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Last time we spoke about the beginning of the Nomohan incident. On the fringes of Manchuria, the ghosts of Changkufeng lingered. It was August 1938 when Soviet and Japanese forces locked in a brutal standoff over a disputed hill, claiming thousands of lives before a fragile ceasefire redrew the lines. Japan, humiliated yet defiant, withdrew, but the Kwantung Army seethed with resentment. As winter thawed into 1939, tensions simmered along the Halha River, a serpentine boundary between Manchukuo and Mongolia. Major Tsuji Masanobu, a cunning tactician driven by gekokujo's fire, drafted Order 1488: a mandate empowering local commanders to annihilate intruders, even luring them across borders. Kwantung's leaders, bonded by past battles, endorsed it, ignoring Tokyo's cautions amid the grinding China War. By May, the spark ignited. Mongolian patrols crossed the river, clashing with Manchukuoan cavalry near Nomonhan's sandy hills. General Komatsubara, ever meticulous, unleashed forces to "destroy" them, bombing west-bank outposts and pursuing retreats. Soviets, bound by pact, rushed reinforcements, their tanks rumbling toward the fray. What began as skirmishes ballooned into an undeclared war.   #189 General Zhukov Arrives at Nomohan 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. Though Kwantung Army prided itself as an elite arm of the Imperial Japanese Army, the 23rd Division, formed less than a year prior, was still raw and unseasoned, lacking the polish and spirit typical of its parent force. From General Michitaro Komatsubara downward, the staff suffered a collective dearth of combat experience. Intelligence officer Major Yoshiyasu Suzuki, a cavalryman, had no prior intel background. While senior regimental commanders were military academy veterans, most company and platoon leaders were fresh reservists or academy graduates with just one or two years under their belts. Upon arriving in Manchukuo in August 1938, the division found its Hailar base incomplete, housing only half its troops; the rest scattered across sites. Full assembly at Hailar occurred in November, but harsh winter weather curtailed large-scale drills. Commanders had scant time to build rapport. This inexperience, inadequate training, and poor cohesion would prove costly at Nomonhan. Japan's army held steady at 17 divisions from 1930 to 1937, but the escalating China conflict spurred seven new divisions in 1938 and nine in 1939. Resource strains from China left many under-equipped, with the 23rd, stationed in a presumed quiet sector, low on priorities. Unlike older "rectangular" divisions with four infantry regiments, the 23rd was a modern "triangular" setup featuring the 64th, 71st, and 72nd. Materiel gaps were glaring. The flat, open terrain screamed for tanks, yet the division relied on a truck-equipped transport regiment and a reconnaissance regiment with lightly armored "tankettes" armed only with machine guns. Mobility suffered: infantry marched the final 50 miles from Hailar to Nomonhan. Artillery was mostly horse-drawn, including 24 outdated Type 38 75-mm guns from 1907, the army's oldest, unique to this division. Each infantry regiment got four 37-mm rapid-fire guns and four 1908-era 75-mm mountain guns. The artillery regiment added 12 120-mm howitzers, all high-angle, short-range pieces ill-suited for flatlands or anti-tank roles. Antitank capabilities were dire: beyond rapid-fire guns, options boiled down to demolition charges and Molotov cocktails, demanding suicidal "human bullet" tactics in open terrain, a fatal flaw against armor. The division's saving grace lay in its soldiers, primarily from Kyushu, Japan's southernmost main island, long famed for hardy warriors. These men embodied resilience, bravery, loyalty, and honor, offsetting some training and gear deficits. Combat at Nomonhan ramped up gradually, with Japanese-Manchukuoan forces initially outnumbering Soviet-Mongolian foes. Soviets faced severe supply hurdles: their nearest rail at Borzya sat 400 miles west of the Halha River, requiring truck hauls over rough, exposed terrain prone to air strikes. Conversely, Hailar was 200 miles from Nomonhan, with the Handagai railhead just 50 miles away, linked by three dirt roads. These advantages, plus Europe's brewing Polish crisis, likely reassured Army General Staff and Kwantung Army Headquarters that Moscow would avoid escalation. Nonetheless, Komatsubara, with KwAHQ's nod, chose force to quash the Nomonhan flare-up. On May 20, Japanese scouts spotted a Soviet infantry battalion and armor near Tamsag Bulak. Komatsubara opted to "nip the incident in the bud," assembling a potent strike force under Colonel Takemitsu Yamagata of the 64th Infantry Regiment. The Yamagata detachment included the 3rd Battalion, roughly four companies, 800 men, a regimental gun company, three 75-mm mountain guns, four 37-mm rapid-fires, three truck companies, and Lieutenant Colonel Yaozo Azuma's reconnaissance group, 220 men, one tankette, two sedans, 12 trucks. Bolstered by 450 local Manchukuoan troops, the 2,000-strong unit was tasked with annihilating all enemy east of the Halha. The assault was set for May 22–23. No sooner had General Komatsubara finalized this plan than he received a message from KwAHQ: "In settling the affair Kwantung Army has definite plans, as follows: For the time being Manchukuoan Army troops will keep an eye on the Outer Mongolians operating near Nomonhan and will try to lure them onto Manchukuoan territory. Japanese forces at Hailar [23rd Division] will maintain surveillance over the situation. Upon verification of a border violation by the bulk of the Outer Mongolian forces, Kwantung Army will dispatch troops, contact the enemy, and annihilate him within friendly territory. According to this outlook it can be expected that enemy units will occupy border regions for a considerable period; but this is permissible from the overall strategic point of view". At this juncture, Kwantung Army Headquarters advocated tactical caution to secure a more conclusive outcome. Yet, General Michitaro Komatsubara had already issued orders for Colonel Takemitsu Yamagata's assault. Komatsubara radioed Hsinking that retracting would be "undignified," resenting KwAHQ's encroachment on his authority much as KwAHQ chafed at Army General Staff interference. Still, "out of deference to Kwantung Army's feelings," he delayed to May 27 to 28. Soviet air units from the 57th Corps conducted ineffective sorties over the Halha River from May 17 to 21. Novice pilots in outdated I 15 biplanes suffered heavily: at least 9, possibly up to 17, fighters and scouts downed. Defense Commissar Kliment Voroshilov halted air ops, aiding Japanese surprise. Yamagata massed at Kanchuerhmiao, 40 miles north of Nomonhan, sending patrols southward. Scouts spotted a bridge over the Halha near its Holsten junction, plus 2 enemy groups of ~200 each east of the Halha on either Holsten side and a small MPR outpost less than a mile west of Nomonhan. Yamagata aimed to trap and destroy these east of the river: Azuma's 220 man unit would drive south along the east bank to the bridge, blocking retreat. The 4 infantry companies and Manchukuoan troops, with artillery, would attack from the west toward enemy pockets, herding them riverward into Azuma's trap. Post destruction, mop up any west bank foes near the river clear MPR soil swiftly. This intricate plan suited early MPR foes but overlooked Soviet units spotted at Tamsag Bulak on May 20, a glaring oversight by Komatsubara and Yamagata. Predawn on May 28, Yamagata advanced from Kanchuerhmiao. Azuma detached southward to the bridge. Unbeknownst, it was guarded by Soviet infantry, engineers, armored cars, and a 76 mm self propelled artillery battery—not just MPR cavalry. Soviets detected Azuma pre dawn but missed Yamagata's main force; surprise was mutual. Soviet MPR core: Major A E Bykov's battalion roughly 1000 men with 3 motorized infantry companies, 16 BA 6 armored cars, 4 76 mm self propelled guns, engineers, and a 5 armored car recon platoon. The 6th MPR Cavalry Division roughly 1250 men had 2 small regiments, 4 76 mm guns, armored cars, and a training company. Bykov arrayed north to south: 2 Soviet infantry on flanks, MPR cavalry center, unorthodox, as cavalry suits flanks. Spread over 10 miles parallel to but east of the Halha, 1 mile west of Nomonhan. Reserves: 1 infantry company, engineers, and artillery west of the river near the bridge; Shoaaiibuu's guns also west to avoid sand. Japanese held initial edges in numbers and surprise, especially versus MPR cavalry. Offsets: Yamagata split into 5 weaker units; radios failed early, hampering coordination; Soviets dominated firepower with self propelled guns, 4 MPR pieces, and BA 6s, armored fighters with 45 mm turret guns, half track capable, 27 mph speed, but thin 9 mm armor vulnerable to close heavy machine guns. Morning of May 28, Yamagata's infantry struck Soviet MPR near Nomonhan, routing lightly armed MPR cavalry and forcing Soviet retreats toward the Halha. Shoaaiibuu rushed his training company forward; Japanese overran his post, killing him and most staff. As combat neared the river, Soviet artillery and armored cars slowed Yamagata. He redirected to a low hill miles east of the Halha with dug in Soviets—failing to notify Azuma. Bykov regrouped 1 to 2 miles east of the Halha Holsten junction, holding firm. By late morning, Yamagata stalled, digging in against Soviet barrages. Azuma, radio silent due to faults, neared the bridge to find robust Soviet defenses. Artillery commander Lieutenant Yu Vakhtin shifted his 4 76 mm guns east to block seizure. Azuma lacked artillery or anti tank tools, unable to advance. With Yamagata bogged down, Azuma became encircled, the encirclers encircled. Runners reached Yamagata, but his dispersed units couldn't rally or breakthrough. By noon, Azuma faced infantry and cavalry from the east, bombardments from west (both Halha sides). Dismounted cavalry dug sandy defenses. Azuma could have broken out but held per mission, awaiting Yamagata, unaware of the plan shift. Pressure mounted: Major I M Remizov's full 149th Regiment recent Tamsag Bulak arrivals trucked in, tilting odds. Resupply failed; ammo dwindled. Post dusk slackening: A major urged withdrawal; Azuma refused, deeming retreat shameful without orders, a Japanese army hallmark, where "retreat" was taboo, replaced by euphemisms like "advance in a different direction." Unauthorized pullback meant execution. Dawn May 29: Fiercer Soviet barrage, 122 mm howitzers, field guns, mortars, armored cars collapsed trenches. An incendiary hit Azuma's sedan, igniting trucks with wounded and ammo. By late afternoon, Soviets closed to 50 yards on 3 fronts; armored cars breached rear. Survivors fought desperately. Between 6:00 and 7:00 p.m., Azuma led 24 men in a banzai charge, cut down by machine guns. A wounded medical lieutenant ordered escapes; 4 succeeded. Rest killed or captured. Komatsubara belatedly reinforced Yamagata on May 29 with artillery, anti tank guns, and fresh infantry. Sources claim Major Tsuji arrived, rebuked Yamagata for inaction, and spurred corpse recovery over 3 nights, yielding ~200 bodies, including Azuma's. Yamagata withdrew to Kanchuerhmiao, unable to oust foes. Ironically, Remizov mistook recovery truck lights for attacks, briefly pulling back west on May 30. By June 3, discovering the exit, Soviet MPR reoccupied the zone. Japanese blamed:  (1) poor planning/recon by Komatsubara and Yamagata,  (2) comms failures,  (3) Azuma's heavy weapon lack. Losses: ~200 Azuma dead, plus 159 killed, 119 wounded, 12 missing from main force, total 500, 25% of detachment. Soviets praised Vakhtin for thwarting pincers. Claims: Bykov 60 to 70 casualties; TASS 40 killed, 70 wounded total Soviet/MPR. Recent Russian: 138 killed, 198 wounded. MPR cavalry hit hard by Japanese and friendly fire. Soviet media silent until June 26; KwAHQ censored, possibly misleading Tokyo. May 30: Kwantung Chief of Staff General Rensuke Isogai assured AGS of avoiding prolongation via heavy frontier blows, downplaying Soviet buildup and escalation. He requested river crossing gear urgently.   This hinted at Halha invasion (even per Japanese borders: MPR soil). AGS's General Gun Hashimoto affirmed trust in localization: Soviets' vexations manageable, chastisement easy. Colonel Masazumi Inada's section assessed May 31: 1. USSR avoids expansion.  2. Trust Kwantung localization.  3. Intervene on provocative acts like deep MPR air strikes. Phase 1 ended: Kwantung called it mutual win loss, but inaccurate, Azuma destroyed, heavy tolls, remorse gnawing Komatsubara. On June 1, 1939, an urgent summons from Moscow pulled the young deputy commander of the Byelorussian Military District from Minsk to meet Defense Commissar Marshal Kliment Voroshilov. He boarded the first train with no evident concern, even as the army purges faded into memory. This rising cavalry- and tank-expert, Georgy Konstantinovich Zhukov, would later help defend Moscow in 1941, triumph at Stalingrad and Kursk, and march to Berlin as a Hero of the Soviet Union.Born in 1896 to a poor family headed by a cobbler, Zhukov joined the Imperial Army in 1915 as a cavalryman. Of average height but sturdy build, he excelled in horsemanship and earned the Cross of St. George and noncommissioned status for bravery in 1916. After the October Revolution, he joined the Red Army and the Bolshevik Party, fighting in the Civil War from 1918 to 1921. His proletarian roots, tactical skill, and ambition propelled him: command of a regiment by 1923, a division by 1931. An early advocate of tanks, he survived the purges, impressing superiors as a results-driven leader and playing a key role in his assignment to Mongolia. In Voroshilov's office on June 2, Zhukov learned of recent clashes. Ordered to fly east, assess the situation, and assume command if needed, he soon met acting deputy chief Ivan Smorodinov, who urged candid reports. Europe's war clouds and rising tensions with Japan concerned the Kremlin. Hours later, Zhukov and his staff flew east. Arriving June 5 at Tamsag Bulak (57th Corps HQ), Zhukov met the staff and found Corps Commander Nikolai Feklenko and most aides clueless; only Regimental Commissar M. S. Nikishev had visited the front. Zhukov toured with Nikishev that afternoon and was impressed by his grasp. By day's end, Zhukov bluntly reported: this is not a simple border incident; the Japanese are likely to escalate; the 57th Corps is inadequate. He suggested holding the eastern Halha bridgehead until reinforcements could enable a counteroffensive, and he criticized Feklenko. Moscow replied on June 6: relieve Feklenko; appoint Zhukov. Reinforcements arrived: the 36th Mechanized Infantry Division; the 7th, 8th, and 9th Mechanized Brigades; the 11th Tank Brigade; the 8th MPR Cavalry Division; a heavy artillery regiment; an air wing of more than 100 aircraft, including 21 pilots who had earned renown in the Spanish Civil War. The force was redesignated as the First Army Group. In June, these forces surged toward Tamsag Bulak, eighty miles west of Halha. However, General Michitaro Komatsubara's 23rd Division and the Kwantung Army Headquarters missed the buildup and the leadership change, an intelligence failure born of carelessness and hubris and echoing May's Azuma disaster, with grave battlefield consequences. Early June remained relatively quiet: the Soviet MPR expanded the east-bank perimeter modestly; there was no major Japanese response. KwAHQ's Commander General Kenkichi Ueda, hoping for a quick closure, toured the Fourth Army from May 31 to June 18. Calm broke on June 19. Komatsubara reported two Soviet strikes inside Manchukuo: 15 planes hit Arshan, inflicting casualties on men and horses; 30 aircraft set fire to 100 petroleum barrels near Kanchuerhmiao. In fact, the raids were less dramatic than described: not on Kanchuerhmiao town (a 3,000-person settlement, 40 miles northwest of Nomonhan) but on a supply dump 12 miles south of it. "Arshan" referred to a small village near the border, near Arshanmiao, a Manchukuoan cavalry depot, not a major railhead at Harlun Arshan 100 miles southeast. The raids were strafing runs rather than bombs. Possibly retaliation for May 15's Japanese raid on the MPR Outpost 7 (two killed, 15 wounded) or a response to Zhukov's bridgehead push. Voroshilov authorized the action; motive remained unclear. Nonetheless, KwAHQ, unused to air attacks after dominating skies in Manchuria, Shanghai (1932), and China, was agitated. The situation resembled a jolt akin to the 1973 North Vietnamese strike on U.S. bases in Thailand: not unprovoked, but shocking. Midday June 19, the Operations Staff met. Major Masanobu Tsuji urged swift reprisal; Colonel Masao Terada urged delay in light of the Tientsin crisis (the new Japanese blockade near Peking). Tsuji argued that firmness at Nomonhan would impress Britain; inaction would invite deeper Soviet bombardments or invasion. He swayed Chief Colonel Takushiro Hattori and others, including Terada. They drafted a briefing: the situation was grave; passivity risked a larger invasion and eroded British respect for Japanese might. After two hours of joint talks, most KwAHQ members supported a strong action. Tsuji drafted a major Halha crossing plan to destroy Soviet MPR forces. Hattori and Terada pressed the plan to Chief of Staff General Rensuke Isogai, an expert on Manchukuo affairs but not operations; he deferred to Deputy General Otozaburo Yano, who was absent. They argued urgency; Isogai noted delays in AGS approval. The pair contended for local Kwantung prerogative, citing the 1937 Amur cancellation; AGS would likely veto. Under pressure, Isogai assented, pending Ueda's approval. Ueda approved but insisted that the 23rd Division lead, not the 7th. Hattori noted the 7th's superiority (four regiments in a "square" arrangement versus the 23rd's three regiments, with May unreliability). Ueda prioritized Komatsubara's honor: assigning another division would imply distrust; "I'd rather die." The plan passed on June 19, an example of gekokujo in action. The plan called for reinforcing the 23rd with: the 2nd Air Group (180 aircraft, Lieutenant General Tetsuji Gigi); the Yasuoka Detachment (Lieutenant General Masaomi Yasuoka: two tank regiments, motorized artillery, and the 26th Infantry of the 7th). Total strength: roughly 15,000 men, 120 guns, 70 tanks, 180 aircraft. KwAHQ estimated the enemy at about 1,000 infantry, 10 artillery pieces, and about 12 armored vehicles, expecting a quick victory. Reconnaissance to Halha was curtailed to avoid alerting the Soviets. Confidence ran high, even as intel warned otherwise. Not all leaders were convinced: the 23rd's ordnance colonel reportedly committed suicide over "awful equipment." An attaché, Colonel Akio Doi, warned of growing Soviet buildup, but operations dismissed the concern. In reality, Zhukov's force comprised about 12,500 men, 109 guns, 186 tanks, 266 armored cars, and more than 100 aircraft, offset by the Soviets' armor advantage. The plan echoed Yamagata's failed May 28 initiative: the 23rd main body would seize the Fui Heights (11 miles north of Halha's Holsten junction), cross by pontoon, and sweep south along the west bank toward the Soviet bridge. Yasuoka would push southeast of Halha to trap and destroy the enemy at the junction. On June 20, Tsuji briefed Komatsubara at Hailar, expressing Ueda's trust while pressing to redeem May's failures. Limited pontoon capacity would not support armor; the operation would be vulnerable to air power. Tsuji's reconnaissance detected Soviet air presence at Tamsag Bulak, prompting a preemptive strike and another plan adjustment. KwAHQ informed Tokyo of the offensive in vague terms (citing raids but withholding air details). Even this caused debate; Minister Seishiro Itagaki supported Ueda's stance, favoring a limited operation to ease nerves. Tokyo concurred, unaware of the air plans. Fearing a veto on the Tamsag Bulak raid (nearly 100 miles behind MPR lines), KwAHQ shielded details from the Soviets and Tokyo. A June 29–30 ground attack was prepared; orders were relayed by courier. The leak reached Tokyo on June 24. Deputy Chief General Tetsuzo Nakajima telegrammed three points: 1) AGS policy to contain the conflict and avoid West MPR air attacks;  2) bombing risks escalation;  3) sending Lieutenant Colonel Yadoru Arisue on June 25 for liaison. Polite Japanese diplomatic phrasing allowed Operations to interpret the message as a suggestion. To preempt Arisue's explicit orders, Tsuji urged secrecy from Ueda, Isogai, and Yano, and an advanced raid to June 27. Arisue arrived after the raid on Tamsag Bulak and Bain Tumen (deeper into MPR territory, now near Choibalsan). The Raid resulted in approximately 120 Japanese planes surprising the Soviets, grounding and destroying aircraft and scrambling their defense. Tsuji, flying in a bomber, claimed 25 aircraft destroyed on the ground and about 100 in the air. Official tallies reported 98 destroyed and 51 damaged; ground kills estimated at 50 to 60 at Bain Tumen. Japanese losses were relatively light: one bomber, two fighters, one scout; seven dead. Another Japanese bomber was shot down over MPR, but the crew was rescued. The raid secured air superiority for July.   Moscow raged over the losses and the perceived failure to warn in time. In the purge era, blame fell on suspected spies and traitors; Deputy Mongolian Commander Luvsandonoi and ex-57th Deputy A. M. Kushchev were accused, arrested, and sent to Moscow. Luvsandonoi was executed; Kushchev received a four-year sentence, later rising to major general and Hero. KwAHQ celebrated; Operations notified AGS by radio. Colonel Masazumi Inada rebuked: "You damned idiot! What do you think the true meaning of this little success is?" A withering reprimand followed. Stunned but unrepentant, KwAHQ soon received Tokyo's formal reprimand: "Report was received today regarding bombing of Outer Mongolian territory by your air units… . Since this action is in fundamental disagreement with policy which we understood your army was taking to settle incident, it is extremely regretted that advance notice of your intent was not received. Needless to say, this matter is attended with such farreaching consequences that it can by no means be left to your unilateral decision. Hereafter, existing policy will be definitely and strictly observed. It is requested that air attack program be discontinued immediately" By Order of the Chief of Staff  By this time, Kwantung Army staff officers stood in high dudgeon. Tsuji later wrote that "tremendous combat results were achieved by carrying out dangerous operations at the risk of our lives. It is perfectly clear that we were carrying out an act of retaliation. What kind of General Staff ignores the psychology of the front lines and tramples on their feelings?" Tsuji drafted a caustic reply, which Kwantung Army commanders sent back to Tokyo, apparently without Ueda or other senior KwAHQ officers' knowledge: "There appear to be certain differences between the Army General Staff and this Army in evaluating the battlefield situation and the measures to be adopted. It is requested that the handling of trivial border-area matters be entrusted to this Army." That sarcastic note from KwAHQ left a deep impression at AGS, which felt something had to be done to restore discipline and order. When General Nakajima informed the Throne about the air raid, the emperor rebuked him and asked who would assume responsibility for the unauthorized attack. Nakajima replied that military operations were ongoing, but that appropriate measures would be taken after this phase ended. Inada sent Terada a telegram implying that the Kwantung Army staff officers responsible would be sacked in due course. Inada pressed to have Tsuji ousted from Kwantung Army immediately, but personnel matters went through the Army Ministry, and Army Minister Itagaki, who knew Tsuji personally, defended him. Tokyo recognized that the situation was delicate; since 1932, Kwantung Army had operated under an Imperial Order to "defend Manchukuo," a broad mandate. Opinions differed in AGS about how best to curb Kwantung Army's operational prerogatives. One idea was to secure Imperial sanction for a new directive limiting Kwantung Army's autonomous combat actions to no more than one regiment. Several other plans circulated. In the meantime, Kwantung Army needed tighter control. On June 29, AGS issued firm instructions to KwAHQ: Directives: a) Kwantung Army is responsible for local settlement of border disputes. b) Areas where the border is disputed, or where defense is tactically unfeasible, need not be defended. Orders: c) Ground combat will be limited to the border region between Manchukuo and Outer Mongolia east of Lake Buir Nor. d) Enemy bases will not be attacked from the air. With this heated exchange of messages, the relationship between Kwantung Army and AGS reached a critical moment. Tsuji called it the "breaking point" between Hsinking and Tokyo. According to Colonel Inada, after this "air raid squabble," gekokujo became much more pronounced in Hsinking, especially within Kwantung Army's Operations Section, which "ceased making meaningful reports" to the AGS Operations Section, which he headed. At KwAHQ, the controversy and the perception of AGS interference in local affairs hardened the resolve of wavering staff officers to move decisively against the USSR. Thereafter, Kwantung Army officers as a group rejected the General Staff's policy of moderation in the Nomonhan incident. Tsuji characterized the conflict between Kwantung Army and the General Staff as the classic clash between combat officers and "desk jockeys." In his view, AGS advocated a policy of not invading enemy territory even if one's own territory was invaded, while Kwantung Army's policy was not to allow invasion. Describing the mindset of the Kwantung Army (and his own) toward the USSR in this border dispute, Tsuji invoked the samurai warrior's warning: "Do not step any closer or I shall be forced to cut you down." Tsuji argued that Kwantung Army had to act firmly at Nomonhan to avoid a larger war later. He also stressed the importance, shared by him and his colleagues, of Kwantung Army maintaining its dignity, which he believed was threatened by both enemy actions and the General Staff. In this emotionally charged atmosphere, the Kwantung Army launched its July offensive. The success of the 2nd Air Group's attack on Tamsag Bulak further inflated KwAHQ's confidence in the upcoming offensive. Although aerial reconnaissance had been intentionally limited to avoid alarming or forewarning the enemy, some scout missions were flown. The scouts reported numerous tank emplacements under construction, though most reports noted few tanks; a single report of large numbers of tanks was downplayed at headquarters. What drew major attention at KwAHQ were reports of large numbers of trucks leaving the front daily and streaming westward into the Mongolian interior. This was interpreted as evidence of a Soviet pullback from forward positions, suggesting the enemy might sense the imminent assault. Orders were issued to speed up final preparations for the assault before Soviet forces could withdraw from the area where the Japanese "meat cleaver" would soon dismember them. What the Japanese scouts had actually observed was not a Soviet withdrawal, but part of a massive truck shuttle that General Grigori Shtern, now commander of Soviet Forces in the Far East, organized to support Zhukov. Each night, Soviet trucks, from distant MPR railway depots to Tamsag Bulak and the combat zone, moved eastward with lights dimmed, carrying supplies and reinforcements. By day, the trucks returned westward for fresh loads. It was these returning trucks, mostly empty, that the Japanese scouts sighted. The Kwantung interpretation of this mass westbound traffic was a serious error, though understandable. The Soviet side was largely ignorant of Japanese preparations, partly because the June 27 air raid had disrupted Soviet air operations, including reconnaissance. In late June, the 23rd Division and Yasuoka's tank force moved from Hailar and Chiangchunmiao toward Nomonhan. A mix of military and civilian vehicles pressed into service, but there was still insufficient motorized transport to move all troops and equipment at once. Most infantry marched the 120 miles to the combat zone, under a hot sun, carrying eighty-pound loads. They arrived after four to six days with little time to recover before the scheduled assault. With Komatsubara's combined force of about 15,000 men, 120 guns, and 70 tanks poised to attack, Kwantung Army estimated Soviet-MPR strength near Nomonhan and the Halha River at about 1,000 men, perhaps ten anti-aircraft guns, ten artillery pieces, and several dozen tanks. In reality, Japanese air activity, especially the big raid of June 27, had put the Soviets on alert. Zhukov suspected a ground attack might occur, though nothing as audacious as a large-scale crossing of the Halha was anticipated. During the night of July 1, Zhukov moved his 11th Tank Brigade, 7th Mechanized Brigade, and 24th Mechanized Infantry Regiment (36th Division) from their staging area near Tamsag Bulak to positions just west of the Halha River. Powerful forces on both sides were being marshaled with little knowledge of the enemy's disposition. As the sun scorched the Mongolian steppes, the stage was set for a clash that would echo through history. General Komatsubara's 23rd Division, bolstered by Yasuoka's armored might and the skies commanded by Gigi's air group, crept toward the Halha River like a predator in the night. Fifteen thousand Japanese warriors, their boots heavy with dust and resolve, prepared to cross the disputed waters and crush what they believed was a faltering foe. Little did they know, Zhukov's reinforcements, tanks rumbling like thunder, mechanized brigades poised in the shadows, had transformed the frontier into a fortress of steel. Miscalculations piled like sand dunes: Japanese scouts mistook supply convoys for retreats, while Soviet eyes, blinded by the June raid, underestimated the impending storm. Kwantung's gekokujo spirit burned bright, defying Tokyo's cautions, as both sides hurtled toward a brutal reckoning. What began as border skirmishes now threatened to erupt into full-scale war, testing the mettle of empires on the edge. 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. Patrols in May led to failed Japanese offensives, like Colonel Yamagata's disastrous assault and the Azuma detachment's annihilation. Tensions rose with air raids, including Japan's June strike on Soviet bases. By July, misjudged intelligence set the stage for a major confrontation, testing imperial ambitions amid global war clouds.

Garth Heckman The David Alliance TDAgiantSlayer@Gmail.com          Phil. 3: 2 Beware of the dogs, beware of the evil workers, beware of the [a]false circumcision; 3 for we are the true [b]circumcision, who worship in the Spirit of God and take pride in Christ Jesus, and put no confidence in the flesh, 4 although I myself could boast as having confidence even in the flesh. If anyone else thinks he is confident in the flesh, I have more reason:     2-6 Steer clear of the barking dogs, those religious busybodies, all bark and no bite. All they're interested in is appearances—knife-happy circumcisers, I call them. The real believers are the ones the Spirit of God leads to work away at this ministry, filling the air with Christ's praise as we do it. We couldn't carry this off by our own efforts, and we know it—even though we can list what many might think are impressive credentials.   To understand the weight of Philippians 3:2-3, you have to imagine Paul writing from a prison cell, not with a sense of defeat, but with a sharp, protective urgency for his friends in Philippi. These verses represent one of the most famous "tone shifts" in the New Testament, moving from joy to a stern warning.   1. The Historical Background When Paul writes, "Watch out for those dogs, those evildoers, those mutilators of the flesh," he isn't just being grumpy. He is addressing a specific group known as Judaizers. The Conflict The Judaizers were early Christians who argued that for a Gentile (non-Jew) to truly follow Christ, they first had to become Jewish by being circumcised and adhering to the Mosaic Law. The Term "Dogs": In the first century, "dogs" wasn't a cute term; it referred to scavengers. Ironically, Jews often used this term for "unclean" Gentiles. Paul flips the script, calling the legalists the "unclean" ones because they were trying to add human effort to a divine gift. The "Mutilators": Paul uses a Greek wordplay here. He contrasts peritome (circumcision) with katatome(mutilation). He's saying that if circumcision is done for the wrong reasons—as a requirement for salvation—it's nothing more than a physical wound with no spiritual value.   2. Defining the "True Circumcision" In verse 3, Paul redefines what it means to be the people of God. He lists three marks of a true believer that don't depend on physical lineage: Mark Meaning Worship by the Spirit Authentic worship isn't about following a ritual checklist; it's an internal prompting from God. Glory in Christ Jesus Our "boasting" or confidence is placed entirely in what Jesus did, not in our own resumes. No Confidence in the Flesh This means we stop trusting our background, our education, or our "goodness" to save us.   3. Application for Today While we aren't usually debating physical circumcision in modern life, the root issue—legalism versus grace—is still very much alive. Avoiding "Performance" Christianity It is human nature to want a "to-do list" to feel secure. Today, "the flesh" might look like: Thinking you are closer to God because you attend more services than others. Relying on your political stance or social activism as the source of your righteousness. Feeling "better" than others because of your specific lifestyle choices. Finding True Identity Paul's message to us today is a call to spiritual exhale. If our standing with God is based on Christ's performance and not ours, we are free from the "treadmill" of trying to earn God's favor. The takeaway: Religious rituals are fine as expressions of love, but they are "dogs" if they become the basis of our hope.   Would you like me to look into the verses that immediately follow this, where Paul lists his own impressive "religious resume" only to call it "rubbish"?

I am increasingly impressed by Iain Rennie, who is the Treasury boss. He seems to say a bunch of interesting and insightful stuff. Last year he warned about our growth rate, our debt and our inability to grow our way out of our troubles. He advocated for asset sales. This past week he was at the Waikato University Economic Forum where he talked about our problem of exporting our best and brightest. Ironically the latest migration stats came out at the same time. The worst might be behind us. Our net migration gain is still small, but the stampede out of the door by New Zealanders has petered out. At Waikato Rennie talked about how it is unique to this country that we export so many young people. His suggestion is the frontier companies aren't good enough and they don't adapt or adopt or invest fast enough compared to other countries. The gap between the frontier companies and lagging firms isn't as big as it should be. In other words the rock stars don't actually rock that much and if you are skilled and bright and determined, offshore seems the place to be. He also talked of confidence and that, to me, is what's missing in this country. Of our four kids who are actually working two are offshore. One other could be, but for now, isn't. We will never be a London or New York. But the fizz we had half a dozen years ago is gone. Immigrants have replaced our kids. We have been dumbed-down. Our brightest haven't been replaced with America's brightest or Europe's brightest, but from countries like India and the Phillippines. We are exporting scientists and doctors and bringing in nurses and baristas. Immigration is awesome. I love immigration. But not if it's not of our choosing. We are being forced into it. The good news is this happened comparatively fast. Not long ago our net gain was over 100,000 people a year. We brought them in and the good ones didn't leave. We can recapture all of that, but a mindset shift is needed. We need to want to be better. I'm not sure enough of us are of that mindset, hence Rennie's concern. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Ralph welcomes, Robert Weissman co-president of Public Citizen, to discuss his Senate testimony about the many ways the Trump Administration's assault on fraud is itself fraudulent. Plus, Ralph informs us of a report from Aljazeera about the MK-84 weapon the IDF is using in Gaza that is designed to generate so much heat it literally vaporizes people.Robert Weissman is a staunch public interest advocate and activist, as well as an expert on a wide variety of issues ranging from corporate accountability and government transparency, to trade and globalization, to economic and regulatory policy. As the president of Public Citizen, he has spearheaded the effort to loosen the chokehold corporations and the wealthy have over our democracy.Every American should be worried about fraud. So it's fine for the committee to be talking about fraud, but it should be based on actual facts and what's actually happening, which is not what's going on with this focus on Minnesota… And without a doubt, if the concern is about fraud in the public or the private economy right now, the number one problem with fraud is the Trump administration.Robert WeissmanThanks to the Supreme Court decision on Presidential immunity, Trump believes (correctly) that he will not be held criminally accountable for anything that he does while he's President. And that is true so long as that Supreme Court decision stands. And I think it's fair to say that basically everyone who's working for him right now—who I think are committing all kinds of crimes, including through the sale of pardons and through the outrageous use of ICE in Minnesota and around the country—I think they expect they're going to get pardoned before he goes. So I think they think they too will be (and they're probably not wrong in expecting it) that they too will be immune from criminal prosecution (at least federal criminal prosecution) for any crimes they commit while they're in the administration.Robert WeissmanIn Case You Haven't Heard with Francesco DeSantisNews 2/13/26* Our top stories this week concern the Jeffrey Epstein case. According to POLITICO, Democratic Congressman Ro Khanna, who, along with Republican Congressman Thomas Massie has led the charge to release the Epstein files, “took to the House floor Tuesday and read aloud the names of six ‘wealthy, powerful men' whose names were originally redacted,” in the files. These names include billionaire Victoria's Secret owner Leslie Wexner, Emirati shipping magnate Sultan Ahmed Bin Sulayem, and Italian politician Nicola Caputo, among other more mysterious figures like Salvatore Nuara and Leonic Leonov. Khanna used congressional representatives' unique power under the speech and debate clause to make these names public, after combing through the files personally along with Rep. Massie. Khanna added “if we found six men that they were hiding in two hours, imagine how many men they are covering up for in those 3 million files.”* Speaking of hiding names in the files, Axios reports that Representative Jamie Raskin stated that “when he searched President Trump's name in the unredacted Epstein files… it came up ‘more than a million times.'” The implication of this statement is clear: Trump's cronies in the Justice Department are covering up the extent of Trump's relationship and involvement with Jeffrey Epstein. Another member of the administration, Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, admitted under Senate questioning that he had lunch with Epstein on his island, along with his family, claiming he “could not recall” why they did. The administration is allowing members of Congress to view the unredacted files within certain hours via a database they describe as confusing, unreliable, and clunky.* Another surprising revelation from the files is that House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries apparently solicited campaign donations from Epstein back in 2013. According to MSN, Epstein received a campaign solicitation via email from a fundraising firm touting Jeffries as “one of the rising stars in the New York Congressional delegation,” and offering Epstein “an opportunity to get to know Hakeem better.” Jeffries denies having any knowledge of this firm's outreach to Epstein and decried House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer's implication that he had any relationship with the late sexual predator and financier, calling Comer a “stone cold liar” and a “malignant clown.”* In non-Epstein related news from Capitol Hill, last week lawmakers held a hearing to probe the operations of autonomous taxi service Waymo. While Republicans chose to focus on Waymo's supposed ties to Chinese companies, Senator Ed Markey of Massachusetts grilled the chief safety officer, Mauricio Peña, on the company's reliance on workers abroad for key safety decisions. Peña admitted that while some operators are located in the US, others – who step in when robotaxis encounter “unusual situations” – work remotely from the Philippines. Markey called this “completely unacceptable,” emphasizing that these workers may need to react “in a split second” during dangerous scenarios. Waymo is just the latest company marketing its services as high tech and autonomous, but later revealed to be reliant on cheap foreign labor. This from Business Insider.* ICE lawlessness continues to roil Congress. Many Democrats are now sounding the alarm that Trump's immigration police – masked, armed, accountable directly to him and backed to the hilt by the administration – could be used as a tool to suppress voter turnout by conducting raids at or near polling locations, thereby scaring citizens into staying home. Senator Chris Murphy of Connecticut said “Trump is trying to create a pretext to rig the election.” Murphy, along with some Senate Democratic allies, pushed leadership to demand that ICE be banned from polling sites as a condition of government shutdown negotiations, but leadership balked, per POLITICO. While such a scenario can sound far-fetched, Trump has “falsely and repeatedly claimed for more than a decade that millions of illegal immigrants vote in the U.S., arguing that was one factor in his 2020 loss,” and, just before the 2020 election, he pledged to send “sheriffs” and “law enforcement” to polling places.* Drop Site News' Jacqueline Sweet reports 70 organizations, Jewish, Christian, Muslim, Hindu, and Unitarian, as well as civil rights, academic, legal, peace, and human rights groups, submitted a formal request to the National Security Division of the Justice Department seeking a “Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA) investigation into Canary Mission.” Canary Mission is a shadowy, infamous group that tracks pro-Palestine activity on college campuses. In 2018, they appeared at the George Washington University wearing spooky masks in an attempt to intimidate the student government into voting down a BDS resolution. They failed. This latest letter comes on the heels of a Drop Site story from January that “showed among other things that Canary is operated in Israel by a large Israeli team.” As the letter notes, the Foreign Agent Registration Act “exists precisely to address this type of potential activity carried out in the United States for the benefit of a foreign country.”* In more news regarding pro-Palestine activism, last week, six defendants linked to Palestine Action, a direct action protest group in the United Kingdom, were acquitted of aggravated burglary in connection with an alleged break in at Elbit Systems, a defense firm with close ties to the Israeli military, in August 2024. The persecution of Palestine Action has gone far beyond normal law enforcement. Some activists have been in pre-trial detention for over 500 days, more than double the maximum limit set by the Crown Prosecution Service. The case of the Palestine Action protestors has drawn outcry from international human rights groups, including the United Nations and Human Rights Watch. As HRW notes, in July of last year, the British government declared Palestine Action a terrorist organization and have now detained over 2,700 protestors over infractions as minor as holding a sign reading “I oppose genocide, I support Palestine Action.” As of now, over 20 activists are still in detention awaiting trial, many beyond the legal limits, and the six acquitted activists may face retrial. But for now, the group has scored a major victory in the face of overwhelming odds.* Turning back to domestic news, New York Governor Kathy Hochul appears to have pulled off a fait accompli in her reelection campaign. Last year, former Representative Elise Stefanik dropped her bid for the Republican gubernatorial nomination and sitting Rep. Mike Lawler declined to run. Now, Hochul's main primary opponent – Lieutenant Governor Antonio Delgado – has dropped his bid after Hochul secured the endorsements of New York City Mayor and political superstar Zohran Mamdani as well as the entirety of the New York Democratic congressional delegation. This from the New York Times. This is a stunning political feat for a Governor who won the narrowest gubernatorial election in the state since 1994 when she was last up in 2022. It now seems that Hochul will square off against Bruce Blakeman, the Trump-endorsed Republican executive of Nassau County in November.* Meanwhile in Los Angeles, the dynamic of the Mayoral race was upended this week by the last-minute decision of Councilmember Nithya Raman to throw her hat into the ring against incumbent Mayor Karen Bass. Raman, an urban planner by trade, chairs the Council's Housing and Homelessness Committee and has “built her political identity around tenant protections, homelessness policy and efforts to accelerate housing production,” per the Los Angeles Daily News. Raman was the first of several Councilmembers elected with DSA support and she has maintained a strong relationship with the local branch despite tensions with the national organization, primarily over Israel/Palestine issues. Bass, who won a narrow election against billionaire developer Rick Caruso in 2022, has faced harsh criticism over her handling of the devastating fires in 2025 and her inability to make significant progress on the city's homelessness crisis. However, Bass maintains the support of much of the city's Democratic establishment, including the unions and much of the City Council and Raman's late entry will make it difficult for her to consolidate majority support across the sprawling western metropolis.* Finally, in a David-and-Goliath tale, we turn to TJ Sabula, the UAW Local 600 Ford factory line worker who called Trump a “pedophile protector.” Infamously, the president retorted by giving Sabula the finger and mouthing, “F--- you.” Ironically, Trump also trotted out his iconic catchphrase “You're fired.” Well, Sabula was not fired – and in fact “has no discipline on his record,” – because he was protected by his union, per the Detroit News. In a recent address, UAW Vice President Laura Dickerson said “TJ, we got your back,” adding “In that moment, we saw what the president really thinks about working people…As UAW members, we speak truth to power. We don't just protect rights, we exercise them.” UAW President Shawn Fain, who has emerged as a firebrand leader of the revitalized labor movement, commented “That's a union brother who spoke up…He put his constitutional rights to work. He put his union rights to work.”This has been Francesco DeSantis, with In Case You Haven't Heard. Get full access to Ralph Nader Radio Hour at www.ralphnaderradiohour.com/subscribe

It’s the end of the world as we know it. Wasn’t that what REM once sang? Ironically when the famous Seattle rock band committed those lyrics to popular music folklore, the world made more sense. Today, after 17 years and many laughs, smiles, tears (and the odd exasperated outburst), Dr Harry Hagopian brings the curtain […]

It’s the end of the world as we know it. Wasn’t that what REM once sang? Ironically when the famous Seattle rock band committed those lyrics to popular music folklore, the world made more sense. Today, after 17 years and many laughs, smiles, tears (and the odd exasperated outburst), Dr Harry Hagopian brings the curtain […]

It’s the end of the world as we know it. Wasn’t that what REM once sang? Ironically when the famous Seattle rock band committed those lyrics to popular music folklore, the world made more sense. Today, after 17 years and many laughs, smiles, tears (and the odd exasperated outburst), Dr Harry Hagopian brings the curtain […]

Most people assume they're eating well when they go out by choosing the "right" food categories: eggs instead of pancakes, salmon instead of a burger, salad instead of fries. But once food leaves your kitchen, categories matter far less than sourcing, fats and preparation. Restaurants are optimized for speed, consistency and profit. That usually means seed oils are used for cooking, sauces and dressings; that produce isn't organic; that poultry is low quality; and that most seafood is farmed. In other words, even meals that seem responsible on paper are often cooked in oxidized fats and paired with ingredients that quietly drive inflammation. In this episode, I explain why those hidden variables matter more than what's listed on the menu — and why even well-intentioned choices can work against you when food is prepared in an environment that was never designed to support your health. The real issue isn't an occasional meal out. It's how these small exposures compound over time. You don't feel it after one dinner — you feel it after years. And by then, most people blame the wrong things: carbs, protein, or entire food groups, when the real problem was never what they were eating but how it was being prepared. So what can you actually do about it? The most effective solution isn't exciting: when you know you'll be away from home, bring food with you. A lunchbox with leftover meat, eggs, fruit and simple whole foods beats a restaurant salad almost every time — and travels far better than most people expect. When eating out is unavoidable, the goal is to choose foods that are harder to mess up: plain red meat, simply cooked eggs, burger patties without sauces, and meals prepared with butter or olive oil when available.  Ironically, foods with a "health halo" — salads, grain bowls, plant-heavy dishes — often perform the worst once dressings and industrial oils become involved. This isn't about fear or perfection. It's about being realistic. You can't outsource your health to systems that were never designed for it. Cooking at home and controlling how your food is prepared remains the most reliable way to protect your long-term health. Learn More: The Seed Oil Free Restaurant App: https://www.seedoilscout.com/  125: The New Food Pyramid 2026 Looks Better… But It's Still Not Good Enough: https://www.primalshiftpodcast.com/125-the-new-food-pyramid-2026-looks-better-but-its-still-not-good-enough/ 124: The Glyphosate Study That Had to Be Retracted: https://www.primalshiftpodcast.com/124-the-glyphosate-study-that-had-to-be-retracted/  121: The Hidden Contaminant in Even the Best Meat: https://www.primalshiftpodcast.com/121-the-hidden-contaminant-in-even-the-best-meat/  Thank you to this episode's sponsor, Peluva! Peluva makes minimalist shoes to support optimal foot, back and joint health. I started wearing Peluvas several months ago, and I haven't worn regular shoes since. I encourage you to consider trading your sneakers or training shoes for a pair of Peluvas, and then watch the health of your feet and lower back improve while reducing your risk of injury.  To learn more about why I love Peluva barefoot shoes, check out my in-depth review: https://michaelkummer.com/health/peluva-review/  And use code MICHAEL to get 10% off your first pair: https://michaelkummer.com/go/peluva  In this episode: 00:00 The hidden dangers of eating out 00:27 Why restaurants aren't designed for health 00:51 The illusion of healthy choices 01:22 Practical tips for eating out 01:43 The impact of regular dining out 03:27 The best solution 05:09 Finding healthier restaurant options 07:01 Final thoughts Find me on social media for more health and wellness content: Website: https://michaelkummer.com/ YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@MichaelKummer Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/primalshiftpodcast/ Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/michaelkummer/ Twitter/X: https://twitter.com/mkummer82 Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/realmichaelkummer/ [Medical Disclaimer] The information shared on this video is for educational purposes only, is not a substitute for the advice of medical doctors or registered dietitians (which I am not) and should not be used to prevent, diagnose, or treat any condition. Consult with a physician before starting a fitness regimen, adding supplements to your diet, or making other changes that may affect your medications, treatment plan, or overall health. [Affiliate Disclaimer] I earn affiliate commissions from some of the brands and products I review on this channel. While that doesn't change my editorial integrity, it helps make this channel happen. If you'd like to support me, please use my affiliate links or discount code.  

Counterfeits are dangerous precisely because they look convincing. The same is true of spiritual sayings that sound biblical but quietly distort how we think about God, stewardship, and money.Many believers can quote phrases that feel deeply spiritual—comforting even—but when placed under the light of Scripture, they don't actually appear there at all. Or worse, they twist what Scripture truly says. These “counterfeit verses” often shape how we view success, risk, provision, and dependence on God without us even realizing it.To explore this issue, we sat down with Taylor Standridge, Production Manager of FaithFi and a regular contributor to Faithful Steward. Taylor is also the lead writer behind Look at the Sparrows and Our Ultimate Treasure. In his recent article, Counterfeit Verses: How to Spot The Sayings That Aren't in the Bible, Taylor traces this problem all the way back to the beginning.“Did God Really Say?”—The First CounterfeitTaylor begins in Genesis 3, when the serpent approaches Eve with a deceptively subtle question: “Did God really say…?” (Genesis 3:1).This moment is critical because the enemy doesn't begin with an outright lie. Instead, he distorts what God has said and, in doing so, undermines God's character. The implication isn't merely that the command is questionable—but that God Himself may be withholding something good.Once Adam and Eve doubt God's goodness, disobedience follows naturally.That same pattern persists today. Many modern financial lies—whether cultural narratives or counterfeit verses—aren't blatant falsehoods. They're half-truths. They sound wise. They feel spiritual. And because they're close enough to the truth, they feel safe.Like a ship that veers off course by only one degree, the deviation seems harmless at first. But over time, it leads somewhere very different from what was intended.At the heart of every counterfeit is the same ancient question: Can God really be trusted?Counterfeit verses don't come with warning labels. They borrow biblical language, appeal to our emotions, and speak to real desires—hope, comfort, identity, and security.Sometimes they even quote Scripture, but rip it out of context.The danger isn't familiarity with Scripture—it's fragmented familiarity. When we know verses as slogans rather than as part of God's larger story, we become vulnerable to subtle distortions. The goal, however, isn't suspicion or cynicism. It's discernment—learning to recognize when a truth has been nudged just slightly off course.Studying the Real Thing: A Lesson from Counterfeit CurrencyTaylor uses a powerful illustration from the film Catch Me If You Can. Frank Abagnale Jr. succeeds as a forger not by inventing fake money from scratch, but by studying the real thing in obsessive detail—down to the ink, paper, and watermarks.Ironically, that expertise later makes him invaluable to the FBI.Banks don't train tellers by showing them every possible fake. They train them by handing them genuine currency until authenticity becomes instinctive.The same is true of Scripture. Discernment doesn't come from memorizing every error—it comes from knowing God's Word so deeply that when something sounds “almost right,” you can feel that it isn't.Common Counterfeit Verses That Shape Our View of Money“Money is the Root of All Evil”This misquote radically reshapes our theology of money. If money itself is evil, then wealth becomes suspicious, and stewardship feels compromising.But Scripture says something far more searching: “For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evils” (1 Timothy 6:10).The issue isn't possession—it's devotion. Scripture doesn't demonize money; it disciples our hearts.“God Helps Those Who Help Themselves”This phrase flips the gospel upside down. It places self-sufficiency at the center and turns God into a backup plan.Biblically, grace always comes first. God meets us in our need, not our strength. Stewardship, then, isn't self-rescue—it's dependence. Jesus says it plainly: “Apart from me you can do nothing” (John 15:5).“God Won't Give You More Than You Can Handle”This saying sounds comforting, but it places the burden of endurance squarely on our shoulders.Paul tells a different story: “We were so utterly burdened beyond our strength… so that we would not rely on ourselves but on God” (2 Corinthians 1:8–9).God often allows what we cannot handle so that we learn to rely on Him.“Let Go and Let God”This phrase requires nuance. Scripture does call us to trust—but never to passive disengagement.Faith and obedience always move together. Noah builds. Abraham goes. Ruth works. Grace empowers action; it doesn't replace it. As J. I. Packer once said, the Christian motto isn't “Let go and let God,” but “Trust God and get going.”Growing in Discernment Without FearDiscernment begins with familiarity. Counterfeits thrive when Scripture is reduced to slogans. But when we immerse ourselves in the full story of God's Word, we learn to recognize the Shepherd's voice (John 10:4).Community matters too. God designed us to learn truth together—through teaching, correction, and shared wisdom.The goal isn't paranoia. It's confidence. We don't spend our lives studying counterfeits—we anchor ourselves in truth, trusting the Spirit of God to alert us when something isn't from Him.If we want to steward money wisely, we must first steward God's truth faithfully. Because when we know what God has truly said, we're finally free to live—and steward—with clarity, confidence, and trust.———————————————————————————————————————Taylor Standridge's article “Counterfeit Verses: How to Spot The Sayings That Aren't in the Bible” appears in the latest issue of Faithful Steward, our quarterly magazine for FaithFi Partners. To receive your copy and enjoy additional partner benefits, visit FaithFi.com/Partner.On Today's Program, Rob Answers Listener Questions:I'm considering a reverse mortgage for retirement. My home is worth about $370,000, and I owe $104,000 at 3.5%. How do reverse mortgages work? Would this help me in retirement, and what kind of interest rate should I expect compared to my current loan?I've been offered an investment where $10,000 could return 250%. I know the person personally, and there's paperwork and an attorney involved, but how can I properly vet this to be sure it's legitimate—especially since it involves real estate?Resources Mentioned:Faithful Steward: FaithFi's Quarterly Magazine (Become a FaithFi Partner)Counterfeit Verses: How to Spot The Sayings That Aren't in the Bible (Article by Taylor Standridge in Issue 4 of Faithful Steward Magazine)Movement MortgageOur Ultimate Treasure: A 21-Day Journey to Faithful StewardshipWisdom Over Wealth: 12 Lessons from Ecclesiastes on MoneyLook At The Sparrows: A 21-Day Devotional on Financial Fear and AnxietyRich Toward God: A Study on the Parable of the Rich FoolFind a Certified Kingdom Advisor (CKA)FaithFi App Remember, you can call in to ask your questions every workday at (800) 525-7000. Faith & Finance is also available on Moody Radio Network and American Family Radio. You can also visit FaithFi.com to connect with our online community and partner with us as we help more people live as faithful stewards of God's resources. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

  This week has been heavy. While there's been a desire to focus on many things, planning food and movement simply hasn't felt possible — and that's been part of the reality. Ironically, the intention behind recording these six weeks was to build momentum and gently shift habits. But grief has its own pace, and this week made that very clear. The weight of it is real, and it doesn't follow plans. Rather than investing in stories about how this period should feel or what's expected, I've chosen to tell myself a different story about the grief I'm experiencing. Not because it removes the pain — but because sitting under a dark cloud and letting it take over doesn't feel like a choice I'm willing to make. In this episode, I share how I'm simplifying food by ordering online to make quick, nourishing meals easier, and why that matters right now. I also talk about turning to art as a release — christening the easel and allowing creativity to hold some of what words can't. I reflect honestly on noticing patterns of addictive behaviour, how the idea of wine began to feel like comfort, and why I made the decision to keep no wine in the house during this time. This episode is about gentleness, awareness, and choosing care — even when everything feels heavy. In this episode: Navigating food when energy and motivation are low Letting go of expectations around grief Creating simple systems to support nourishment Using art as an emotional outlet Recognising and responding to addictive patterns Making conscious choices during a vulnerable week  

Last time we spoke about The Battle of Suixian–Zaoyang-Shatow. Following the brutal 1938 capture of Wuhan, Japanese forces aimed to solidify their hold by launching an offensive against Chinese troops in the 5th War Zone, a rugged natural fortress in northern Hubei and southern Henan. Under General Yasuji Okamura, the 11th Army deployed three divisions and cavalry in a pincer assault starting May 1, 1939, targeting Suixian and Zaoyang to crush Nationalist resistance and secure flanks. Chinese commander Li Zongren, leveraging terrain like the Dabie and Tongbai Mountains, orchestrated defenses with over 200,000 troops, including Tang Enbo's 31st Army Group. By May 23, they recaptured Suixian and Zaoyang, forcing a Japanese withdrawal with heavy losses, over 13,000 Japanese casualties versus 25,000 Chinese, restoring pre-battle lines. Shifting south, Japan targeted Shantou in Guangdong to sever supply lines from Hong Kong. In a massive June 21 amphibious assault, the 21st Army overwhelmed thin Chinese defenses, capturing the port and Chao'an despite guerrilla resistance led by Zhang Fakui. Though losses mounted, Japan tightened its blockade, straining China's war effort amid ongoing attrition.   #188 From Changkufeng to Nomonhan 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. Well hello again, and yes you all have probably guessed we are taking another detour. Do not worry I hope to shorten this one a bit more so than what became a sort of mini series on the battle of Changkufeng or Battle of Lake Khasan. What we are about to jump into is known in the west as the battle of khalkin Gol, by the Japanese the Nomohan incident. But first I need to sort of set the table up so to say. So back on August 10th, 1938 the Litvinov-Shigemitsu agreement established a joint border commission tasked with redemarcating the disputed boundary between the Soviet Union and Japanese-controlled Manchukuo. However, this commission never achieved a mutually agreeable definition of the border in the contested area. In reality, the outcome was decided well before the group's inaugural meeting. Mere hours after the cease-fire took effect on the afternoon of August 11, General Grigory Shtern convened with a regimental commander from Japan's 19th Division to coordinate the disengagement of forces. With the conflict deemed "honorably" concluded, Japan's Imperial General Headquarters mandated the swift withdrawal of all Japanese troops to the west bank of the Tumen River. By the night of August 13, as the final Japanese soldier crossed the river, it effectively became the de facto border. Soviet forces promptly reoccupied Changkufeng Hill and the adjacent heights—a move that would carry unexpected and profound repercussions. Authoritative Japanese military analyses suggest that if negotiations in Moscow had dragged on for just one more day, the 19th Division would likely have been dislodged from Changkufeng and its surrounding elevations. Undoubtedly, General Shtern's infantry breathed a sigh of relief as the bloodshed ceased. Yet, one can't help but question why Moscow opted for a cease-fire at a juncture when Soviet troops were on the cusp of total battlefield triumph. Perhaps Kremlin leaders deemed it wiser to settle for a substantial gain, roughly three-quarters of their objectives, rather than risk everything. After all, Japan had mobilized threatening forces in eastern Manchuria, and the Imperial Army had a history of impulsive, unpredictable aggression. Moreover, amid the escalating crisis over Czechoslovakia, Moscow may have been wary of provoking a broader Asian conflict. Another theory posits that Soviet high command was misinformed about the ground situation. Reports of capturing a small segment of Changkufeng's crest might have been misinterpreted as control over the entire ridge, or an imminent full takeover before midnight on August 10. The unexpected phone call from Foreign Minister Maxim Litvinov to the Japanese embassy that night—proposing a one-kilometer Japanese retreat in exchange for a cease-fire along existing lines—hints at communication breakdowns between Shtern's headquarters and the Kremlin. Ironically, such lapses may have preserved Japanese military honor, allowing the 19th Division's evacuation through diplomacy rather than defeat. Both sides endured severe losses. Initial Japanese press reports claimed 158 killed and 740 wounded. However, the 19th Division's medical logs reveal a grimmer toll: 526 dead and 914 injured, totaling 1,440 casualties. The true figure may have climbed higher, possibly to 1,500–2,000. Following the armistice, the Soviet news agency TASS reported 236 Red Army fatalities and 611 wounded. Given Shtern's uphill assaults across open terrain against entrenched positions, these numbers seem understated. Attackers in such scenarios typically suffered two to three times the defenders' losses, suggesting Soviet casualties ranged from 3,000 to 5,000. This aligns with a Soviet Military Council investigation on August 31, 1938, which documented 408 killed and 2,807 wounded. Japanese estimates placed Soviet losses even higher, at 4,500–7,000. Not all victims perished in combat. Marshal Vasily Blyukher, a decorated Soviet commander, former warlord of the Far East, and Central Committee candidate, was summoned to Moscow in August 1938. Relieved of duty in September and arrested with his family in October, he faced charges of inadequate preparation against Japanese aggression and harboring "enemies of the people" within his ranks. On November 9, 1938, Blyukher died during interrogation a euphemism for torture-induced death.Other innocents suffered as well. In the wake of the fighting, Soviet authorities deported hundreds of thousands of Korean rice farmers from the Ussuri region to Kazakhstan, aiming to eradicate Korean settlements that Japanese spies had allegedly exploited. The Changkufeng clash indirectly hampered Japan's Wuhan offensive, a massive push to subdue China. The influx of troops and supplies for this campaign was briefly disrupted by the border flare-up. Notably, Kwantung Army's 2nd Air Group, slated for Wuhan, was retained due to the Soviet threat. Chiang Kai-shek's drastic measure, breaching the Yellow River dikes to flood Japanese advance routes—further delayed the assault. By October 25, 1938, when Japanese forces captured Hankow, Chiang had relocated his capital to distant Chungking. Paradoxically, Wuhan's fall cut rail links from Canton inland, heightening Chiang's reliance on Soviet aid routed overland and by air from Central Asia. Japan secured a tactical win but missed the decisive blow; Chinese resistance persisted, pinning down a million Japanese troops in occupation duties. What was the true significance of Changkufeng? For General Koiso Suetaka and the 19th Division, it evoked a mix of bitterness and pride. Those eager for combat got their share, though not on their terms. To veterans mourning fallen comrades on those desolate slopes, it might have felt like senseless tragedy. Yet, they fought valiantly under dire conditions, holding firm until a retreat that blended humiliation with imperial praise, a bittersweet inheritance. For the Red Army, it marked a crucial trial of resolve amid Stalin's purges. While Shtern's forces didn't shine brilliantly, they acquitted themselves well in adversity. The U.S. military attaché in Moscow observed that any purge-related inefficiencies had been surmounted, praising the Red Army's valor, reliability, and equipment. His counterpart in China, Colonel Joseph Stilwell, put it bluntly: the Soviets "appeared to advantage," urging skeptics to rethink notions of a weakened Red Army. Yet, by World War II's eve, many British, French, German, and Japanese leaders still dismissed it as a "paper tiger." Soviet leaders appeared content, promoting Shtern to command the Transbaikal Military District and colonel general by 1940, while honoring "Heroes of Lake Khasan" with medals. In a fiery November 7, 1938, speech, Marshal Kliment Voroshilov warned that future incursions would prompt strikes deep into enemy territory. Tokyo's views diverged sharply. Many in the military and government saw it as a stain on Imperial Army prestige, especially Kwantung Army, humiliated on Manchukuo soil it swore to protect. Colonel Masanobu Tsuji Inada, however, framed it as a successful reconnaissance, confirming Soviet border defense without broader aggression, allowing the Wuhan push to proceed safely. Critics, including Major General Gun Hashimoto and historians, questioned this. They argued IGHQ lacked contingency plans for a massive Soviet response, especially with Wuhan preparations underway since June. One expert warned Japan had "played with fire," risking Manchuria and Korea if escalation occurred. Yet, Japanese commanders gleaned few lessons, downplaying Soviet materiel superiority and maintaining disdain for Red Army prowess. The 19th Division's stand against outnumbered odds reinforced this hubris, as did tolerance for local insubordination—attitudes that would prove costly. The Kremlin, conversely, learned Japan remained unpredictable despite its China quagmire. But for Emperor Hirohito's intervention, the conflict might have ballooned. Amid purges and the Czech crisis, Stalin likely viewed it as a reminder of eastern vulnerabilities, especially with Munich advancing German threats westward. Both sides toyed with peril. Moderation won in Tokyo, but Kwantung Army seethed. On August 11, Premier Fumimaro Konoye noted the need for caution. Kwantung, however, pushed for and secured control of the disputed salient from Chosen Army by October 8, 1938. Even winter's chill couldn't quench their vengeful fire, setting the stage for future confrontations. A quick look at the regional map reveals how Manchukuo and the Mongolian People's Republic each jut into the other's territory like protruding salients. These bulges could be seen as aggressive thrusts into enemy land, yet they also risked encirclement and absorption by the opposing empire. A northward push from western Manchuria through Mongolia could sever the MPR and Soviet Far East from the USSR's heartland. Conversely, a pincer movement from Mongolia and the Soviet Maritime Province might envelop and isolate Manchukuo. This dynamic highlights the frontier's strategic volatility in the 1930s. One particularly tense sector was the broad Mongolian salient extending about 150 miles eastward into west-central Manchukuo. There, in mid-1939, Soviet-Japanese tensions erupted into major combat. Known to the Japanese as the Nomonhan Incident and to the Soviets and Mongolians as the Battle of Khalkhin Gol, this clash dwarfed the earlier Changkufeng affair in scale, duration, and impact. Spanning four months and claiming 30,000 to 50,000 casualties, it amounted to a small undeclared war, the modern era's first limited conflict between great powers. The Mongolian salient features vast, semiarid plains of sandy grassland, gently rolling terrain dotted with sparse scrub pines and low shrubs. The climate is unforgivingly continental: May brings hot days and freezing nights, while July and August see daytime highs exceeding 38°C (100°F in American units), with cool evenings. Swarms of mosquitoes and massive horseflies necessitate netting in summer. Rainfall is scarce, but dense morning fogs are common in August. Come September, temperatures plummet, with heavy snows by October and midwinter lows dipping to –34°C. This blend of North African aridity and North Dakotan winters supports only sparse populations, mainly two related but distinct Mongol tribes. The Buriat (or Barga) Mongols migrated into the Nomonhan area from the northwest in the late 17th to early 18th centuries, likely fleeing Russian expansion after the 1689 Treaty of Nerchinsk. Organized by Manchu emperors between 1732 and 1735, they settled east of the river they called Khalkhin Gol (Mongolian for "river"), in lands that would later become Manchukuo. The Khalkha Mongols, named for the word meaning "barrier" or "shield," traditionally guarded the Mongol Empire's northern frontiers. Their territories lay west of the Buriats, in what would become the MPR. For centuries, these tribes herded livestock across sands, river crossings, and desert paths, largely oblivious to any formal borders. For hundreds of years, the line dividing the Mongolian salient from western Manchuria was a hazy administrative divide within the Qing Empire. In the 20th century, Russia's detachment of Outer Mongolia and Japan's seizure of Manchuria transformed this vague boundary into a frontline between rival powers. The Nomonhan Incident ignited over this contested border. Near the salient's northeastern edge, the river, called Khalkhin Gol by Mongols and Soviets, and Halha by Manchurians and Japanese, flows northwest into Lake Buir Nor. The core dispute: Was the river, as Japan asserted, the historic boundary between Manchukuo and the MPR? Soviet and MPR officials insisted the line ran parallel to and 10–12 miles east of the river, claiming the intervening strip. Japan cited no fewer than 18 maps, from Chinese and Japanese sources, to support the river as the border, a logical choice in such barren terrain, where it served as the sole natural divider. Yet, Soviets and Mongolians countered with evidence like a 1919 Chinese postal atlas and maps from Japanese and Manchukuoan agencies (1919–1934). Unbeknownst to combatants, in July 1939, China's military attaché in Moscow shared a 1934 General Staff map with his American counterpart, showing the border east of the river. Postwar Japanese studies of 18th-century Chinese records confirm that in 1734, the Qing emperor set a boundary between Buriat and Khalkha Mongols east of the river, passing through the hamlet of Nomonhan—as the Soviets claimed. However, Kwantung Army Headquarters dismissed this as non-binding, viewing it as an internal Qing affair without Russian involvement. Two former Kwantung Army officers offer a pragmatic explanation: From 1931 to 1935, when Soviet forces in the Far East were weak, Japanese and Manchukuoan authorities imposed the river as the de facto border, with MPR acquiescence. By the mid- to late 1930s, as Soviet strength grew, Japan refused to yield, while Mongolians and Soviets rejected the river line, sparking clashes. In 1935, Kwantung Army revised its maps to align with the river claim. From late that year, the Lake Buir Nor–Halha sector saw frequent skirmishes between Manchukuoan and MPR patrols. Until mid-1938, frontier defense in northwestern Manchukuo fell to the 8th Border Garrison Unit , based near Hailar. This 7,000-man force, spread thin, lacked mobility, training, and, in Kwantung Army's eyes, combat readiness. That summer, the newly formed 23rd Division, under Kwantung Army, took station at Hailar, absorbing the 8th BGU under its command, led by Lieutenant General Michitaro Komatsubara. At 52, Komatsubara was a premier Russian specialist in the Imperial Army, with stints as military attaché in the USSR and head of Kwantung's Special Services Agency in Harbin. Standing 5'7" with a sturdy build, glasses, and a small mustache, he was detail-oriented, keeping meticulous diaries, writing lengthy letters, and composing poetry, though he lacked combat experience. Before departing Tokyo in July 1938, Komatsubara received briefings from Colonel Masazumi Inada, AGS Operations Section chief. Amid planning for Changkufeng, Inada urged calm on the Manchukuo-MPR border given China's ongoing campaigns. Guidelines: Ignore minor incidents, prioritize intelligence on Soviet forces east of Lake Baikal, and study operations against the Soviet Far East's western sector. Familiar with the region from his Harbin days, Komatsubara adopted a low-key approach. Neither impulsive nor aggressive, he kept the green 23rd Division near Hailar, delegating patrols to the 8th BGU. An autumn incident underscores his restraint. On November 1, 1938, an 8th BGU patrol was ambushed by MPR forces. Per Japanese accounts, the three-man team, led by a lieutenant, strayed too close to the border and was attacked 50 meters inside Manchukuo. The lieutenant escaped, but his men died. Komatsubara sent an infantry company to secure the site but forbade retaliation. He pursued body recovery diplomatically, protested to MPR and Soviet officials, and disciplined his officers: garrison leaders got five days' confinement for poor troop training, the lieutenant thirty days. Despite this caution, pressures at AGS and KwAHQ were mounting, poised to thrust the 23rd Division into fierce battle. Modern militaries routinely develop contingency plans against potential adversaries, and the mere existence of such strategies doesn't inherently signal aggressive intentions. That said, shifts in Japan's operational planning vis-à-vis the Soviet Union may have inadvertently fueled the Nomonhan Incident. From 1934 to 1938, Japanese war scenarios emphasized a massive surprise assault in the Ussuri River region, paired with defensive holding actions in northwestern Manchuria. However, between mid-1938 and early 1939, a clandestine joint task force from the Army General Staff  and Kwantung Army's Operations Departments crafted a bold new blueprint. This revised strategy proposed containing Soviet forces in the east and north while unleashing a full-scale offensive from Hailar, advancing west-northwest toward Chita and ultimately Lake Baikal. The goal: sever the Transbaikal Soviet Far East from the USSR's core. Dubbed Plan Eight-B, it gained Kwantung Army's endorsement in March 1939. Key architects—Colonels Takushiro Hattori and Masao Terada, along with Major Takeharu Shimanuki—were reassigned from AGS to Kwantung Army Headquarters to oversee implementation. The plan anticipated a five-year buildup before execution, with Hattori assuming the role of chief operations staff officer.  A map review exposes a glaring vulnerability in Plan Eight-B: the Japanese advance would leave its southern flank exposed to Soviet counterstrikes from the Mongolian salient. By spring 1939, KwAHQ likely began perceiving this protrusion as a strategic liability. Notably, at the outbreak of Nomonhan hostilities, no detailed operational contingencies for the area had been formalized. Concurrently, Japan initiated plans for a vital railroad linking Harlun Arshan to Hailar. While its direct tie to Plan Eight-B remains unclear, the route skirted perilously close to the Halha River, potentially heightening KwAHQ's focus on the disputed Mongolian salient. In early 1939, the 23rd Division intensified reconnaissance patrols near the river. Around this time, General Grigory Shtern, freshly appointed commander of Soviet Far Eastern forces, issued a public warning that Japan was gearing up for an assault on the Mongolian People's Republic. As Plan Eight-B took shape and railroad proposals advanced, KwAHQ issued a strikingly confrontational set of guidelines for frontier troops. These directives are often cited as a catalyst for the Nomonhan clash, forging a chain linking the 1937 Amur River incident, the 1938 Changkufeng debacle, and the 1939 conflict.Resentment had festered at KwAHQ over perceived AGS meddling during the Amur affair, which curtailed their command autonomy. This frustration intensified at Changkufeng, where General Kamezo Suetaka's 19th Division endured heavy losses, only for the contested Manchukuoan territory to be effectively ceded. Kwantung Army lobbied successfully to wrest oversight of the Changkufeng salient from Chosen Army. In November 1938, Major Masanobu Tsuji of KwAHQ's Operations Section was sent to survey the site. The audacious officer was dismayed: Soviet forces dominated the land from the disputed ridge to the Tumen River. Tsuji undertook several winter reconnaissance missions. His final outing in March 1939 involved leading 40 men to Changkufeng's base. With rifles slung non-threateningly, they ascended to within 200 yards of Soviet lines, formed a line, and urinated in unison, eliciting amused reactions from the enemy. They then picnicked with obentos and sake, sang army tunes, and left gifts of canned meat, chocolates, and whiskey. This theatrical stunt concealed Tsuji's real aim: covert photography proving Soviet fortifications encroached on Manchukuoan soil. Tsuji was a singular figure. Born of modest means, he embodied a modern samurai ethos, channeling a sharp intellect into a frail, often ailing body through feats of extraordinary daring. A creative tactician, he thrived in intelligence ops, political scheming, aerial scouting, planning, and frontline command—excelling across a tumultuous career. Yet, flaws marred his brilliance: narrow bigotry, virulent racism, and capacity for cruelty. Ever the ambitious outsider, Tsuji wielded outsized influence via gekokujo—Japan's tradition of subordinates steering policy from below. In 1939, he was a major, but his pivotal role at Nomonhan stemmed from this dynamic. Back in Hsinking after his Changkufeng escapade, Tsuji drafted a response plan: negotiate border "rectification" with the Soviets; if talks failed, launch an attack to expel intruders. Kwantung Army adopted it. Deputy Chief of Staff Major General Otozaburo Yano flew to Tokyo with Tsuji's photos, seeking AGS approval. There, he was rebuffed—Changkufeng was deemed settled, and minor violations should be overlooked amid Tokyo's aversion to Soviet conflict. Yano's plea that leniency would invite aggression was countered by notes on Europe's tensions restraining Moscow. Yano's return sparked outrage at KwAHQ, seen as AGS thwarting their imperial duty to safeguard Manchukuo. Fury peaked in the Operations Section, setting the stage for Tsuji's drafting of stringent new frontier guidelines: "Principles for the Settlement of Soviet-Manchukuoan Border Disputes." The core tenet: "If Soviet troops transgress the Manchukuoan frontiers, Kwantung Army will nip their ambitions in the bud by completely destroying them." Specific directives for local commanders included: "If the enemy crosses the frontiers … annihilate him without delay, employing strength carefully built up beforehand. To accomplish our mission, it is permissible to enter Soviet territory, or to trap or lure Soviet troops into Manchukuoan territory and allow them to remain there for some time… . Where boundary lines are not clearly defined, area defense commanders will, upon their own initiative, establish boundaries and indicate them to the forward elements… . In the event of an armed clash, fight until victory is won, regardless of relative strengths or of the location of the boundaries. If the enemy violates the borders, friendly units must challenge him courageously and endeavor to triumph in their zone of action without concerning themselves about the consequences, which will be the responsibility of higher headquarters." Major Tsuji Masanobu later justified the new guidelines by pointing to the "contradictory orders" that had hamstrung frontier commanders under the old rules. They were tasked with upholding Manchukuo's territorial integrity yet forbidden from actions that might spark conflict. This, Tsuji argued, bred hesitation, as officers feared repercussions for decisive responses to incursions. The updated directives aimed to alleviate this "anxiety," empowering local leaders to act boldly without personal liability. In truth, Tsuji's "Principles for the Settlement of Soviet-Manchukuoan Border Disputes" were more incendiary than conciliatory. They introduced provocative measures: authorizing commanders to unilaterally define unclear boundaries, enforce them with immediate force "shoot first, ask questions later", permit pursuits into enemy territory, and even encourage luring adversaries across the line. Such tactics flouted both government policy and official army doctrine, prioritizing escalation over restraint. The proposals sparked intense debate within Kwantung Army's Operations Section. Section chief Colonel Takushiro Hattori and Colonel Masao Terada outranked Tsuji, as did Major Takeharu Shimanuki, all recent transfers from the Army General Staff. Tsuji, however, boasted longer tenure at Kwantung Army Headquarters since April 1936 and in Operations since November 1937, making him the de facto veteran. Hattori and Terada hesitated to challenge the assertive major, whose reputation for intellect, persuasion, and deep knowledge of Manchuria commanded respect. In a 1960 interview, Shimanuki recalled Tsuji's dominance in discussions, where his proactive ideas often swayed the group. Unified, the section forwarded Tsuji's plan to Kwantung Army Command. Commander Lieutenant General Kenkichi Ueda consulted Chief of Staff General Rensuke Isogai and Vice Chief General Otozaburo Yano, seasoned leaders who should have spotted the guidelines' volatility. Yet, lingering grudges from AGS "interference" in past incidents like the Amur River and Changkufeng clouded their judgment. Ueda, Isogai, and Tsuji shared history from the 1932 Shanghai Incident: Tsuji, then a captain, led a company in the 7th Regiment under Colonel Isogai, with Yano as staff officer and Ueda commanding the 9th Division. Tsuji was wounded there, forging bonds of camaraderie. This "clique," which grew to include Hattori, Terada, and Shimanuki, amplified Tsuji's influence. Despite Isogai's initial reservations as the group's moderate voice, the guidelines won approval. Ueda issued them as Kwantung Army Operations Order 1488 on April 25, 1939, during a division commanders' conference at KwAHQ. A routine copy reached AGS in Tokyo, but no formal reply came. Preoccupied with the China War and alliance talks with Germany, AGS may have overlooked border matters. Colonel Masazumi Inada, AGS Operations head, later noted basic acceptance of Order 1488, with an informal expectation—relayed to Hattori and Terada—of prior consultation on violations. KwAHQ dismissed this as another Tokyo intrusion on their autonomy. Some Japanese analysts contend a stern AGS rejection might have prevented Nomonhan's catastrophe, though quelling Kwantung's defiance could have required mass staff reassignments, a disruptive step AGS avoided. Tsuji countered that permitting forceful action at Changkufeng would have deterred Nomonhan altogether, underscoring the interconnectedness of these clashes while implicitly critiquing the 1939 battle's location. Undeniably, Order 1488's issuance on April 25 paved the way for conflict three weeks later. Japanese records confirm that Khalkha Mongols and MPR patrols routinely crossed the Halha River—viewed by them as internal territory, 10 miles from the true border. Such crossings passed uneventfully in March and April 1939. Post-Order 1488, however, 23rd Division commander General Michitaro Komatsubara responded aggressively, setting the stage for escalation. The Nomonhan Incident ignited with a border clash on May 11–12, 1939, that rapidly spiraled into a major conflict. Over a dozen "authoritative" accounts exist, varying in viewpoint, focus, and specifics. After cross-referencing these sources, a coherent timeline emerges. On the night of May 10–11, a 20-man Mongolian People's Republic border patrol crossed eastward over the Halha River (known as Khalkhin Gol to Mongols and Soviets). About 10 miles east, atop a 150-foot sandy hill, lay the tiny hamlet of Nomonhan, a cluster of crude huts housing a few Mongol families. Just south flowed the Holsten River, merging westward into the broader Halha. By morning on May 11, Manchukuoan forces spotted the MPR patrol north of the Holsten and west of Nomonhan. In the MPR/Soviet perspective, Nomonhan Hill marked the Mongolia-Manchuria border. To Manchukuoans and Japanese, it sat 10 miles inside Manchukuo, well east of the Halha. A 40-man Manchukuoan cavalry unit repelled the Mongolians back across the river, inflicting initial casualties on both sides—the Manchukuoans drawing first blood. The MPR patrol leader exaggerated the attackers as 200 strong. The next day, May 12, a 60-man MPR force under Major P. Chogdan evicted the Manchukuoans from the disputed zone, reestablishing positions between the Halha and Nomonhan. The Manchukuoans, in turn, reported facing 700 enemies. Sporadic skirmishes and maneuvering persisted through the week. On May 13, two days post-clash, the local Manchukuoan commander alerted General Michitaro Komatsubara's 23rd Division headquarters in Hailar. Simultaneously, Major Chogdan reported to Soviet military command in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia's capital. What began as a Mongolian-Manchukuoan spat was poised to draw in Soviet and Japanese patrons. Attributing the May 10–11 violation hinges on border interpretations: both sides claimed the Halha-Nomonhan strip. Yet, most accounts concur that Manchukuoan forces initiated the fighting. Post-May 13 notifications to Moscow and Tokyo clarify the record thereafter. Midday on May 13, Komatsubara was leading a staff conference on the newly issued Kwantung Army Operations Order 1488—Major Tsuji Masanobu's aggressive border guidelines. Ironically, the first Nomonhan combat report arrived mid-discussion. Officers present recall Komatsubara deciding instantly to "destroy the invading Outer Mongolian forces" per Order 1488. That afternoon, he informed Kwantung Army Headquarters of the incident and his intent to eradicate the intruders, requesting air support and trucks. General Kenkichi Ueda, Kwantung commander, approved Komatsubara's "positive attitude," dispatching six scout planes, 40 fighters, 10 light bombers, two anti-aircraft batteries, and two motorized transport companies. Ueda added a caveat: exercise "extreme caution" to prevent escalation—a paradoxical blend of destruction and restraint, reflective of KwAHQ's fervent mood. Ueda relayed the details to Tokyo's Army General Staff, which responded that Kwantung should handle it "appropriately." Despite Kwantung's impulsive reputation, Tokyo deferred, perhaps trusting the northern strategic imbalance, eight Japanese divisions versus 30 Soviet ones from Lake Baikal to Vladivostok, would enforce prudence. This faith proved misguided. On May 14, Major Tsuji flew from KwAHQ for aerial reconnaissance over Nomonhan, spotting 20 horses but no troops. Upon landing, a fresh bullet hole in his plane confirmed lingering MPR presence east of the Halha. Tsuji briefed 23rd Division staff and reported to Ueda that the incident seemed minor. Aligning with Order 1488's spirit, Komatsubara deployed a force under Lieutenant Colonel Yaozo Azuma: an armored car company, two infantry companies, and a cavalry troop. Arriving at Nomonhan on May 15, Azuma learned most MPR forces had retreated westward across the Halha the prior night, with only token elements remaining, and those withdrawing. Undeterred, he pursued. The advance met scant resistance, as foes had crossed the river. However, Japanese light bombers struck a small MPR concentration on the west bank, Outpost Number 7, killing two and wounding 15 per MPR reports; Japanese claimed 30–40 kills. All agree: the raid targeted undisputed MPR territory. Hearing of May 15's events, Komatsubara deemed the Mongolians sufficiently rebuked and recalled Azuma to Hailar on May 16. KwAHQ concurred, closing the matter. Soviet leaders, however, saw it differently. Mid-May prompted Soviet support for the MPR under their 1936 Mutual Defense Pact. The Red Army's 57th Corps, stationed in Mongolia, faced initial disarray: Commander Nikolai Feklenko was hunting, Chief of Staff A. M. Kushchev in Ulan Ude with his ill wife. Moscow learned of clashes via international press from Japanese sources, sparking Chief of Staff Boris Shaposhnikov's furious inquiry. Feklenko and Kushchev rushed back to Ulaanbaatar, dispatching a mixed force—a battalion from the 149th Infantry Regiment (36th Division), plus light armor and artillery from the 11th Tank Brigade—to Tamsag Bulak, 80 miles west of the Halha. Led by Major A. E. Bykov, it bolstered the MPR's 6th Cavalry Division. Bykov and Cavalry Commander Colonel Shoaaiibuu inspected the site on May 15, post-Azum's departure. The cavalry arrived two days later, backed by Bykov (ordered to remain west of the river and avoid combat if possible). Some MPR troops recrossed, occupying the disputed zone. Clashes with Manchukuoan cavalry resumed and intensified. Notified of renewed hostilities, Komatsubara viewed it as defiance, a personal affront. Emboldened by Order 1488, he aimed not just to repel but to encircle and annihilate. The incident was on the verge of major expansion. 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. The ghosts of the Changufeng incident have come back to haunt both the USSR and Japan. Those like Tsuji Masanobu instigated yet another border clash that would erupt into a full blown battle that would set a precedent for both nations until the very end of WW2. 

In this episode of the Broad Street Review podcast, host Darnelle Radford welcomes the cast and director of 'Jesus Hopped the A Train' to discuss the themes, characters, and relevance of the play. The conversation explores the journey of the characters, the impact of community and accountability, and how the play resonates with current social issues. The guests share their personal experiences with the material and the importance of storytelling in theater.Chapters00:00 Welcome to Season 1003:58 Introduction to Jesus Hop the A Train05:37 Character Insights and Table Read Reactions09:14 Exploring Themes of Redemption and Accountability14:42 Relevance of the Play in Today's Society21:17 Community, Power, and the Role of Money25:58 Character Development and Personal Growth28:15 Final Thoughts and Audience TakeawaysJesus Hopped the “A” TrainA young man with little hope, Angel, has shot a cult leader for brainwashing his best friend; his confession to the public defender then cripples Angel's defense when the cult leader dies. Ironically, while in The Tombs, the serial killer in the next cell sparks Angel's spiritual conversion.Directed By: Dave EbersoleCAST:Carlos Jiga - AngelJon Owens - LuciusMonica Guest - Mary JaneBrandon Tabb - ValdezEric Jarrell - D'AmicoFOR TICKETS AND INFORMATION: https://thestagecrafters.org/production/jesus-hopped-the-a-train/

2/9/2026 YOU SHOULD LEARN SOMETHING NEW FROM AN OLD BOOKEPISODE 1737 In case you haven't heard, each new iteration of artificial intelligence seems to suffer from more hallucinations. Ironically, the faster and more data inundated it gets, the more errors, omissions and gaslighting we humans experience. Funny thing to me is this - whilst some of the conjecture of old books has been debunked, theories disproven and methods reconsidered, much of it is not. In fact it seems many details and understandings were better founded, better researched and better articulated before computer scientists inserted their ease of access to information. I know there are entire books of manipulation and pseudoscience - that's why we must read more than one book, author or point of view to support accuracy and foundational truth. https://j-loren-s-school.thinkific.com/products/live_events/Leadingleadersretreat_________________________________________________________Leading Leaders Podcast is a short but impactful leadership video, blog and podcast distributed 5 days a week by J Loren Norris to promote faith, family and freedom in the face of a global leadership drought.Leadership Training, Interviews and EntertainmentVisit ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.StoryPowerAcademy.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ for more training material#leadingleaderspodcast #storypower #transforminggracetv #jlorennorrisLOOK FOR LEADING LEADERS PODCAST ON THESE PLATFORMS:- OBBM Network TV- WorldTrumpetTV- Apple Podcast- Spotify- Amazon- RumbleCopyright 2026 Tell It Like It Is Inchttps://my.linkpod.site/Jlorennorris 

2/9/2026 YOU SHOULD LEARN SOMETHING NEW FROM AN OLD BOOKEPISODE 1737 In case you haven't heard, each new iteration of artificial intelligence seems to suffer from more hallucinations. Ironically, the faster and more data inundated it gets, the more errors, omissions and gaslighting we humans experience. Funny thing to me is this - whilst some of the conjecture of old books has been debunked, theories disproven and methods reconsidered, much of it is not. In fact it seems many details and understandings were better founded, better researched and better articulated before computer scientists inserted their ease of access to information. I know there are entire books of manipulation and pseudoscience - that's why we must read more than one book, author or point of view to support accuracy and foundational truth. https://j-loren-s-school.thinkific.com/products/live_events/Leadingleadersretreat_________________________________________________________Leading Leaders Podcast is a short but impactful leadership video, blog and podcast distributed 5 days a week by J Loren Norris to promote faith, family and freedom in the face of a global leadership drought.Leadership Training, Interviews and EntertainmentVisit ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.StoryPowerAcademy.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ for more training material#leadingleaderspodcast #storypower #transforminggracetv #jlorennorrisLOOK FOR LEADING LEADERS PODCAST ON THESE PLATFORMS:- OBBM Network TV- WorldTrumpetTV- Apple Podcast- Spotify- Amazon- RumbleCopyright 2026 Tell It Like It Is Inchttps://my.linkpod.site/Jlorennorris 

What does Eric do during the big game?” He goes shopping naturally. Stacy ignores the game, scrolls on her phone and grazes at snacks; clearly, they're the sporty types. Does having access to two screens (phone and TV, laptop or tablet) diminish the primary experience you're supposed to be present for? Is there a superior sense between hearing and seeing? Do you get more nuance from the former or the latter? Does Eric have undiagnosed ADHD? Are all kids with easy and early access to screens doomed to have it too? Should there be a component of driving tests where you have to text or root for a rogue binky? These are the compelling conversational tangents Stacy and Eric take this time on DAMTT. Eric returned the kids' books Stacy lent him which ties in perfectly with her Cultural Blindspot, seeing Zootopia in a theater with a gaggle of littles. Stacy thinks Eric's lack of watching kids' fare is a HUGE gaping CB which Eric is in no hurry to remedy. Ironically, he watched Wonder Man, the new limited Marvel series on Disney which one could argue is kid-ish (hello, superheroes?!?). He also watched Weapons which sounded intriguing even to spicy level 2 Stacy. As for “Real Ads,” Eric met Flo once, and in an unrelated tangent, Stacy comes up with a real ad to sell tampons other than blue or pink liquid. DAMTT is on Facebook and Instagram as @dontaskme to talk or email asking@dontaskmetotalk.com Next Time: Our last meal

Chris sadly passed away a few years ago from this posting in 2026.This week we talk about the Ark of the Covenant with Christopher Jordan. Chris has written a number of books on what he calls The Ancient Solar Premise. Chris' latest book, The Ark of the Covenant Operations Manual, talks about what the ark really was, and how the miracles ascribed to it were performed.Christopher Jordan was born in London and studied Chemical Physics at Sussex University, under the guidance of Sir Harold Kroto. He played a part in manually analyzing the early data from the microwave telescopes, eventually identifying an alcohol in interstellar gas clouds. These tasks were being automated by computers, which were doing the job better and faster. During a short spell on the accounting ladder, the same was noted within the financial sector. Chris Jordan surfed this wave of computer growth by developing small and large data systems for national food and beverage companies. Eventually, managing a national software department after stints as a programmer, business analyst and project manager.During this period he became intrigued with some of the unanswered questions surrounding nature's development process. After many years of study some concepts were crossed over between the computing and biological arenas. This led to some novel computer systems that literally built themselves around the databases to which they were aimed. This software was the center piece of a computer company set up by a few partners and himself. Several papers on systems analysis and design were published during this time in specialist magazines.Whilst running this company, further research was carried out modeling non-linear reaction diffusion systems on the surfaces of cells and groups of cells. This led to his seminal work on the nature of morphological determination and the role cell adhesion molecules played within the scheme. This in turn led to some unique experiments in the field of developmental biology. The general framework for development was published in Thailand during a three year sabbatical.The author started visiting the ancient sites of Asia during this period. Whilst he had previously been a visitor to the European and Egyptian sites, the common facets of the cultures began to emerge from all this travel. Despite a two year interlude managing the IT for a global spirits company in ex Eastern bloc countries, the interest in the ancient past continued. Specifically, the desire to make sense of all of these similar religious sites, tools and unexplained curios. Any scientist is taught that it is from the quirky inexplicable areas that new ideas evolve. A simple paradigm that extends further is deemed more elegant than a restrictive complex alternative. This is where the site narrative that makes up the Secrets of the Sun Sects stems from.This was coupled with the faulty parabolic mirror theories that surround these same cultures. The math that shows how easy it was for the ancient craftsmen to build the mirrors and how powerful they were, was carried out over thirty years ago. Ironically, this was the first thing the author failed to publish as a teenager. At the time, it was just a table, which a child thought was missing from the classroom texts. Fortuitously, it was very useful in proving that spherical surfaces make good Burning Mirrors for all manner of applications. From these two strands the full scope of the use of solar technology in the ancient world was built up. He is currently promoting the use of solar technologies in the developing countries of Asia.Check Out his website: www.secretsofthesunsects.wordpress.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Hopefully not, but if you're like 79% of Americans you're living paycheck to paycheck. Ironically, money is easy to make and there are a million ways to make a million dollars yet most struggle. In this episode I touch briefly on the mental aspect of money, and I make it brief because Episode 9 clearly lays out how to attract money and how to stop repelling it. In this episode I go over some of the earlier stuff again, and I expand a little on things you can do in behavior that will attract more money into your life. In this episode I discuss:[16:42] How small shifts in behavior can attract more money[19:27] Why carrying $100 in your pocket can up your money consciousness[23:11] How trusting the universe 10% opened the money flood gates for meAnd, to the question of the week, how to reprogram your money identity. HINT: I've suggested this before but you and others may have missed it so I make reference to it in this episode.

The simplistic binary thinking of the Republican partisan - "Everyone who disagrees with Trump is a leftist/communist!" Ironically, the GOP is running the 10 Planks of the Communist Manifesto on a daily basis. And Trump is leading them even further LEFT. And our newest "economist", Dr. Oz, says "More work for the collective, tax slave!" Rubio, the Neo-Con darling of MAGA, cares deeply for the Iranian people! Not so much about Americans.    

Providing certainty is what advisors are paid to do. Ironically, it's also what often holds firms back. In this episode of The FutureProof Advisor, I explore the tension between being professionally risk‑averse for clients and needing to be adaptive inside our own businesses. I share a simple hallway story that reveals how quickly momentum can turn into inertia—and how our instinct to “not rock the boat” quietly makes change harder the longer we wait.Much of this resistance isn't strategic—it's human. Our brains are wired to avoid loss, seek safety, and stick with what feels familiar, especially when our income depends on getting things right. But that same wiring works against innovation. I break down why psychological safety—not technology or capital—is the real constraint, and why firms that create space for small, reversible experiments learn faster and build more resilience than those waiting for consensus or perfect certainty. Examples from companies like Google and leaders like Jeff Bezos reinforce a simple truth: learning happens through action, not agreement.Future‑proof firms don't eliminate risk—they design for it. That means running “safe‑to‑fail” pilots, being willing to revisit sacred cows like pricing models, and using tools like pre‑mortems to think clearly about downside before it shows up. The firms that will thrive over the next decade aren't the most confident—they're the most curious. They keep learning, keep adjusting, and keep moving forward, even when the path isn't perfectly clear.

The fifth season of upstart LIV Golf teed-off today in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.  This year’s season opener is being played in the home country of the league’s $1 trillion owner, the Saudi Public Investment Fund. LIV Golf will feature some of golf’s top names like Americans Bryson DeChambeau and Phil Mickelson, Spain’s Jon Rahm and Sergio Garcia, and Australia’s Cam Smith.  Each is a major championship winner. Differentiating themselves from the PGA Tour, LIV Golf starts each round at the same time for all players.  With 57 golfers in the field, they are positioned at each of the 18 tee boxes as a shotgun start begins play.  The daily playing conditions are identical for all golfers.  I really do like that concept. You’ll still find LIV Golf’s unique 4-player team concept this season, too. A significant pool of prize money is paid to the top three golf teams which have the lowest composite scores at the conclusion of each tournament.  This encourages every golfer – from first to last place – to try harder to help their team’s score. You will continue to hear music being played over loud speakers around the course during play. It doesn’t seem to affect the players one way or the other.  LIV Golf seems to think the music turns their golf tournament into a party for the fans. SwampSwami Rant ALERT!  LIV Golf’s US TV viewers must play “FOX Sports Whack-a-Mole” to watch the action this season The 14 LIV Golf events in 2026 (with only four being played in the US) will be televised again by FOX Sports.  Good luck trying to find the action on television from day to day. Today’s first round in Saudi Arabia began on FS1.  Two hours later, viewers were told to migrate over to FS2 to continue watching the golf action. Note to LIV Golf.  Not many US cable providers carry FS2 unless you pay for the highest price option.  I don’t.  To watch LIV Golf on television again this year, you will need a combination of the following channel options from day-to-day during their tournaments: Your local FOX TV affiliate FS1 FS2 Fox Business Network Fox Sports App (internet) The same issues occurred last year.  Sadly, it is being repeated in 2026. The US channel-surfing options might be more tolerable if LIV would simply offer a simulcast of the entire televised round via an internet (perhaps on a LIV Golf app?) as a service to viewers. LIV Golf needs the ratings support, so please make viewing as easy as possible. This maddening game of “Fox Sports Whack-a-Mole” is a major pain for American golf fans.  This should have been addressed and resolved during the lengthy off-season. These golfers said “Goodbye to LIV” In late December, it was five-time golf major champion Brooks Koepka walking out of LIV Golf’s door as he has announced a decision to rejoin the PGA Tour. Last week, former Masters champion Patrick Reed announced that he was no longer under contract with LIV Golf for 2026.  He wants to return to the PGA Tour just like Brooks Koepka. Keep in mind that LIV Golf doled out over $150 million in signing bonuses – just to snare both Brooks Koepka and Patrick Reed less than four years ago. Koepka worked a deal with the PGA Tour and competed at last week’s stop in San Diego. Patrick Reed’s defection from LIV Golf came just one week before his former LIV Golf four-player team called the 4 Aces was set to start the 2026 golf season. That left LIV Golf’s 4 Aces a card short today. Team captain Dustin Johnson and Belgium’s Thomas Detry and Thomas Pieters scrambled to find a sub to take Patrick Reed’s spot in this week’s season opening event. Reed pocketed over $42 million in tournament earnings over his four seasons with LIV Golf starting in 2022.  That money was in addition to his initial signing bonus. The PGA Tour will not allow Patrick Reed to return for at least 12 months after his last appearance in a LIV Golf event (August, 2025). In the meantime, Patrick Reed quickly scored a victory ten days ago while playing on the DP World (formerly European) Tour.  He plans to enter several more European events this spring and summer until he is cleared to return to the PGA Tour in late summer. Na, Na, Na, Na…Hey, Hey, Hey…The LIV story…of Kevin Na Five-time PGA Tour winner Kevin Na also took the leap to LIV Golf in June, 2022.  The 42-year old Na had quietly amassed $38 million in PGA Tour earnings over his 17-year career. Kevin Na was made team captain of LIV Golf’s Iron Heads Golf Club four-man team in 2022.  He did not win a tournament at LIV Golf but still managed to pocketed more than $11 million in four seasons. Surprisingly, South Korean-born Kevin Na was recently booted off of his own LIV golf team! He was replaced with journeyman PGA golfer Ben An.  The LIV Golf team then renamed itself the “Korean Golf Club” for 2026. Ironically, one of the team’s current players is New Zealand citizen Danny Lee. Lee was born in South Korea.  His family moved to New Zealand when he was eight years old. Upon getting booted from LIV Golf, Kevin Na has also requested to be allowed back onto the PGA Tour.  His reinstatement status has not been announced. Pat Perez packed-up his LIV Golf bag, too Former LIV golfer Pat Perez (a three-time PGA Tour winner) is also seeking his PGA Tour reinstatement.  The 49-year old Perez was cut by LIV Golf after a dismal 2024 season but returned as their on-course television announcer in 2025. Like Kevin Na, Pat Perez is waiting to hear when he will be allowed to tee-it up again on the PGA Tour.  Perez will turn 50 in March and may opt to play on the PGA Champions (senior) Tour at some point. The biggest question remains – Will LIV’s top draw Bryson DeChambeau stay or go after this season? The charismatic 32-year old Bryson DeChambeau won the US Amateur title and later added two US Open major championships to his trophy case. In 2022, DeChambeau pocketed a reported $125 million signing bonus from LIV Golf to join the fledgling golf tour.  He has earned another $50 million in tournament winnings during his four seasons playing for LIV Golf. Bryson DeChambeau has worked hard to build his own personal brand.  His YouTube channel attracts millions of mostly younger viewers. DeChambeau’s popularity has been one of the few bright spots for the LIV Golf brand.  His four-man LIV Golf team called the Crushers is a fan favorite, too. Bryson DeChambeau’s contract with LIV Golf will expire at the end of the tour’s 2026 golf season this August. Word has it that he is asking for upwards of $500 million to sign a contract extension to remain with the Saudi-backed golf group. LIV Golf didn’t help matters if they wanted DeChambeau to stick around One recent change for the 2026 LIV Golf season has not set well with the popular Bryson DeChambeau. LIV (which is “54” in Roman numerals) played 54-hole golf tournaments over three days in previous years.  This helped to differentiate the league from the PGA Tour’s 72-hole four-day events. A stodgy organization calling itself “Official World Golf Rankings” assigns numerical rankings to professional golfers.  Their board of directors was unwilling to grant any points to top finishers for the LIV Golf for the past four years due to its 54-hole events. That issue has been a sore spot for LIV golfers since the league’s first season in 2022. The OWGR rankings are used to determine which golfers receive invitations to play in some of golf’s four major events. The LIV golfers have earned zero ranking points the past four years.  Top players keep falling down the world rankings list. LIV’s Jon Rahm was ranked #1 at the time he signed with LIV Golf three years ago.  Despite winning twice over the past three seasons and rarely finishing out of the top ten, Jon Rahm had dropped all the way to #96 in World Golf Rankings this week. To appease the overlords of rankings, LIV Golf will start playing 72-hole events this season. The World Ranking body announced Tuesday that LIV Golf’s top ten weekly finishers will now be awarded points for the new 72-hole events. Bryson DeChambeau spoke up recently that the initial premise for LIV Golf was to be different than the PGA Tour.  He had been in favor of maintaining the 54-hole tournaments to bring more focus and urgency to golfers on the course each day. “It’s definitely changed away from what we had been initially told it was going to be,” said DeChambeau.  He added, “We didn’t sign-up to play 72 (holes).” What happens if Bryson DeChambeau decides to leave LIV Golf after this season? DeChambeau is one of the league’s biggest draws.  His enthusiastic personality and famous length off the tee has been a fan magnet for LIV Golf. The PGA Tour won’t admit it publicly, but they would love to see Bryson DeChambeau return to help put the proverbial nail into LIV Golf’s coffin. Yes, LIV Golf would still have former World #1 golfer Jon Rahm under contract as its best player.  Australia’s Cam Smith and 53-year old Phil Mickelson still have plenty of LIV fans, too. Though LIV Golf has lost an estimated $2 billion during its first four seasons, the Saudi Public Investment Fund seems quite proud of simply owning a worldwide golf league.   Oil money literally flows out of the ground and right into their bank to replace the massive losses of LIV Golf. The PGA Tour has started to lure several of its more popular golfers by offering a more family-friendly US-based tour.  LIV Golf’s far-flung worldwide events have made it difficult on golfers with young families like Brooks Koepka and Patrick Reed. The reputation of LIV Golf is starting to sink as more top golfers bail-out and return to the PGA Tour. The loss of Bryson DeChambeau after the 2026 LIV Golf season would be quite difficult to overcome. This would seem to be a great time for LIV Golf to broker a peace deal with the PGA Tour.  Allow golfers on both pro tours a chance to participate in a limited number of events on either tour every year. While you’re at it, please fix the “Fox Sports Whack-a-Mole” LIV Golf TV coverage, too!  The post Season 5 Begins – Is this Goodbye to LIV? appeared first on SwampSwamiSports.com.

A version of this essay was published by firstpost.com at https://www.firstpost.com/opinion/india-us-trade-deal-trump-skepticism-13977047.htmlI am beginning to feel quite like ‘The Boy Who Cried Wolf', who was destined to be ignored. Or maybe I am the boy who cried ‘The Emperor Has No Clothes'. For, I was skeptical last week about the India-EU FTA, which I called a triumph of hope over experience. Now I am equally skeptical about the so-called India-US trade ‘deal', which in fact is not a deal at all, but a sort-of statement of direction about the way to an actual deal.I expressed my caution on a Malayalam TV program where the host was a retired Ambassador. He was less skeptical than me, but he understood where I was coming from: after all, a diplomat's job is to put the best spin on the news (good or bad) from his country's perspective. And I spent much of my professional career in marketing: I can tell spin when I see it. Reason No. 1: Trump is famous for exaggeration and U-turns.The very first reason for the scepticism about the Indo-US lovefest is that it was announced by President Trump, who, in the past six months, has, in his whimsical way, executed any number of U-turns, as well as Z-turns, and various other pretzel-logic twists, so much so that anything he says, and its opposite, can be equally true, in a quantum Schrodinger's Cat sort of way. It is prudent not to take him at face value when he swears eternal allegiance to India. Again.Quoth he: “It was an Honor to speak with Prime Minister Modi, of India, this morning. He is one of my greatest friends, and a Powerful and Respected Leader of his Country. We spoke about many things, including Trade, and ending the War with Russia and Ukraine. He agreed to stop buying Russian Oil, and to buy much more from the United States and, potentially, Venezuela. This will help END THE WAR in Ukraine, which is taking place right now, with thousands of people dying each and every week! Out of friendship and respect for Prime Minister Modi and, as per his request, effective immediately, we agreed to a Trade Deal between the United States and India, whereby the United States will charge a reduced Reciprocal Tariff, lowering it from 25% to 18%. They will likewise move forward to reduce their Tariffs and Non Tariff Barriers against the United States, to ZERO. The Prime Minister also committed to “BUY AMERICAN,” at a much higher level, in addition to over $500 BILLION DOLLARS of U.S. Energy, Technology, Agricultural, Coal, and many other products. Our amazing relationship with India will be even stronger going forward. Prime Minister Modi and I are two people that GET THINGS DONE, something that cannot be said for most. Thank you for your attention to this matter!”Okay. Very interesting. There has been no Indian readout corroborating a number of these claims, especially on agriculture, which I imagine is a redline, a no-go, for India.Besides, these are supposed to be ‘reciprocal' tariffs. If Indian tariffs go to zero on US products, why is the US imposing 18% on Indian products?Reason No. 2: Desperation of ‘jilted lovers'The ‘shotgun wedding' vibe was present in the India-EU FTA as well: a sort of desperation. There is not much choice: you simply have to do this. I am not the only one saying this. Here is a tweet from a senior EU leader, former PM of Sweden and co-chair of the EU Council for foreign relations. Of course you could say that he would say this, wouldn't he? But it happens to be true. The number of suitors is declining rapidly, so you compromise. But that is not a recipe for the longevity of the relationship, nor for faithfulness. You can expect er… adultery (early and often). The roving eye roveth.Reason No. 3: Agriculture and dairy red-linesWe really don't know much about the fine print. I am aware that sales and marketing people tend to promise anything (even things they are completely aware are impossible) just to get the sale. Thus, when India diversifies away from the US market, and its Q3 numbers are not badly affected by the Trump tariffs, it is incumbent upon Trump and Navarro, Bessent, Lutnick et al to reverse their previous abuse, and be all milk and honey.The problem here, as always, is the agriculture and dairy product front. It is an absolute red line for India: no government can afford to piss off its farmers, nor to open up the country, home of much of the world's genetic diversity, to Genetically Modified Organisms (GMO) including Terminator Seeds (that would forever put farmers at the mercy of Cargill and friends).Not only that, non-veg milk (that is, milk from cows that have been fed, among other things, ground-up animal bodies) is abhorrent to a large number of Indians. Not to mention the risk of things like Creuzfeldt-Jakob Disease or mad-cow disease (transmitted via feed that includes the ground-up brains of diseased cattle: see also the fatal brain disease Kuru, transmitted between cannibals in Papua New Guinea).The US rather urgently needs to get rid of its soybean and corn mountains and milk lakes (in contrast with the EU's butter mountain and wine lakes) and in both, exporters salivate at the prospect of the proverbial billion-customer market. (The Chinese expertly used this rather illusory meme to attract foreign makers of consumer goods. That didn't end well).In the case of India, there is no demand for soybeans, and the one place where I can see demand for corn is in ethanol, especially for blending into petrol. That would be a win-win, because it would reduce the need for India to grow highly thirsty sugarcane, thus drawing down the already alarmingly depleted water-table.Reason No. 4: Russian oil and energy in generalThe unseemly pressure over Russian oil raises hackles on the Indian side. After all, this is not the only time India has been pushed to the wall by American sanctions: there was the post-'Buddha is smiling' period, and the prevention of the sale of ex-Soviet cryogenic rocket technology, as immortalized in Nambi Narayanan's story in “Rocketry: The Nambi Effect”. Earlier, there was the embargo on supercomputers.In each of these cases, India rode out the sanctions and denials. But the question arises: why should India not use Russian oil if it makes commercial sense to India? Just because there is a conflict between Russia and Ukraine? That is really not India's problem: India does not have a dog in that fight.Now there is the allegedly impending US attack on Iran. India has been denied Iranian oil for some time, and now under US pressure, it is being forced to ramp down its involvement in Chabahar Port in Iran that India built, and views as a gateway to Central Asia. Notably, China continues to import Iranian crude. Is India getting some relief there?It is not realistic to imagine that large amounts of Venezuelan crude will now flow to India if it abjures the Russian stuff. For one, even though Reliance's Jamnagar refiner can process the heavy, sour Venezuelan oil, it is said that Venezuela will take some time and a lot of money to ramp up its output because of years of neglect, lack of naphtha to dilute and pump out the crude, and so on.Reason No. 5: Non-tariff barriers and subsidies.The US claims that India will drop all its non-tariff barriers, but what is the guarantee that the US will not raise an impenetrable wall on their side? It is a simple matter to impose difficult-to-comply-with rules that basically say “Your products are not welcome”. These may include environmental, carbon tax, quality, and various other demands.For example, there is the Merchant Marine Act of 1920 that insists that only American owned/built/crewed ships can transport goods between US ports. Then there are Buy American Act procurement restrictions that handicap foreign-origin products. Furthermore, quality standards e.g. on hormone-treated meat products, and on certification that seafood is tuna-safe have been used to keep out imported products.The US Farm Bill provides gigantic subsidies for five major crops – corn, soy, wheat, rice and cotton – amounting to $9.3 billion in 2024. Reports suggest that crop insurance and new benefits from the ‘bridge payments' announced in 2025 may add another $10 billion+ to this sum. That is an enormous subsidy, pricing competitors out of the market.Reason No. 6: Loss of trustFinally, there is a sixth and critical reason: the loss of trust. For the longest time, India had convinced itself that it was an essential strategic partner to the US, if for nothing else to contain China. But that illusion is now gone, quite possibly because the US has decided to create a G2 condominium with China and retreat into Fortress America. The US administration now considers India, at best, a transactional vassal, and at worst, a potential rival to apply the Thucydides Trap to: and what better than to do war by economic means? India has to adjust.On the other hand, there are indeed positives. In the interest of fairness, here are the immediate views of Citibank and Bank of America, who both considered it a net positive for India.If you accept the tariff reductions by the US at face value, then India at 18% is doing marginally better than several other nations, including Vietnam, Thailand and Bangladesh. Ironically, Trump's recent best-friend-forever Pakistan is hit with 19%. There was a video circulating showing Raghuram Rajan, the economist who wants to be to Rahul Gandhi who Manmohan Singh was to his mother, gloating earlier that India was suffering from 50% tariffs compared to Pakistan's 19%.That brings up one more observation: the Opposition in India is screaming bloody murder about this supposed India-US ‘deal' not because they claim India is getting a bad deal, but apparently because they think India is getting a good deal. They should see Trump's latest triumph.Opposition, fear not: Trump is making even more entertaining claims about his ‘deal' with Xi. The sum and substance: “Please buy my soybeans”. This, despite the fact that China is the biggest buyer of oil from both Russia (48% of exports) and Iran (80%). Clearly, there is a lot of marketing going on, and it's too early to tell what the reality is. The devil is in the details.1750 words, 5 Feb 2026 This is a public episode. 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In a world suffering from the effects of fatherlessness how does a society address this monumental problem? It all starts when boys are young and their understanding of life excludes the Biblical concept of intimacy. The rite of passage from adolescence to adulthood usually involves a discussion of sex. Does this conversation, which often happens between a father and son, include a discussion of intimacy? Is there a father present to have this discussion with their son?When the social order suffers under the absence of fathers, the children suffer. Fathers are not birthed; fathers are raised. Boys do not automatically grow up becoming fathers. The absence of the presence of fathers in all of our social institutions is a rudimentary and fundamental foundational problem. How can we begin to address this issue? For starters let's discuss the opportunity to discuss sex with a young man. In the first place, you know you will have his undivided attention. He is going to be most interested in this subject. The hard part is going to know where to begin. A good place to start would be what are the young man's questions? What is he asking? Asking questions is a good place to start to have an intimate conversation.Ironically, the asking of questions (which establishes intimate conversation) are an underpinning to a trusting relationship. This can transition to teaching about sex from the point of view of intimacy. Intimacy is foundational to a proper Biblical understanding of sexual communion. Additional concepts of covenant and procreation follow suit. Come listen to Papa Tom describe stories from his life which affected him most as a father and grandfather. These stories affected his perception of how he or any father could better teach their sons about life, starting with the most delicate subject of sex. It's very important this subject is handled correctly so that the young man will be able to experience his rite of passage into fatherhood himself.Enjoy the podcastBlessings:Papa Tom

Lalita du Perron talks to Afghan historian Mejgan Massoumi (PhD, Stanford, now at Carnegie Mellon University) and South Asia bibliographer Ryan Perkins about the incredible Ustad Mahwash archive, recently acquired by Stanford Libraries. They discuss the ongoing relevance of Ustad Mahwash's legacy, some gems that are in the collection and worth checking out, and the importance of archives in keeping traditions alive. Episode notes and resources:Ustad Mahwash's main online exhibit page. Ustad Sarahang's letterBrief biographical sketch of Ustad MahwashNotes about the music files in the episode1) Beshnaw az Nai (Listen to the Reed) The poetry is from Mawlana's (Rumi's) opening lines to his Mastnavi. This is one of Ustad Mahwash's masterpieces from the Kharabati/Classical Afghan Music tradition. (Featured in the podcast Intro- 00:00-01:30 min).2) Houri, Houri, Houri (Houri/Noori is the name of a girl, and Noori comes from the Arabic Noor meaning Light, as in light of God, light of beauty, etc.) This is a signature Ustad Mahwash "pop" song and many attach it to her repertoire. (Part of this song is featured at 20:52-21:47 min in the podcast). 3) Guleh Seybem (My Apple Blossom, i.e. another way of saying my Beloved or My Sweetheart, etc) This is also a signature Ustad Mahwash "pop" song and it is wildly popular because the more contemporary female Afghan superstar, Aryana Sayeed, made one of her debut concerts in Afghanistan in the early 2000s with this song. Ironically most people associate this song with Aryana Sayeed, because they do not know or realize it's original performance was from Ustad Mahwash. (Part of this song is featured at the outro of the podcast starting at 26:23 mins- end).

What are you doing to get through this? There are studies that show being creative is a way to get through difficult times. Ironically however, in preparing for this episode, I wasn't feeling very creative…a bit of a catch 22 situation. So, I decided to ask Loving Later Life listeners what they are doing to deal, to cope, and to still enjoy life while there is so much chaos, divisiveness and fear around us. For those who contributed, thank you so much for sharing! In an effort to feel some love and happiness, I spent time this past weekend with some very important ladies in my life and also saw my mom. She and I went to a play that unexpectedly became an integral part of this episode providing much inspiration, which I'm excited to share with you. I hope you'll listen, enjoy and share if you think of someone who needs to hear it. Enjoy!

We live in a world where people seem to always want to impress others by who they know. It seems as if our society has evolved to where who you know is more important than what you know. Ironically, the world has come around unintentionally to a major truth. It is more important who you know than what you know when it comes to Jesus. Knowing Him far exceeds the value of any knowledge you may have or may acquire. Join us in this podcast of Woman at the Well Ministries as Kim introduces us to the Master of the Wind. Hebrews 11:6 "But without faith it is impossible to please him..." www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Hebrews+11%3A6&version=KJV Proverbs 3:5–6 "Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding..." www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Proverbs+3%3A5-6&version=KJV Proverbs 3:7 "Be not wise in thine own eyes: fear the Lord, and depart from evil." www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Proverbs+3%3A7&version=KJV Mark 4:35–41 Jesus calms the storm. www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Mark+4%3A35-41&version=KJV John 1:14 "And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us..." www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=John+1%3A14&version=KJV Mark 8:34 "Whosoever will come after me, let him deny himself..." www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Mark+8%3A34&version=KJV Isaiah 45:15 "Verily thou art a God that hidest thyself..." www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Isaiah+45%3A15&version=KJV Habakkuk 2:3 "For the vision is yet for an appointed time..." www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Habakkuk+2%3A3&version=KJV Psalm 121:3–4 "He will not suffer thy foot to be moved..." www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Psalm+121%3A3-4&version=KJV 1 John 1:9 "If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us..." www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=1+John+1%3A9&version=KJV 2 Chronicles 20:12 "...neither know we what to do: but our eyes are upon thee." www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=2+Chronicles+20%3A12&version=KJV Psalm 46:10 "Be still, and know that I am God..." www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Psalm+46%3A10&version=KJV Isaiah 57:20 "But the wicked are like the troubled sea..." www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Isaiah+57%3A20&version=KJV Psalm 65:7 "Which stilleth the noise of the seas..." www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Psalm+65%3A7&version=KJV Psalm 23 "The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want." www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Psalm+23&version=KJV Isaiah 26:3 "Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace..." www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Isaiah+26%3A3&version=KJV Philippians 4:6–7 "Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer..." www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Philippians+4%3A6-7&version=KJV Luke 1:37 "For with God nothing shall be impossible." www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Luke+1%3A37&version=KJV Revelation 3:20 "Behold, I stand at the door, and knock..." www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Revelation+3%3A20&version=KJV Psalm 18:2 "The Lord is my rock, and my fortress, and my deliverer..." www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Psalm+18%3A2&version=KJV Did you enjoy this podcast? Post a review and share it! If you enjoyed tuning into this podcast, then do not hesitate to write a review. You can listen to us on all major podcasting platforms like Apple Podcasts,  Spotify,  Google Podcasts,  YouTube, and Podbean. You can connect with us at watwm.org.

Cardinal Cupich of Chicago explained that the Novus Ordo alone is the Roman Mass as a principle of “unity” and that Pope Francis was correct for suppressing the Traditional Latin Mass. Ironically, Cupich cites Quo Primum by Saint Pius V, which decrees the Traditional Latin Mass in effect “in perpetuity.” Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Ironically my internet is currently out so I'm uploading this from my telephone. That's irony right? Because we all know what lives on the internet.

The recent surge in users in the United States abandoning TikTok after the announcement of a so-called "Americanized" joint venture offers an ironic footnote to the long-running political drama around the popular video-sharing app.美国用户近期大规模放弃TikTok的现象，恰恰为围绕这款热门视频分享应用的长期政治风波增添了讽刺性的注脚。此前美国政府宣布将成立所谓“美国化”的合资企业。For years, some US politicians have claimed that TikTok represents a grave "national security threat". Invoking slogans such as "privacy leakage risks" and "China threatens US data security" they created the specter of "Big Brother spying" on users of the app in the US.多年来，美国某些政客声称TikTok构成严重的“国家安全威胁”。他们打着“隐私泄露风险”和“中国威胁美国数据安全”等口号，在美国用户中制造出“老大哥监视”的幽灵。Yet, now that a deal has been forced through for US capital to acquire control of the app in the country under these pretexts, it is not China that users in the US appear to fear. It is the US elites and government.然而，当美国资本以这些借口强行达成协议，取得该应用在中国的控制权后，美国用户似乎并非担忧中国，而是美国精英阶层和政府。According to data from market intelligence company Sensor Tower, the daily average of US users deleting TikTok has jumped nearly 150 percent over the five days from Thursday to Monday compared with the previous three months. The spike followed TikTok's announcement that its US services would be operated by a new joint venture controlled by US capital, with a new leadership and a majority-US board. The message from users has been blunt: the promised "security solution" has only deepened anxiety.据市场情报公司Sensor Tower数据显示，在TikTok宣布其美国业务将由一家由美国资本控股的新合资企业运营之后的周四至周一这五天内，美国用户每日平均删除TikTok应用的数量较此前三个月激增近150%。该企业将组建新管理层并由美国籍成员主导董事会。而用户传递的信息直截了当——所谓的“安全解决方案”反而加剧了不安情绪。Social media skepticism flared after users were prompted to agree to an updated privacy policy. Critics seized on language describing potential data collection involving sensitive personal information. Yet archived versions of the policy show that this language was already present months earlier. What changed was not the policy itself, but who would ultimately sit behind the curtain of control.社交媒体质疑声浪高涨，起因是用户被要求同意更新后的隐私政策。批评者抓住政策中描述可能收集敏感个人信息的相关表述大做文章。然而政策存档版本显示，这些表述早在数月前就已存在。真正改变的并非政策本身，而是最终掌控幕后大权的究竟是谁。For years as it tried to wrest control of the company from its Chinese parent ByteDance, Washington claimed it was acting to protect US-based users from "foreign surveillance". Now, the same users are openly questioning whether the real risk lies in the concentration of data and influence in the hands of domestic political and financial elites. As one commenter in an Associated Press analysis put it, "There is something inherently wrong with allowing the people who control government policy to invest in the outcome. I believe it's called lining their own pockets."多年来，美国政府在试图从中国母公司字节跳动手中夺取控制权时，声称此举是为了保护美国用户免受“外国监视”。如今，这些用户公开质疑真正的风险是否在于数据和影响力集中在国内政治金融精英手中。正如美联社分析报道中一位评论者所言：“允许掌控政府政策的人投资于政策结果本身就存在根本性问题。我认为这叫中饱私囊。”The structure of the deal does little to dispel such doubts. The new TikTok US entity is backed by Oracle, Silver Lake and the Emirati investment company MGX, each holding 15 percent, alongside other US investors linked to powerful technology and media interests. ByteDance retains a 19.9 percent stake and licenses itsalgorithm to the US entity, which will retrain and operate it on US user data. In other words, the core technology remains Chinese intellectual property, while control over the data, moderation and distribution increasingly shifts to US capital.TikTok的交易结构更是难以消除此类疑虑。新成立的TikTok美国实体由甲骨文、银湖资本和阿联酋投资公司MGX共同支持，三者各持股15%，另有其他与美国科技及媒体巨头相关的投资者参与。字节跳动保留19.9%股权，并将算法授权给美方，后者将利用美国用户数据对算法进行重新训练并运营。换言之，核心技术仍属中国知识产权，而数据控制权、内容审核权及分发权正日益向美国资本转移。This arrangement exposes the essential nature of the deal: a forced transaction achieved through political pressure though it is claimed to be the outcome of "market negotiations".这种模式暴露了交易的本质：尽管声称是“市场谈判”的结果，实则是通过政治压力强行达成的交易。Under the threat of a congressionally mandated ban, a prized global digital asset was compelled to open its ownership to select US tycoons. "National security" rhetoric provided the packaging; capital redistribution was the content.在国会强制禁令的威胁下，某项备受追捧的全球数字资产被迫向美国特定富豪开放所有权。“国家安全”的口号是包装，资本再分配才是实质内容。Ironically, the very algorithm once portrayed as a "dangerous foreign weapon" is now expected to be "retrained" to produce a more "distinctly American" feed. As analysts note, this means trends will shift, rankings will change, and what dominates users' screens may increasingly reflect domestic political and commercial priorities. Who controls TikTok in the US has a lot of sway over what US citizens see on the app.讽刺的是，曾经被描绘为“危险的外国武器”的算法，如今却被寄予厚望，要通过“重新训练”来生成更具“鲜明美国特色”的内容推送。正如分析人士所指出的，这意味着内容趋势将发生转变，内容排名将随之调整，而占据用户屏幕主导地位的内容，将日益反映国内政治与商业的优先事项。谁掌控美国境内的TikTok运营权，就将在很大程度上决定美国公民在该应用上所见的内容。Unsurprisingly, creators are uneasy. Nadya Okamoto, a TikTok creator with more than 4 million followers, told the media that the company had failed to explain what the joint venture means for users. "That's why there is so muchparanoia," she said, adding that technical disruptions only intensified fears of censorship. Another viral comment summarized the mood with biting satire: The US didn't "save" TikTok—it redistributed its ownership to White House-aligned billionaires while leaving ByteDance's algorithm at the core.不出所料，这让创作者们感到不安。拥有400多万粉丝的TikTok创作者娜迪娅·冈本（Nadya Okamoto）向媒体表示，该公司未能解释合资企业对用户意味着什么。她说：“这就是为什么有这么多疑虑。”并补充说技术中断只会加剧人们对审查的担忧。另一则疯传的评论以犀利讽刺概括了当前氛围：美国并未“拯救”TikTok；它只是将所有权重新分配给有美国政府撑腰的亿万富豪，同时保留字节跳动的核心算法。Small business owners, whose livelihoods depend on the platform, are watching closely. Although they were relieved the ban threat was lifted, they are still worried the new owners might sideline e-commerce features. These business owners hold a wait-and-see mindset, as they really doubt whether TikTok's role in empowering voices that once lacked access to mass platforms can be retained.小企业主们正密切关注事态发展，因为他们的生计依赖于该平台。尽管禁令威胁解除令他们松了口气，但他们仍担忧新东家可能削弱电商功能。这些企业主们持观望态度，因为他们深切怀疑TikTok能否继续发挥其赋能作用，让那些曾经无法接触大众平台的声音获得发声渠道。The wave of uninstalls has not yet translated into a meaningful drop in active users, reflecting TikTok's massive user base and the reluctance of frequent users to leave. But the symbolic message is unmistakable. As one user wrote, "The new American TikTok will be like Panda Express for Chinese food: familiar on the surface, sanitized for mass appeal, owned by different interests, and stripped of the original's deeper flavor and context."尽管卸载潮尚未导致活跃用户数量出现显著下滑，从这方面也反映出TikTok庞大的用户基数以及高频用户不愿离开的特性。但其中蕴含的象征意义不言而喻。正如一位用户所言：“新美国版TikTok将如同中餐界的熊猫快餐：表面熟悉，为迎合大众而过度净化，被不同利益集团掌控，并丧失了原版的深层风味与文化底蕴。”In reality, the TikTok deal may already represent the maximum compromise possible under current circumstances. It satisfies US regulatory demands while preserving ByteDance's control over core intellectual property. If "privacy" and "data security" were truly the concerns, the deal should have reassured users. But it has not. Instead, it has suggested a deeper unease: In today's Washington, "national security" has become negotiable—provided the right people get a share.实际上，TikTok的这场交易或许已是当前形势下可能达成的最大妥协。它既满足了美国监管机构的要求，又使字节跳动保留了对核心知识产权的控制权。若“隐私”与“数据安全”确为核心关切，该协议本应消除用户疑虑。但事实恰恰相反——它揭示出更深层的不安：在当今华盛顿，特定利益集团能分得一杯羹，“国家安全”已沦为可交易的商品。The users' verdict, expressed through uninstall buttons and sharp-edged comments, may be the most telling commentary of all.用户通过点击卸载按钮和发表尖锐评论所表达的判断，或许是最具说服力的评价。algorithmn./ˈæl.ɡə.rɪ.ðəm/算法paranoian./ˌper.əˈnɔɪ.ə/疑虑

If you live along the I(ce)-20 corridor from Dallas eastward through northern Louisiana into central Mississippi, you are fortunate to have electricity today (Monday, January 26). Some locations received a few inches of sleet and snow for the kids to play in.  Unfortunately, it was a layer of freezing rain which added another 1/2” or more of ice onto trees and power lines across the region on Saturday and Sunday. Several of the region’s electricity providers have power outage maps which are redder than Santa’s suit. Hundreds of thousands remain without power today.  Temperatures across the region are not expected to budge above freezing until Tuesday afternoon. Let’s try to warm things up today with a review of several interesting sports stories from this weekend which you may have missed. AFC Championship Game – New England Patriots 10, Denver Broncos 7 If you like snow, the second half of Sunday’s AFC title game in Denver was definitely the game for you! A 1 PM local kickoff started under sunny skies in the Mile High City.  Denver (playing without injured starting quarterback Bo Nix due to a broken ankle suffered one week ago) thrilled its orange-clad fans during the first quarter.  Back-up quarterback Jared “Stiddy” Stidham sparked the home team with a couple of timely completions in taking a 7-0 opening quarter lead. Who would have believed that seven points was all that Denver would score on Sunday afternoon? The resilient New England Patriots tied the game at 7-7 heading into halftime after “Stiddy” fumbled the football deep in Denver territory late in the second quarter.  New England quarterback Drake “Look ma…I can run!” Maye scampered in for a game-tying touchdown. Earlier snow flurries quickly turned into a Colorado snowstorm during the second half of this game. New England took advantage of the wind in the third quarter and booted a short field goal to grab a 10-7 lead going into the deciding fourth quarter. Denver’s defense provided its offense with several scoring opportunities. Alas, the Broncos failed to convert excellent field position into any points.  Former New Orleans Saints kicker Wil Lutz missed two field goal attempts.  “Stiddy” became unsteady with his second half passing game.  He also didn’t show much of an inclination to run the football when the opportunity presented itself. Denver finished a woeful 181 yards of total offense in the AFC title game.  New England wasn’t much better with just 206 total yards – mostly on the ground. NFC Championship Game – Seattle Seahawks 31, Los Angeles Rams 27 Seattle came into the NFC title game with one of the league’s best defenses and the home field advantage.  The visiting Los Angeles Rams rolled into Seattle after having won two difficult road playoff games by three points each at Carolina and Chicago. The Seattle Seahawks offense took center stage in this high scoring back-and-forth title game Sunday evening.  Surprising quarterback Sam Darnold (who is playing for his fifth team in eight NFL seasons) sparked the Seahawks by completing 25 of 36 pass attempts for 346 yards and three touchdowns.   More importantly, Darnold did not throw an interception or lose a fumble during Sunday’s game against the Rams. Rams quarterback Matthew Stafford looked sharp (as always) in keeping his team within striking distance.  He also passed for more than 300 yards with three touchdowns. The game’s outcome was unfortunately determined by a fumbled punt return by Rams’ special team player Xavier Smith early in the third quarter. Smith had dropped an earlier punt but quickly fell onto the ball.  On his second punt return attempt, Smith fell backwards while trying to secure the ball and fumbled deep in Rams’ territory.  The Patriots recovered and quickly took advantage.  One play later, Sam Darnold connected on a 17-yard touchdown pass to give Seattle a 24-13 lead which they would never surrender. The NFC #1 seed Seattle will now face the AFC’s #2 seed New England Patriots in the NFL title game in two weeks on Sunday, February 8 at 5:30PM CST and televised by NBC.  This year’s game will be played in Santa Clara, California on the home field of the San Francisco 49ers. Pittsburgh Steelers just hired…who? Former Dallas Cowboys coach Mike McCarthy was fired one year ago by team owner Jerry Jones. McCarthy posted three winning seasons out of his five years in Dallas.  However, his Cowboys’ teams went a woeful 1-3 in the NFL playoffs despite posting three consecutive 12-5 regular seasons from 2021-2023. Ironically, Pittsburgh Steelers’ longtime coach Mike Tomlin resigned two weeks ago after his team failed to win a playoff game for a record-tying seventh consecutive time. Saturday afternoon brought a surprising announcement that the Steelers had hired 62-year old Mike McCarthy to become the team’s fourth head coach since the year 1969.  Each of the previous three Steelers’ coaches (Chuck Noll, Bill Cowher, and Mike Tomlin) have taken Pittsburgh to one or more Super Bowl victories over the past 56 seasons. Before coming to Dallas, Mike McCarthy’s 13-year tenure in Green Bay (2006-2018) produced one Super Bowl champion at the conclusion of the 2010 season. Those Green Bay Packers were led by young quarterback Aaron Rodgers as they took a 31-25 win over Mike Tomlin’s Pittsburgh Steelers. A now-42 year old Aaron Rodgers became the Steelers’ quarterback last fall.  He piloted the Black and Gold to a 10-7 regular season and AFC North title.  However, the Steelers (and Aaron Rodgers in particular) were manhandled by the Houston Texans in an ugly 30-6 home playoff loss two weeks ago. Coach Mike Tomlin resigned the following day after 19 years in Steel City. Terrible Towel waving fans (like me) are now wondering what Steelers’ team owner Art Rooney II saw in Mike McCarthy to warrant giving him the head coaching job. Pittsburgh’s woeful offense struggled under coach Mike Tomlin.  Mike McCarthy’s success has come on the offensive side of the football, but his teams’ defenses in Dallas had been less than stellar. Can Mike McCarthy inject life into the Steelers’ offense while maintaining a top level defense? Dallas Cowboys fans are having a good laugh about the mighty Pittsburgh Steelers hiring their ex-coach.  Should Mike McCarthy succeed with the Steelers, Cowboys fans will have confirmation that the coach’s failure in Dallas was likely another case of meddling by team owner/general manager/face-of-the-franchise Jerry Jones. Speaking of meddling, Clemson football coach Dabo Swinney filed tampering charges vs. Ole Miss over a recent NIL transfer LSU’s new football coach Lane Kiffin has been jetting around the country signing NCAA transfer portal players by the dozens.  In South Carolina, Clemson football coach Dabo Swinney has been roundly criticized for the past few years for his well-known reluctance to participate in the NCAA Transfer Portal/NIL transfer sweepstakes game. The Clemson Tigers recently dipped into the transfer portal to lure University of California standout linebacker Luke Ferrelli with a nice NIL offer.  Ferrelli arrived at Clemson in mid-January.  He signed a revenue-sharing contract with Clemson and was already attending classes and football team meetings last week.   Until last Thursday, that is. Ole Miss apparently waved significantly more money (a reported $1 million per year for two seasons) under the nose of Luke Ferrelli during the final days of the latest NCAA transfer portal period.  It was enough to convince the young man to leave Clemson immediately and report to Oxford to play for the Ole Miss Rebels beginning this fall. Clemson is understandably fuming about this situation.  Coach Dabo Swinney and Clemson’s legal staff plan to file tampering charges against Ole Miss. Last Friday afternoon, Coach Swinney said, “It’s not about a linebacker at Clemson.  I don’t want anyone on our team that doesn’t want to be here.  It’s about the next kid and about the message being sent if this blatant tampering is allowed to happen without any consequences.” He added, “This is like having an affair on your honeymoon!” It appears that Clemson’s Dabo Swinney doesn’t want to annul the transfer linebacker’s hasty shotgun marriage to Ole Miss last week. Coach Swinney (like most college football fans) urgently wants the NCAA to enact some common sense rules to govern the Transfer Portal and then enforce them with stiff penalties for the offending parties. Good luck with that one, coach!  The NCAA that once struck fear into college athletics programs for wrongdoing seems to have vanished over the past decade. You can only hope to be as successful as Mayberry’s Gomer Pyle when he made a citizen’s arrest of Deputy Barney Fife!   The post Icy Monday Sports Update appeared first on SwampSwamiSports.com.

In almost every conversation about healthcare, we hear the term, “provider.” Typically, we assume a healthcare provider is a doctor. But, if you look at insurance company definitions of health care providers, the term includes almost every branch of medical care - therapists, podiatrists, imaging centers, home-health agencies, hospice, the list goes on. Ironically, the one person not on any official list of healthcare providers is “you.” A local wellness entrepreneur is changing that. Kwame Terra is Founder and CEO of bEHR Health Systems. The company’s principal product is an app directed specifically at Black Americans. The app doesn’t replace professional healthcare providers, but it aims to put the user front and center in directing their own health outcomes. The app store summary says, “At bEHR, we aspire to create a healthcare resource free from the shackles of racism that infect our current system and seamlessly integrate health into Black culture. This isn't just a health app for tracking and enhancing well-being; it signifies the initiation of our enduring commitment to stand as Black America’s health partner for life.” With roughly 14% of Americans – 48 million people - identifying as Black, and a 2024 Pew Research finding that 51% of Black Americans say they believe the U.S. health-care system was designed to “hold Black people back a great deal or a fair amount,” there would appear to be a ready market for this product. When it comes to the traditional provision of healthcare, the consistently best-regarded group and most trusted providers of medical care, are nurses. Patients and doctors alike typically regard nurses as critical to patient safety and care. There’s also a critical shortage of nurses. According to a recent report from the Louisiana Board of Regents, the state is projected to face a shortage of roughly 6,000 registered nurses by 2030. That’s about 40% short of the workforce needed, if nothing changes. One local institution that’s working to change that outcome is The University of Holy Cross, on the Westbank. Among its other courses, UHC has a dedicated Department of Nursing. RegisteredNursing.org – a nationwide organization of registered nurses – has rated UHC as the best nursing school in Louisiana. And UHC’s nursing department is one of the principal focuses of the school’s President, Dr. Stanton McNeely. If we did a simultaneous scan of every news-talk radio station and every TV news channel right now, it’s pretty likely we’re not the only people talking about healthcare. But it’s very likely we’re the only people talking about a Catholic-college-driven solution to the nursing shortage, and an African-American-focused entrepreneurial venture aimed at sidestepping healthcare racism. Even in something as ubiquitous as the healthcare debate, New Orleans manages to be, well, New Orleans. Out to Lunch was recorded live over lunch at Columns in Uptown New Orleans. You can find photos from this show by Jill Lafleur at itsneworleans.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

NFL head coaches who finish the season with lousy records generally expect there is a good chance of getting the ax. This year, nine of the 32 NFL head coaches have been terminated.  That’s 28%!    Add one more coach (Mike Tomlin) who voluntarily stepped-down in Pittsburgh after 19 seasons last week. As my old Sesame Street buddy “The Count” might say, “That’s 10!  Ten coaching vacancies this year.  Ah-ha-ha!!!” The ninth fired head coach in this year’s NFL’s “hit parade” came as a rather big surprise. Sean McDermott of the Buffalo Bills was fired on Monday after his team’s 33-30 overtime loss at Denver in the second (divisional) round of the NFL playoffs. What did Buffalo’s head coach do wrong to justify being fired? Before the season began, Sean McDermott’s Buffalo Bills were considered one of the top two AFC contenders for this year’s Super Bowl. The team finished the 2025 regular season schedule behind the surprising 14-3 New England Patriots in the AFC East.  The Bills still qualified for the NFL playoffs with a not-too-shabby 12-5 record. Buffalo traveled to Jacksonville two weeks ago for an opening round Wild Card game.  The Bills scored a dramatic touchdown in the final minute to claim a 27-24 win over the 13-4 AFC South champion Jaguars.  Then it was on to Denver last weekend to face the #1 AFC seed Broncos. Buffalo quarterback Josh Allen played another outstanding game but his two interceptions and two lost fumbles gave Denver some key scoring opportunities.  The Broncos eventually prevailed 33-30 in overtime. Denver will host this week’s AFC Championship game against Buffalo’s rival, New England, at 2PM (CST) Sunday afternoon on CBS. The Buffalo Bills have now appeared in the AFC Playoffs for seven consecutive years.  In each season, Buffalo has failed to reach the Super Bowl despite having one of the NFL’s top quarterbacks operating the team’s offense. The 51-year old Sean McDermott had been the defensive coordinator in both Philadelphia and Carolina prior to accepting Buffalo’s top job in 2017. Fans in Buffalo should remember that the Bills had cycled through nine head coaches in the team’s previous 17 seasons since their last playoff appearance in 1999. Coach Sean McDermott quickly rejuvenated the Bills and led them into the playoffs in eight of his nine seasons in Buffalo. Why would Buffalo Bills team owner Terry Pegula fire a coach who led this year’s team into the second round of the playoffs? That’s what many people are trying to figure out this week.  Coach Sean McDermott’s Buffalo Bills won nearly 2/3 of its games during his nine seasons with the team. Sure, the Bills failed to make the Super Bowl.  There are 30 other NFL teams which can say the same thing in any particular year. Yes, the Bills didn’t have to face and lose another playoff game to Kansas City and Patrick Mahomes for the fourth straight time this season.  The Chiefs failed to make the playoffs but they did not fire head coach Andy Reid (yet – ha ha). Sean McDermott has been Buffalo’s only head coach for the eight year NFL career of reigning MVP quarterback Josh Allen.  Just remember that Josh Allen can only pass the football to Buffalo Bills receivers who had been selected and signed by the team’s General Manager – not the head coach. This year’s group of wide receivers in Buffalo was rather weak by NFL standards.  After wide receiver Khalil Shakir, Buffalo’s two tight ends were ranked #2 and #3 on the team in receiving yardage this season. Nothing against Dalton Kincaid and Dawson Knox, but neither of the Buffalo tight ends possess game-breaking speed. Was it the fault of head coach Sean McDermott that Buffalo did not have a more competitive group of wide receivers on the roster for MVP quarterback Josh Allen to throw the ball to this year? Isn’t the team’s General Manager who is charged with finding and signing the talent for most NFL teams (unless you live in Dallas)? Did the Buffalo Bills fire the team’s General Manager, too? No.  In fact, 49-year old General Manager Brandon Beane was just promoted and given the upgraded title of President of Football Operations! Brandon Beane spent 19 years in Charlotte.  Beginning in 1998 as an intern, Beane worked his way up to become the team’s Assistant General Manager in 2015.  In May, 2017, he was hired by Buffalo to become the Bills’ General Manager. Ironically, head coach Sean McDermott also came to Buffalo via the Carolina Panthers.  McDermott had been hired by owner Terry Pegula four months earlier in January, 2017. Apparently, Buffalo’s team owner believed that his new head coach and new General Manager from Carolina would work well together in Buffalo. The duo led the Bills’ return into the NFL playoffs in eight of the past nine years. Buffalo has won ten or more games in seven consecutive seasons. Should the credit go to the team’s GM (Brandon Beane) and/or the team’s head coach (Sean McDermott)? Buffalo’s owner just fired a successful coach after his team lost to Denver Let that one sink in. Terry Pegula said that he became so negatively affected seeing the faces of his football team in the locker room following Saturday’s 33-30 overtime loss in Denver that he decided to fire the team’s head coach on Monday. “My decision to bring in a new coach was based on the results of our game in Denver,” said the owner on Wednesday.  “I want to take you in the locker room after that game.  I looked around.  First thing I noticed was our quarterback with his head down, crying.  I looked at all the other players.  I looked at their faces and our coaches’.” Pegula added, “I felt like we hit the proverbial playoff wall, year after year.  So, I just sensed in that locker room, like, where do we go from here with what we have?  And that was the basis for my decision.” Sean McDermott has plenty of company in the “I’ve been Fired” NFL coaches’ club A head coach in the NFL is generally considered to be the face of the franchise in the eyes of the fans and media. Even a grumpy but very successful coach like Bill Belichick of the New England Patriots kept his job as long as the post-season hardware kept coming home.  Belichick eventually agreed to step down in New England in 2023 after 24 seasons and six Super Bowl titles. Likable coaches get the ax, too! Coach Tony Dungy was fired by Tampa Bay after six successful years with the Buccaneers. Much like Sean McDermott in Buffalo, Dungy took over a perpetual loser in Tampa Bay.  He quickly rebuilt the team into a playoff regular in four of his six seasons.  Tony Dungy was then fired by Tampa Bay after the 2001 season for (yes) failing to advance the team into the Super Bowl. Sound familiar? Fortunately for Tony Dungy, he was quickly hired by the Indianapolis Colts for the following season in 2002.  Dungy led the Colts into the playoffs in each of his first four seasons and then won a Super Bowl title in Year #5 with his new team. Having a future Hall-of-Fame quarterback like Peyton Manning certainly helped during Tony Dungy’s time with the Colts. Former Buffalo head coach Sean McDermott will not not remain unemployed for long. Bills owner Terry Pegula is opening his new football stadium this season and wants a fresh start Buffalo opens its shiny new $2 billion football stadium this summer just in time for the Bills’ 2026 football season. Five years ago in 2021, I wrote about Bills owner Terry Pegula.  He bought the Buffalo Bills NFL franchise in 2014 for $1.4 billion.  His bid was considered more favorable than an offer made by some guy named Donald Trump and his partner Jon Bon Jovi. Seven years after buying the Buffalo Bills, Pegula threatened to move the team south to fast-growing Austin, Texas.  He demanded the city of Buffalo, the state of New York, and season ticket holders to pony-up to build a more modern new football stadium for his NFL team. More than 54,000 Buffalo Bills fans have paid from $5,000 to $50,000 to purchase a PSL (personal seat licenses).  This PSL only grants the owner the right to purchase a Bills’ season ticket. Let’s assume that an average Buffalo PSL went for $20,000.  That would generate more than $1 billion being paid by NFL football fans living in western New York to finance the Bills’ new stadium. Buffalo is ranked #50 nationally in terms of TV market size.  It is even smaller than New Orleans at #45.  Only Green Bay plays NFL games in a smaller geographic region (#65) than Buffalo.  However, the Packers are generally considered to be #38 Milwaukee’s home football team as well. After team owner Terry Pegula’s grandstand play, the Bills have remained in Buffalo because he got his wish.  The Buffalo Bills’ new football stadium opens this summer. Terry Pegula’s firing of head coach Sean McDermott this week has created a new media buzz about his team.  It will serve to get fans to start thinking about a new future for the Buffalo Bills and help to push back those lingering “What if…?” thoughts from recent playoff losses. The team’s brand new head coach will usher-in a brand new football stadium in 2026. Did I mention that this soon-to-open outdoor football stadium will have 10,000 fewer seats than 52-year old Rich Stadium in suburban Orchard Park? That necessarily means higher prices are coming for Buffalo Bills season tickets, parking, concessions, and stadium merchandise in order to raise revenue to cover the loss of 10,000 football seats beginning this season. Look out, Jerry!  You have some competition at the top!!! Dallas Cowboys’ owner Jerry Jones still retains professional football’s top spot for the title of “NFL’s biggest meddling owner”. Making a big move up the charts this week was Buffalo’s Terry Pegula.   Firing your team’s successful head coach based on the owner’s emotional “feel” of the locker room following a tough, overtime second-round playoff loss was a gutsy move, indeed. The Bills’ owner may be considered a local hero by some for keeping the NFL team in Buffalo.  But a growing number of western New Yorkers have a different viewpoint. Terry Pegula is just another greedy professional sports franchise owner who successfully coerced fans and governmental entities into financing his new (smaller) football venue at a cost of nearly $2 billion. Jones and Pegula have one other thing in common.  Neither Dallas nor Buffalo has appeared in a Super Bowl in more than 30 years.  “And the countdown continues!” The post Buffalo Bills Owner Fires…a Playoff Coach? appeared first on SwampSwamiSports.com.

GET YOUR WAV WATCH HERE: https://buy.wavwatch.com/WAM Use Code WAM to save $100 and purchase amazing healing frequency technology! GET HEIRLOOM SEEDS & NON GMO SURVIVAL FOOD HERE: https://heavensharvest.com/ USE Code WAM to save 25% plus free shipping! BUY GOLD HERE: https://firstnationalbullion.com/schedule-consult/ Avoid CBDCs! Get Your SUPER-SUPPLIMENTS HERE: https://vni.life/wam Use Code WAM15 & Save 15%! Life changing formulas you can't find anywhere else! HELP SUPPORT US AS WE DOCUMENT HISTORY HERE: https://gogetfunding.com/help-keep-wam-alive/# Josh Sigurdson reports on the latest evidence that Israel and the United States governments are openly destabilizing Iran in order to commit a coup and do regime change. In 1953, the US government had previously committed a coup in Iran leading to the new Shah who lead the SAVAK secret police to kill, torture and disappear countless opponents. This led by design to the 1979 revolution and the rise of the Atatollahs and mullahs. Now, conveniently one year after Israel and the United States attacked Iran claiming weapons of mass destruction (we've heard that before), there are massive protests in the streets and claims of around 16,000 protesters dead. While the Iranian government could have easily been involved in much of this obviously as they're not known to be "understanding," the evidence remains... As Khamenei claimed, the Israeli and US government are manipulating the protests and killing protesters as an entry point to enter and attack Iran. Now, evidence comes out showing countless Israeli bullets found inside bodies of Iranian children. This echoes much of what we've seen in Syria 9 years ago. Ironically, the west is claiming Iran is using chemical weapons against their own people. Yet, these protesters are also attacking pro Palestinian organizations? Former CIA head Mike Pompeo boasted on X about how Mossad is manipulating the protests. Israeli Heritage Minister Eliyahu claimed the same. At the WEF in Davos, US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent boasted about how the protests were started by the US government by covertly devaluing Iran's currency causing a poverty crisis. They're openly admitting these things! It's not "I like this side or I like that side." Both sides are not acceptable and if Iranians want to overthrow their government, they have that right but blindly believing US and Israeli intelligence "services" are going to make Iran better is not just naive but dangerous considering the context of past coups in Iraq, Libya, Vietnam, Afghanistan, Nicaragua, Cuba, Syria and countless other examples. They're creating order out of chaos. Get prepared. Stay tuned for more from WAM! BUY TICKETS HERE! https://anarchapulco.com/ Use Code WAM & Save 10%! Get local, healthy, pasture raised meat delivered to your door here: https://wildpastures.com/promos/save-20-for-life/bonus15?oid=6&affid=321 USE THE LINK & get 20% off for life and $15 off your first box! DITCH YOUR DOCTOR! https://www.livelongerformula.com/wam Get a natural health practitioner and work with Christian Yordanov! Mention WAM and get a FREE masterclass! You will ALSO get a FREE metabolic function assessment! GET YOUR APRICOT SEEDS at the life-saving Richardson Nutritional Center HERE: https://rncstore.com/r?id=bg8qc1 Use code JOSH to save money! SIGN UP FOR HOMESTEADING COURSES NOW: https://freedomfarmers.com/link/17150/ Get Prepared & Start The Move Towards Real Independence With Curtis Stone's Courses! GET YOUR FREEDOM KELLY KETTLE KIT HERE: https://patriotprepared.com/shop/freedom-kettle/ Use Code WAM and enjoy many solutions for the outdoors in the face of the impending reset! PayPal: ancientwonderstelevision@gmail.com FIND OUR CoinTree page here: https://cointr.ee/joshsigurdson PURCHASE MERECHANDISE HERE: https://world-alternative-media.creator-spring.com/ JOIN US on SubscribeStar here: https://www.subscribestar.com/world-alternative-media For subscriber only content! Pledge here! Just a dollar a month can help us alive! https://www.patreon.com/user?u=2652072&ty=h&u=2652072 BITCOIN ADDRESS: 18d1WEnYYhBRgZVbeyLr6UfiJhrQygcgNU World Alternative Media 2026

Ironically enough "ice cold" doesn't make this list

In my Gum trees I have a good colony of Aussie Silk Moths, aka gum emperor moth caterpillars – they live and feed on gum trees (but also on liquidambar). Now's the time to look for them in the “wild” – in the South Island they occur all the way down to Canterbury (Lincoln and Banks Peninsula is as far south as they get). The smallest caterpillars are quite dark in colour – almost blackish and about 8mm long. As they grow (and shed their skins) they change their colours and cause distinct chewing marks on the lower gum leaves. In a few weeks they'll grow bigger and bigger until they end up being 12 centimetres long and absolutely gorgeous. If you think that daddy longlegs are fascinating, show the kids these caterpillars! The growing caterpillars move further and further upwards in the tree, often preferring the freshest leaves. In the meantime, caterpillar colours have become green and blue with stunning legs, feet, tubercles and nodes in orange and red, pretending to be “poisonous”. After about three weeks they'll spin a cocoon, brown and rather hard. Ironically this moth belongs to the silk moth family, but this Aussie silk is of rather inferior quality – not soft enough to make clothes from. The moths will spend most of their time in chrysalis/pupa/cocoon overwintering. What happens inside the cocoon is that remarkable phenomenon of “metamorphosis” – think of it as totally re-arranging the molecules (which made a caterpillar) and forming those into the shape of a moth. In November/December/January, the chrysalis opens and out comes this amazing brown and pink moth with eye spots. It's a big moth, with a 15 cm wingspan! These moths mate and the females lay whole strings of relatively large, creamy-white eggs on gum leaves – the eggs hatch in summer and that's where we are now! LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

SHOW NOTES: • The point is to live with imperfection. • Free of mistakes, we're free of critique and ridicule is false • Perfectionism leads to huge stress • It's a fictitious expectation (dining, travel, relationships, etc.) • We think it protects us, but it ruins us • It's based on the fear of being imperfect—and human!! • Engage in vulnerable conversations and actitivies • Accept results of a task that are “OK” • My wife's formula for long-term marriages • Perfectionism assumes control you don't have • Why I don't guarantee my results • Strong esteem nullifies perfectionism • Self-compassion, the same sensitivity you'd offer others • My “therapy” of trains and models • Small “chunks” of change, not mammoth ones • At extremes we have OCD • Experience rather than orchestrate • Ironically, caused by not feeling worthy or good about yourself • The critical distinction between efficacy and self-worth

ACC is in crisis. I'm not sure if that's news to you or not. They are sinking in a sea of debt. They are forecast in four short years to be in the hole to the tune of $26 billion. Now there are side issues like court cases, which make decisions that envelop the organisation into a fiscal level of responsibility they can't calculate, and in that I feel sorry for them. But their turnaround plan, which has just been launched, involves them getting back to black in four years. That, if done, will be well worth applauding. Now, I have no doubt it can be done, mainly because the problem is one of will and determination. But it does involve tough decisions, a bit of backbone and a whole new attitude. A couple of key figures give the story away. Figure 1: The number of people in the past decade who are on long term payments. It's gone from 12,000 to 24,000. In other words, it's doubled. Has the population doubled in that time? No. Have we fallen over a lot more? Not necessarily. Have we milked a system able to be milked? Of course. Figure 2: The cost of rehab. In the same period, it's gone from $2 billion to $4 billion, so it's doubled. Has inflation doubled? No. Have people seen ACC coming and adjusted their costs accordingly? Yes. The whole thing is not a lot short of a scam. It's an industry in which if you take your eye off the ball, make the rules convoluted and look to scrimp and save in the wrong areas, is ripe for the sort of calamitous outcome that has clearly eventuated. Literally half the country claims ACC each year. It's astonishing. It's not normal. Recently a family member was a recipient of ACC. Without boring you with the details, at times ACC seemed determined this person should not return to work. There was a rigid inflexibility in their approach. Rules were rules. Ironically this family member was desperate to get back to work, but, said any number of doctors and specialists, not before just a bit more treatment. Do that two million times over and you're $26 billion in the hole. The good news is there is no reason it can't be fixed. The question is, do they have the gonads and the wherewithal to do it? See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The European Union's latest decision to phase out Chinese components and equipment from critical infrastructure such as telecommunications and solar energy, on the pretext of safeguarding "security", reflects an ideological bias that threatens to undermine the cooperative and mutually beneficial Sino-EU trade relations.欧盟以保障“安全”为借口，在其最新决议中表示将逐步淘汰电信和太阳能等关键基础设施中的中国零部件和设备。这种做法反映出一种意识形态偏见，可能危及中欧互利共赢的贸易关系。The restrictive measures, set out by the European Commission on Tuesday in revisions to the EU Cybersecurity‍Act, build on actions taken in 2023 when the EU executive arm urged member states to exclude Huawei and ZTE from their mobile networks due to "security risks".欧盟委员会周二在修订《欧盟网络安全法》时提出的限制性措施，延续了2023年的行动——当时欧盟执行机构以“安全风险”为由，敦促成员国将华为和中兴排除在移动网络之外。But if security truly was the issue, there would be a transparent, evidence-based process to address these concerns, rather than sweeping administrative bans. Such prejudicial actions not only damage the trust necessary for bilateral trade, but also harm the interests of European companies and consumers.但若安全问题确属关键，理应通过透明、基于证据的程序来解决，而非采取一刀切的行政禁令。此类有失公允的举措不仅损害双边贸易所需的信任基础，更损害欧洲企业和消费者的利益。Chinese enterprises have beenintegral to the EU's technological advancement, providing high-quality and cost-effective solutions that have significantly contributed to the bloc's economic growth, job creation and digital transformation. From building 5G networks and advancing smart city projects in Europe, Chinese technology companies such as Huawei have demonstrated their commitment to compliance and innovation over the years.中国企业始终是欧盟技术进步的重要组成部分，其提供的高质量、高性价比解决方案为欧盟的经济增长、就业创造和数字化转型作出了重大贡献。从建设5G网络到推进欧洲智慧城市项目，华为等中国科技企业多年来始终展现出对合规与创新的坚定承诺。The earlier targeting of Huawei and ZTE was influenced by external pressures from the United States, which has long sought to exclude Chinese entities from global technology markets. And the bloc has been pursuing so-called "de-risking" since then. Although recent pressure from the US and other realities have prompted the EU to adopt a more pragmatic approach, it hasn't softened its stance in the telecommunications sector, although the specific implementation varies from country to country.早先针对华为和中兴的打压受到美国外部压力的影响，美国长期以来一直试图将中国企业排除在全球技术市场之外。此后，欧盟一直在推行所谓的“去风险化”政策。尽管近期来自美国的压力及其他现实因素促使欧盟采取更务实的态度，但其在电信领域的立场并未软化，尽管具体实施方式因国而异。This is because some European politicians still believe "security" to be a core issue in trade with China, and they try to mislead the EU to exclude Chinese suppliers. Ironically, these politicians pretend to be blind to the substantial security threats from the US, not only to the EU's economy and trade but also its members' territorial integrity.究其根源，部分欧洲政客仍将“安全”视为对华贸易的核心议题，试图误导欧盟排斥中国供应商。讽刺的是，这些政客对美国带来的实质性安全威胁视而不见——这种威胁不仅危及欧盟的经济贸易，更威胁到成员国的领土完整。The economic implications of excluding Chinese technology are profound. The financial burden of replacing established infrastructure is substantial, and the resultant delays in technological advancement could hinder Europe's competitiveness in the rapidly evolving digital landscape. This has been evidenced by the experience of the United Kingdom, where the exclusion of Huawei in 2020 led to significant delays and increased the costs of the country's 5G rollout.排除中国技术将产生深远的经济影响——更换现有基础设施的财务负担相当沉重，由此导致的技术进步延迟可能阻碍欧洲在快速发展的数字领域中的竞争力。英国的经验就证明了这一点：2020年将华为排除在外，导致该国5G网络部署出现重大延误，成本增加。It is estimated that replacing Chinese telecommunications equipment within the EU would cost billions of euros; over 90 percent of solar panels in the EU are manufactured in China, and manufacturing solar panels locally in the EU could be 160 percent more expensive than manufacturing them in China. Currently, Chinese inverters are used in the generation of over 200 gigawatts of power in the EU; and 70 percent of the inverters in newly installed solar power capacity in 2023 were imported from China, with Chinese products more than 20 percent cheaper than those from the EU.据估算，欧盟境内替换中国电信设备将耗资数十亿欧元；欧盟90%以上的太阳能电池板产自中国，若在欧盟本土制造，成本可能比中国高出160%。目前欧盟超过200吉瓦的发电量依赖中国逆变器；2023年新增太阳能装机容量中70%的逆变器来自中国进口，且中国产品比欧盟同类产品便宜20%以上。Instead of excluding Chinese technology, the EU should focus on fostering innovation and building partnerships with Chinese companies that enhance its technological capabilities while respecting the principles of free trade.欧盟不应排斥中国技术，而应致力于培育创新能力，并与中国企业建立合作伙伴关系，在尊重自由贸易原则的前提下提升自身技术实力。China's leading position in certain industries is the result of continuous technological innovation and the advantages of its manufacturing system, and should not be portrayed as a "threat". China's development is a global opportunity, not a threat to any country.中国在某些产业领域的领先地位，源于持续的技术创新和制造业体系的优势，不应被描绘成“威胁”。中国的发展是全球机遇，而非对任何国家的威胁。It is imperative that the EU reassess its approach toward Chinese enterprises, and try to balance its "security" concerns with the benefits of continued collaboration with China.欧盟亟需重新评估对华企业政策，在“安全”顾虑与持续合作带来的利益间寻求平衡。The EU stands at a crossroads. It can either succumb to protectionist tendencies that threaten to isolate it in an interconnected world, or it can embrace a path of rational, unbiased engagement that features open trade and mutual benefit. The choice will not only influence the future of China-EU economic relations, but also determine the EU's role in the global economic order. European countries should rationally consider this from an objective perspective, reflecting on how its "de-risking" practices have distracted the bloc's attention from its real security threat while misleading it to falsely identify a partner as a "threat".欧盟正处十字路口：或屈从于保护主义倾向，在互联世界中自我孤立；或选择理性公正的开放合作之路，践行互利共赢的贸易理念。这一抉择不仅将影响中欧经济关系的未来走向，更将决定欧盟在全球经济秩序中的定位。欧洲各国应当以客观视角理性审视：其“去风险化”举措不仅转移了欧盟对真正安全威胁的关注，更误导其将合作伙伴错误归类为“威胁”。de-risking去风险化Integral/ˈɪn.t̬ə.ɡrəl/adj.不可或缺的

This week on Forgotten Cinema, the Mikes discuss "A Man Apart", a gritty early-2000s action thriller that Butler remembered liking as a teenager, but this time...not so much.Mike Butler and Mike Field are not fans. While Vin Diesel does a good job, the movie falls apart on nearly every level. The plot is a mess, the writing is weak, the action lacks impact, and the overall execution never comes together. It manages to hit all the usual beats of early-2000s gritty action cinema, but in all the wrong ways.Ironically, that makes for a very fun conversation. The Mikes dig into why "A Man Apart" serves as a perfect example of that era's style without the substance to support it.A rough watch, but an entertaining breakdown.What's your favorite Vin Diesel role other than Toretto or Riddick? Let us know in the comments!

Guest: Professor Richard Carwardine. Carwardine explains that President-elect Lincoln did not view Republicans as overly aggressive, positioning himself as a constitution-respecting centrist rather than a radical. Lincoln opposed slavery's expansion but acknowledged its constitutional protection where it already existed, believing the South was misled by elites and would eventually return to the Union. Ironically, Lincoln and Buchanan, though political opposites, worshiped at the same Washington church, sharing an old-school Presbyterian background.1861 ST. MICHAEL'S, CHARLESTON SOUTH CAROLINA

SHOW SCHEDULE1-19-20261914 FLAG DAY WITH WILSON, BRYAN, ROOSEVELT Guest: Professor Richard Carwardine. Carwardine discusses President James Buchanan's January 4, 1861, national fast day, intended to unite a fracturing nation through prayer and repentance. While old-school Presbyterians like Charles Hodge supported this call for divine intervention, the effort largely failed to forestall war. The event highlighted three distinct groups of religious nationalists: conservative Unionists, anti-slavery Republicans viewing slavery as a national sin, and pro-slavery theologians defending the institution on scriptural grounds. Guest: Professor Richard Carwardine. Carwardine explains that President-elect Lincoln did not view Republicans as overly aggressive, positioning himself as a constitution-respecting centrist rather than a radical. Lincoln opposed slavery's expansion but acknowledged its constitutional protection where it already existed, believing the South was misled by elites and would eventually return to the Union. Ironically, Lincoln and Buchanan, though political opposites, worshiped at the same Washington church, sharing an old-school Presbyterian background. Guest: Professor Richard Carwardine. In September 1861, Lincoln proclaimed a fast day, carefully avoiding specific references to slavery to maintain political unity. Carwardine details the conflict surrounding General Frémont's unauthorized emancipation order, which Lincoln revoked to prevent losing loyal border states like Kentucky. Consequently, anti-slavery nationalists used the pulpits to criticize Lincoln's caution, demanding the war become an explicit crusade against the "gigantic crime" of slavery rather than just a restoration of the Union. Guest: Professor Richard Carwardine. The discussion turns to Confederate Vice President Alexander Stephens' "Cornerstone Speech," which explicitly defined racial inequality as the Confederacy's foundation, a stance widely condemned in the North. Carwardine notes that despite earlier tensions, Lincoln viewed his fast days as successful, utilizing them and meetings with religious delegations to gauge public sentiment and prepare the ground for eventual emancipation. Lincoln valued these interactions to influence and learn from denominational leaders. Guest: Professor Richard Carwardine. Carwardine details the intense political opposition Lincoln faced in 1863 following the Emancipation Proclamation. He highlights Clement Vallandigham, a "Peace Democrat" leader who viewed the war as unwinnable and Lincoln as a "Puritan despot." Carwardine explains that the Democraticcoalition was fractured by religion, specifically between Catholics and Protestants, yet united in opposing the administration. Lincoln ultimately banished Vallandigham to the Confederacy to neutralize his influence. Guest: Professor Richard Carwardine. Carwardine discusses James McMaster, the Catholic editor of the Freeman's Journal, characterizing him as an extraordinary polemicist who was imprisoned for his "vituperations" against the war. McMaster argued the war denied the rights of free men and refused to retract his views upon release. The segment also features Samuel "Sunset" Cox, a Democrat who famously attacked New England Puritanism as the source of the nation's meddling and moral extremity. Guest: Professor Richard Carwardine. The discussion turns to the Union's "low point" in August 1864, where Lincoln expected to lose the election to Democrat George McClellan. Carwardine describes the Democraticcampaign as "brokenbacked" for pairing a general with a peace platform. However, the fall of Atlanta revived Union hopes. Carwardine emphasizes how pastors articulated a "higher cause"—the preservation of a unique republican government—to justify the war's terrible "bloodletting" and sacrifice. Guest: Professor Richard Carwardine. Carwardine analyzes the war's conclusion and Lincoln's Second Inaugural Address, which framed the conflict as divine judgment for the shared offense of slavery. He notes that Lincoln intended a Reconstruction based on charity and "absence of malice," rather than punishment. By 1865, Lincoln's views had evolved to support citizenship for African American veterans, though his assassination left the specific blueprint for the nation's reintegration unfinished and uncertain. Guest: Brenda Wineapple. In 1925, the Tennessee legislature passed the Butler Act, banning the teaching of evolution in public schools. At Robinson's drugstore in Dayton, local booster George Rapier and others recruited 24-year-old science teacher John Scopes to violate the law as a test case to generate publicity for the town. Although Scopes was knowingly guilty, the ACLU backed the defense to challenge the law's constitutionality regarding the separation of church and state. Guest: Brenda Wineapple. The ACLU, seeking to defend religious liberty and raise its profile, seized upon the Scopes case. While the board considered prestigious constitutional lawyers, the notorious Clarence Darrowvolunteered his services pro bono because he viewed the Butler Act as bigoted. Despite the ACLU's hesitation regarding Darrow's controversial reputation from the Leopold and Loeb trial, Scopes insisted on having the "street fighter" Darrow defend him against William Jennings Bryan. Guest: Brenda Wineapple. Clarence Darrow was a celebrated attorney known for his "downhome" jury appeals and defense of the marginalized. Mentored by progressive John Altgeld, Darrow built a reputation defending labor unions, socialists like Eugene Debs, and the poor against powerful corporations. However, his career suffered a "bad patch" following the McNamara brothers' bombing case in Los Angeles, where Darrow himself faced trials for allegedly bribing a juror, leaving him with a checkered reputation. Guest: Brenda Wineapple. Three-time presidential candidate William Jennings Bryan joined the prosecution to revive his political career and defend fundamentalism. Famous for his populist "Cross of Gold" speech, Bryan had become rigid in his views, advocating for prohibition and a literal reading of the Bible. He viewed the trial as a platform to combat the theory of evolution, which he believed deprived children of a moral center and denied the miracles of creation. Guest: Brenda Wineapple. Fundamentalist Judge John T. Raulston presided over the trial, enjoying the publicity brought by loudspeakers and radio coverage. The defense included civil liberties lawyer Arthur Garfield Hayes, a secular Jew, serving as a constitutional anchor. Meanwhile, William Jennings Bryan arrived as a celebrity in a pith helmet, though Scopes noted Bryan ignored his own diabetes by overeating at dinner, revealing a disconnect between his fundamentalist beliefs and medical science. Guest: Brenda Wineapple. The defense suffered a major setback when the judge ruled that their scientific experts could not testify before the jury, forcing them to read affidavits into the record instead. H.L. Mencken, the acerbic journalist who dubbed the event the "Monkey Trial," covered the proceedings. Sympathetic to Darrow and critical of Bryan's "fanatic" views, Mencken influenced public perception, though the jury remained shielded from the scientific evidence the defense hoped to present. Guest: Brenda Wineapple. During a stifling heatwave, the trial moved outdoors where Darrow executed a shocking maneuver by calling prosecutor William Jennings Bryan to the witness stand. Darrow interrogated Bryan on his literal interpretation of the Bible, questioning stories like Jonah and the whale. Bryan faltered, admitting creation "days" might be metaphorical periods, which undermined his fundamentalist position and allowed Darrow to humiliate him regarding his knowledge of history, geology, and world religions. Guest: Brenda Wineapple. The trial ended abruptly with a guilty verdict, denying Bryan his closing speech; he died days later, likely due to heat, stress, and diabetes. John Scopes eventually became a geologist and lived a reclusive life, refusing to exploit his fame. Darrow's later career fluctuated, including a controversial defense in the racially charged Massie trial in Hawaii, before his death in 1938, leaving behind a complex legacy beyond the "Inherit the Wind" narrative.

There's one truly helpful value on a standard cholesterol panel: triglycerides. Ironically, it's also the value most likely to be ignored or mismanaged because the doctor wastes your time by focusing on the useless total and LDL cholesterol values, having been brainwashed by the flawed science and pharmaceutical marketing. Here is WHY triglycerides are so important, HOW you can reduce your value to the very important level of 60 mg/dl or less without resorting to the use of any pharmaceuticals, only natural and dietary strategies. Support the showYouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/@WilliamDavisMD Blog: WilliamDavisMD.com Membership website for two-way Zoom group meetings: InnerCircle.DrDavisInfiniteHealth.com Books: Super Gut: The 4-Week Plan to Reprogram Your Microbiome, Restore Health, and Lose Weight Wheat Belly: Lose the Wheat, Lose the Weight and Find Your Path Back to Health; revised & expanded ed

Co-Host Rob Thomas (https://mountaintoppodcast.com/robthomas) The default setting when trying to resolve dating and relationship issues with women is to talk about it, right? Well, my first-time guest Rob Thomas came to the conclusion that trying to say the right words at the right time was exhausting. Drawing from his day job as a business consultant, he figured out there are very real ways to truly increase rapport and connection without using any words at all. The next thing you know, he wrote a book about that called Wordless Connection. Importantly, its not about wordless communication, per se, but rather about full-on connection. So first off, why is it we often end up speaking a "cloud of euphemisms" when talking to our WAGs? And what can we do instead to create an almost instant connection without saying anything at all? What is the science behind the value of embracing your partner for an exact duration of time? And how does that concept apply directly to eye contact, as well? Does the saying, "watch what she does instead of listening to what she says" have anything to do with this? Is what Rob's talking about here actually a primal desire within us? After all, verbal communication is a relatively new human development. Ironically enough, can words actually distract from deeper connection? What about wordless connection in the bedroom? What is the science behind human touch that can increase your success with women immediately? Have you downloaded Sticking Points Solved? Your free e-book is waiting at: https://mountaintoppodcast.com === HELP US SEND THE MESSAGE TO GREAT MEN EVERYWHERE === The show is now available as a VIDEO version on YouTube. For some reason, the episodes seem funnier...if a bit more rough around the edges. If you love what you hear, please rate the show on the service you subscribed to it on (takes one second) and leave a review. As we say here in Texas, I appreciate you!

Let's start with the Bad News?The ICE game3 UnitedHealth Group Minnetonka41 Target Minneapolis105 U.S. Bancorp; IR site not working: Minneapolis108 Best Buy Richfield115 CHS Inver Grove Heights174 3M Maplewood216 General Mills Golden Valley230 Ameriprise Financial MinneapolisAnthony Saglimbene, Chief Market Strategist, Ameriprise Financial: Is Corporate America Up For Its First Big Test Of 2026? 1/12/2026“geopolitical and Washington headlines have increased risk, from developments in Venezuela to broader policy noise, including the pending International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) decision which didn't occur last week, affordability proposals in Washington, and unexpected policies and executive orders that could impact housing and defense companies”233 C.H. Robinson Eden Prairie262 Land O'Lakes Arden Hills274 Ecolab St. Paul319 Xcel Energy Minneapolis352 Hormel Foods Austin388 Thrivent Financial MinneapolisThe Good GameThe oil CEO who stood up to Trump is a follower of the disciplined ‘Exxon way' with a history of blunt statementsBig Oil executives met at the White House to discuss investing billions to revive Venezuela's oil industry.Exxon Mobil CEO Darren Woods pushed back, calling Venezuela “uninvestable” without long-term reforms.President Trump reacted angrily, calling Exxon “too cute” and signaling he may exclude the company from Venezuela.Woods declined to appease Trump at the expense of Exxon shareholders.Analysts said Exxon stock would likely have fallen if it committed billions to Venezuela's uneconomic, high-risk environment.Veteran analyst Jim Wicklund said Woods was the only executive willing to speak plainly.Industry has little urgency to return to Venezuela, and no deal can offset the extreme political risk.Even sweeter terms wouldn't change the math: political risk outweighs potential rewards by “a factor of 10.”Microsoft Pledges to Pay More for Electricity, Drawing Praise From Trump A senior Microsoft executive on Tuesday addressed the impact data centers have on the electrical costs for home consumers, an increasingly touchy subject that became a political hot button in November's elections.In a blog post ahead of a speech on artificial intelligence, Brad Smith, Microsoft's president, reiterated that Microsoft wants to pay for the electricity its data center use and avoid affecting everyday customers. “We'll ask utilities and public commissions to set our rates high enough to cover the electricity costs for our data centers,” Mr. Smith wrote.US Judge Allows Orsted to Resume $5 Billion Rhode Island Offshore Wind Project Halted by TrumpRevolution Wind is a $5 billion development co-owned by Orsted that aims to deliver renewable power to Rhode Island and Connecticut. It is the first of five offshore wind projects paused by Interior Secretary Doug Burgum in late December over what officials described as radar interference risks identified by the Department of Defense.Trump tries to reduce CEO pay and halt billions in stock buybacks at defense contractorsThe executive order is creating a “new, government-mandated form of ESG,” referring to the environmental, social, and governance framework that grew prominent in recent years and prodded CEOs to focus on their companies' broader stakeholder impact and not just shareholders.Ironically, the prioritization of ESG was derided as “woke” by critics and the administration has been generally hostile toward ESG. The defense contractor order is conceptually similar in that it prods companies to prioritize a customer over maximizing value for shareholders.President Donald Trump signed an executive order zeroing in on pay packages for executives at large defense contractors deemed to have underperformed on existing government contracts while chasing newer, bigger deals, according to the White House. At the same time, the order claims, these companies have bought back billions in stock, enriching both shareholders and executives.“Effective immediately, they are not permitted in any way, shape, or form to pay dividends or buy back stock, until such time as they are able to produce a superior product, on time and on budget,” the order, titled “Prioritizing the Warfighter in Defense Contracting,” states.The order further directs the Secretary of War to identify contractors that have underperformed the terms of their deals with the government and hatch a plan to resolve delays and production issues. If the resolution plan is insufficient, according to the secretary, future contracts will include provisions banning stock buybacks and dividends and will prohibit tying pay to “short-term financial metrics” such as free cash flow or earnings per share.Trump elaborated in a post on his messaging platform Truth Social last week, railing against pay packages in the defense industry, claiming they are “exorbitant and unjustifiable” given the delays in delivering military equipment. Until those issues are remediated, “no Executive should be allowed to make in excess of $5 Million Dollars which, as high as it sounds, is a mere fraction of what they are making now,” the president wrote.US oil lobby group backs repeal of climate rule for vehicles, not power plantsThe American Petroleum Institute supports the Environmental Protection Agency's proposal to repeal the foundation of greenhouse gas regulations for vehicles but not for power plants and other stationary industrial facilities."We would not support repealing the endangerment finding for stationary sources," API President Mike Sommers told reporters, adding that the trade group believes it has "the greatest standing" from a regulatory perspective and it is clear the EPA has authority to regulate greenhouse gas emissions from those sources.Judge: Trump violated Fifth Amendment by ending energy grants in only blue statesCourt Rules Trump DOE Violated the Constitution When It Cancelled Clean Energy Funding in Specific StatesAdministration Action Violated Constitutional Guarantee to Equal Protection Under the LawNorway Pushes Electric Vehicles to Nearly All New Car Sales in 2025Electric vehicles accounted for 95.9 percent of all new car registrations in Norway in 2025, rising to almost 98 percent in December, placing the country far ahead of global peers.A mix of targeted tax relief for low cost electric vehicles and rising charges on petrol and diesel cars has reshaped consumer demand and manufacturer strategy.Norway's approach contrasts with the wider European Union, where weaker demand has prompted a rollback of the planned 2035 ban on internal combustion engine vehicles.Meet autistic Barbie: the newest Mattel doll launched in line intended to celebrate diversityMattel said it developed the autistic doll over more than 18 months in partnership with the Autistic Self Advocacy Network, a nonprofit organization that advocates for the rights and better media representation of people with autismThe eyes of the new Barbie shift slightly to the side to represent how some people with autism sometimes avoid direct eye contact, he said. The doll also was given articulated elbows and wrists to acknowledge stimming, hand flapping and other gestures that some autistic people use to process sensory information or to express excitement, according to Mattel.The development team debated whether to dress the doll in a tight or a loose-fitting outfit, Pervez said. Some autistic people wear loose clothes because they are sensitive to the feel of fabric seams, while others wear figure-hugging garments to give them a sense of where their bodies are, he said. The team ended up choosing an A-line dress with short sleeves and a flowy skirt that provides less fabric-to-skin contact.The doll also wears flat shoes to promote stability and ease of movement, according to Mattel.Each doll comes with a pink finger clip fidget spinner, noise-canceling headphones and a pink tablet modeled after the devices some autistic people who struggle to speak use to communicate.Elon Musk's X Under UK Investigation Over Grok's Sexualized A.I. ImagesA British regulator said it had started a formal investigation into Mr. Musk's chatbot over the spread of illegal images.Malaysia and Indonesia block Musk's Grok over sexually explicit deepfakes Meta removes nearly 550,000 social media accounts under Australian age ban This new crash test dummy could keep women safer in car accidentsWhile regulators have been testing crash impacts for decades, there's a dearth of data on women, who face a higher risk of death in auto accidents. In November, regulators unveiled THOR-05F — short for “Test device for Human Occupant Restraint, 5th-percentile Female” — the first crash test dummy specifically based on a woman's body.Elon Musk's Lawsuit Accusing ChatGPT-Maker OpenAI Of Betraying Its Nonprofit Mission Can Go To Trial, Judge Rules‍ ‍Trump calls for 1-year 10% cap on credit card interest ratesThis is a mistake President': Bill Ackman responds to Trump's call for a one-year 10% cap on credit card interestActivist investors set record number of campaigns in 2025Last year's number of attacks marked a nearly 5% increase over 2024 and eclipsed the previous record of 249 made in 2018, the data showed.

Hello, Love Your Work listeners, those who still have this pod in your feeds – thank you for staying subscribed! I do not have a new episode for you, per se, though I've certainly thought about making new episodes, the bandwidth hasn't been there, because I have been long and hard at work on my next book, Finish What Matters! In short, you can buy the preview edition at https://kdv.co/fwmpre, but also let me tell you about it. Yes, after all the talk I made on this show about the subject of finishing projects, after all the mini episodes I published with various ideas such as the project halfpipe, the foundation effect, and Leonardo and Raphael, I finally have something ready to show you. Ironically, it has taken me a very long time to finish – or at least get close to finishing – this book. I thought I had the answers going into this one, but after digging deep into why projects – creative projects specifically – don't get finished, I have learned so much. Basically, there are really good reasons we don't always finish what matters. The creative process is open-ended, some of us have more open-ended cognitive styles, and we just don't know if finishing is going to be worth it! So it's no wonder we succumb to shiny object syndrome and struggle with motivation, and second-guess ourselves when we receive criticism.  I have surveyed you in the hundreds, I've interviewed you by the dozens. I have studied the great creators throughout history, I have traveled to Italy to immerse myself in the worlds of Leonardo and Raphael. Most important, I have locked myself in a cabin in the mountains, pondering these obstacles to finishing, and what to do about them. And now, after five years of work, I have something ready to show you. I have a publicly announced schedule of deadlines by which I will deliver to you every chapter. I have on the calendar a lecture series through which to share these concepts, and even a small-group finishing cohort to help a handful of you get a project done in Q1. So if you are interested, please visit kdv.co/fwmpre to learn more and buy the Preview Edition. This is the third and FINAL book in the Getting Art Done series, which I started ten years ago, and which has taught me so much I can't believe. I cannot wait to share it with you, and I can hardly wait to speak to you again here or on some other podcast or some other podcast-like-thing at some date in the future. Thank you, happy new year, and here's to you getting it done in Q1.

This week we focus on the Trump Administration's seizure of Venezuelan president Nicolas Maduro as Ralph welcomes legendary former ambassador, Chas Freeman, who calls it nothing more than a “gas station stick-up.” Then our resident Constitutional scholar, Bruce Fein, lays out some of the legal ramifications of the whole affair.Ambassador Chas Freeman is a retired career diplomat who has negotiated on behalf of the United States with over 100 foreign governments in East and South Asia, Africa, Latin America, the Middle East, and both Western and Eastern Europe. Ambassador Freeman was previously a Senior Fellow at Brown University's Watson Institute for International and Public Affairs, and served as U.S. Assistant Secretary of Defense, U.S. ambassador to Saudi Arabia, acting Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs, and Deputy Chief of Mission and Chargé d'Affaires in the American embassies at both Bangkok and Beijing. He was Director for Chinese Affairs at the U.S. Department of State from 1979-1981. He was the principal American interpreter during the late President Nixon's historic visit to China in 1972. In addition to Chinese, Ambassador Freeman speaks French and Spanish at the professional level and can converse in Arabic and several other languages.We have been engaged in murder on the high seas, people who are suspected on flimsy grounds of carrying narcotics. If they are carrying narcotics, it is not to the United States [but] between Venezuela and Trinidad, from which the drugs go to Western Europe and West Africa. We have been guilty of acts of piracy, seizing vessels on the high seas, on the basis of no authority. And (very dangerously) we have seized a Russian-flagged tanker…And we are risking a war with a nuclear-armed superpower over an issue that is peripheral to Venezuela.Ambassador Chas FreemanDomestically, we have a constitutional crisis. We are the most powerful country on the planet, and our domestic constitutional crisis has turned out to be contagious to the international system. And so we're seeing the disappearance of well-established norms of human behavior, interactions between states. It will not be easy to resurrect those. The precedents we've just set could come home to trouble us.Ambassador Chas FreemanI think we have scared everybody around the world. If there is no protection from international law, people will arm themselves as heavily as they can to defend themselves. So diplomacy is not prospering in this environment. And I would just conclude by saying that the Trump administration has more than decimated our diplomatic service. About one third of the diplomatic service has left or is in the process of leaving public service of the government. So they join scientists and engineers in trying to bail out from what they consider to be an increasingly intolerable situation. Not a happy picture.Ambassador Chas FreemanBruce Fein is a Constitutional scholar and an expert on international law. Mr. Fein was Associate Deputy Attorney General under Ronald Reagan and he is the author of Constitutional Peril: The Life and Death Struggle for Our Constitution and Democracy, and American Empire: Before the Fall.The fact is, if you read the NATO Charter Article 5—I think right now we've got 32 members of NATO, and 31 countries would be obliged to take up war and arms against the United States. [The United States' intervention in Venezuela] is an invasion. It's every bit as much of an invasion as Hitler going into the Sudetenland after Munich. Everybody knows this isn't going to be a voluntary secession. If it isn't by military conquest, it'll be by coercion, by threats. So we may be at war with all the other NATO members. That's why I liken this to the Napoleonic Era when France and Napoleon were against all of Europe. He had no allies anymore, and I think we will have no allies either. Bruce FeinNews 1/9/25* Our top story this week is, of course, the kidnapping of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro. Maduro, who has served as president of the Bolivarian Republic since 2013, was abducted from his home, along with his wife, by the Fort Bragg-based Delta Force squadron. Maduro was then transported to New York and is now being held in detention pending trial. Before getting into the fallout of this operation, it is critical to note the complicity of the mainstream press. Semafor reports, “The New York Times and Washington Post learned of a secret US raid on Venezuela soon before it was scheduled to begin Friday night — but held off publishing what they knew.” The preeminent American newspapers justified their decision to withhold this critical information from the public by claiming that publishing what they knew could have endangered American soldiers. This decision however raises longstanding questions about what the role of the media should be in national security matters. Is it their responsibility to protect American forces as they carry out legally dubious missions? Or is it their responsibility to inform the public of their own government's shadowy operations if they might endanger all Americans?* Meanwhile, the future of Venezuela appears deeply uncertain. Despite pressure from the Venezuelan exile community to install one of their own to lead the country, such as Maria Corina Machado, Trump has shown little interest in this path, saying Machado “doesn't have the support within or the respect within the country,” per Reuters. Instead, he has so far supported the elevation of Vice President Delcy Rodríguez. Rodríguez, who has been “likened…to a sort of Venezuelan Deng Xiaoping,” according to NBC, has sought to court Trump in the past and it seems that for the time being at least, he is content to keep her in place so long as she is willing to accede to the demands of the American oil companies.* Whatever the long-term outlook for Venezuela in general, this incident is sure to have certain short-term consequences. At the administration level, this operation was seen as a rousing success and is likely to embolden them to attempt similar operations in other countries deemed adversarial. The Hill reports Trump said “Colombia…[is] Run by a sick man,” referring to Colombian President Gustavo Petro, but won't be for “very long.” Similarly, he remarked that “We're going to have to do something [about Mexico].” Cuba, he said, is “ready to fall.” South Carolina Senator Lindsey Graham, traveling with Trump, added that Cuba's days are “numbered.” It remains to be seen how far Trump will go with regime change operations in these sovereign nations, but the success of the Maduro abduction makes each one – and the inevitable blowback from these actions – that much more likely.* Beyond Latin America, Trump is again pressing for an American annexation of Greenland. According to the BBC, the administration is discussing “a range of options” including military force. Ironically, the White House is claiming that the acquisition of Greenland – a semi-autonomous region of Denmark – is a “national security priority,” despite Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen's warning that any attack would mean the end of NATO, rattling the foundations of U.S. international security architecture. Nevertheless, Trump has continuously returned to the idea of annexing Greenland, so do not count on this quietly fading away, consequences be damned.* Moving to domestic politics, the AP reports the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, the private entity created in 1967 to shepherd public funding to PBS, NPR and hundreds of public television and radio stations across the country, has voted to dissolve itself. The CPB has been under heavy assault by the Trump administration, which pushed Congress to defund the entity last year. Patricia Harrison, the organization's president and CEO, is quoted saying “CPB's final act would be to protect the integrity of the public media system and the democratic values by dissolving, rather than allowing the organization to remain defunded and vulnerable to additional attacks.” With the shuttering of CPB, the future of public media hangs in the balance. It will be up to the next Congress to restore funding, or allow these cherished institutions to fall into the dustbin of history.* Alongside the federal assault on public media, the federal government continues its assaults on public health. The New York Times reports Jim O'Neill, acting director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, has “announced dramatic revisions to the slate of vaccines recommended for American children,” drawing down the number from 17 to just 11. The six vaccines on the chopping block, those for hepatitis A, hepatitis B, meningococcal disease, rotavirus, influenza and respiratory syncytial virus – which, the Times notes, is the “leading cause of hospitalization in American infants,” – will only be recommended for some high-risk groups. Meanwhile, the New York Post reports Dr. Mehmet Oz, administrator for the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, has unveiled new federal guidelines recommending alcohol use. Dr. Oz is quoted saying “Alcohol is a social lubricant that brings people together…it does allow people an excuse to bond and socialize, and there's probably nothing healthier than having a good time with friends in a safe way.” He added that the takeaway should be, “Don't have it for breakfast.” Given the well documented health risks of alcohol consumption, it is difficult to see this as anything besides a sop to the alcohol industry.* In more local news, the primary race between incumbent Congressman Dan Goldman and former Comptroller Brad Lander in New York's 10th congressional district is turning into nothing short of a proxy war between different factions within the Democratic Party. Goldman, who officially announced his reelection bid this week, was immediately endorsed by New York Governor Kathy Hochul and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, per the New York Daily News. Lander on the other hand, can boast the endorsement of Mayor Zohran Mamdani along with support from Senators Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren, among other local progressives, per ABC7. With so much political muscle on both sides, this primary is sure to have important ramifications for the future direction of the Democratic Party.* For his part, Mayor Zohran Mamdani has hit the ground running. On January 5th, Mamdani signed Executive Orders No. 9, on combatting hidden junk fees, and No. 10 on fighting subscription tricks and traps. Among other things, these executive orders will Establish a Citywide Junk Fee Task Force, to be cochaired by Deputy Mayor of Economic Justice and former Biden Administration Secretary of Labor Julie Su. This announcement ends with a message stating that Mayor Mamdani “takes the protection of New York consumers and tenants seriously,” citing his recent “executive order to hold ‘Rental Ripoff' hearings in every borough,” which will “provide an opportunity for working New Yorkers to speak about the challenges they face – from poor building conditions to hidden fees on rent payments,” to be followed by a report and policy recommendations. This all from NYC.gov.* A fascinating new poll has been released by “Speaking with American Men,” also known as the SAM Project, which seeks to understand young American men of various backgrounds. One startling number from this study is that 31% report having been homeless or near-homeless in the past five years. In more direct political findings though, only 27% say Trump is delivering for them, and slightly less, 25%, say Republicans are delivering. However, despite these abysmal numbers, just 18% say Democrats are delivering for them. Clearly, while young men are not joined at the hip to the Republican Party, the Democrats have a long way to go to win them back and won't get there without profoundly changing their approach to courting this key voting bloc.* Finally, the battle between Netflix and Paramount over corporate control of Warner Bros. Discovery continues to drag on. This week, WB announced they would formally reject Paramount's latest bid, their eighth so far, arguing that it is inferior to Netflix's proposal, citing the “extraordinary amount of incremental debt,” Paramount would have to incur in order to take over the larger company. This is estimated to be over $50 million. Although Paramount's hostile bid is higher per share than Netflix's offer, Paramount's bid includes WB's cable assets, such as CNN, which the company believes will be worth more if spun off from the rest of the company. This from CNN itself. Meanwhile, Paramount – led by the Ellison family – is calling in political favors on their behalf. In a letter to the House Judiciary antitrust subcommittee, Paramount Chief Legal Officer Makan Delrahim, who led the Antitrust Division of the DOJ under Trump 2017-2021, accused the proposed Netflix WB merger of being “presumptively unlawful,” because it would “further cement [Netflix's] dominance in streaming video on demand,” per Deadline. Congress cannot directly block a merger or acquisition, that power rests with the DOJ, but it does possess oversight power in that realm and can exert pressure to this end. Given the high stakes of this fight, expect all parties to call in their chits on Capitol Hill and in the administration in order to win the big prize.This has been Francesco DeSantis, with In Case You Haven't Heard. Get full access to Ralph Nader Radio Hour at www.ralphnaderradiohour.com/subscribe

Did you ever get a big, bold sign you didn't request and had no idea what it meant? Such a sign can help you make a good decision. I've Never Seen Anything Like This A hawk slammed into my sliding glass door, holding a woodpecker in its talons. They struggled and tore the screen. I was so disturbed that I banged on the door to make it stop. The hawk flew onto the deck, prey in its grip, sitting there as the life drained out of the woodpecker. I stood there stunned, asking myself, what could this possibly mean? The Background Before getting into the symbolism, it helps to know where I was emotionally that day. I had been deep in the process of reworking my branding for the past couple of months, which capped off a long 14 months of rethinking what I offer and who I'm best positioned to help. There's no single “right” answer when it comes to branding, but I desperately didn't want to get it wrong. That fear led to a kind of freeze with overthinking and no forward movement. Ironically, that same morning I finally made a decision. By the afternoon, I was relaxing for the first time in a while, reading, when the commotion outside my glass door happened. I wasn't looking for a sign, which made it all the more unsettling. The Backstory To understand what I witnessed and why, I first looked inward. The message that came through was clear. “The time for struggle and indecision was over. It was time to rise above, take action, and engage.” Later, I looked up the symbolism. The woodpecker is often associated with persistence and attention to detail. Birds of prey, like hawks, represent vision, decisiveness, and the ability to see the bigger picture. Hawks are also widely seen as messengers from spirit and intuition. When these two show up together, the message becomes hard to miss. For me, this was a dramatic signal that I was entering a new phase. One of transformation and divine timing. Stop getting lost in the details. See the bigger picture. Move on. That hit home. I had been lost in the details. From a logical standpoint, I was asking all the “right” questions. Would people resonate with my work? Was I making a smart business decision? Did this align with my skills and solve real problems for clients? When Logic Is a Dead End From an intuitive perspective, the questions were different. Does this feel aligned with my highest good? Does the energy feel expansive? Does it make me happy? Logic is useful, especially in business. Lists of pros and cons have their place. But at some point, logic had taken me as far as it could. What I needed next was inner knowing. Turns out branding is more of an art than a science and it left me feeling raw and vulnerable. The key realization was there's a big difference between strategic branding and energetic alignment. Logic had led me to a dead end. Now intuition needed to take the lead. That morning, I finally listened. I made a choice that felt right in my body. And then, just hours later, the hawk and woodpecker appeared. As a sign, I will absolutely pay attention. The message was clear. Get out of my head. Stop circling the details. Focus on the big picture. Trust how things feel in my body. Then act. This is how intuition speaks to me when I stop forcing answers. Sometimes gently and other times dramatically. Either way, it gets my attention. And this is a perfect example of how magic shows up too. My advice as an Intuitive Life Coach is simple… When you see a sign, pay attention. Reflect on what it means to you, and then follow through. How Intuition Shows Up There are actually many ways intuition shows up. Some people receive visual images (clairvoyance). Others hear inner guidance (clairaudience). Some just know without explanation (claircognizance). Still others, receive information through the feelings in the body (clairsentience). These are all valid. Over time, I've learned to use and trust all of them. But connecting with my body is relatively new and it’s been fascinating. That body-based intuition showed up again recently in a much more ordinary situation. I need a new couch after my last purchase wore out shockingly fast. I visited a couple of higher-end furniture stores and found beautiful options with big price tags. Then I found a similar couch at a mid-range store for half the price. Logical choice, right? I called a friend with high-end design experience. She agreed the construction and materials were solid so thought it was OK to buy the cheaper one. I was so relieved! My Body Reacted But when I went back to return the fabric samples at the high-end store, they placed the fabric on the couch one more time. My body reacted instantly as my shoulders relaxed. I took a deep breath and felt calm and comfortable. That was my answer! Logically, the cheaper couch made sense. Intuitively, my body told a different story. I trusted it. This kind of inner knowing doesn't just apply to big decisions or purchases. It can show up in very personal, physical ways too. Another Clairsentience Example Just before the holidays, I woke up one morning with a frozen shoulder which means severe pain and almost no movement. I tried chiropractic care and acupuncture, with slight improvement. On the fifth day, I heard a single word internally: magnesium. I took supplements and then soaked in an Epsom salt bath. Within an hour, I could move my arm. Two days later, I was fully healed. Again, my body had the information. I just had to listen. And that's really the heart of this conversation. Where do you get stuck when making decisions? Have you exhausted logic and analysis? Have you ignored signs or overridden what your body was telling you? Decision Making At the end of the day, decision making isn't about finding the perfect answer. It's about being honest with yourself, especially when logic has done all it can. There are times when further analysis will not produce a result. That's when it’s time to start listening. Sometimes intuition whispers. Other times it shows up loudly like a hawk slamming into your window. When something truly feels right, your system relaxes. Your breath deepens. The struggle eases. That's how you know. This is not because it makes sense on paper, but because something inside you calms down. When that happens, the decision is already made. Your only job is to honor it. Awaken Your Sixth Sense If you want to strengthen your intuitive awareness this year, I have a self-paced program called Awaken Your Sixth Sense, designed to help you recognize and trust how intuition speaks to you. It has seven lessons with lots of methods, tips and experiences, so you can build your intuition and start to trust it more. And maybe that's the real invitation. It’s time to practice listening to your inner knowing, and trusting it. That’s how to live aligned with your highest path and your soul. The post How To Make a Good Decision Using Intuition Vs. Logic appeared first on Intuitive Edge.

In Similitude; Becoming Full of Grace and Truth by Autumn Dickson Before we jump straight into the Old Testament and the Creation story, we have an opportunity to read in Moses and Abraham. There are many truths that were restored through these works, and there are many truths we already know that are echoed. In Moses this week, we read about a vision that Moses was given on the top of a high mountain where Heavenly Father was speaking to him. Here is a verse from that vision. Moses 1:6 And I have a work for thee, Moses, my son; and thou art in the similitude of mine Only Begotten; and mine Only Begotten is and shall be the Savior, for he is full of grace and truth; but there is no God beside me, and all things are present with me, for I know them all. There are a couple of phrases in here that are powerful, especially when put together. Let's start with this one: “…and mine Only Begotten is and shall be the Savior, for he is full of grace and truth…” The Savior holds grace and truth within Him; He is full of it. Let's talk about both individually. Under Topics and Questions on the church website, we read this: “Grace is a gift from Heavenly Father given through His Son, Jesus Christ. The word grace, as used in the scriptures, refers primarily to enabling power and spiritual healing offered through the mercy and love of Jesus Christ.” Christ is full of the enabling power and spiritual healing, and He offers it in mercy and love. There are a couple of other truths that we learn in that same topic page. Overcoming physical and spiritual death are part of the grace that He offers. He helps us do things we would not be able to do on our own. He strengthens us. He helps us return to live with God. He helps us every day. The Savior is also full of truth. He knows things as they are. There are two different perspectives with which we can look at this idea of Christ being full of truth. One, we know that He is currently full of truth. He knows all things. He is omnipotent. When He tells us to do something, He knows what He is talking about. However, there is also another perspective. Christ may have all knowledge now, but it didn't start out that way when He started His mortal journey on earth. On earth, He came as a baby and forgot everything. He had to learn truth through the power of the Spirit as He grew. He did not know everything on earth. Otherwise, He could not have remained on earth (Moses 1:5). So we know that Christ didn't know everything while He was here, but He knew all of the most important truths and lived perfectly according to those truths. There is another phrase in the first verse that we read that I want to utilize to add another layer here. “…Moses, my son; and thou art in the similitude of mine Only Begotten…” To be in the similitude of someone is to resemble them, not so much in looks, but in how one chooses to live one's life. Moses was like Christ, even if he was not perfectly like Christ. Moses was likewise full of grace and truth. When we are baptized, we promise to take the Savior's name upon and become like Him. Essentially, we promised to be in a similitude of the Only Begotten. When people look at us, they should see something that roughly resembles the Savior. We can also be full of grace and truth. We may be full of grace and truth in a different way than Christ, but we can be full of it too. Let's go back through our paragraphs about how Christ is full of grace and how He is full of truth, and let's look at the parallels in our own lives. 1. We can be full of grace. We can offer the enabling power and spiritual healing with mercy and love. No, we cannot offer it in the same way that Christ can, but we can help with it. When you sin and harm your spirit, another person can't go in and fix it. However, another person can take you to the doctor. As I was growing up, I had a shame problem. I took guilt beyond its helpful, proper boundaries and tried to beat myself into submission in the gospel. Not a great way to approach the gospel. I remember being on my mission, and my companion and I came in later than we were supposed to. We didn't set out to be disobedient, but we did make that mistake and it could have been prevented with a bit more effort on our part. I remember telling my companion that I didn't feel guilty and that I felt bad about not feeling guilty. With no hesitation she simply responded, “Maybe Heavenly Father knows you don't need to feel guilty in order to do better.” And she was definitely right. Coming in late happened once on my mission. Making me feel guilty wasn't going to change that. It wouldn't have served me. It was such a simple, nonchalant thing for her to say, but it changed my life. I had experienced a lot of self-inflicted spiritual damage in the name of trying to force myself to do better. Attacking myself and berating myself over mistakes didn't draw me closer to Christ or help me be better. Ironically, it did the opposite. My companion did not spiritually heal me. She is not the one who could take away those feelings or pay the price for them. Rather, she took me to the doctor. The grace she offered me was not her own, but she was still full of it. Overcoming physical death is a little different. We're not sure how resurrection looks or how that comes to pass. Do we get to help with that process through the power of Jesus Christ in the same way that we help with ordinances like baptism? Even if we don't, we can still point others towards Christ and hope for the resurrection. Overcoming spiritual death is similar to offering healing; it is a part of healing. It's not our power, but we can take people to the doctor. His power can be offered through us. We can help others do things they would not be able to do on their own. We can strengthen others. We can help others return to live with God. We can help others every day. 2. We can be full of truth. Eventually, we are going to progress to the extent that we know all things. That will take a long time. Until then, we can know all of the most important truths. We can be so full of truth that we live our lives differently than we would otherwise. My dad used to frequently echo the truth taught by Boyd K. Packer that doctrine changes behavior faster than a study of behavior changes behavior. When we see and know things as they are, we change accordingly and we feel differently. “As they are” is a really key phrase here. I've learned to see things as they are a lot more clearly since I became a mother. Let me give some examples. My third child, KJ, is obsessed with our youngest baby. She is constantly running over to Vivian and rolling her over so she can hold her down and cuddle her. Vivian is less than impressed now that she can walk. I swear I sound like a broken record all day, “KJ, let her go. KJ, let her go.” There was one time that KJ did it where Vivian got hurt. Vivian’s leg got stuck at a bad angle while KJ was trying to roll her over, and Vivian started crying pretty hard. KJ felt so bad she could hardly stand it. She ran and hid on the stairs. After making sure Vivian was okay, I called KJ over to me. KJ couldn't even look at me. She was trying to swallow back tears, and her chin kept trembling. It was rather cute on her four year old face. I remember feeling that way before when I accidentally hurt my dog when I was younger. I could hardly bear to even look at my dog the whole day because it hurt so bad. As I sat and thought about how that felt, the Spirit taught me something, and I was able to teach it to KJ. I told KJ, “The bad feeling is actually a good sign. It means you're a good person because you would never want to hurt Vivian. If you weren't feeling bad, then that would be a bad sign. Feeling bad just means you love her so much.” I guess the Spirit testified of that truth to her, and she brightened immediately and ran after Vivian again. Being full of truth is more than being able to recite that God judges us by our hearts. It's understanding how God's judgment works and being able to thwart Satan when he tries to mix us up. It is understanding the knowledge. It is applying the knowledge to any given situation and acting accordingly. If we want to be full of the truth like the Savior, it's more than just reciting what the Savior said. It's understanding what He said and seeing things as they really are. I testify that the Savior is full of grace and truth, and I testify that one of His purposes is to help us become so as well. This is done line upon line, with each practice taking us closer and closer. It's about taking our hearts with us into those actions, rather than going through the motions of the gospel. I likewise testify that the Savior is trying to fill us with grace and truth because He loves us and knows it will make us happier. Autumn Dickson was born and raised in a small town in Texas. She served a mission in the Indianapolis Indiana mission. She studied elementary education but has found a particular passion in teaching the gospel. Her desire for her content is to inspire people to feel confident, peaceful, and joyful about their relationship with Jesus Christ and to allow that relationship to touch every aspect of their lives. Autumn was the recipient of FAIR's 2024 John Taylor Defender of the Faith Award. The post Come, Follow Me with FAIR – Moses 1; Abraham 3 – Part 1 – Autumn Dickson appeared first on FAIR.

REVENGE, REVOLUTION, AND THE BIRTH OF A PATRIOT Colleague Professor Robert G. Parkinson. In 1774, a grief-stricken Logan launched a brutal revenge campaign, killing nearly 20 people to "glut his vengeance." This violence occurred as the Continental Congress began forming an army, calling for rifle companies from the frontier. Ironically, Michael Cresap, the man Logan blamed for the murders, was appointed to lead a Maryland rifle company. As Lord Dunmore launched a war against the Shawnee to secure land for Virginia, Logan delivered his famous lament to his brother-in-law John Gibson, signaling that his personal war was over and he was satisfied with the blood he had spilled. NUMBER 4

THE ACCIDENTAL DISCOVERY OF THE BIG BANG Colleague Professor Paul Halpern. Halpern explains how a horror movie inspired the Steady State theory, which posits that new matter is continuously created to maintain cosmic density. Ironically, Hoyle coined the term "Big Bang" as a derisive label during a radio broadcast, preferring his continuous creation model. The segment highlights Hoyle's genius in calculating how carbon forms in dying stars, a necessity for life. However, the debate shifted decisively when Penzias and Wilson accidentally discovered the cosmic microwave background hiss. This radiation, identified by Robert Dicke's team, provided the observational proof that vindicated Gamow's hot origin theory. NUMBER 3 AUGUST 1938

Original Release Date: November 19, 2025Our CIO and Chief U.S. Equity Strategist Mike Wilson explains why he continues to hold on to an out-of-consensus view of a growth positive 2026, despite near-term risks.Read more insights from Morgan Stanley.----- Transcript -----Welcome to Thoughts on the Market. I'm Mike Wilson, Morgan Stanley's CIO and Chief U.S. Equity Strategist. Today I'll discuss our outlook for 2026 that we published earlier this week. It's Wednesday, Nov 19th at 6:30 am in New York. So, let's get after it. 2026 is a continuation of the story we have been telling for the past year. Looking back to a year ago, our U.S. equity outlook was for a challenging first half, followed by a strong second half. At the time of publication, this was an out of consensus stance. Many expected a strong first half, as President Trump took office for his second term. And then a more challenging second half due to the return of inflation. We based our differentiated view on the notion that policy sequencing in the new Trump administration would intentionally be growth negative to start. We likened the strategy to a new CEO choosing to ‘kitchen sink' the results in an effort to clear the decks for a new growth positive strategy. We thought that transition would come around mid-year. The U.S. economy had much less slack when President Trump took office the second time, compared to the first time he came into office. And this was the main reason we thought it was likely to be sequenced differently. Earnings revisions breadth and other cyclical indicators were also in a phase of deceleration at the end of 2024. In contrast, at the beginning of 2017—when we were out of consensus bullish—earnings revisions breadth and many cyclical gauges were starting to reaccelerate after the manufacturing and commodity downturn of 2015/2016. Looking back on this year, this cadence of policy sequencing did broadly play out—it just happened faster and more dramatically than we expected. Our views on the policy front still appear to be out of consensus. Many industry watchers are questioning whether policies enacted this year will ultimately lead to better growth going forward, especially for the average stock. From our perspective, the policy choices being made are growth positive for 2026 and are largely in line with our ‘run it hot' thesis. There's another factor embedded in our more constructive take. April marked the end of a rolling recession that began three years prior. The final stages were a recession in government thanks to DOGE, a rate of change trough in expectations around AI CapEx growth and trade policy, and a recession in consumer services that is still ongoing. In short, we believe a new bull market and rolling recovery began in April which means it's still early days, and not obvious—especially for many lagging parts of the economy and market. That is the opportunity. The missing ingredient for the typical broadening in stock performance that happens in a new business cycle is rate cuts. Normally, the Fed would have cut rates more in this type of weakening labor market. But due to the imbalances and distortions of the COVID cycle, we think the Fed is later than normal in easing policy, and that has held back the full rotation toward early cycle winners. Ironically, the government shutdown has weakened the economy further, but has also delayed Fed action due to the lack of labor data releases. This is a near-term risk to our bullish 12-month forecasts should delays in the data continue, or lagging labor releases do not corroborate the recent weakness in non-govt-related jobs data. In our view, this type of labor market weakness coupled with the administration's desire to ‘run it hot' means that, ultimately, the Fed is likely to deliver more dovish policy than the market currently expects. It's really just a question of timing. But that is a near-term risk for equity markets and why many stocks have been weaker recently. In short, we believe a new bull market began in April with the end of a rolling recession and bear market. Remember the S&P [500] was down 20 percent and the average S&P stock was down more than 30 percent into April. This narrative remains underappreciated, and we think there is significant upside in earnings over the next year as the recovery broadens and operating leverage returns with better volumes and pricing in many parts of the economy. Our forecasts reflect this upside to earnings which is another reason why many stocks are not as expensive as they appear despite our acknowledgement that some areas of the market may appear somewhat frothy. For the S&P 500, our 12-month target is now 7800 which assumes 17 percent earnings growth next year and a very modest contraction in valuation from today's levels. Our favorite sectors include Financials, Industrials, and Healthcare. We are also upgrading Consumer Discretionary to overweight and prefer Goods over Services for the first time since 2021. Another relative trade we like is Software over Semiconductors given the extreme relative underperformance of that pair and positioning at this point. Finally, we like small caps over large for the first time since March 2021, as the early cycle broadening in earnings combined with a more accommodative Fed provides the backdrop we have been patiently waiting for. We hope you enjoy our detailed report published earlier this week and find it helpful as you navigate a changing marketplace on many levels. Thanks for tuning in. Let us know what you think by leaving us a review. And if you find Thoughts on the Market worthwhile, tell a friend or colleague to try it out!