Podcasts about pacific

For the 27th Hop Sampler, the usual suspects compare three deliciously fruity hops: NZ Pacific Sunrise, Strata, and Comet.

Join us for an episode with Dale Dye, an American actor, technical advisor, radio personality and writer. A decorated Marine veteran of the Vietnam War, Dye is the founder and head of Warriors, Inc., a technical advisory company specializing in portraying realistic military action in Hollywood films. Dye talks about the emotional impact of the films he's been a part of producing like The Pacific and Band of Brothers.

Andy's good friend, Matt Walsh, returns to the show! The comedian and actor (Veep, The Daily Show, The Hangover) joins Andy to discuss their “Dancing with the Stars” experiences, founding Upright Citizens Brigade with Amy Poehler, and much more. His new comedy film, "The Unexpecteds," is available to rent or buy on video-on-demand right now! Do you want to talk to Andy live on SiriusXM's Conan O'Brien Radio? Tell us your favorite dinner party story (about anything!) or ask a question - leave a voicemail at 855-266-2604 or fill out our Google Form at BIT.LY/CALLANDYRICHTER. Listen to "The Andy Richter Call-In Show" every Wednesday at 1pm Pacific on SiriusXM's Conan O'Brien Channel. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

In the summer of 1819,  the whaleship Essex set sail from Nantucket, chasing fortune across the vast and indifferent Pacific. What began as a routine whaling voyage soon veered into a nightmare, however, when the hunted became the hunter, and the ship, until now known as one of the luckiest around, was smashed to splinters, leaving her crew adrift in an ocean without mercy. Their struggle was a descent into fear, hunger, and the raw edge of human endurance that would go on to inspire the story of Moby Dick, though much of the darker elements would be left at sea, where such stories belonged. SOURCES Chase, Owen (1821) Narrative of the Wreck of the Whaleship Essex. Wesleyan University Press. NH, USA. Heffernan, Thomas (1981) Stove by a Whale: Owen Chase & The Essex. Wesleyan University Press, NH, USA. Philbrick, Nathaniel (2000) In the Heart of the Sea: The Tragedy of the Whaleship Essex. Viking Press. NY, USA. ------ For almost anything, head over to the podcasts hub at ⁠⁠⁠⁠darkhistories.com ⁠⁠⁠⁠ Support the show by visiting our Patreon for bonus episodes and Early Access: ⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.patreon.com/darkhistories⁠⁠⁠⁠ The Dark Histories books are available to buy here: ⁠⁠⁠⁠http://author.to/darkhistories⁠⁠⁠⁠ Dark Histories merch is available here: ⁠⁠⁠⁠https://bit.ly/3GChjk9⁠⁠⁠⁠ Connect with us on Facebook: ⁠⁠⁠⁠http://facebook.com/darkhistoriespodcast⁠⁠⁠⁠ Or find us on Twitter: ⁠⁠⁠⁠http://twitter.com/darkhistories⁠⁠⁠⁠ & Instagram: ⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.instagram.com/dark_histories/⁠⁠⁠⁠ Or you can contact us directly via email at ⁠⁠⁠⁠contact@darkhistories.com⁠⁠⁠⁠ or join our Discord community: ⁠⁠⁠⁠https://discord.gg/cmGcBFf⁠⁠⁠⁠ The Dark Histories Butterfly was drawn by Courtney, who you can find on Instagram @bewildereye Music was recorded by me © Ben Cutmore 2017 Other Outro music was Paul Whiteman & his orchestra with Mildred Bailey - All of me (1931). It's out of copyright now, but if you're interested, that was that. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Relive the ridiculous wonderful, and deeply influential 1997–1999 International Team Championships, the friendly meets that defined pre-Sydney Olympics quad. We break down the biggest moments from Vanessa Atler, Dominique Moceanu, Simona Amanar, Ling Jie, Maria Olaru, Kristen Maloney, Elise Ray, and more—plus China's bars innovation, Romania's beam dominance, and the USA's rising queens. From NBC's fingerpainting fluff pieces to vault disasters, age-rule drama, and iconic routines, we revisit the meets that shaped an Olympic generation.  RELATED: Jakarta Worlds Debrief: The Romanian Drama Explained With Coaches Daymon Jones & Patrick Kiens Trouble in Romania The History of Romanian Gymnastics (Commissioned) 80's Fight! The great Soviet Romanian Rivalry (Commissioned) The Fluff Cast: Deva isn't a castle?! World Championships Headquarters Videos, Interviews, Podcasts, Fantasy, Guides from Jakarta World Championships Behind the Scenes - all episodes SUPPORT THE SHOW: Join Club Gym Nerd: https://gymcastic.com/club/ Merch: https://gymcastic.com/shop/ Headstand Game: https://gymcastic.com/headstand-plugin/ Forum: https://gymcastic.com/community/ UP NEXT: Behind The Scenes: Live Q&A podcast Friday this week only at noon Pacific/8 GMT NEWSLETTERS Sign up for all three GymCastic newsletters  RESOURCES Spencer's essential website The Balance Beam Situation  GIFs of the Week and Meet schedule with links. Gymnastics History and Code of Points Archive from Uncle Tim The Balance: My Years Coaching Simone Biles by Aimee Boorman with Fact Checker. Aimee coached Simone from day one in gymnastics to three back to back World All Around titles, 14 world medals and an unprecedented 5 medals at the Rio Olympics. Get your copy

This episode explores how artificial intelligence is reshaping warfare — from ISR, targeting, drone swarms and decision support to the ethical risks of losing human control. Guests share lessons from Ukraine and the Pacific, discuss limits like range and networks, and stress modernization, industry partnerships, and why leadership and soldiering fundamentals remain essential. _________ Please leave us a review on Apple/Spotify Podcasts: Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/mentors-for-military-podcast/id1072421783 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/3w4RiZBxBS8EDy6cuOlbUl #drones #AI #artificialintelligence #mentors4mil  #mentorsformilitary Mentors4mil Links: Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/Mentors4mil Patreon Support: https://www.patreon.com/join/Mentors4mil  Intro music "Long Way Down" by Silence & Light is used with permission. Show Disclaimer: https://mentorsformilitary.com/disclaimer/

In Pacific Waves today: Fiji Prime Minister fronts up on past military coups; Samoan news anchor wins Emmy award for Maui coverage; Pacific sports wrap with Iliesa Tora. Go to this episode on rnz.co.nz for more details

Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi has vowed to realize the early restart of visits to graves on Russian-controlled northwestern Pacific islands by former Japanese residents of the islands.

December 1, 1564. Spanish vessels left a secret port in Mexico about two weeks ago. Their goal: to sail across the Pacific and back, charting a new route for international trade, and giving Spain an edge against its chief colonial rival, Portugal. But today, when a storm hits, the smallest ship is separated from the rest of the fleet. Now, that ship, the San Lucas, is on its own. The following year, when the San Lucas makes it back to Mexico, against all odds, its pilot—a Black mariner—is accused of treason. How did the San Lucas—the smallest ship in the fleet—complete a near-impossible journey that would connect the world? And how did the trailblazing mariner Lope Martín get erased from the story? Special thanks to our guest, Andrés Reséndez, author of Conquering the Pacific: An Unknown Mariner and the Final Great Voyage of the Age of Discovery. ** This episode originally aired November 29, 2021. Get in touch: historythisweekpodcast@history.com  Follow on Instagram: @historythisweek Follow on Facebook: ⁠HISTORY This Week Podcast⁠ To stay updated: http://historythisweekpodcast.com To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

OA1212 - What's a cop to do when he stumbles onto a crime, and the evidence points to someone he knows all too well? In today's deep dive, friends become suspects, concerned parents become FBI agents, and laptops become lost jungle detritus. This criminal case out of the US District Court of the Northern Mariana Islands (a US territory in the Pacific) may not have reached the Supreme Court, or have any particularly important precedent, but what it lacks in prestige it makes up for with a fact pattern seemingly written by a law professor specifically to test your knowledge of criminal procedure and evidence. Come for the caper, stay for the OA midterm! U.S. v. Weindl, (D.N. Mar. Is. 2012) Check out the OA Linktree for all the places to go and things to do!  

Keith discusses seven ways to get a lower mortgage rate, emphasizing the historical impact of the 1940s GI Bill on homeownership and wealth creation.  Caeli Ridge, founder of Ridge Lending Group, digs into smart tactics like adjustable rate mortgages, DSCR loans, and down payment options, plus insider tips on boosting your creditworthiness, timing your rate lock, and planning ahead so you can maximize your returns.  They also explore trends like 50-year mortgages and portable mortgages, and the benefits of FHA and VA loans for first-time buyers.  Resources: Want expert guidance on your next real estate investment or mortgage? Reach out to Ridge Lending Group for personalized support and a full range of loan options—whether you're a first-time buyer or seasoned investor. Visit ridgelendinggroup.com or call 855-74-RIDGE to take your next step! Episode Page: GetRichEducation.com/582 For access to properties or free help with a GRE Investment Coach, start here: GREmarketplace.com GRE Free Investment Coaching: GREinvestmentcoach.com Get mortgage loans for investment property: RidgeLendingGroup.com or call 855-74-RIDGE  or e-mail: info@RidgeLendingGroup.com Invest with Freedom Family Investments.  For predictable 10-12% quarterly returns, visit FreedomFamilyInvestments.com/GRE or text  1-937-795-8989 to speak with a freedom coach Will you please leave a review for the show? I'd be grateful. Search "how to leave an Apple Podcasts review"  For advertising inquiries, visit: GetRichEducation.com/ad Best Financial Education: GetRichEducation.com Get our wealth-building newsletter free— GREletter.com or text 'GRE' to 66866 Our YouTube Channel: www.youtube.com/c/GetRichEducation Follow us on Instagram: @getricheducation Complete episode transcript:   Keith Weinhold  0:01   Welcome to GRE. I'm your host. Keith Weinhold, seven ways you can get a lower mortgage interest rate. We'll break them down loan types available to you that you never heard of, and learn how the 1940s GI Bill shaped the mortgage that you get today on get rich education   Speaker 1  0:22   Since 2014 the powerful get rich education podcast has created more passive income for people than nearly any other show in the world. This show teaches you how to earn strong returns from passive real estate investing in the best markets without losing your time being a flipper or landlord. Show Host Keith Weinhold writes for both Forbes and Rich Dad advisors, and delivers a new show every week since 2014 there's been millions of listener downloads of 188 world nations. He has a list show guests include top selling personal finance author Robert Kiyosaki. Get rich education can be heard on every podcast platform, plus it has its own dedicated Apple and Android listener phone apps build wealth on the go with the get rich education podcast. Sign up now for the get rich education podcast, or visit get rich education.com   Corey Coates  1:07   You're listening to the show that has created more financial freedom than nearly any show in the world. This is get rich education. You Keith,   Keith Weinhold  1:23   welcome to GRE from the Romanian Black Sea to the Egyptian Red Sea and across 188 nations worldwide. I'm Keith Weinhold, and this is the indefatigable get rich education before we discuss the seven ways that you can get a lower mortgage rate and more in the 1940s before my dad was born, the GI Bill gave veterans returning from World War Two access to cheap home loans, and that single policy decision might have done more to shape the modern American Housing landscape than Anything else in the last 100 years. Think about it, millions of young men, almost kids, really had just spent the better part of their early adulthood in Europe or the Pacific. They came home, married their sweethearts, started families, and suddenly America had this booming demand for housing, but demand alone doesn't build homes. You also need money. You need access to credit, and that's where the GI Bill stepped in. It didn't just thank returning service members for their sacrifice. It handed them something way more powerful, the ability to buy a home with little money down a low interest rate and underwriting standards that would frankly look like a fantasy today, that access to credit sparked one of the biggest housing booms in American history. You had these entire suburbs that sprang up overnight, Levittown in New York, Lakewood in California. These were master planned communities, and they really became a blueprint for Post War America. We had the booming 50s, and this had a lot to do with it. Here's the part that most people don't understand. This wasn't just about housing. This was about wealth creation, because for better or worse, home ownership has been the primary wealth building vehicle for the American middle class these past 100 years, when you give millions of people a subsidized path into property ownership, you're not just giving them a roof. You're giving them equity appreciation, leverage, tax benefits. You're giving them the engine, this flywheel that spins up generational wealth in a lot of ways. The GI Bill is the earliest institutional example of what I at least tell you here on the show, real estate pays five ways. Now they didn't call it that in 1947 but that's exactly what it was. Veterans earned appreciation as suburbs grew. They had amortization working for them, they collected tax advantages. Inflation slowly eroded their fixed rate mortgage balances too. And here's the thing, these weren't even speculative investments. They were homes that they lived in. Now, of course, the GI bill wasn't perfect. It expanded opportunity for millions of people, but it excluded a lot of people too. Lenders and local governments often blocked black veterans and other minorities from accessing the same benefits. That's a whole story unto itself, but the takeaway for today is, when you combine demographic momentum with favorable financing, you can remake a nation, and that's why housing policy still matters today, which we'll get. Two shortly, when you change access to credit or just tweak it, you change the trajectory of families and markets for generations, and the GI Bill proved that. So when we talk about interest rates, affordability, supply shortages, or any of the high frequency housing data that we cover here, remember that the stories aren't just about numbers. They really are about people. They're about giving ordinary Americans the chance to build wealth the same way that those World War Two veterans did through ownership, stability and the quiet compound leverage, not compound interest. Compound leverage that real estate delivers over time.    Keith Weinhold  5:49   I'm bringing you today's show from, I suppose, a somewhat exotic location. I am inside Caesar's Palace, which is right near the very middle of the famed Las Vegas Strip, that's where I'm at. The hotel staff is always accommodative of the show setup. This might seem a little strange to you, because I'm not a gambler. The reason I'm here is that my brother lives 25 minutes away, and I've been with him during Thanksgiving. Next week, I'll bring you the show from Buffalo, New York, and then two weeks from now, I have something heart warming to tell you about that, and it is a real estate story. I'll be broadcasting the show from upstate Pennsylvania. I'll be there to visit my parents. My brother's also coming in from Nevada to be there. That's where the four of us, mom, dad, my brother and I will sit around the same dining room table in the same kitchen of the same home that my parents have lived in since the 1970s nothing has changed, and all four of us know our spots at the table. And actually, it's not even called the dining room table. It is the supper table, as my parents call it so, from flashy Caesar's Palace today to Buffalo and then to Appalachian simplicity in Pennsylvania, the stability and continuity of my parents living in the same home and four wine holds sitting around the table during the holidays, it is so rare. I imagine less than one or 2% of people can do this. I'm just profoundly grateful and proud of Kurt and Penny Weinhold for being the best, most stable parents I could have asked for. It's almost too much to ask, and if you don't have that in your life. Ah, you can do something about that. You can provide the same decency and stability for your children.    Keith Weinhold  7:50   Let's talk about seven proven ways you can get a lower mortgage rate with this week's terrific guest. Though, we'll focus on investment properties. A lot of this applies to primary residences as well.   Keith Weinhold  8:07   We are joined by the founder of the lender that's created more financial freedom for real estate investors than any other mortgage originator in the nation, the eponymous Ridge lending group. And though that sounds impressive, my gosh, she didn't even need that introduction for you the listener, because she's one of the most recurrent guests in show history. Welcome back to GRE Caeli Ridge,   Caeli Ridge  8:30   I am delighted to be here as always, Keith, thank you for your support and acknowledgement. I love what you do, and I'm hoping that I can bring more value today to your listeners in what it is that we do, educating the masses, right?   Keith Weinhold  8:42   You've been doing that here for about 10 years. And yes, we're talking about a woman with a reputation for writing emails in all caps, yet still maintains a great relationship with everybody. I mean, congrats, shaile. I couldn't possibly pull that off myself.   Caeli Ridge  8:58   Thank you, Keith. And you know, I'm going to stay by my all caps, man, it's a speed thing. It all boils down to the number of seconds in the day that I can just move quickly through an email. Yeah, I love my all caps.   Keith Weinhold  9:09   Apparently recipients are still replying, well, you can get a lower mortgage rate in at least seven ways. You can get an adjustable rate mortgage, do a midweek lock in, negotiate seller credits. Have a high credit score. Do a two one buy now, which is kind of old school, but some home builders are using it boost your DTI or buy now, not later. Those are some of the strategies for lowering your mortgage rate. What are your thoughts with regard to that?   Caeli Ridge  9:39   I think all of those are viable. I would just say on the adjust for a mortgage. The pushback I would give there is, is that for residential property, specifically, single family, up to four units, we are not finding that spread between the arm and a 30 year fix. We've been the industry as a whole, secondary specifically been on the inverted yield. Now this gets a little tough. Nickel, and I won't go down that rabbit hole, but 08, 09, the housing and lending crash created an environment within secondary markets where an inverted yield has made a 30 year fixed mortgage more favorable in the rate department. Now that's not always going to be the case. I am a huge fan of the adjustable, but what would work right now is an adjustable with the all in one not to take too much time on that topic, but that would be an adjust rate mortgage that I think would save interest or reduce the rate of which interest is accruing,   Keith Weinhold  10:30   the all in one loan, which we discussed extensively back at the beginning of this year here on the show. Long term, though, I have seen adjustable rate mortgages work for a lot of people, because really, the compelling proposition of the arm is that it guarantees that you get a lower rate in the near term, and yet there's only a chance that you're going to have a higher rate in the long term   Caeli Ridge  10:53   and further. Let's I mean, let's dissect that a little bit. I am a huge proponent. I love an adjustable rate mortgage when the arm is pricing a half or a full percentage point plus over a fixed especially for non owner occupied and the reason for that is, and this is statistically speaking, feel free to look this up, guys, the average shelf life of a mortgage for an investment property is about five years. Great point, right? And we know that if that's the case, right, we're refinancing to harvest equity. We're refinancing maybe to reduce an interest rate from where the market was before, et cetera, et cetera. So that would be the first thing I would say. And then also remember, you guys the first 10 years of an amortized mortgage, 30 year fixed, amortized mortgage, how much of that payment is going to the principal? Because people will often push back by saying, well, either an interest only, or an adjustable and what happens if it changes or it goes up? Most of your payment is going to the interest anyway, and that reset to harvest equity. Borrowed funds are non taxable. We always say that, right? I think it's fully justified. So I love an arm, I just don't know, in comparison to a 30 year fixed today, like a five year ARM versus a 30 year fixed we are in a place that it makes sense, but normally, to your point, absolutely. Fan   Keith Weinhold  12:06   that spread needs to widen for the arm to make more sense. What about doing a mid week rate lock in? Is that a thing?    Caeli Ridge  12:13   Yeah. And you know, I don't have any empirical evidence here. Okay, I don't have any data points that actually prove this, except for 25 years in the business and locking loans every day of my life. There's something about a Monday and a Friday. And I have some conspiracy theories. I don't know that. I it's necessary to share them here, but midweek locks tend to be more favorable in both points and interest rate than you'll find on a Friday and a Monday. I think largely it has to do with, you know, the stock exchanges shutting down for the weekend, right? You got a Friday, you got two days in between. You got foreign markets, and all the things that can explode and happen during that amount of time. So I think they hedge a little bit. So on Friday, going into the weekend, I think that there's something about that and why interest rates are a little less favorable. And then Monday, of course, coming off the weekend, similarly, maybe there's some truth to that too.   Keith Weinhold  13:02   Now, negotiating seller credits has really been a trend to help with affordability. Tell us about specifically what you're seeing there, what's common.   Caeli Ridge  13:11   So we're talking to investors. I can tell you that the loan products you guys are going to have access to are going to cap you, okay, you're going to cap at, per guideline, 2% of the purchase price. Okay, remember that your points that you're paying when you get into locking an interest rate are going to be calculated on the loan size, all right. So the first thing to know is seller paid closing costs, maximum is going to be 2% per underwriting guidelines. That 2% is based on your purchase price. Anything that you're paying points for is going to be on the loan balance, the loan size, so there's going to be a little extra there for you that can contribute or can pay for some other closing costs, right, depending on the numbers. Now, if you're smart enough, or lucky enough, or whatever, the market is viable enough that you can negotiate more than 2% from the seller to pay towards closing costs, you're going to be limited on what you can do on the loan side. But let's say that you go and you've negotiated 4% seller will pay 4% towards your closing costs. Then in that case, you can reduce, you got the two points that you're allowed per guideline. And then you can reduce the purchase price by the difference you don't want to leave that money on the table.   Keith Weinhold  14:15   That's how it's done. And then there's just simply having a higher credit score. What's the highest credit score that really helps you get the lowest mortgage rate for both primary residences and non owner occupied properties. Loan product   Caeli Ridge  14:29   type dependent. But I would say overall, 760 and above is kind of that threshold. There are products that go 780 maybe even on the rare occasion, 800 and above. If I had to pick a number as the absolute pinnacle, I'm going to go 780    Keith Weinhold  14:41   All right, so having a credit score above those thresholds really doesn't help get you a lower interest rate. It's really just a little flex that you've got an 811, credit score, or whatever it is. Now the two, one buy down. That's something that we used to see long ago. A few home builders are bringing it back. And what that does it allow? Homebuyers to pay a lower interest rate for the first two years with the seller covering the difference, and that allows the seller to get their price. They don't have to lower the price of the home at all. But the two one buy down, and you see that written, two, one that has been employed more recently. Tell us about that.    Caeli Ridge  15:18   Well, the builders are struggling in some cases, right? The affordability buzzword is all over the place. So they've had to get creative and find ways in which they can move their inventory. So I think they've done a good job at kind of shaving off some of their margins to satisfy or improve the terms for the consumer. So I like the two. One, if you can get it   Keith Weinhold  15:37   now, one can boost their DTI as well their debt to income ratio and Taylor. When we've talked about that before, we've usually talked about reducing your debts in order to improve your DTI. However, a lot of people don't think about the fact that, oh, well, you can increase your income that lowers your DTI to help you qualify. So tell us what is the max DTI that you can have   Caeli Ridge  16:00   maximum debt to income ratio, in most cases on a full dock loan is going to be 50% now, depending on the type of income that you earn or that you've demonstrated, how you calculate that can get a little bit tricky. But if you're just a straight w2 wage earner, we don't have, you know, commissions or bonuses or anything that we consider variable income, then you just take your gross income times 50% whatever that number is, all of your liabilities on the credit report, we do not count ordinary living expenses like food and gas and utilities and cell phone bills. It's the minimum payments on the credit report. As long as whatever that add up is fits within that 50% you're good to go.    Keith Weinhold  16:37   Now, when it comes to improving our DTI to get a lower mortgage rate, I tend to think it's easier to knock out some debts to improve your DTI. But what about the other side of it? What about increasing your income to improve your DTI, lower your mortgage rate and qualify? Can you talk about some of the strategies for increasing your income with respect to DTI?    Caeli Ridge  17:02   Absolutely. And the biggest one, I think that we probably want to focus on most is going to be on a schedule E, right? That's the one that you're going to have more control over. So when we talk about rental income and how we might be able to boost that first, it might be important to share that there are two ways in underwriting that we will calculate or quantify rental income. The first way is called the acquisition year formula. I'll give you that in just a second. It's very easy, but the way I think we focus on here, because acquisition year is going to be what it is, you're going to have very little ability to manipulate or change that once our rental properties fall on our tax return, specifically the Schedule E of a federal tax return, you as the taxpayer or the borrower are going to have some access to maximize or increase the income, or, let's actually get a little bit more granular there to maximize the gain or minimize the loss, by means of depreciation, maybe a cost seg, maybe we make sure that one time, extraordinary expenses are demonstrated on the tax return in the appropriate way so that underwriting can add those things back. So I know that this sounds technical, but the scheduling is the way that I would say is the easiest for an investor to maximize income, reduce debt to income ratio. And I will close by saying that ridge lending, I think one of our most valued value adds is the ability to help our clients look at their draft tax returns on an annual basis and present them with, Hey, listen, Mr. Jones, if you file this way, this draft tax return, if it files this way, this is what it means to your debt to income ratio. Here's my advice, right? We go into a lot of depth there with our clients.   Keith Weinhold  18:39   That is a smart, long term planning piece that most mortgage companies are not going to give you. They're not going to be forward looking, looking out for your next three years of growing your income property portfolio. And shortly, we'll talk about a way for you to qualify loans where you don't have to show tax returns or W twos or pay stubs. But while we're talking about how to get a lower mortgage rate and some creative ways to do that, I brought up, buy now, not later. And what do I mean by that? What I mean is say, properties appreciate even 3% over time. Buying now, I mean that is going to net you more equity if you buy now rather than waiting, than it would in the savings from a rate drop, when you look at the appreciation run up, however, if rates go up, then you get both the lower price and the lower rate by buying now, not later.   Caeli Ridge  19:32   And I would add to that, we have to remember that in addition to a very modest 3% in the home appreciation, we should be appreciating our rents at even a modest 2% a year, right? Depending on where you are, et cetera. I know that there's exceptions to the rule. And then finally, we got to add in that tax benefit, what you're going to get in your deductions, et cetera, et cetera.   Keith Weinhold  19:51   Yeah, great point. Well, I brought up seven ways that you can get a lower mortgage rate. Can you share a few more with us? Some common ones? Because I know. That almost everyone that calls in there wants to inquire about mortgage rate as well.    Caeli Ridge  20:03   Everybody wants, yep, everybody wants to talk about the rate, despite my vervet opposition to say, do the math. Do the math. Do the math. You know, the easiest one there would be buying down the rate. I'm going to try and formulate an example. Let's say you've got a really high wage earner and in the thick of their earning years, and they're trying to prepare for retirement down the road. It's a longer term burn. They desperately need tax deductions, and the deal that they're looking at, yeah, it's okay, but they want some extra expenses on the Schedule E, maybe they buy the rate down by three even 4% because points on an investment loan transaction are tax deductible, so that might be something, and they obviously benefit from the lower interest rate. Now I may push back on this, and I think again, I know I sound like a broken record here, but we really need to do the math. What are we getting versus what are we giving up to get a 6% or five and a half percent interest rate? What does that mean in real, tangible cost, and what's that? Break even? It's actually a fairly simple calculation. When you just divide the difference in what you're getting versus what you're paying for, and that'll give you the number of months that it takes to recapture the incentive versus the expense. But that would be the easiest one. Keith, I would say buying down points, using paying additional points to get that lower interest rate,   Keith Weinhold  21:20   buying down your rate. It could feel good in the short term, but it's often not the best long term or even intermediate term move when you do the math, as you always like to say, well, you the listener here, you know that you can qualify for mortgage loans, for rental properties without needing a w2 without needing a pay stub and without even needing to show tax returns, because you need all those things for a conventional loan, but for a DSCR loan, debt service coverage ratio, you don't. So talk to us about the pros and cons of a DSCR loan versus a conventional   Caeli Ridge  21:53   loan. Okay? And I've got a hook here too, because I think the listeners are gonna be very, very pleased to hear at the end of this statement, what's happening with DSCR in conjunction or comparison, rather to the conventional so DSCR everybody means debt service, coverage ratio. It's a very simple formula. We are going to take the gross rents and divide it by the principal and interest and taxes and insurance and association. If it applies, that's it.   Keith Weinhold  22:18   $1,000 in gross rents, $800 in p i, t i, that yields a DSCR of 1.25 Correct?   Caeli Ridge  22:25   Yes, you're absolutely right. The one that I use as I, just to keep it simple, is 1000 rents, 1000 piti. That's a 1.0 right? As long as the gross rents are equal or greater than the p i, t i, you're going to be in a position to get the more favorable rates. Now that's not to say that we can't go below a 1.0 ratio. You can actually have a property, we have products that will allow the DSCR to be a point seven five. That would mean, in this scenario, if you had rents, gross rents of 750, and the piti was 1000 you can actually get that loan done. That is allowed. The rate gets a little bit hairy. So more often than not, we're at the 1.0 and above. So this is just a really great way for investors who are either recently self employed, maybe they're adjusted gross, they just write everything off for reasons that you can imagine. Why? Right? They don't want to pay the taxes. It could be 100 different reasons. The DSCR option is such a great solution to provide a 30 year fixed mortgage same same similar leverage, if not sometimes even better than a Fannie Freddie, than a conventional loan, you can usually leverage a little bit more, in some cases, on a DSCR like a two to four, for example, two to four unit residential property, Fannie Freddie, they kind of cut those loan to values a little bit, and the DSCR loans don't care about that. So you can get the same leverage as a single family would in a DSCR. The only other primary difference is these DSCR loans are going to come with prepayment penalties. Typically, the standard is about three years, but we're usually not refinancing in the first 36 months. Anyway, if you know that that's applicable to you, then you'd have to buy the prepay down or out, which you can do otherwise. DSCR is amazing. Oh, and I'll give you the little hook here. So something I have observed this is maybe very recent 4550 ish days, the margin for interest rate difference between conventional and DSCR is really starting to narrow. DSCR products are really performing well, and that interest rate improvements that we've been seeing for those products is not far off from what the Fannie Freddie's are, and I've even seen examples where DSCR beats a 30 year fixed Fannie Freddie rate. Now those are for the higher loan amounts. I can explain if you want, but otherwise, that's good news.   Keith Weinhold  24:36   Okay, this is really good news. It's a time in the cycle where dscrs could very well make sense for you without that huge documentation Shakedown that you need with W twos and pay stubs and everything else. There are a lot of nascent trends in the mortgage industry, and we're trying to separate some of them from being rumors, from being something that can truly happen. We're talking about 50 year mortgages and poor. Affordable mortgages. More on that. When we come back, you're listening to get rich education. Our guest is Ridge lending Group President, Chaley Ridge   Keith Weinhold  25:07   You know, most people think they're playing it safe with their liquid money, but they're actually losing savings accounts and bonds don't keep up when true inflation eats six or 7% of your wealth. Every single year, I invest my liquidity with FFI freedom family investments in their flagship program. Why fixed 10 to 12% returns have been predictable and paid quarterly. There's real world security backed by needs based real estate like affordable housing, Senior Living and health care. Ask about the freedom flagship program. When you speak to a freedom coach there, and that's just one part of their family of products, they've got workshops, webinars and seminars designed to educate you before you invest, start with as little as 25k and finally, get your money working as hard as you do. Get started at Freedom family investments.com/gre, or send a text now it's 1-937-795-8989, yep, text their freedom. Coach, directly, again. 1-937-795-8989,   Keith Weinhold  26:18   The same place where I get my own mortgage loans is where you can get yours. Ridge lending group and MLS, 42056, they provided our listeners with more loans than anyone because they specialize in income properties. They help you build a long term plan for growing your real estate empire with leverage, start your pre qual and even chat with President Chaley Ridge personally, while it's on your mind, start at Ridge lending group.com, that's Ridge lending group.com   Dana Dunford  26:50   this is hemlanes co founder, Dana Dunford. Listen to get rich education with Keith Weinhold, and don't quit your Daydream.    Keith Weinhold  26:58   welcome back to get rich education. We're talking with Ridge lending Group President and Founder, Chaley Ridge about how you can get lower mortgage rates, and also about some trends in the industry, separating what's really a rumor in what could really happen squaring on 50 year mortgages and portable mortgages, those are both things only being discussed by the administration to help with affordability. FHFA Director Bill Pulte created some jarring news recently when he publicized this. What are your thoughts on the 50 year mortgage?    Caeli Ridge  27:39   You know, on a primary residence basis, I'm not so sure I need to maybe put some more thought into that. But for an investment property, I love it. Man, anything to keep that payment down so that, because, remember, we talked about earlier in the show here the percentage of mortgages, let's just use our 30 year fixed for a second that for a rental property that start on day one and then stroke a check 360 times later to pay that to zero. Is a fraction of a percent right? We are refinancing these things. We are selling them and doing 1031 exchanges. So anything that can keep my cash flow higher and my payment lower, I am all for it. Now, the people that push back and say, Well, I want to pay off my mortgage in 15 years. I don't want to pay extra interest, you are welcome to do that. So there's a second piece to this that I think is equally as important as maximizing cash flow, and that is your qualification. All right, if this comes to pass, and right now, it could just be noise, okay, and I'm speaking specifically for investment property, but if this is available to us, the debt to income ratio component, because think about it like this. So I'm going to keep using my 15 year and my 30 year, because that's kind of what we understand. The payment difference between a 30 year 360 month and a 15 year 180 month can be substantial depending on the loan size. I mean, it can be hundreds and hundreds of dollars for the individual that is dead set and say, I don't want to pay the higher interest. I want to pay these things off. We may have arguments about that whole strategy to begin with, but overall, if they still want to do that and that's their decision, Fine, take the 30 year fixed payment. Take the 30 year fixed mortgage. Apply the difference. You can figure out that payment difference very easily. Apply it religiously. Every month. You will cross the finish line in about 15.4 years. Download an amortization calculator online. You can find them everywhere. Plug in your numbers, and you'll see what I'm talking about. If you were to do this, let's say the difference is 200 bucks a month, and you send it in every month with your 30 year fixed mortgage payment, you will cross the finish line to pay that thing off in about 15.4 years. So yes, you'll pay a few extra months of interest. But what have you done to your qualifications, right, your payment now on your debt to income ratio, when we're looking at this thing for a future optimization, never take the shorter term amortization, ever, ever, ever, you won't pay the higher interest that the 30 year or the 50 Year will probably come with because you've accelerated the payoff so long, if that's your choice. Now for everybody else that really wants. To maximize that cash flow. And they get that, they're going to be refinancing this every five, six, whatever it is, years take it, man, I am all for the longer term amortization on a rental.   Keith Weinhold  30:10   I agree with you. I even like the 50 year on a primary residence, but yeah, Chaley, right here on the show, several weeks before Bill Pulte made the announcement, I actually talked about the 50 year mortgage and compared it to the 30 and the reasons that I like it because I knew there was a chance it could be coming, since this administration is trying to do so much to help out with affordability, people buy based on a payment, not a price that lowers the payment. A 50 year mortgage helps you benefit from inflation, and there are a lot of other advantages that have to do with that, although you probably are going to pay a higher interest rate on a 50 than you would a 30. And you know, Chaley, when the 30 year mortgage had its Advent just after World War Two, I'm going to guess 75 years ago, people were having this same conversation like, oh, 30 years, my gosh, you're never going to pay off the home. And really, that's not what it's about.    Caeli Ridge  31:01   Not at all, not at all. And remember, you guys, I would encourage everybody listening to this to actually go get that amortization table and see how much interest is baked in and how it is applied and paid. It is the back end of any of these amortized mortgages where the principal actually starts to get applied in a meaningful way. The 50 year mortgage, or the longer term amortization is a huge advantage. I'm speaking for investors. Mostly. I love it.   Keith Weinhold  31:26   Some people say, are you nuts? Look at how much more interest you're paying over the life of the loan on a 50 year mortgage versus a 30 year mortgage. We already touched on that you're not going to keep that loan for the life of it, and if you just take the difference from the lower payment that a 50 Year gives you, and invest that in 8% return, you are going to crush 2x to 3x oftentimes, what the paltry interest savings are over several decades,    Caeli Ridge  31:26   and somebody else is making that payment right. We have tenants that are responsible   Keith Weinhold  31:47    100% and then there's something that I don't know if portable mortgages would fly. And what this means is that when borrowers move, they could keep the rate, keep their term and keep their lender, presumably for the new home you might have seen it in the news. You the listener that Fannie May remove the minimum credit score requirements from desktop underwriting. And Chaley, I think you let me know elsewhere that those changes don't affect non owner occupied, but of course, it could affect the broader housing market in pricing. What are your thoughts about lowering the credit score requirement   Caeli Ridge  32:28   so similar to the portable stuff, until it really reaches mainstream and it affects the non owner occupied I'm not deep diving into those things. The basis of it, though, is, is that, yeah, they're removing that minimum credit score requirement from a du underwrite that stands for desktop underwriter, as you said, that is Fannie Mae's sophisticated, automated underwriting system, and I think it's just going to give more eligibility to lower income households and people trying to become homeowners that have found the barrier for entry very restrictive because They have credit issues.    Keith Weinhold  33:00   Well, let's talk about FHA and VA loans, something that we have rarely, if ever touched on. Our listeners know that I started out making my first ever property of any kind, an FHA loan with three and a half percent down on a fourplex, living in one unit, renting out the other three. Tell us about some trends there in FHA and VA loans   Caeli Ridge  33:21   we actually just did house hack campaign. We did a webinar on it, co living, all those different ways in which, you know, the younger generation, especially, and this is true for anyone. I don't want to pigeonhole it, can get themselves into home ownership and propel them into the real estate investing as an asset class. I am such a big fan of this model, in this strategy, for anybody that's interested and willing to kind of coal mingle or habitat, like you did a four Plex at three and a half percent down, you've got three tenants that are making your mortgage payment. VA, likewise, any of the Gubby loans, which include VA, FHA, USDA, you can get high, high leverage and up to four units. So I'm a huge fan of that. And then the CO living is another thing that I think is not quite mainstream, but I think it's gaining steam    Keith Weinhold  34:09   for those that don't know what we're talking about, you can use an FHA loan with a three and a half percent down payment, as long as you live in one of the units, your credit score can even be pretty low, and you can do that with a single family home, duplex, triplex or fourplex. You can get those same benefits with a VA loan and zero down   Caeli Ridge  34:29   USDA also zero down if you're in the right zip code. How does one qualify for a USDA loan? You know, there's a website I would have you check out. We don't do a ton of those. We have the ability, of course, but there's income restrictions and all of this. They've got, actually, a pretty slick website where you can go online, type in the zip code, make sure it's in a rural area, what your income is. There's all these inputs, and it'll tell you if you'd be a candidate for it. But yeah, it's good. Rates zero down. I like the product.   Keith Weinhold  34:56   Well, there have been a lot of newsy items when it comes. Comes to mortgages. Caeli and I think we should drop back before we're done here and talk about the basics. Just basically, what does it take to get a non owner occupied loan for residential income property?   Caeli Ridge  35:12   You know, there's so many options for investors today that I would say that if you have access to and even with what we just said, house hack. I mean, listen, if you've got 3% down, three and a half percent down, you can probably assure yourself you can get into a property. And if you can't qualify from a income debt to income ratio perspective, you've got three or four other models, which include DSCR, bank statement loans, asset depletion loans, overall, I would say that this is an individual conversation. Chances are you could probably qualify today, and if you can't, one of the things that I love about Ridge lending is, is that we're going to help you plant the seeds and show you how to qualify. If it takes you three months or six months or a year, that's what we do.   Keith Weinhold  35:56   Yeah, we've definitely noticed the difference here and that you do help that investor with long term planning? I do my own loans at ridge, and my assistant here at GRE she recently got the ball rolling with you in there at Ridge as well.   Caeli Ridge  36:11   Brenda, yes, yes, that was fantastic. We are very looking forward to helping her.   Keith Weinhold  36:16   Well, you know, chili, I've come here with a lot of questions that I had. What's the question No one's asking you, but you wish that they would.   Caeli Ridge  36:25   I think it probably would be for me, planning. You know, we get a lot of questions about interest rates. That's kind of top of mind for everybody. More about planning, having people that are interested in real estate as an asset class and an investment have the conversations to say, this is where I'm at today. This is where I'd like to be in five years. Tell me how to get there, and we can have those high level conversations that really sort of reverse engineer it and say, Okay, this is where you stand today from an underwriting perspective. This is where you need to be, and here's how we're going to get you there. It's always about planting seeds and creating those roadmaps, as I like to say so I would say that that would be top of my list.   Keith Weinhold  37:02   That's exactly what you do in there, and that's really what sets you apart. Well, remind our audience how they can get a hold of ridge.   Caeli Ridge  37:11   Yes, there's a couple ways. Of course, our website, Ridge lending group.com Please email us info at Ridge lending group.com and then call us toll free. 855-747-4343, 855-74-RIDGE  is an easy way to remember.   Keith Weinhold  37:25   It's really been valuable this time. Chaley, thanks so much for coming back onto the show.   Caeli Ridge  37:29    Appreciate you. Keith.   Keith Weinhold  37:36   Oh yeah, good pointed info from Chaley over at Ridge, I think that the important things for you to remember from our conversation is that, gosh, isn't it so glaring like in your face that you have options. All these options when you engage with a lender, you're going to learn that there are probably loan programs that you've never even heard of, some that you might fit into and even if you aren't adding more property, if you're not in that phase, there are ways that you can take your existing loans and consolidate them or refinance them, or use them to produce a tax free windfall for yourself and the US is often the envy of other world nations with the flexibility that we have here in our mortgage market. I've never known anyone that does this better than Chaley and her team. I mean, they are real difference makers. If you learn something on today's show, hey, Don't hoard the good stuff. Engage in the nicest kind of wealth redistribution. Tap the Share button right now and share this on social, or text this episode to one friend who'd appreciate it. That would mean the world to me. I'm your host. Keith Weinhold, don't quit your Daydream.   Speaker 2  38:57   Nothing on this show should be considered specific personal or professional advice, please consult an appropriate tax, legal, real estate, financial or business professional for individualized advice. Opinions of guests are their own. Information is not guaranteed. All investment strategies have the potential for profit or loss. The host is operating on behalf of get rich Education LLC, exclusively   Keith Weinhold  39:25   The preceding program was brought to you by your home for wealth building, getricheducation.com  

President Trump wants to pardon former Honduran president Juan Orlando Hernandez, who was convicted of trafficking drugs into the United States. At the same time, his administration is blowing up what they call drug boats in the Caribbean and Pacific. Juan Sebastián González of the Georgetown Americas Institute explains more about Trump's actions in Latin America.And, bipartisan support is growing for congressional review of those strikes after multiple reports have raised questions about whether at least one of the strikes amounts to a war crime. Franco Ordoñez, a White House correspondent for NPR, joins us.Then, for the first time since 1988, the United States will not commemorate World AIDS Day. Dr. Monica Gandhi of the University of California, San Francisco, explains what the move says about the Trump administration's policy to fight HIV and AIDS.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

On this episode of The AIE Podcast… We have floor tanking and other WoW noobs… um, news Happy Lifeday, AIE December, where the attendance is optional and the fun is mandatory LOTRO brings YULE Kingdoms of Harad And, join us for our last show of the year All that and more coming up right now… Podcast Audio Raw Video http://youtu.be/TZ8A0NVJjUM Open Welcome to episode #440 of the podcast celebrating you, the Alea Iacta Est gaming community, the die has been podcast. This is Tetsemi: To my left is Mewkow: – (catch phrase here). And to my right is Mkallah: (hey guys, there is leftover caramel apple pie in the guild kitchen). This week, we have a wrap up of what is going on for December in AIE and gaming in general. Ok, we'll be digging into what we have been up to shortly, but first, let's cover this week's news… AIE News Community Mandatory Fun Nights Where the fun is mandatory but the attendance is not. Sunday – Destiny 2 8:30 pm Eastern Monday – GW2 9:30 pm Eastern Monday – STO 10:00 pm Eastern Tuesday – SWTOR 9:00 pm Eastern Wednesday – HFO Mythic+ Mayhem (WoW) 8:00 pm Eastern Friday – ESO 9:00 pm Eastern Saturday – LotRO 8:30 pm Eastern Saturday – FFXIV (Maps) 9:30 pm Eastern Saturday – Noob Raid (WoW) 11:00 pm Eastern Streaming and Guild Podcast News We have a ton of AIE member podcasts! Want to know where to find them? Look no further than here- New Overlords Podcast (Max and Sema) https://www.newoverlords.com Boards and Swords (Chris and Philip) https://boardsandswords.com/blog?category=Boards%20%26%20Swords Dr. Gameology ( Dr. Daniel Kaufmann ) https://drgameology.com/ STO – Fleet Action Report (Grebog and Nikodas) https://www.youtube.com/@fleetactionreport A Podcast Reborn: A FFXIV Community Podcast (Brandon aka Old Man Franks, Meagan, and Rho) – NSFL https://www.bonusroll.gg/directory/a-podcast-reborn/ WoW Noob Raid is on winter break until January 3, 2026 so Dankinia can get a bit of relief from the horrible jokes the group likes to torment her with. During 2025, Dankinia demonstrated her floor tanking abilities 172 times. While she is out, Celindre will be leading Noob Raid – After Dark during the normal 11pm EST time slot each Saturday. In WoW, Midnight – the next expansion – has a release date of March 2nd with the pre-patch release on Jan 13. Anyone with an Epic Edition pre-order will have early access – expected Feb 27 according to WoWHead. Players with early access will also be able to use the new Player Housing feature as of Dec 2. This will be a bit complicated for AIE and our co-guilds, which are one of several ways to join “neighborhoods” for player housing. Every player’s Warband gets two houses – one Horde and one Alliance, but any alt can access either home. There will be open neighborhoods that are server wide, and Guilds can create private neighborhoods open to anyone in that guild. Groups of friends (such as Raid Teams) can also create charters for their own neighborhoods. We will have neighb orhoods for all the co-guilds (probably) but haven’t assigned which officer will be assigned to which yet. Currently, in addition to the Legion Remix event (speed leveling/transmog/mounts etc), the WoW Anniversary is active in Retail WoW, with a rep & xp boost. Visiting the Anniversary Celebration at the Caverns of Time will provide an additional buff. Rep is good – because it’s one of the ways to obtain decor for Player Housing. SWTOR SWTOR will see a holiday release of update 7.8 entitled “Pursuit of Ruin”. It will include a new story chapter, a new type of Dynamic Encounter, and a new stronghold (player housing). That’s not to mention Life Day festivities, with the snow balls and the wookiee hugging. Also, for the first year ever, we will be trying out a new guild event during the evenings between Christmas and New Years. Stay tuned to discord for more info on that! ESO MFN in ESO generally takes the month of December off, but expect to find a couple of people hanging out at the normal time on Friday nights though the holidays. Attendance will be sporadic but feel free to reach out if anyone would like company while running the holiday events in game. FFXIV Patch 7.4 comes December 16th. Main Scenario – Into the Mist Raid Dungeon – The Arcadion: Heavyweight Division Variant Dungeon – The Merchant’s Tale New Dungeon – Mistwake New Trial – Hell on Rails New Unreal Trial – Tsukuyomi’s Pain (Unreal) New Frontline Campaign – Worqor Chirteh Weapon Enhancement Quests – Phantom Weapons Inconceivably Further Hildibrand Adventures Manderville Gold Saucer GATE – Air Force One (The Cieldalaes) Cosmic Exploration: Oizys and Tool Enhancement Quests – Cosmic Tools Strategy Board – Raid explanations but better Glamour Update – Unlocked all types! New Theme Settings – Clear Green and Clear White Mac support (Ventura ends Jan 27, Tahoe now supported) Save 50% on Collector's Edition Digital Upgrades Until December 7 New ridiculous hotpot mount (It flies) And irregular tomestones are active now until 7.4 is live. Fanfest is happening where Blizzcon is normally, April 24/25th. Cookbook #2 is out! LOTRO New expansion “Kingdoms of Harad” as of right now is scheduled to be released on December 3rd. The instance cluster for the expansion is expected to be delayed, which means this gives a chance to level up to the new level cap and get a group together and look at it as a kinship. Also looking forward to the Yule Festival that starts on December 11th. Join us as we look to have fun in Frostbluff as well as protecting it in “The Battle of Frostbluff”. STO Yes, it’s true, Cryptic studios has once again been sold. However, this is not a time for doom and gloom. The new owners have no intentions of sunsetting STO. In fact, STO has simply returned to its original owners who want to see the game succeed. There are ongoing sales in both the Zen Store and Mudd’s Market. Some of these are as high as 50% off! Lifetime Subscriptions are 33% off until Dec 14th Q’s Winter Wonderland will be returning on Dec 9th. While we don’t have any specific details on what the rewards will be this year, it’s sure to be something you don’t want to miss! And with that, let's get to what we have been doing in and out of the game! And, Mkallah has a question for everyone! GAME NEWS Okay, friends! What geeky thing are you planning to give for the holidays, and are there any geeky gifts you hope to receive? CLOSE And that's our show for tonight. While the chatroom begins suggesting show titles, we want to thank us, for joining us. If you have a question or comment about our show, you can email us at podcast@aie-guild.org You can find us on the AIE Discord and BlueSky https://bsky.app/profile/aiepodcast.bsky.social. We record live with video once a month on Sunday at 8pm Eastern/5pm Pacific. You can join the chatroom and play along with us on our website at https://aie-guild.org/podcast-live-stream/ and look for the link to our discord server at https://aie-guild.org. And for past episodes, you can see them on our Youtube channel, https://www.youtube.com/c/TheAIEPodcast ! Our theme was composed by the amazing Andrew Allen, follow him at @keyswithsoul! And now it's time to play all of the great AIE member segments we received this week, including… We will see you all in January of 2026!. So until then, AIE… – This is Tetsemi – This is Mewkow – This is Mkallah And this has been… The AIE Podcast.

Welcome to Monsters on the Edge, a show exploring creatures at the edge of our reality in forests, cities, skies, and waters. We examine these creatures and talk to the researchers studying them.Mr. Guerra is the founder of The Ropen Network and a lead journalist contributor with CC Media, where he conducts ongoing field investigations into cryptozoological and paranormal phenomena — with a special focus on the modern pterosaur phenomenon, including eyewitness reports of “Ropens” across the globe. With over 26 years of experience in both cryptozoology and parapsychology, Jake has carried out extensive research and field interviews throughout the Americas, exploring encounters with mysterious creatures and unexplained events. Beyond the field, he brings a diverse professional background as a laboratory technician, legislative aide of 11 years, legal translator, and field interviewer, all of which strengthen his methodical and multidisciplinary approach to investigation. His work seeks to bridge the gap between eyewitness testimony, scientific analysis, and cultural understanding in the study of the unknown.Facebookhttps://www.facebook.com/RopenNetworkYouTubehttps://www.youtube.com/@RopenNetworkPodcasthttps://creators.spotify.com/pod/profile/jake-s-guerraClick that play button, and let's unravel the mysteries of the UNTOLD! Remember to like, share, and subscribe to our channel to stay updated on all the latest discoveries and adventures. See you there!Join Barnaby Jones each Monday on the Untold Radio Network Live at 12pm Central – 10am Pacific and 1pm Eastern. Come and Join the live discussion next week. Please subscribe.We have ten different Professional Podcasts on all the things you like. New favorite shows drop each day only on the UNTOLD RADIO NETWORKTo find out more about Barnaby Jones and his team, (Cryptids, Anomalies, and the Paranormal Society) visit their website www.WisconsinCAPS.comMake sure you share and Subscribe to the CAPS YouTube Channel as wellhttps://www.youtube.com/channel/UCs7ifB9Ur7x2C3VqTzVmjNQ

This week on Supply Chain Secrets, Caroline Weaver and Lars Jensen are joined by Sagil Capital Partner Mark Hendricks to break down how freight rate volatility is affecting both shippers and investors. They cover the latest NYFI and SCFI movements, widening differences between sub-trades, the newest global reliability numbers, and updates on the ONE Henry Hudson and Red Sea routing. Mark shares how equity investors value shipping companies in unstable markets and why futures and hedging tools matter as 2026 looks increasingly unpredictable.In this episode:Rate swings across Pacific and East Coast tradesHow investors model volatility in shipping equitiesWhy futures and hedging could lower financing riskUpdates on reliability, general average, and Red Sea trafficA fast, digestible look at the forces shaping container shipping and financial markets heading into 2026.

Calls to tackle vaccine hesitancy amid falling immunisation rates in Australia; Australian funding for Pacific countries to tackle rising HIV rates welcomed; and in Formula One, Oscar Piastri's reaction after a costly setback at the Qatar Grand Prix.

It's 1943. Nazi Germany and its Axis power allies are ravaging Europe and the Pacific with a terrible war. At this juncture, President Franklin Roosevelt has one critical goal: a face-to-face meeting with his allies, Joseph Stalin and Winston Churchill. The first ever meeting of the "Big Three" is set to take place in Tehran, Iran, where the leaders of the three great superpowers will discuss and decide on some of the most crucial strategic details of the war. But when the Nazis learn about the meeting, they form their own secret, deadly plan: an assassination plot that would forever change history...if they're successful. This riveting true story, filled with daring rescues and high stakes intrigue, explains how this pivotal meeting in Tehran changed the course of World War II, and how the Nazi conspiracy to assassinate the Allied leaders nearly led to world-shattering disaster. Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/arroe-collins-unplugged-totally-uncut--994165/support.

In Pacific Waves today: Vanuatu opposition leader accuses govt of being lazy; Pacific content creators win big at the Tiktok awards; Pacific news wrap with Koroi Hawkins. Go to this episode on rnz.co.nz for more details

北海道の鈴木直道知事と根室市の石垣雅敏市長らから北方領土に関する要望書を受け取る高市早苗首相、１日午後、首相官邸高市早苗首相は１日、北海道の鈴木直道知事らと首相官邸で面会し、北方領土に関する要望書を受け取った。 Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi has vowed to realize the early restart of visits to graves on Russian-controlled northwestern Pacific islands by former Japanese residents of the islands.

A new study by the University of Auckland has shown rising levels of burnout within the Pacific community. The research is the first large-scale study to examine burnout within New Zealand-born Pasifika adults between the age of 18 to 65.  The study found that 90 per cent of the adults experienced burnout, with almost 50 per cent experiencing burnout repeatedly.  Producer Vihan spoke to University of Auckland Doctoral Candidate Asetoa Sam Pilisi about his study on burnout within New Zealand-born Pacific communities. 

This is a Grave Talks CLASSIC EPISODE! Some tragedies don't end when the history books say they do. World War II may be decades behind us, but its shadows stretch far beyond the pages of the past. Across Europe, the Pacific, and even quiet corners of home soil, there are places where the air still feels charged—where footsteps echo long after the boots that made them turned to dust. Witnesses report soldiers in full uniform moving silently through fog-soaked fields, medics rushing through empty hospital wards, and ghostly battalions marching in places untouched by modern life. Are these spirits trapped in the moments that defined their final breath? Are they following orders issued long ago? Or are they something else entirely—echoes, impressions, or remnants of trauma so immense it carved itself into the very foundation of the world? In this episode of The Grave Talks, we sit down with author Matthew L. Swayne to explore the paranormal scars left by WWII. From haunted bunkers to spectral sightings in once-occupied towns, we examine what these spirits might be trying to convey… and why so many encounters feel less like random hauntings and more like memories replaying themselves, waiting for someone—anyone—to finally listen. This is Part Two of our conversation. #WWIIGhosts #WorldWarII #ParanormalPodcast #HauntedHistory #GhostStories #TheGraveTalks #SpiritEncounters #HauntedBattlefields #ResidualHauntings #UnexplainedPhenomena Love real ghost stories? Don't just listen—join us on YouTube and be part of the largest community of real paranormal encounters anywhere. Subscribe now and never miss a chilling new story:

The boys talk the latest dev talk on the upcoming Warzone integration. The podcast is available wherever you listen to podcasts, and ad-free & early access versions - as well as bonus episodes - are available to all of our Patreon (https://www.patreon.com/thedropshot) supporters. We stream the podcast live on our website (https://www.thedropshot.com/live), on YouTube (https://www.youtube.com/c/thedropshotpodcast), and on Twitch (https://www.twitch.tv/thedropshotpodcast) simultaneously every Thursday and Saturday afternoon at ~12 o'clock Pacific Time. We typically start the stream 30 minutes early to answer viewer questions, banter, and chat. Links for everything are below. Thanks for checking us out!

Black Friday has come and gone and although there are still deals to be had, you likely won't find good ones when it comes to Star Wars merchandise. Even sites that sell branded shirts put their merch on sale BEFORE Thanksgiving and most (I won't say all) ended those sales at midnight Eastern or Pacific in the states when Friday came to a close.Still, we DO have your Star Wars news from the month of November, including notes on Jeremy Allen White, Shawn Levy, Rosario Dawson, Rory McCann, and that's just regarding live action projects at Lucasfilm. There are a couple of gaming updates that will come in December pre-Christmas, and collectors have their share of Hasbro and LEGO news.Feel free to take part in contributing ideas and commenting on our podcasts on YouTube, on Spotify, on Facebook, through Amazon's podcast portal, or even on Discord. May the Force be with us!

This is a Grave Talks CLASSIC EPISODE! Some tragedies don't end when the history books say they do. World War II may be decades behind us, but its shadows stretch far beyond the pages of the past. Across Europe, the Pacific, and even quiet corners of home soil, there are places where the air still feels charged—where footsteps echo long after the boots that made them turned to dust. Witnesses report soldiers in full uniform moving silently through fog-soaked fields, medics rushing through empty hospital wards, and ghostly battalions marching in places untouched by modern life. Are these spirits trapped in the moments that defined their final breath? Are they following orders issued long ago? Or are they something else entirely—echoes, impressions, or remnants of trauma so immense it carved itself into the very foundation of the world? In this episode of The Grave Talks, we sit down with author Matthew L. Swayne to explore the paranormal scars left by WWII. From haunted bunkers to spectral sightings in once-occupied towns, we examine what these spirits might be trying to convey… and why so many encounters feel less like random hauntings and more like memories replaying themselves, waiting for someone—anyone—to finally listen. #WWIIGhosts #WorldWarII #ParanormalPodcast #HauntedHistory #GhostStories #TheGraveTalks #SpiritEncounters #HauntedBattlefields #ResidualHauntings #UnexplainedPhenomena Love real ghost stories? Don't just listen—join us on YouTube and be part of the largest community of real paranormal encounters anywhere. Subscribe now and never miss a chilling new story:

In this fourth and final episode of our November Thankfulness Series, we're wrapping up the month by reflecting on the things that made us grateful this week. From holiday shopping and sparkling frost to cozy socks and the fun of a Thanksgiving Turkey Trot, we're taking a few minutes to slow down and appreciate the moments that brought us joy. Thank you for joining us throughout this month as we've intentionally focused on the things we're thankful for each week.New episodes are uploaded weekly on Saturday mornings at 7am Pacific / 10am EasternSupport us and the LeggLife Podcast by becoming a patron at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠  / legglife  ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Learn more about LeggLife by following us on:YouTube: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠http://www.youtube.com/legglifeak/?su...⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Instagram: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠  / legglifeak  ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Facebook: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠  / legglife  ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠You can reach us via email at legglife@gmail.com

→ What are some moves that teachers can make to protect their mental health?→ What's better: stay at school til the work is done, or leave as soon as possible?Welcome back to another episode of the Teachers on Fire Podcast, airing live on YouTube most Saturday mornings at 8am Pacific, 11am Eastern. My name is Tim Cavey, and my mission here is to warm your heart, spark your thinking, and ignite your professional practice.Today's Teacher on Fire is Rae Hughart. Rae is the CEO and Founder of Teachers Deserve It. She's also a TEDx Speaker and author of two books: Teachers Deserve It and Teach Better. Growing up with IEP support after being diagnosed with Specific Learning Disabilities in Reading, Writing, and Math, Rae has made it her mission to collaborate with educators and districts nationwide to design mastery learning classrooms that reach all learners. Through Teachers Deserve It, she leads a movement dedicated to empowering educators with sustainable, standards-based grading practices that promote clarity, equity, and student success.Connect with Raeon LinkedIn, on Instagram @RaeHughart,  on TikTok @RaeHughartEDU,on Substack at raehughart.substack.com, and  at her website, teachersdeserveit.com.In This Conversation0:00:00 - Rae Hughart is the founder of Teachers Deserve It2:39 - Boundary 1: Leaving the building after contract hours4:07 - How Rae followed this boundary as a teacher5:49 - Boundary 2: Taking a sick day when we're sick11:58 - Boundary 3: Declining voluntary committees that we don't have capacity for17:08 - Boundary 4: Taking quiet moments on your lunch break19:54 - Boundary 5: Setting email hours23:45 - Should we turn off mobile notifications for email?27:11 - Resources for teachers available at TeachersDeserveIt.com31:01 - How and where to connect with Rae Hughart on social mediaVisit the home of Teachers on Fire at https://teachersonfire.net/.Song Track Credit: Tropic Fuse by French Fuse - retrieved from the YouTube Audio Library at https://www.youtube.com/audiolibrary/.

Welcome to a very special episode of Making Tracks as Mark Newbold travels to the Cumberland Hotel, near Marble Arch in London for an up-close look at Boba Fett's Hero Screen, Photo, and Serial Number-Matched EE-3 Carbine Rifle from The Empire Strikes Back, which heads to the Entertainment Memorabilia Live Auction - London Winter 2025 on 5th - 7th December in London. A small fan audience (along with the worlds media) were invited to see this unique prop for ourselves, along with other amazing items including an original Ralph McQuarrie painting, C-3PO's hand, a stormtrooper rifle, Obi-Wan Kenobi's lightsaber from The Phantom Menace, a 12" Luke Skywalker model from 'Empire' and an Rebel pilots helmet. Mark spoke with Propstore owners Brandon Alinger and Stephen Lane, as well as fellow attendee and ILM and Skywalker Sound writer Jamie Benning from the Filmumentaries podcast on this special episode of Making Tracks. Remember to tune in to Good Morning Tatooine, LIVE Sunday evenings at 9.00pm UK, 4.00pm Eastern and 1.00pm Pacific on Facebook, YouTube, X, Instagram and Twitch and check out our Fantha Tracks Radio Friday Night Rotation every Friday at 7.00pm UK for new episodes of The Fantha From Down Under, Planet Leia, Desert Planet Discs, Start Your Engines, Collecting Tracks, Canon Fodder and special episodes of Making Tracks, and every Tuesday at 7.00pm UK time for your weekly episode of Making Tracks. Thanks to James Semple for the Fantha Tracks intro, Blues Harvest for our Making Tracks opening music and Mark Daniel and Vanessa Marshall for our voiceovers. Subscribe and tune in to all of our shows at https://radio.fanthatracks.com And of course for all your Lucasfilm and Star Wars news 24/7, 365 days a year head on over to https://www.fanthatracks.com You can contact our shows and send in your listeners questions by emailing radio@fanthatracks.com or by leaving a comment on our social media feeds: https://www.instagram.com/fanthatracks https://www.facebook.com/FanthaTracks https://www.x.com/FanthaTracks https://www.threads.net/@FanthaTracks https://www.reddit.com/r/fanthatracks/ https://mastodon.social/@fanthatracks https://bsky.app/profile/fanthatracks.com https://www.pinterest.co.uk/fanthatracks/ https://fanthatracks.tumblr.com/ And be sure to check out our live streams and video content at: https://www.youtube.com/@FanthaTracksTV/ https://www.tiktok.com/@fanthatracks https://www.twitch.com/fanthatrackstv All of our links can be found at https://links.fanthatracks.com/

 Come Spend Thanksgiving Eve With Me And My Special Guest Celebrity Psychic Medium Toni Greene. Besides Her Amazing Psychic ability She's A Lot Of Fun To Hang Out With And We're Going To Have Some Fun And Talk Turkey As Well As Some Lucky Viewer Just May Get A Reading From Her.   Welcome to Life With Peter G, the show where we explore the many facets of life through the lens of host Peter G's unique perspective. From business to relationships, personal growth to pop culture, Peter G takes us on a journey of discovery and self-reflection with each episode. With a combination of insightful interviews, engaging discussions, and personal anecdotes, Life With Peter G offers a fresh and authentic take on the human experience. Join us as we delve into the complexities and joys of life, one conversation at a time. This is Life With Peter G, The Peter G Show Every Wednesday Night. 6:00pm Pacific, 8:00pm Central, and 9:00pm Eastern. We're Talking About Things You Need To Hear. Check It Out. Don't forget to listen on the go with The Peter G Show On Audio Podcast Everywhere. And Please Like and Subscribe to The Peter G Show YouTube Channel. Love You Guys, Peace Out.   @petergshow @drphil @greggutfeld @gutfeld @tonigreene #petergshow,#subscribe,#like,#follow,#truth,#share,#america,#love,#peace,#drphil,#drphilshow,#gutfeld,#greggutfeld,#tonigreene #psychic

Dr. Debra Woo, DDS, MA, FACD, FICD, Associate Professor at the University of the Pacific, joins the podcast to explore the critical role of self-care, mindfulness, and sustainable work habits in dentistry. She shares research-supported strategies for preventing burnout, improving mental well-being, and fostering a healthier workplace culture.  Episode Highlights: High-pressure demands in dentistry make intentional self-care essential Scheduled breaks and daily reset rituals help reduce stress and guard against burnout Strong self-care practices improve decision-making, communication, and patient interactions Peer support and open dialogue help decrease isolation and burnout Building mindfulness and resilience skills early helps create healthier long-term career habits Ready to thrive as a dentist and a mom? Join a supportive community of like-minded professionals at Mommy Dentists in Business. Whether you're looking to grow your practice, find balance, or connect with others who understand your journey, MDIB is here to help. Visit mommydibs.com to learn more and become a part of this empowering network today!

Grab your bookmarks, it's time to take cover as we unleash the Canon Fodder over the Star Wars galaxy of literature. Join host Mark Newbold and our guest Star Wars Insider and Galaxy Magazine contributor and the host of Around the Galaxy Pete Fletzer who joins us to discuss his new book Who Owns The Myth, a look at the relationships between the saga, fandom and the myths that underpin the George Lucas epic. All that and more on the latest episode of Canon Fodder. Remember to tune in to Good Morning Tatooine, LIVE Sunday evenings at 9.00pm UK, 4.00pm Eastern and 1.00pm Pacific on Facebook, YouTube, X and Twitch and check out our Fantha Tracks Radio Friday Night Rotation every Friday at 7.00pm UK for new episodes of The Fantha From Down Under, Planet Leia, Desert Planet Discs, Start Your Engines, Collecting Tracks, Canon Fodder and special episodes of Making Tracks, and every Tuesday at 7.00pm UK time for your weekly episode of Making Tracks. Subscribe and tune in to all of our shows at https://radio.fanthatracks.com And of course for all your Lucasfilm and Star Wars news 24/7, 365 days a year head on over to https://www.fanthatracks.com You can contact our shows and send in your listeners questions by emailing radio@fanthatracks.com or by leaving a comment on our social media feeds: https://www.instagram.com/fanthatracks https://www.facebook.com/FanthaTracks https://www.x.com/FanthaTracks https://www.threads.net/@FanthaTracks https://www.reddit.com/r/fanthatracks/ https://mastodon.social/@fanthatracks https://bsky.app/profile/fanthatracks.com https://www.pinterest.co.uk/fanthatracks/ https://fanthatracks.tumblr.com/ And be sure to check out our live streams and video content at: https://www.youtube.com/@FanthaTracksTV/ https://www.tiktok.com/@fanthatracks https://www.twitch.com/fanthatrackstv All of our links can be found at https://links.fanthatracks.com/

Australia is expected to spend billions of dollars to deport non-citizens to the small Pacific nation of Nauru. Meanwhile, Pauline Hanson as repeated a years-old stunt, environment laws have passed, and Barnaby Joyce has cosied up with One Nation. Greens Senator David Shoebridge talks about the Nauru deal, after a translation of an interview with the nation's president was controversially put on the record in the Senate.

By 1943, the war in the Pacific burned in its full fury. On November 20th, the Allies launched the first amphibious assault against heavily defended beaches in US history. The 2nd division of the US Marine Corps, used amphibious tractors and assault boats to reach the beaches of the Tarawa atoll, an enemy stronghold protected by 5,000 hardened Imperial Japanese marines. Ed Moore and Tommy Reed were decorated veterans of the 2nd Marine Division during the island campaigns in the Pacific War. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Darren is joined by returning guest Richard Maude to unpack what Australian foreign policy looks like in late 2025. The conversation centres on Foreign Minister Penny Wong's recent AIIA speech, which Darren argues—mostly with Richard's agreement—marks a clear evolution in Australia's foreign policy doctrine. The traditional three pillars — alliance, region, and rules — have been replaced by a new framework, the "Four Rs": Region, Relationships, Rules, and Resilience. The discussion explores what this shift reveals about how Canberra sees the world today, and what it tells us about Australia's strategic priorities as the international environment becomes more volatile. Together, they assess how well the government is executing each of the “Four Rs” in practice — from strengthening ties across Southeast Asia and the Pacific, to managing the alliance with an unpredictable Washington, stabilising relations with Beijing, and linking foreign policy more overtly with domestic resilience. They ask whether Australia is being suitably ambitious in shaping the regional security environment, or whether it risks becoming over-focused on Southeast Asia at the expense of alliance leadership and broader coordination with partners like Japan, Korea and Europe. Darren and Richard also grapple with Australia–China relations. Is Canberra being too cautious in public language — or sensibly risk-averse? Darren frames the question as whether the greater risk currently lies in under-reacting to the threat posed by China, or in over-reacting. And how should Australia manage economic dependence on China given the limits of diversification and the “iron laws” of trade?  The fourth R is resilience, and they discuss whether tying domestic policy to foreign policy is a strength or a political trap. They consider how resilience language enables governments to justify hard economic choices, while also warning against overselling national security policy as economic strategy. Finally, Darren and Richard look ahead to 2026. Richard nominates three global questions to watch closely: the trajectory of US–China relations, the fate of Ukraine, and whether anything remains of the liberal international project. Darren adds his own focal points: Australia's critical minerals strategy, Europe's struggle with Chinese economic leverage, and the political durability of Trump's dominance ahead of the US midterms. A wide-ranging episode on doctrine, diplomacy and domestic politics — and what it all means for Australia navigating a world that feels, as Richard once put it, "completely stuffed". Australia in the World is written, hosted, and produced by Darren Lim, with research and editing this episode by Hannah Nelson and theme music composed by Rory Stenning. Relevant links Richard Maude (bio): https://asiasociety.org/policy-institute/richard-maude Penny Wong, “AIIA Gala Dinner Keynote Address”, 17 November 2025: https://www.foreignminister.gov.au/minister/penny-wong/speech/aiia-gala-dinner-keynote-address Darren Lim and Hannah Nelson, “From Three Strands to Four Rs: The Evolution of Australian Foreign Policy”, Australian Outlook, 21 November 2025: https://www.internationalaffairs.org.au/australianoutlook/from-three-strands-to-four-rs-the-evolution-of-australian-foreign-policy/ Penny Wong, “Speech to the ANU National Security College “Securing our Future”, 9 April 2024: https://www.foreignminister.gov.au/minister/penny-wong/speech/speech-anu-national-security-college-securing-our-future Allan Gyngell, Fear of Abandonment: Australia in the World since 1942: https://www.blackincbooks.com.au/books/fear-abandonment Heather Smith, “Australia and Economic Cold War – Drifting into the New Paradigm”, AIIA 2025 National Conference Address, 17 November 2025: https://www.internationalaffairs.org.au/australianoutlook/australia-and-economic-cold-war-drifting-into-the-new-paradigm/ Penny Wong, TV interview, ABC Insiders (with David Speers), 16 November 2025: https://www.foreignminister.gov.au/minister/penny-wong/transcript/tv-interview-abc-insiders-0 Eli Hayes and Darren Lim, “Not every critical mineral is equal – and Australia's policy should reflect this”, Lowy Interpreter, 10 November 2025: https://www.lowyinstitute.org/the-interpreter/not-every-critical-mineral-equal-australia-s-policy-should-reflect Darren Lim and Nathan Attrill, “Australian debate of the China question: The COVID-19 case”, Australian Journal of International Affairs (2021): https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/10357718.2021.1940094 (gated) or https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=3856586 (ungated) Jedediah Britton-Purdy and David Pozen, “What are we living through?”, Boston Review, 15 October 2025: https://www.bostonreview.net/articles/what-are-we-living-through/ Lachlan Strahan, The Curious Diplomat: A memoir from the frontlines of diplomacy (Monash University Publishing, 2025): https://publishing.monash.edu/product/the-curious-diplomat/ Nick Potkalitsky, “Where Should Student AI Literacy Live?”, Educating AI (Substack), 25 September 2025: https://nickpotkalitsky.substack.com/p/where-should-student-ai-literacy Ethan Mollick, “The Best Available Human Standard”, One Useful Thing (Substack), 22 October 2023: https://www.oneusefulthing.org/p/the-best-available-human-standard Ethan Mollick, “15 Times to use AI, and 5 Not to”, One Useful Thing (Substack), 9 December 2024: https://www.oneusefulthing.org/p/15-times-to-use-ai-and-5-not-to

Welcome to Paranormal Spectrum, where we illuminate the enigmatic corners of the supernatural world. I'm your host, Barnaby Jones, and today we have a very special guest joining us:Born, raised, and educated in Wisconsin, "Ma" is a founding member of the Cryptids, Anomalies, and the Paranormal Society, whose passion for the strange and unique has led her to travel all over the USA. An avid reader of all things Bigfoot, paranormal, unexplained, and mysterious, she brings decades of personal experience to the field, including a pivotal, lasting encounter with a shadow person in her home. Her investigations span the gamut of haunted locations, from the battlefields of Gettysburg to a haunted coal mine, and her dedication to cryptid research includes two confirmed Sasquatch sightings and extensive searches across Wisconsin, Ohio, Illinois, Michigan, Kentucky, and Tennessee.CAPS WEBSITEwww.wisconsincaps.comYoutube Channelhttps://www.youtube.com/channel/UCs7ifB9Ur7x2C3VqTzVmjNQClick that play button, and let's unravel the mysteries of the UNTOLD! Remember to like, share, and subscribe to our channel to stay updated on all the latest discoveries and adventures. See you there!Join Barnaby Jones on the Paranormal Spectrum every Thursday on the Untold Radio Network Live at 12pm Central – 10am Pacific and 1pm Eastern. Come and Join the live discussion next week. Please subscribe.We have twelve different Professional Podcasts on all the things you like. New favorite shows drop each day only on the UNTOLD RADIO NETWORK.To find out more about Barnaby Jones and his team, (Cryptids, Anomalies, and the Paranormal Society) visit their website www.WisconsinCAPS.comMake sure you share and Subscribe to the CAPS YouTube Channel as wellhttps://www.youtube.com/channel/UCs7ifB9Ur7x2C3VqTzVmjNQ

In Pacific Waves today: Papuan activists sentenced to seven months imprisonment; PNG government tables national budget; Marshall Islands citizens to receive free money from government; Solomon Islands student showcases cultural heritage. Go to this episode on rnz.co.nz for more details

In Pacific Waves today: Hundreds march in Fiji for women abuse survivors; Fiji military presents traditional apology to high chiefs; Pacific sports preview with Iliesa Tora. Go to this episode on rnz.co.nz for more details

Dr. Matt Rawlins.  Dr. Rawlins is a CEO of a consulting company in Singapore, where he lives, and he works closely with leaders and their organizations to address the tension that exists in the midst of a changing world. A prolific author, Dr. Rawlins has written more than 16 books about leadership. One of his books: Walking Naked into the Land of Uncertainty – 5 Keys for Leadership into the Unknown caught our attention at Real Men Connect. Dr. Rawlins has spent over 20 years working in missions in Asia and the Pacific, where he's submerged himself in different cultures and worked with people from a variety of diverse backgrounds.  He has made it a priority to help people understand who they are in God and how to express Him in whatever challenging situation their faith finds them in.   Currently, he splits his time between working with churches and missions agencies, and consulting with large corporations on how to lead their companies forward in the midst of a rapidly changing world. Dr. Rawlins has been happily married to his wife Celia for 36 years, and they have one son.  To find out more about Dr. Rawlins and the work that he does, you can visit him at either https://brokentopleadership.com or https://www.MattRawlins.org  --------------------------   Talk with Dr. Joe 1-on-1: Are you tired and stuck? Want to go to get your faith, marriage, family, career and finances back on track?  Then maybe it's time you got a coach. Every CHAMPION has one. Schedule an appointment to chat with Dr. Joe. He takes on only a few Breakthrough Calls each week.  The call is FREE, but slots are limited to ONE call only.  NO RESCHEDULES.  Just click on the link below and select the BREAKTHROUGH CALL option to set up an appointment: http://TalkwithDrJoe.com  If no slots are available, please check back in a week.   Also join us on: Online Podcast Community (on Station):  https://station.page/realmen Facebook: @realdrjoemartin YouTube: http://www.RealMenTraining.com Instagram: @realdrjoemartin Twitter: @professormartin Website: https://RealMenConnect.com

The Top 10 Questions Facing the LA Kings in the 2025-26 season.Will the pending FA sign extensions?Will the Kings get the same goaltending as last season?Will Drew Doughty rebound from his injury last season?What will the D Corps minutes distribution be?Will Top 9 F chemistry continue?Will then new 4th line be trusted and contribute?How will the Special Teams perform?Will anyone besides Kopitar wear the "C" this season?What happens in the rest of the Pacific?What do the Kings need to do to clinch a playoff spot?

William Keim joined the U.S. Merchant Marine in 1943 at the age of 17. He was called to active duty when he turned 18 years old that same year. For the next two years, he served as an oilerman on Liberty Ships in both the Atlantic and the Pacific theaters, transporting critical supplies and evading constant enemy efforts to sink their ships.In this edition of Veterans Chronicles, Keim tells all about the Liberty Ships and his role in keeping the engines running smoothly. He details the constant threat of German U-Boats in the North Atlantic, what the American vessels did to avoid getting sunk, and the horror of witnessing other ships getting hit without being able to help the souls on board.He also explains what it was like for the ships to be strafed by German planes and also be the targets of buzz bombs while in port on Christmas 1944. Finally, Keim shares what it was like for the U.S. Merchant Marine veterans to receive the Congressional Gold Medal and long overdue recognition for their service.

Melody Post - House of Yahweh CultDivorced: ChristianityCW: Mention of suicide and traffickingMelody Post was a member of the House of Yahweh Cult from 1989 to 1994. At age 18, she was married to the cult leader's son and gave birth to a child within the group, assisted only by midwives, having not seen a doctor throughout her pregnancy. She left in 1994 when the leader, her father-in-law, introduced polygamy into the teachings after being caught cheating on his wife. In this episode, Melody shares candidly about how her family got sucked into the House of Yahweh cult, what led her to leave, and some of the psychological challenges related to recovery for former cult members.Melody now co-hosts and helps produce the Cultimatum Podcast, where she shares her story and helps provide a platform for other cult and trafficking survivors to speak out. She is also the founder and creator of the Cult Escape and Healing Group on Facebook, a supportive online community with over 2,000 members. In this group, survivors of cults connect, share resources, and find understanding as they rebuild their lives after leaving. FIND MELODY:Cultimatum Podcast Facebook Page https://www.facebook.com/groups/1910498486077283 Cult Escape and Healing Group on Facebookhttps://www.facebook.com/groups/2575419069406501  Cultimatum YouTube Channel https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCHrJGNsf1PjQEe- Cultimatum Instagramhttps://www.instagram.com/cultimatumpodcast/   Cultimatum TikTokhttps://www.tiktok.com/@cultimatumpodcast   FIND JANICE SELBIE:Janice Selbie's best-selling book, Divorcing Religion: A Memoir and Survival Handbook, is available here. https://amzn.to/4mnDxuoRecordings from the Shameless Sexuality: Life After Purity Culture conference 2025 available here. https://www.shamelesssexuality.org/Religious Trauma Survivor Support Groups happen online Tuesdays and Thursdays at 5pm Pacific/8pm Eastern. Sign up here. https://www.divorcing-religion.com/servicesFor help with recovery from religious trauma, book a free 20-minute consultation with Janice here. https://www.divorcing-religion.com/services Follow Janice and Divorcing Religion on Social Media: Threads https://www.threads.com/@divorcingreligion Facebook https://www.facebook.com/DivorcingReligion TikTok https://www.tiktok.com/@janiceselbie Instagram https://www.instagram.com/divorcingreligion/ BlueSky: @janiceselbie.bsky.socialSubscribe to the audio-only version of the Divorcing Religion Podcast here. https://www.divorcing-religion.com/religious-trauma-podcastThe Divorcing Religion Podcast is for entertainment purposes only. If you need help with your mental health, please consult a qualified, secular, mental health clinician. The views expressed by guests are not necessarily held by the host.Support the show

Send us a textRolling in the Netherdeep has evolved into Few and Far Between!!Few And Far Between Ep 144A Capital AffairThe Favoured Few travel to the capital of the Dwendalian Empire, Rexxentrum! Watch us live on Wednesdays 4:30 Eastern/1:30 Pacific on Twitch!Thanks to Critical Role for helping us build worlds of adventure!Connect with us via our Linktree!Ron Murphy – DM, @ron88keysRBDMLaphus Prismawing - Jaiden Ramirez, @ffoxtrotXIVOrgoth Skullcrusher - Bill Roper, @billfreakinroperNorth Star Maedrick - Jaime R. Bishop, @steelcladvicarFollow us on Twitter at @SeveredSonsDnD or on Instagram!Join our Discord! Join our Patreon!Now, you can support us through the Buzzsprout website too!Give us a review on Apple Podcasts, Podchaser, Spotify,  GoodPods or on our Twitter page and we'll read it on the air.   Support the show

Jeff has returned from his stomp-about in Japan, and ready to regale Django, Roman, and you dear listeners on the happenings across the Pacific. Maybe not as many comic books as usual, but a pleasant and nerdy discussion nonetheless!0:53:38 - Well Welcome Wellmer!0:58:06 - One World Under Doom #9SPOILERS! Tread carefully dear listener, because we're going to talk about what happened in these books. So definitely pause this, read your comics, and come back. We'll still be here!And an enormous thank you, as always, to Andrew Carlson for editing this mess into something listenable.Subscribe to us on Apple, Spotify or wherever you like to get your podcasts.Email us at jeff@thecomicsplace.com! We love hearing from you and there's a good chance we will read it on air!Cover art by InHyuk LeeVisit us at The Comics Place next time you're in Bellingham, Washington!

Holiness by Fear of the Lord (1) (audio) David Eells – 11/26/25 There is NO Ego in the Body of Christ Eve Brast - 10/22/2016 (David's notes in red) While everyone was sharing last night, Father brought a scripture to mind: 1Pe.4:18 And if the righteous is scarcely saved, where shall the ungodly and sinner appear? 19 Wherefore let them also that suffer according to the will of God commit their souls in well-doing unto a faithful Creator. I thought that this was a very weighty and impactful statement, and it makes me tremble with Godly fear at its implications. And then I thought about the next verse, 19, that when we are bitter and unforgiving, critical or judgmental, we are actually being unwilling to “suffer according to the will of God”. Later, I thought about what Jesus said in Joh.13:16 Verily, verily, I say unto you, a servant is not greater than his lord; neither one that is sent greater than he that sent him. Jesus suffered injustice and wrongful treatment at the hands of evil people His whole public life: “A man of many sorrows and acquainted with grief”. Should we expect, as His disciples, not to endure the same? I pray for myself and us all that Father will fill us with the same grace to endure the suffering according to His will and recognize that ultimately it comes from Him. If we fight against it, we only delay our progress. While driving to that Friday night meeting, I asked Father to give me confirmation during our meeting if I was to share the word He gave me on Thursday, 10/20/16. So while David was speaking to us about pride and humbling ourselves, he used the term “ego,” which seemed to be the main theme of the Word Father had given me. I knew then that it was the confirmation that I had asked for, and I knew He wanted me to share it with the brethren. So here is that word: “You were created for My purposes and Mine alone. You were created to serve Me, My Kingdom, and your fellow servants. Your sole purpose is to glorify the Name in all you think or do. The body is one. There is no ego in the body (which is His body), no separateness, no fleshly individualism, which is factious and divisive, no independence. There is one Spirit and all who abide in Me and My Son will have the same Spirit. They will have My desire for the life I've given them and for others. There is only one personality, one character in the Body. Ego and individualism are rebellion and Jezebel. (Unforgiveness, offense, anger, self-justification, faction, criticism, slander, backbiting, railing, are all part of this witchcraft spirit.) The life I gave you is not your own. I ransomed you. You belong to Me. Your allegiance is to Me, not to man and the flesh. Serve Me with unwavering loyalty. Understand that this is your sole purpose. There is no other life or reason to exist. Those who live for themselves don't consider My will and they are choosing death. They are choosing separateness, individualism, and separation from Me”. (And, I would say, separation from His character [and his true body].) I posted a word from Father: “Let My Spirit have free course in you”. In which He said, “Get rid of the “I's” and let there be only Me”. Here it is: (I've been hearing this phrase for about two weeks now: “Let My Spirit have free course in you”. So on Wednesday, I asked Father what He wanted to share about this. I really felt the heart of His Spirit pouring out to me while He spoke. I hope it will bless y'all, too. :0) He said, “Come away with Me, My love! Come away with Me, My Bride. I desire to be your only love. I desire to be the only one reflected back to Me in the eyes of My dove. Let My Spirit have free course in you. Surrender to Me. Yield your control to Me. Be still and hear the voice of My Spirit. Let My Holy Spirit lead and guide you into all obedience. I long to be in sweet communion with you, undistracted and unhindered”. “Do you trust Me, My love? Do you truly trust Me? Allow Me to have free course in you. Trust Me to live and move through you as a vessel of honor for My people and My Kingdom. For this purpose, I created you. Get rid of the “I's” and let there be only Me! There is no other fulfillment; no other satisfaction; no other completion outside of sweet communion with Me”. I looked up the word Ego and this was one of the things that was mentioned: Ego is the Latin word for “I”. So if a person seems to begin every sentence with “I”, it's sometimes a sign of a big ego. Thank you, Father, for giving us Your grace and Your humility. Help us to rid ourselves of pride and ego, self-centeredness, or self-importance. By faith, we believe that You are perfecting Christ's character in us. Help us to have the desire and strength to commit ourselves to You and to well-doing, in Jesus' name. Amen. Love to you all, Eve.   Pride, Independence and Egotism is not of the Body David Eells (Notes in red) Proud and independent people do not control their tongue so they destroy the unity of the body and are not part of the body. Jas.3:5 So the tongue also is a little member, and boasteth great things. Behold, how much wood is kindled by how small a fire! 6 And the tongue is a fire: the world of iniquity among our members is the tongue, which defileth the whole body, and setteth on fire the wheel of nature, and is set on fire by hell. Those whose tongues do not conform to the confines of scripture destroy the body of Christ and are guilty of its blood. 7 For every kind of beasts and birds, of creeping things and things in the sea, is tamed, and hath been tamed by mankind. 8 But the tongue can no man tame; it is a restless evil, it is full of deadly poison. Which comes from the evil heart: “Out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaketh”. 9 Therewith bless we the Lord and Father; and therewith curse we men, who are made after the likeness of God: 10 out of the same mouth cometh forth blessing and cursing. My brethren, these things ought not so to be. 11 Doth the fountain send forth from the same opening sweet water and bitter? 12 Can a fig tree, my brethren, yield olives, or a vine figs? Neither can salt water yield sweet. 13 Who is wise and understanding among you? let him show by his good life his works in meekness of wisdom. 14 But if ye have bitter jealousy and faction in your heart, glory not and lie not against the truth. Faction always lies because it is a demon spirit and speaks in order to deceive and take captive even the innocent. Faction is causing division for selfish ambition to make disciples, so there is lying and jealousy involved. Faction is separation and independence from the body and its leadership. 15 This wisdom is not a wisdom that cometh down from above, but is earthly, sensual, devilish. 16 For where jealousy and faction are, there is confusion and every vile deed. Every vile deed describes well the independence from the body that the faction has and creates in others. Unforgiveness, offense, anger, self-justification, faction, criticism, slander, backbiting, railing, lying, theft, deception, witchcraft, graft, extortion, lust, fornication, perversion, are all brought in by the faction spirit. On the other side of this Beast, the election has revealed this same nature in our government. Ever wonder why they can justify killing Christians all over the world and are ready to do it here? So don't feed on that, or you can receive that spirit. Those Christians who receive this spirit also murder the brethren through slander, introducing them to faction unawares. I have seen faction demons take over brethren who had a lust to rule over the body. I have seen them side with and even become homosexuals under this spirit several times. I have seen brethren taken over by lust after receiving this spirit. I have seen them try to bring convicted unrepentant pedophiles and womanizers into the church and get angry and leave when I forbade it. I have seen them go into grand theft many times. One man stole 300 silver coins that were to be given to the poor brethren, and then a sound system from the church. Another stole a commercial lawnmower. Another stole tractor equipment. I have seen them steal money from the brethren many times when this spirit comes upon them. One man who was hiding his sin among us had spent many years in federal prison for theft, and when he came to us, he was sued because he forged a check sent to his ex-wife for around $22,000, and the judge threw him in jail until he would give the money back to his ex-wife. His new wife told me he still had the money, so I convinced him to give up his stolen money to get out of jail. When faction totally consumed him, he told everyone that I stole the money from him. This is the kind of perversion these spirits do. And these cannot be convicted of any sin. They are no longer moved or constrained by scriptures. I have seen them join religions that were not Christian or go under the law as a Jew to try to be justified because they never have faith for grace anymore when that spirit enters them. As David Wilkerson witnessed, their main target is the true leadership of the church, just like Satan. None of these people would have considered these “vile deeds” before receiving the faction spirit. They were turned over to this because they were hiding a sin or had one of the forms of unforgiveness. So, fear God and avoid like the plague anyone who wants to whisper in your ear against others. These people have lost many years that they could have been bearing fruit, and some are lost eternally. As one man told us when he partially repented and came to us, “The Lord told me that this is my last chance”, and even knowing this, he didn't take it. I pray for all of these people that, like Nebuchadnezzar, they would be granted grace to snap out of this demon possession. Continuing with our James 3 text: 17 But the wisdom that is from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, easy to be entreated, full of mercy and good fruits, without variance, without hypocrisy. 18 And the fruit of righteousness is sown in peace for them that make peace. Jas.4:1 Whence come wars and whence come fightings among you? come they not hence, even of your pleasures that war in your members? 2 Ye lust, and have not: ye kill, and covet, and cannot obtain: ye fight and war; ye have not, because ye ask not. 3 Ye ask, and receive not, because ye ask amiss, that ye may spend it in your pleasures. 4 Ye adulteresses, know ye not that the friendship of the world is enmity with God? Whosoever therefore would be a friend of the world maketh himself an enemy of God. 5 Or think ye that the scripture speaketh in vain? Doth the spirit which he made to dwell in us long unto envying? Envy and jealousy come from ego. The Bible codes say, “Ego IS the antichrist”.) 6 But he giveth more grace. Wherefore the scripture saith, God resisteth the proud, but giveth grace to the humble. 7 Be subject therefore unto God; but resist the devil, and he will flee from you. 8 Draw nigh to God, and he will draw nigh to you. Cleanse your hands, ye sinners; and purify your hearts, ye doubleminded. 9 Be afflicted, and mourn, and weep: let your laughter be turned to mourning, and your joy to heaviness. 10 Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and he shall exalt you. 11 Speak not one against another, brethren. He that speaketh against a brother (Slander and blaspheme mean to speak against another.), or judgeth his brother, speaketh against the law, and judgeth the law: but if thou judgest the law, thou art not a doer of the law, but a judge. 12 One only is the lawgiver and judge, even he who is able to save and to destroy: but who art thou that judgest thy neighbor? The independent are proud, unforgiving, and judgmental. They are their own God. Mat.6:9 After this manner therefore pray ye. Our Father who art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name. 10 Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done, as in heaven, so on earth. 11 Give us this day our daily bread. 12 And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. 13 And bring us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one. 14 For if ye forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. 15 But if ye forgive not men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses. The unforgiving person is under the curse of Deuteronomy 28 because they are not forgiven. The independent person does not have to “obey them that have the rule over you”, for they make themselves elders, prophets, pastors, apostles, etc. They judge others unworthy of grace and therefore have no grace from God to avoid judgment. Mat.18:34 And his lord was wroth, and delivered him to the tormentors, till he should pay all that was due. 35 So shall also my heavenly Father do unto you, if ye forgive not every one his brother from your hearts. The tormenting demons then take this person to show them what it is to have God's unforgiveness with no grace and if they still do not repent, they are reprobated.) Jas.2:7 Do not they blaspheme the honorable name by which ye are called? 8 Howbeit if ye fulfil the royal law, according to the scripture, Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself, ye do well: 9 but if ye have respect of persons, ye commit sin, being convicted by the law as transgressors. 10 For whosoever shall keep the whole law, and yet stumble in one point, he is become guilty of all. 11 For he that said, Do not commit adultery, said also, Do not kill. Now if thou dost not commit adultery, but killest, thou art become a transgressor of the law. 12 So speak ye, and so do, as men that are to be judged by a law of liberty. 13 For judgment is without mercy to him that hath showed no mercy: mercy glorieth against judgment. We will be judged by grace if we give grace; we will be judged by the law if we judge others according to law. Mat.7:1 Judge not, that ye be not judged. If you are being judged, you are likely judging others. This judging is manifested in separation, unforgiveness, anger, wrath, etc. 2 For with what judgment ye judge, ye shall be judged: and with what measure ye mete, it shall be measured unto you. As much as you judge, is how much you will be judged. 3 And why beholdest thou the mote that is in thy brother's eye, but considerest not the beam that is in thine own eye? 4 Or how wilt thou say to thy brother, Let me cast out the mote out of thine eye; and lo, the beam is in thine own eye? 5 Thou hypocrite, cast out first the beam out of thine own eye; and then shalt thou see clearly to cast out the mote out of thy brother's eye. Rom.2:1 Wherefore thou art without excuse, O man, whosoever thou art that judgest: for wherein thou judges another, thou condemnest thyself; for thou that judgest dost practise the same things. (When a person has demons, they are the grossest hypocrites, for they accuse others of doing exactly what they do and get judged for it.) 2 And we know that the judgment of God is according to truth against them that practise such things. 3 And reckonest thou this, O man, who judgest them that practise such things, and doest the same, that thou shalt escape the judgment of God? Rom.14:4 Who art thou that judgest the servant of another? to his own lord he standeth or falleth. Yea, he shall be made to stand; for the Lord hath power to make him stand.... (This is where our faith must be: that God will save them through their afflictions.) 10 But thou, why dost thou judge thy brother? or thou again, why dost thou set at nought thy brother? for we shall all stand before the judgment-seat of God. 11 For it is written, As I live, saith the Lord, to me every knee shall bow, And every tongue shall confess to God. 12 So then each one of us shall give account of himself to God. 13 Let us not therefore judge one another any more: but judge ye this rather, that no man put a stumblingblock in his brother's way, or an occasion of falling. Rom.12:16 Be of the same mind one toward another. Set not your mind on high things, but condescend to things that are lowly. Be not wise in your own conceits. 17 Render to no man evil for evil. Take thought for things honorable in the sight of all men. 18 If it be possible, as much as in you lieth, be at peace with all men. Mat.12:36 And I say unto you, that every idle word that men shall speak, they shall give account thereof in the day of judgment. 37 For by thy words thou shalt be justified, and by thy words thou shalt be condemned. (So, if you are an impulsive person saying things that are not right it will come back to bite you with out repentance and confession.)   Holiness Protects from the Curse B. A. - 12/24/2013 (David's notes in red) I dreamed that I was having a dream, and in this dream, I woke up and I was surrounded by tiny black particles (representing the curse). Deu.11:26 Behold, I set before you this day a blessing and a curse: 27 the blessing, if ye shall hearken unto the commandments of Jehovah your God, which I command you this day; 28 and the curse, if ye shall not hearken unto the commandments of Jehovah your God, but turn aside out of the way which I command you this day, to go after other gods, which ye have not known. (Only the true people of God with “spiritual eyes” [renewed by the Word of God] can see the curse around them.) I got up out of bed and went outside, and these black particles were everywhere. I began to fan my right hand up in the air, and I watched as these black particles just moved about. Then I turned my hand palm-side up, and I watched as these black particles hovered just a few inches from my hand. It was amazing. These particles could not touch me in any way. I began to walk around, and I watched as these black particles just moved out of my way. (If we are abiding in Jesus Christ, we have a blood covering and we are protected from the black curse.) (Scientists have proven in Quantum Physics the smallest particles are everywhere and called the quanta. They take on no physical attributes until you believe something. Then they become that, whether good or bad, as in white or BLACK. A black particle is something to avoid with you renewed mind. Jesus affirmed this in Mark 11:24 … All things whatsoever ye pray and ask for, believe that ye received (Greek) them, and ye shall have them. Also, Pro 23:7 For as he thinketh within himself, so is he…. (It is not the word of religious leaders that causes us to abide in Jesus, but the Word we received in the beginning. If we abide in this Word, we abide in Jesus. Joh.1:1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 The same was in the beginning with God. 3 All things were made through him; and without him was not anything made that hath been made. 4 In him was life; and the life was the light of men. White particles were all around Jesus. 1Jn.2:24 As for you, let that abide in you which ye heard from the beginning. If that which ye heard from the beginning abide in you, ye also shall abide in the Son, and in the Father. Jesus, the Word, which was given in the beginning, is the secret place that we hide from the black curse. When we believe the white word of promise we get it. Psa.91:1 He that dwelleth in the secret place of the Most High Shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty. I asked the Father this question: “Father, what are these black particles?” He replied, “You know what they are”. I said, “I do?” And the Father said, “Yes, you do; just think about it”. So I did. I stood there looking at these black particles, when I got the revelation that these black particles are the curse. I said to the Father, “I know what these tiny black particles are! They are the curse, and they are all around us. But if we are abiding in Jesus Christ, they can't even touch us! Wow, Father! This is awesome!” 2Co.5:21 Him who knew no sin he made to be sin on our behalf; that we might become the righteousness of God in him. Gal.3:13 Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law, having become a curse for us; for it is written, Cursed is every one that hangeth on a tree: 14 that upon the Gentiles might come the blessing of Abraham in Christ Jesus; that we might receive the promise of the Spirit through faith. Joh.15:4 Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, except it abide in the vine; so neither can ye, except ye abide in me. 1Jn.2:24 As for you, let that abide in you which ye heard from the beginning. If that which ye heard from the beginning abide in you, ye also shall abide in the Son, and in the Father. Just then, the Father showed me an hourglass, and He asked me this question: “Daughter, what do you see?” I said, “I see grains of sand at the bottom of an hourglass”. Isa.10:22 For though thy people, Israel, be as the sand of the sea, only a remnant of them shall return: a destruction is determined, overflowing with righteousness. Isa.44:3 For I will pour water upon him that is thirsty, and streams upon the dry ground; I will pour my Spirit upon thy seed, and my blessing upon thine offspring: 4 and they shall spring up among the grass, as willows by the watercourses. Isa.56:5 Unto them will I give in my house and within my walls a memorial and a name better than of sons and of daughters; I will give them an everlasting name, that shall not be cut off.) There appeared to be only about 1/8 of the sand left in the hourglass. (I believe these particular grains of sand represent God's elect, and the Father was showing me that these particular grains of sand (or His elect) are those who are coming into the image of Jesus to be sons and daughters, as we are drawing near to the end of days.) I asked the Father, “Father, does this mean that time is running out?” And He replied, “Yes. I only created so much time in the beginning, and when it's gone, it is finished.” Gen.6:3 And Jehovah said, My spirit shall not strive with man for ever, for that he also is flesh: yet shall his days be a hundred and twenty years. (Time is running out to get into the secret place of Jesus because the curse is coming to devour the whole earth, as Isaiah and Revelation show. Isa.24:5 The earth also is polluted [Radiation in the Pacific, oil in the Gulf and Atlantic, biologicals in the atmosphere, poisons from chemtrails in the air, earth and water, our food sources, solar, volcanic, earthquakes, comets, asteroids, meteors, etc.] under the inhabitants thereof; because they have transgressed the laws, violated the statutes, broken the everlasting covenant. 6 Therefore hath the curse devoured the earth, and they that dwell therein are found guilty: therefore the inhabitants of the earth are burned, and few men left. Deuteronomy 28 is a long list of the curses, a sample of all the curses seen around us that Jesus, the Word, delivers us from. The cause of these curses is in: Deu.28:15 But it shall come to pass, if thou wilt not hearken unto the voice of Jehovah thy God, to observe to do all his commandments and his statutes which I command thee this day, that all these curses shall come upon thee, and overtake thee. What a curse it is to not read the New Testament to know how to avoid this. I say “a sample” because we are also told that if it's not listed here, God will also put that on you for your disobedience. 61 Also every sickness, and every plague [Does not mean disease. Hebrew meaning “a blow; to smite”.], which is not written in the book of this law, them will Jehovah bring upon thee, until thou be destroyed. Jesus came to bear the curse for we who believe by “working in us to will and to work for His good pleasure”, [Philippians 2:13] meaning He puts the gift of obedience in us when we believe the good news that He took away our sins and the curse.)   Walk in the Infamous Place of Holiness K. H. - 10/23/2008 (David's notes in red) In a dream, I was with a group of students headed toward a convention center when all of the people we encountered along the way tried to discourage us from going there because they said it was in a bad part of town and was very dirty there. No matter what was said, we still kept on walking toward the convention center. When we got there, we all went through the doors, and as soon as I walked through the glass doors, I saw how nice it looked inside. I didn't see that it was dirty like the people had said it was going to be. (The Convention Center is where the students are going to truly learn of God. Apostates have always believed such a place is unclean. The Pharisees thought that Jesus was a false teacher and His students were deceived.) All the other students filed into the auditorium, but I needed to go to the bathroom, and at this point, I felt the need to take off my shoes. I initially began to recall what the people along the way were saying about how dirty a place it was and started to become concerned about where I was about to walk, but I cast that imagination down and just said to the Lord, “I trust you”. I started to head for the bathroom and began to feel how clean the tile and carpet felt under my feet and once I got to the bathroom, I was even more amazed. When I walked into the bathroom, it was the most pristine and cleanest bathroom I think I have ever seen. I knew now without a doubt there was nothing dirty about this place, and began to feel the peace of the Lord about being barefoot. (This training center is holy and clean.) After I was finished in the bathroom, I left to find my seat with my parents in the auditorium for our meal that we were going to have together. I was so filled with joy and peace that I didn't even notice that I didn't have my shoes on when I went into the auditorium. (The spiritual food served here is holy and clean.) When I woke up, I was reminded that I had taken my shoes off my feet in the dream. It was then brought to my attention that when in the presence of God, Moses had to remove his shoes so that he would not be separated from the holiness of God. (Our feet are not to be separated from holy or clean ground, meaning we are to walk in a place of holiness with God.) From what the Lord showed me, I know that this is why I felt led to take my shoes off as well, because I was entering into the holiness of God. The Lord also revealed to me that the students in this dream represented the students of His Word. As students of His Word, we will have many come against our walk with the Lord, but we have to hold fast the confession of our faith that it waver not and walk in spirit and in truth. No matter what the flesh tries to tell us, we have to lean not on our own understanding but just trust in the Lord. This life that we live is not our own, but it is Christ's to live in us; He is our hope of glory. When I didn't notice that I didn't have my shoes on, I believe that it signified walking in His holiness and in His rest; the flesh had been crucified. Thank you Jesus!   Walk Before Me in Fear and Trembling  Debbie Fenske 11/2/25 I would like to share this word that the Lord began speaking to me at 4:45 this morning. He actually woke me at 2:30, and I was in much prayer, for myself, doing much confessing before the Lord, and praying for all of my family, for our body here, and all our families, for David and Michael, and all of UBM, and for all the Elect of the Lord. Then I heard the Lord say, “I want to speak to you, My Beloved.” So, I quickly got out of bed and went and grabbed my notebook and pen. And the Lord began to continue speaking this. “I speak to you, My Beloved, the Elect of God whom I have drawn unto Myself. Yes, you who are My Elect, who I have drawn to Myself with My everlasting love. I say to you, who My eyes have beheld as My Bride from before the foundation of the world; let not this calling negate the fact that you must walk always before Me in fear and trembling. Though I have drawn you to Myself, and have allowed My grace to abound unto you, fear Me, My Bride. Walk before Me in holy fear, and be holy in all your ways, in all your manner of speech, all your days. It has long been the time that you have basked in Me through the love and truth of My Word that enables you to walk with Me, and in Me with a perfect heart. My Beloved, My Bride, I have poured out upon you the anointing of My Spirit, that you will shine forth My beauty, My glory, in all My truth. I have chosen you to be My glory upon this earth, as also many more whom I am perfecting. But you must remember to walk, to live in holiness before Me, in fear and trembling. Yes, My beloved ones, there is always this one condition, holiness, with total and complete surrender. Seek Me about this holy surrender. It is what My Bride must be; wholly surrendered unto Me in all things, understanding that I am your all in all, your Everything. I am your life, your breath, the Giver of TRUE life, sustaining you in all your ways. All the many ways known only in Me, your provider and your complete sustenance, and your righteousness. I will be opening doors before you, and you will enter. There will no longer be anything of this world holding you back. Only a walk of holy fear and trembling before Me will keep your garments shining brightly, reflecting to all your beauty, your anointing, reflecting the brightness, even the glory of My very presence, life, and character before the world. What will this do? It will draw all men unto Me. All whom I have called and ultimately chosen. Remember, “Fear and trembling.” This is your daily, your hourly, and your minute-by-minute assignment. Will you remember? For I will reveal My will to you in ways you have never considered. And I will certainly lead you down paths you have not yet walked. You will know it is I leading you. You will not doubt. For walking before Me with fear and trembling will cause you to know that, “This is the way. Walk ye in it.” It will require much self-denial, so much more than you have known. This is what a walk with fear and trembling before Me will do. And this is how My perfection will be seen in and through you, and will draw many unto Me, completing your part in bringing many into the Kingdom of Heaven. Rejoice that in all of these things I have chosen you. Rejoice in Me, My Bride, My holy companions, walking step-by-step with Me, in Me. Oh, rejoice, My Beloved! Again, I say rejoice! Let your rejoicing in Me lead you on. Even through all the times when you will not know what lies ahead, I will lead you on. Down every path, and every crooked turn, I will help you to say, “Yes, Lord!” After I finished writing this down, I wanted to see what my word for the day was. I was excited because I felt really compelled to look at it right then. It is always a chapter a day. I thought it was amazing and very timely, that when I opened it up, the chapter to read was Ruth Chapter 1. I took this as confirmation. Thank You, Father. I pray You let this word speak to our hearts and move us on in our walk in You with holy fear and trembling, and with knowledge and understanding of all things You would have us to let go of, thoughts we think, and things we do that will otherwise keep us from having a holy fear of You, Lord, and not allow Your glory to shine forth from us in Your fullness. We need Your help, Father. So help us, Lord. Lead us on! Amen!

MUSICThe Evolution festival is hitting pause on their event in 2026, only three years after is started in Forest Park. KSKD reports, it's reasoning due to several major events scheduled, including the United States' 250th birthday, the World Cup, and the Olympics taking place next year. https://www.ksdk.com/article/news/local/st-louis-evolution-festival-on-pause-for-2026/63-1b79edd2-5675-4646-b613-877de03274ec Not only will The Vans Warped Tour come to DC, Long Beach and Orlando next summer. it's going international with stops in Montreal and Mexico City. https://www.vanswarpedtour.com/RIP: Reggae music legend Jimmy Cliff, known for hits like “You Can Get It If You Really Want” and “I Can See Clearly Now”, has passed away at the age of 81. https://www.the-independent.com/arts-entertainment/music/news/jimmy-cliff-dead-age-cause-songs-reggae-b2871220.html TVNetflix will release tomorrow night volume one of Stranger Things season five. These four episodes become available at 8 Eastern, 5 Pacific.The Duffer Brothers, who created the iconic series, named four episodes to rewatch. These episodes reveal critical details and set the stage for the fifth and final season. Season 2, Episode 4: “Will the Wise” and Episode 6: “The Spy”Season 4, Episode 7: “Massacre at Hawkins Lab” and Episode 9: “Piggyback”If you have time to revisit just one episode, choose “Massacre at Hawkins Lab.” Volume One arrives in about 36 hours. Episodes of the four seasons totals 35 hours, if you're feeling ambitious. Volume 2 drops on Christmas Day and the two-hour series finale of Stranger Things will stream the evening of New Year's Eve and simultaneously in movie theaters. (The Hollywood Reporter) When to serve Thanksgiving dinner … Martha Stewart has spoken, and she says Thanksgiving dinner should officially be served at 2 p.m. She claims it keeps people from hovering in the kitchen all morning like starving vultures and helps the whole day flow better. You eat early, hang out, watch football, play games, and still have room for dessert later on. And if you get hungry again at night? Bring out the leftovers for Round Two. Who are we to argue with Martha?Retro gamer beer glass … The old school gaming company Atari just dropped something that's both nostalgic and completely unnecessary — a beer glass stamped with the retro 3D Atari logo. The glass holds 20 ounces, comes with a comfy handle — and isn't cheap. This thing clocks in at $35, which might be a high price for a beer glass, but a bargain when you consider all the memories formed playing Atari games back in the day.MOVING ON INTO MOVIE NEWS:Tara Reid says she was at a hotel outside of Chicago early Sunday morning when somebody slipped a drug in her drink. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cUgY5o27jt0 Scarlett Johansson is set to star in the next installment of The Exorcist from writer-director Mike Flanagan. https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-news/scarlett-johansson-exorcist-horror-movie-mike-flanagan-1236434673/#recipient_hashed=b92941641788d15805f03b377d572994d12bdade7478975c93d0143007f01373&recipient_salt=e829000bb0b218c27fbd0c12f4a38481876a8ab041cc990efde89259509b9611&utm_medium=email&utm_source=exacttarget&utm_campaign=Breaking%20News&utm_content=648608_11-24-2025&utm_term=56896?utm_medium=email&utm_source=exacttarget&utm_campaign=1764020721-Breaking+News&utm_content=648608_11-24-2025&utm_id=648608· It's been a big year for Jonathan Bailey. https://people.com/people-sexiest-man-alive-jonathan-bailey-highest-grossing-box-office-star-2025-11855685?taid=69248e272b51bd0001bd718f&utm_campaign=peoplemagazine&utm_content=new&utm_medium=social&utm_source=twitter.com AND FINALLY"Variety" put together a list of the 100 best comedy movies of all time. But they put "Airplane!" at #62, which may invalidate the entire list outright. https://variety.com/lists/best-comedy-movies-all-time/AND THAT IS YOUR CRAP ON CELEBRITIES!See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Matt Rogers from the Las Culturistas podcast joins Andy Richter to discuss their shared status as prom kings, growing up a “jock” in Long Island, maintaining personal integrity and voice in show business, and much more. Visit mattrogersofficial.com to see the "Matt Rogers: Christmas in December" tour in a city near you!Do you want to talk to Andy live on SiriusXM's Conan O'Brien Radio? Tell us your favorite dinner party story (about anything!) or ask a question - leave a voicemail at 855-266-2604 or fill out our Google Form at BIT.LY/CALLANDYRICHTER. Listen to "The Andy Richter Call-In Show" every Wednesday at 1pm Pacific on SiriusXM's Conan O'Brien Channel. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Who would've guessed that one of the world's best company cultures was hiding behind a can of WD-40? Of all the places to find a leadership masterclass, the blue-and-yellow can in your garage probably wasn't on your list - but it's time to put it there.Garry Ridge - an Australian who brought his charm and curiosity across the Pacific  - joined WD-40 Company in the late '80s and rose through the ranks, eventually serving as CEO for 25 years. But he didn't start out as the culture-building expert he's known as today. Early in his career, he lived by the old mantra: “be brilliant, be brief, be gone.” He had to unlearn that mindset and rebuild himself into a leader who centers people, learning, and belonging  - an evolution that reshaped WD-40 from the inside out. His new book, Any Dumb Ass Can Do It, captures that journey.In this episode, we break down how Garry built a company where people genuinely love coming to work  - even through recessions, pandemics, and all the external chaos leaders can't control. We dig into the systems and behaviors that fueled WD-40's rise, from psychological safety to accountability to building internal consistency no matter what the market is doing.Garry and I both believe that people deserve to love their work - even if they don't like it every single day. People want to feel seen, heard, and valued. And Garry is one of the rare leaders who knows exactly how to make that happen.This is A Bit of Optimism.---------------------------This episode is brought to you by the Porsche USA Macan---------------------------Check out Garry's new book.https://thelearningmoment.net/any-dumb-ass-can-do-it/And his coaching work with The Learning Movement. https://thelearningmoment.net/

The birth of Jesus changed history forever, yet it might not feel very personal in your heart. Let's be honest — it's easy for Advent to become white noise. Thankfully you can have a fresh experience with Jesus when you enter the story through the eyes of a "soul friend" like Mary, Elizabeth, or even one of the animals!Tune in for this episode of Soul Talks as Kristi and Briana talk about becoming enthralled with Jesus during Christmastime through Surprising Joy Advent cards. You'll be inspired to get intentional about prayerful meditation and conversation with loved ones this Advent as you experience the impact it has made and continues to make on their family today.Resources for this Episode:Surprising Joy: A Journey with Jesus for AdventAttend a Soul Shepherding RetreatDonate to Support Soul Shepherding and Soul TalksRead Elizabeth's Empathy Cured Mary's Shame*The Surprising Joy Advent cards will be 20% off along with all the books and resources in the Soul Shepherding shop. The sale starts on Black Friday (Nov. 28th at 12am Pacific) and lasts through Cyber Monday (Dec. 1st at 11:59pm Pacific).

This week Seth Paridon and Jon Parshall dig into the destruction of Force Z at the hands of the Imperial Japanese Navy's air arm. Sent as a deterrent to Japanese aggression in the area in December 1941 by Winston Churchill, Force Z was supposed to be the "big stick" of Royal Navy power in the Pacific. Comprised of HMS Prince of Wals and battlecruiser HMS Repulse, as well as four destroyers, the paltry battleship force under Adm Sir Thomas Phillips sortied from Singapore on December 8 to break up the Japanese invasion fleet headed for Malaya. What occurred after, is often cited as the demise of the battleship as the queen of the seas. In short order, the Japanese Betty's and Nell's, slinging torpedoes, eviscerated the two capital ships and altered the shape of the Malayan campaign. Tune in to hear this relatively unknown story. #wwiihistory #ww2 #usnavy #usa #usarmy #medalofhonor #enterprise #aircraft #aircraftcarrier #cv6 #midway #wwii #wwiihistory #ww2 #worldwar2 #usnavy #usnavyseals #usmc #usmarines #saipan #usa #usarmy #aircraft #aircraftcarrier #battleship #battleships #ussenterprise #aircraftcarriers #museum #essex #halsey #taskforce38 #wwii #wwiihistory #ww2 #usnavy #usa #usarmy #medalofhonor #enterprise #aircraft #aircraftcarrier #cv6 #midway #wwii #wwiihistory #ww2 #worldwar2 #usnavy #usnavyseals #usmc #usmarines #saipan #usa #usarmy #aircraft #aircraftcarrier #battleship #battleships #ussenterprise #aircraftcarriers #museum #hollywood #movie #movies #books #mastersoftheair #8thairforce #mightyeighth #100thbombgroup #bloodyhundredth #b17 #boeing #airforce wwii #wwiihistory #ww2 #usnavy #usa #usarmy #medalofhonor #enterprise #aircraft #aircraftcarrier #cv6 #midway #wwii #wwiihistory #ww2 #worldwar2 #usnavy #usnavyseals #usmc #usmarines #saipan #usa #usarmy #aircraft #aircraftcarrier #battleship #battleships #ussenterprise #aircraftcarriers #museum #hollywood #movie #movies #books #oldbreed #1stMarineDivision #thepacific #Peleliu #army #marines #marinecorps #worldwar2 #worldwar #worldwarii #leytegulf #battleofleytegulf #rodserling #twilightzone #liberation #blacksheep #power #prisoner #prisonerofwar #typhoon #hurricane #weather #iwojima#bullhalsey #ace #p47 #p38 #fighter #fighterpilot #b29 #strategicstudying #tokyo #boeing #incendiary #usa #franklin #okinawa #yamato #kamikaze #Q&A #questions #questionsandanswers #history #jaws #atomicbomb #nuclear #nationalarchives #nara #johnford #hollywood #fdr #president #roosevelt #doolittle #doolittleraid #pearlharborattack #salvaged #medalofhonor #tarawa #malayalam

Hello everyone, a big thanks to all of you who joined the patreon and voted for this to be the next episode, you all are awesome. This is a part 2 about Hirohito's responsibility during the wars of 1931-1945, so if you have not heard part 1, perhaps go do so, or maybe you just don't care about 1931-1940 and just want to hear about the 1941-1945 period, hell by all means enjoy.   So last time we kind of left it on a bit of a dramatic cliff hanger. I spoke about Emperor Hirohito's involvement in what was called at the time the “China Incident”. It was not an official declared war until December of 1941. We left off in 1940, Hirohito was struggling with a situation of juggling two things: 1) how the hell to finally end the China War 2) how to do it without receiving horrible ramifications from the international world. On July 22nd of 1940, Konoe was back and formed a second cabinet. Notably General Hideki Tojo went from vice to army Minister during this time. If you guys ever want a podcast on Hideki Tojo, let me know, he is one rather bizarre figure that's for sure. Konoe tackled his job by holding an imperial HQ government liaison conference. For 90 minutes everyone worked on a new national policy designed to exploit the international situation, IE: Germany bulldozing europe.  The result was a document on national policy dated July 27th. It shifted focus to the “southern area” IE: southeast asia and the Pacific if the China war did not end quickly. Its basis was to exploit the foreign nations that had their hands full in europe, France, Britain and the Netherlands. It called for an invasion of French Indochina to establish bases to launch assaults against the Dutch East Indies for natural resources if diplomatic means failed. It acknowledged if the Dutch East Indies were seized through military means, Japan would also seek to fight Britain, but not the US, instead Japan would prepare for a possible war with the Americans. To all of this Hirohito approved. The army also kept pressuring its desire to ally with Germany. Throughout 1939-1940 Hirohito rejected this idea, not because of any ideological differences, it was because of Germans anti aggression pact with the USSR. If Japan were to ally to Germany, Hirohito wanted it to be mutually to fight the USSR. The Navy likewise opposed allying to Germany because they believed it would force Britain and the US to increase their aid to Chiang Kai-shek.   However the Blitzkrieg changed everything. Everyone was shocked at how well Germany was doing. Prince Chichibu repeatedly argued with Hirohito to change his mind over the alliance idea. Then suddenly the Navy changed their mind and began favoring an alliance. This changed came about in June of 1940 when the France fell. The Navy changed their mind based on a few factors, a major component was the belief if Germany and the USSR were allied, than at least Japan would not have to worry about the USSR and could focus on the pacific. Both the IJA and the IJN believed Hitler would soon take Britain and thus there was a huge desire to join the new international order on the winning side. A third factor was a new clause in negotiations with Germany and Japan, that if they allied Japan would not automatically be drawn into a war with Britain against her will. Some in the navy also believed perhaps Germany could help their diplomatic situation with the Americans. So the army and navy were now both demanding an alliance with Germany, it was all up to hirohito.    At an imperial briefing on June 19th of 1940, Hirohito asked chief of staff Prince Kan'in and the Army Minister Hata “At a time when peace will soon come in the European situation, will there be a deployment of troops to the Netherlands Indies and French Indochina?” Such as question revealed Hirohito's perception at the time that Germany was on the verge of victory and that he was gradually considering the deployment of troops in French Indochina and the Dutch East Indies as neither parent nation were in a position to defend their holdings. In regards to the China war, the Japanese sought to end leaks of materials getting into China from places like Hong Kong. Hirohito received reports indicated Britain would not accept closing the movement of materials into China via Hong Kong. The military acknowledged it would probably be required to invade Hong Kong and thus declare war on Britain. Upon hearing of this Hirohito remarked “Should that happen, I am sure America will use the method of an embargo, don't you agree?” To this his lord of the privy seal, Kido reassured him stating “the nation must be fully resolved to resist to proceed cautiously and not to be dragged into events precipitated by the overseas agencies”. Konoe's second cabinet resolved to end the China war, construct a new order in greater east asia and to complete war preparations as a national defense state. On July 27th at a liaison conference a document was adopted, affirming a course of advancing to the south and to ally with Germany. Japan would incorporate the Dutch East Indies, British Malaya and other resource rich areas of Southeast Asia into its new order while simultaneously bolstering its relationship with the Axis states. After hearing and reading everything, Hirohito sanctioned it all. Thus Hirohito had sanctioned the preliminary actions that would set Japan into a collision course with the US.   In September Japan began sending troops into northern French Indochina after concluding its Tripartite alliance with Germany and Italy. Now Hirohito was briefed beforehand by Army Minister Tojo and other chiefs of staff about securing bases in northern French indochina. Hirohito agreed to this under the belief acquiring such bases would stop more leaked materials going into China and thus contribute to the fall of Chongqing. But Hirohito also sanctioned it under the full knowledge it was preparing the Nanshin-ron advance and that carried a risk of going to war with Britain and by proxy the US. Naturally he wanted to thwart any war breaking out with the US by it seems his officials had convinced him they could manage most of their plans without aggravating the US.   On July 29th with the German offensive aimed at finishing off Britain, Hirohito summoned his chiefs and vice chiefs of staff to the imperial HQ. He began to question the prospects of war with the US. Prince Fushimi replied “[u]nless we complete our domestic preparations, particularly the preparation of our material resources, I do not think we should lightly start war even if there is a good opportunity to do so.” Hirohito then asked if  “the Army were planning to occupy points in India, Australia, and New Zealand.” But overall Hirohito seemed to be the most concerned about the US, Germany and the USSR. “Could Japan, obtain a victory in a naval battle with the United States as we once did in the Battle of the Japan Sea? . . . I heard that the United States will ban exports of oil and scrap iron [to Japan]. We can probably obtain oil from other sources, but don't you think we will have a problem with scrap iron?” In regards to the USSR “If a Japan-Soviet nonaggression treaty is made and we advance to the south, the navy will become the main actor. Has the army given thought to reducing the size of its forces in that case? . . . How do you assess the future national power of Germany? . . . Both Germany and the Soviet Union are untrustworthy countries. Don't you think there will be a problem if one of them betrays us and takes advantage of our exhaustion fighting the United States?I]t seems as though you people are thinking of implementing this plan by force because there is a good opportunity at this moment for resolving the southern problem even though some dangers are involved. . . . What does a good opportunity mean? [To this question Sawada replied: “For example, if a German landing in England commences.”] In that case wouldn't the United States move to aid Britain? . . . Well, I've heard enough. I take it, in short, that you people are trying to resolve the southern problem by availing yourselves of today's good opportunities.”   You can tell Hirohito understood the very real threat of an Anglo-American alliance and was very cautious. It seemed to Hirohito, that his officials were trying to take the limelight off the abysmal situation in China but emphasizing a southern advance. Well Americans response to the Japanese movement into northern French indochina was to see it as a direct threat. Something I have not paid much attention to was Hirohito's decision making being the direct result of trying to mediate between competing entities, ie: the IJA and IJN. At this point in time the IJA and IJN top officials had the power to simply stop governmental functions from occurring altogether whenever they were displeased with a decision. As you can imagine the IJA and IJN were also competing for resources and political power. Thus Hirohito spent a lot of time and effort trying to formulate decisions that at a minimum kept the governance going.    In the end Hirohito sanctioned Imperial HQ army order number 458, ordering the area army to begin the entry into French Indochina. Thus once again Hirohito sanctioned aggression aboard. America began what it called a “moral embargo” on aircraft parts, scrap iron and aviation gasoline. This was one of many gradual steps America took to incrementally sanction Japan, while aiding China to keep it bogged down. Japan's direct response was joining the Axis with a clause “to assist one another with all political, economic and military means if attacked by a power at present not involved in the European War or in the Sino-Japanese conflict”. This clause was designed specifically to check Britain and the US. Hirohito knew this was a turning point carrying the possibility of war with the US. Later he would blame some officials and even his brothers Chichibu and Takamatsu, but not his own actions sanctioning the Axis pact.    Speaking of his brothers, at this time Chichibu got severely ill with tuberculosis and as a result retired from active public life, now Prince Takamatsu stood as next regent. Thus Takamatsu would begin reading reports and advise Hirohito. Takamatsu like Chichibu approved the Tripartite Pact and found his brother Hirohito's performance lacking. Meanwhile Britain responded to the Tripartite pact by opening up the Burma road and America made a loan to Chiang Kai-shek.   The Soviets came to Japan for a neutrality pact and sweetened the deal by offering Soviet coal and oil concessions in North Sakhalin. Hirohito ratified the treaty on April 25th of 1941. 5 weeks later on June 5th, the Japanese ambassador to Berlin, General Oshima Hiroshi reported to Hirohito and the high command that Hitler was about to invade the Soviets. The Army high command sprang into action drafting plans to open a war with the Soviets while simultaneously advancing south into French Indochina. But many in the military also sought to wait until the time was ripe, and a rift emerged. Operation barbarossa commenced and on June 23rd the IJN high command gave their opinion that Japan should seize all military bases and airfields in southern French Indochina even at the risk of war with Britain and America. Can you say boy that escalated quickly?   There was obvious temptation to invade Siberia towards Lake Baikal, but at the same time the western powers were tightening sanctions on Japan, she needed resources. At this point Japan had been stuck in China for 4 years and 5 months, the army had expanded from 17 divisions totalling 250,000 men in july of 1937 to 51 divisions at 2.1 million men in December 8th of 1941. On July 2nd, 10 tens into Operation barbarossa, Konoe summoned an imperial conference to debate actions going forward. The consensus was that southern French Indochina needed to be taken and that it probably would not provoke the US going to war with Japan. Hirohito sanctioned it and on July 30th made a major operational intervention by advising General Sugiyama to build up forces in Manchukuo to prevent the Soviet Far Eastern Army.   Japan negotiated with Vichy France to allow Japanese troops to occupy southern parts of French Indochina. What was to be originally just 40,000 IJA forces turned into 185,000 and in response America increased sanctions and began preparing the Philippines for war. Roosevelt froze Japanese assets in the US on July 26th and by August the 1st a total embargo of oil and gasoline exports to Japan. Konoe's cabinet, the military high command, pretty much everyone was shocked by how harsh the economic sanctions were. Emperor Hirohito told Sugiyama to halt mobilizing forces in Manchukuo and the army basically dropped all plans of attacking the USSR. A month after the US oil embargo suddenly the army had changed its mind to go all in on the southern advance. Britain likewise began sanctions against Japan and both Britain and the US managed to convince the Dutch to follow suit by refusing to sell oil to Japan. The Dutch even took it a step further and followed Americans lead in freezing Japanese assets.    Konoe was in full panic mode, be believed his ambassador to washington was a moron and sought to go in person to speak to Roosevelt. At 11:40am on August 4th Konoe spoke to Hirohito about the plan, but Washington kept making up excuses prolonging any meeting from taking place. Meanwhile Washington was building up its navy, and the IJN were stressing, in the words of Admiral Takagai “As time passes and this situation continues, our empire will either be totally defeated or forced to fight a hopeless war. Therefore we should pursue war and diplomacy together. If there is no prospect of securing our final line of national survival by diplomatic negotiations, we must be resolved to fight.” Hirohito understood the predicament full well, that each day Japan was wasting its oil reserves, if they were to strike it had to be quickly.    On september 3rd at a liaison conference it was decided Japan was to prepare for a war against the US, UK and Netherlands while simultaneously pursuing diplomacy. If diplomacy failed by early October the decision for war would be made. Konoe presented everything to Hirohito on September 5th and requested an imperial conference on the matter. The most important decision of his life was about to be made.    Now take a second to feel the moment. Germany's invasion of the USSR was in its 6th week and not producing a decisive victory; Britain was still in the fight and the Japanese ambassador to London reported back Britain would allow Japan to maintain its great power status and exert influence in asia if they stayed out of the European War and “re-examined their current policy”. An olive branch. Hirohito had options is what I am arguing. He could stale things, he could mobilize units into Manchukuo to simply threaten the Soviet border, he could simply stay out of new wars, even it the China war would get worse, but try to profit from the situation in Europe. He could stop the southern advance, lose the chance to seize the resource in southeast asia, but perhaps the US, UK and Netherlands would lift some sanctions.   After speaking back and forth with Konoe while scolding Sugiyama here is a bit of their conversation:    Emperor: In the event we must finally open hostilities, will our operations have a probability of victory?  Sugiyama: Yes, they will.  Emperor: At the time of the China Incident, the army told me that we could achieve peace immediately after dealing them one blow with three divisions. Sugiyama, you were army minister at that time. . . .  Sugiyama: China is a vast area with many ways in and many ways out, and we met unexpectedly big difficulties. . . . [ellipses in original]  Emperor: Didn't I caution you each time about those matters? Sugiyama, are you lying to me? Nagano: If Your Majesty will grant me permission, I would like to make a statement.  Emperor: Go ahead.  Nagano: There is no 100 percent probability of victory for the troops stationed there. . . . Sun Tzu says that in war between states of similar strength, it is very difficult to calculate victory. Assume, however, there is a sick person and we leave him alone; he will definitely die. But if the doctor's diagnosis offers a seventy percent chance of survival, provided the patient is operated on, then don't you think one must try surgery? And if, after the surgery, the patient dies, one must say that was meant to be. This indeed is the situation we face today. . . . If we waste time, let the days pass, and are forced to fight after it it is too late to fight, then we won't be able to do a thing about it.  Emperor: All right, I understand. [He answered in a better mood.]  Konoe: Shall I make changes in tomorrow's agenda? How would you like me to go about it? Emperor: There is no need to change anything.   There is no need to change anything. Konoe grabbed Hirohito for a private audience afterwards and tried to get Hirohito to revise the outline, but Hirohito ignored this. Hirohito at that point could have stopped or at least slowed down the countdown to all out war. Hirohito instead did not want to displease the pro-war factions in his military, perhaps he saw them as a threat to his authority. Hirohito was not at all pleased with the policy plan. When he was shown in on september 5th, he looked extremely irritated and blew up on Sugiyama and the army high command as a whole. 20 minutes before the Imperial conference on September 6th, Hirohito spoke with his lord of the privy Kido and told him he was going to raise some questions at the meeting. Kido told him that it would be best to leave the questions at the very end, basically he was advising to allow for things to go through. Thus Hirohito sat through the meeting and sanction the preparations for war. Here is a conversation between Hirohito and the Chiefs of the general staff:   Emperor: You may go ahead and mobilize. But if the Konoe-Roosevelt talks go well, you'll stop, won't you?  Chief of the General Staff: Indeed, your majesty, we will.  Emperor: I will ask you one more time: Is there any possibility that the north [that is, the Soviet Union] may move against us while we are engaged in the south [emphasis added]?  Chief of the General Staff: I cannot say that will absolutely not occur. However, because of the season it is inconceivable that large forces will be able to attack us   Meanwhile Konoe's deadline to reach a diplomatic resolution with the US was fast approaching. On October 13th Hirohito told Kido “In the present situation there seems to be little hope for the Japan–U.S. negotiations. If hostilities erupt this time, I think I may have to issue a declaration of war.” The next day Konoe held his last cabinet meeting and Army minister Tojo took the lionshare of talking:   For the past six months, ever since April, the foreign minister has made painstaking efforts to adjust relations [with the United States.] Although I respect him for that, we remain deadlocked. . . . Our decision was “to start the war . . . if by early October we cannot thoroughly achieve our demands through negotiations.” Today is the fourteenth. . . . We are mobilizing hundreds of thousands of soldiers. Others are being moved from China and Manchuria, and we have requisitioned two million tons of ships, causing difficulties for many people. As I speak ships are en route to their destinations. I would not mind stopping them, and indeed would have to stop them, if there was a way for a diplomatic breakthrough. . . . The heart of the matter is the [imposition on us of] withdrawal [from Indochina and China]. ...If we yield to America's demands, it will destroy the fruits of the China Incident. Manchukuo will be endangered and our control of Korea undermined   And so Konoe resigned two days later, but before he did his last official action was to recommend Prince Higashikuni to succeed him, in fact he got Tojo to do the same. Prince Higashikuni was deemed capable of controlling both the Army and Navy. And what did Hirohito say to this? He said no, and appointed Hideki Tojo. Why? As going back to the beginning of this series, to protect the Kokutai. He did not want a member of the royal family to hold the seat as Prime Minister during a time when war might be declared, a war that Japan might lose, which would toss the responsibility onto the imperial house. It was a threat to the Kokutai. Hirohito chose Tojo because Tojo was 100% loyal subject to the emperor. Tojo was the perfect fall guy if one ever existed.    Between November 8-15th, Hirohito received a full rundown of the Pearl Harbor surprise attack plan and sanctioned it. The deadline to reach a diplomatic solution with the US was set for midnight December 1st.    Hirohito ever since the Mukden Incident had expressed fear that not taking warlike actions, not pumping up the kokutai or not suppressing dissent would jeopardize the imperial system of government and damage the imperial institution itself. For Hirohito domestic conflicts were more dangerous than external ones, because they carried the risk of eroding the monarchy. As the time approached for his finally decision on declaring war, Hirohito requested a last round of discussion. The carriers enroute to Pearl harbor departed on november 27th, while on December 1st, 19 leaders, the entire Tojo cabinet and Emperor met. Tojo pulled a rather cheeky maneuver, he reported the response from America, the famous Hull note by stating “the United States . . . has demanded that we withdraw troops from all of China [emphasis added],” but in fact, Hull had used only the word “China.” Hara asked “I would like to know,whether Manchukuo is included in the term ‘China'? Did our two ambassadors confirm this point?” Togo's reply to this was “However . . . the American proposal [early in the negotiations on] April 16 stated that they would recognize the state of Manchukuo, so Manchukuo would not be part of China. . . . On the other hand . . . there has been a change in their position . . . they look upon Chungking as the one and only legitimate regime, and . . . they want to destroy the Nanking regime, [so] they may retract what they have said previously” A nonsensical gibberish answer, intentionally done to make everyone think America did in fact include Manchukuo, thus forcing everyone to see the demands as impossible to comply with. Togo finished the meeting : “Once His Majesty decides to commence hostilities, we will all strive to meet our obligations to him, bring the government and the military ever closer together, resolve that the nation united will go on to victory, make an all-out effort to achieve our war aims, and set his majesty's mind at ease. I now adjourn the meeting.” Hirohito simply nodded. Sugiyama remarked that the emperor did not show the slightest sign of anxiety, in fact he looked like he was in a good mood.   Hirohito's naval aid Jo Eiichiro wrote minutes on the first day of the pacific war, recording the emperors actions. 4 A.M. (Japan time): Japan issued a final ultimatum to the United States. 3:30 A.M.: the Hawaiian surprise attack was successful. 5:30 A.M.: Singapore bombed. Great results. Air attacks on Davao, Guam, Wake. 7:10 A.M.: All the above was reported to the emperor. The American gunboat Wake was captured on the Shanghai front. The British gunboat Petrel was sunk. From 7:15 to 7:30 the chief of the Navy General Staff reported on the war situation. At 7:30 the prime minister informally reported to the emperor on the imperial rescript declaring war. (Cabinet meeting from 7 A.M.). At 7:35 the chief of the Army General Staff reported on the war situation. At 10:45 the emperor attended an emergency meeting of the privy council. At 11:00 A.M. the imperial rescript declaring war was promulgated. 11:40 A.M. Hirohito conferred with Kido for about twenty minutes.] At 2:00 P.M. the emperor summoned the army and navy ministers and bestowed an imperial rescript on them. The army minister, representing both services, replied to the emperor. [At 3:05 P.M. the emperor had a second meeting with Kido, lasting for about twenty minutes.] At 4:30 P.M. the chiefs of staff formally reported on the draft of the Tripartite (Germany-Italy-Japan) Military Pact. At 8:30 P.M. the chief of the Navy General Staff reported on the achievements of the Hawaii air attack. . . . Throughout the day the emperor wore his naval uniform and seemed to be in a splendid mood.   Hirohito believed Germany would win, thus if with their help he believed Japan could thwart off the US until a negotiated peace. Having made his choice, Hirohito devoted himself to presiding over and guiding the war to victory at all costs. He was a extremely cautious person, every single campaign he looked for what could go wrong, made worse case scenario predictions and was very suspicious of reports from his high officials. He was notably very harsh and critical on said high commanders. Although he did not visit the war theaters as did other commanders in chief, he exercised and controlled influence on theater operations, both in the planning and execution whenever he chose to do so. As was the same case with the China war before it, he issued the highest military orders of the Imperial HQ, performed audited conferences and led to decisions transmitted in his name. He received generals and admirals to the imperial palace who gave full reports of the battlefront. He visited bases, battleships, various army and naval headquarters. He inspected military schools, you know the full shebang.    After 26 months of war, the naval air force had lost 26,006 aircraft, nearly a third of its total power, thousands of veteran pilots were dead. Hundreds of thousands of tons of warship was sunk, the merchant and transport fleet was crippled. Late 1943 saw the Americans turning the initiative of the war, Japan was on the defensive. Guadalcanal had been the major turning point. During the staled battle for the philippines, Hirohito pressed upon Army chief of staff Sugiyama to increase troop strength to knock out Bataan. The problem persisted, on February 9th and 26th Hirohito pressed Sugiyama again about getting more troops to take Bataan.   Hirohito was confronted with the prisoner of war issue after the doolittle raid. When the pilots were caught, Togo initially opposed executions, but many in the IJA sought all 8 men executed. Hirohito chose to intervene and commuted the execution of 5 out of the 8. Why just 5, no one knows to this day, but its theorized it was to demonstrate his benevolence while simultaneously giving a bit of what the army wanted.    The CBI theater took the lionshare of his attention in 1942, he continuously pressed up Sugiyama when a final blow would be delivered against Chongqing. When the Midway disaster occurred, Hirohito was given a full report of what happened, but he chose to hid the extent of the loss from the IJA. In fact in response to the Guadalcanal campaign he was heard once asking “I wonder if this is not the start of the AmericanBritish counteroffensive?” He urged his commanders to increase offensive activities and to toss all weapons possible at the enemy, because Japan needed more time to secure its reserves of vital oil, rubber and iron. When he heard the first report of the Ichiki detachment being wiped out, he simply stated “I am sure it [Guadalcanal] can be held.” With numerous reports pouring in about the men dying from tropical disease and starvation, Hirohito kept demanding greater efforts from them. Hirohito continuously applied pressure on his naval and land commanders to recapture the island. On September 15th, November 5th and November 11th he called for more IJA troops and aircraft to be allocated to it. Sugiyama was nervous about sending more IJA pilots as they were inexperienced in transoceanic combat and he sought to reinforce the north china army to hit Chongqing. Hirohito demanded it a second time and Sugiyama replied the IJA had deployed its air power instead to New Guinea and Rabaul. Hirohito continuously hammered the issue despite the high level commanders disagreeing with it. By late november it was clear guadalcanal was a lost cause.    At an imperial HQ conference on December 31st of 1942, the chiefs of staff reported they would cancel the attempts to recapture guadalcanal. Hirohito sanctioned it but stated “It is unacceptable to just give up on capturing Guadalcanal. We must launch an offensive elsewhere.” Hirohito forced the issue and it was decided the new strategic points would be in the solomons north of New Georgia and the Stanley range on New Guinea. Hirohito in fact threatened not to authorize the withdrawal of men from Guadalcanal until such a plan was made. Hirohito would go on to oppose the withdrawal from the Munda airfield on New Georgia since it contradicted the new defensive line. As the defensive perimeter in the central and northern solomons was crumbling, Hirohito continued to demand the navy fight decisive battles to regain the initiative so ships could begin transports supplies to the countless soldiers trapped on islands without them. When Hirohito heard of the navy's failure to reinforce Lae on March 3rd he stated  “Then why didn't you change plans immediately and land at Madan? This is a failure, but it can teach us a good lesson and become a source of future success. Do this for me so I can have peace of mind for awhile.” “Do this for me” would become his signature message.    In August of 1943 as the fall of the solomons progressed, Hirohito lambasted “Isn't there someplace where we can strike the United States? . . . When and where on earth are you [people] ever going to put up a good fight? And when are you ever going to fight a decisive battle?Well, this time, after suffering all these defeats, why don't you study how not to let the Americans keep saying ‘We won! We won!'[emphasis added]”” Hirohito berated his chiefs of staff and in the face of mounting defeats he remained undismayed, rigidly self disciplined and aggressive as ever. When he received a report on September 21st of 1943 that the allies were heading for Finschhafen he replied “Being ready to defend isn't enough. We have to do the attacking.”   When the Americans destroyed the main naval anchorage at Truk forcing the navy to evacuate it, leaving behind numerous tanks, the dream of fighting one great decisive naval battle in the central pacific was over.    On February 21st of 1944, Hirohito took the unprecedented action to force Sugiyama to resign so Tojo could assume his position, alongside that of army minister and prime minister. He did this to end dissent. Hirohito and Tojo oversaw the haymaker attempts in 1944, like operation Ichi-go and the Imphal campaign fall into ruins. It looked like the Philippines, Taiwan, Okinawa, the Bonin islands and eventually the home islands would be invaded. When Saipan fell, the home islands had at last come into range of the dreaded B-29 Super flying fortresses. Hirohito had warned Tojo “If we ever lose Saipan, repeated air attacks on Tokyo will follow. No matter what it takes, we have to hold there.” For two days his chiefs of staff explained the dire situation on Saipan was hopeless, but Hirohito ignored their advice and ordered Admiral Shimada to recapture it, the first department of the navy general staff immediately poured themselves into the problem. Day and night they worked, until a draft plan was created on June 21st, 3 days later the combined fleet gave opposition. Tojo and Shimada formally reported to Hirohito the recapture plan needed to be canceled. Hirohito refused to accept the loss of Saipan and ordered his chief aide General Hasunuma to convene in his presence the board of field marshals and fleet admirals. They all met on the 25th, upon which they all unanimously stated the reports indicating Saipan was a lost cause were valid, Hirohito simply told them to put it in writing and he left the room.    Hirohito finally decided to withdraw his support of Tojo, allowing Tojo's numerous enemies to take down his cabinet on July 18th 1944. But Hirohito was undaunted in determination to steal victory from the allies. Imperial HQ on October 18th ordered a decisive naval battle and the battle of Leyte Gulf was it. After the war Hirohito would go on the record stating “Contrary to the views of the Army and Navy General Staffs, I agreed to the showdown battle of Leyte thinking that if we attacked at Leyte and America flinched, then we would probably be able to find room to negotiate.” This statement shows the facts as they were, Hirohito and his chiefs of staff forced the field commander, General Tomoyuki Yamashita to engage the American invasion force in a place Yamashita did not want to fight nor prepared adequate defenses. It was a horrible loss.   The Kamikaze attacks increased as Japan's desperation wore on. On new years day of 1945 Hirohito inspected the special last meal rations given to departing kamikaze units. Iwo Jima fell. Okinawa remained, and Hirohito lashed out “Is it because we failed to sink enemy transports that we've let the enemy get ashore? Isn't there any way to defend Okinawa from the landing enemy forces?”  On the second day of Okinawa's invasion Hirohito ordered a counter landing by the 32nd army and urged the navy to counterattack in every way possible. It was a horrible failure, it cost the lives of up to 120,000 Japanese combatants, 170,000 noncombatants. The Americans lost 12,500 killed and 33,000 wounded. An absolute bloodbath.    Konoe re-entered the stage writing to Hirohito pleading with him to order a surrender because from his perspective “The Soviet Union is Japan's biggest threat. Defeat was inevitable, but more to be feared than defeat was the destruction of the Kokutai. Sue quickly for peace, before a Communist revolution occurred that would make preservation of the kokutai impossible”. Hirohito was taken aback by this, as he shared his military's hope that the Soviets would help Japan reach a peace settlement. So he rejected the advice of Konoe. Hirohito remarked “If we hold out long enough in this war, we may be able to win, but what worries me is whether the nation will be able to endure it until then.” Then Japan's intelligence units reported the Soviets were going to break the neutrality pact and join the war once the Germans were done. Meanwhile Tokyo was turned to rubble on March 9th 1945 by 334 B-29's dropping firebombs, 40% of the capital was destroyed, up to 100,000 were dead. Hirohito remained undaunted. 60 Japanese cities were leveled by firebomb campaigns. Europe's war finished. Then the battle for Okinawa was lost, suddenly Hirohito began looking for ways to end the war.   On June 22nd Hirohito personally informed the supreme war leadership council his desire to see diplomatic maneuvers to end the war. A special envoy was sent to Moscow, while Hirohito publicly issued an imperial rescript ordering the nation “to smash the inordinate ambitions of the enemy nations and achieve the goals of the war”. B-29's began dropping leaflets with joint declarations issued by the US, UK and China requesting the citizens of Japan demand their government surrender. Prefectural governors, police chiefs and officers began submitting home ministry reports on the rapid deterioration of the nations spirit.   Germany signed the unconditional surrender documents on May 7th and 8th of 1945, Japan was alone. Newly installed President Truman declared on May 8th, Japan's surrender would not mean the extermination or enslavement of the Japanese people, but the unconditional surrender principles remained unaltered. The Japanese meanwhile were awaiting word from the Soviets. The Americans unleashed their first atomic bomb on Hiroshima on August 6th of 1945 killing up to 140,000 people. Then on August 8th the Soviet Union declared war on Japan and began an invasion of Manchuria. On August 9th the second atomic bomb hit Nagasaki killing around 40,000 people.   Thus began the surrender clock as I like to say. After the first atomic bomb, Hirohito said and did nothing about the surrender terms. Hirohito then authorized Togo to notify the world on August 10th that Japan would accept the allied terms of surrender with one condition “that the said declaration does not comprise any demand which prejudices the prerogatives of His Majesty as a Sovereign Ruler.” The next day, Secretary of State Byrnes replied by alluding to the subordination of the emperors authority to the supreme commander of the allied powers. It was ambiguous as hell. The Japanese leaders erupted into arguments, and on August 14th, Hirohito went before a microphone and recorded his capitulation announcement which aired on August 15th to all in Japan, they surrendered. Why did it take so long?   The peace talks between the Japanese and Soviets went on through June, July and early August. Japan offered the Soviets limited territorial concessions and they refused to accept the envoy on July 22nd because the Japanese were being too ambiguous in their terms. There was continuous back and forth between the intelligence of Moscow and Japan trying to figure out the stance of the other, but then Stalin heard about the atomic bombing of Hiroshima, he was shocked and ordered an invasion of Manchuria in response. In the meantime the Japanese were tossing all sorts of concessions at Moscow, they stated they would allow Japanese to be used as forced laborers in Siberia, a form of reparation as it were, that they would demobilize the military and so on. The response was the invasion of Manchuria.    Hirohito knew prior to the bombing of Hiroshima that the cabinet was divided on accepting the Potsdam terms. Hirohito also knew he and he alone could unify governmental affairs and military command. Why then did he wait until the evening of August 9th to surrender?   The reality of the matter is its complicated, numerous variables at play, but let me try to pick at it. The people of japan under the firebomb campaigns were becoming hostile towards the military, the government and many began to criticize the emperor. Hirohito was given reports from the Home Ministry from governors and police chiefs all over Japan revealing people were speaking of the emperor as an incompetent leader who was responsible for worsening the war situation. Does that sound like a threat to the Kokutai? People were starving en masse, the atomic bomb is flashy, but what really was killing the Japanese, it was starvation. The home islands were blockaded and the sea approaches mined as pertaining to the optimally named “operation starvation”. Hirohito knew full well how bad his people were suffering but he did not surrender for so long.   After Hiroshima was bombed, Hirohito delayed for 2 days before telling Kido at 10am on August 9th “quickly control the situation, the Soviet Union has declared war and today began hostilities against us”. Now here is a piece of Hirohito's surrender proclamation to the citizens of Japan    “Moreover, the enemy has begun to employ a new and most cruel bomb, the power of which to do damage is, indeed, incalculable, taking the toll of many innocent lives. Should we continue to fight, not only would it result in an ultimate collapse and obliteration of the Japanese nation, but also it would lead to the total extinction of human civilization. Such being the case, how are We to save the millions of Our subjects, or to atone Ourselves before the hallowed spirits of Our Imperial Ancestors? This is the reason why We have ordered the acceptance of the provisions of the Joint Declaration of the Powers... The hardships and sufferings to which Our nation is to be subjected hereafter will be certainly great. We are keenly aware of the inmost feelings of all of you, Our subjects. However, it is according to the dictates of time and fate that We have resolved to pave the way for a grand peace for all the generations to come by enduring the unendurable and suffering what is unsufferable ”.   Hirohito wanted to obfuscate the issue of accountability, to prevent expressions of strife and anger and to strengthen domestic unity around himself, to protect and raise the kokutai. Did you know there was a rescript of this proclamation that was made to the entire IJA and IJN? Yes Emperor Hirohito gave out two different proclamations for surrender, here is what the armed forces heard.   “ Now that the Soviet Union has entered the war against us, to continue . . . under the present conditions at home and abroad would only recklessly incur even more damage to ourselves and result in endangering the very foundation of the empire's existence. Therefore, even though enormous fighting spirit still exists in the Imperial Navy and Army, I am going to make peace with the United States, Britain, and the Soviet Union, as well as with Chungking, in order to maintain our glorious national polity”.   The proclamation does not speak of the atomic weapons, but emphasizes the Soviet invasion of Manchuria. Hirohito was presented as a benevolent sage and an apolitical ruler that had ended the war. Hirohito sought to justify the surrender upon the bombs to the public, but did he believe so, did his armed forces believe so? People debate to this day why the surrender occurred, I love the fact there are two message offered because both are true. Hirohito's decision to surrender was based on numerous variables, the atomic bombs, the invasion of Manchuria by the soviets, but above all else, what really was important to the man, the emperor, the god? The kokutai. The Soviets were more of a threat to the kokutai, thus Hirohito jumped into the arms of the Americans. The language between the Americans and Japanese in the communications for unconditional surrender were ambiguous, but Hirohito and the high commanders knew there was zero chance of the kokutai surviving if the Soviets invaded Japan, perhaps the Americans would allow it to continue, which is just what they ended up doing. The entire purpose of this series would to emphasize how Hirohito definitely had a active role in the war of 1931-1945, he had numerous occasions where he could put the hammer down to stop the situation from escalating. But in the end when his back was against the wall, he did what he did to cling on to the Kokutai.   I shall leave you with this. On August 12th, as Hirohito came to inform the imperial family of his decision to surrender, Prince Asaka asked him whether the war would continue if the Kokutai could not be preserved, what do you think he said? “Of Course”. 

In this special memorial episode of the Arete Coach Podcast, host Severin Sorensen honors the extraordinary life and influence of Larry Cassidy—Marine Corps officer, corporate leader, Vistage Master Chair, mentor, and friend. Drawing from multiple past interviews, Sorensen reconstructs Larry's story, weaving together personal history, powerful coaching moments, signature questions, and original tribute songs written in Larry's honor. Born in 1937 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, Larry excelled academically and showed an early aptitude for public speaking. He later served as a Marine Corps Lieutenant and Captain, leading Marines in the Pacific region with discipline, courage, and “bark on the wood” truthfulness—a philosophy that shaped his entire coaching career. After a distinguished corporate career at General Mills, Quaker Oats, and Wilson Sporting Goods, Larry became a Vistage/TEC Chair in 1987. Over 38 years he earned numerous Vistage awards—including the Robert Nourse Chair of the Year Award and multiple Master Chair Awards—and became one of the most respected leaders in the Vistage global community. Sorensen pays tribute to his friend through archival dialogue, reflective commentary, and two original songs: “Bark on the Wood – The Unvarnished Truth” and “He Learned to Listen to Understand.” Larry discovered his true calling—guiding leaders through curiosity-driven, truth-seeking, deeply human conversations. He built a reputation for: piercing, soul-searching questionsempathetic listeningcourageous truth-telling (“with the bark on”)community-building (“The Romper Room” chair gatherings)and an unwavering belief in each leader's potential The Arete Coach Podcast continues to explore the art and science of executive coaching at the highest levels. You can find more about this podcast at aretecoach.io. This episode was recorded on the 23rd day of November, 2025. Portions were previously recorded on January 4th, 2021, December 22nd, 2022, and December 12th, 2024, Copyright © 2025 by Arete Coach™ LLC. All rights reserved.