the fuse to burn out and the grenade to go 'Boom!.' Quick, brave, and or stupid people could grab that grenade and toss it back. In some cases, one grenade might make two, or three trips before detonating.""Anyway, the Japanese were so very rudely throwing grenades into the position he and his Winnipeg Grenadiers were defending, so he kept returning them. After eight and a half hours of such fun, he came across one he couldn't toss back in time. He covered it with his body to shield his comrades from the blast, dying instantly. The British Empire gave him something called the Victoria Cross for his actions. He was the first Canadian in World War Two to receive it.""Why do you know such stuff?" she grinned. "Oh, I'm Scar and this is Nat," she indicated the third member of the Wes-Scar-Nat Vanisher trio."I considered myself a coward, so I read a lot about brave men. I was kind of hoping to figure out how I could be brave myself, one day," I disclosed."Mission success," the third one smiled. "Go to bed."I gathered up Capri and Kuiko and did as instructed. As I rested my head on the pillow, lights out and my mind gratefully shutting down."Less impressive sex, Bitch," Capri teased."No," I groaned."They definitely think you've got the 'sexy'," Kuiko enlightened me."Can we please just go to sleep?" I begged.Capri rolled onto her side, back to me, gave me a bump in the hip with her ass, then moved away a tiny bit. Kuiko wiggled close, kissed me lightly on the cheek, and then did the same. Unconsciousness took me before any other worries could steal my much needed slumber.The Larger World:As I struggled for sleep a second time, events unfolding in three different places around the Globe (Asia, the City and the Capitol) would impact my fate.Asia:First; the brutal agony still going on as the Sun disappeared over the horizon wasn't over when I woke up the next morning. It was largely misunderstood for some time afterwards, but was referred to as; the Battle for Shanghai.Five Chinese regular force divisions fought the garrison division of Shanghai, its 'reserve' division, hastily gathered volunteer female formations and a hodge-podge of ancillary forces the United Nations could throw into the fray. The goal for both sides was to seize a mother and her unborn child. Within them were the only other active resistant viral factory killing the T2 Gender Plague. By the time I woke up, both sides were sure the other side had killed them both, pretty much insuring the extinction of all sentient life in Eurasia.I say 'Eurasia' because by dusk of the previous day, the Federation knew for sure I, the other source of a cure for the T2, was still alive and kicking, as were my sons. My sons held a nebulous promise for a future date. I was of immediate importance since my adult body could produce enough antivirals to protect tens of thousands of people on a relatively continuous basis, or so it was projected.With, or without the mother and child, China was done for. Japan and Korea were rapidly circling the drain. North of China, the Plague was racing across Siberian Russia. Central Asia had never really recovered from the first round of the Gender Plague all those years ago so, now off the beaten path, would be longer in dying. India had too many outbreaks to even dream of containment. Pakistan, Iran, Turkey and the Levant Republic all had reported cases as well.Europe:Beyond the Urals, the Europeans were grappling with the looming fear of a global economic collapse along with the Specter of Death though 48 hours into the crisis, there were no cases to report yet. Civil order was teetering. Several nations had either closed their borders, or were considering doing so. Women began hording food, and men.Africa:

Morse code transcription: vvv vvv UK driverless cars unlikely until 2027 Uber says its ready now Joe Biden What we know about prostate cancer diagnosis India Pakistan tensions YouTuber arrested for allegedly spying for Pakistan Redcar and Cleveland ransomware Inside a council under cyber attack The US factory that lays bare the contradiction in Trumps policy Walking with dinosaurs Mystery of Pachyrhinosaurus mass grave in Canada The new UK EU deal at a glance Olympic gold swimmer left broken by coachs harsh regime and weight comments France to open new high security prison in French Guiana Private data including criminal records stolen in Legal Aid hack

Joe Biden is diagnosed with aggressive prostate cancer, Nicușor Dan wins Romania's presidential runoff, Trump and Putin hold a two-hour call, The UK and EU strike a post-Brexit reset deal, Israel allows limited aid into Gaza, Trump's tax bill advances after a late-night budget vote, J.D. Vance, Giorgia Meloni and Ursula Von der Leyen hold trade talks in Rome, Wall Street futures slide after Moody's downgrades the U.S., At least three are killed in a blast targeting a police station in Syria, New RSV vaccines are found to have cut infant hospitalizations by up to 71%, and France announces plans to build a supermax prison in the jungle of French Guiana. Sources: www.verity.news

Morse code transcription: vvv vvv France to open new high security prison in French Guiana Walking with dinosaurs Mystery of Pachyrhinosaurus mass grave in Canada Joe Biden What we know about prostate cancer diagnosis India Pakistan tensions YouTuber arrested for allegedly spying for Pakistan The new UK EU deal at a glance UK driverless cars unlikely until 2027 Uber says its ready now Redcar and Cleveland ransomware Inside a council under cyber attack Olympic gold swimmer left broken by coachs harsh regime and weight comments Private data including criminal records stolen in Legal Aid hack The US factory that lays bare the contradiction in Trumps policy

Morse code transcription: vvv vvv Olympic gold swimmer left broken by coachs harsh regime and weight comments Redcar and Cleveland ransomware Inside a council under cyber attack Joe Biden What we know about prostate cancer diagnosis The new UK EU deal at a glance India Pakistan tensions YouTuber arrested for allegedly spying for Pakistan France to open new high security prison in French Guiana The US factory that lays bare the contradiction in Trumps policy Walking with dinosaurs Mystery of Pachyrhinosaurus mass grave in Canada UK driverless cars unlikely until 2027 Uber says its ready now Private data including criminal records stolen in Legal Aid hack

Morse code transcription: vvv vvv India Pakistan tensions YouTuber arrested for allegedly spying for Pakistan Redcar and Cleveland ransomware Inside a council under cyber attack Olympic gold swimmer left broken by coachs harsh regime and weight comments UK driverless cars unlikely until 2027 Uber says its ready now The US factory that lays bare the contradiction in Trumps policy Walking with dinosaurs Mystery of Pachyrhinosaurus mass grave in Canada Joe Biden What we know about prostate cancer diagnosis The new UK EU deal at a glance Private data including criminal records stolen in Legal Aid hack France to open new high security prison in French Guiana

PRESS REVIEW – Tuesday, May 20: Jake Tapper and Alex Thompson's new book "Original Sin" shows that Joe Biden's cognitive decline was far more severe than portrayed. It comes as the Democrats are accused of covering for him during his presidency. Also, reactions after Britain and the EU sign agreements that effectively turn the page on Brexit. And, a sculpted bust of Jim Morrison, stolen from his Père Lachaise gravesite thirty-seven years ago turns up in a French police investigation! The reactions are coming in thick and fast from the press this Tuesday after the publication of journalists Jake Tapper and Alex Thompson's book, "Original Sin". The book explores Joe Biden's mental and physical decline during his time as US president. It comes just days after the Bidens' revealed that he has metastatic prostate cancer.As Rolling Stone notes, the book claims that Biden's cognitive decline was more severe behind the scenes than what was publicly visible. Furthermore, his inner circle actively engaged to cover up his diminishing memory. It's prompting much soul searching within the Democrat Party, Rolling Stone says. The authors have also faced backlash for not focusing on Biden's presidency while conservatives accuse the Democrats of a major cover up. For the conservative Wall Street Journal, the book reveals a "conspiracy in plain view". Democrat elites and the media couldn't or wouldn't see what everyone else saw: "a doddering, senescent president who was frequently incoherent and rambling". The paper adds that "an existential meltdown over Trump made Democrats cling to Biden as a talisman. This talisman that in the end was an almighty curse." The Washington Post has published readers' letters to the editors which paint a similar picture of outrage. One reader says it's time for Democrats to move on, find new candidates and relegate baby boomers to history. Another says Joe and Jill Biden and the Democrats owe the public an apology. The Economist offers a more tempered viewpoint, saying that Biden did not decline alone but that his party and the press lost altitude along with him.There are mixed reactions from the British papers this Tuesday after the EU and Britain shook hands on a deal concerning defence, fisheries and energy. The Independent is triumphant: Britain and the EU have turned a page with this Brexit reset deal, the paper declares on its front page. The Financial Times calls it a showpiece summit, hailing this first step towards the reconstruction of trade links between the two parties. It comes nine years after that fateful Brexit referendum vote. The Guardian says in this analysis piece that there are clear benefits but political risks for Prime Minister Keir Starmer. He recognised for the first time yesterday something his predecessors denied for years: that Brexit has damaged Britain. This exposes him to the risk of being accused of betrayal by his rivals and possibly voters.Not everyone feels this is a victory, however. The pro-Brexit papers are furious. "Kiss goodbye to Brexit, the Daily Telegraph says sarcastically on its front page today, with a picture of Starmer and EU Commission President embracing each other. The Daily Express says that Starmer's ABJECT SURRENDER is a betrayal to Brexit. The paper is particularly angry over the fisheries deal. It says that in 2016, Britons votes to take back control of its fishing industry ... yesterday's deal will undo all of that. The Sun chooses to go with a fishing pun: Britain is done up like a kipper, it says on its front page.Here in France, the government is facing scrutiny over its plan to build a mega prison in French Guiana. This story garnered a lot of attention in France on the weekend and now in the international press. It was first reported on the weekend when French Justice Minister Gérald Darmanin announced plans to build a max security wing during a visit to the overseas department and region. Weekend paper Journal du Dimanche reported that the prison wing would be reserved for Islamic terrorists and drug traffickers. The prison would be near the notorious Devil's Island, to where prisoners were sent by Napoleon Third in the 1800s. The announcement sparked outcry by Guyanese MPs, who called the decision insulting and disrespectful, The Guardian reports.The Doors frontman Jim Morrison knew a thing a thing or two about prison, having been sent to prison in 1967 for disrupting public order. He died four years later in Paris where he was buried at the Père Lachaise cemetery. For Morrison's 10th death anniversary, Croatian artist Mladen Mikulin sculpted a bust in his honour at his gravesite. For seven years, it became a symbolic tribute – fans graffitied the bust, chipped off parts of it to keep as a souvenir. Then it was stolen in 1988. Now 37 years later, French police came across the marble bust while carrying out a totally unrelated fraud investigation. No word yet on who did it, where it's been hiding for nearly forty years and whether it'll be returned to Jim's gravesite, Rolling Stone reports.Finally, The Times reports that you can now register for wedding gifts at Tescos, Britain's biggest supermarket chain. Among the choices are the really useful but totally unromantic bundle of luxury toilet paper, kitchen rolls, bin bags, toothpaste, shampoo, conditioner and shower gel. According to Tesco, newlyweds would rather practical products than fancy ones these days. You can blame the high cost of living for that!You can catch our press review every morning on France 24 at 7:20am and 9:20am (Paris time), from Monday to Friday.

GB2RS News Sunday, the 18th of May 2025   The news headlines: The RSGB announces new Convention Chair for 2025 RSGB members can now read over 300 RadCom editions in the RSGB web app Become a volunteer at the RSGB National Radio Centre RSGB General Manager, Steve Thomas, M1ACB, is delighted to announce the appointment of Pete Joyce, M0OFM, as the new volunteer RSGB Convention Chair. Pete is a regular attendee at RSGB Conventions and has a keen interest in balancing the different needs of attendees through a varied programme. He also understands the importance of making the Convention accessible to everyone, both in person and online. Pete brings to the role a range of experience in planning and managing events for other organisations. The RSGB Convention planning team look forward to supporting Pete as he takes on this challenging and important role. The RSGB is excited to announce that more RadCom editions have been added to its web app. RSGB members are now able to browse back to January 2000, which is over 300 magazines! Go to rsgb.org/radcom to explore all the RadCom content from this millennium. You'll need your RSGB membership portal details to access the editions. If your RSGB membership is due for renewal soon, why not swap to a digital membership? You'll still get all the great benefits of being a member, and you'll save money as well as RadCom storage space. If you're not yet an RSGB member, there's never been a better time to join the Society. Take out a digital membership and choose to read RadCom via our app, and you'll have easy access to 25 years of RadCom editions. The RSGB will be releasing mobile versions of the app soon, so you'll be able to download copies of its publications and read them on the go.   Volunteering at the RSGB National Radio Centre is a wide-ranging and highly rewarding role. Thanks to the variety of visitors and the number of events and activities that the Centre is involved with, no two days at the NRC are the same. If you'd like to join the friendly and dedicated team, the NRC is currently looking for new volunteers. Full training is given, including the operation of the GB3RS radio station. NRC volunteers also enjoy numerous benefits associated with volunteering at Bletchley Park. If all of this sounds like something you'd like to be a part of, and you can volunteer for one or two days per month, please email NRC Coordinator Martyn Baker, G0GMB, via nrc.support@rsgb.org.uk. You can find out more about the RSGB National Radio Centre by going to rsgb.org/nrc The RSGB Outreach Team is offering qualified amateur radio operators under the age of 18 the opportunity to take part in a new DMR project. The project's aim is to help young people get on the air and build their confidence in making QSOs. The Team has nine DMR handheld transceivers and hotspots available to borrow for three months, completely free. As part of the offering, the Outreach Team will be hosting regular youth nets that you would be welcome to join. You can apply for the DMR kit as an individual or as a school group, as long as one member of the group is licensed. Another part of the project is to support teachers who would like to take their amateur radio licence and set up a school club. In collaboration with the Radio Communications Foundation, the RSGB is offering to pay the licence exam fee for nine teachers to help get them and their school club started. If you're a teacher who is interested in discovering more about amateur radio and sharing that excitement with your students, get in touch. Once you have your licence, you can apply for the free DMR kit on loan for three months to help set up your club. If you are interested in applying for a DMR kit, fill out the application form by going to tinyurl.com/DMRyouth. If you are a teacher interested in starting your own radio club, please email RSGB Youth Chair Chris Aitken, MM0WIC, via youthchampion.school@rsgb.org.uk As we come to the end of Mental Health Awareness Week 2025, let's remember to show the very best of amateur radio and make sure we are there for one another. Let's listen to each other, share our appreciation for our fellow radio amateurs and celebrate kindness within our community. You can read how amateur radio helped Lee Aldridge, G4EJB, in the July 2023 edition of RadCom. You can access mental health support by going to mentalhealth.org.uk Please send details of all your news and events to radcom@rsgb.org.uk The deadline for submissions is 10am on Thursdays before the Sunday broadcast each week. And now for details of rallies and events The East Midlands Ham and Electronics Rally is taking place on Saturday, the 24th of May at Beckingham Village Hall, Southfield Lane, Beckingham, DN10 4FX. Traders can set up from 7 am, with doors open to the public between 9.30 am and 3 pm. There will be hot food and refreshments available. Free parking is located behind the hall. For more information and to book, please go to emerg.uk/rally The Durham & District Amateur Radio Society Radio Rally is taking place on Sunday, the 25th of May at Bowburn Community Centre, Bowburn, County Durham, DH6 5AT. Doors will be open from 10.10 am to 2.30 pm, with disabled visitors gaining access at 10 am. Entry is £3. There will be a bring-and-buy sale, trade stands, special interest groups and an RSGB bookstall. Catering will be available on-site. For further information, please call Michael Wright, G7TWX, on 07826 924192 or email dadars@gmx.com Now the Special Event news Special event station GB0SAR is active until the 30th of May in support of SOS Radio Week. The station will mostly be using FT4 on the 20m band, but you might also catch it on the other HF bands using phone. For more information, visit QRZ.com Humber Fortress DX Amateur Radio Club is once again raising awareness for men's mental health through amateur radio. Club members will be operating special callsign GB0MMH. Other special call signs will also be active. The station is active today, Sunday the 18th of May, as well as the weekend of the 21st and 22nd of June. Please listen out for the operators and give them a call. Your support will help raise awareness of men's mental health. If you would like further information, please contact secretary@hfdxarc.com The International Amateur Radio Club will be active as 4U0ITU until the end of 2025. The club is celebrating the 160th anniversary of the International Telecommunication Union. QSL is available via Logbook of the World, Club Log, or direct to P.O. Box 6, 1211 Geneva 20, Switzerland. Now the DX news Antonio, DL4EA, will be active as FY/DL4EA from French Guiana between the 19th and 21st of May. Antonio plans to be active on QO-100 and RS-44 and maybe some HF QRP. Emir, E77DX will again be active as D4DX in Cape Verde on the 24th and 25th May for the CQ World Wide WPX CW Contest. He'll be operating as Single Operator All Bands in the high-power category. QSL is available via E73Y and Logbook of the World.  Morten, LA9GY will be active from Eswatini between the 22nd of May and the 2nd of June. He plans to be operating holiday-style as 3DA0GY mainly on CW but also some SSB. QSL is available via his home call LA9GY. Now the contest news Tomorrow, Monday, the 19th of May, the FT4 Series Contest runs from 1900 to 2030 UTC. Using FT4 on the 80 to 10m bands, where contests are permitted, the exchange is your report. On Tuesday, the 20th of May, the 1.3GHz UK Activity Contest runs from 1900 to 2130 UTC. Using all modes on 1.3GHz frequencies, the exchange is signal report, serial number and locator. On Wednesday, the 21st of May, the 80m Club Championship data leg runs from 1900 to 2030 UTC. Using data modes on the 80m band, the exchange is signal report and serial number. The CQ World Wide WPX CW Contest starts at 0000 UTC on Saturday, the 24th of May and ends at 2359 UTC on Sunday, the 25th of May. Using CW on the 160 to 10m bands, where contests are permitted, the exchange is signal report and serial number. On Sunday, the 25th of May, the UK Microwave Group High Band Contest runs from 0600 to 1800 UTC. Using all modes on 5.7 and 10GHz frequencies, the exchange is signal report, serial number and locator. Now the radio propagation report, compiled by G0KYA, G3YLA and G4BAO on Thursday the 15th of May 2025 This week, you could be forgiven for thinking that the Solar Cycle 25 maximum is now over. With a reduced solar flux index and an almost blank Sun, there was little to get excited about. By Thursday, the 15th of May, the SFI was 122, but previously, on the 12th, it had been down to 116, which is the lowest it has been for some time. There is still a lot of solar activity going on, but most of it is not conducive to good HF propagation. Over the past week, we have had two X-class solar flares and five M-class events. The X-class events were associated with coronal mass ejections, but these appear to have been directed away from Earth. A fast solar wind has resulted in the Kp index standing at four for a lot of the time, namely on the 9th and 10th of May and again on the 14th and 15th. Unfortunately, this is not uncommon at this point in the solar cycle and adds some evidence that we are now in the declining phase of Cycle 25. Next week, NOAA predicts that things may improve with the SFI set to rise from the 19th of May. It forecasts the SFI will start the week around 115, but then will climb steadily, reaching 145 by the 1st of June. After a brief rise on the 19th with a Kp of four, things then become more settled with a Kp of two between the 22nd and the 28th of May. A large elongated coronal hole became Earth-facing on 16th May, which could cause raised K indices and lower MUFs from today, the 18th of May, onwards. It looks like the best HF F2-layer conditions may occur between the 22nd and 28th of May. And don't forget, despite the HF doldrums, we are now well into Sporadic-E season with short-skip occurring, predominantly on 10m. But more of that shortly. And now the VHF and up propagation news from G3YLA and G4BAO The prolonged spell of high pressure is likely to remain until near the end of this week, so there is plenty of time to get some more Tropo in the log. Cloudier and cooler air over eastern Britain at the end of last week may enhance the Tropo by adding moisture under the inversion. For most places, the strongest Tropo conditions will be overnight and early morning, then they will degrade as the daytime heating destroys the surface temperature inversion. Meteor scatter is declining a little, apart from a few stragglers from early May showers, so it's probably better to keep to the early morning period as your go-to time for meteor scatter to focus on any random input. Rain scatter is unlikely until next weekend, but it might be worth thinking about the GHz bands from this Friday, the 23rd of May, onwards. Aurora is a different matter, and the solar activity is likely to keep things interesting as a large sunspot group rotates into an Earth-facing position. Strong Es opened on Wednesday, the 14th of May, so it's definitely the season to be checking the upper HF and lower VHF bands for Sporadic-E. In this recent opening, the Dourbes ionosonde peaked at an Es critical frequency of 14 MHz, which is a very high value, even for mid-season. There were strong signals from the central Mediterranean on 6m CW, and some may have even got some 2m digital mode action from the brief opening. Check the Propquest NVIS tab for the day to see the details of this event. Although weak jet streams were present, the opening may well have been helped by some very intense, slow-moving thunderstorms over France. Remember to start checking on 10m and, if it's open, look to the higher bands of 6m, 4m, up to 2m. EME path losses are still falling. Moon declination ended last week at minimum but goes positive again this Thursday, the 22nd of May. Moon windows and peak elevation are again rising. 144MHz sky noise is high this weekend, falling back to low as the week progresses. And that's all from the propagation team this week.

The United Launch Alliance (ULA) launches the first batch of Amazon Project Kuiper satellites. Firefly launches the FLTA006 Message in a Booster mission for Lockheed Martin but experiences a second stage anomaly. Arianespace successfully launched the ESA's Earth Explorer Biomass satellite from Europe's Spaceport in French Guiana, and more. Remember to leave us a 5-star rating and review in your favorite podcast app. Be sure to follow T-Minus on LinkedIn and Instagram. T-Minus Guest Our guest today is Dr. Debra Emmons, Aerospace Corporation's Vice President and CTO. You can check out the Aerospace Corp. on LinkedIn or on their website. Selected Reading United Launch Alliance Successfully Launches Amazon's First Operational Satellites Alpha FLTA006 - Firefly Aerospace Arianespace Successfully Launches ESA's Biomass Satellite  Rivada Expands Outernet Access to 33 Countries, Secures $16 Billion+ in Global Business China launches internet satellite group - CGTN Lawmakers vote on controversial SpaceX beach closure bill amid backlash Radian Aerospace lays out its plan to create reusable re-entry vehicle for hypersonic tests When Satellites Go Dark - Persistent Cyber Assaults and The Growing Blind Spot T-Minus Crew Survey We want to hear from you! Please complete our 4 question survey. It'll help us get better and deliver you the most mission-critical space intel every day. Want to hear your company in the show? You too can reach the most influential leaders and operators in the industry. Here's our media kit. Contact us at space@n2k.com to request more info. Want to join us for an interview? Please send your pitch to space-editor@n2k.com and include your name, affiliation, and topic proposal. T-Minus is a production of N2K Networks, your source for strategic workforce intelligence. © N2K Networks, Inc. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In France's overseas departments, Creole language and culture are seen as a bulwark against racism and standardisation. The concept of "Créoleness" was developed in the late 1980s, in the wake of Aimé Césaire's writings on Négritude and Edouard Glissant's notion of "Antillanité", or a specifically Caribbean identity. Our reporters Florence Gaillard and Georges Yazbeck travelled to Martinique to hear from those who embody this complex identity.  Following the Christian calendar, the four days before Ash Wednesday are known as "les jours gras" in Martinique: a time of celebration and mischief. Everyone is invited to the carnival: rich, poor, white, black, locals and tourists.The festivities are populated by some emblematic local characters: King Vaval, the Red Devils and Marianne La Po Fig, a mysterious creature made of banana leaves. According to Marie-Lyne Psyché-Salpétrier, president of the Recherches et Traditions association, Marianne La Po Fig is part of Martinique's spiritual pantheon, handed down by the island's Yoruba ancestors and belonging to its African roots. Philosopher Edouard Glissant called Martinique "the melting pot of the world". Like all Creole societies, it is the product of three centuries of colonisation and a mixture of European, African and Asian populations. The indigenous Amerindians, known as Kalinagos or Caribs, have all but disappeared. This physical and cultural intermingling has led to the emergence of a popular language: Creole. Long associated with slavery, Creole was forbidden in the classroom and frowned upon in polite society. Yet the language continued to evolve – largely thanks to songs and stories – and today it's a poetic, multi-layered idiom. We meet Jocelyne Béroard, a singer with the group Kassav', who told us more about the inherent poetry of Créole and how she uses it on stage and in daily life. Meanwhile, the "Groupe d'Etudes et de Recherches en Espace Créole" has been working for almost 30 years to lay the written foundations of Creole, publishing dictionaries and novels in a Creole that borrows expressions from Martinique, French Guiana, Haiti and Reunion Island. More importantly, GEREC has fought to bring Creole to school textbooks and universities and thereby formalise its use beyond the oral sphere. In 1989, Raphaël Confiant, Jean Bernabé and Patrick Chamoiseau published "Eloge de la Créolité" or "In Praise of Creoleness". This manifesto celebrates Creole identity as the acceptance of all diversities and the endorsement of plural identities. For its co-author Confiant: "Creoleness is, in fact, the opposite of apartheid!"

In October 2012, the founding father of the European Space Agency was honoured when a spacecraft named after him was sent to the international space station. Within the probe – called the Edoardo Amaldi Automated Transfer Vehicle – was a letter which had been written by Edoardo in 1958 detailing his plans for an organisation which would bring together the continent's greatest minds in space science. It was in response to the brain drain Europe was facing in the years prior when its best scientists were flying off to work at NASA. His grandson, Andrea Amaldi, talks to Natasha Fernandes about the moment his grandfather's letter was sent into space and the role he played in translating it on behalf of the visionary behind the European Space Agency.Eye-witness accounts brought to life by archive. Witness History is for those fascinated by the past. We take you to the events that have shaped our world through the eyes of the people who were there. For nine minutes every day, we take you back in time and all over the world, to examine wars, coups, scientific discoveries, cultural moments and much more. Recent episodes explore everything from football in Brazil, the history of the ‘Indian Titanic' and the invention of air fryers, to Public Enemy's Fight The Power, subway art and the political crisis in Georgia. We look at the lives of some of the most famous leaders, artists, scientists and personalities in history, including: visionary architect Antoni Gaudi and the design of the Sagrada Familia; Michael Jordan and his bespoke Nike trainers; Princess Diana at the Taj Mahal; and Görel Hanser, manager of legendary Swedish pop band Abba on the influence they've had on the music industry. You can learn all about fascinating and surprising stories, such as the time an Iraqi journalist hurled his shoes at the President of the United States in protest of America's occupation of Iraq; the creation of the Hollywood commercial that changed advertising forever; and the ascent of the first Aboriginal MP.(Photo: ESA's ATV-3, Edoardo Amaldi, blasts off on March 23, 2012 from the European space centre at Kourou, French Guiana. Credit: JODY AMIET/AFP via Getty Images)

If at first you don't launch, try try again - due to a scrub from technical issues earlier this week and then unfavorable weather conditions, the launch of Crew 10 to the International Space Station is set for another launch attempt. The U.S. Air Force has rated United Launch Alliance's performance on its National Security Space Launch obligations as unsatisfactory. Rocket Lab has been on a roll this week. And, more.  Remember to leave us a 5-star rating and review in your favorite podcast app. Be sure to follow T-Minus on LinkedIn and Instagram. T-Minus Guest Today, we welcome Elysia Segal from NASASpaceflight.com with the Space Traffic Report. Selected Reading NASA, SpaceX Prepare for March 14 Crew Launch to Space Station (NASA) NASA, SpaceX try again to launch rocket set to bring back stuck astronauts (Reuters)  SpaceX Rival Venture From Lockheed, Boeing Had Subpar Performance: Air Force (Bloomberg) Rocket Lab Unveils New Satellite Software for Ground Data, Spacecraft Operations, and Constellation Management (Business Wire) Transporter 13 rideshare (SpaceX)  Sidus Space LizzieSat™-3 to Launch March 14, 2025, with Next Generation AI-Driven Space-to-Space Data Relay (Business Wire) Ursa Major and Palantir Announce Partnership to Bring Warp Speed Manufacturing Operating System to Accelerate Defense Technology Capabilities (Ursa Major) BlackSky Delivers First AI-Enabled Analytics Derived from Very High-Resolution Gen-3 Imagery Three Weeks Following Launch (Business Wire) Space Force wants six kinds of space weapons—including anti-satellite lasers (Ars Technica)   Biomass

Arianespace's Ariane 6 lifted off from French Guiana carrying a French spy satellite to sun-synchronous orbit. AST spaceMobile, Kayhan Space and LeoLabs collaborated on a demonstration to reduce US Space Force tracking times. Red Hat and Axiom have collaborated on an on-orbit data center which is scheduled to launch to the International Space Station this spring, and more. Remember to leave us a 5-star rating and review in your favorite podcast app. Be sure to follow T-Minus on LinkedIn and Instagram. T-Minus Guest Our guest today is Tom Roeder, Senior Data Analyst, Space Foundation. You can connect with Tom on LinkedIn, and learn more about the Space Foundation on their website. Selected Reading LIVE: Launch of European Space Agency's Ariane 6 rocket AST, Kayhan, LeoLabs team to demo capability to reduce Space Force satellite tracking times Red Hat Teams Up with Axiom Space to Launch, Optimize the Space Company's Data Center Unit-1 On Orbit | Business Wire BlackSky Reports Fourth Quarter and Full Year 2024 Results- Business Wire Firefly Aerospace Ready to Launch Alpha FLTA006 for Lockheed Martin's LM 400 Spacecraft No Earlier Than March 15 What time is SpaceX's Starship Flight 8 launch on today?- Space NASA Sets Coverage for Agency's SpaceX Crew-10 Launch, Docking UK Space Agency Awards SatixFy £1.8M for the Development of Advanced LEO Payload Software Ericsson, Qualcomm and Thales Alenia Space reach milestone in space-based connectivity Voyager Technologies Adds Space-Based Biopharma Company Space LiinTech to GWC Science Park NASA Turns Off 2 Voyager Science Instruments to Extend Mission T-Minus Crew Survey We want to hear from you! Please complete our 4 question survey. It'll help us get better and deliver you the most mission-critical space intel every day. Want to hear your company in the show? You too can reach the most influential leaders and operators in the industry. Here's our media kit. Contact us at space@n2k.com to request more info. Want to join us for an interview? Please send your pitch to space-editor@n2k.com and include your name, affiliation, and topic proposal. T-Minus is a production of N2K Networks, your source for strategic workforce intelligence. © N2K Networks, Inc. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

GB2RS News Sunday the 22nd of December The news headlines: The RSGB is looking for a new Lecture Coordinator YOTA Month draws to a close but is still busy on the air The first RSGB Tonight@8 webinar of 2025 focuses on GB2RS The RSGB facilitates just over 60 lectures each year in a mixture of in-person, hybrid and remote formats. 50 of these are at the RSGB Convention and 11 are delivered through the livestreamed Tonight@8 webinar programme of events. This set of presentations aims to cover a wide mix of amateur radio-related subjects, across all depths of amateur radio experience and knowledge. They are watched and admired by RSGB members and non-members across the world. The RSGB Lecture Coordinator is part of the Tonight@8 and Convention teams. Its recent Lecture Coordinator Keith Hotchkiss, G0FEA has stepped back to focus on his professional commitments, so the RSGB is looking for someone new for this volunteer role. The right person will be proactive and collaborative, bringing ideas for presentations that educate and inspire radio amateurs to try something new, learn more about interesting topics and expand their knowledge of amateur radio. They will lead the invitation and scheduling process for Tonight@8 webinars and contribute to the decisions about Convention presentations. They will also be the main contact with Convention presenters, inviting them to speak, updating the speaker project plan and helping to create a balanced programme. Reporting to the Convention Chair, the Lecture Coordinator would be a member of the RSGB Convention team but would not be required to take responsibility for organising and managing other aspects of the event. If you're interested in the role or would like to find out more, please contact the RSGB General Manager Steve Thomas, M1ACB via gm.dept@rsgb.org.uk Youngsters on the Air Month is nearly at a close. It has been filled with some brilliant activity from young people using special callsign GB24YOTA. Thank you to everyone involved, from supervising young amateurs to making contact with them on the air. Before the year ends, we still have some activity using GB24YOTA, so please continue to listen out. Tomorrow, Monday the 23rd of December, Hilderstone Radio Society will be back on the air as it hosts the callsign for a final time this month. On Sunday the 29th of December, Bushvalley Amateur Radio Club in Northern Ireland will be operating GB24YOTA, followed by Marlborough Scouts on Monday the 30th of December. If you have been involved with Youngsters on the Air Month and would like your activity to be in a special RadCom feature, email your photos and a short report to comms@rsgb.org.uk  as soon as possible. The first RSGB Tonight@8 webinar of 2025 will be live on Monday the 6th of January. The presentation is all about the RSGB's GB2RS News service which will be celebrating its 70th anniversary next year. A team of people will contribute to the live presentation and will give you a behind-the-scenes insight into how the script is compiled, as well as a newsreader's perspective of the weekly broadcast. They'll share details of the plans being put in place for the anniversary and explain how you can get involved. The team will also consider GB2RS in the modern media environment and how new technologies in amateur radio are being embraced. Find out more about this fascinating discussion and the presenters by going to rsgb.org/webinars  Watch the presentation live on the RSGB YouTube channel or special BATC channel and ask questions via the live chat. The RSGB will be releasing four new presentations from its 2024 Convention over the festive season. If you'd like to be the first to hear about new releases as soon as they are available, go to youtube.com/theRSGB and subscribe to receive notifications. The RSGB YouTube channel has hundreds of other videos and webinars to enjoy, as well as numerous playlists on amateur radio construction, useful practical skills, technical topics and much more. Let the Society know you enjoy the content by pressing the ‘Like' button when you watch a video. Don't forget that the RSGB's headquarters will be closed for Christmas and New Year from 2pm on Tuesday the 24th of December 2024 until 8.30 am on Thursday the 2nd of January 2025. The RSGB National Radio Centre, or NRC, will also be closed on Christmas Eve, Christmas Day, Boxing Day and New Year's Day. On New Year's Eve, the NRC will close at 2 pm and it will also be closed for essential maintenance works on Thursday the 2nd of January. Outside of these times, volunteers look forward to welcoming visitors as usual. Sweden's Alexanderson alternator station SAQ has scheduled a transmission to send out a traditional Christmas message to the world. The century-old 200kW transmitter will start up and begin tuning at 0730UTC on Tuesday the 24th of December using CW on 17.2kHz. Transmission of the Christmas message will take place at 0800UTC. The event will be live-streamed from 0725UTC via the Alexanderson site's YouTube channel. Further details about the event, including test transmissions and QSL reports, can be found by going to alexander.n.se  Please note there will be no GB2RS broadcast on Sunday the 29th of December 2024, but many newsreaders will be holding informal nets in their usual broadcasting slots. Please send details of all your news and events to radcom@rsgb.org.uk  The deadline for submissions is 10am on Thursdays before the Sunday broadcast each week. And now for details of rallies and events The Sparkford Radio Rally is taking place on Sunday the 29th of December at Davis Hall, Howell Hill, West Camel, near Yeovil. Doors are open to traders from 7.30 am and from 9.30 am to the public. Admission is £2. Refreshments and free parking will be available. For more information, contact Luke on 07870 168 197 or email m3vhv@hotmail.co.uk Looking ahead to events coming up next year, the Lincoln Shortwave Club Winter Radio Rally is taking place on the 26th of January at The Festival Hall, Caistor Road in Market Rasen. Doors open at 10 am, and admission is £3. Hot refreshments and ample free car parking will be available. The cost for a table is £10. To book, please contact Steve Burke, M5ZZZ on 07777 699 069 or email m5zzz@outlook.com Now the Special Event news In celebration of the 70th anniversary of the GB2RS News service, special callsign GB70RS will be on the air from the 1st of January. Listen out for operators on all modes and all bands. QSL via the Bureau, eQSL or Logbook of the World. For more information, please visit the GB70RS page at QRZ.com Denby Dale Amateur Radio Society will be celebrating the New Year with a series of special event station callsigns all ending in HNY, which stands for Happy New Year. Members will be active on all HF and VHF bands using SSB, CW, FM and data modes. You can find full details of active callsigns on the GB0HNY page at QRZ.com Several special event stations will be active between the 1st and the 3rd of January 2025 to celebrate KW Electronics, a former UK manufacturer of amateur radio equipment. The active callsigns will include: GB4KW, GB8KW, GB0KW, GB1KW, GB5KW, GB2KW and GB6KW. More details are available via QRZ.com Special callsign GB0IRN will be active in January to celebrate the anniversary of the International Radio Network. The International Radio Network is active on various platforms and its mission is to promote amateur radio to those interested in radio communications. Find out more by visiting irn.radio Terry, GM3WUX will be using special callsign GB200LB from the 4th of January until the 31st of January 2025. The ‘LB' in the callsign stands for Louis Braille. The station will be operating to celebrate the bicentenary of the invention of the Braille Code. The 4th of January is Louis Braille's birthday. Activity will be mainly on CW. QSL via M0OXO. Further details are available via QRZ.com Now the DX news A Danish DXpedition is operational as TO0J from French Guiana until the 31st of December. The group will be active on the 80 to 10m bands using CW, and SSB, but mainly FT8. QSL via Clublog's OQRS, Logbook of the World or eQSL. The J75K team is active in Dominica from the 26th of December 2024 until the 4th of January 2025. The IOTA reference is NA-101. They will be operating on the 160 to 6m bands using SSB, CW and FT8. QSL via Logbook of the World or directly to IV3JVJ. Brian, GW4DVB will be operating from St Kitts as V4/G4DVB from the 31st of December 2024 to the 6th of January 2025. The station will be active using multiple modes on the 160 to 6m bands. QSL directly to Brian. More information is available on QRZ.com Members of the Rebel DX Group will be active as 5N9DTG from Abuja in Nigeria during January 2025. They will operate on the 160 to 6m bands using CW, FT8 and possibly SSB. QSL via ClubLog's OQRS. Now the contest news The UK Six Metre Group Winter Marathon started at 0000UTC on Sunday the 1st of December and ends at 2359UTC on Friday the 31st of January 2025. Using all modes on the 6m band, the exchange is signal report and locator. On Thursday the 26th of December, the DARC Christmas Contest runs from 0830UTC to 1059UTC. Using CW and SSB on the 80 and 40m bands, the exchange is signal report and serial number. German stations also send their DOK number. On Friday the 27th of December, the RSGB 50MHz Christmas Contest runs from 1500 to 1700UTC. Using all modes on the 6m band, the exchange is signal report, serial number and locator. On Saturday the 28th of December, the RSGB 70MHz Christmas Contest runs from 1500 to 1700UTC. Using all modes on the 4m band, the exchange is signal report, serial number and locator. The Stew Perry Top Band Challenge starts at 1500UTC on Saturday the 28th of December and ends at 1500UTC on Sunday the 29th of December. Using CW on the 160m band, the exchange is your four-character locator. On Sunday the 29th of December, the RSGB 144MHz Christmas Contest runs from 1500 to 1700UTC. Using all modes on the 2m band, the exchange is signal report, serial number and locator. On Monday the 30th of December, the RSGB 432MHz Christmas Contest runs from 1500 to 1700UTC. Using all modes on the 70cm band, the exchange is signal report, serial number and locator. On Wednesday the 1st of January 2025, the RSGB 144MHz FT8 Activity four-hour contest runs from 1700 to 2100UTC. Using FT8 on the 2m band, the exchange is report and four-character locator. Also on Wednesday the 1st, the RSGB 144MHz FT8 Activity two-hour contest runs from 1900 to 2100UTC. Using FT8 on the 2m band, the exchange is report and four-character locator. Stations entering the four-hour contest may also enter the two-hour contest. On Wednesday the 1st of January, the UK and Ireland Contest Club 80m Contest runs from 2000 to 2100UTC. Using SSB on the 80m band, the exchange is your six-character locator. The ARRL RTTY Roundup Contest starts at 1800UTC on Saturday the 4th of January and ends at 2359UTC on Sunday the 5th of January. Using data modes on the 80 to 10m bands, where contests are permitted, the exchange is signal report and serial number. American stations will send their state, and Canadian stations will send their province. The European CW 160m Party runs from 2000UTC to 2300UTC on Saturday the 4th of January and from 0400UTC to 0700UTC on Sunday the 5th of January. Using CW on the 160m band, the exchange for club members is signal report, name, club and membership number. For non-members, the exchange is report and name. On Saturday the 4th of January 2025, the RSGB 80 and 40m CW Affiliated Societies Contest runs from 1300 to 1700UTC. Using CW on the 80 and 40m bands, the exchange is signal report and serial number. Now the radio propagation report, compiled by G0KYA, G3YLA and G4BAO on Thursday the 19th of December 2024. The last week was a little more disturbed than usual and we had a Kp index that hit 5.33. An enhanced solar wind stream contributed to active geomagnetic conditions and an interplanetary shockwave, that swept past Earth at 0519UTC on the 17th of December, caused minor G1 geomagnetic storming. A far-sided halo coronal mass ejection event also occurred later on the 17th of December at 1600UTC although this was not directed towards Earth. This shows that the Sun is still very active, and we should not be surprised if we experience more solar flares and CMEs. The solar flux index stayed in the 160s and 170s and we should keep an eye on active region 3927, which is currently turning to be Earth-facing and has already been the source of some C-class solar flares. Next week NOAA predicts that the solar flux index may rise slightly to be in the 180s. The largest Kp index forecast is 2, which probably means that NOAA is unsure about what will actually happen. We are pleased to report that OF9X is once again on the air from the land of Santa Claus in Lapland. Up to 16 operators will operate Santa Radio on the 160 to 6m bands using CW, SSB, RTTY, FT4 and FT8. They have already been spotted on the 30 and 20m bands using CW and on the 12 and 17m bands using RTTY. So, there is plenty of scope to work them. According to the prediction program Proppy, paths to Lapland should be open on 14MHz from 0800UTC to 1800UTC. On 28MHz, expect them to be open from 0930 to 1500UTC. The 80 and 40m bands should be mainly open during the hours of darkness. As always, across the Christmas period, we recommend that you use solarham.com and propquest.co.uk for real-time updates on solar and ionospheric conditions. And now the VHF and up propagation news from G3YLA and G4BAO. Last week ended in a colder unsettled period of weather with strong north-westerly winds and spells of rain or showers. The air is sufficiently cold that some snow is possible over northern hills. This is potentially good news for rain or snow scatter, especially off fast-moving showers down the coastal fringes of the UK.  Although the nearest high remains near the Azores to begin with, it slowly migrates east to France and, by Christmas, to central Europe. This will bring high pressure and possibly Tropo onto Santa's list from Christmas Eve onwards. Look for patches of misty low cloud or fog for the best conditions. As usual, check for other modes. Meteor scatter and aurora are both worth consideration and this is a prime time for out-of-season Sporadic-E between now and about mid-January.  One of the helpful aspects of looking for winter Sporadic-E is that quite often the jet streams are significantly stronger than in the more traditional summer Sporadic-E season. Jet streams are a good source of turbulence that can eventually propagate up to the E region to make Sporadic-E propagation. Jet streams are shown on upper air charts and can be a good geographical guide to Sporadic-E prospects in the summer and should therefore be similarly consulted for these winter events. In this case, they tell us that the first half of the coming week, up to Christmas Day, is well set up with a northerly jet stream over central Europe and, more importantly, crossing the Alps. So, a second mode goes on to Santa's list. Check the VHF Cluster's Sporadic-E graphs at propquest.co.uk for early signs of activity, particularly for paths to the southeast into Italy and the Balkans. The Moon started this weekend with positive declination but goes negative late today, the 22nd. Path losses are at their highest due to apogee on Christmas Eve. 144MHz sky noise is high until Wednesday, including near-eclipse conditions all day on Monday. That's it for this year. How about making a New Year's resolution to try a new mode? Maybe use SSB or CW on VHF now and again and put out lots of CQ calls in 2025! And that's all from the propagation team this week.

GB2RS News Sunday the 15th of December The news headlines: The RSGB 2025 election nominations process is open The Society is advertising for a new Convention Chair YOTA Month is busy this week with more callsign hosts to listen out for The RSGB 2025 elections process has begun, and nominations are open for a range of volunteer roles. The RSGB's President John McCullagh, GI4BWM will reach the end of his second year as President at the AGM and so will stand down. There are also two Elected Board Director vacancies. The Board is looking for people with specific skills to fill these roles. The current President is one of the few at the Board level with extensive experience in spectrum matters and negotiating with the authorities, so that skills gap needs to be filled. Outreach has been an important focus over the last year for the Society, and it would like to support the current activities and expand on them. These developments will include encouraging practical skills amongst the amateur radio community and building links with other organisations. Building those relationships will require someone with drive and determination but also tact and diplomacy. There are eight posts available for RSGB Regional Representatives, ranging from Region 1 in Scotland to Region 11 in the southwest. For more details about the roles as well as application forms and candidate packs, go to the RSGB website at rsgb.org/election The RSGB has been developing its Convention over recent years to suit the changing needs of the amateur radio community. From a face-to-face meeting, it evolved into an online event when we weren't allowed to meet, then changed again into a hybrid event, bringing together the best of both for people in this country and across the world. The Society has also been developing the programme to include practical workshops and forums to support radio amateurs who would like a safe and accessible environment in which to try to develop their practical skills. The RSGB General Manager has been doing the role of Convention Chair for the last three years but has now stepped back from that additional voluntary role, so the RSGB is looking for a new Convention Chair. This role needs someone who understands the advantages of both online and in-person events and who can contribute to shaping the RSGB Conventions of the future to suit the changing amateur radio audience. The RSGB is looking for someone enthusiastic, proactive, collaborative and good at working with others in a strong team. They will also need an awareness of all aspects of amateur radio, including the latest developments and what might be on the horizon. As part of the wider Convention team, they will need to suggest ideas for speakers and practical activities that will attract a range of radio amateurs. If you believe you could contribute to the development of this prestigious annual event, the RSGB would like to hear from you. Please contact the RSGB General Manager Steve Thomas, M1ACB via gm.dept@rsgb.org.uk Youngsters on the Air Month is now halfway through, with plenty more operators booked to host GB24YOTA. There is still time to work the RSGB National Radio Centre's GB3RS station which is hosting the callsign for the duration of today, Sunday the 15th of December. On Wednesday, the 18th of December, the Simon Langton Boys School in Canterbury will be operating between 12 pm and 6 pm. On Thursday, the 19th of December, between 12 pm and 6 pm the Cambridge University Wireless Society will once again be hosting GB24YOTA. To finish up this week, Tommy, M7OMY will be operating on the 20th and 21st of December under the supervision of Las, M0BOY. Tommy is a young radio amateur and has been taking part in YOTA Month for a few years, so be sure to listen out and make a QSO with him. Search GB24YOTA on QRZ.com  to view the full operating schedule. The RSGB's headquarters will close for the Christmas and New Year period from 2pm on Tuesday the 24th of December 2024. It will open again at 8.30am on Thursday the 2nd of January 2025. During that time, if you need information about amateur radio, exams or RadCom, you'll find lots of information on the website via rsgb.org  If you are planning to visit the RSGB's National Radio Centre at Bletchley Park over the holidays, please note that it will be closed on Christmas Eve, Christmas Day, Boxing Day and New Year's Day. On New Year's Eve, the NRC will close at 2 pm. The National Radio Centre will also be closed for essential maintenance works on Thursday the 2nd of January 2025. Outside of these times, volunteers look forward to welcoming visitors as usual. Remember that RSGB Members can download a free entry voucher for Bletchley Park from the RSGB website via rsgb.org/bpvoucher On the 6th of December, Ofcom announced an update regarding the timing of phases two and three of its amateur radio licensing framework, including changes to the new intermediate call signs and rules for Special event Stations. These phases were originally planned for December 2024 and March 2025 respectively, but Ofcom now expects to deliver them in the third quarter of 2025. For more information go to ofcom.org.uk  and search for ‘Licensing updates'. Please send details of all your news and events to radcom@rsgb.org.uk  The deadline for submissions is 10 am on Thursdays before the Sunday broadcast each week. And now for details of rallies and events The Sparkford Radio Rally is taking place on Sunday the 29th of December at Davis Hall, Howell Hill, West Camel, near Yeovil. Doors are open to traders from 7.30 am and from 9.30 am to the public. Admission is £2. Refreshments and free parking will be available. For more information, please contact Luke via 07870 168197 or email m3vhv@hotmail.co.uk Looking ahead to events coming up next year, the Lincoln Shortwave Club Winter Radio Rally is taking place on the 26th of January at The Festival Hall, Caistor Road in Market Rasen. Doors open at 10 am, and admission is £3. Hot refreshments and ample free car parking will be available. The cost of a table is £10. To book, please contact Steve Burke, M5ZZZ via 07777 699069 or email m5zzz@outlook.com Now the Special Event news There is still time to work The Humber Fortress DX Amateur Radio Club which is once again active with special callsign GB0MC until Thursday the 26th of December. The ‘MC' in the callsign stands for Merry Christmas. The Club would like to invite everyone to call in and give them a hearty “HoHoHo” and tell them what radio equipment you would like from Santa this year. The Club will also be live streaming on its YouTube Channel. OR100LGE is the special callsign in use by members of the Liège Radio Club, ON5VL to celebrate its 100th anniversary. The station is active until the end of the year on the 160 to 6m bands using CW, SSB, FT8 and FT4. QSL via Logbook of the World, eQSL or via ON6YH. QSOs will also be uploaded to Club Log. Starting in January 2025, members of the British Railways Amateur Radio Society will be operating Special Event Station GB0LMR to celebrate 200 years of the modern railway. QSL via the Bureau or direct by sending a Stamped Addressed Envelope to the address given on QRZ.COM. Now the DX news Mike, V47NH is active from St Kitts and Nevis until the 17th of December. The IOTA reference is NA-104. He will operate on the 40 to 10m bands and SSB. QSL via KC1NGS or Logbook of the World. The VP2VMM team is active from Anegada Island in The British Virgin Islands. They will be QRV in the 2024 ARRL 10m Contest which ends at 2359 today, Sunday. Outside the contest, they will be QRV holiday style using VP2V/homecall until Tuesday the 17th of December. QSL via Logbook of the World, Bureau, OQRS or direct to KU9C. Full details via QRZ.com S21DX is active from Bangladesh until the 19th of December. The IOTA reference is AS-140. The team is active on the 160 to 10m bands, SSB, RTTY and FT8. QSL via Logbook of the World or direct to EB7DX. A Danish DXpedition will be operating as TO0J from French Guiana between the 20th and 31st of December. They will be active on the 80 to 10m bands, CW, SSB, but mainly FT8. QSL via Clublog OQRS, Logbook of the World or eQSL. Now the contest news The UK Six Metre Group Winter Marathon started at 0000UTC on Sunday the 1st of December and ends at 2359UTC on Friday the 31st of January 2025. Using all modes on the 6m band, the exchange is signal report and locator. The ARRL 10m Contest started at 0000UTC on Saturday the 14th of December and ends at 2359UTC today, Sunday the 15th of December. Using CW and phone on the 10m band, the exchange is signal report and serial number. US, Canadian and Mexican stations will also send their State or Province code. On Tuesday, the 17th of December, the RSGB 1.3GHz UK Activity Contest runs from 2000 to 2230UTC. Using all modes on the 23cm band, the exchange is signal report, serial number and locator. On Thursday, the 19th of December, the RSGB 70MHz UK Activity Contest runs from 2000 to 2230UTC. Using all modes on the 4m band, the exchange is signal report, serial number and locator. Now the radio propagation report, compiled by G0KYA, G3YLA and G4BAO on Thursday the 12th of December 2024. We had another week with quiet geomagnetic conditions. Other than three hours with a Kp of four on the 9th of December, as of last Thursday when this report was being compiled it had been below three for the past seven days. Active region 3920 produced an impulsive M2.8 solar flare, peaking at 1006UTC on the 11th of December. A quick M2.0 flare was also detected around AR3922 in the southeast quadrant. There was also an M6.4 solar flare at 0648UTC on the 10th of December, but no Earth-directed coronal mass ejections were observed. The solar flux index, despite being predicted to reach 200 again, has been simmering away in the 160s and 170s. Nevertheless, the quieter geomagnetic conditions have helped HF with the extrapolated MUF over a 3,000km path often hitting 40MHz at times. However, the early sunset, which is around 1538UTC to 1621UTC at the moment depending on your location in the UK, means that the MUF drops off quite quickly in the afternoon. The average critical frequency at night is currently about 3.0-3.5MHz, which explains why the HF bands appear to be dead. The winter solstice is on the 21st of December, and we won't see much change until we get to mid-January. There is DX to be had with CDXC members reporting working YJ0CA (Vanuatu) on 15 metres, V73WE (Marshall Islands) on 30 metres and YI1QEA (Iraq) on 10 metres. So, at the moment, make the most of the daytime DX and greyline openings, and reserve the evening for Top Band and perhaps 80 metres. Next week, NOAA predicts that the solar flux index will remain around 170 to 175. The Kp index is expected to be around two or three, apart from the 19th of December when it could reach four. And now the VHF and up propagation news from G3YLA and G4BAO. The period of enhanced Tropo activity will have faded away by this weekend as the high pressure slips away into Europe and declines. This allowed low pressure to regain control from last Friday through the current weekend. There may be a chance of some rain scatter propagation on the GHz bands, although it doesn't look like a particularly good example.  All is not lost for Tropo followers, since the next high drifts in from the Atlantic early next week. The southern UK will benefit the most with Tropo paths to France and across Biscay. This lasts until midweek, to be followed by a return of low pressure for the second half of the week and probably a better rain scatter option than this weekend. The big Geminids meteor shower peaked yesterday, the 14th of December, but will linger throughout the month. The radiant source rises late afternoon and sets the following lunchtime and is most favourably positioned late evening and early morning, pre-dawn. Next, a consideration of aurora prospects, which are still a little enhanced by solar conditions. So, as usual, stay alert to an increasing Kp index above Kp=4 to keep in the game. Finally, remember that the period of Christmas and early January is well known for producing random out-of-season Sporadic-E. It's not possible to fine-tune Es prospects this far ahead, but it wouldn't hurt to monitor the f0Es traces on the www.propquest.co.uk website between now and mid-January. The Moon's declination is at maximum today, Sunday the 15th of December, and also on Monday, so expect long Moon windows with high peak elevations. Path losses are still low but rising, so it's still a good week for EME. The 144MHz sky noise is moderate to low all week. And that's all from the propagation team this week.

Send us a textIn this episode of Soul of Travel, Season 6: Women's Wisdom + Mindful Travel, presented by @journeywoman_original, Christine hosts a soulful conversation with Judy Carvalhal.Judy Carvalhal is the Founder and CEO of Enchanted Expeditions, a company that helped to pioneer the modern tourist industry in the Galapagos Islands & Ecuador. She grew up in Guyana & French Guiana, and was educated at Canada's prestigious Queen's University before travelling to South America to become one of the first female park naturalists in Galapagos. Judy uses her knowledge of Ecuador & Galapagos to curate one-of-a-kind itineraries, ensuring that Enchanted Expedition's guests learn about the history, culture & eco-systems that make this part of South America such an incredible place to visit. After raising four children in Galapagos and Ecuador, Judy is more passionate than ever to ensure that this precious part of the world is protected.Christine and Judy discuss:· Judy's global journey and her evolving concept of home· Pioneering women in adventure tourism · The evolution of Galapagos tourism· Developing a love of travel with family· Self-care and the power of an attitude of continuous learningJoin Christine now for this soulful conversation with Judy Carvalhal.

NASA announces delays to the Artemis Program with Artemis II targeting April 2026 for the launch and Artemis III expecting to lift off in mid-2027. Europe's Vega C lifted off from French Guiana last night carrying the Sentinel-1C satellite into orbit for the European Union's Copernicus Earth observation program. The US National Science and Technology Council has released the 2024 National Plan for Civil Earth Observation, and more.  Remember to leave us a 5-star rating and review in your favorite podcast app. Be sure to follow T-Minus on LinkedIn and Instagram. T-Minus Guest Elysia Segal from NASASpaceflight.com brings us the Space Traffic Report. Selected Reading NASA Shares Orion Heat Shield Findings, Updates Artemis Moon Missions Europe's Vega-C rocket returns to space after two-year gap- Reuters 2024 National Plan For Civil Earth Observations Boeing announces layoffs across Florida including Kennedy Space Center Rocket Lab Sets Launch Window to Deploy Synspective Satellite- Business Wire Iran says it conducted a successful space launch in a program long criticized by the West Matt Dominick's X Account: A Visual Journey From Space T-Minus Crew Survey We want to hear from you! Please complete our 4 question survey. It'll help us get better and deliver you the most mission-critical space intel every day. Want to hear your company in the show? You too can reach the most influential leaders and operators in the industry. Here's our media kit. Contact us at space@n2k.com to request more info. Want to join us for an interview? Please send your pitch to space-editor@n2k.com and include your name, affiliation, and topic proposal. T-Minus is a production of N2K Networks, your source for strategic workforce intelligence. © N2K Networks, Inc. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Airbus announced that it is cutting over 2,000 job cuts in Defense and Space. The European Space Agency launched their Proba-3 Sun-observing mission aboard the Indian Space Research Organisation's PSLV-XL rocket. Arianespace is targeting its VV25 launch attempt today, Thursday 5 December 6:20 p.m. local time in French Guiana, and more. Remember to leave us a 5-star rating and review in your favorite podcast app. Be sure to follow T-Minus on LinkedIn and Instagram. T-Minus Guest Our guest today is Robert Zubrin, President of the Mars Society. You can connect with Robert on LinkedIn, and learn more about the Mars Society on their website. Selected Reading Airbus cuts 2,000 Defence and Space jobs, taming earlier plans- Reuters Space firms plot new European satellite venture to take on Starlink as job cuts loom- Reuters ESA - Eclipse-making double satellite Proba-3 enters orbit Arianespace 2 Flight Postponement of the Launch  Northrop Grumman Completes Activation of the Arctic Satellite Broadband Mission Capabilities, Including EPS-R Payloads Space Force activates component field command in Japan China launches new satellite group for Spacesail Constellation Muon Space Awarded Space Force Contract to Advance Space-Based Environmental Monitoring Capabilities SpaceX launches 350th mission using a flight-proven Falcon 9 rocket booster during Starlink mission from California – Spaceflight Now Orbite Closes Series A and Launches Luxury Space Programs and Strategic Partnership- Business Wire T-Minus Crew Survey We want to hear from you! Please complete our 4 question survey. It'll help us get better and deliver you the most mission-critical space intel every day. Want to hear your company in the show? You too can reach the most influential leaders and operators in the industry. Here's our media kit. Contact us at space@n2k.com to request more info. Want to join us for an interview? Please send your pitch to space-editor@n2k.com and include your name, affiliation, and topic proposal. T-Minus is a production of N2K Networks, your source for strategic workforce intelligence. © N2K Networks, Inc. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

SUAS Aerospace, the leading Irish aerospace company based in Cork, and T-Minus Engineering, a Netherlands-based company that develops, produces and launches rocket systems for research, observation and training purposes, have announced a strategic partnership to launch the Pathfinder mission in late 2025. Pathfinder is Ireland's first commercial rocket launch. This groundbreaking endeavour will serve to position Ireland as a key player in the European space industry. Up to now, European orbital rocket launches have primarily been conducted in South America from French Guiana. With the stated EU aim of having sovereignty in space, this Irish launch heralds a truly new era for the European space industry. To execute the Pathfinder mission, T-Minus will provide expertise in solid rocket propulsion, onboard electronics, and launch operations, while SUAS Aerospace will oversee the complex logistics of the launch, including site acquisition, licensing, and stakeholder engagement. T-Minus is the most prolific rocket launch business in Europe. The Pathfinder launch site will be on Ireland's west coast, which is an ideal destination for commercial rocket launches. Offering cost-effectiveness, easy access by sea and air, and a large safety zone over the Atlantic Ocean, the west coast location will establish Ireland's position in the European launch market and encourage state support for space infrastructure to capitalise on this once-in-a-generation opportunity. The project will demonstrate Ireland's geographical advantage and capability for delivering satellites to Northerly and Southerly low earth orbits and focus European awareness on the opportunity for commercial rocket launches from Ireland. T-Minus Engineering brings extensive expertise in the development, production, and launching of rocket systems, providing end-to-end solutions for both the scientific and defence markets. With capabilities in solid rocket propulsion, onboard electronics and telemetry, lightweight materials, and safety simulations, T-Minus Engineering has a proven track record, having launched various rockets from locations across the globe, including Australia, Scandinavia, and the UK. Rory Fitzpatrick, CEO of SUAS Aerospace, said: "The Pathfinder mission is a significant milestone for Ireland's space program. It will not only demonstrate the country's technical capabilities but also contribute to economic growth and job creation. By partnering with T-Minus, we are ensuring that the launch meets the highest safety standards and regulatory requirements, paving the way for future space activities. "Having collaborated on a project previously with T-Minus Engineering, they are the obvious choice for the Pathfinder mission, having conducted multiple suborbital launches within Europe and worldwide," he said. Hein Olthof, CEO of T-Minus Engineering, said: "As T-Minus seeks new opportunities outside the Netherlands due to space restrictions, the Pathfinder project presents a unique solution and will support our further expansion across Europe. We believe this partnership will open up new opportunities for our customers, and we are confident that our collaboration with SUAS Aerospace will lead to innovative and successful projects, fuelling the growth of Europe's space capabilities. Ireland can be a centre of this growth." "The establishment of new launch sites, such as Ireland, will encourage harmonization of launch operations within Europe, mainly in regulations, which in the end leads to better and more efficient legislation. This can give Europe the desired edge in the important field of space access." SUAS Aerospace was founded in 2019 and is supported by Enterprise Ireland. With an initial investment of €1.1 million to date, along with T-Minus Engineering, it has secured significant partnerships with major European Companies, including Skyrora and Pangea Aerospace. It is part of a successful consortium awarded a €5m grant from Horizon Europe to develop inter...

A shamanic ceremony in Paris prepares human remains to return to French Guiana. French villages finally get street names. And the 1970s court case that changed France's approach to prosecuting rape. Native Americans from French Guiana and Suriname were recently in Paris to demand the restitution of the remains of six of their ancestors who died after being exhibited in so-called human zoos. Corinnne Toka Devilliers, whose great-grandmother Moliko was exhibited at the capital's Jardin d'Acclimatation in 1892 but survived, describes holding a shamanic ceremony at the Museum of Mankind to prepare her fellow Kali'na for the voyage home. But there are still legal obstacles to overcome before the remains can leave the Parisian archives where they've spent the past 132 years. (Listen @3'30'')Until recently, French villages with fewer than 2,000 residents did not need to name their streets – but legislation that came into effect this summer now requires them to identify roads to make it easier for emergency services and delivery people to find them. While not all villages have jumped at the opportunity, we joined residents in a hamlet in the south of France as they gathered to decide their new street names. And geographer Frederic Giraut talks about how the law is impacting the culture and heritage of small, rural localities. (Listen @21'53'')The closely watched trial of a man accused of drugging his wife and inviting others to rape her while she lay unconscious at their home in southern France has become a rallying cry for those who say society needs to change the way it thinks about sexual assault. Fifty years ago, another rape case caused similar outcry – and led to changes in how France prosecutes and defines rape. (Listen @13'25'')Episode mixed by Cecile Pompéani. Spotlight on France is a podcast from Radio France International. Find us on rfienglish.com, Apple podcasts (link here), Spotify (link here) or your favourite podcast app (pod.link/1573769878).

This week's episode is a celebration of life as we honour the legacy of the great Roy Cape. We also send birthday greetings to The Mighty Poser and take in some of his classics over the years.School reopening is a recurring decimal every year and this year is no different as Ryan Gadsby Dolly is under pressure in week 1. We offer some solutions that might take us out of this bandaid approach to school repair.Firing Angus Eve seems to have been an attempt to put a bandaid on a gaping wound as The Soca Warriors collect a hot 4 in Honduras ahead of their home game against French Guiana on Tuesday.Apparently the Grindr robberies have increased to mandemic levels and Newsday has come to the rescue by taking a walk on the rainbow side on our behalf,A special salute to our most decorated olympian. Akeem Stewart on his success!Enjoy!!

The last Vega rocket lifted off from the European Space Agency's spaceport in French Guiana transporting the third Copernicus Sentinel-2 satellite to orbit.  China's space agency and its counterpart in Senegal signed an agreement on the Chinese-led International Lunar Research Station (ILRS). General Dynamics Missions Systems has been awarded a $491.6 million contract by the Space Development Agency (SDA), and more. Remember to leave us a 5-star rating and review in your favorite podcast app. Miss an episode? Sign-up for our weekly intelligence roundup, Signals and Space, and you'll never miss a beat. And be sure to follow T-Minus on LinkedIn and Instagram. T-Minus Guest Our guest is New Mexico State Representative and Aerospace Lawyer, Dayan Hochman-Vigil. You can connect with Day through the New Mexico Legislature website. Selected Reading ESA - Sentinel-2C joins the Copernicus family in orbit China's lunar research station initiative welcomes new global partners - CGTN  General Dynamics Mission Systems Awarded $491.6 Million Design and Development Contract for Space Development Agency's Ground, Management and Integration Program Viasat Awarded Potential $150 Million Blue Force Tracker (BFT) Network Services Contract by Defense Information Services Agency (DISA) SpaceX Pulls Employees From Brazil, Discourages Travel There, as Musk Battles Court Over X - WSJ Blue Origin droneship arrives in Port Canaveral ahead of New Glenn launch Redwire Joins the U.S.-U.A.E. Business Council to Support Greater Bilateral Collaboration in Space ALL.SPACE Appoints Paul McCarter as Chief Executive Officer to Lead Global Expansion, Drive Innovation and Meet Growing Demand Satellogic Welcomes Kelly Kennedy to Board of Directors | Business Wire Man Finds Space Debris While Snorkeling On Remote Island | IFLScience T-Minus Crew Survey We want to hear from you! Please complete our 4 question survey. It'll help us get better and deliver you the most mission-critical space intel every day. Want to hear your company in the show? You too can reach the most influential leaders and operators in the industry. Here's our media kit. Contact us at space@n2k.com to request more info. Want to join us for an interview? Please send your pitch to space-editor@n2k.com and include your name, affiliation, and topic proposal. T-Minus is a production of N2K Networks, your source for strategic workforce intelligence. © N2K Networks, Inc. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In this episode, we dive into the incredible journey of Zara Lachlan, a 21-year-old adventurer who's about to take on one of the most daunting challenges imaginable. This October, Zara will row solo and unsupported across 3,600 miles of the Atlantic Ocean, from Portugal to French Guiana. If successful, she'll set three world records: the first female to complete this crossing solo and unsupported, the youngest person to do so in any boat, and the youngest female to row from mainland to mainland across the Atlantic.But this isn't just about records. Zara will be rowing 15 hours a day through orca and shark-infested waters, battling waves up to 30 feet high—all on her very first ocean crossing. And the first time she'll ever row on the open ocean? The moment she leaves the shore in Portugal.This epic journey wouldn't be possible without the support of her sponsors, including Team Forces, Collins Aerospace, Telent, Civica, and Spectra Group. Zara's mission is also a fundraising effort for two causes close to her heart: Women in Sport and Team Forces.Tune in as Zara shares her top tips for pushing through limits and making dreams a reality. This is an episode you won't want to miss! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

PREVIEW: ESA: FRENCH GUIANA: Conversation with colleague Bob Zimmerman regarding the ESA and France realizing there is profit in launch pads. More tonight.

SpaceX's Polaris Dawn mission is scheduled to launch on August 26. Dawn Aerospace have completed another flight test campaign of the Mk-II rocket-powered aircraft. Rocket Lab has scheduled a 14-day launch window that opens on August 11th for its 52nd Electron mission which will deploy a satellite for Capella Space, and more. Remember to leave us a 5-star rating and review in your favorite podcast app. Miss an episode? Sign-up for our weekly intelligence roundup, Signals and Space, and you'll never miss a beat. And be sure to follow T-Minus on LinkedIn and Instagram. T-Minus Guest Our guest today is Kelly Haston, PhD, Commander of the last Crew Health and Performance Exploration Analog (CHAPEA) mission which ended on July 6, 2024.  You can connect with Kelly on LinkedIn and learn more about CHAPEA on NASA's website. Selected Reading https://x.com/PolarisProgram/status/1821260140210745531 Campaign 2-2 Update, and Our Journey Through Flight Test — Dawn Aerospace Rocket Lab Schedules Next Electron Launch Just Eight Days After Previous Mission- Business Wire Quarterly Results- Viasat, Inc. Redwire Corporation Reports Second Quarter 2024 Financial Results- Business Wire MDA Space Reports Second Quarter 2024 Results BlackSky Reports Second Quarter 2024 Results- Business Wire Virgin Galactic Announces Second Quarter 2024 Financial Results And Provides Business Update Air Force Research Lab eyes space data transport demo in 2026 PLD Space to start building French Guiana launch facilities next month - SpaceNews 10 Smallsat Startups to Watch in 2024- Via Satellite Find Out What God Needs With A Starship When William Shatner Hosts A Live 35th Anniversary Screening of "Star Trek V: The Final Frontier" at GalaxyCon San José with First-Ever Live Commentary T-Minus Crew Survey We want to hear from you! Please complete our 4 question survey. It'll help us get better and deliver you the most mission-critical space intel every day. Want to hear your company in the show? You too can reach the most influential leaders and operators in the industry. Here's our media kit. Contact us at space@n2k.com to request more info. Want to join us for an interview? Please send your pitch to space-editor@n2k.com and include your name, affiliation, and topic proposal. T-Minus is a production of N2K Networks, your source for strategic workforce intelligence. © N2K Networks, Inc. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Join us for SpaceTime Series 27 Episode 85, where we explore the latest cosmic events and advancements in space exploration.- First, a groundbreaking new study suggests that Mars may have always been a cold, icy world, incapable of supporting life as we know it. This research, published in Communications Earth and Environment, challenges the long-held belief that the Red Planet was once warm and wet, potentially hospitable to life. By analysing Martian soils in Gale Crater, scientists found similarities to the cold, subarctic soils of Newfoundland in Canada, raising questions about Mars' ability to support life.- Next, Europe's new Ariane 6 rocket powers into space for the first time. After a decade of development and numerous delays, the Ariane 6 has finally launched, marking a new era for the European Space Agency's heavy-lift capabilities. This maiden flight from the Kourou Spaceport in French Guiana carried 18 satellites, demonstrating the rocket's versatility and potential for increased launch capacity.- Finally, the crew of Boeing's Starliner spacecraft remains aboard the International Space Station, but NASA insists they are not marooned. Despite experiencing thruster malfunctions and helium leaks, the crew is confident in their return home. NASA and Boeing are working diligently to resolve the issues, with a potential return date set for late July.- Follow our cosmic conversations on X @stuartgary, Instagram, YouTube, and Facebook. Join us as we unravel the mysteries of the universe, one episode at a time.- Sponsor Offer:This episode is proudly supported by NordVPN. Secure your digital journey across the cosmos with a VPN service you can trust. Find your stellar security solution at https://www.bitesz.com/nordvpn.- Listen to SpaceTime on your favourite podcast app including Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube Music, or wherever you get your podcasts.Support SpaceTime:www.bitesz.com

The long-awaited Ariane 6 is scheduled to make its inaugural launch from Kourou, French Guiana. Gravitics has signed a $125 million contract to expand Axiom Space's planned space station. Japan's Space Agency is soliciting proposals as part of a new Space Strategic Fund established by the Japanese government which will offer one trillion yen ($6.2 billion) to Japanese companies to help expand the country's space industry, and more. Remember to leave us a 5-star rating and review in your favorite podcast app. Miss an episode? Sign-up for our weekly intelligence roundup, Signals and Space, and you'll never miss a beat. And be sure to follow T-Minus on LinkedIn and Instagram. T-Minus Guest Our guest today is Dr. Brien Flewelling, Director of Strategic Program Development at ExoAnalytic Solutions. You can connect with Brien on LinkedIn, and learn more about Exoanalytic Solutions on their website. Selected Reading ESA - Ariane 6 launch: how to watch and what to look out for  Space station startup Gravitics lands $125 million order from Axiom Astroscale's ADRAS-J Conducts First Fly-Around Observation of Space Debris JAXA | 宇宙戦略基金事業 技術開発課題の公募を開始 SpaceX launches Türksat 6A satellite, Turkey's first domestically-build satellite – Spaceflight Now China-France astronomical satellite identifies three gamma-ray bursts - CGTN Redwire Developing Advanced Thruster Technology to Offer Reliable, High-Volume Production to Support DoD Small Satellite Supply Chain- Business Wire Exclusive: Japan must strengthen NATO ties to safeguard global peace, PM says- Reuters Capital Factory to Co-Host Micro Summit on Tech Innovation — and Special Announcement in the Nation's Capital- Business Wire NASA Moon Rocket Stage for Artemis II Moved, Prepped for Shipment NASA, Boeing Provide Next Update on Space Station Crew Flight Test AI vulnerabilities to space pirates: Cyberattacks in space can threaten life on Earth - Fast Company Max Space Appoints Space Program and Operations Veteran Kirsten Whittingham as President- Business Wire New HBO Original Documentary ‘Wild Wild Space' Features Planet's Origin Story and Space Industry Trajectory- Business Wire T-Minus Crew Survey We want to hear from you! Please complete our 4 question survey. It'll help us get better and deliver you the most mission-critical space intel every day. Want to hear your company in the show? You too can reach the most influential leaders and operators in the industry. Here's our media kit. Contact us at space@n2k.com to request more info. Want to join us for an interview? Please send your pitch to space-editor@n2k.com and include your name, affiliation, and topic proposal. T-Minus is a production of N2K Networks, your source for strategic workforce intelligence. © N2K Networks, Inc. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Good afternoon, I'm _____ with today's episode of EZ News. Tai-Ex opening The Tai-Ex opened down 155-points this morning from yesterday's close, at 23,744 on turnover of 10--billion N-T. The market closed slightly higher on Tuesday, as the electronics sector continued to make solid gains on the back of a record high posted by the tech-heavy Nasdaq overnight. Despite the gains, market sentiment still saw some volatility (易變) following recent strong rallies, as investors await the conclusion of congressional testimony by U-S Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell. District Court Refuses to Revoke Cheng Wen-tsan's Bail The Taoyuan District Court has refused to revoke Cheng Wen-tsan's bail after rejecting (拒絕) a detention request from prosecutors investigating allegations of corruption against the former vice premier. Cheng was released on bail of 5-million N-T this past weekend. However, the High Court ordered the district court to review that ruling after prosecutors lodged an appeal. The Taoyuan District Court has now released Cheng for a second time - but his bail has been increased to 12-million N-T. The court has also imposed an exit ban and limits on Cheng's movements. Lai Presents Olympic Flag to Taiwan's Paris Team President Lai Ching-te has presented the official flag to Taiwan's Olympic team at a ceremony in Kaohsiung. Speaking at the National Sports Training Center, Lai congratulated the 60 athletes on earning tickets to the Olympics - saying that was the result of their tireless (不知疲倦的) training. Lai emphasized the government's commitment to supporting Taiwanese athletes as they pursue their achievements and said that support provided for the national team in Paris will be "more extensive" than ever before. The team for Paris consists of 26 male and 34 female athletes who will be participating in 49 events in 16 sports categories. Russia Denies Attack on Children's Hospital in Kyiv In international news, Moscow is claiming that it wasn't responsible for (是…的原由) an attack on a children's hospital in Kyiv. Jody Jacobs reports from the United Nations in New York. Vatican Preparing Document on Women in Leadership The Vatican says its doctrine office will be preparing a document on women in leadership roles in the Catholic Church. The move is part of a new initiative to respond to longstanding demands by women to have a greater say in the church's life. The document will be written by the Dicastery of the Doctrine of the Faith as its contribution (貢獻) to Pope Francis' big church reform process. The process is entering its second main phase with a meeting of bishops in October. The Vatican announced the details of the doctrinal document shortly after a press conference on the preparatory work for the October meeting ended. Europe's New Rocket Blasts Off And finally, Europe's newest rocket has been launched into orbit successfully on its maiden flight. The Ariane-6 was launched from French Guiana on a demonstration mission to put a clutch of satellites in orbit. The rocket was developed at a cost of 4-billion euros and is intended to be a workhorse (工作重的，負荷重的) rocket that gives European governments and companies access to space independently from the rest of the world. It already has a backlog of launch contracts, but there are worries its design could limit future prospects. Like its predecessor, the new model is expendable and a new rocket is needed for every mission. That was the I.C.R.T. news, Check in again tomorrow for our simplified version of the news, uploaded every day in the afternoon. Enjoy the rest of your day, I'm _____. －－－－以下訊息由 SoundOn 動態廣告贊助商提供－－－－ 日本半導體強勢回歸世界舞台， 快跟【00954中信日本半導體】掌握矽世代得分重點！ 想復刻護國神山的創山美好經驗？ 別說這次登峰沒讓你跟，10元親民入手價，7/30登峰募集！ 了解更多

Today, 9th July, Réaltra will reach its next big milestone, as the new European rocket launch vehicle, the Ariane 6, is scheduled to launch between 19:00-23:00 IST this evening at Europe's Spaceport in French Guiana. On board will be two state-of-the-art technology systems designed, built and delivered by the Irish space engineering company, Réaltra: the Video Telemetry System (VIKI), and the GNSS (Global Navigation Satellite System) telemetry system (GEKI). The Ariane 6 is a launch vehicle designed and built by ArianeGroup on behalf of the European Space Agency (ESA). For the development of Ariane 6, ESA is working with an industrial network in 13 European countries, led by prime contractor and design authority ArianeGroup. Building on the success of its predecessors, the Ariane 6 will ensure Europe continues to have secure and autonomous access to space in the future. The Ariane 6 will launch a wide range of space missions over the next decade, including multiple payload missions. Irish company Réaltra has designed and delivered VIKI, the Video Telemetry System, which will provide the live HD video telemetry images during all phases of the launcher mission, from six cameras located on-board the Ariane 6. GEKI, the GNSS system will leverage advanced satellite navigation technology to ensure precise positioning, velocity, and timing measurements. It is intended to fly as an autonomous experimental system on this first launch of Ariane 6, to validate the GNSS functionality in space at high speeds. The inaugural Ariane 6 launch is primarily a demonstration flight, however, satellites, deployers and experiments from companies, research institutes, universities, young professionals and space agencies are flying as passengers. This flight will carry multiple cube-sats from companies and organizations, and payloads that will remain attached to the rocket's upper stage, one of which is Réaltra's state-of-the-art GNSS telemetry system GEKI. Minister Emer Higgins said: "Enterprise Ireland has played an important role in connecting the Irish space industry and research community for participation in European Space Agency Programmes and we are very proud of Irish company Réaltra for its contribution to this new pioneering European rocket, the Ariane 6. Working in space demands the highest engineering and manufacturing standards and skills. The inclusion of Réaltra's technology in the Ariane 6 is a testament to their market-leading expertise, and an inspiration to other Irish companies in the highly specialised space market." Danny Gleeson, CCO of Réaltra said: "We are delighted and proud that the Réaltra Video Telemetry and GNSS systems have been selected to fly on the maiden flight of the Ariane A6 launcher. Our partnership with ArianeGroup is a testament to the dedication and talent of our team in Ireland in providing cutting-edge solutions for the global space market." "This achievement marks a major milestone for Réaltra and demonstrates the company's commitment to delivering innovative solutions and commercial-off-the-shelf (COTS) technology for space applications. Since the establishment of Réaltra in 2018, we have built up significant experience and legacy in providing innovative space solutions and we look forward to expanding on these successes" said Michael Martin, Engineering Manager of Réaltra. Paul White, Managing Director, Realtime Technologies Ltd., said "We are very proud that our Réaltra division in Realtime Technologies has been selected by ArianeGroup to join their industrial team for the development of the GNSS and video telemetry kit for the historic Ariane 6 launch vehicle. The selection of Réaltra by ArianeGroup is a testament to the hard work, deep experience and high standards displayed by our staff." Padraig Doolan, National Delegate to European Space Agency (ESA) said: "Enterprise Ireland has been proud to support the talented team at Réaltra and we want to extend our congratulations to the entire team, who ...

Lift-off? If all goes to plan, ESA's Ariane 6 rocket will launch later today from Europe's Spaceport in French Guiana, during a four-hour window that opens at 6pm UK time. You can watch the livestream here. Professor Susan Bewley, emeritus professor in obstetrics and women's health at King's College London, discusses her study which suggests that children conceived using egg or sperm donors are ‘more likely to have identity difficulties and issues with trust', if they are kept in the dark about their origins. Also in this episode:Nearby exoplanet stinks of rotten eggsStudy links autism in children with altered gut bacteriaThe new subscription service to combat scam calls'Mystic meerkats' at Drusillas Park predict the England v Netherlands Euro resultFollow us on X or on Threads. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

When butterflies not native to South America appeared on a beach in French Guiana, entomologists started sleuthing to prove where they came from—and how they might have got there. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Welcome to Astronomy Daily. I'm your host, Anna, and today we've got an exciting lineup of space news you won't want to miss. From the latest updates on Boeing's Starliner mission to groundbreaking discoveries about our galaxy's star clusters and intriguing insights into changes occurring within Earth's inner core. We've also got news on Virgin Galactic's new commercial astronaut crew, the completion of the Ariane 6 rocket's final rehearsal, and revelations from NASA's Cassini spacecraft about Saturn's seasonal heat and storms. So sit back, relax, and let's dive into the cosmos.Chapters- Boeing's Starliner Mission Delay: The first astronaut mission of Boeing's Starliner capsule has been delayed until at least July 2. Originally set to undock from the International Space Station on June 26, the mission has been extended to allow NASA and Boeing more time to assess several issues that have emerged.- Origins of Star Clusters: Astronomers from the University of Vienna have traced the origins of nearby star clusters to three primary star-forming regions in our Milky Way galaxy. These regions have been sites of massive star formation and subsequent supernova explosions.- Earth's Inner Core Slowing Down: Since around 2010, researchers from the University of Southern California have discovered that Earth's inner core has been slowing down. This phenomenon, which alters the length of our days by fractions of a second, offers intriguing insights into the planet's internal dynamics.- Virgin Galactic's New Commercial Astronaut Crew: Virgin Galactic has revealed a new commercial astronaut crew for its next-generation delta class planes, which are slated to commence flights in 2026. This pioneering crew features three notable members: past Virgin Galactic astronaut Kelly Girardi, Canadian Shawna Pandya, and Ireland's Nora Patton.- Ariane 6 Rocket's Final Rehearsal: The first Ariane 6 rocket has successfully completed its final wet dress rehearsal, marking an important milestone before its first skyward journey. This crucial test took place at Europe's spaceport in French Guiana.- NASA's Cassini Spacecraft Findings: NASA's Cassini spacecraft has provided us with groundbreaking data that reveals Saturn emits heat in varying amounts depending on its seasons. This fascinating discovery outlines that Saturn fluctuates in the amount of heat it radiates into space.For an astronomical experience, visit our website at astronomydaily.io for the latest news, sign up for our free newsletter, and check out exclusive sponsor deals. Connect with us on YouTube, TikTok, X, and Facebook via @AstroDailyPod for engaging discussions with fellow space aficionados. This is Anna, reminding you to keep your gaze fixed on the heavens. Until our next stellar episode, let the cosmos ignite your curiosity and wonder. Clear skies and cosmic discoveries to all!Support:This podcast is better with your support:https://www.bitesz.com/show/astronomy-daily-the-podcast/support/www.bitesz.comSponsors:www.bitesz.com/nordpasshttps://www.bitesz.com/show/astronomy-daily-the-podcast/sponsors/

Episode Description Episode Description Sign up to receive this Unreached of the Day podcast sent to you:  https://unreachedoftheday.org/resources/podcast/ People Group Summary: https://joshuaproject.net/people_groups//18495 #PrayforZERO is a podcast Sponsor.         https://prayforzero.com/ Take your place in history! We could be the generation to translate God's Word into every language. YOUR prayers can make this happen.  Take your first step and sign the Prayer Wall to receive the weekly Pray For Zero Journal:  https://prayforzero.com/prayer-wall/#join Pray for the largest Frontier People Groups (FPG): Visit JoshuaProject.net/frontier#podcast provides links to podcast recordings of the prayer guide for the 31 largest FPGs.  Go31.org/FREE provides the printed prayer guide for the largest 31 FPGs along with resources to support those wanting to enlist others in prayer for FPGs

Interview with Louis-Pierre Gignac, President & CEO of G Mining Ventures.Our previous interview: https://www.cruxinvestor.com/posts/g-mining-ventures-tsxgmin-producing-gold-by-year-end-4938Recording date: 23rd April 2024G Mining Ventures, led by President and CEO Louis-Pierre Gignac, has announced a merger with Reunion Gold to acquire the Oko West project in Guyana. This strategic move aligns with G Mining's goal of becoming an intermediate gold producer, targeting an annual production of 500,000 ounces.The Tocantinzinho mine, currently under construction by G Mining, is 89% complete and expected to start producing gold within the next three months. With an average annual production of 175,000 ounces, Tocantinzinho is projected to generate over $200 million in cash flow per year. The merger with Reunion Gold will enable G Mining to redeploy this cash flow towards the development of Oko West, minimizing shareholder dilution.Gignac and his team have conducted extensive due diligence on the Oko West project, including site visits and meetings with the President of Guyana. The Guyanese government has expressed strong support for the mining industry and the swift development of Oko West. G Mining's management expertise, coupled with the financial backing of major shareholders La Mancha and Franco, who have committed $25 million each to support early works, positions the company well to advance the project rapidly.Despite concerns about the "Venezuela factor" and a longstanding boundary dispute, G Mining remains confident in the stability of Guyana's mining sector. The dispute is expected to be resolved through international courts, with support from key players such as Brazil, the United States, and European nations.The merger between G Mining and Reunion Gold is expected to close in the beginning of the third quarter, following a shareholder vote. As part of the transaction, a spin-off company will be created to hold Reunion's exploration assets in French Guiana and Suriname, with G Mining retaining a 19.9% stake and the option to maintain its pro-rata share in future funding rounds.Gignac sees potential for the Oko West project to produce 200,000 ounces of gold annually, with a combination of open-pit and underground mining. The company plans to refine the trade-offs between the two mining methods and optimize the timing of underground development. The high-grade underground resource, with an average grade of 3 grams per tonne, is expected to complement the open-pit operation and create significant value.G Mining's institutional shareholders have responded positively to the merger announcement, recognizing the strategic fit and the company's ability to leverage its expertise and systems in developing the Oko West project. With a strong track record of building mines in the Guiana Shield and a network of experienced Guyanese expats, G Mining is well-positioned to integrate the Reunion Gold team and advance the project seamlessly.As gold prices continue to rise, reaching nearly $2,400 per ounce, the timing of this merger and the anticipated start of gold production at Tocantinzinho appears to be ideal for G Mining Ventures and its shareholders. The company's strong financial position, experienced management team, and strategic partnerships place it in an excellent position to capitalize on the growing demand for gold and create significant value for investors in the years ahead.—Learn more: https://cruxinvestor.com/companies/g-mining-venturesSign up for Crux Investor: https://cruxinvestor.com

We are most likely to think about environmental data as sets of facts, but have you thought of it as having a social life? In this episode, we explore how those who collect and prepare environmental data may not necessarily be the ones to use or benefit from it: Dr Tone Walford and Dr Cecilia Chavana-Bryant draw on their experiences of collecting data across the Amazon in Brazil, French Guiana and Peru, and more recently in Hampstead Heath in London, the UK, to consider more collaborative and equitable forms of environmental data. We discuss how bringing together anthropologists, artists, forest ecologists, remote sensing specialists, and the UK's Ancient Tree Forum, is helping to frame alternative modes of collecting, accessing, and sharing environmental data. Tone Walford is a Lecturer in Digital Anthropology, based in UCL's Anthropology Department. Their work explores the new forms of data politics that underpin current efforts in international observational science to measure, archive, and manage the Earth. Cecilia Chavana-Bryant is a forest ecologist and a National Centre for Earth Observation Postdoctoral Research Fellow, based in UCL's Geography Department. Her work broadly focuses on the ecology and function of temperate and tropical forests canopies. For the podcast transcript, details of our other podcasts and activities visit: http://tinyurl.com/mubmxu4n Date of episode recording: 2024-01-25T00:00:00Z Duration: 00:32:32 Language of episode: English Presenter: Lili Golmohammadi Guests: Tone Walford, Cecilia Chavana-Bryant Producer: Matt Aucott, Cerys Bradley

In French in this CDA S3#72 (monday online), “The making of a better world”, an interview of Laure Mériaud and Florian Luneau, two of the twelve associates of the French famous architecture office Ateliers 2/3/4/. In English in CDA S3#73 (wednesday online), “Aquatic Centre Paris 2024, Plaine Saulnier, Saint-Denis, France” by Ateliers 2/3/4/,Paris, France - Shanghai, China - Remire-Montjoly, French Guiana. En français dans le CDA S3#72 (lundi en ligne), " La fabrique d'un monde meilleur " avec Laure Mériaud et Florian Luneau, deux des douze associés de l'agence d'architecture de renom, les Ateliers 2/3/4/. En anglais dans CDA S3#73 (mercredi en ligne), “ Le Centre Aquatique Paris 2024, Plaine Saulnier, Saint-Denis, France” par les Ateliers 2/3/4/,Paris, France - Shanghai, Chine - Remire-Montjoly, Guyane française.___Ateliers 2/3/4/ figure parmi les plus grandes agences d'architecture, d'urbanisme, de paysage, d'architecture intérieure et de design française. Elle réunit douze associés et une centaine de collaborateurs entre Paris, la Guyane et Shanghai. Résultant de l'agrégation de deux puis trois puis quatre agences d'architecture dans la continuité de la méthode et de l'enseignement ‘moderne' à la française d'Henri Ciriani, Ateliers 2/3/4/ compte dans le paysage de la culture architecturale française. Ils sont d'ailleurs implantés, en France, dans le 12e arrondissement mythique de la capitale, au 234 de la rue du Faubourg Saint-Antoine, sorte de quartier laboratoire où l'on trouve beaucoup d'agences connues et reconnues. Laure Mériaud et Florian Luneau, respectivement architecte associée présidente de l'agence et urbaniste-paysagiste associé, viennent témoigner dans Com d'Archi au nom de toute l'équipe. En effet, la notion de collectif y est prégnante et la méthode est incontournable. C'est ce qui est évoqué dans cet épisode ou l'on découvre au fil du discours une capacité à projeter un monde de demain désirable. Aujourd'hui où la communication à tendance à gommer les actes il ne suffit pas de parler de la question écologique pour agir dans le bon sens, ou le métaverse représente un grave danger de déni de réalité, l'action des Ateliers 2/3/4 se vérifie au fil des projets dont ils ont la charge. A l'heure où les disciplines urbaines, paysagères et architecturales interagissent en permanence entre elles, Ateliers 2/3/4/ vise à ne plus étendre la ville mais à la créer de nouveau sur elle-même ‘en mémoire', suivant ses trois axes : la ville perméable comme milieu d'échange, la ville recyclable qui se refait sur elle-même et enfin, la ville durable. Un épisode à écouter immédiatement pour comprendre qu'il ne s'agit pas dire que l'on réinvente mais où la haute conscience des enjeux, dans une action responsable qui tient compte de l'histoire, et dans la captation des énergies motrices réinsuffle la capacité de construire demain et de surcroit, avec optimisme. Portrait DR © Ateliers 2/3/4/Ingénierie son : Julien Rebours____ Si le podcast COM D'ARCHI vous plaît n'hésitez pas :. à vous abonner pour ne pas rater les prochains épisodes,. à nous laisser des étoiles et un commentaire, :-),. à nous suivre sur Instagram @comdarchipodcast pour retrouver de belles images, toujours choisies avec soin, de manière à enrichir votre regard sur le sujet.Bonne semaine à tous ! Hébergé par Acast. Visitez acast.com/privacy pour plus d'informations.

How British people in France have been navigating visiting and living in France since Brexit effectively ended their visa-free travel to Europe. What to do with the human remains in French museums? And the story behind Louis XV's third mistress, the Comtesse du Barry, and how her name got associated with foie gras. British people, no longer citizens of the European Union after Brexit, are stuck with the same rules as any other non-EU visitors: without a visa, they can only spend 90 out of 180 days in France. That's a sore spot for many of the roughly 86,000 Brits who owned second homes in France when the UK voted to leave the EU in 2016. As part of the contentious immigration bill being debated in parliament, the French Senate considered making it easier for non-Europeans who own a second home to spend time in France – but ultimately decided that Brits shouldn't get special treatment, nor should people who can afford to buy a second home. Emma Pearson, host of the Talking France podcast and editor of The Local France, talks about what what kind of choices British people are facing after Brexit, whether they want to visit or stay longer term. (Listen @1'05)France has the largest collection of human skulls in its museums and public institutions – some collected in dubious ways. Returning remains to descendants is part of reckoning with colonial history, but it has been been hampered by a law designed to keep French public museum collections intact. Lawmakers, supported by historians and pushed by descendants and states that want these relics back, are finally passing legislation that will facilitate the return of human remains. Corinne Toka-Devilliers of the Moliko Alet+po association talks about tracking down the skeletons of her ancestors, who were brought to mainland France from French Guiana in 1892 to be displayed in a human zoo, and historian Klara Boyer-Rossol talks about how human remains got into French collections, and the best way to return them. Interviews conducted by Anne Corpet and Hodane Hagi Ali. (Listen @18'15)The Comtesse du Barry died on 8 December 1793, executed by guillotine during the French Revolution. We look at the story of Louis XV's third official mistress, and how her name became associated with tinned foie gras. (Listen @13')Episode mixed by Stephane Defossez.Spotlight on France is a podcast from Radio France International. Find us on rfienglish.com, Apple podcasts (link here), Spotify (link here) or your favourite podcast app (pod.link/1573769878).

The third episode of our specialist series, Explore: How To Plan An Expedition, focuses on the reality of funding, and who's paying. Money is one of the least favoured things to talk about when it comes to expedition planning but it's unavoidably essential, as without it, your grand plan is very little more than an idea. In this episode, Matt speaks with Dr Eleanor Drinkwater, Ben Saunders, Tom Allen, and Shane Winser. They go deep into grant applications - how to write them, what to include, and how to review them. They also cover crowdfunding, corporate commercial funding, and even self-funding. They discuss how competitive it can be, how to stand out, and what work remains even when the expedition is over. Dr Eleanor Drinkwater is an entomologist, expedition leader, lecturer and science communicator. Having completed her PhD on invertebrate personality, she is fascinated by both invertebrate behaviour, as well as understanding how humans can work with and cultivate invertebrates in a sustainable and ethical way. She has worked both in the UK and further afield in Peru, Australia, Honduras and French Guiana. She is committed to science communication, and has also co-founded an entomophagy science festival group.Ben Saunders is a pioneering polar athlete and a record-breaking long-distance skier, who has covered more than 6,000km on foot in the Polar Regions. He's broken the record for the longest human-powered polar journey in history, and holds the record for the longest solo Arctic journey by a Briton. He has shared his story with a huge range of people, businesses and organisations, and his focus is now on climate technology investment.Tom Allen has been a full-time traveller, writer and filmmaker for over 15 years. He has undertaken adventurous journeys on 5 continents, runs a long-established adventure cycling website, and now describes himself reluctantly on his social media profiles as a 'self-unemployed creative explorer'. In 2016 he led the RGS-supported Land Rover Bursary expedition to explore and map the first long-distance hiking trail across the Caucasus. The Transcaucasian Trail, as it is now known, has since evolved into a massive international development project which he estimates will take a good decade or so to complete.Shane Winser works for the Royal Geographical Society where she curates the annual Explore symposium and Festival. A zoology graduate, she assisted in the planning and organisation of the RGS's own research programmes to the tropical forests of Sarawak and Brunei, the mountains of the Karakoram, and the drylands of western Australia, Kenya and Oman. She chairs the technical panel for BS 8848: the British Standard for organisers of a wide variety of ventures, including university and academic fieldwork, gap year experiences, adventure holidays, charity challenges and research expeditions.You can find out more about the RGS and use the Explore digital resources by visiting rgs.org/explore, or @rgs_ibg on socials.Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/the-adventure-podcast. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

We live in the most amazing days since Jesus walked the earth. The global church is sprinting toward the finish line of the 2000-year Great Commission race, and by God’s grace, our generation may be the one to finish it. In this session, Douglas Cobb of The Finishing Fund will explain the global effort to get the gospel for the first time to the world’s last few unengaged people groups and will present the amazing promise of Matthew 24:14 that the completion of the Great Commission will open the door to the return of Christ. https://bit.ly/gmhc2022_douglascobb_andthentheend

The second episode of Season 2 of The Sounding Jewish Podcast features Dr. Jessica Roda. We discuss her forthcoming book about Ultra Orthodox Hasidic and Litvish female artists from New York and Montreal, as well as her new project on music, spirituality and healing in Orthodox Jewish circles.Jessica Roda is an anthropologist and ethnomusicologist. She specializes in Jewish life in North America and France, and in international cultural policies. Her research interests include religion, performing arts, cultural heritage, gender, and media. Her articles on these topics have appeared in various scholarly journals, as well as edited volumes in French and English. The author of two books and the editor of a special issue of MUSICultures, her more recent book (Se réinventer au present, PUR 2018) was finalist for J. I. Segal Award for the best Quebec book on a Jewish theme. It also received the Prize UQAM-Respatrimoni in heritage studies. Her forthcoming monograph, For Women and Girls Only: Reshaping Jewish Orthodoxy Through the Arts in the Digital Age, investigates how music, films, and media made by ultra-Orthodox and former ultra-Orthodox women act as agents of social, economic, and cultural transformation and empowerment, and as spaces that challenge gender norms, orthodoxy, and liberalism. For this research, she was awarded the Cashmere Award from the AJS Women's Caucus (2021) and the Hadassah Brandeis Institute Research Award (2021). Immersed in the French and North American schools of anthropology and ethnomusicology, Roda earned Ph.Ds from Sorbonne University and the University of Montreal. She has served as a fellow and scholar in residence at McGill University (Eakin Fellow and Simon and Ethel Flegg), Columbia University (Heyman Center), UCLA (Department of Ethnomusicology), Universidade Estadual de Campinas, Université de Tours, University of Pennsylvania (Katz Center for Advanced Judaic Studies) and Université de Paris. Her public-facing work has appeared in Times of Israel, LaPresse, TV Quebec, The Huffington Post, Akadem, Radio Canada, Canadian Jewish News, France Culture, The Moment, Glamour, The Conversation US, Jewish Telegraphic Agency, and numerous networks in Europe, United-States, and South America (Brazil and Colombia). Beyond her academic life, she is also a trained pianist, flutist, and modern-jazz dancer (City of Paris Conservatory), and grew up in French Guiana, a childhood that shaped her as a person, educator, and a scholar.

Every day healthcare workers face a lot of stressful and emotionally challenging situations at work. Moreover the long drawn pandemic has had its impact on healthcare workers. Numerous deaths, making difficult choices due to resource constraints and overstretched days are some of the challenges that have affected health workers mentally and emotionally. With daily work demands being constant many of them are left with these issues unresolved. How then can we care for our caregivers who support the health and quality of life of their patients and their relatives? This is a taster of a program that uses large group learnings, small group sharing, peer-to-peer interactions and role-plays. This session will also provide an overview of the program that provides healthcare teams a platform to address their unaddressed pain, and emotional as well as psychological hurts Using a structured and sustained approach the program provides the supportive environment, caring community and appropriate skills for the healing of healthcare workers and equips them to go on to become better careers in the workplace. https://bit.ly/gmhc2022_mathewmulavelil_caringforthecaregiver

Breaking news! A suspicious biomarker has been found on an exoplanet for the first time! Is this proof of alien life, or is there more to the story? This is a shorter episode to cover a breaking story. For our regular show, and all of the great links, check out the linktree: https://linktr.ee/allts   The James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) is a cutting-edge space observatory developed by NASA in collaboration with the European Space Agency (ESA) and the Canadian Space Agency (CSA). It is named after James E. Webb, who served as the second administrator of NASA and played a significant role in the Apollo program that landed astronauts on the Moon. Here's a detailed description of the James Webb Space Telescope: Purpose and Objectives: The primary mission of the JWST is to study the universe in the infrared portion of the electromagnetic spectrum. It is designed to provide unprecedented insights into the formation and evolution of galaxies, stars, and planetary systems, as well as the study of exoplanets. Launch and Location: The JWST was launched on December 25, 2021, from the Guiana Space Centre in French Guiana, South America. It was placed in a special orbit known as the second Lagrange point (L2), which is located approximately 1.5 million kilometers (about 930,000 miles) from Earth. This position allows the telescope to maintain a stable environment and observe the universe without interference from Earth's atmosphere. Primary Components: The JWST consists of several key components: The main telescope: A large, 6.5-meter (about 21 feet) segmented primary mirror made of 18 hexagonal gold-coated beryllium mirror segments. Instruments: It is equipped with a suite of scientific instruments, including spectrographs and cameras, that can operate in the near-infrared and mid-infrared wavelengths. Sunshield: A tennis-court-sized, five-layered sunshield protects the telescope from the Sun's heat and light, keeping its instruments cold and allowing for precise infrared observations. Spacecraft: The spacecraft provides power, thermal control, and communication for the telescope. Scientific Goals: JWST is designed to address several key scientific goals, including: Studying the formation and evolution of stars and galaxies. Investigating the atmospheres of exoplanets and searching for signs of habitability or life. Observing distant galaxies and stars, allowing scientists to peer back in time to when the universe was much younger. Exploring the origins of planetary systems within our own galaxy. Technical Advancements: JWST represents a significant technological leap over its predecessor, the Hubble Space Telescope (HST). Its large primary mirror and advanced infrared instruments enable it to see deeper into space and observe objects that emit primarily in the infrared part of the spectrum. The use of the L2 orbit and the sunshield also make it highly effective for infrared observations. International Collaboration: The James Webb Space Telescope is a collaborative effort between NASA, ESA, and CSA, with contributions from various countries and institutions around the world. It demonstrates the power of international cooperation in space exploration. Overall, the James Webb Space Telescope is poised to revolutionize our understanding of the universe by providing unparalleled views of distant celestial objects and answering fundamental questions about the cosmos. It is expected to operate for at least a decade, making groundbreaking discoveries in the realm of astrophysics and astronomy.

Established in 1852, Devil's Island, one of six penal colonies in French Guiana, was finally closed on 22nd August, 1953. Nicknamed the ‘Green Hell' and the ‘Dry Guillotine', it earned a reputation as ‘The Alcatraz of South America': the world's most brutal prison. Established by Emperor Napoleon III to remove political opponents and jumpstart France's programme of colonisation, the horrors of the islands became more understood in France following the publication of memoirs by René Belbenoît and Henri ‘Papillon' Charrière. In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly explain why a spell on Devil's Island was potentially preferable to elsewhere in Guiana; reveal what the guards did with rebellious prisoners and their cadavers; and check out some contemporary perspectives - on TripAdvisor… Further Reading: • Why Devil's Island Was The World's Most Feared Prison (All Thats Interesting, 2021): https://allthatsinteresting.com/devils-island • ‘Notorious French Prison Turns Into a No-Man's Land' (LA Times, 2002): https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2002-dec-15-adfg-devilisle15-story.html • ‘Devil's Island Prison Colony' (British Pathé, 1947): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9_xCHbpkDss #Crime #France #Macabre #50s Love the show? Join 

Last time we spoke about the final days of the first Sino-Japanese War, the invasion of the Pescadores Islands, Taiwan and the Treaty of Shimonoseki. The Japanese had taken Port Arthur, Weihaiwei and were on the verge of marching upon Beijing. The Qing were slow to action on the negotiation front leading to three attempts to reach a peace agreement. However in the meantime the Japanese prolonged things for just enough time to allow their amphibious forces to invade the Pescadore islands and Taiwan. Li Hongzhang became the scapegoat for the entire conflict and was forced to sign the humiliating Treaty of Shimonoseki. However in the end it would also be Japan getting served a nasty deal because of the Triple Intervention of Germany, France and Russia. The balance of power in the east had dramatically changed, and with change comes movement, the movement of many people, all over the world.   #55 This episode is, Overseas Chinese   Welcome to the Fall and Rise of China Podcast, I am your dutiful host Craig Watson. But, before we start I want to also remind you this podcast is only made possible through the efforts of Kings and Generals over at Youtube. Perhaps you want to learn more about the history of Asia? Kings and Generals have an assortment of episodes on history of asia and much more  so go give them a look over on Youtube. So please subscribe to Kings and Generals over at Youtube and to continue helping us produce this content please check out www.patreon.com/kingsandgenerals. If you are still hungry for some more history related content, over on my channel, the Pacific War Channel where I cover the history of China and Japan from the 19th century until the end of the Pacific War. I did not know when I was going to tackle this subject, but I figured after the first Sino-Japanese war would be a good place. The 1890's-1900 is a sort of odd window of time for China where a lot of change occurs. When I was doing my undergraduate in History, a requirement of my University was to take a certain amount of courses in specific fields of history, one was Canadian history as I am from Quebec and its just forced on you. In one of those courses I had to spend an extensive amount of time learning about the Chinese-Canadian experience, particularly during the end half of the 19th century. Now I know the majority of you listeners are American and probably know the general history of Chinese immigration to America during the 19th century. For Canada is quite similar, first thing that comes to mind for all of you I imagine is the railroad work. Its a fundamental part of both America and Canada's history, the building of some of the great railroads and unfortunately the terrible mistreatment of Asian immigrants. In this episode however I don't want to just talk about Canada and the United States, because in truth, Chinese immigration saw Chinese going to all sorts of nations, for various reasons. I also believe it gives us a better understanding of all the events we have spoken about and how they affect the common person. There are more than 50 million Oversea Chinese today, most of them are in Southeast Asia, in places like Singapore, Malaysia, Brunei, Thailand and such. They represent one of the highest figures of immigration in the world. Their migration goes back to ancient times, roughly 2000 years ago during the opening of the maritime silk road. Chinese immigrants were moving mainly to Southeast Asia. When the 15th century came around, Chinese began moving to places like Sumatra and Java, establishing what we call today, Chinatowns. Where trade went, so did the Chinese and by the 16th century trade began to pick up with Europe. Europeans began to establish themselves in the Far East, looking to trade and in the process integrated numerous places within a world trade network. European powers began to compete with another to expand and develop colonies in places like Southeast Asia and this in turn increased a demand for Chinese merchants and laborers. When the 17th century rolled around, there was an estimated 100,000 or so Chinese scattered about Southeast Asia and 20-30 thousand perhaps in Japan. Many Chinese came over during the Wokou years, setting up bases in Japan to help raid mainland China as pirates. When the Manchu conquered the Ming dynasty, numerous Chinese refugees fled to Japan to escape Manchu rule.  Now its during the 19th century when we really begin to see massive movements to the far reaches of the globe. When the age of colonialism was at its height so too would Chinese immigration be at its height, and with it a diaspora began. By the starting of the 19th century, millions of Chinese pulled up stakes and left for unfamiliar and faraway places, why? During the final century of the Qing dynasty, China began to struggle with mounting challenges as I think we all have seen in this series. These problems were both internal and external in nature. Internally, the Qing had doubled their territory, incorporating areas in the north and west which were sparsely populated, adding ethnic and religious diversity to the empire. There were Manchu, Hans, Mongolians, Tibetans, Muslims and such. Alongside this, the population exploded because of new irrigation and water management techniques that were helping tackle China's most troublesome historic nemesis, floods and droughts. New crops had come over from the America's such as corn, sweet potatoes and peanuts. The new foodstuffs could be grown in areas of China that historically always had trouble growing stuff, allowing for new lands to be expanded upon such as the southwest and northeast. As the nutrition improved, China's population exploded. By 1740 the Qing dynasty numbered 140 million, but by 1850 this increased to a whopping 430 million. Population growth holds numerous benefits to a nation, such as increasing economic activity, but it can also cause great strain. China took a very very long time to industrialize. In the early half of the 1800s, most Chinese supported themselves through farming, but with the population booming, less and less land pushed more and more to find new lands. The Qing government meanwhile, as we have seen in this series, proceeded to become incredibly corrupt. Their officials neglected the common people and engaged in corruption purely to enrich themselves, and they gradually became more and more inept at governance. With a corrupt government and a booming population of dissatisfied people, 19th century China was ripe for conflict. The first major one was the White Lotus Rebellion of 1796-1804. It broke out in response to famine, overcrowding of land and from the harassment by corrupt Qing officials. The cult lashed out, resulting in the deaths of millions and costing the Qing dynasty nearly 100 million taels. Then the First Opium War broke out against Britain resulting in a humiliating defeat and the beginning of unequal treaties upon China. After this, the worst civil war in history, the Taiping rebellion broke out, yet again during a time of famine, with another cult, the Taiping led by Hong Xiuquan who nearly toppled the Qing Dynasty leading to the death of over 20 million or so people. Alongside the Taiping was the Nian rebellion and the second opium war, inviting more death and humiliating treaties tossed upon China. The Dungan revolt killed another 10 or so million people, causing countless Hui Muslims to flee into surrounding neighboring states.  The turmoil of the mid 19th century caused terrible suffering on the people of China whether it be from drought, famine, war, governmental harassment or simply incompetence and when this becomes your everyday life, what do you do to improve it? Well after witnessing such foreign barbarians nearly toppling your government multiple times, showcasing technologies you've never seen before, you might get curious what its like in their nations. Once the bans were lifted Christian missionaries were pouring into China from these nations. These people didn't not simply sail over to China either, in the mid 19th century the invention of steamships made sea crossings much faster and safer. With steamships came railroads, a much more efficient way to move raw materials and people across land. Steamships and railroads would have a profound effect on China. The construction of railroads required a lot of work, particularly dangerous work of clearing land and laying tracks. European colonies, the Americas, Southeast Asia, Oceania and other far reaching places had enormous demand for laborer, whether it be in construction, agriculture, mining, railway building, etc. Plantations for rice, rubber, fruit, sugar, tea, hell the mining of guano was huge, talk about a shitty job. Like we see today, companies sought cheap and exploitable pools of labor to fit their demands, many of them turned to China. China because of the Opium wars and later the First Sino-Japanese War had opened up countless treaty ports, she was burst open. Now there were fundamentally two rationales for Chinese migration, the first being flight and the second economic. Flight refers to those literally driven to flee where they were because of war, famine, disease, natural disasters, terrible government and persecution. Economic refers to the drive to just improve one's life, maybe the grass is greener on the other side as they say. Both of these rationales could lead to temporary move or permanent and it did not necessarily mean leaving China either, let's not forget a ton of internal moving was occurring.  Now during the Taiping Rebellion as the violence escalated countless people fled. Take for example the wealthy class, whenever Taiping entered an area, obviously these people feared losing everything as the Taiping confiscated all wealth. Therefor countless fled to newly opened treaty ports like Shanghai where foreign protection was to be found. They began dealing with the foreigners and discovered some mutual interests. This was a large reason places like Shanghai and Hong Kong were transformed into booming sophisticated cities. But for the countless common people, the Taiping-Qing war saw a large mobile population, wandering wherever seemed safe at the time. Many of these people fled to provinces in the southwest and southeast of China. When the war ended, major food and tax producing provinces were de-populated, take Jiangsu for example which saw 70% of its population of around 24 million people. Anhui and Zhejiang lost around 50% of their respective 15 million or so people. When the war was finally over, the flight migrants did not all return. Hubei, Hunan and Henan saw a ton of their people simply pack up and set up shop east. A lot of people also fled into Manchuria which had always been sparsely populated, even though it was one of the richest areas for agriculture and natural resources. The Qing had always limited migration to Manchuria, trying to protect the Manchu homelands, but beginning in the 1860's the Qing leadership had a change of heart. There were two major reasons for this; number 1 the Taiping rebellion had ravaged the governmental budget, prosperous agricultural regions that provided a ton of tax revenue were depopulated. China had indemnity payments to pay the British and French, money needed to be made, so the Qing began selling land in Manchuria and increased taxes upon it once it started to become more productive. The second reason was Russia. Russia was encroaching into Manchuria, and the Qing worried its sparse population would leave it vulnerable, so they opened the doors to the Han to help out. Now it was not just the Russian encroaching into Manchuria, the Japanese also had their eyes on the region. As I explained briefly towards the end of last episode, the Russians basically swindled the Japanese with the triple intervention, managing to seize a 25 year lease over the Liaodong peninsula in 1898. The Russians quickly went to work developing the region's agriculture, mining and crucially its railways. All of this required the pumping of money into Manchuria further building up the desire for Chinese migration to fill the large demands. Now this was all internal movements, what about the external? Millions of Chinese responded to the international demand for labor during the mid to late 19th century, taking them first to Southeast Asia, and then to all the corners of the world. The major reason they were able to do this in large scale was because of the new steamships and the increase of foreigners inside China telling them about the various nations they came from. The majority of early migrants came from the wealthy class, who sought to move their families and businesses abroad. These types of businesses were typically, Luandromats, stores, restaurants and such. They mostly came from Guangdong and Fujian as southern China was in turmoil due to the opium trade and Taiping Rebellion. Southern China had become fertile grounds for western companies to come over and recruit or even Shanghai laborers. The British picked up Chinese and brought them to build up their colonies in Malaya and Singapore, while the Dutch brought them over to Sumatra. They worked in sweltering hot plantations, for tea, rubber, rice, fruit or in the great tin mines of Malaya for example.  This all of course becomes quite dark, I briefly talked about the “pig trade”, the pigs being Chinese coolies who were either hired or kidnapped into indentured servitude overseas. Britain had outlawed slavery in 1807, but the experience for these poor souls would be very reminiscence of the western african slave trade. The term “shanghaied” comes from this time, when Chinese were sometimes drugged up or boozed up and tossed onto ships going to various places like Trinidad, British Honduras, Jamaica, New South Wales, British Guiana, Peru, Cuba, all over really. Now the Pig trade was quite reviled, take this passage from 1852 by foreign secretary Lord Malmesbury “iniquities scarcely exceeding those practiced on the African coast and on the African middle passage have not been wanting…the jails of China [have been] emptied to supply ‘labour' to British colonies…hundreds [of coolies] gathered together in barracoons, stripped naked and stamped or painted with the letter C (California), P (Peru) or S (Sandwich Islands) on their breasts, according to destination.” It was actually the gradual abolition of the Atlantic slave trade and slavery itself that rose the demand for Chinese coolies. The British were the pioneers on this front sending 200 Chinese laborers over to Trinidad in 1806 to quote “in an attempt to establish a settlement of free peasant cultivators and laborers” these initial shipments saw Chinese on vessels that had been used to transport African slaves in previous years. The Trinidad experiment failed, only 20 to 30 of the 200 Chinese remained on the island by the 1820's, however such stories inspired people like Sir John Gladstone to bring Chinese over to sugar plantation in British Guiana in the hopes of replacing the lost Afro-Caribbean workforce because the slave trade was coming to an end. Now the logistics of coolie labor were, murky lets say. Most in theory were under contract, paid, to be temporary, one would say consensual. Regardless many in Britain rightfully saw how horrible it was and tried to fight to end the trade or at least improve conditions for the Chinese coolies. Many of these humane reformers argued the Chinese would be tricked into signing employment contracts based on misleading promises, often kidnapped or even sold by coolie merchants within China. Yes a lot of these unfortunate men, had debts, like gambling debts and their lenders simply sold them off. But there were many who volunteered, because they were offered free passage and paid something like 20 cents per day. While I have been focusing on the British, everyone was in the game somewhat, take for example the Portuguese who held Macao which was the center of the coolie trade. It was said from 1848-1873 Macao's only real business was trading coolie slaves, and eventually it became so bad the British forced them to ban it. Spain sent Cuba two large shipments of Chinese Coolies in 1847 to work the sugar fields in Havana, these men came from Xiamen, one of the treaty ports that opened after the Treaty of Nanking in 1842. When Guangdong opened up, Peru saw a ton of Chinese coolies come over to work in their silver mines and in guano cultivation. When their contracts were up, many integrated into the countries of Peru, the Dominican Republic, Puerto Rico and Cuba. Before 1959 when the Cuban revolution broke out, Havana held latin americans largest Chinatown, a result of the coolie trade. South America saw around 100,000 Chinese indentured laborers come over between 1850 and the late 1870s. The most vulnerable would be those poor souls deceived by false contracts or kidnapped who saw themselves basically thrown into slavery. For the majority who went to Cuba and Peru this was to be the case. After a 4 month grueling journey crammed onto a ship like a sardine, they would arrive to be met with cruelty and abuse. Most would find their contracts were written in such a way that it would make it nearly impossible for them to ever repay the cost of their passage, which was not covered for, also housing and food. When reports began to surface between 1847-1854 about the abuse of those going to Cuba and Peru, British tried to take responsibility by closing ports sending these people off in China, such as Amoy, but this simply led Macao to become the largest coolie port in the end. Hell some of these Chinese participated in the War of the Pacific known also as the Saltpeter war, where they burned down many of the haciendas they worked for. 2000 Chinese coolies joined a Chilean Army in Peru helping the wounded and burying the dead. The Germans brought some over to German Samoa to work on their plantations which only ended during WW1 when Anzac seized such islands. The French shipping of Chinese coolies to Guadeloupe, Martinique, French Guiana, the French west indies and such, as this also involved Indian coolies. Then came the age of Gold Rushes, all around the world large scale gold rushes emerged, in Oceania, Africa, South American and North America. In Australia the population tripled from 430,000 in 1851 to 1.7 million in 1871, making Australia the first multicultural society during the gold rush period. The gold rush began in may of 1851 after a prospector named Edward Hargraves claimed to have discovered gold in Ophir. Hargreaves had been to California's goldfields learning gold prospecting techniques such as panning and cradling. Victoria would see the first large goldrush in July of 1851 and word spread fast. 290,000 migrated to Victoria from British territories, 15,000 from European nations, 18,000 from the US, but not all were welcome. In 1855, 11,493 Chinese arrived in Melbourne, which saw Victoria enact the Chinese immigration act of 1855 in response. This severely limited the number of Chinese passengers permitted on an arriving vessel, but to evade the new law, many Chinese began landing in southern parts of Australia and would hike it sometimes 400kms across the country to get to the Victoria goldfields. In 1865 Richard Daintree discovered the Cape River Goldfield which soon attracted Chinese to Queensland for the first time. In 1872 James Mulligan discovered gold in the Palmer River around Cooktown, seeing 3 years of waves upon waves of Chinese prospectors. By 1977 over 18,000 residents were Chinese miners. I wanted to leave the United States and Canada for last if you were wondering, as I think they are the most well known stories of Chinese immigration. Also there are numerous nations I could not cover, this story is far too expensive I do apologize. So lets start with a very popular story, that of the great Californian Gold rush. In 1848 James W Marshall found Gold at Sutter's Mill in Coloma, California. The news soon brought over 300,000 people to California. While most were Americans, the gold rush also attracted thousands from Latin America, Oceania, Europe and China. The Chinese began arriving in 1849, the first major rush was to Gum San nicknamed “Gold Mountain” by the newly arrived Chinese. In 1849, around 90,000 people had come over, of which around 50-60 thousand were american. By 1852 20,000 Chinese had landed in the San Francisco area. Their distinct dress and appearance made them particularly recognizable in the goldfields and they were met with a ton of racism and violence. The American miners were frustrated with all the foreigners encroaching and the Chinese were easier target than other groups. Initially the Chinese worked for themselves or labored with other miners, but the American miners began to press upon the government to thwart more Chinese from coming over. The California legislature passed a foreign miners license law in 1850, charging non-US citizens 20$ per month. The law would be repealed within a year because of how exorbitant the fees were. This did not dissuade the Chinese who would go on to found America's first Chinatown in San Francisco, where by 1852 the Chinese now accounted for 30% of all immigrants. In response the California legislature passed another foreign miners tax now at 4$ per month. Many Chinese thrived during this time despite the hurdles they faced. Chinese mining companies like John China Placer Mining company and Hong Kong China Wing Dam company hired up to 20 workers and provided industrial equipment, expanding large scale operations. Small scale workers cooperatives amongst the Chinese also thrived in the 1850's which operated similar to the larger companies, using a share-risk system amongst workers. Many Chinese also chose to work for wages from white employers. Its estimated though it varies greatly, that Chinese miners were making around 39-50 dollars a month which would have been around the average wage for white miners. But as you can imagine there was much hardship, and the violence could get incredibly bad. Take for example what is known as the Hells Canyon Massacre. In 1887 two groups of Chinese miners headed to Oregon's Hells canyon to search for gold. On May 25th of 1887, 7 White Horse gang members, these were horse thieves, they robbed, murdered and mutilated between 10-34 of the Chinese miners who were employee's of the Sam Yup company. Its said they stole up to a possible 50,000$ worth in gold. Historian David H Stratton described the massacre as such,  “The brutality of the Snake River atrocity was probably unexcelled, whether by whites or Indians, in all the anti-Chinese violence of the American West. After the first day's onslaught at Robinson Gulch, the killers wrecked and burned the camp and then threw the mutilated corpses into the Snake River. The bodies of the other Chinese received similar treatment. Since it was the high-water stage of the spring runoff, the dead Chinese were found for months (some accounts say for years) afterwards along the lower river.” On the 26th more Chinese showed up to investigate the scene and 8 were shot dead by the gang. Later on in 1888 one Frank Vaughn confessed to taking part in the crime giving up the names of 6 associates. Most had departed america save for Vaughn and another man named Hughes. Their gang leader, Bruce Evan's known as “old blue” was blamed for everything, but he escaped custody. Now by the 1860's the goldrush was quieting down, leaving many Chinese looking for work and they found it in railway construction. The first major railway seeing Chinese workers was the first transcontinental railroad which linked up California to the eastern united states. Construction began in 1863 with terminal points at Omaha, Nebraska and Sacramento. Despite the Goldrush raising California's population, a large number of Chinese were recruited in 1865 to help build up the railway. Many of these were former gold or silver miners and it was Charles Crocker a manager of the Central Pacific Railroad who was one of the first trying to hire Chinese. As he pointed out to his colleagues, hiring Chinese as opposed to whites as they cost a third of the salary. Crocker also pointed out they could hire the Chinese immigrants to do much of the grueling work and particularly the dangerous jobs. Crocker soon broke records for laying track, finishing the project 7 years ahead of time. This was due to the fact he worked the men to down to the bones. The central pacific track was constructed primarily by Chinese, Crocker initially hired every Chinese he could find in California, but soon began importing Chinese workers directly from China. The railroad had to pass over river and through canyons requiring bridges to be made and tunnels to be blown open. Many of the Chinese workers would be sent into tunnels to break through using hand tools and black power bombs. To tunnel through places like the the foothills of Sierra Nevada, the Central Pacific began to use the newly invented but extremely unstable Nitro-glycerine explosives, aka TNT. This greatly accelerated the rate of construction and deaths for the poor Chinese workers who used them. The work often saw Chinese workers tossed in large baskets with the explosives down to hard to reach areas, they would lit the fuse and the basket would be pulled as fast as it could away from the blast area, not safe. Over 11,000 Chinese took part in the project and they made up 90% of the work effort. A large portion of them came from Guangdong, recruited through a network of small firms and labor contractors. Its estimated around 1000 Chinese died building the Central Pacific Railroad.  Now as the Chinese came to the US for the Goldrush and then railroad construction, they were met with a lot of racism, violence and legislative efforts. I mentioned the American miners pushing for legislation against them, but when the Chinese began working on the railways this greatly expanded. In the 1870's various legal discriminatory measures were being made against the Chinese. In San Francisco Chinese school children from 1859-1870 were segregated, but in 1870 the requirement to educate them was simply dropped. Also in 1870 the Naturalization act which extended citizenship rights to African Americans specifically barred Chinese on the grounds they could not be assimilated into American society. Chinese immigrants were thus prohibited from voting, jury duty (which lets be honest is a blessing) and faced alien land laws prohibited them from purchasing property or establishing permanent homes or businesses. In 1873 the Pigtail Ordinance, you heard that right, targeted Qing dynasty immigrants based on their Queues. The law required prisoners in San Francisco to have their hair cut within an inch of their scalp and any Qing citizens who went to prison and had their queues cut, meant they could not go back home until it grew back. The law was passed with the idea it would dissuade Chinese immigration. Two years later came the Page Act of 1875, barring Chinese women from entering the US. This was justified under the guise many who came over were performing sex work. In reality it was another measure taken to dissuade Chinese immigration. This was followed up in 1882 by the infamous Chinese exclusion act which prohibited the immigration of Chinese laborers. All of this was strongly driven by frustrated American workers who saw the Chinese as a threat to their jobs. Miners and railway workers pressed unions which pressed the legislatures to toss countless anti-Chinese laws trying to dissuade them from coming to the US. With so much discrimination and hurdles tossed at them, the Chinese began moving somewhere else to make ends meet. Chinese immigrants began arriving to the then Colony of Vancouver island in the late 1850's looking for gold. The colony of British Columbia, much like California was seeing a gold rush. The first Chinese community was established in Barkerville where half its population were Chinese. Soon other Chinatowns emerged in Richfield, Van Winkle, Quesnellemouthe, Stanley, Antlery and Quesnelle forks. By 1860 the Chinese population of Vancouver island and British columbia was around 7000. Then in 1871, British Columbia agreed to join the confederation of Canada and one of its conditions to do so was for the new federal government of Canada to build a railway linking BC to Eastern Canada, yes its basically the exact same thing as California with the Eastern US. Prime Minister John A Macdonald along with numerous investors realized the project would be unbelievably expensive. They also realized they could cut costs by employing Chinese laborers, as Macdonald told Parliament in 1882 “it is simply a question of alternatives either you must have this labour or you can't have the railway”. In 1880 Andrew Onderdonk, one of the main construction contractors in British Columbia for the new Canadian Pacific Railway began recruiting Chinese laborers from California. Learning from the Americans he also began importing Chinese workers from Guangdong and Taiwan. The Chinese workers were hired for the first 320 kms of the CPR which was considered to be the most difficult and dangerous segments, particularly the parts going through Fraser Canyon. Like their american counterparts they were paid much less than white Canadians, around 50% on the dollar.  Between 1880-1885, 17000 Chinese workers came to build the CPR with around 700 dying due to the terrible work conditions. The CPR's construction resulted in the establishment of Chinatowns along the rail line which further resulted in Chinese communities spreading across Canada. Following directly in the footsteps as the Americans, when the CPR was finished in 1884, the following year saw the infamous Chinese Head Tax. The Canadian government levied its first of many to come, anti chinese immigration acts, to discourage Chinese from coming to Canada. The head tax system stipulated all Chinese people entering Canada first had to pay 50$ ie: the head tax. This would be amended to 100$ in 1900, 500$ in 1903 and so forth. Because of this, basically no Chinese laborers could afford to bring over their families, though BC's Chinese communities still grew. In British columbia the perception of all the asians coming into the province, as it was not just the Chinese, many Japanese came over particularly for the fishing industry, well they perceived these people to be taking their jobs. Australia likewise had tossed up immigration restriction acts in 1901, the infamous “white australia policy” which eliminated asian immigration after their federation, and Canada would try the same. The Asian Exclusion League in Canada, yes there was a league just for this lobbied as much as they could to thwart Chinese immigration. I did not want to delve into the 20th century in this episode, but I did want to touch upon the violence that would occur in BC. In 1907 tension had increased, as more and more Asian immigrants were flooding over into BC from the US as a result of their anti chinese regulations, kind of a hot potato situation. By the end of October 1907 over 11,440 immigrants came over, 8125 were Japanese, 1266 Chinese and Sikhs made up 2049. Anti-Asian acts were blowing up and soon full blown riots spread.  The Asian exclusion league developed a new immigration act, but the federal government refused to back it. This led to outrage which led to its members starting a parade on September 7th of 1907. This parade turned into a mob riot where Chinese and Japanese neighborhoods were attacked. Asian owned businesses were vandalized, beer bottles were tossed at windows, fires were lit, the rioters were trying to destroy businesses. They came to Japantown where armed Japanese residents fought back, over 50 stores had their windows broken in and the entire riot only died down around 3am. Labour Minister MacKenzie King, yes the soon to be Prime Minister of Canada conducted a commission into the riots finding the damage to be worth around 26,000$ for the Chinese community and 9000$ for the Japanese. The riot directly led to the 1908 “gentleman's agreement”, one I might add not many people know about, not as notably as the head tax, but this was a secret agreement between Japan and Canada to restrict the number of passports issued to Japanese annually at under 400 peoples. It was a dark part of Canadian history. I would like to take this time to remind you all that this podcast is only made possible through the efforts of Kings and Generals over at Youtube. Please go subscribe to Kings and Generals over at Youtube and to continue helping us produce this content please check out www.patreon.com/kingsandgenerals. If you are still hungry after that, give my personal channel a look over at The Pacific War Channel at Youtube, it would mean a lot to me. I do apologize if this episode is more on the gloomy side, but do not forget these asian communities are thriving today all around the world. I plan to do another episode on Overseas Chinese in the 20th century, so I hope you enjoyed this one and come back for some more!

In this episode, we caught up with Ben Jones (director of North America for Spiribam) to catch up on all things related to Spiribam's portfolio of rum brands/distilleries, like Rhum J.M, Rhum Clément, St. Lucia Distillers, and their latest acquisition — Saint-Maurice Distillery in French Guiana, makers of La Belle Cabresse and other brands.We chatted with Ben about:New and upcoming releases from J.M and Clément (including several off-the-wall cask finishes)How involved he/Spiribam are with product development and feedback at each distilleryThe cool story behind the making of Chairman's Reserve Legacy, which we've often lauded as a great value rumWhat the future of sugarcane cultivation (and cane juice rum production) looks like at St. Lucia DistillersWhy Rhum J.M VO is being replaced by Terroir VolcaniqueAn update on high ester production at St. Lucia DistillersThe growing market for cane juice spirits from around the world and how that impacts the rhum agricole categoryWhat to expect from Spiribam's acquisition of Saint-Maurice in French GuianaThe future of Spiribam's Mauritian rum brand, ArcaneAnd more!P.S. Did you know you can support The Rumcast on Patreon now and get bonus episodes, happy hours, and more? You can! Head to patreon.com/therumcast to check it out.

Ketchi, a young girl living in the dense foliage of French Guiana with her her family, is used to abiding by the natural rhythms and laws of nature. She is warned repeatedly about the supernatural dangers lurking just beyond where the eyes can see, dangers waiting to entrap unsuspecting children. One day on a walk home through tall grass, Ketchi comes face to face with one of the most feared ancient entities existing in the region. This episodes Audio was produced by Sarah Anne MitchellSOURCEShttps://www.balkanhotspot.org/guianese-tales-stories-legends-balkan-hotspot/https://triniinxisle.com/2019/03/22/trini-folklore-buck/https://www.culturesofwestafrica.com/feet-in-reverse-fantastical-beings/https://youtu.be/HEtmAcFm_4QSPONSORSparrow & The Finch Designs AdAre you in need of a graphic design company that can help your business soar to new heights? Look no further than Sparrow and The Finch Designs! Our team of skilled designers can create stunning logos, eye-catching advertisements, and visually stunning websites that will make your business stand out from the flock. Trust Sparrow and The Finch Designs to bring your vision to life. Contact us today at 512-316-8830 to get started!Thank you for listening to today's episode. If you enjoyed this podcast please send us 5 stars with a raving review to show your support! Your feedback and kind words motivate us to keep doing what we do and show up to be a fuller podcast for you here at Caribbean Mystics. Do you or someone you know have a true story that takes place in the Caribbean Region? email us at caribbeanmysticspodcast@gmail.com . Social MediasIG: @CaribbeanmysticspodcastFB: @CaribbeanmysticspodcastYoutube: Caribbean Mystics PodcastHostsGabrielle Querrard (IG: @gquerrard) Paulina Creque (IG: @rudegal_p)Theme song “Folktale Jouvert Riddim” by Umi Marcano

Photo: No known restrictions on publication. @Batchelorshow #NewWorldReport:#Guyana: Suriname: French Guiana: Treasure and threats.  Latin American Research Professor Evan Ellis, U.S. Army War College Strategic Studies Institute. @revanellis https://en.mercopress.com/2022/11/18/venezuela-after-guyana-s-oil-claiming-border-dispute-in-the-hague