Podcasts about philippine islands

Mark Sutherland discusses the historical context and ongoing relevance of eugenics and population control, as explored in his book "Exterminating Poverty". Sutherland details his grandfather, Dr. Halliday Sutherland's, true motivations for opposing "Britain's Margaret Sanger" Marie Stopes, arguing that it was not due to his Catholicism but his stand against Stopes' eugenics and Neo-Malthusianism. The conversation also explores how eugenics has been rebranded and persists today. Watch on BitChute / Brighteon / Rumble / Substack / YouTube Geopolitics & Empire · Mark Sutherland: Eugenics & Population Control in 1920s Britain & Today #560 *Support Geopolitics & Empire! Become a Member https://geopoliticsandempire.substack.com Donate https://geopoliticsandempire.com/donations Consult https://geopoliticsandempire.com/consultation **Visit Our Affiliates & Sponsors! Above Phone https://abovephone.com/?above=geopolitics easyDNS (15% off with GEOPOLITICS) https://easydns.com Escape Technocracy course (15% off with GEOPOLITICS) https://escapethetechnocracy.com/geopolitics PassVult https://passvult.com Sociatates Civis (CitizenHR, CitizenIT, CitizenPL) https://societates-civis.com Wise Wolf Gold https://www.wolfpack.gold/?ref=geopolitics Websites Exterminating Poverty https://exterminatingpovertybook.com Halliday Sutherland https://hallidaysutherland.com Substack https://markhallidaysutherland.substack.com About Mark Sutherland Mark Sutherland is a facilitator and executive coach who lives with his wife and son in Sydney. A graduate of the Australian Graduate School of Management, he has worked in banking, financial services and investment in Britain and Australia. Mark was born in Singapore and spent his childhood in Brunei, HongKong, Malaysia, the Philippine Islands and Yorkshire. He served in One Squadron Honourable Artillery Company in the 1980s. Mark's articles have been published in the Catholic World Report, One Peter Five, and Mercatornet websites. He curates and writes articles for hallidaysutherland.com a website celebrating the life and work of Dr Halliday Sutherland. Exterminating Poverty is his first book. *Podcast intro music is from the song "The Queens Jig" by "Musicke & Mirth" from their album "Music for Two Lyra Viols": http://musicke-mirth.de/en/recordings.html (available on iTunes or Amazon)

In our conversation about The Battle of Manila (Oxford University Press, 2025), Nicholas Evan Sarantakes explains how U.S. forces under General Douglas MacArthur won a climactic battle in the Pacific during World War II, but at a terrible cost. In 1945 the United States and Japan fought the largest and most devastating land battle of their war in the Pacific, a month-long struggle for the city of Manila. The only urban fighting in the Pacific theater, the Battle of Manila was the third-bloodiest battle of World War II, behind Leningrad and Berlin. It was a key piece of the campaign to retake control of the Philippine Islands, which itself signified the culmination of the war, breaking the back of Japanese strategic power and sealing its outcome.In The Battle of Manila, Nicholas Sarantakes offers the first in-depth account of this crucial campaign from the American, Japanese, and, significantly, Filipino perspective. Fighting was building by building, with both sides forced to adapt to the new combat environment. None of the U.S. units that entered Manila had any previous training in urban warfare—yet, Sarantakes shows, they learned on the fly how to use tanks, flamethrowers, air, and artillery assets in support of infantry assaults. Their effective use of these weapons was an important factor in limiting U.S. casualties, even as it may also have contributed to a catastrophic loss of civilian lives.The battle was a strategic U.S. victory, but Sarantakes reveals how closely it hinged upon the interplay between a series of key decisions in both U.S. and Japanese headquarters, and a professional culture in the U.S. military that allowed the Americans to adapt faster and in more ways than their opponents. Among other aspects of the conflict, The Battle of Manila explores the importance of the Filipino guerillas on the ground, the use of irregular warfare, the effective use of intelligence, the impact of military education, and the limits of Japanese resistance.Ultimately, Sarantakes shows Manila to be a major turning in both World War II and American history. Once the United States regained control of the city, Japan was in a checkmate situation. Their defeat was certain, and it was clear that the United States would be the dominate political power in post-war Asia and the Pacific. This fascinating account shines a light on one of the war's most under-represented and highly significant moments. Dr. Andrew O. Pace is a historian of the US in the world who specializes in the moral fog of war. He is currently a DPAA Research Partner Fellow at the University of Southern Mississippi and a co-host of the Diplomatic History Channel on the New Books Network. He is also working on a book about the reversal in US grand strategy from victory at all costs in World War II to peace at any price in the Vietnam War. He can be reached at andrew.pace@usm.edu or via https://www.andrewopace.com/. Andrew is not an employee of DPAA, he supports DPAA through a partnership. The views presented are those of the author and do not necessarily represent the views of DPAA, DoD or its components.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/history

In our conversation about The Battle of Manila (Oxford University Press, 2025), Nicholas Evan Sarantakes explains how U.S. forces under General Douglas MacArthur won a climactic battle in the Pacific during World War II, but at a terrible cost. In 1945 the United States and Japan fought the largest and most devastating land battle of their war in the Pacific, a month-long struggle for the city of Manila. The only urban fighting in the Pacific theater, the Battle of Manila was the third-bloodiest battle of World War II, behind Leningrad and Berlin. It was a key piece of the campaign to retake control of the Philippine Islands, which itself signified the culmination of the war, breaking the back of Japanese strategic power and sealing its outcome.In The Battle of Manila, Nicholas Sarantakes offers the first in-depth account of this crucial campaign from the American, Japanese, and, significantly, Filipino perspective. Fighting was building by building, with both sides forced to adapt to the new combat environment. None of the U.S. units that entered Manila had any previous training in urban warfare—yet, Sarantakes shows, they learned on the fly how to use tanks, flamethrowers, air, and artillery assets in support of infantry assaults. Their effective use of these weapons was an important factor in limiting U.S. casualties, even as it may also have contributed to a catastrophic loss of civilian lives.The battle was a strategic U.S. victory, but Sarantakes reveals how closely it hinged upon the interplay between a series of key decisions in both U.S. and Japanese headquarters, and a professional culture in the U.S. military that allowed the Americans to adapt faster and in more ways than their opponents. Among other aspects of the conflict, The Battle of Manila explores the importance of the Filipino guerillas on the ground, the use of irregular warfare, the effective use of intelligence, the impact of military education, and the limits of Japanese resistance.Ultimately, Sarantakes shows Manila to be a major turning in both World War II and American history. Once the United States regained control of the city, Japan was in a checkmate situation. Their defeat was certain, and it was clear that the United States would be the dominate political power in post-war Asia and the Pacific. This fascinating account shines a light on one of the war's most under-represented and highly significant moments. Dr. Andrew O. Pace is a historian of the US in the world who specializes in the moral fog of war. He is currently a DPAA Research Partner Fellow at the University of Southern Mississippi and a co-host of the Diplomatic History Channel on the New Books Network. He is also working on a book about the reversal in US grand strategy from victory at all costs in World War II to peace at any price in the Vietnam War. He can be reached at andrew.pace@usm.edu or via https://www.andrewopace.com/. Andrew is not an employee of DPAA, he supports DPAA through a partnership. The views presented are those of the author and do not necessarily represent the views of DPAA, DoD or its components.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/military-history

In our conversation about The Battle of Manila (Oxford University Press, 2025), Nicholas Evan Sarantakes explains how U.S. forces under General Douglas MacArthur won a climactic battle in the Pacific during World War II, but at a terrible cost. In 1945 the United States and Japan fought the largest and most devastating land battle of their war in the Pacific, a month-long struggle for the city of Manila. The only urban fighting in the Pacific theater, the Battle of Manila was the third-bloodiest battle of World War II, behind Leningrad and Berlin. It was a key piece of the campaign to retake control of the Philippine Islands, which itself signified the culmination of the war, breaking the back of Japanese strategic power and sealing its outcome.In The Battle of Manila, Nicholas Sarantakes offers the first in-depth account of this crucial campaign from the American, Japanese, and, significantly, Filipino perspective. Fighting was building by building, with both sides forced to adapt to the new combat environment. None of the U.S. units that entered Manila had any previous training in urban warfare—yet, Sarantakes shows, they learned on the fly how to use tanks, flamethrowers, air, and artillery assets in support of infantry assaults. Their effective use of these weapons was an important factor in limiting U.S. casualties, even as it may also have contributed to a catastrophic loss of civilian lives.The battle was a strategic U.S. victory, but Sarantakes reveals how closely it hinged upon the interplay between a series of key decisions in both U.S. and Japanese headquarters, and a professional culture in the U.S. military that allowed the Americans to adapt faster and in more ways than their opponents. Among other aspects of the conflict, The Battle of Manila explores the importance of the Filipino guerillas on the ground, the use of irregular warfare, the effective use of intelligence, the impact of military education, and the limits of Japanese resistance.Ultimately, Sarantakes shows Manila to be a major turning in both World War II and American history. Once the United States regained control of the city, Japan was in a checkmate situation. Their defeat was certain, and it was clear that the United States would be the dominate political power in post-war Asia and the Pacific. This fascinating account shines a light on one of the war's most under-represented and highly significant moments. Dr. Andrew O. Pace is a historian of the US in the world who specializes in the moral fog of war. He is currently a DPAA Research Partner Fellow at the University of Southern Mississippi and a co-host of the Diplomatic History Channel on the New Books Network. He is also working on a book about the reversal in US grand strategy from victory at all costs in World War II to peace at any price in the Vietnam War. He can be reached at andrew.pace@usm.edu or via https://www.andrewopace.com/. Andrew is not an employee of DPAA, he supports DPAA through a partnership. The views presented are those of the author and do not necessarily represent the views of DPAA, DoD or its components.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/new-books-network

In our conversation about The Battle of Manila (Oxford University Press, 2025), Nicholas Evan Sarantakes explains how U.S. forces under General Douglas MacArthur won a climactic battle in the Pacific during World War II, but at a terrible cost. In 1945 the United States and Japan fought the largest and most devastating land battle of their war in the Pacific, a month-long struggle for the city of Manila. The only urban fighting in the Pacific theater, the Battle of Manila was the third-bloodiest battle of World War II, behind Leningrad and Berlin. It was a key piece of the campaign to retake control of the Philippine Islands, which itself signified the culmination of the war, breaking the back of Japanese strategic power and sealing its outcome.In The Battle of Manila, Nicholas Sarantakes offers the first in-depth account of this crucial campaign from the American, Japanese, and, significantly, Filipino perspective. Fighting was building by building, with both sides forced to adapt to the new combat environment. None of the U.S. units that entered Manila had any previous training in urban warfare—yet, Sarantakes shows, they learned on the fly how to use tanks, flamethrowers, air, and artillery assets in support of infantry assaults. Their effective use of these weapons was an important factor in limiting U.S. casualties, even as it may also have contributed to a catastrophic loss of civilian lives.The battle was a strategic U.S. victory, but Sarantakes reveals how closely it hinged upon the interplay between a series of key decisions in both U.S. and Japanese headquarters, and a professional culture in the U.S. military that allowed the Americans to adapt faster and in more ways than their opponents. Among other aspects of the conflict, The Battle of Manila explores the importance of the Filipino guerillas on the ground, the use of irregular warfare, the effective use of intelligence, the impact of military education, and the limits of Japanese resistance.Ultimately, Sarantakes shows Manila to be a major turning in both World War II and American history. Once the United States regained control of the city, Japan was in a checkmate situation. Their defeat was certain, and it was clear that the United States would be the dominate political power in post-war Asia and the Pacific. This fascinating account shines a light on one of the war's most under-represented and highly significant moments. Dr. Andrew O. Pace is a historian of the US in the world who specializes in the moral fog of war. He is currently a DPAA Research Partner Fellow at the University of Southern Mississippi and a co-host of the Diplomatic History Channel on the New Books Network. He is also working on a book about the reversal in US grand strategy from victory at all costs in World War II to peace at any price in the Vietnam War. He can be reached at andrew.pace@usm.edu or via https://www.andrewopace.com/. Andrew is not an employee of DPAA, he supports DPAA through a partnership. The views presented are those of the author and do not necessarily represent the views of DPAA, DoD or its components.  Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/southeast-asian-studies

In our conversation about The Battle of Manila (Oxford University Press, 2025), Nicholas Evan Sarantakes explains how U.S. forces under General Douglas MacArthur won a climactic battle in the Pacific during World War II, but at a terrible cost. In 1945 the United States and Japan fought the largest and most devastating land battle of their war in the Pacific, a month-long struggle for the city of Manila. The only urban fighting in the Pacific theater, the Battle of Manila was the third-bloodiest battle of World War II, behind Leningrad and Berlin. It was a key piece of the campaign to retake control of the Philippine Islands, which itself signified the culmination of the war, breaking the back of Japanese strategic power and sealing its outcome.In The Battle of Manila, Nicholas Sarantakes offers the first in-depth account of this crucial campaign from the American, Japanese, and, significantly, Filipino perspective. Fighting was building by building, with both sides forced to adapt to the new combat environment. None of the U.S. units that entered Manila had any previous training in urban warfare—yet, Sarantakes shows, they learned on the fly how to use tanks, flamethrowers, air, and artillery assets in support of infantry assaults. Their effective use of these weapons was an important factor in limiting U.S. casualties, even as it may also have contributed to a catastrophic loss of civilian lives.The battle was a strategic U.S. victory, but Sarantakes reveals how closely it hinged upon the interplay between a series of key decisions in both U.S. and Japanese headquarters, and a professional culture in the U.S. military that allowed the Americans to adapt faster and in more ways than their opponents. Among other aspects of the conflict, The Battle of Manila explores the importance of the Filipino guerillas on the ground, the use of irregular warfare, the effective use of intelligence, the impact of military education, and the limits of Japanese resistance.Ultimately, Sarantakes shows Manila to be a major turning in both World War II and American history. Once the United States regained control of the city, Japan was in a checkmate situation. Their defeat was certain, and it was clear that the United States would be the dominate political power in post-war Asia and the Pacific. This fascinating account shines a light on one of the war's most under-represented and highly significant moments. Dr. Andrew O. Pace is a historian of the US in the world who specializes in the moral fog of war. He is currently a DPAA Research Partner Fellow at the University of Southern Mississippi and a co-host of the Diplomatic History Channel on the New Books Network. He is also working on a book about the reversal in US grand strategy from victory at all costs in World War II to peace at any price in the Vietnam War. He can be reached at andrew.pace@usm.edu or via https://www.andrewopace.com/. Andrew is not an employee of DPAA, he supports DPAA through a partnership. The views presented are those of the author and do not necessarily represent the views of DPAA, DoD or its components.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In our conversation about The Battle of Manila (Oxford University Press, 2025), Nicholas Evan Sarantakes explains how U.S. forces under General Douglas MacArthur won a climactic battle in the Pacific during World War II, but at a terrible cost. In 1945 the United States and Japan fought the largest and most devastating land battle of their war in the Pacific, a month-long struggle for the city of Manila. The only urban fighting in the Pacific theater, the Battle of Manila was the third-bloodiest battle of World War II, behind Leningrad and Berlin. It was a key piece of the campaign to retake control of the Philippine Islands, which itself signified the culmination of the war, breaking the back of Japanese strategic power and sealing its outcome.In The Battle of Manila, Nicholas Sarantakes offers the first in-depth account of this crucial campaign from the American, Japanese, and, significantly, Filipino perspective. Fighting was building by building, with both sides forced to adapt to the new combat environment. None of the U.S. units that entered Manila had any previous training in urban warfare—yet, Sarantakes shows, they learned on the fly how to use tanks, flamethrowers, air, and artillery assets in support of infantry assaults. Their effective use of these weapons was an important factor in limiting U.S. casualties, even as it may also have contributed to a catastrophic loss of civilian lives.The battle was a strategic U.S. victory, but Sarantakes reveals how closely it hinged upon the interplay between a series of key decisions in both U.S. and Japanese headquarters, and a professional culture in the U.S. military that allowed the Americans to adapt faster and in more ways than their opponents. Among other aspects of the conflict, The Battle of Manila explores the importance of the Filipino guerillas on the ground, the use of irregular warfare, the effective use of intelligence, the impact of military education, and the limits of Japanese resistance.Ultimately, Sarantakes shows Manila to be a major turning in both World War II and American history. Once the United States regained control of the city, Japan was in a checkmate situation. Their defeat was certain, and it was clear that the United States would be the dominate political power in post-war Asia and the Pacific. This fascinating account shines a light on one of the war's most under-represented and highly significant moments. Dr. Andrew O. Pace is a historian of the US in the world who specializes in the moral fog of war. He is currently a DPAA Research Partner Fellow at the University of Southern Mississippi and a co-host of the Diplomatic History Channel on the New Books Network. He is also working on a book about the reversal in US grand strategy from victory at all costs in World War II to peace at any price in the Vietnam War. He can be reached at andrew.pace@usm.edu or via https://www.andrewopace.com/. Andrew is not an employee of DPAA, he supports DPAA through a partnership. The views presented are those of the author and do not necessarily represent the views of DPAA, DoD or its components.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/japanese-studies

In our conversation about The Battle of Manila (Oxford University Press, 2025), Nicholas Evan Sarantakes explains how U.S. forces under General Douglas MacArthur won a climactic battle in the Pacific during World War II, but at a terrible cost. In 1945 the United States and Japan fought the largest and most devastating land battle of their war in the Pacific, a month-long struggle for the city of Manila. The only urban fighting in the Pacific theater, the Battle of Manila was the third-bloodiest battle of World War II, behind Leningrad and Berlin. It was a key piece of the campaign to retake control of the Philippine Islands, which itself signified the culmination of the war, breaking the back of Japanese strategic power and sealing its outcome.In The Battle of Manila, Nicholas Sarantakes offers the first in-depth account of this crucial campaign from the American, Japanese, and, significantly, Filipino perspective. Fighting was building by building, with both sides forced to adapt to the new combat environment. None of the U.S. units that entered Manila had any previous training in urban warfare—yet, Sarantakes shows, they learned on the fly how to use tanks, flamethrowers, air, and artillery assets in support of infantry assaults. Their effective use of these weapons was an important factor in limiting U.S. casualties, even as it may also have contributed to a catastrophic loss of civilian lives.The battle was a strategic U.S. victory, but Sarantakes reveals how closely it hinged upon the interplay between a series of key decisions in both U.S. and Japanese headquarters, and a professional culture in the U.S. military that allowed the Americans to adapt faster and in more ways than their opponents. Among other aspects of the conflict, The Battle of Manila explores the importance of the Filipino guerillas on the ground, the use of irregular warfare, the effective use of intelligence, the impact of military education, and the limits of Japanese resistance.Ultimately, Sarantakes shows Manila to be a major turning in both World War II and American history. Once the United States regained control of the city, Japan was in a checkmate situation. Their defeat was certain, and it was clear that the United States would be the dominate political power in post-war Asia and the Pacific. This fascinating account shines a light on one of the war's most under-represented and highly significant moments. Dr. Andrew O. Pace is a historian of the US in the world who specializes in the moral fog of war. He is currently a DPAA Research Partner Fellow at the University of Southern Mississippi and a co-host of the Diplomatic History Channel on the New Books Network. He is also working on a book about the reversal in US grand strategy from victory at all costs in World War II to peace at any price in the Vietnam War. He can be reached at andrew.pace@usm.edu or via https://www.andrewopace.com/. Andrew is not an employee of DPAA, he supports DPAA through a partnership. The views presented are those of the author and do not necessarily represent the views of DPAA, DoD or its components. 

On this episode I have Philippines based adventure enthusiast, climber, trekker, dirt biker, scuba diver, model, and director, Simon Guinto, join me on the show. We chatted about his favorite outdoor adventure activities, why he moved from the US to the Philippines, his most memorable climb, summiting & trail running Mount Pulag - the tallest mountain on Luzon island & third tallest peak in the Philippines, his sunrise experience with the LA Trail Killers, his travels to the magical island of Palawan, how the Philippines natural landscapes differ from the rest of the world, getting inked from the world's oldest tattoo artist, and how he was a cliff diver in a famous beer commercial. This episode was extra special as Simon was our first ever international guest that we got to record with in person. Follow Simon on https://instagram.com/simong.og Follow Bad Eye Deli on https://www.instagram.com/badeyedeliph Support Just Trek on Patreon ⁠⁠https://www.patreon.com/justtrek⁠⁠ Shop Just Trek merch on ⁠⁠https://www.justtrek.net/shop⁠⁠ Listen to more podcast episodes on ⁠⁠https://www.justtrek.net⁠⁠ Want to send me a message? Email me at ⁠⁠justtrekofficial@gmail.com⁠⁠ or DM on Instagram @just.trek

Last time we spoke about the Formosa air battle. In mid-1944, General MacArthur and Admirals Nimitz and Halsey debated their next move in the Pacific. MacArthur, intent on a direct assault on the Philippines, clashed with Nimitz, who favored invading Formosa. MacArthur's persuasive tactics, political savvy and to be more blunt, threats during a rather dramatic visit to Honolulu, convinced President FDR to prioritize the Philippines. Despite MacArthur's grandstanding, FDR did not completely abandon the US Navy's plans, and MacArthur's plan would require significant Naval support, with carrier strikes planned to soften Japanese defenses. In October, Halsey's carriers launched devastating strikes against Formosa, leading to heavy Japanese losses and disrupting their air power. Despite some fierce counterattacks and damage to American ships, including the cruiser Canberra, the American forces achieved air supremacy. The successful air campaign set the stage for the invasion of Leyte, marking a pivotal shift in the Pacific War.  This episode is the Return to the Philippines Welcome to the Pacific War Podcast Week by Week, I am your dutiful host Craig Watson. But, before we start I want to also remind you this podcast is only made possible through the efforts of Kings and Generals over at Youtube. Perhaps you want to learn more about world war two? Kings and Generals have an assortment of episodes on world war two and much more  so go give them a look over on Youtube. So please subscribe to Kings and Generals over at Youtube and to continue helping us produce this content please check out www.patreon.com/kingsandgenerals. If you are still hungry for some more history related content, over on my channel, the Pacific War Channel you can find a few videos all the way from the Opium Wars of the 1800's until the end of the Pacific War in 1945.  We last left off the week before the grand  return to the Philippines, Admiral Halsey had dispatched his carrier forces to neutralize enemy bases in Formosa in preparation for General MacArthur's Leyte invasion. However, Admiral Toyoda's response was unexpectedly strong, resulting in two cruisers being torpedoed, which forced Admiral Mitscher to order a retreat eastward under pressure from Japanese aviators. On October 15, while the cruisers Houston and Canberra were being towed under the protection of Admiral McCain's carriers, Halsey directed Admirals Bogan and Sherman's task groups to withdraw eastward out of sight. At the same time, Admiral Davison's forces carried out intermittent air raids on northern Luzon to keep enemy aircraft at bay. More significantly, Halsey decided to turn the situation into an opportunity. He instructed McCain's units to send out open messages, pleading for assistance. This tactic, which Halsey called the "Lure of the Streamlined Bait," was designed to mislead the Japanese into believing that this task group was all that remained of the fleet, enticing them to move in for the kill. Halsey's other task groups, which had withdrawn eastward, would then return to engage and destroy the enemy. On October 14, Japanese aviators claimed two carriers, one battleship and one heavy cruiser sunk, and one small carrier, one battleship and one light cruiser set afire. The exaggerated claims of the Japanese air force were accepted jubilantly on the home islands. The people felt that the American Navy had indeed been given a death blow, and the Finance Ministry distributed "celebration sake" to all households in the country to commemorate the event. The Tokyo radio made the unfounded claim that "a total of 57 enemy warships including 19 aircraft carriers and four battleships were sunk or heavily damaged by the Japanese forces… the enemy task forces lost the majority of their strength and were put to rout." It also predicted that the Allied losses would delay the invasion of the Philippine Islands by two months. Admiral Halsey's reaction was to report that "all 3rd Fleet Ships reported by radio Tokyo as sunk have now been salvaged and are retiring towards the enemy." The exaggerated claims of success made by Japanese pilots further convinced Toyoda to continue the assault, despite heavy aircraft losses. Meanwhile, Admiral Shima's strike force was already rushing south from the Inland Sea to support the air forces. However, Shima's force was not the only one speeding towards the battlefront. On October 13, Admiral Barbey's convoy, consisting of over 470 ships and carrying the 24th Division and the 6th Army Service Command, finally departed Hollandia, heading toward the designated "Far Shore," Leyte. The next day, the convoy crossed the equator without ceremony. By October 15, Task Force 78, which included the 1st Cavalry Division, joined the massive convoy. With General Sibert's full 10th Corps now en route to Leyte, the plan was to rendezvous with Admiral Wilkinson's Task Force 79. Over the course of about two weeks, General Hodge's 24th Corps had been transported from Hawaii to Eniwetok and then to Manus Island. On October 11, the LSTs carrying the assault battalions departed Manus, followed by Wilkinson's convoy of 267 ships, which left the Admiralties three days later. Their progress was steady, and by October 17, Wilkinson's tractor groups began joining the 7th Fleet. This combined fleet formed the largest convoy ever seen in the Pacific up to that point. Meanwhile, during the Formosa Air Battle, Japanese aviators launched multiple strikes against Task Groups 38.1 and 38.4 from dawn to dusk on October 15. Fortunately, the American carriers' reinforced combat air patrols effectively minimized damage, with only one glancing bomb hit on the Franklin. In retaliation, Admiral Mitscher's pilots claimed to have shot down more than 100 Japanese planes. Additionally, Admiral Davison's carriers attacked enemy air concentrations in Luzon, though they faced heavy resistance from Vice-Admiral Teraoka Kinpei's reorganized 1st Air Fleet. These engagements continued over the next two days, with American forces estimated to have destroyed 99 enemy aircraft on the ground and 95 in the air by October 19. On the morning of October 16, Mitscher's carriers conducted long-range searches to determine if the enemy had fallen for Halsey's trap. Meanwhile, Japanese morning reconnaissance flights over the western Philippine Sea spotted three enemy task groups with a combined total of 13 carriers in the vicinity, forcing Toyoda to reluctantly cancel Shima's planned attack. As a result, no surface engagement materialized from Halsey's "Lure of the Streamlined Bait." However, 247 naval aircraft were promptly dispatched from Okinawa, Formosa, and Luzon to locate the enemy groups. McCain continued to fend off persistent Japanese air assaults, which managed to land another torpedo hit on the Houston. Hellcats from light carriers Cabot and Cowpens did great execution against a Japanese formation of over 100 aircraft. However, three Jills penetrated the screen. One twin engine plane fought through the CAP and ships' anti-aircraft batteries, surviving just long enough to put a torpedo in the water before the plane itself crashed into the sea. The torpedo struck the after portion of the starboard side of the Houston, blowing 20 men overboard and spreading gasoline fires in the waters around the cruiser. The explosion set fire to the starboard tank that held fuel for the ship's reconnaissance floatplanes, causing a major fire in the aircraft hangar, though the remaining crew suppressed the blaze within fifteen minutes. Flooding from this hit degraded the ship's buoyancy and stability further. Another 300 men were evacuated afterward, leaving just 200 aboard to continue damage control efforts as the ships withdrew. Despite the cruiser suffering significant damage, the towing operation carried on, slowly guiding the task group towards Naval Base Ulithi, which they eventually reached on October 27. On October 17, the Japanese were still in pursuit of the retreating fleet, but contact was lost, and further attacks were aborted. Nevertheless, the Formosa Air Battle had one final chapter. After the successful strike on Okayama on October 14, General LeMay deemed the damage extensive enough that it wasn't necessary to send all available B-29s for mop-up operations. On October 16, only the 444th and 462nd Bombardment Groups were dispatched to hit Okayama, while the 468th targeted Heito, an airbase and staging field east of Takao. Of 49 planes airborne against Okayama, only 28 bombed there, but they were aided by five stragglers from the 468th Group. To even things up, a formation of 11 planes from the 444th flew calmly by its Okayama target and struck at Heito through an error by the lead bombardier. Other B-29s bombed alternate or chance targets at Takao, Toshien, Swatow, and Sintien harbors; at Hengyang; and at several airdromes, including Taichu on Formosa. This dual mission was less smooth than the October 14 raid, but no losses were reported. The next day, 23 B-29s from the 40th Bombardment Group attacked the Einansho Air Depot near Tainan to complete the Formosa campaign. Heavy cloud cover prevented 13 of the bombers from reaching the target, so they diverted to bomb Takao harbor instead. Despite these challenges, LeMay's bombers inflicted significant damage overall. By the end of the Formosa Air Battle, the Japanese had launched a total of 761 offensive sorties. Toyoda's pilots reported that nearly the entire 3rd Fleet had been sunk and the American carrier force was in ruins. For comedic effect why not go through the real list shall we: Japanese claims were finally listed as follows: Sunk: 11 carriers, 2 battleships, 3 cruisers, 1 destroyer (or light cruiser). Damaged: 8 carriers, 2 battleships, 4 cruisers, 1 destroyer (or light cruiser), 13 unidentified ships. In addition, at least 12 other ships set afire. These exaggerated claims were heavily promoted by newspapers, although figures like Toyoda within the IJN remained skeptical. In reality, the Japanese air forces were decisively beaten at Formosa, losing around 171 planes in the initial defense and another 321 during attacks on Mitscher's fleet—a total of approximately 492 aircraft.  The Second Air Fleet, comprising the main strength of the Navy's base air forces, had lost 50 per cent of its strength and was reduced to 230 operational aircraft. The First Air Fleet and Fourth Air Army in the Philippines were left with a combined operational strength of only a little over 100 aircraft. Of 143 carrier planes used to reinforce the Second Air Fleet, about one-third, with their flight crews, had been lost. Allied estimates, however, place Japanese losses as high as 655. In addition to these aircraft losses, Japan suffered significant casualties among air personnel, which severely weakened Admiral Ozawa's 3rd and 4th Carrier Divisions and left General Yamashita with limited air support for the defense of the Philippines. On the other hand, Halsey's forces lost only 89 aircraft, with two cruisers suffering serious damage. The radar-guided Hellcats easily repelled the fragmented Japanese attacks, causing no delays to the American operations and inflicting no serious damage on Task Force 38. This defeat significantly diminished Japan's ability to defend the Philippines, as their surface forces were now left without effective air cover. In the aftermath of the battle, the aggressive Vice-Admiral Onishi Takishiro assumed command of the 1st Air Fleet and initiated the creation of a suicide corps, recruiting volunteers to dive-bomb enemy vessels. Thus, the Kamikaze Special Attack Corps was born. Captain Motoharu Okamura, in charge of Tateyama base and the 341st Air Group Home is theorized to be the first officer to propose the use of kamikaze attack tactics. Commander Asaichi Tamai asked a group of 23 student pilots whom he had trained to volunteer for the first special kamikaze attack force, all of them did so willingly. The names of the four subunits within the Kamikaze Special Attack Force were Unit Shikishima, Unit Yamato, Unit Asahi and Unit Yamazakura. LeMay reported the destruction of 65 buildings and damage to 9 out of the 80 at Okayama's assembly plant, along with the destruction of 7 hangars and 16 buildings and damage to 9 others at the airbase. As a result, LeMay's intelligence team estimated it would take between four and six months to fully restore the Okayama plant to full operational capacity. His final strike of the month occurred on October 25, targeting the Omura Aircraft Factory, with 78 B-29 bombers successfully taking off. Over Omura, 59 planes dropped 156 tons of bombs, while 11 hit various other targets. Despite moderate resistance, one bomber was lost during the attack. Strike photos and subsequent reconnaissance showed significant damage, especially in the aluminum fabrication area. Over the following three months, Omura would become a primary target for Operation Matterhorn, though the 20th Bomber Command also conducted additional strikes to support Allied operations in Southeast Asia, China, and the Philippines. Meanwhile, minesweepers and other vessels had cleared the way for amphibious flotillas. In the early dawn of October 17 the minesweepers began their work on the channel approaches to Suluan Island. By 06:30 they had accomplished their task and then began to sweep the waters of the landing areas in Leyte Gulf until the storm forced them to suspend operations. At 12:59 they resumed sweeping with great difficulty. Until A Day, intensive area and tactical mine sweeping continued. The sweepers started at dawn each day and worked continuously until nightfall. By October 19 it was known that the Japanese had heavily mined the approaches to Leyte Gulf but that there were no mines within the gulf itself. However the northern part of the main channel into the gulf was not considered safe. By the same date sweeping had been completed in the southern half, 186 mines having been destroyed. At about 01:35 on October 19, the destroyer supporting the mine-sweeping units which were in the gulf struck a floating mine and while maneuvering away from the area struck another. The ship was disabled and retired from action. By A Day, a total of 227 mines had been destroyed and a passage approximately six miles wide had been cleared just north of Dinagat Island. All ships were therefore directed to enter Leyte Gulf through that portion of the strait. As the minesweepers came close to the land, boats containing Filipinos moved out to welcome the advance party of liberators. The reception they met was not enthusiastic. Admiral Oldendorf "suspected that some might have come seeking information so detained them aboard their respective ships… Directed no further patriots be taken aboard ship."With Halsey's forces still in the Formosa-Ryukyus region, these ships were under the air cover of General Whitehead's 5th Air Force and Admiral Kinkaid's escort carriers. While minesweepers and demolition teams worked to clear mines, remove transport barriers, and perform beach reconnaissance, Company D of the 6th Ranger Battalion prepared to land on Suluan Island on October 17. Supported by fire from the USS Denver and in heavy rain, the Rangers successfully landed on the beach at 08:05 without opposition. The men immediately filed south 500 yards on a trail along the coast and then headed east toward the lighthouse. On the way, four buildings, one of which contained a Japanese radio, were found and set ablaze. The company then continued along the trail. Suddenly the enemy fired from a concealed position, killing one man and wounding another. When Company D went into attack formation, the enemy force disappeared into the heavy jungle bordering the trail. The march was resumed and the company reached its objective without further incident. The lighthouse, which had been damaged by naval bombardment, and adjoining buildings were deserted. Unfortunately, a Japanese radio station successfully reported the enemy convoy's approach and the start of the Rangers' landings, revealing that Leyte was the Americans' ultimate target. In response, Toyoda swiftly initiated Operation Sho-Go, ordering Vice-Admiral Kurita Takeo's 1st Striking Force to move from Lingga anchorage to Brunei Bay, preparing to strike the enemy invasion fleet.  Just after midnight on October 18, Kurita's ships departed Lingga anchorage and began their trek to Leyte. Sentai (Division) 16—heavy cruiser Aoba, light cruiser Kinu, and destroyer Uranami—was ordered to detach from Kurita's command and head to Manila. These ships were all among the oldest in Kurita's fleet, but it was a mistake to detach them for a secondary transport mission when they would have been better used to augment the decisive attack planned for Kurita's force. Simultaneously, Shima's 2nd Striking Force, reinforced by Kurita's detached 16th Cruiser Division, was tasked with supporting counterlandings. The Second Striking Force, for this newly-assigned mission, was to be composed only of the Fifth Fleet (two heavy cruisers, one light cruiser, seven destroyers) plus the 16th Cruiser Division (one heavy cruiser, one light cruiser, one destroyer) detached from the First Striking Force. Under this plan, the 16th Cruiser Division was ordered to proceed to Manila, while the Second Striking Force main body, then at Amami Oshima in the Ryukyus, was ordered to go first to Mako, refuel, and then proceed to the Philippines.   By noon, another order was issued to Ozawa's Main Body, despite its depleted air power, to coordinate a sortie from home waters in support of the attack planned for the morning of October 25 in Leyte Gulf. The mission of the Ozawa force was of vital importance to the success of the over-all plan. It was to act as a decoy to draw off the main strength of the enemy naval forces covering the invasion operations in Leyte Gulf, thus allowing the 1st Striking Force to penetrate to the landing point and smash the enemy's troop and supply ships. To heighten its effectiveness as a lure, the Ozawa Force sortied with all of the 3rd Carrier Division, made up of the regular carrier Zuikaku and the light carriers Zuiho, Chitose, and Chiyoda. The total number of aircraft available to put aboard these ships, however, was only 108. These belonged to the poorly trained air groups of the 1st Carrier Division and represented about half the normal complement. In addition to the half-empty carriers, the force comprised two battleships, three light cruisers and eight destroyers. Ozawa fully anticipated that his fleet would be completely wiped out, but this sacrifice was deemed essential to achieve the primary objective: destruction of the entire enemy invasion force. As a result of the transfer of the flying groups of the 3d and 4th Carrier Divisions to Second Air Fleet for the Formosa air battle, the Task Force Main Body had lost much of its planned striking power. The mission assigned to it was therefore less offensive than that assigned in the original Sho-Go battle plan. The original plan had called for a diversionary attack by the Ozawa Force against the enemy's main carrier task forces. Under the more general terms of the 18 October plan, however, Vice Adm. Ozawa was left discretion to choose an attack target more commensurate with the strength of his force. Meanwhile, Davison's carrier aircraft launched attacks on air bases around Manila and Legaspi, but neither the 1st Air Fleet nor the 4th Air Army could respond due to adverse weather. As these strikes were carried out in difficult conditions, General Terauchi concluded by nightfall that a significant enemy operation was underway. He then activated the Army component of Sho-Go, instructing Lieutenant-General Tominaga Kyoji to target enemy ships near Leyte. Should the enemy successfully land, General Suzuki's 35th Army was ordered to delay their advance until reinforcements arrived, with the goal of launching a counterattack to defeat the Americans by October 25. Given the recent actions on Suluan and the American naval presence in the Leyte Gulf, the Army and Navy IGHQ sections surprisingly coordinated their response, with the IJA staff approving the Southern Army's request to implement Sho-Go 1. It was determined that the coming decisive battle for Japan was the Philippines. One major difference was the battle's location. Terauchi, Yamashita, and other Southern Army officers believed it would be Luzon, not Leyte. With Sho-Go 1 focused on Leyte, the Japanese would have to fight in the central Philippines, without extensive defensive works or major airfields. Yamashita would also use his limited shipping to send reinforcements to Leyte. If the Japanese lost Leyte, there might not be sufficient strength to defeat decisively any American offensive on Luzon. Deploying the few IJA units to Leyte would make a Luzon defense harder to accomplish. Sho-Go 1 could hand the control of the Philippines to the Americans. Eventually, Terauchi agreed to the IGHQ position of making Leyte the primary location to fight the Americans. Believing that Halsey's fleet had been defeated off Formosa, Terauchi now thought the Americans could not sustain any major operations or contest reinforcement convoys, both poor assumptions that would later cause suffering for the IJA. Yamashita disagreed with Terauchi and the IGHQ about designating Leyte as the prime battle site; but on October 22, Terauchi finally ordered Yamashita and the Fourth Air Army to make Leyte the main point of attack. His opinion was: “The opportunity to annihilate the enemy is at hand.” However Yamashita was convinced that the Americans had greater strength than anticipated, given the continued American carrier aviation's presence. Meanwhile, by 12:30 on October 17, the Rangers had successfully landed on Dinagat Island, finding no Japanese forces there. On the morning of the 18th, the ship's address system clanged out general quarters. The men went below, put on their gear, and checked their weapons. At 0900 the troops were told to prepare to disembark. They bolted up the ladders and spilled out over the deck to the davits. The boats were lowered and the first wave started for the beach. At the same time the guns from the destroyer and frigate which had escorted the transport concentrated fire against the shore line for twelve minutes. Three minutes later, the boats grounded on a coral reef forty yards from the beach, and the men waded the remaining distance to shore. They encountered no resistance and at 1038 the company commander, Capt. Arthur D. Simons, notified the battalion commander, "Beachhead secured, supplies ashore. No resistance. No casualties." The company set up a channel light. They quickly set up a navigation light at Desolation Point to guide the main convoy. However, bad weather and tides delayed the landing on Homonhon Island. Colonel Mucci's Company B finally made it ashore the next morning without opposition and installed another navigation light. At the same time, Tominaga attempted to retaliate but was thwarted by a violent storm. In the afternoon, Kinkaid's forces, supported by Mitscher's carriers, conducted minesweeping and direct-fire missions on the Leyte beaches to protect the underwater demolition teams. Admiral Oldendorf's warships heavily bombarded the southern beaches, paving the way for transports to enter Leyte Gulf by the following evening. These pre-landing operations, which continued through October 19 on the northern landing beaches, alerted General Makino to a potential secondary landing closer to Tacloban. This maneuver would outflank the main strength of the 16th Division and directly threaten his headquarters. In response, Makino relocated his headquarters from Tacloban to Dagami and ordered the 33rd Regiment to reinforce the Palo-San Jose coastal sector, while the 2nd Battalion strengthened the southern defenses. Despite these last-minute efforts, Makino's forces were unprepared for the overwhelming assault. The heavy naval gunfire had destroyed many defensive positions and disabled most of the 22nd Field Artillery Regiment's guns. Furthermore, although the weather now favored Tominaga's counterstrikes, American carrier operations had been so effective that he was unable to challenge their air superiority. Despite the optimism of the High Command with regard to the prospects of gaining eventual air superiority in the battle area, it was already evident that the air phase of Sho-Go was not working out as intended. Those plans had envisaged mass air attacks against the invading enemy naval forces and troop convoys beginning prior to their arrival at the landing point. The enemy, however, had forestalled these plans by striking at Leyte before the planned concentration of Japanese air strength in the Philippines had been completed, and before the Navy's base air forces had time to recover from losses sustained in the Formosa Air Battle and earlier enemy carrier strikes on the Philippines. The 1st Air Fleet, already in the Philippines, had been reduced to an operational strength of less than 50 aircraft. The 2nd Air Fleet, which had lost half its strength in the Formosa Battle, had not yet begun its redeployment from Formosa to the Philippines. Although the 4th Air Army had sustained relatively lighter losses, its strength was widely dispersed. Before it could operate effectively in the Leyte area, it had to concentrate at forward bases in the central Philippines, an operation rendered both difficult and dangerous by enemy action, bad weather, and the virtually useless condition of many of the forward fields due to continuous rains. Under such unfavorable conditions, the concentration required a minimum of several days, and in the meanwhile the enemy was able to operate in Leyte Gulf against extremely light air opposition. On October 19, when weather conditions finally permitted an air attack against the enemy invasion fleet, no more than five naval and three Army aircraft could be mustered against the steadily increasing concentration of enemy shipping in Leyte Gulf. By the evening of October 19, the preliminary operations were nearly complete, with most of Kinkaid's fleet positioned outside the gulf. Since the minefield at the entrance hadn't been fully cleared, the ships entered slightly south of the entrance's center, avoiding the main channel and staying close to Dinagat's northern point. Meanwhile, Suzuki had already activated the Suzu Plan, with units from the 30th and 102nd Divisions preparing to move toward Ormoc. However, before they could depart, Oldendorf began October 20 with two simultaneous pre-landing bombardments, each involving three battleships. After two hours of battleship fire, cruisers and destroyers followed with high-explosive shells, causing significant damage. At the same time, Kinkaid's escort carriers launched bombing and strafing runs against suspected defensive positions and airfields, severely disrupting Makino's radio and telegraph communications. At 0800 the first anchor chains of the vessels had rattled out; LCVP's were quickly swung over the sides; boats circled mother ships and moved to their rendezvous areas. The LCI mortar and LCI rocket ships took their places at the head of the assault waves. It was now 0945, fifteen minutes before H Hour. The LCI's raced simultaneously to the shores of Leyte, raking the landing beaches with rocket and mortar fire. The bombardment grew heavier and more monotonous. Hundreds of small boats, flanked by rocket ships and destroyers, headed toward the beaches; thousands of rockets hit the beaches with the rumble of an earthquake. It was impossible to distinguish one explosion from another in the unbroken roar. By 09:30, the 21st Regiment successfully landed on Panaon Island without resistance, securing control of the entrance to Sogod Bay. Fifteen minutes later, the transports sped toward Leyte's shores, led by LCI gunboats, which pounded the beaches with rockets and mortar fire. At 10:00, Sibert's 10th Corps, covered by a heavy rocket barrage, landed on the White and Red Beaches, marking the Americans' return to the Philippines. Admiral Fechteler's transports delivered General Mudge's 1st Cavalry Division to White Beach, where the brigades landed side by side, with the 8th Cavalry Regiment held in floating reserve. Facing only small arms and machine gun fire, the 1st Squadron of the 7th Cavalry Regiment swiftly secured the Cataisan Peninsula and its airfield, while the 2nd Squadron captured San Jose and advanced across the Burayan River, reaching a point 3000 yards from the beach. The 5th and 12th Cavalry Regiments had to navigate a deep swamp to access Highway 1, then pushed westward until they encountered enemy resistance near the foothills of Caibaan. At 10:40, Mudge's reserve began to land, followed by the division artillery at 13:30. Meanwhile, to the south, Barbey's transports landed General Irving's 24th Division on the shallow Red Beach, with the 19th and 34th Regiments landing abreast in battalion columns. The Japanese permitted the first five waves to land, but when the remaining waves were about 2000 yards offshore, they unleashed heavy artillery and mortar fire, sinking several landing craft and causing significant casualties.  The first elements of the 3d Battalion, 34th Infantry, inadvertently landed 300 yards north of the assigned area and were immediately pinned down by heavy machine gun and rifle fire. The commanding officer of the regiment, Col. Aubrey S. Newman, arrived on the beach and, noting the situation, shouted to his men, "Get the hell off the beach. Get up and get moving. Follow me." Thus urgently prompted, the men followed him into the wooded area. To the south the 19th Infantry, with the 3d Battalion in the lead, had also struck heavy opposition on its sector of the beach. Through error the first waves of the regiment landed almost directly behind the 34th Infantry and 800 yards north of the proposed landing point. The later waves landed at the planned spot. Company K did not land on schedule, because its command boat broke down. Going in under heavy fire, the company had all its officers except one killed or wounded. One of its platoons was unable to make contact with the rest of the company until the following day. Upon landing, the first waves were immediately pinned down by intense machine-gun and rifle fire. Despite this, the Americans successfully stormed the initial defenses of the 33rd Regiment. By 12:15, the 34th Regiment had cleared the beach of enemy forces, and after a preparatory concentration, its 3rd Battalion advanced approximately 400 yards. The 2nd Battalion then moved through the 3rd, crossed Highway 1 at 15:50, and established positions for the night 100 yards west of the highway. To the south, the 3rd Battalion, 19th Regiment had reached Highway 1, while the battered 1st Battalion followed behind under heavy fire. Meanwhile, the 2nd Battalion landed and advanced cautiously, as the 1st Battalion pressed toward Hill 522 amidst fierce resistance. Hill 522, which rose directly from the river's edge north of Palo, overlooked the landing beaches and its upward trails were steep and winding. Hill 522 presented the most significant terrain feature which would have to be overcome before the American forces could push into the interior from Palo and it constituted one of the chief objectives for A Day. Three months earlier General Makino had started to fortify it, impressing nearly all of the male population of Palo for the work. By A Day they had constructed five well-camouflaged pillboxes of rocks, planking, and logs, covered with earth. Numerous tunnels honeycombed the hill; the communications trenches were seven feet deep. They eventually encircled enemy positions and began to make steady progress up the hill. By dusk, Companies B and C had captured the hill's crests and successfully repelled several enemy counterattacks. This achievement secured Hill 522, which commanded the route into the interior and overlooked Palo, the gateway to Leyte Valley. At 14:30, General Douglas MacArthur landed on Red Beach alongside President Sergio Osmeña, who had taken over from Manuel Quezon following his death on August 1. So if you go on Youtube you can see the footage of MacArthur et al wading ashore and to this day there is a monument to this iconic moment. MacArthur made a radio broadcast to the Filipino people, declaring, “People of the Philippines: I have returned. By the grace of Almighty God our forces stand again on Philippine soil—soil consecrated in the blood of our two peoples. We have come dedicated and committed to the task of destroying every vestige of enemy control over your daily lives, and of restoring upon a foundation of indestructible strength, the liberties of your people” He had finally fulfilled his promise to the Filipino people. Further south, Hodge's 24th Corps encountered more resistance as it landed on Orange, Blue, Violet, and Yellow Beaches at 10:00. Under the transport of Rear-Admiral Forrest Royal's ships and the protection of LCI gunboats, General Bradley's 96th Division landed with its regiments positioned between the Calbasag River and the town of San Jose. The 382nd Regiment successfully disembarked on the Blue Beaches at 09:50, followed by the 383rd Regiment on the Orange Beaches ten minutes later.As they advanced inland, both units faced intermittent mortar and artillery fire from the 9th Regiment positioned on Catmon Hill. Colonel Macey Dill's 3rd Battalion initially encountered obstacles such as tank barriers made of coconut logs, debris on the beach, and heavy bombardment from Hill 120. However, with mortar and naval gunfire support, the battalion eventually captured the hill and repelled several enemy counterattacks, though they were unable to continue the advance due to deep swamps. In contrast, Dill's 2nd Battalion managed to push about 2,500 yards inland despite the intense heat and swampy conditions. To the north, Colonel Edwin May's 1st and 2nd Battalions were similarly hindered by an unexpected swamp but still succeeded in securing San Jose and the head of the Labiranan River, advancing approximately 2,600 yards inland. By 18:00, Bradley's artillery had been landed, although the 381st Regiment remained in floating reserve. Further south, Admiral Conolly's transports landed General Arnold's 7th Division between the Calbasag and Daguitan Rivers, with regiments landing side by side. Companies L and K of the 3rd Battalion, 32nd Regiment landed abreast. Company L, on the left, ran into heavy fire from Japanese machine gunners who had waited until the leading elements of the company exposed themselves. The Japanese were entrenched in bunkers emplaced in hedgerows and banana groves. The pillboxes, which were mutually supporting, were located at the ends of the hedgerows and occasionally in the middle of an open field. Each pillbox had machine guns and anti-tank guns. Company L suffered a number of casualties and was pinned down. The enemy gunners then turned to Company K and stopped its forward movement. In the space of 15 minutes, 2 officers and 6 men of the 3rd Battalion were killed, and 1 officer and 18 men wounded. Of the medium tanks that had come ashore at 10:30, 3 were sent to support Company L and 2 to support Company K. The latter 2 were knocked out before they could adjust their fire on the pillboxes. The leading tank sent in support of Company L was knocked out by a direct hit from an antitank gun. With 2 tanks remaining, it was decided to hit the flanks of the entrenched pillboxes at 13:45. A platoon of Company K went to the right and another platoon from the company to the left. Simultaneously the remaining elements of the 2 companies, coordinating with the tanks, assaulted the pillboxes. The heavy volume of fire kept the enemy guns quiet until they could be finished off with grenades. The pillboxes were knocked out without further casualties. Paralleling the route of advance of Company L were several hedge fences, behind which were enemy machine guns and mortars. Although under heavy fire, the company was able to break through the first barriers with the aid of the tanks. At 16:30, since the enemy fire continued in volume, the 32nd Regiment withdrew and established a defensive position for the night. Meanwhile, the 184th Regiment landed its 3rd Battalion at Yellow Beach 2, directly in front of Dulag, and its 1st Battalion at Yellow Beach 1, which was farther south and separated by a swamp. Both beaches saw surprisingly little resistance, allowing the 184th to advance more quickly than expected, successfully capturing Dulag and reaching its airfield.Behind them, the reserve 2nd Battalion and the 3rd Battalion of the 17th Regiment landed after midday. The 3rd Battalion pushed west and south with minimal opposition, successfully securing the bridge over the Daguitan River at Dao. By the end of the day, both corps had fallen short of their beachhead objectives, with Hodge's 24th Corps achieving particularly modest results. Despite this, the Sixth Army had successfully landed assault forces along the entire eastern coast of Leyte and gained control of Panaon Strait, with casualties totaling 49 killed, 192 wounded, and 6 missing. Most of the 16th Division had retreated during the naval and air bombardment before the landing, which allowed the Americans to secure most coastal defenses before the enemy could regroup. Consequently, the only Japanese forces encountered were those left behind to delay the invasion. A more substantial enemy engagement was yet to come. Air opposition to the invasion was minimal, as Tominaga and the naval air forces continued to concentrate their strength in the Philippines in preparation for a major air offensive scheduled to begin on October 25. However, 37 Army and Navy planes attacked the invasion shipping off Leyte. At 1600, on 20 October an enemy torpedo plane was sighted as it aimed its torpedo at Honolulu. Despite the skillful maneuvering of Captain Thurber to evade, the torpedo found its mark on her port side. 64 men were killed and 35 were injured. Flooding caused a temporary severe list, but the ship was saved by efficient damage measures. But Honolulu was out of the fight. Honolulu sailed out the next day, arriving at Manus on 29 October for temporary repairs, and then steamed for Norfolk, Virginia, on 19 November, arriving on 20 December via Pearl Harbor, San Diego, California, and the Panama Canal. Unfortunately, not all went well with logistics. Although 107,450 tons of supplies had been landed on Leyte by the end of A-Day, it was a haphazard operation. The Navy was responsible for transporting the troops and supplies to the target area. Ships' companies unloaded the cargo from the cargo vessels and transported it in small craft to the beaches. Many of the ships had been improperly loaded for the journey to Leyte. The cargo should have been so loaded that articles first needed would be the last put on board; instead it had been stowed haphazardly, with little attention given to the problem of unloading. As a result of the faulty stowage of supplies on the ships, many badly needed items were at the bottoms of the holds, and articles that would not be needed until later in the operation were piled on top of them. The supplies were set ashore in random fashion and then were carelessly thrown on trucks and other vehicles. This sort of handling resulted in a loss of carrying capacity, in slow removal of the loads, and in a consequent delay in the return of vehicles to the landing beaches. Thus, officers complained about the disorganized effort to deliver, store, and distribute supplies. This was a precursor of future resupply problems. As the landings proceeded about as smoothly as could be hoped, Halsey would order Task Groups 38.1 and 38.4 to head to Ulithi on October 22, as he doubted that the Japanese would mount a major operation in response to the American invasion. And yet, the Japanese were about to come calling for another decisive battle.  I would like to take this time to remind you all that this podcast is only made possible through the efforts of Kings and Generals over at Youtube. Please go subscribe to Kings and Generals over at Youtube and to continue helping us produce this content please check out www.patreon.com/kingsandgenerals. If you are still hungry after that, give my personal channel a look over at The Pacific War Channel at Youtube, it would mean a lot to me. General Douglas MacArthur had finally done it, he had returned to the Philippines making good on his promise to the Filipino people. It was a colossal effort and thus far it was going very well all things considered. However little did the Americans know, but the IJN was about to toss the kitchen sink at them, literally, in an all or nothing battle to the death.

AP correspondent Charles de Ledesma reports a powerful typhoon is lashing northern Philippine islands.

55: FOOL'S GOLD | The Tallano Gold Myth, Part 1 This gold rush is a WILD one! In this episode, we talk about one of the conspiracy theories that rocked the imagination of Filipinos for years–most especially in the last Presidential election. Have you heard of the myth of the Tallano Gold? Hundreds of thousands of metric tons of gold that are supposedly owned by an old royal family that “legally owns” the Philippine archipelago. Join us as we parse through historical documents, take a journey through Asia, the Vatican, and… outer space? What does a UFO cult have to do with the ancestral gold of a long-lost royal family? Who really owned the Philippine Islands–and who continues to stake their claim to this day? And is there really such a thing as a Seven Star Governor General in the United Nations? Disclaimer: The views expressed in this episode are opinions and quoted allegations. The content here should not be taken as indisputable facts. This podcast is for entertainment purposes only. Remember to do your own research before you believe what you see on the internet! — The Gods Must Be Crazy is a podcast on Philippine Mythology hosted by friends Anama Dimapilis and Ice Lacsamana, avid mythology nerds and semi-professional gossips. Follow us over at @godsmustbecrazy.pod on Instagram and Facebook for more good stuff. We welcome any suggestions on future topics or episodes.  You can also join us on Patreon at www.patreon.com/thegodsmustbecrazypodcast. You can also find us on Youtube – Gods Must Be Crazy Podcast channel, where we post some of our episodes and interviews. For other inquiries, please email us at godsmustbecrazy.pod@gmail.com The intro and outro music is by Brian O'Reilly (@dendriform on Instagram). — References/Further Reading: When Fake News Infects Political Networks: Case Study of the Tallano Gold Myth in the Philippines, https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=4293563 The Tallano Gold Myth : UFO Cults, Polarization, and Contact Zones, https://www.researchgate.net/publication/372912833_The_Tallano_Gold_Myth_UFO_Cults_Polarization_and_Contact_Zones https://www.creativeimage.jp/foundation/_pdf/The%20True%20Story%20of%20the%20Tallano%20(TALA)%20Estate.pdf https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tallano_gold https://diktadura.upd.edu.ph/2022/09/18/ecstatic-loyalists-await-their-share-of-the-marcos-wealth-but-is-it-fools-gold/  https://shopee.ph/TALLANO-GOLD-SOAP-24K-i.465696249.13760780388

A weekly magazine-style radio show featuring the voices and stories of Asians and Pacific Islanders from all corners of our community. The show is produced by a collective of media makers, deejays, and activists. Tonight we present our sister podcast Continental Shifts. Hosts Gabriel and Estella speak with Tavae Samuelu.   Opening: [00:00:00] Apex Express Asian Pacific expression. Community and cultural coverage, music and calendar, new visions and voices, coming to you with an Asian Pacific Islander point of view. It's time to get on board the Apex Express.   Swati Rayasam: [00:00:35] Good evening, everyone. You're listening to APEX Express Thursday nights at 7 PM. My name is Swati Rayasam and I'm the special editor for this episode. Tonight, we're wrapping up the podcast continental shifts created by bi-coastal educators, Gabriel Anthony Tanglao and Estella Owoimaha-Church who embark on a voyage in search of self, culture and the ancestors. Last time we featured the concept's podcast, Gabe and Estella, talked with union leader and educator Yan Yii about creating culturally relevant classrooms, the importance and emotional toll of teachers being a social safety net for marginalized students, and the ever-growing union presence in education. Tonight. They're talking to Tavae Samuelu about what it will take to organize across ethnic groups, specifically Pacific Islander and Asian communities, beyond ethnic or national lines. And what future we're visioning for when the US empire falls. If this is your first touch into the conshifts podcast, I strongly recommend diving into the apex archives on kpfa.org. Backslash programs, backslash apex express to check out the previous episodes. And also to check out the podcast on ConShift's site at continentalshifts.podbean.com or anywhere podcasts are found. But for now, let's get to the show.   Tavae Samuelu: [00:02:05] When Toni Morrison talks about Invisible Man and asked this question of like invisible to who? Like, what do I care if whiteness sees me? Also know I come across folks who are like, I say API cause I was taught that that was inclusive. And I was like, I bet you a PI didn't tell you that [laughs].   Gabriel Tanglao: [00:02:27] What will it take to organize across ethnic groups, specifically Pacific Islander and Asian communities. In this episode, we rap with the amazing Tavae Samuelu to strategize ways we might organize AAPI folks across and beyond ethnic or national lines.   Estella Owoimaha-Church: [00:02:48] What up, what up? Tālofa lava, o lo'u igoa o Estella. My pronouns are she/her/hers, sis, uso.   Gabriel Tanglao: [00:02:53] What's good, family? This is Gabriel, kumusta? Pronouns he/him.   Estella Owoimaha-Church: [00:02:56] Tavae Samuelu is the daughter of a pastor from Leo Lumoenga and a nurse from Salemoa in Samoa as the executive director of Empowering Pacific Islander Communities, she's a passionate advocate for Pacific Islanders and is committed to liberation for all. Tavae was born, raised, and currently resides on Tongva territory. She credits her time on unceded Ohlone land for her political consciousness. During the pandemic, she has learned that her most important title is Auntie Vae. I had the pleasure of meeting Tavae at the Asian Pacific American Labor Alliance Conference in Vegas a couple of years ago when I sat in on her workshop related to organizing Pacific Islander communities. It was, and I'm sure I've told her this by now, one of the first times in my life I have ever felt seen as a Samoan woman. Uso, thank you so much for joining us today. Please go ahead and take a few minutes to further introduce yourself to our listeners.   Tavae Samuelu: [00:03:57] Thank you, Stella. I've heard you say that before and it always makes me tear up [laughs]. That's also probably the most rewarding aspect of this job, of this community work, to be able to hear from people that they feel seen and validated. By, you know, by what we do and what, by what we put out there in the world. As I said, you know, currently residing on Tongva territory, what is momentarily known as Long Beach, California, until we get this land back to who it rightfully belongs to. You know I'm really clear and really intentional in this pro indigenous approach of naming the original stewards of this land because it's important to me that we know who to return the land to when this empire falls and that we're really clear, right? Not to just be in solidarity as a performative aspect, but naming our indigenous siblings who continue to exist, who are incredibly resilient and are still the experts on the best way to take care of this land and each other and how to be good relatives.   Estella Owoimaha-Church: [00:05:13] She said, “when the empire fall,” I went [laughs].   Gabriel Tanglao: [00:05:16] When the empire, when the empire falls. When…so.   Tavae Samuelu: [00:05:19] I mean, let me credit to Dakota Camacho, who taught me to say “momentarily known as” I was like, yeah, that is a manifestation, if ever. I like that. I'm gonna, I'm gonna borrow that. Let me also cite Dakota Camacho for that.   Gabriel Tanglao: [00:05:33] Tavae I would love to know just a little more about your backstory. What brought you to this work in particular, organizing in the Pacific Island community and spaces.   Tavae Samuelu: [00:05:43] My path was circuitous. I think there are a couple of milestones that are important to be explicit about. I've been Pacific Islander my entire life, right? Whatever that means to be born into racism and understand that race is a social construct. And so what it means to be Pacific Islander has also changed every single moment of my life. I would say that the way that I language and articulate my Pacific Islander identity most definitely needs to be credited to black feminist thought and that despite being Pacific Islander my entire life [laughs], it wasn't really until, you know, I was an undergrad at Cal and an ethnic studies major and introduced to Audre Lorde and bell H=hooks and Angela Davis and especially Kimberlé Crenshaw, right? The person who so often is not credited enough for coining intersectionality. But I want to be really clear, I didn't understand Pacific Islander until I got language from these black feminist thought leaders. Folks who were so so brilliant about naming what it means to walk around in a world that is both racist and sexist. And then, through an ethnic studies class that was on time on American History, right? I'm a first year Cal and it also meant I went kindergarten through 12th grade not hearing a single thing about Samoans. And had to get to my freshman year of college to see anything about us and having a lot of critical questions about why that is right. And everything leading to one thing or another. I was like, oh, well, there's not enough of us in higher education. So, well, why aren't there enough of us in higher education? I know. Brilliant smart, talented Pacific Islanders. So you start getting into like the systemic and institutional barriers around. So there was a lot of critical race theory consumption that happened for me really in gaining an elitist language for things that I experienced my entire life, right? And then after getting black feminist thought, then being able to read about Pacific Islanders through Epeli Hau'ofa and Sia Fiegel and Haunani Kay Trask and so many ancestors and elders who really blazed a trail around things, who became definite, and more recently, Teresia Teaiwa. So I say that, and there's also a piece of it where I would love to say that there was like this drive that came from this really positive place, but a lot of it was just anger. Like that initial phase of building your political consciousness where you wake up and realize how up is, oh, man like, what can I do? And then sort of moving throughout these other phases of political consciousness building where then I'm like, oh, but there are ways that I participate in the systems that disenfranchise us, but also that internal work and still being there. And so even most of my organizing and like even professional career has actually been in multicultural spaces outside of the Pacific Islander community. And it's really only with EPIC that I've been able to deeply engage in that. And the irony of being called Palangi or the Samoan word for white my entire life and then never feeling Pacific Islander enough and now being charged as the leader of a national Pacific Islander organization that is frequently asked to define PI, so, you know, that is the irony of the universe for me.   Estella Owoimaha-Church: [00:09:07] There was so much, so much there. Our listeners cannot hear me like banging on the table and snapping and, but, again, you are another guest who has affirmed the absolute importance of ethnic studies in our education, in our process, and you are another guest who has affirmed the absolute necessity of black feminist thought, like in all of our upbringing and conscious awareness rising. And like maybe there's a case study here in season one [laughs] that's formulating on how we became the educators and organizers that we are. Gabriel, you were a social studies classroom teacher, and then moved into taking on union labor work like heavily, what was some of your motivation or inspiration to make the move from the classroom and step heavy into union labor organizing?   Gabriel Tanglao: [00:10:16] If I'm keeping it 100 percent real, I didn't want to leave the classroom. I loved the classroom. I still love the classroom. It was the foundation of just my passion in specifically the Bergenfield community, which we've talked about in the past episodes has a larger Filipino population. So not only was education, just a pathway to be able to help uplift, engage my people, young folks in my community. But the union organizing space in Bergenfield was also formative in allowing me to engage on a broader scale. So that said, when making the transition out of the classroom, which was a difficult decision, to step into the union organizing space on a statewide level, it was really just with the possibility of being able to support educators on a larger scale and have a broader impact and specifically in my role in professional development, I consider this the only type of full time union work that I would leave the classroom for because it's the closest to the classroom. And in professional development, I think there's this old school perception on PD that's really sit and receive canned PowerPoints. And I feel like this conversation around organizing, there's actually a really fascinating exploration between facilitation, education, and organizing. They all pull from the similar skill sets, right? Sharing resources, bringing people together in shared learning, collective understanding, trying to figure out how the collective wisdom can allow us to just transform the community spaces, the up society in which we live. All of the things, Tavae set it off so we can do that she established some new rules. But to keep it relatively brief, I would say the professional development role and the opportunity to organize on a larger scale is the only reason that I considered leaving the classroom.   Estella Owoimaha-Church: [00:12:30] I know you, you touched on this already, but I'll go ahead and ask it and I'll ask both of you and I'll toss it to Tavae first. In what ways does your culture and your identity inform the work or vice versa?   Tavae Samuelu: [00:12:46] I think that it always has. There was a point at which I thought I needed to come to EPIC and sometimes that's still true. That I needed to come to EPIC in order to give primacy to my Pacific Islander identity, I had spoken earlier about most of my professional career and even like, as a student organizing was done in multicultural spaces that were, you know, in, in this sort of umbrella way identified as black and brown. But they weren't spaces where I was PI, I was like, you know, most often a woman of color, more broadly, a person of color, but there was never really an understanding of Pacific Islander. Whether people knew it or not, everything I was doing was in a very Pacific Islander way. From the way I speak to things that people would have identified as very humble. I was like, oh, that's just how PIs do it, right? That there's a protocol to things. The deference to elders, the, I love my best friends says, all I do is quote people [laughs]. But there's this part to me where it's like, everybody quotes people I just cite my sources. But there's a part to it too where even citing your sources is very Pacific Islander in that you are naming the genealogy of something, of a thought, of a practice, of a story, right? That you are always going back to the roots of where you came from and that conclusion. And also like a lot of ways where things that I was recognized for was in storytelling. It's like, oh, that's a really good. And folks not realizing like, oh, that's, that comes from me being Pacific Islander. Like that comes from me being Samoan. Not in spite of, but because of it. And so now there's a lot of ways where the work is defining Pacific Islander. And this other really interesting piece that EPIC does leadership development. That means we work with a lot of young people and the vast majority of our young people are second, third, fourth generation, right? Fairly removed from their indigeneity. And because of that, growing up in diaspora, in particular, growing up in the U. S., that there's always this thirst for Pacific Islander culture, and that's what they come to us for but also this notion and kind of this living conversation about what is PI, right? And that we ask them, and then many of them not feeling Pacific Islander enough, like that being the through line. But when you ask, like, what is Pacific Islander, is advocacy Pacific Islander, is education Pacific Islander? And oftentimes hearing from them, really troubling narratives that they've internalized about what PI is, and then having to untether and tease out, like, where did you get that from? Where did that story come from? Did it come from PIs? Very often, not, right? That, that what it means to have to constantly interrogate the ways that white supremacy controls how you understand yourself, controls your story, right? And so, you know, what does it mean that to our young people, that being PI means automatically and inherently means being part of the military, because that's what it means to be a warrior culture. Or that being PI is playing football or that being like that many of the narratives that they had taken to be factual were also grounded in the consumption of their bodies and wanting to trouble that notion. Right? And then also empower them to participate in the creation of a new narrative. So we sort of sit at this place where our work is to both remember culture, spread that remembering, and also watch it evolve and empower our young people to participate in that evolution and feel ownership of it.   Gabriel Tanglao: [00:17:05] I'm just gonna have a real moment right now on this episode and just say I wish I had a rewind button right now just to run that back because I'm trying to process some of the knowledge you just dropped and thinking about the ways that our culture and identity inform the ways we show up in spaces, specifically the ways that our perception is grounded through the lens of white supremacy culture and the consumption of our bodies is the way that you framed it, but how do we transform those narratives to be grounded in our own indigenous authentic cultural lens. So just Tavae, thank you for jumping in there. I was thinking about this question in what ways does my culture and identity inform my work? And I'm going to keep it real with you that I'm still exploring that right now. I recognize that the knowledge of self, the knowledge of Filipino history is something that I am becoming more familiar with and drawing more connections with in my adult life. Of course, being Filipino, having the cultural roots be present in my life, but also being a first generation person in a predominantly white suburban area, assimilation is something that is very much the reality for first generation folks. It wasn't until college, it was an educator, a professor Osei, on the literature of African peoples that started to help spark that critical race consciousness and sent me down a journey to become more race conscious and explore that. So to respond in short, the cultural identity, I'm still exploring that now, but I will say this. that the more that I learn, the more connections that I'm starting to realize. Being that I'm now heavily involved in the union spaces, and that's been a big part of my journey recently, I've come to learn about the farm workers and the Filipino organizers across Hawaii and the West Coast that have been pivotal in American history, labor organizing that I wasn't aware of. It was actually a moment of pride as I learned about that through APALA so APALA was one of the places where I was educated about this history and I'm realizing a lot of the connections that I'm making in my people, cultural roots.There's something there that I'm still unpacking right now, still exploring right now, and that's part of this Continental Shifts podcast. It's a real time exploration of how our culture and identity inform the ways we show up now. So that's, that's how I think about it in this moment.   Tavae Samuelu: [00:19:56] I love that and I think even as you were saying that what comes up for me is a lot of stuff too. That's also what's unique about EPIC is because I know our young people everywhere else they go will tell them that culture is a deficit. Right. It's the thing that you need to put away in order to succeed. And that we're also really clear of like, well, we are asking them to define success. It's not about aspiring to whiteness. Right. That I'm not trying to replace American exceptionalism with PI exceptionalism. And this other piece around culture is like, culture is not a costume. But it's most definitely a uniform for me, right? Like that when I go to the Capitol, if I'm lobbying in Sacramento, if I'm in D. C., I'm wearing my mom's fulakasi so that everybody can see, right? So to bring her with me as like a physical reminder. But also so my people see me there, right? Like a pulakasi, you wear it for ceremony. You also wear it to do faius or work when you're in service, right? So if I'm wearing a pulakasi, you know that I'm there for teltua. You know that I'm there to be in service, and that signaling to our young people, and then like the ceremony part of it, right? There's a sacredness to it. So if I'm in it, you also know, like, that you know what I'm there for. You know I'm about that business if we're, if we're in it. And you know, it tells other people, like, yo, this is how much we belong in the capital that I didn't put on, you know, I didn't put on some pantsuit or a blazer or whatever the case so that white people will recognize me. I put on a fulakasi so you all could see me. Right? And I think, and I've talked to this to a couple of folks about it, right? Like when Toni Morrison talks about Invisible Man and asked this question of like invisible to who? Like, what do I care if whiteness sees me? Like, the first time white people saw us, they decided, like, we were savage and they needed to take our land from us. It's actually not safe for white people to see me. Like, I just need our folks to see each other, right? And this other piece too, around narratives and story and culture, right? Like, that's the importance of APALA, of EPIC, of, of Ethnic Studies, is like, it'll give you the stories white supremacy never wanted you to know about yourself, right? That, like, white supremacy will tell people about the Aloha spirit, and that, like, Kanaka are just so grateful for tourism to have you on their land. It's like, yo, my favorite stories about Native Hawaiians are when they killed Captain Cook, cause that just like stepped out of line and tried to take too much right.   Like, those are my favorite stories. And so, you know, they'll tell you about us being warriors to recruit our young people for empire, like, yo, if you're gonna talk about words, talk about the Polynesian Panthers who stood toe to toe, inspired by the Black Panther Party to surveil the cops who were harassing, deporting and doing all of this up to our community. Or like tell the stories about our healers, right? Big Pharma will copyright things that we've been using to treat and heal our people for years so that it's not accessible on our lands. Like those are the stories where I'm just like, yo, I need all of our folks to know more of this. And I think even to that note Estella and I got to, after that APALA workshop got to reconnect through LE GaFa. And LE GaFa is also really important, like all of these language revitalization programs that are coming up, because even in a Fa'a Samoa or like a Samoan context, the three pillars of identity are land, family, and language, right? And so many of our young people come to us, you know, if you're in diaspora, that means you, you're divorced from your land. Many have lost language and then family is complicated. Family is real complicated [laughs]. And so how did we also become that space of redefining Samoa?   Estella Owoimaha-Church: [00:23:36] Oh, sis. So much has been said, but when you were speaking earlier, I thought back to how I felt when I first met you. And for the first time I was seen by my sister. You know what I mean? Like, I have never been in space with other Samoan women and felt at home until then. And then in thinking about LE GaFa and why I chose to take the class at 30, trying to learn a language is hard at 30, trying to learn Samoan at 30 oof! It is one of the biggest challenges I've ever accepted in my life. But every time we are in class, things just feel like they were already in my bones. And I didn't have a name for it or I didn't know what it was. So folks are always telling me, Stella, you're a storyteller. And you know, obviously I'm a theater major. Ended up in storytelling. And it's definitely a part of my practice as an educator. But like, now I know, well, that was in my bones, that is my lineage, that's my heritage, that's my ancestry. From both sides, you know, you know what I mean? I'm Nigerian and Samoan, I get it strong from both sides of who I am. I just love holding on to that thought that all of these things that someone tried to rip away from me, tell me was not okay, they couldn't because it is deeply innate. It is literally in… in me and it cannot be taken. And so my journey throughout my life to it was just that. It was something that was misplaced and I just had to find it again and I'm happy that I am there and to what Gabriel said earlier, that was definitely a reason why we chose to start this podcast because I can see it on my social media feeds, that there is a thirst, especially among young Samoans, to find out more about what's going on, I now have so many, oh, Samoan daily words and Samoan proverb, you know what I mean? Like so many folks I'm following and people are also trying to learn the language, I'm meeting and making connection with random Samoan artists on Instagram who now are in the LE GaFa class. And like everyone is now connected through social media. Because all of us, like you said, we are living in diaspora and those three parts of ourselves, we are now having to find. They're misplaced and we're in search of them and are lucky and blessed to be able to find each other so that we can rediscover those pieces of ourselves.   Gabriel Tanglao: [00:26:09] Tavae, when you were talking about the different stories that aren't told that should be told, you got me thinking about Lapu Lapu in the Philippine Islands, the chieftain that defeated, Magellan and stemmed off the first wave of colonizers coming through to the Philippines. I didn't learn about that in my, in my fourth grade class when I had to do a history research project. I learned about Magellan discovering the Philippine islands and that's not the story. Tell me the story about Gabriela Silang and all of the Filipino revolutionaries. So I was feeling what you were saying earlier. And also, with the deficit narratives that are placed on us, Dr. Tara Yasso, who introduced the Community Cultural Wealth Framework, the idea to challenge the dominant culture's narrative, the deficit thinking around us, and recognize the value-based, asset-based, capital-based thinking of cultural wealth that we're bringing to spaces, that's real.   Swati Rayasam: [00:27:07] You are tuned in to APEX Express on 94.1 KPFA, 89.3 KPFB in Berkeley, 88.1 KFCF in Fresno and online at kpfa.org.   Gabriel Tanglao: [00:27:22] Tavae, I do have a question about your organizing work with EPIC. That's a dope name, by the way just got to shout that out. But what success have you and EPIC had in organizing across PI communities?   Tavae Samuelu: [00:27:37] Credit for the name goes to Ono Waifale. You know, so EPIC started in 2009 by a group of young Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander leaders, mostly in higher ed, Ono, and a lot of it's sort of like the seeds of it planted, in the Pacific Islander leadership pipeline. So there's like a lot of hands that went into building it. Ono Waifale was one of the young people who went through that. And so the name EPIC comes from him. You know, something about the word success gives me trepidation. Like I have a thing about it, and maybe this is also me having a hard time just discerning between, humility and insecurity of like when you call something a success that people come and like want to hold you accountable to that. There are things that I feel good about, things that I feel proud about and. You know, it's my own recovering perfectionism that has me hesitant about it. That has me like, Oh, if I call that a success, there are so many things that I would have nitpicked about it, that I would done differently. You know, I'm always going to say the young people are my favorite part of this work of EPIC as an organization. On like that Huey P Newton, like, the revolution is always in the hands of young people. There's also a way that they are the best compass and litmus test, right? In that audacity that young people have of it could be better. And I'm just like, Oh, that's dope. Like, cause I think there's also a lot of ways where you know, I'm always an aspiring radical elder and trying to figure out how I can be that radical elder right now. But recognizing, a lot of the markers for adulthood and maturity are about sometimes, like, how much closer you get it to status quo, to like being more served by existing systems. And so there's a way in which I'm going to age out of this role. And I'm always looking for the young person who's going to take it on and keep up that mantle of demanding more, right. Of keeping us accountable to that. And so I think it's always the young people who are like over inspiring and also so brilliant and have so much heart around this and are such a good reminder because there's also ways in which they're closer to the problem because of their youth, right? And so because they're closer to the problem, they have more solutions and they're also a better way of vetting the viability of something that I might think is so great, but I'm doing all this grass top of what do I know if I'm spending all my time talking to funders and elected officials?   Like, I need the young people who tell me stories about I couldn't do homework because I had to do files for my mom and my grandma. And then I also had to take care of my little siblings and like, that's the kind of where I'm like, Oh, that's actually what should be dictating our policy agenda, right? Of like, how young people are thriving in this world, right? Because they're always going to be the marker of a healthy society, right? And that because they are part of that most vulnerable group, because they inherit so much . And then also the ways that we're developing young people into adult allies. Like, how are these young people also then looking at themselves of like, oh, let me be that, like, that OG that all the younger folks can come to as well. Like that they're preparing themselves also to take up the mantle and they feel good about it. Like that they feel ready and maybe if not ready, that they feel supported like, when they take that on, all the adults aren't going to disappear. And then there's also like a relativity to it, right? Like, in many spaces, I'm the youngest ED, or I'm the youngest “leader” whatever that means. And so there's me kind of also feeling young in that way, but then sometimes I'm like, oh, I'm the adult in the room [laughs]. Lamenting that ugh I gotta be the grownup. So I think that piece too is a weird in between that, that I'm in, but like I I think those are the parts of EPIC that feel good. And I think this speaks to the API aspect of this episode and where we're going to be diving deeper in. It's always a success to me when I've got more accomplices and allies for the Pacific Islander community. Right. When I have more people beyond PI's that are asking about us, that are fighting for us. Right. And that's a solidarity and then, you know, this is also an inspiration and something I like feel good about the direction that we're moving in is being really explicit about our organization being pro black and pro Indigenous and anti racist. Not because it's trending, because Imma be in this, [laughs] like even after it stops trending, but because it also signals to folks that we're a safe place to land. That if we say it out loud, you can hold us accountable to it, but you also know that you can come here and talk about and go there with us.   Estella Owoimaha-Church: [00:32:48] What you said about young people, I think, is my favorite part about being a classroom teacher. It is, I think, exactly for that reason. And I can sit and sit and lesson plan, lesson plan, lesson plan, get to class, and kids are like, nah. Now you, that's corny. You thought it was, you thought it was great, but Miss, let me tell you, but then I love that they feel absolutely comfortable telling me that it's not as dope as I thought it was [laughs]. And then we, you know, I just let them take over the lesson at that point. What are the critical issues that you foresee us needing to mobilize around? Maybe it's right now or in the immediate future.   Gabriel Tanglao: [00:33:28] Yeah, I guess what's present for me based on this conversation has me thinking about education, thinking about the stories and the narratives that are out there, and thinking about decolonizing curriculum as a primary frontline issue, but I actually need to shout out Kai, who was one of our guests, that decolonizing curriculum, if we flip that framing to indigenizing curriculum, is perhaps a better approach in terms of how we are more historically and culturally responsive in our approach. Why is that important? I think it's important to mobilize because I'm starting to recognize that the narratives that are being shared throughout public education in this country really do have a major impact on perpetuating white supremacy culture and continuing the violence that we're seeing. So, the obvious physical violence, but the forms of emotional violence and trauma that are just part of the mythology of the ways this nation state perpetuates white supremacy, patriarchal culture, capitalist system at large. So, I feel like part of my educator roots always calls me to that. But I think because Tavae and Estella, you're making sure we're grounded in understanding the youth perspectives that's present on my right now as a critical issue. And that's also going to be now and forever, perhaps, right? Oh wait, no, actually, Tavae, I'm gonna take some learning from what you shared at the beginning. The empire, when it falls, right? We're preparing for when it falls. So I'll just, I'll leave it there.   Estella Owoimaha-Church: [00:35:17] I think right now, like, educators across the nation, an immediate charge is to pass ethnic, like, ethnic studies has to be it everywhere, across the board, preschool to 14, like, mandatory, we've got to make sure that ethnic studies, um, so whatever state association across all of our unions. When ethnic studies ends up on your legislative body on the floor, yes on ethnic studies and push it and make sure that, it is what it's supposed to be and not some watered down, BS where you've taken out words like anti blackness and white supremacy. Let's make sure that. Every child has access to that, and it is what it's supposed to be because, like you said, I'm not trying to hear about Magellan discovering some he didn't discover in the first place. I'm trying to learn my whole truth, and it'd be great if I could get it, you know, starting at preschool instead of having to go, like Tavae put it earlier, I had to get that elite language in order to name the stuff. Like, I shouldn't have to go all the way to Graduate school, undergrad to figure out who the hell I am and then do something with that. So ethnic studies, I think, is the thing that needs to happen like right now.   Tavae Samuelu: [00:36:43] Well, I guess I'm also thinking about this ethnic studies piece too, because I fully support it and I know there's like a save PI studies coalition full of brilliant, like PI educators, also like very much Manawahine which folks should definitely follow. I think there's this piece too, where if you're going to mandate ethnic studies, I also need a pipeline for teachers of color and not just a pipeline, but Right, to support and retain teachers of color. Because there's this concern that I have too of what does it mean that most teachers are white? Like that's the other part, right? I was like, oh, white people are, I've never met a white person who teaches ethnic studies well. Never. I don't even know if it's possible, but you'd have to break yourself to do that, right? And also to think back of, like, the origins of ethnic studies in the 1969, the Third World Liberation Front. What it was created to respond to, the fact that it was also meant to be a college, not a department of, what does it mean to do ethnic studies in biology, right? Like, what does it mean to do ethnic studies as a lens through which we observe everything, right? Because if you have ethnic studies, you actually don't need US history anymore. Like, if you have ethnic studies, you don't need European history anymore, because ethnic studies is all of that, right? It's all of that. It also, you know, I agree, Ethnic studies it taught me a set of values and a way to look at the world and not just stories, right? It made me question all the things of like, what is essentially like the propaganda that our young people receive in formal education spaces [laughs]. And so I say this too, of like, yes, absolutely, all of that, it should be accessible, it should be invested in, it should be from us, there should be a naming of the fact that the US and education systems are, traditional education systems are invested in and fans of revisionist white supremacist history and that there's simultaneous campaigns that need to happen. And I defer to you all in your expertise and brilliance as educators. Right.   Every issue is a critical issue right now. Everything. You know, especially like COVID-19 and Pacific Islanders, I think in the context of this episode, in this podcast, this conversation, I'm at an impasse with Asian Pacific Islander or API, the terminology as an aggregate has been around since, you know, 1970s ish, and for me, because it's been around that long, it means that, API spaces and organizations have had since the 1970s to figure it out. So we're in 2021 right now and I'm having conversations with folks about what about PI and like there's a request for patience that just frankly is not fair. There's also just, like, this dynamic that doesn't get investigated. So when I talk about being at an impasse, it's that PIs already don't do API, that data disaggregation is actually just a request for data to catch up to the ways we already organize ourselves as communities API is a false promise and a site of erasure for many communities, not just Pacific Islanders, right? That Southeast Asian, South Asians, Filipinos as well get erased in these things, right? That even under API, we were still actually just being held responsible for a majority East Asian representation. And that it doesn't investigate the inequitable dynamic that exists between and AA and PI so this impasse is that the work that we do in advocacy is in recognition of the fact that power and resources are still distributed and disseminated through API. So we have a critical conversation to have as a community because PIs are already not using PI, and it's actually Asian Americans that use API and that it doesn't feel very good, these accountability conversations of calling folks in of like, how can we be good relatives? How can we talk about, because there's also like, you know, Asian American spaces aren't talking about colonization, like the PI as a colonized people, all the forms of racism that we experience being facilitated through that means, and, you know, if we're real, that some of our PI nations are colonized by Asian Americans, like not American, but like Asian nations, right? That there's like some healing that needs to happen. And so this, I don't know that it's a critical issue so much as like a critical conversation that needs to occur in our communities that is inclusive of PIs. Cause I also know I come across folks who are like, I say API cause I was taught that that was inclusive. And I was like, I bet you a PI didn't tell you that. So, yeah, you know, I think about that in the context of this episode, but there's this other piece too of like, You know, my family and I had COVID back in August, and so that was its own, I don't know that I say wake up call, because I, like, what's the humble way to say, like, I've been awake? It was asking this question of, like, what facilitated our survival, right? And a lot of actually what came to me was around labor. Was around union organizing and those wins of like we survived because I got a livable wage. I have paid sick leave I have like health insurance I have all of these things that I'm really clear were won by unions were made possible by labor and they're treated as privileges right or even like speaking English Like, all of these things that I was just like sitting with, like, oh, those are actually now shaping our demands of how we are going to move our advocacy work, or, you know, that we're housed, all of these things where I was like, oh, these are actually, there's not one critical issue, because the insidious nature of racism and poverty is that it could manifest itself in so many ways in our community that lead to premature death, and in that, like, Ruthie Wilson Gilmore way where she defines racism as the set of systems that lead to premature death. So that being like, oh, those are all the critical issues for me.   Estella Owoimaha-Church: [00:43:12] We need to, we, we're going to have to like come up with a syllabus for this episode, like to drop this [laughs] episode next week that has everyone cited all the articles and all the things listed so that we can like, yeah, I'm disseminating a syllabus with this episode. And I think that you were, you were right in that. First of all the disaggregation of data is something that is a theme that has come up on nearly every episode too in this podcast. It was another reason why, when Gabriel and I met, that was one of the first conversations we had because I have been very vocal in our caucus that there is some healing and reconciliation needs to happen. There is a reckoning that needs to happen. We need to deal with the anti blackness and et cetera, et cetera. In our caucus, right? And the fact that this caucus is meant to represent too many dang people and you try to squeeze us all together and make, like, all of our issues one issue, and it just does not work like that for all of the reasons that you said, but it doesn't mean you said, how can we be good relatives? It doesn't mean that moving forward, we can't be good relatives and figure this out. I think you're right. We've got to stop and have the conversation, before we can really move forward. And it's probably gonna be a long conversation. It's going to be a long conversation and one that happens continuously and in various spaces, but it definitely needs to happen moving forward aside from what you've already shared with us, what do you think it will take to increase the visibility of our communities and mobilize PI people around some of the critical issues that you've already talked about.   Gabriel Tanglao: [00:45:08] So Estella, your question has me thinking, and the energy from this episode in particular has me fired up, if I'm keeping it real, that if we're talking about visibility for our communities, obviously organizing is at the core of that, making sure that we lift up and create spaces for our people to come together and discover that collective wisdom within our own respective communities. But the fire that you all lit right now has me thinking that just being unapologetically and fearlessly courageous in the face of white supremacy culture within our own spaces, whether that's in the organizations, institutions, businesses, all of the places that we exist. I'm recognizing actually in this moment that one of the things that Tavae said earlier about not being seen by white supremacy institutions is actually safer, which is also very true in the way that things manifest. But what I'm feeling right now is increasing visibility. We're in a moment where, we're in this moment where our ancestors have prepared us to do battle in the ways that we are in our generation to try to disrupt the colonizers in our own respective ways. So those are my thoughts.   Tavae Samuelu: [00:46:34] Well, you know, I think the part of your question that I'm grappling with is this visibility piece, right? Because there are a lot of ways where I feel like our community is actually hyper visible, right? Like we've got The Rock, we've got Jason Momoa, we've got like all of these like really visible figures in our community who are also like very loud about our culture. And so there's this piece where I sit with is it that we need to be visible or is it like in this, man, I don't want to cite Chimamanda Adichie because she's like super TERFsy uh, and she had this Ted talk about like the danger of a single story and that actually, what, what troubles our visibility is the community is the singularity of our story here in the US, how there's like one thing that people get to know about. And I think, and maybe it's better to think about Stuart Hall and how he talks about there's no such thing as good or bad representation, because good and bad is constantly changing, right? Even the word bad in some contexts means good. In that sense, that actually what you're looking for as a community is a multitude of representation so that nothing becomes the single story of your visibility. Of how you're seen and understood, right? That that's also like, what white supremacy gets that white people get to be poor and wealthy. They get to be teachers and doctors and criminals, right? And even when they're criminal, we make it Godfather and like, glorify that criminality and so I think that's the part of our community is of wanting that to of, like, how do we get to see ourselves everywhere so that there isn't a limitation around how we mobilize. I also think, and I think this is always the conversation around representation of, like, how do I feel represented? Like you know, I never felt, Tulsi Gabbard is a Samoan woman, and I never felt represented by her like, that's not my people. And so, even that representation piece of, and I've stated this before, of like, yo, if it's not pro Black and pro Indigenous and anti racist, it doesn't represent me. Like, those are not my people.   Like, I'm not throwing down with people who aren't trying to get free. And so if I'm thinking about representation to invisibility, like I want our folks to be exposed and see as many examples of freedom as possible. That the other thing about young people and like language and all this stuff is young people already, really anyone like has a sense of what is not fair or doesn't feel right. That our young people actually, and many of us as marginalized communities, are experts in oppression. Like, you don't need to teach us what up looks like, because we've experienced it our whole lives. And so what does it mean to develop and invest in and build a whole pipeline and lineage of folks who are experts in liberation, who have so deeply exercised that muscle that they don't know anything else, that they only know how to be free. Like, I think that's the part where I'm thinking about, like, that's the kind of visibility I want to see. That's the kind of that I hope that our young people, that I, like, not just our young people, that I also need. And that I also am seeking so much, especially during this pandemic and always as somebody who struggles with anxiety and depression is, you know, on that Miriam Kaba, like hope is a discipline. I am internalizing more and more what that means. You to have to exercise hope as a discipline, as a muscle that needs to grow. I mean, I'll share this with you all, like, thank you Stella for saying happy birthday. It is, just probably one of the most difficult birthdays I've ever had. It is hard to age during a pandemic. In particular, like, because it's so macabre right now. But also because I've been wading through a lot of survivor's guilt. For the last couple of months, I'm just kind of like wondering why other people didn't make it and I did and so I have like a systemic analysis of all the privileges that kept me alive, but I'm still sitting here feeling guilty about making it or about surviving COVID thus far. And then sitting on a birthday, then having, like, every wish just felt really warm, but also sharp. And having to, like, say thank you to every single one to, like, exercise a muscle of gratitude. Like, try to replace some of that guilt with gratitude. But all that to say that I think this is also the direction that EPIC is going in, that like, when I think about these critical issues that it's like translating this thought experiment into tangible action around stuff. I'm sorry, I turned it off, I just completely lost you all.   Estella Owoimaha-Church: [00:51:53] No, I'm, I am with you, I was, y'all, like, I'm. dizzy from just shaking my head. Yes, I legit got lightheaded a second ago. Like, I was just shaking my head. What you just said, I was just like, isn't that the dream? Like, isn't that what we were supposed to be fighting for all those years ago and still today? A whole generation of people who don't know what it is to experience oppression. Like, that's the dream. Like, that's the dream. That, that is what we want and so what you were saying about visibility, you know, I'm, I constantly am struggling, like, with, I think, yeah, The Rock is there, but like, he's a wrestler, he's a movie star, you know what I mean? Like, it's always that same story. And while I appreciate him, I do, because being Black and being someone I always felt like a damn unicorn and The Rock was the only one who was there, who existed other than me and my brothers. And so I do appreciate him and the other celebrities or stars that we have to look to. But like you said, I want where we get to be. Any and everything and all of those things all at the same time.   Gabriel Tanglao: [00:53:19] I'm not sure if this makes it to the episode, but I have to express my gratitude for you just coming through and blazing this whole conversation. And really, I feel like there's just so much that I can't wait to. process and think through. I feel like the impact in this conversation alone is just gonna reverberate not only in my experience, but also our listeners that are tuning in. So Tavae, thank you so much.   Estella Owoimaha-Church: [00:53:47] Recovering perfectionist, that phrase. I'm walking away with it. Actually, it just posted something on like characteristics of white supremacy and the ways in which I was thinking about the ways in which as a theater educator, I have been guilty of perpetuating characteristics of white supremacy because it's so much a part of the way theater folk we do things. And so I was thinking like, but no wait, theater folk and artists, we also have the skills to dismantle white supremacy. It's also in the way that we do things so we do know better and when we know better we should do better so that recovering perfectionist is like in me and it also speaks to something that Gabriel has shared earlier about, you know, assimilation and being a first gen and that very typical immigrant story or child of immigrants like you're going to go to school get straight A's and essay like that show. And then your only options are doctor and lawyer. And don't come talk to me about anything else. So, you know, that that's definitely always been a part of. Me too, is it being in the diaspora and first gen American born, and always feeling like whatever I've done is not good enough. And, but then I'm like, but in whose eyes, whose eyes is it not good enough? And if it's in mine, then I need to sit with that and work past that. So recovering perfectionist, that's where I'm at.   Gabriel Tanglao: [00:55:14] My favorite line from today was aspiring radical elder. I'm holding on to that one. I was feeling that.   Estella Owoimaha-Church: [00:55:22] I wrote that one down too. Fa'a fatai te le lava. Thank you for listening.   Gabriel Tanglao: [00:55:28] Salamat. Thank you for listening.   Estella Owoimaha-Church: [00:55:29] We want to thank our special guest Tavae, one more time for rapping with us tonight. We really appreciate you.   Gabriel Tanglao: [00:55:36] Continental Shifts Podcast can be found on Podbean, Apple, Spotify, Google, and Stitcher.   Estella Owoimaha-Church: [00:55:43] Be sure to like and subscribe on YouTube for archived footage and grab some merch on our site.   Gabriel Tanglao: [00:55:48] Join our mailing list for updates at CONSHIFTSPodcast.com That's C O N S H I F T S podcast dot com. Follow us at con underscore shifts on all social media platforms.   Estella Owoimaha-Church: [00:56:06] Dope educators wayfinding the past, present, and future.   Gabriel Tanglao: [00:56:10] Keep rocking with us, fam. We're gonna make continental shifts through dialogue, with love, and together.   Estella Owoimaha-Church: [00:56:16] Fa'afetai. Thanks again. Deuces.   Gabriel Tanglao: [00:56:19] Peace. One love.   Swati Rayasam: [00:56:20] Thanks so much for tuning into apex express and an extra special thank you to Gabe and Estella for allowing us to feature your incredible podcast. Like I said at the top, you can find other episodes of the ConShifts podcast on our site at kpfa dot org backslash programs, backslash apex express. Or even better, you can go to the ConShifts site to listen on Podbean or wherever podcasts can be found. And make sure to follow them to keep up with where they go next. Please check out our website, kpfa.org/program/apexexpress to find out more about the show tonight and to find out how you can take direct action. We think all of you listeners out there keep resisting, keep organizing, keep creating and sharing your visions with the world. Your voices are important. Apex Express is produced by Miko Lee, along with Paige Chung, Jalena Keene-Lee, Preeti Mangala Shekar, Anuj Vaida, Kiki Rivera, Nate Tan, Hien Nguyen, Cheryl Truong, and me, Swati Rayasam. Thank you so much to the team at KPFA for their support and have a great night. The post APEX Express – 8.1.24 – Continental Shifts Organizing & More appeared first on KPFA.

In this special Memorial Day episode, we're remembering 5 remarkable men who were Killed in Action, sacrificing their all to defend their country and The Philippine Islands during the early months of World War 2.   Hear the full stories of the men highlighted in this episode: Capt. Colin Kelly -- pilot of first B-17 bomber downed in WW2 (episode #4) Lt. James Booher -- KIA at Bataan airfield (episode #7) Lt. Alexander "Sandy" Nininger -- First WW2 Congressional Medal of Honor recipient (episode #16) Lt. Ira Cheaney -- Missing on Bataan for 80 years (episode #17) Capt. Noel Castle -- Marine marksman killed during Corregidor invasion (episode 44)   Share memorial tributes to these men by visiting Left Behind on Facebook: www.facebook.com/people/Left-Behind-Podcast/100092698653154/ 

Peter-Jan Van De Venn, VP of Global Digital Banking at Hexaware-Mobiquity. Our conversation centered around a pressing issue in the banking sector: the relegation of sustainability initiatives amidst the current economic crisis. Peter-Jan brought to light some startling revelations from recent research. The study, involving 600 C-suite banking executives globally, indicated a significant shift in the banking sector's approach to sustainability. Notably, only two-thirds of these leaders now view sustainability as a key business strategy, a stark contrast to last year when it was unanimously seen as a top priority. This shift is particularly intriguing as more than a third of the executives acknowledge the profitability potential of prioritizing Environmental Societal Governance (ESG). Our discussion delved into the reasons behind this dramatic change, particularly in the context of current economic uncertainties. Peter-Jan shared his insights on why banks are increasingly focusing on short-term bottom lines, potentially overlooking the long-term benefits and necessity of sustainable practices. A key part of our conversation focused on the role of technology in driving sustainability in the banking sector. We explored how advancements such as AI, machine learning, cloud analytics, and even Augmented Reality can revolutionize the way banks operate and interact with customers. These technologies are not just tools for efficiency; they are catalysts for sustainable practices, enabling banks to make informed investment decisions, monitor their impact, reduce their carbon footprint, and provide more accessible digital services. Peter-Jan also emphasized the importance of adopting a sustainability mindset, integrating it into a bank's brand and operations. He highlighted how Hexaware-Mobiquity is assisting banks like Aditya Birla Capital, Bank ABC, and the Bank of the Philippine Islands in leveraging digital technologies to drive both sustainability and overall performance. Throughout our conversation, we touched upon the potential risks associated with sidelining sustainability, including reputational damage, missed opportunities for cost savings and innovation, and the broader societal impact. 

On December 7, 1941, the bombs rained down on the US Pacific Fleet at Pearl Harbor. Of the eight Battleships present that day, seven were put out of action. Two of those, Oklahoma, and Arizona, permanently. The other six Battleships were essentially obsolete. In fact, the very reason that the Battleships were in Pearl Harbor that day was because they were useless to accomplish the task the Navy needed done that week. But they were still fully manned and fully operational when Japan attacked. That said… the Navy saw value in the old ships, and decided to raise, repair and refit them to the standards of modern Battleships. In those roles, these six ships would serve through the rest of the Pacific War. One of them, the USS Nevada, found herself pounding the German defenses on D-Day and throughout the Normandy campaign. When General MacArthur landed with his troops in the Philippine Islands on October 20, 1944, the Imperial Japanese Navy had no choice but to respond. Virtually the entire fleet sailed to the Philippines to face off with the US Navy in a do or die struggle. Over the course of the next five days, four major naval engagements would take place. While the most famous of these battles involved the US Navy's TAFFY 3 and its incredible stand, it was to the south that the Japanese were attempting to make that fight even more lopsided. But the Southern Force of the Japanese Fleet was headed straight into the teeth of Read Admiral Jesse Oldendorf's battle line of six US battleships. Five of those battleships were raised from the mud and muck of Pearl Harbor. And on this night, led by USS West Virginia, … they would have their revenge… --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/plausibly-live/message

Christian Historical Fiction Talk is listener supported. When you buy things through this site, we may earn an affiliate commission.Become a patron and enjoy special perks and bonus content.Debby Lee is a new-to-me author making her first appearance on the podcast this week. Her fascinating new book, Beneath a Peaceful Moon, is part of Barbour Publishing's Heroines of WWII series, and looks at the role of Native Americans in winning WWII, both as spies and as code talkers. We chat about Debby's visit to Arizona to do research, how much Debby, a Native American herself, knows of the Navajo and Yakima languages, and how she went above and beyond (really above and beyond!) in her research. Patrons will get to hear about some of the sad things that happened to Native Americans even after the war, including to Debby's own family, and the repercussions that are still being felt today. Beneath a Peaceful Moon by Debby Lee Mary Wishram, an orphaned Yakima tribal member, aches for her brother who suffers in a POW camp in the Philippine Islands and her Japanese friends who languish in a relocation center. Determined to end the war by any means necessary, she employs her language skills to become a spy. Leaving Camp Pendleton for the South Pacific, she faces escalating threats of peril to help bring her loved ones home. John Painted Horse, a proud Navajo, struggles with the loss of his father who died in WWI for a country that didn't consider him a United States citizen. Though his home state doesn't offer him the right to vote, he joins the Code Talker program at Camp Pendleton. Thrust into mounting danger in the South Pacific, he hopes to bring long overdue recognition and honor to his people, no matter the cost. Will these two wounded souls find healing from their past traumas and a deeper relationship with God, before it's too late? Or will they lose their chance at love, and everything they hold dear?Get your copy of Beneath a Peaceful Moon by Debby Lee.Debby Lee, a member of the Yakama tribe, started writing as a child but never forgets home, the cozy town of Toledo, Washington, and her Native American roots. A former president of the Olympia chapter of Romance Writers of America, Debby enjoys participating in both RWA and the American Christian Fiction Writers. Her full length title, Beneath a Peaceful Moon, releases June 1, 2023, with Barbour Publishing. She also has six novella collections with Barbour. The Courageous Brides and Mountain Christmas Brides both made the ECPA Bestsellers list. A self-professed nature lover, Debby feels like a hippie child who wasn't born early enough to attend Woodstock. She wishes she could run barefoot all year long and often does when weather permits. During football season, she cheers on the Seattle Seahawks with other devoted fans. She's also filled with wanderlust and dreams of traveling the world.Visit Debby's website.

Maglalayag na ngayong ika-29 ng Mayo hanggang ika-4 ng Hunyo sa isla ng Lawak, Likas, at Kalayaan, Pagasa Islands sa unang pagkakataon ang “The Great Kalayaan Expedition 2023”.

In this episode, FirstMetroSec's Equity Research Associate Adel Bermudez discussed our updated insights on Bank of the Philippine Islands. Adel also shared our take on the pending merger of BPI and Robinsons Bank. Adel also disclosed our new target price for BPI. These and more, only here on Philippine Stock Market Weekly.

In this Market Bites episode, FirstMetroSec's Joan Batara talks about Robinsons Retail Holdings, Inc. Joan shares her thoughts on the acquisition of a 6.5% equity stake in the Bank of the Philippine Islands. She also shares FirstMetroSec's new target price for RRHI. These and more, only here on Philippine Stock Market Weekly.

The Philippine Islands

The Philippine Islands, 1493-1898: Volume XXXI, 1640 Explorations by early navigators, descriptions of the islands and their peoples, their history and records of the catholic missions, as related in contemporaneous books and manuscripts, showing the political, economic, commercial and religious conditions of those islands from their earliest relations with European nations to the close of the nineteenth century

We decided to take a long weekend trip to the Florida Keys for our honeymoon and one of the locations we visited was a former home of American author Ernest Hemingway in Key West. Hemingway loved Key West and left a mark on the town. He more than likely has left his spirit here as well. Join us as we share the life of this incredibly talented and troubled man and the history and haunts of his former home! The Moment in Oddity features Canary in a Coal Mine and This Month in History features the Philippine Islands' Independence. Check out the website: http://historygoesbump.com   Show notes can be found here: https://historygoesbump.blogspot.com/2023/03/hgb-ep-480-hemingway-house.html    Become an Executive Producer: http://patreon.com/historygoesbump Music used in this episode:  Main Theme: Lurking in the Dark by Muse Music with Groove Studios (Moment in Oddity) Vanishing by Kevin MacLeod Link: https://incompetech.filmmusic.io/song/4578-vanishing License: https://filmmusic.io/standard-license (This Month in History) In Your Arms by Kevin MacLeod Link: https://incompetech.filmmusic.io/song/3906-in-your-arms License: https://filmmusic.io/standard-license Outro Music: Happy Fun Punk by Muse Music with Groove Studios The following music was used for this media project: Music: Bassa Island Game Loop by Kevin MacLeod Free download: https://filmmusic.io/song/3424-bassa-island-game-loop License (CC BY 4.0): https://filmmusic.io/standard-license

Joined by our amazing and talented local host & guide to Philippine culture, this evening is one we'll remember forever. After a few tough weeks in Philippines, we finally find our community and have one hell of a big night out on the town. Amazing new dishes, hidden speakeasies, and one rocking outdoor club in torrential rain with a few streaking Brits among a sea of generic white faces. Thank you Nina!

POWER HALF HOUR ep111 February 22nd at 11AM. Super excited to interview with our guest speaker Mario Mitchell!   Mario is a Mega Team Owner with KW in Charlotte, NC and has over 20 years of experience in Real Estate.  He is also a Public Speaker, Coach, Mentor, Father and Husband. Mario has a unique approach to Real Estate in leading with Empathy and Compassion as his driving force behind developing a strong successful team.  The Majority of Mario's success as a Leader is driven by his personal story.   Mario was born in the Philippine Islands and was orphaned by age 6, he also lived as a homeless child on the streets until he was 12 years old. From age 12 - 18 Mario lived in 63 different Foster Homes desperately trying to fit in.  Mario earned a full basketball scholarship to college.  After college is where Mario took his years of being coached, which was his form of family and transitioned this into his Real Estate Career.   Today Mario speaks publicly of his challenges growing up and how it has molded his vision and drive, channeling negatives into positives.  For his local community Mario is an advocate for the voice of children, he is currently a licensed Guardian Ad Litem and has raised hundreds of thousands of dollars for the Men's Homeless Shelter in Charlotte through his annual Homeless Shoe Drive over the past 8 years.   Connect with Mario Mitchell: @mariomitchellteam   ---------- Don't forget to SUBSCRIBE to my channel :) ---------- What is the POWER HALF HOUR?  The Power Half Hour is a concise 30 minute interview with a top performer/influencer; usually in real estate. The guest speaker will share with us what motivates them, how they achieved high level success and their top business tips. You can join in on these live Wednesday Power Half Hour interviews via Zoom or Facebook Live.  Connect with John Tsai for those links.  ---------- STAY CONNECTED with John Tsai, eXp Realty Instagram https://www.instagram.com/tsairealestate YouTube https://www.youtube.com/johntsaiprec  ---------- CHECK OUT my new book that launched on Amazon.com and .ca on July 12, 2021. Search: How To Be A Beast by John Tsai. 

Today we listen to Franklin D. Roosevelt Transcript below by AmericanRhetoric.com The B.I.STANDER Podcast is a conversational podcast unique to Bainbridge Island and Seattle Washington, that covers the Arts, Society &  Human Interest stories. The intent is to introduce interesting people, ideas, and conversations. We are not perfect and that's OK! Thank you for your support! The B.I.Stander Podcast is a listener supported show, please consider subscribing.   BE A FRIEND OF PODCASTVILLE AND TELL A FRIEND  The BISTANDER Podcast! Blue Canary Auto NOW ALSO in Bremerton! Sound Reprographics Additional sound effects by: https://www.zapsplat.com/ Support the Show on PATREON Audio credit: Center for Applied Linguistics collection (AFC 1986/022), American Folklife Center, Library of Congress. Mr. Vice President, Mr. Speaker, Members of the Senate, and of the House of Representatives: Yesterday, December 7th, 1941 -- a date which will live in infamy -- the United States of America was suddenly and deliberately attacked by naval and air forces of the Empire of Japan. The United States was at peace with that nation and, at the solicitation of Japan, was still in conversation with its government and its emperor looking toward the maintenance of peace in the Pacific. Indeed, one hour after Japanese air squadrons had commenced bombing in the American island of Oahu, the Japanese ambassador to the United States and his colleague delivered to our Secretary of State a formal reply to a recent American message. And while this reply stated that it seemed useless to continue the existing diplomatic negotiations, it contained no threat or hint of war or of armed attack.1 It will be recorded that the distance of Hawaii from Japan makes it obvious that the attack was deliberately planned many days or even weeks ago. During the intervening time, the Japanese government has deliberately sought to deceive the United States by false statements and expressions of hope for continued peace. The attack yesterday on the Hawaiian islands has caused severe damage to American naval and military forces. I regret to tell you that very many American lives have been lost. In addition, American ships have been reported torpedoed on the high seas between San Francisco and Honolulu. Yesterday, the Japanese government also launched an attack against Malaya. Last night, Japanese forces attacked Hong Kong. Last night, Japanese forces attacked Guam. Last night, Japanese forces attacked the Philippine Islands. Last night, the Japanese attacked Wake Island. And this morning, the Japanese attacked Midway Island. Japan has, therefore, undertaken a surprise offensive extending throughout the Pacific area. The facts of yesterday and today speak for themselves. The people of the United States have already formed their opinions and well understand the implications to the very life and safety of our nation. As Commander in Chief of the Army and Navy, I have directed that all measures be taken for our defense. But always will our whole nation remember the character of the onslaught against us. No matter how long it may take us to overcome this premeditated invasion, the American people in their righteous might will win through to absolute victory. I believe that I interpret the will of the Congress and of the people when I assert that we will not only defend ourselves to the uttermost, but will make it very certain that this form of treachery shall never again endanger us. Hostilities exist. There is no blinking at the fact that our people, our territory, and our interests are in grave danger.

Invest in yourself

WE'RE BACK SHADES!!! After a couple months hiatus Marcus and Vic return to the studio to kick off 2023 with a fresh new episode. To say this story is a doozy would be an understatement. The story of The Marine Kingdom involves a satanic kingdom under the sea. Vic and Marcus break down the text to speech story of "Sister Careen" as she shares her first hand account of her recruitment into this underwater demonic kingdom.  Listen as Marcus and Vic critique the story and share some mead with each other as they fall down this aquatic rabbit hole. Although the original source material is difficult to understand our hosts try to provide some clues that may explain a few pieces of the story. This is only part 1 of a very large story and this video centers more on what the initial recruitment of the author looked like.  The extended episode of our shows is EXCLUSIVE to our patrons. Vic and Marcus discuss the story of the Micro-Mermaid. In 1997 in Makati City in the Philippine Islands 15 year old Sophia reported seeing a half inch creature that still puzzles scientists from around the world. Sign up to become a patron and get access to this great content by clicking HERE Follow Us: Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/OneCandleSociety Twitter: @1candlesociety Instagram: 1CandleSociety YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/OneCandleSociety

The Major Malfunction has returned, the 2022 NFR is in the books, and we remember Pearl Harbor. Transcript of Franklin D. Roosevelt speech, December 8, 1941 Mr. Vice President, Mr. Speaker, members of the Senate and the House of Representatives: Yesterday, December 7th, 1941 — a date which will live in infamy — the United States of America was suddenly and deliberately attacked by naval and air forces of the Empire of Japan. The United States was at peace with that nation, and, at the solicitation of Japan, was still in conversation with its Government and its Emperor looking toward the maintenance of peace in the Pacific. Indeed, one hour after Japanese air squadrons had commenced bombing in the American island of Oahu, the Japanese Ambassador to the United States and his colleague delivered to our Secretary of State a formal reply to a recent American message. And while this reply stated that it seemed useless to continue the existing diplomatic negotiations, it contained no threat or hint of war or of armed attack. It will be recorded that the distance of Hawaii from Japan makes it obvious that the attack was deliberately planned many days or even weeks ago. During the intervening time the Japanese Government has deliberately sought to deceive the United States by false statements and expressions of hope for continued peace. The attack yesterday on the Hawaiian Islands has caused severe damage to American naval and military forces. I regret to tell you that very many American lives have been lost. In addition American ships have been reported torpedoed on the high seas between San Francisco and Honolulu. Yesterday the Japanese Government also launched an attack against Malaya. Last night Japanese forces attacked Hong Kong. Last night Japanese forces attacked Guam. Last night Japanese forces attacked the Philippine Islands. Last night the Japanese attacked Wake Island. And this morning the Japanese attacked Midway Island. Japan has, therefore, undertaken a surprise offensive extending throughout the Pacific area. The facts of yesterday and today speak for themselves. The people of the United States have already formed their opinions and well understand the implications to the very life and safety of our nation. As Commander-in-Chief of the Army and Navy, I have directed that all measures be taken for our defense. But always will our whole nation remember the character of the onslaught against us. No matter how long it may take us to overcome this premeditated invasion, the American people in their righteous might will win through to absolute victory. I believe that I interpret the will of the Congress and of the people when I assert that we will not only defend ourselves to the uttermost but will make it very certain that this form of treachery shall never again endanger us. Hostilities exist. There is no blinking at the fact that our people, our territory and our interests are in grave danger. With confidence in our armed forces—with the unbounding determination of our people—we will gain the inevitable triumph—so help us God. I ask that the Congress declare that since the unprovoked and dastardly attack by Japan on Sunday, December 7th, 1941, a state of war has existed between the United States and the Japanese Empire. --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/1975productions/message

"Kamala Harris to visit Philippine islands at edge of South China Sea dispute US Vice President Kamala Harris will visit the Philippine islands of Palawan on the edge of the disputed South China Sea, a senior administration official said on Tuesday (15 November), in a move that may be interpreted by" "--START AD- #TheMummichogblogOfMalta Amazon Top and Flash Deals(Affiliate Link - You will support our translations if you purchase through the following link) - https://amzn.to/3CqsdJH Compare all the top travel sites in just one search to find the best hotel deals at HotelsCombined - awarded world's best hotel price comparison site. (Affiliate Link - You will support our translations if you purchase through the following link) - https://www.hotelscombined.com/?a_aid=20558 “So whatever you wish that others would do to you, do also to them, for this is the Law and the Prophets."""" #Jesus #Catholic. Smooth Radio Malta is Malta's number one digital radio station, playing Your Relaxing Favourites - Smooth provides a ‘clutter free' mix, appealing to a core 35-59 audience offering soft adult contemporary classics. We operate a playlist of popular tracks which is updated on a regular basis. https://smooth.com.mt/listen/ Follow on Telegram: https://t.me/themummichogblogdotcom END AD---" " Beijing as a rebuke. The visit, scheduled for next Tuesday, will make Harris the highest-ranking American official to visit the island chain adjacent to the Spratly Islands. China has dredged the sea floor to build harbors and airstrips on the Spratlys, parts of which are also claimed by Brunei, Malaysia, the Philippines, Taiwan and Vietnam. Beijing claims some territories in the waters off Palawan and much of the South China Sea, citing domestic historical maps. A 2016 international arbitration ruling, however, said the Chinese claims had no legal basis, in a victory for Manila that has yet to be enforced. Coming days after a three-hour, face-to-face meeting between US President Joe Biden and Chinese leader Xi Jinping intended to ease tensions, the trip may frustrate Beijing. The South China Sea, which contains massive oil and gas deposits, is the stage for $5 trillion in ship-borne trade each year but also a flashpoint for Chinese and US tensions around naval operations. In Palawan, Harris is expected to meet with “residents, civil society leaders and representatives of the Philippines Coast Guard,” the senior administration official said. The trip will show the administration's “commitment to stand with our Philippine ally in upholding the rules-based international maritime order in the South China Sea, supporting maritime livelihoods and countering illegal, unregulated and unreported fishing,” that official said. The Philippines is a defense ally of the United States, but under former President Rodrigo Duterte it avoided criticizing Beijing, eyeing Chinese investment. Manila announced earlier on Tuesday that Washington would spend $66.5 million to start building training and warehouse facilities at three of its military bases there under a 2014 joint security deal. Harris' trip marks her second to Asia in three months and follows Biden's week-long trip to the region. Both trips were aimed at shoring up both defenses and alliances to discourage aggressive steps by China, including in self-ruled Taiwan. The Harris trip also includes a stop in Thailand for the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation leaders meeting. During her last trip to the region, Harris accused China of actions to “coerce and intimidate” neighbors. South China Sea expert Gregory Poling said the visit could send a strong message to the Philippines without angering Beijing because it is not a visit to a disputed territory. “It will be reassuring to the Philippines by sending a clear signal that, even with Ukraine and Taiwan center stage, the United States still recognizes the South China Sea as central to the future of the US-Philippine alliance,” said Poling, who

Where to Look for the Missing Plunder of Pirates, Ghosts, Rebels, Fairies, Colonisers, and Dictators Lost treasure is a recurrent motif in Philippine folklore. Treasure-seeking heroes are ordinary individuals who seek access to riches that have fallen under the jurisdiction of supernatural entities. Yet success is by no means guaranteed. Claimants may be undone by their own moral failings or by the superior power of outside antagonists, often in the guise of colonial authorities. At the same time treasure stories have the capacity to inspire optimism. By cooperating with supernatural agents and maintaining moral integrity, downtrodden-but-virtuous treasure hunters are granted an opportunity to reverse their fortunes and to restore justice. While folktale traditions have declined significantly in the Philippines, I argue that stories concerning treasure remain especially resonant as coherent rationalisations for wealth inequality or for the regular misappropriation of resources by powerful yet underserving actors. In the twentieth century, lost-treasure cycles have found new life in revisionist narratives of the Japanese occupation (1942–1945) and the Marcos dictatorship (1965–1986). Treasure amassed by these powerful administrations is represented as being hidden in landscapes, always ready to be discovered by ordinary people yet at imminent risk of falling into the wrong hands.

The United States has won the Spanish-American War, and finds itself in control of the Philippine Islands. The Filipinos think they're being liberated, but the Yankees have other ideas. Will America stay true to its values, or succumb to the temptation of empire?Map of the Philippines in 1898: https://www.unknownsoldierspodcast.com/post/unknown-soldiers-podcast-episode-37-the-philippine-war-part-i-american-empire-mapSources: https://www.unknownsoldierspodcast.com/post/unknown-soldiers-podcast-episode-37-40-the-philippine-war-series-sourcesSocial Media: https://www.facebook.com/unknownsoldierspodcasthttps://twitter.com/unksoldierspodMusic: Selections of John Philip Sousa marches (public domain)

This episode is brought to you by Sendlane.   Jakes recounts the opportunity he saw in consumer packaged goods, “If Filipinos are such a big part of the community, then how come when I go to the major supermarkets and groceries in U.S., there's no Filipino food on the shelf at all. It's like we're almost kind of relegated to that dusty corner of the Asian section where you have these MSG packets and things like that.”   He continues, “So I just saw this huge disconnect because I saw a lot of things happening at pop culture about Filipino cuisine, a lot of Filipino celebrities popping up, and it kind of seemed like the right time to introduce Filipino food.”   Today we talked with Jake Deleon, Founder of Fila Manila. Fila Manila offers a range of Authentic Filipino simmer sauces inspired by the rich flavors of the Philippine Islands.   We discussed topics from becoming entrepreneurs, failed startup and the lessons learned and building the #1 Filipino food brand in the USA. Topics include:   * His gratefulness for his previous startup experience and the lessons learned * Why food and beverage is such a special category to be in * The story of how and why his first startup shutdown * What is Fila Manila? * Origin story of brand * His biggest fear and why it benefits the consumer * Why there aren't more Filipino brands in U.S. market and why representing Filipino culture is so important to him and the brand * Advice for Founders on price points, product value and ingredients * Why he accepts and loves the idea of Fila Manila representing Filipino culture * What is Filipino cuisine? * Where to start in your journey with Fila Manila   Join Ramon Vela and Jake Deleon as we break down the inside story of Fila Manila, on The Story of a Brand.   For more on Fila Manila, visit: https://filamanila.com/    Subscribe and listen to the podcast on all major apps. Simply search for “The Story of a Brand,” or click here to listen on your favorite podcast player.   *   This episode is brought to you by Sendlane.   Alright, guys, here's the deal: I have a gift for you from our primary Sponsor — Sendlane. They're giving away their online course eCommerce Academy - Email & SMS Marketing!   This course gives you the step-by-step playbook to drive more revenue and retention with email & SMS. This is typically a $500 package, but for our listeners, it's entirely FREE when you get started with your FREE 14-day trial of Sendlane.   When you do, chat with their support team and let them know you're one of our listeners to get full access to hours of course content that will help you make email marketing your #1 growth engine.   Visit https://storybrandgift.com to get the details, sign up for a free trial and get your gift!

The author of this chapter is James W. Perkinson, a spoken word poet and adjunct professor of things spiritual in an urban college. He describes himself in the chapter as a “repentant Euro-colonizer” who unlearned some of his privilege as a “white male North American and an unwitting beneficiary of the entire history of colonial relations between my ancestors and the Philippine Islands since 1898…” So, you may be asking just what is it that James W. Perkinson is doing in exploring Filipino Babaylanism? And that's actually a specific question that he answers, while also confessing that he knows his contribution is minor. And as a participant in a shared dialogue on spirituality, babaylanism, for James, is a question about an entire way of life, not just spirituality. He then goes on to talk about DJ Qbert's, a Filipino-American DJ Qbert emerged in the early 1990's as hip-hop's premier turntablist on the forefront of the sonic improvisation known as “scratching”, and compare his scratching to something more cosmic and spiritual akin to shamanic journeying via indigenous plants, because DJs like Qbert regularly reflect that they “see” far beyond what they can produce. And to the degree babaylanism can be grasped as an upwelling of animate energy, Qbert's scratching also brings an upwelling of vital memory, channeling ancestral wisdom, combining a kapwa sensibility within his turntables and synthesizers. End music by Dayana Capulong. (C) Dayana Capulong, 2022 _______________________________________________________________________ Time Stamps: 1. Grounding Prayer & Opening @ 1:04 2. "90 second DECOLONIZING" Heart Check-in @ 3:10 3. BROWN GIRL CLIFF NOTES / Chapter Overview @ 10:40 4. Vocabulary Words @ 21:04 5. Quotes @ 31:57 6. Closing Prayer @ 48:11

Joseph Rudyard Kipling (/ˈrʌdjərd/ RUD-yərd; 30 December 1865 – 18 January 1936)[1] was an English journalist, short-story writer, poet, and novelist. He was born in British India, which inspired much of his work.Kipling's works of fiction include The Jungle Book (1894), Kim (1901), and many short stories, including "The Man Who Would Be King" (1888).[2] His poems include "Mandalay" (1890), "Gunga Din" (1890), "The Gods of the Copybook Headings" (1919), "The White Man's Burden: The United States and the Philippine Islands" (1899), and "If—" (1910). He is seen as an innovator in the art of the short story.[3] His children's books are classics; one critic noted "a versatile and luminous narrative gift."[4][5]Bio via Wikipedia See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Please visit us at http://www.patreon.com/TheCharacterNetwork (www.Patreon.com/TheCharacterNetwork) to help support TCN and help us keep providing these unique and extremely effective research based Bully and Violence Prevention and Character Education Programs to schools around the world, and help more kids who desperately need special intervention. Go to http://www.thecharacternetwork.org/ (www.TheCharacterNetwork.org) to learn more and get involved. Thank you! Public use in schools requires a site license, please visit The Character Network to find out how your school can get these life changing program as a part of the TCN METHOD for school violence and bully prevention. Go HERE for a Free Copy of Jim Lord's Life Changing Breakthrough Novel, Mr. Delaney's Mirror, A Reflection of Your Futurehttps://characternetwork.krtra.com/t/E6KcJXqk8olF (https://bit.ly/GetDelaneysMirrorHere) ************** A HERO is someone who does something special to HELP OTHERS. Every hero STARTS as a CHILD, and every Child can CHOOSE to become a Hero... Just like THIS one! “It's never too late to learn.” Those words were very special to a boy named Carter Woodson. Carter's father and mother had both been slaves until the end of the Civil War. Slaves were not allowed go to school, but Carter's father always told him, “It's never too late to learn.” And Carter did learn. He learned to read, and he read all he could every day. It wasn't until he was eighteen, though, that he had his first chance to go to high school. He studied hard and graduated in only a year and a half—then he went to college! After college, he became the principal of his old high school! He was very proud to have that job, and always told his students, “It's never too late to learn.” Then Carter had the opportunity to be a teacher in the Philippine Islands. When he started teaching the Filipino children from books that American children used, they simply weren't learning. One day, he sang a song for them about an apple tree, but apple trees don't grow in the Philippines. Carter began to understand these children needed to learn about things in their own country and about their own HEROES. When he began teaching them those things, the Filipino children became proud of who they were and started to learn quickly. Carter thought about school books back home in America. There weren't many stories in them about the people who were slaves in early America and then became HEROES. Knowing it's never too late to learn, he began learning and teaching about important Americans of African Heritage. He wrote books about black history, he and started Black History Week which was the beginning of what is now Black History Month. Yes, Carter Woodson certainly grew up to be a HERO. Support this podcast

Please visit us at http://www.patreon.com/TheCharacterNetwork (www.Patreon.com/TheCharacterNetwork) to help support TCN and help us keep providing these unique and extremely effective research based Bully and Violence Prevention and Character Education Programs to schools around the world, and help more kids who desperately need special intervention. Go to http://www.thecharacternetwork.org/ (www.TheCharacterNetwork.org) to learn more and get involved. Thank you! Public use in schools requires a site license, please visit The Character Network to find out how your school can get these life changing program as a part of the TCN METHOD for school violence and bully prevention. Go HERE for a Free Copy of Jim Lord's Life Changing Breakthrough Novel, Mr. Delaney's Mirror, A Reflection of Your Futurehttps://characternetwork.krtra.com/t/E6KcJXqk8olF (https://bit.ly/GetDelaneysMirrorHere)************** A HERO is someone who does something special to HELP OTHERS. Every hero STARTS as a CHILD, and every Child can CHOOSE to become a Hero... Just like THIS one!Richard was only eleven years old when he, at last, convinced his mother to let him travel by himself to the Philippine Islands. He didn t whine or beg his mother; instead he gave good reasons why she should let him go, and he was determined. So with suitcase packed, he left his home in Virginia and headed west by train to California. There he boarded a ship and sailed all the way to the Philippines. After his visit there, he didn t go back he went forward all the way back home to Virginia. Richard was not even thirteen years old, and he had already traveled all the way around the world by himself! Richard Byrd was a determined accomplisher! He joined the United States Naval Academy when he was twenty years old, and his determination paid off again when he convinced the Navy to let him become a pilot. He had a goal of being the first person to fly to the North Pole, and even though there were many problems to prevent him from doing that, he continued in his determination, and finally flew over the North Pole and into the history books on May 9th, 1926. While he had many accomplishments in his lifetime, Richard Byrd is best known for his exploration, not of the North Pole, but of the South Pole and the continent of Antarctica. Through many trips there, and even living there for a long time, he gave the world much information about that frozen continent. Yes, that determined eleven year old, Richard Byrd who traveled around the world by himself, grew up to become Admiral Richard Byrd the HERO. That's what I know about the beginning of This Hero, and I know that YOU Can Be a Hero TOO!Dear Parents, After years of development, trial, and revision, we are so excited to now share with you the most effective version yet of our Proactive Bully Prevention Program that has proven to "change the culture" at hundreds of campuses across America in profound ways. Research has shown the TCN Method™ to be the single most effective school based Violence and Bully Prevention Intervention of its entire genre. We have hundreds of testimonials from educators describing the results they have gotten, and you can view many of these at http://www.thecharacternetwork.org/Testimonials (www.TheCharacterNetwork.org/Testimonials) This program, The Beginning of a Famous Hero™ is used in conjunction with a companion program called Bully Alert!™ in schools played over the intercom during morning announcements twice or more each school week, and backed up by a common culture which reinforces the principles taught, at every turn, and incorporates the phrases of the academic language during any teachable moment. These two sets of stories work together to convey a common academic language which says, “A bully is a person who hurts others on purpose (even if it's just hurting their feelings) but a HERO is a person who HELPS others. So CHOOSE to be a HERO by HELPING instead of a bully by hurting.”... Support this podcast

Art Leach was a fighter pilot in the United States Navy during World War II was given credit for shooting down 3.5 enemy aircraft. Leach discusses the difficulties of launching and landing on the aircraft carrier USS Yorktown, shooting gunboats and Japanese Zeros in the Philippine Islands, and his experience of flying the F6F Hellcat. Art Leach was awarded two air medals and the Distinguished Flying Cross for his service during WW2. Watch all of our military interviews of American soldiers on this playlist. To find out what all we are doing at The Sons of History, visit our website: https://www.thesonsofhistory.com/. If you enjoy the podcast, be sure to subscribe, rate and review! Thanks!

The so-called Manila Galleon made the route between the Philippine Islands and Acapulco twice a year, constituting one of the longest commercial itineraries in history. That route reflected the challenge put on by the size of the Spanish domains, an empire where the sun did not set. It was of crucial importance for of its economic power as well as the valuable cultural exchange that it implied. Given its value, it was indispensable to create safe ports at their disposal in the North American Pacific coast providing shelter for their troops and travelers. It was an expedition under the command of Sebastián Vizcaíno that managed to carry out a complete cartography of the Californian coasts and made it possible to build settlements in support of the ships that came from the Philippines. The enterprise was resumed as a result of the concern motivated by the growing English presence in the area, when it was known that Drake himself had set foot in California, and especially when another British pirate by the name of Cavendish had attacked, plundered and burned the galleon Santa Ana, coming precisely from Manila. All this reminded the Spaniards that the Pacific, called "The Spanish Lake", could cease to be so.

On a golf course in the summer of 88 at Subic Bay Naval Base, Philippine Islands, a Navy Admiral golfs with a simple petty officer. By design, Navy reserve 3rd class petty officers and Admirals don't generally mix and mingle with one another, but in this story they did. If you would like to see the video version of this episode go to this link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8P7vEWwMs1Y&t=1029s or search "Papa Ffej Archive Project" on YouTube. If you'd like to archive your life or the life of a loved one, either call our Yo Stevo voicemail at (425) 200-HAYS (4297) or email us at podcast@HappyLife.Studio.The song we use in this episode is "If These Walls Could Speak" by Amy Grant. We don't own any rights.This podcast was recorded on location at Ti Voglio Bene Bed and Breakfast. Mention Happy Life Studios and get a 10% discount.Webpage: NewRichmondBedAndBreakfast.comPhone: (715) 977-0249Contact us:Email: Podcast@HappyLife.StudioVoicemail: (425) 200-HAYS (4297)Webpage: www.HappyLife.lolFacebook: www.Facebook.com/HappyLifeStudiosInstagram: www.Instagram.com/HappyLife_StudiosTwitter: www.Twitter.com/HappyLifStudiosYouTube: www.YouTube.com/StevoHaysIf you would like to help us spread the HappyPayPal: www.PayPal.me/StevoHaysCash App: $HappyLifeStudiosZelle: StevoHays@gmail.comCheck: Payable to Hays Ministries or Steve Hays and send to PO Box 102 Maple Valley, WA 98038

In the last episode, we saw that the Japanese fleet, despite suffering some initial setbacks at the hands of the Americans, were still pressing hard toward the American invasion fleet in Leyte Gulf. Due to a major communication breakdown, the US Navy had left the San Bernardino Strait unguarded, so the way to the American invasion fleet was wide open. Would the Japanese fleet be able to capitalize on the American mistake? In this episode, James and Scott discuss the final stages of the battle of Leyte Gulf, as well as the American effort to recapture Leyte, Luzon, and the other Philippine Islands.

I was having a late night conversation with a friend and I began to talk about the beautiful islands of the Philippines! Right then he says, if you talk about this on your podcast I can fall asleep right away! So here it is! I hope you fall asleep super fast on the sound of my voice talking about the water! Sleep W/ Purpose Journal is out now! It's as if Destination Sleep Podcast had a baby! It is an evening self-care routine you'd wanna add to your lifestyle! What is it?

In the wake of the chaotic end to the War in Afghanistan, Alex & Co. revisit America's first Asian counterinsurgency war, the Philippine-American War (1899-1902). America's quest for empire is met with stiff resistance on the Philippine Islands as well as on the homefront. We follow the bloody conflict and political upheaval through the decisions and careers of President William McKinley of Canton, Ohio and two future presidents, Theodore Roosevelt and Cincinnati's William Howard Taft. We're joined by historian and podcast host Richard Lim from the fellow Evergreen Podcast Network show, This American President. Richard discusses the US Navy and Admiral Dewey's smashing victory at Manila Bay in 1898 as part of the Spanish-American War. This American President, one of our favorite US history pods, has a two-part episode on the Span-Am War and the perils of American imperialism entitled "Will and Ted's Excellent Adventure" click here to listen. https://www.thisamericanpresident.com/episodes/ Author Gregg Jones, an Asian history expert and author of Honor in the Dust: Theodore Roosevelt, War in the Philippines and the Rise and Fall of America's Imperial Dream, joins the show to discuss America's most forgotten war. The Philippine rebel leader Emilio Aguinaldo, President Roosevelt and the famous Ohioans at the center of the war including Gen. Fred Funston and General Jacob H. Smith are discussed in depth. Gregg shares his excellent book from 2012 and the political consequences of US military misconduct at the turn of the century. Buy Honor in the Dust here...https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/303658/honor-in-the-dust-by-gregg-jones/ Cornell University professor and author David Silbey sits down to discuss the guerrilla war and counterinsurgency strategy that defines the Philippine-American War. Professor Silbey the author of two great books about the epic Battle of Manila and the Philippine American War, details the similarities between this conflict and our recent wars in Afghanistan and Iraq. Buy David's newest book, The Other Face of Battle here. https://global.oup.com/academic/product/the-other-face-of-battle-9780190920647 Lastly, Erik Archilla, writer/creator on 2 of 2020's most popular history podcasts, American Elections: Wicked Game and 1865 Podcast rejoins the program. Erik comes on to discuss the explosion of the USS Maine and how it sparks war with the Spanish Empire in 1898. Erik shares the popular dissent movement known as the Anti-Imperialist League and the debate on the homefront about America's occupation of the Philippines and expansionist policies of William McKinley and Theodore Roosevelt. Erik and Alex discuss the similarities between the Philippine-American War and the War on Terror and the Iraq War 100 years later. Check out American Elections: Wicked Game and this episode written by Erik about the Election of 1900 (click to listen). https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/1900-mckinley-vs-bryan-the-rise-and-fall-of-empires/id1481254566?i=1000471424969 Only 2 episodes left in Season Two! Don't forget to visit Ohio v. the World at evergreenpodcasts.com. For all of our past episodes and other great history podcasts from our friends at the Evergreen Podcast Network. Please rate/review the show and you can reach out to us at ohiovtheworld@gmail.com. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In this episode of “The Journey of My Mother's Son” podcast, I sit down to talk with another one of the living legends of the AAGPBL, Jeneane Lesko. Another one of the amazing trailblazers that I was able to meet and chat with at the Baseball for All Nationals, Jeneane Lesko is truly an amazing individual.  After her playing days in the AAGPBL, she went on to play in the LPGA as well. Her biography, is best described in her own words, on the AAGPBL website, is as follows: I went to Spring Training in Battle Creek, Michigan and was picked up by the Chicks as a left-handed pitcher.  I actually had no pitching experience and had never played organized baseball.  In my home town of Lakeview, Ohio, I had practiced baseball with our school team all through high school, but of course, they would not let me play in the games.  I was also the batgirl for our town team of men and practiced with them and went to all the games.  I loved the game and had a strong arm. In Grand Rapids, my manager, Woody English, let me pitch batting practice, but most of the time he had me running in the outfield.  My coach and friend was “Beansie” Risinger.  She taught me to slow down and believe in myself--two things I really needed to do.  I practiced until about mid-season when I was put in to relieve a pitcher and got my first chance on the mound.  I didn't last too long.  I walked the bases full and Woody pulled me out of the game.  For the rest of the year, I only pitched when we were losing.  Our team won the championship, and I was the “rooting section” on the bench.  I practiced and practiced and finally got some control. The following year, I got my big chance in a close game early in the season against Kalamazoo, Michigan.  I pitched great relief and earned myself a starting position on the team.  I had a wonderful year that season highlighted by a two-hit shutout.  I was really looking forward to 1955. I was in school, a junior at Ohio Northern University, when I received a call early in the spring of '55 from Bill Allington.  He informed me the league was disbanded, but said he was taking a traveling team across the US to play exhibition games against the men and asked if I would like to be on the team.  I was ecstatic.  For two wonderful years I had the honor to play with some of the best players in the league from other teams, and I had a blast. At the end of 1957, I graduated from ONU and signed up to teach Math and Science to dependent children at Ramey Air Force Base, Puerto Rico.  I stayed there for four years and learned to play golf, fly a piper cub airplane, swim and enjoy the beauty of the Islands. In 1962, I felt I had to leave “Paradise."  I felt I needed to see more of the world.  I tried to get a transfer to Europe, but couldn't, so I decided to pay my own way and look for a job when I got to Europe. At the end of the school year, I flew to London, took a boat to France, and a train to Germany to the Dependent Schools headquarters there.  They signed me to teach girls' physical Ed and math in Leon, in northern France.  I was very happy, as my ancestry was partially French.   I spent the rest of the summer riding a motor scooter through Switzerland, Italy, and France before the start of school in September.  In my second year in Europe, I transferred to Chateroux, France, south of Paris.   While in France, I took golf lessons from an English pro who played during Bobby Jones' era.  I also took up skiing and spent most of the winter months on weekends in the Alps.  I managed to break my leg my first year, but recovered and loved it. I had an opportunity to transfer in 1965 to Clark Air Force Base in the Philippine Islands.  I was excited about that because I could play golf all year round.  I played golf every day after school until dark, even during the monsoons. I returned to the US in 1967 and decided I wanted to become a professional golfer.  I spent the summer of 1968 playing golf at a newly opened Club in Grass Valley, California, staying with an aunt who lived there.  I established a four handicap and joined the LPGA.  My first tournament was in Eugene, Oregon where I finished dead last.  I had to go back to teaching that fall, so I took a teaching position in the Bay area, and worked hard on my golf game. I decided if I was going to make it in golf, I needed to spend all my time practicing, so I left California in the fall of 1968 and went to Scottsdale, Arizona.  I found a club that honored my somewhat shakey professional status and allowed me to play and practice at the club. That year I played in the US Open in Minnesota, and an Open in San Diego.  There was another tournament, but I can't recall where we played.  At any rate, I didn't win any tournaments, but I got a lot of good rounds in and was improving. One of the Women money winners suggested I to go to the Los Angeles area and take lessons from a pro she had used and made arrangements for me to work with him.  That is where I met my husband who was also taking golf lessons from this pro.  He was an accountant but wanted to play on the men's tour. After a brief courtship, we were married and off to the women's tour opening in Tampa, Florida. I played in 10 tournaments that year, but my husband injured his hand and had to return to California and our money was gone, so I returned and went back to teaching in San Bernardino, California for a year. I won a pro-Am event and was leading after the second round in the Las Crusas, NM tournament.  However, I felt it was my husband's turn to try to become a pro. He got a job as a teaching pro at a golf course and we started a family. After the birth of our third child, we decided we wanted to move out of the smog in the LA area. That is how we ended up in Seattle, Washington.  I have now lived in Seattle since 1974.  I have been in Real Estate here since 1976.  I have been involved in sports all my life and encouraged all my children to get involved in sports. I have done a lot of basketball, volleyball, and softball officiating.  In 2003, I started the Washington Women's Baseball Association in my state and coached and served on the board for three years. Now I play on a co-ed senior softball team just to keep the old bones moving. I went to my first AAGPBL Players' Association reunion in 1992 in South Bend, Indiana with my middle son Mike who is now a die-hard fan of all the wonderful All-American gals and attends with me whenever he can.  I volunteered to be the editor of the AAGPBL Player's Association Newsletter in November 2001 and served in that capacity for seven years.  The newsletter, TOUCHING BASES is published three times a year to help keep everyone informed as to what is happening in the Association. I served on the Board of Directors for the AAGPBL Players Assoc. from 2002 through 2010.  I am thankful for all the years we have all had together since my involvement in 1992. Thanks for all the memories I have of all the players with whom I played or played against and for all the good times shared with all our Association members, loyal fans, and supporters. I spend much of my time supporting women in sports. I met a young women's baseball enthusiast while attending an AAGPBL-PA Reunion in 2004 and through a set of unique circumstances became close friends with him and his family.  He was from the Chicago area and grew up in Kenosha, WI, home of one of our original four professional teams.  He had not been born when the League began, but as a young boy, he had met one of the players who lived in the area and who watched him grow up and play ball.  As a result, he had a fondness and love for women's baseball and promoted its growth in the US and Australia, where he currently lives.  It was because of that relationship with Rob that he invited me to participate in 2005 and 2006 in the Women's World Series at the Disney World Tournament in Orlando, FL. I was an Honorary Coach for the Australian Women and Girls, U11-15, Baseball Teams, which were known as the Aussie Hearts. In 2007, The Aussie Hearts invited me to go to Australia where I conducted many clinics and showed my power point presentation about the AAGPBL to hundreds of Aussie women ball players.  I also was able to visit two schools, one elementary school in Melbourne, and a Junior High in Sydney.  I visited the drama class in Sydney to congratulate them on a 2006 presentation they performed on the movie "A League of Their Own."  They won 1st in their state and 3rd in the National Australian competition.  They were delighted that I visited them and they performed some of the scenes for me.  They gave me a copy on DVD, but, unfortunately, the DVD does not play in the US.   I was deeply touched by the enthusiasm and vitality of the people in Australia and especially those involved in baseball, which is a minor sport there. Women's baseball has taken off in Australia since the movie, "A League of their Own," and there are hundreds of women playing "for the love of the game."  I spent two weeks there and fell in love with the country and the people. Since then, I was privileged to guest coach for the Aussie Hearts in 2008 at the re-dedication ceremonies of Kenosha, Wisconsin's Simmons Baseball Field where the AAGPBL's Kenosha Comets played.   The Aussie Hearts came to the US-sponsored Women's Baseball Tournament organized by the city of Kenosha to honor the AAGPBL by having a women's Baseball tournament in conjunction with the re-dedication ceremonies at Simmons Field. Over 40 former players of the AAGPBL attended that event. In February, 2009, I was again invited to travel abroad with the Aussies who played in the International Women's Baseball Tournament, the Phoenix Cup, in Hong Kong, China.  There were 10 teams at the event including teams from the US, Australia, Taiwan, Mainland China, and Korea. In 2010, the Aussie Hearts tour returned to Kenosha, WI and played on Simmons Field, home of the Kenosha Comets and in Racine, at Horlick Field, home of the Racine Belles. We made the circuit of MLB parks and were invited to tour Miller Stadium, and enjoyed games at Wrigley Field and a training camp at the Chicago Cubs' training facility.  Later they were able to watch a Cubs game as well.  The tour crossed the border into Canada and played several women's' teams in Toronto and visited Niagara Falls for a day from the Canadian side.  Later in the fall, the Aussie Sparks, the Softball equivalent to the Aussie Hearts, returned to San Francisco and experienced an intensive two-day training session with the coaching staff at San Jose State College and participated in a three-day women's fast pitch softball tournament in the Bay area.  These events were attended by myself, Joyce Westerman Hill, former Racine Belle, and Jackie Baumgart (Mattson), former player for the Kenosha Comets, in support of girls playing baseball and softball all over the world. I am the mother of 3 boys. My youngest son, Matthew, is our website technician.  He took over the maintenance and development of our website in 2002.  I am the coordinator for the AAGPBL website and work closely with Matt to keep our site updated, interesting, and informative. Mike, the middle son, is also in computer gaming. My oldest son Greg, is in the construction business. It has been a great ride! ~Jeanie Lesko (DesCombes)

The Wildcast EP35 Tomas Leonor -Walking Across the Philippines Tomas Leonor is an Artist Activist and Outdoorsman in 2011 he was awarded as one of the Pitong Pinoy's by Yahoo Philippines an award that recognises Filipinos that have touched the lives of many, made and impact on society, and spread hope to the country. I've known Tomas since our days volunteering as member of the Greenpeace Boat Team and he is someone that definitely ticks all those boxes. It all started with a single step a step that would change so many people's lives. On January 11, 2010 he took that tentative first step in Pagudpod, Ilocos Norte and after 58 days found himself at the southern tip of Luzon in Matnog, Sorsogon walking 1300km entirely on foot and raising 1.5 Million pesos for Children with Cancer. In April 2011 he started walking again this time through the Visayan Islands of the Philippines crossing 7 of the Philippine Islands walking 1241.5kms in 54 days. His walk not only inspired the children in the cancer wards to fight for their lives it inspired hundreds of other individuals to start their own walks that would echo across the globe for different advocacies -most famous of which was the climate walk of Environmental Activist brothers Yeb and AG Saño after typhoon Yolanda. Walking has brought not only new life to many children, it brought new meaning to Tomas' life -and he has never been the same since. ------- As part of our evolution in this second season we are working towards making the Wildcast more sustainable by creating avenues where listeners can help us continue to provide you all with these amazing conversations so you can show your support for the Wildcast by buying us a coffee through www.buymeacoffee.com/Wildcast. This helps us invest in better equipment, allow us to host the podcast online, and create better content for all of you listeners. SUPPORT THE WILDCAST BY BUYING US A COFFEE: www.buymeacoffee.com/Wildcast

We know this is a LOOOTTTT late but this podcast/vodcast is about what had happened in the Philippines in the past month. here, CB, Wakka, and Jed talked about politics, pop culture, celebrities, controveries, and more. SOOOO, if you have any friends or you who is not well updated with what's going on in amazing land of Philippine Islands then share and listen to this episode. Do you agree with them? What do you think about this podcast? Let us know, The Maximum Filipino Show on FB, IG, and Tiktok @TMFS.Official and Twitter @TMFSOfficial, Email us at Themaximumfilipinoshow@gmail.com. Follow Jed on FB @Jediakoh IG @jediabalatero and Tiktok: @jediab2019. Follow AJ on FB, IG, Twitter, Tiktok @TheGamFamShow. Follow Wakka @Wakka127. If you enjoy this pod make sure to LIKE, Share, and COMMENT. Please let other people know about us!! Thank you for listening!! If you love this podcast, Please Support us on Patreon @Patreon.com/TMFSOfficial Thank you so much!!! --- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/tmfsofficial/message Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/tmfsofficial/support

What's so special about the nineteenth century? Why do scholars call it "the long century," when all centuries are... a hundred years? Why will our great revolutionary heroes appear in this period? And why so many questions? We'll answer all these by reading an outsider's perspective of the Philippines in this century: John Foreman's The Philippine Islands, first published in 1890. Visit our website, www.podkas.org, for more stuff on Philippine history, politics, and society. --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/podkas/message Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/podkas/support

As the first step in our discussion of evil, let us sensibly get rid of both the devil and hell. Make up your mind that the intelligence that exists behind the universe does not destroy itself! The pain-ridden idea of hellfire as a place of punishment for sin is man's own morbid idea; evil is man's own morbid idea; disease and suffering are man's own morbid ideas. God does not know of the existence of these things. Since He created man free, He has left it up to man to conceive his own situations. And man has thought into existence all evil! It is ego-absorption that colors everything in terms of good and evil. Never was this brought home to me more thoroughly than in the pre-dawn hours on the bridge of a destroyer on patrol in Nasugbu Bay, Philippine Islands during World War II. A forty-millimeter shell had just struck the chest of a Japanese attacking in a suicide boat. He seemed so close that I might have reached out and touched his hand. The shell exploded, and he disintegrated before my eyes. The scene was seared into my mind. Throughout the battle it kept insinuating itself. This was the first violent death I had witnessed during the war. Surely this was an evil thing - that a man should die at the hands of other men. Yet a great cheer had gone up when he had been killed. Had he managed to drive his explosive-laden boat into the side of our ship, we would have died instead. So we took his life and rejoiced. But was not that evil to him? Certainly his family, friends, and loved ones did not rejoice. Surely they were overtaken by the despair that everyone calls evil. Good for us, evil for him; we rejoice, his family despairs. But was it good or evil? Was there even cause for rejoicing or weeping? Who judges? Whose judgment is adequate? As we skirted the coast of Samar next night, I stood on the fantail of the ship and watched the wake spreading on the sea like a path of frost in the moonlight. Some of the night and the stillness seemed drawn into me. Then the word came. Uell Stanley Andersen (also known as U.S. Andersen and Uell S. Andersen) (September 14, 1917 – September 24, 1986) was an American football player and self-help and short story author during the 1950s and 1960s. He is best known for his book, Three Magic Words. Andersen taught the New Thought concept of "Universal Mind." According to Andersen, the "Universal Mind is a vast and all-encompassing mental and spiritual being in whom all things and events exist." According to Andersen, the Universal Mind, or God, manifests -- or literally reflects -- the dominant belief system of all living things. When one understands this cause and effect relationship, it becomes possible to consciously use Universal Mind to shape the physical world. In Three Magic Words, Andersen makes the argument that the physical world is derived from the mental. He argues that a sustained mental image, if backed by faith (i.e. a belief that the image is real, or will become real), will become reality. Andersen argued that it was possible to prove his theory by conducting a few mental experiments, aided by means of meditation. After running these experiments, with complete faith in the outcome, it is possible to demonstrate—at least on a subjective basis—that there is a relationship between thought and physical reality. Music By Mettaversegolden lotusinfinite lightholy frequencyschumann resonancealways nowthe primordial soundsubtle energysolar windreplenish the whole selfgolden lotus  ➤ Listen on Soundcloud: http://bit.ly/2KjGlLI ➤ Follow them on Instagram: http://bit.ly/2JW8BU2 ➤ Join them on Facebook: http://bit.ly/2G1j7G6 ➤ Subscribe to their channel here: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCyvjffON2NoUvX5q_TgvVkw All My US Andersen Episodes - https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLKv1KCSKwOo_XHLvIXgYWWKbweUfzocyZ All My Neville Goddard Videos In One Playlist - https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLKv1KCSKwOo8kBZsJpp3xvkRwhbXuhg0M All my videos about Dr. Joseph Murphy - https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLKv1KCSKwOo_OtBhXg2s85UuZBT-OihF_ For all episodes of the Reality Revolution – https://www.therealityrevolution.com Subscribe to my Youtube channel https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCOgXHr5S3oF0qetPfqxJfSw Contact us at media@advancedsuccessinsitute.com #lawofattraction #usandersen #drjosephmurphy #totalhumanoptimization

Welcome to the Playground! In this episode, we will be going over the Philippine legend of the Tiyanak. If you don't know what that is, and you aren't going to listen to this episode just yet, ask one of your Filipino friends what is. After that we have our usual creepy pastas, but they as well as the following true stories all take place in the Philippine Islands. Enjoy! Show Notes: Episode 8: Philippine Legends, ghosts and monsters – The Tiyanak https://www.batangashistory.date/2018/11/tiyanak.html https://aminoapps.com/c/urban-legends-cryptids/page/blog/tiyanak/jvWJ_5kSKug0KGej05or4P3QY5lrKzW54R https://www.sutori.com/story/the-tiyanak--AehdGFXyASSNVVQbZo9qN7aE Our Baby – The Devil's Spawn by SILENTREED https://discover.hubpages.com/literature/our-baby-the-devils-spawn A Tagalog Ghost Story by Naomi Arden Paragas Pasatiempo https://plenitudemagazine.ca/a-tagalog-ghost-story/ A creepy true story about my mom's childhood - Reddit user chachidelgado https://www.reddit.com/r/nosleep/comments/322wqs/a_creepy_true_story_about_my_moms_childhood_the/ Magdalena: A Filipino horror story. – Reddit user Jaicoholic https://www.reddit.com/r/nosleep/comments/ds2gzx/magdalena_a_filipino_horror_story/ --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/paranormalplayground/message Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/paranormalplayground/support

JayT. talks about quoting movie lines, plays a block of metal tunes that were previously deleted from weeks past shows, and shows off his language skills in the Tagalog language(The language of the Philippine Islands). OriginalAirDate: 09Dec2020 --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/talkjive/support

The Imperial Japanese Forces attacked Pearl Harbor and the Philippine Islands simultaneously. This planned attack on these two specific areas was a strategic attack that meant American control in the Pacific and expand Japan's territory. Following the surrender of the Allies at the Battle of Corregidor, all radio connections and communications ceased as the Japanese military invaded the Philippine Islands. Despite the lack of communication, some American and Filipino soldiers were able to evade the Japanese and go into hiding. One of those soldiers who was able to escape was Ramon Magsaysay Sr. who would become a prominent leader in the Western Luzon Guerrilla Force. References Xu, Klytie; Salinas, Baterina Anne Stacey. Philippines' Resistance: The Last Allied Stronghold in the Pacific. Pacific Atrocities Education.2017 Encyclopedia Britannica.Hukbalahap Rebellion. Date Accessed October 6, 2017.https://www.britannica.com/event/Hukbalahap-Rebellion Britannica Encyclopedia.Hukbalahap Rebellion. Date Accessed October 6,2017.https://www.britannica.com/event/Hukbalahap-Rebellion. Wikipedia. Ramon Magsaysay Sr. Date Accessed October 6, 2017.https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ramon_Magsaysay Pinterest.Child soldier. Date Accessed October 6, 2017.https://www.pinterest.com/pin/238550111491419417/?lp=true https://www.tumblr.com/search/philippine%20world%20war%20ii Villasanta, Art. The Filipino Nation-in-Arms and its defeat of the Empire of Japan in World War II. Date Accessed October 6,2017.http://filipinonationinarms.blogspot.com/2013/08/the-philippines-was-grave-of-dai-nippon.html --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/pacific-atrocities-education/support

[Editor's Note: Apologies for the delay. It was a long week in the US...]Things were supposed to go well. Or at least better than they had been. But then tragedy strikes. And a downfall begins.Sources:1. Locsin-Nava, Cecelia. "Teresa Magbauna: Woman Warrior". Review of Women's Studies. Vol 6, No 1, 1996.2. Foreman, John, “The Philippine Islands: a political, geographical, ethnographical, social and commercial history of the Philippine Archipelago, embracing the whole period of Spanish rule, with an account of the succeeding American insular government,” New York: 1907, C. Scribner's Sons. - https://archive.org/stream/island00forephilippinerich#page/478/mode/2upThe Text is in the Public Domain3. Centennial Resource Book. (n.d.). Pascual Magbanua and Teresa Magbanua: WESTERN VISAYAS, Philippines Unsung Heroes. Retrieved November 3, 2020, from http://www.msc.edu.ph/centennial/hero/wv/page7.htmlCheck out @hugotPodcasting on Twitter! And our newest show The Mountain's Heart----Transcript available on our website: www.miscellanymedia.online/transcriptsMusic for this Episode by Sounds Like an Earful: Soundslikeanearful.comTwitter: @MiscellanyMediaTumblr: miscellanymediaSupport the project: www.ko-fi.com/mmstudios

LT Walter A. Kelso Jr. - 19th Bomb Group, US Army Air Corps who fought valiantly in the defense of the Philippines during the outbreak of WW2. He was held in POW camps in the Philippine Islands from May 1942 until his transfer to POW Slave Labor Camps in Japan in December 1944 aboard the infamous “Hell Ships.” How LT Kelso survived the horrendous treatment in the POW Camps in the Philippines and the Hell Ship events during transport to the Japanese Island is astonishing but through all he suffered in 2 years, 9 months and 10 days as a POW, he died at Kokura Military Hospital on 4 February 1945. His remains were returned to the US after the war and he is buried at the Galveston Memorial Park cemetery, Galveston, TX.This is his story of Sacrifice as told to us by his grandson Mark Kelso.Direct Support - https://paypal.me/JBear213Find our audio podcast, Stories of Sacrifice on your favorite podcast player or visit https://www.storiesofsacrifice.org/How You Can Help:All money raised goes to support our Podcast and our POW/MIA Family Research where we are directly involved in the repatriation of WW2 POW/MIA's.Direct Support - https://paypal.me/JBear213Monthly Support - https://www.patreon.com/US_POW_MIA_Family_LocatingPlease visit our affiliate links that help support our Podcast and POW/MIA research. I will earn a small commission at no extra cost to you! Keep in mind that I link these companies and their products because of their quality and not because of the commission I receive from your purchases. All money earned goes to support our Podcast and support to POW/MIA family research.Flipside Canvas - Owned by Medal of Honor recipient Dakota Meyer (USMC). At Flipside Canvas, we believe that art offers an opportunity to showcase your commitment to empowering yourself and others. High quality materials that will last 100+ years. All our art comes stretched and ready to hang on your wall. 100% Made in America using locally sourced and manufactured materials.https://flipsidecanvas.com/?ref=SOSPodcastThe Home Depot - Is not only for the Do It Yourself building and construction projects, you have access to over two million products ranging from small appliances to your everyday needs for the home, RV travel to camping. Purchase online and pick up your order at your local Home Depot free of charge or ship it to your home! The sky is the limit on the products offered by the Home Depot!https://homedepot.sjv.io/SOSPodcastSupport the show (https://www.patreon.com/US_POW_MIA_Family_Locating)

{CW/TW Canon Fire in the beginning of the podcast}A go-ahead from a distant shore is the beginning of the end. Teresa Magbanua’s legacy is gradually undone.Source:Foreman, John, “The Philippine Islands: a political, geographical, ethnographical, social and commercial history of the Philippine Archipelago, embracing the whole period of Spanish rule, with an account of the succeeding American insular government,” New York: 1907, C. Scribner's Sons. - https://archive.org/stream/island00forephilippinerich#page/478/mode/2upThe Text is in the Public DomainCheck out @hugotPodcasting on Twitter!And check out our newest show The Mountain's Heart----Transcript available on our website: www.miscellanymedia.online/transcriptsMusic for this Episode by Sounds Like an Earful: Soundslikeanearful.comSound Effects from Freesound.orgTwitter: @MiscellanyMediaTumblr: miscellanymediaSupport the project: www.ko-fi.com/mmstudios

There was no greater prize than Iloilo City. At least for now. At least out of what they could hope for.Source:1. Funtecha, Henry (2000). "The Urbanization of the Town of Iloilo, 1865–1900". Selected Papers on Cities in Philippine History. Philippine National Historical Society2. Foreman, John, “The Philippine Islands: a political, geographical, ethnographical, social and commercial history of the Philippine Archipelago, embracing the whole period of Spanish rule, with an account of the succeeding American insular government,” New York: 1907, C. Scribner's Sons. - https://archive.org/stream/island00forephilippinerich#page/478/mode/2up The Text is in the Public DomainCheck out @hugotPodcasting on Twitter!And check out our newest show The Mountain's Heart----Transcript available on our website: www.miscellanymedia.online/transcriptsMusic for this Episode by Sounds Like an Earful: Soundslikeanearful.comSound Effects from Freesound.orgTwitter: @MiscellanyMediaTumblr: miscellanymediaSupport the project: www.ko-fi.com/mmstudios

In this episode, I'm speaking with beat maker, DJ, sample fiend and electronic musician FREE THE ROBOTS aka Chris Alfaro. Chris is recognised as a pivotal part of the pioneering generation of LA's beat scene, FREE THE ROBOTS came to life after many bands, producing MCs and DJing, he played an integral part in the early years, which has led to collaborations, running of his venue The Crosby and sharing the stage with the likes of Fly Lo, DJ Shadow, Prefuse 73 and Afrika Bambataa. Until COVID he was based in California, when we spoke he got stuck on the Philippine Islands, where he retreated and reflected. I was able to get him on zoom via his cell phone, we spoke about letting go of the norm and simplifying environments, his experience with cultural Amnesia and the use of spirituality in search of a creative flow state. FOLLOW FREE THE ROBOTS: https://linktr.ee/freetherobots https://www.residentadvisor.net/dj/freetherobots https://www.instagram.com/freetherobots/

By 1945 the U.S. had been fighting Japanese forces for almost three years over the Philippine Island of Luzon and Corregidor, located in Manila Bay. Both islands were the last allies the U.S. had in the Philippines, so they fought long and hard to capture the territories. After several defeats U.S. soldiers won the battles once and for all the week of February 26th when General Douglas MacArthur had soldiers airborne and seaborne invade the island territories.

By 1945 the U.S. had been fighting Japanese forces for almost three years over the Philippine Island of Luzon and Corregidor, located in Manila Bay. Both islands were the last allies the U.S. had in the Philippines, so they fought long and hard to capture the territories. After several defeats U.S. soldiers won the battles once and for all the week of February 26th when General Douglas MacArthur had soldiers airborne and seaborne invade the island territories.

Kosciusko native W.C. “Billy” Leonard got married and joined the Army in 1940.  In this episode, he recalls how his life changed after hearing news of the Japanese attack on a place called Pearl Harbor. While serving as an artillery officer, Leonard met several people from his hometown. He remembers being pleasantly surprised by one such Kosciusko connection. Leonard’s artillery platoon was transferred to a base in Burbank, California to await deployment. He recounts how he and his wife were able to tour Hollywood before he was shipped out. After months of fighting in the Philippine Islands, Leonard was given a 30-day leave before the planned invasion of the Japanese mainland. He explains how dropping the atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki changed those plans. After the war, Billy Leonard came home and eventually took over Leonard’s Department Store from his father. He ran the business until his retirement in 1985.  Leonard passed away in fall of 2005.      

Interview with Timothy L. Porter who helped support the family compile the history of Talmadge Smithey who was serving as a member of the US Navy on the USS Canopus in the Philippine Islands when the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor in 1941. When Japanese attacks on US forces in the Philippines followed in 1942, the USS Canopus was severely damaged and Smithey and his comrades scuttled the ship to prevent it from getting into enemy hands. Smithey and his fellow shipmates then joined US and Filipino ground forces in defense of Bataan and Corregidor. Waiting for help that never arrived, Smithey and his fellow soldiers were outmanned and outnumbered. They finally succumbed to Japanese forces in May, 1942, and were taken prisoner. Smithey spent the next three years and four months as prisoners of war in the Philippines and then in Japan.This book is Smithey’s personal account of his capture and his captivity. Sweet Land of Liberty is one man’s story of courage, bravery, endurance, and perseverance. It’s a story of sacrifices Smithey and his fellow soldiers made in return for the freedom Americans enjoy today. Talmadge Smithey retired from the US Navy as a Commander with 32 years of dedicated, faithful service to our Country! To contact the Arthor, Tim Porter to purchase a signed copy:Instagram - @sweetlandofliberty.ww2To purchase a Paperback copy or Kindle at Amazon - https://amzn.to/361gHRI Please visit our website for more information about our services to POW/MIA families - https://www.uspowmiafamilylocating.comPlease visit our affiliate links that help support our Podcast. Bear in mind these are affiliate links and if you go through them to make a purchase I will earn a small commission at no extra cost to you! Keep in mind that I link these companies and their products because of their quality and not because of the commission I receive from your purchases. The decision is yours, and whether or not you decide to buy something is completely up to you.Flipside Canvas - Owned by Medal of Honor recipient Dakota Meyer (USMC). At Flipside Canvas, we believe that art offers an opportunity to showcase your commitment to empowering yourself and others. High quality materials that will last 100+ years. All our art comes stretched and ready to hang on your wall. 100% Made in America using locally sourced and manufactured materials. https://flipsidecanvas.com/?ref=SOSPodcast The Home Depot - Not only for the Do It Yourself building and construction projects, you have access to over two million products ranging from small/large appliances to your everyday needs for the home to camping. Purchase online and pick up in your local Home Depot free of charge or ship it to your home! The sky is the limit on the products offered by the Home Depot!https://homedepot.sjv.io/SOSPodcast Please consider supporting our show - https://www.patreon.com/US_POW_MIA_Family_Locating Support the show (https://www.patreon.com/US_POW_MIA_Family_Locating)

On October 25, 1944, through a series of naval movements, a small 13 ship destroyer task force found itself the only thing between a huge 23 ship Japanese battle fleet and the American landing force attempting to free the Japanese held Philippine Islands. When the choice came to run south, one destroyer commander named Ernest Evans,a Cherokee Indian who had joined to fight, charged the entire Japanese fleet alone, guns blazing and torpedoes firing, while the crew of largest battleship in the world, the Yamato, watched in stunned amazement. This incredibly brave action gave the rest of the small support force named Taffy 3 the incentive to attack, which they did, ultimately wreaking huge damage upon the surprised Japanese fleet, saving the Philippine invasion,and handing the Japanese navy a defeat from which they never recovered. TEST YOUR HISTORY SMARTS! CATCH OUR NEWEST SHOW 1001 HISTORY CHALLENGE HERE: (main website all 1001 shows) https://www.1001storiespodcast.com or HERE: at Google Play: https://play.google.com/music/listen?u=0#/ps/Iwdojx2zx4jj2xj25fwupwrdcxq or HERE at Apple Podcasts https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/1001-history-challenge/id1482436263 CALLING ALL FANS.. REVIEWS NEEDED FOR NEW SHOWS! REVIEWS NEEDED FOR NEW SHOWS! A SECOND NEW SHOW AT 1001- 1001 HISTORY'S BEST STORYTELLERS- OUR INTERVIEWS WITH SOME OF TODAY'S BEST HISTORY AUTHORS ...LINKS BELOW... all shows available at www.1001storiespodcast.com The Apple Podcast Link for 1001 History's Best Storytellers: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/1001-historys-best-storytellers/id1483649026 The Stitcher.com link for 1001 History's Best Storytellers is:: ​​https://www.stitcher.com/s?fid=474955&refid=stpr.  SUPPORT OUR SHOW BY BECOMING A PATRON! www.patreon.com/1001storiesnetwork. Its time I started asking for support! Thank you. Its a few dollars a month OR a one time. (Any amount is appreciated). YOUR REVIEWS AND SUBSCRIPTIONS AT APPLE/ITUNES AND ALL ANDROID HOSTS ARE NEEDED AND APPRECIATED! LINKS BELOW... Open these links to enjoy our shows! APPLE USERS Catch 1001 RADIO DAYS now at Apple iTunes!  https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/1001-radio-days/id1405045413?mt=2 Catch 1001 Heroes on any Apple Device here (Free): https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/1001-heroes-legends-histories-mysteries-podcast/id956154836?mt=2  Catch 1001 CLASSIC SHORT STORIES at iTunes/apple Podcast App Now: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/1001-classic-short-stories-tales/id1078098622 Catch 1001 Stories for the Road at iTunes/Apple Podcast now:  https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/1001-stories-for-the-road/id1227478901 ANDROID USERS- 1001 Radio Days right here at Player.fm FREE: https://player.fm/series/1001-radio-days 1001 Classic Short Stories & Tales:https://castbox.fm/channel/1001-Classic-Short-Stories-%26-Tales-id1323543?country=us 1001 Heroes, Legends, Histories & Mysteries: https://castbox.fm/channel/1001-Heroes%2C-Legends%2C-Histories-%26-Mysteries-Podcast-id1323418?country=us 1001 Stories for the Road:https://castbox.fm/channel/1001-Stories-For-The-Road-id1324757?country=us Catch ALL of our shows at one place by going to www.1001storiesnetwork.com- our home website with Megaphone.

Cabanatuan POW Camp CemeteryThousands of United States Soldiers, Sailors, Marines, and civilians were taken prisoners of war (POW) by the Japanese in the Philippine Islands between 7 December 1941 and 8 May 1942. The saga of the battle for the Philippines and the horrible treatment the survivors received in Japanese POW camps is the subject of numerous books and articles, but there are few resources that articulate graves registration operations, especially those focused on recovering and identifying the remains of U.S. servicemen who perished at the Cabanatuan Prisoner of War Camp. The details concerning the circumstances under which U.S. prisoners held at Cabanatuan lived and died were difficult and complicated, as were the attempts to disinter and identify their remains after the war’s end. 75 years later with the advancement in DNA the U.S. Government needs to reexamine the Cabanatuan unknown cases and look at using a DNA Lead Process to make these identifications.Please visit our website for more information about our services to POW/MIA families - https://www.uspowmiafamilylocating.comPlease visit our affiliate links that help support our Podcast. Bear in mind these are affiliate links and if you go through them to make a purchase I will earn a small commission at no extra cost to you! Keep in mind that I link these companies and their products because of their quality and not because of the commission I receive from your purchases. The decision is yours, and whether or not you decide to buy something is completely up to you.Flipside Canvas - Owned by Medal of Honor recipient Dakota Meyer (USMC). At Flipside Canvas, we believe that art offers an opportunity to showcase your commitment to empowering yourself and others. High quality materials that will last 100+ years. All our art comes stretched and ready to hang on your wall. 100% Made in America using locally sourced and manufactured materials. https://flipsidecanvas.com/?ref=SOSPodcast The Home Depot - Not only for the Do It Yourself building and construction projects, you have access to over two million products ranging from small/large appliances to your everyday needs for the home to camping. Purchase online and pick up in your local Home Depot free of charge or ship it to your home! The sky is the limit on the products offered by the Home Depot! https://homedepot.sjv.io/SOSPodcast Please consider supporting our show - https://www.patreon.com/US_POW_MIA_Family_LocatingSupport the show (https://www.patreon.com/US_POW_MIA_Family_Locating)

In this one, the Proles sat down with Daniel and Professor Sarah Raymundo to discuss the colonial history and current concerns of our comrades, who are engaging in a broad-based revolutionary struggle right now.  If you haven't already, go to www.prolespod.com or you can help the show improve over at www.patreon.com/prolespod and in return can get access to our spicy discord, exclusive episodes, guest appearances, etc.! All kinds of great stuff. Please subscribe on your favorite podcast apps and rate or review to help extend our reach. Like and rate our facebook page at facebook.com/prolespod and follow us on Twitter @prolespod. If you have any questions or comments, DM us on either of those platforms or email us at prolespod@gmail.com All episodes prior to episode 4 can be found on YouTube, so go check that out as well! Brandon's GoFundMe: https://www.gofundme.com/f/4bfk5-fundraising-for-brandon-lee Suggested Reading:  Books & Documents   Collection of Documents from the CPP   Guerrero. Philippine Society & Revolution, 1970 (updated and shorter format in Tagalog, Maikling Kurso sa Lipunan at Rebolusyong Pilipino 2005).   —Foundation for Resuming the Philippine Revolution: Selected Writings, 1968-1972. (Includes the First Great Rectification Movement document, “Rectify Errors and Rebuild the Party”) —Defeating Revisionism, Reformism and Opportunism: Selected Writings, 1968-1974. (Includes numerous articles criticizing the old revisionist leadership of the previous PKP) —Building Strength Through Struggle: Selected Writings, 1972-1977. (Has two very important documents, “Our Urgent Tasks” and “Specific Characteristics of Our People’s War”) —Detention and Defiance Against Dictatorship: Selected Writings, 1977-1986. (Writings while founding chairman of the CPP, Jose Maria Sison, was in solitary confinement and jail, including “Basic Principles of Marxism-Leninism: A Primer” and “Brief History of the Kabataang Makabyan”)   Liwanag. Reaffirm Our Basic Principles and Rectify Errors, 1992. (The major document putting into motion the Second Great Rectification Movement)   Constitution and Program of the CPP, 2016. “Communique of the 2nd Congress of the CPP.”   Central Committee of the CPP. “Celebrate the Party’s 50th Anniversary.” —“Boldly Intensify Guerrilla Warfare: 50th Anniversary of the New People’s Army.”   Sison. “Great Achievements of the CPP in 50 Years of Waging Revolution,” 2018 (A document summarizing the historical achievements of the CPP as well as a current rectification campaign to combat conservatism, bureaucratism, sectarianism and ultra-democracy)   Pambansa Demokratikong Paaralan (PADEPA is a collection of lessons and readings for mass activists in the National Democratic Movement put together by the revolutionary movement in the Philippines)   History Books on the Philippines and the CPP   Agoncillo. The Revolt of the Masses: The Story of Bonifacio and the Katipunan, 1956. —Malolos: The Crisis of the Republic, 1960. —History of the Filipino People, 1960.     Constantino. The Making of a Filipino: A Story of Philippine Colonial Politics, 1969. —The Philippines: A Past Revisited, 1975. —The Philippines: A Continuing Past, 1978.   Lanzona. Amazons of the Huk Rebellion: Gender, Sex and Revolution in the Philippines, 2009.   McCoy. Policing America’s Empire: The United States, the Philippines and the Rise of the Surveillance State, 2009.   Richardson. Komunista: The Genesis of the Philippine Communist Party: 1902-1935, 2011 (pdf copy of his 1984 dissertation can be found here).   Rosca, Sison. Jose Maria Sison: At Home in the World, 2004.   Simbulan. When the Rains Come, Will not the Grass Grow Again? The Socialist Movement in the Philippines, 2018 —The Modern Principalia: The Historical Evolution of the Philippine Ruling Oligarchy, 2007.   Sison, “The Role of the Communist International in the Formation of the Communist Party of the Philippine Islands,” 2019.   Contemporary Studies of the Philippines and the National Democratic Movement   Francisco-Menchavez. The Labor of Care: Filipina Migrants and Transnational Families in the Digital Age, 2018.   Lindio-McGovern. Filipino Peasant Women: Exploitation and Resistance, 1997. —Globalization, Labor Export and Resistance: A Study of Filipino Migrant Domestic Workers in Global Cities, 2013.   Rodriguez. Migrants for Export: How the Philippine Sate Brokers Labor to the World, 2010.   San Juan, Jr. U.S. Imperialism and Revolution in the Philippines, 2007.   Scipes. KMU: Building Genuine Trade Unionism in the Philippines, 1996.   Tuazon. The Moro Reader: History and Contemporary Struggles of the Bangsamoro People, 2008.   Media   Communist Party of the Philippines Twitter Instagram Ang Bayan (the Party’s twice a month publication)   National Democratic Front of the Philippines (the most consolidated, revolutionary alliance of underground mass organizations in the Philippine revolution) Liberation (the official publication of the NDF)   News Media   Altermidya (People’s Alternative Media Network is a network of independent and progressive media outfits, institutions and individuals)   Bulatlat (One of the original online news publications in the Philippines covering the struggles of the toiling masses and mass movement)   Pinoy Weekly (An online and print publication that publishes weekly stories of the marginalized sectors of society. It also has print editions world wide)   Legal Mass Movement National Democratic Alliances   Bagong Alyansang Makabayan (BAYAN is a multisectoral formation struggling for national and social liberation against imperialism, feudalism and bureaucrat capitalism. Founded on the determination and strength of the majority of oppressed classes, BAYAN is an alliance composed mainly of organizations of workers and peasants.)   Kilusang Mayo Uno (Facebook page only. KMU is an independent labour center promoting genuine, militant and patriotic trade unionism. It is genuine because it recognizes the struggle between labor and capital and upholds the legitimate interests of the working class; militant because it relies on the workers collective struggle in defending trade union and democratic rights; and patriotic because it seeks to end imperialist domination and control over the Philippines.)   Kilusang Magbubukid ng Pilipinas (Facebook page only. KMP is a democratic and militant movement of landless peasants, small farmers, farm workers, rural youth and peasant women)   GABRIELA (Facebook page only. It is nationwide alliance of 200 women's organizations that cut across sectors and regions, plus chapters and support groups of Pinays and non-Pinays in various continents of the world.)   Migrante International (Alliance for migrant and overseas workers to promote migrants’ rights and dignity against all forms of discrimination, exploitation and abuse in the work place and in the community and resist all anti-migrant policies.)   Intro music:  "Proles Pod Theme" by Ransom Notes Outro music: "Danum" by Salidumay

The Bataan Memorial Death March is, as they say more than just a marathon… it ‘honors the thousands of heroic service members who defended the Philippine Islands during World War II, sacrificing their freedom, health, and, in many cases, their very lives.’ Joe, Colonel Nye, Sefra Alexandra, Erica Walker, Marion Abrams and Command Sergeant Major (Retired) Frank Grippe embarked on a sojourn to honor the men that exhibited true grit to their bone marrow. The 26.2 mile ruck through the White Sands Missile Range brought with it sweat, crippling dehydration, pain so excruciating it caused dry retching… yet in comparison to what these veterans had been through (as told by Death March Survivor Dan Crowley on Spartan UP! Podcast Episode 229) this was just a walk in the park. Walking alongside OEW, thousands of men women and children- our frame of reference was once again shifted. What the body can endure is extraordinary and the experience of rucking through the gorgeous yucca-clad landscape with beans on head, smiles on face and laughter in the belly- once again proved that friendships are only made stronger when you get comfortable being uncomfortable.   Lessons: · Colonel Nye dehydrates faster than a camel drinking saltwater · Joe needs a backpack sponsor · Erica Walker needed a walker at the airport · Marion secretly ran more than all of us with more weight · Frank Grippe needs to buy a scale · Sefra should get sponsored by Goya · The men that survived and died in this march should never be forgotten

Today's story: Runners and marchers from around the world visited New Mexico to participate in the 30th Annual Baatan Memorial Death March in honor of the U.S. and Filipino soldiers who defended the Philippine Islands during World War II.

Minnie Breese Stubbs - Life Story Original date for audio interview is unknown. Second Lieutenant Minnie Breese volunteered to go the Philippine Islands and was assigned to Fort Mills in Corregidor, April 1940. At that time, Army Nurses had relatively light work schedules and plenty of free time to enjoy the island. Breese had no idea that her life would change so drastically over the next 5 years. VIRIN: 180117-A-VG084-001

Bataan Memorial Death March. Ed and Mike have been battling #Ataxia and are now taking on another great challenge with the March. Right now is your opportunity to support them too! Be a part of the Joint Mission Bataan- an operation to raise awareness of #Ataxia. The Bataan Memorial Death March is a 26.2 mile hike through the high desert of the White Sands Missile Range in New Mexico. The march is a memorial in honor of the thousands of soldiers who served in the Philippine Islands during World War II. There are tons of different ways to get involved! You can create your own social media posts, share NAF's posts, start a fundraising team, or contribute to the Mission yourself. We want to spread the word about Mike, Ed, and the fight against Ataxia #kNOwATAXIA #JMB #JMB1 #JMB2 #JMB8 National Ataxia Foundation https://app.mobilecause.com/vf/JMB

Retired agent Mark Thundercloud served in the FBI for nearly 28 years. Early in his career, he was trained as a crisis negotiator and was eventually promoted to the FBI Critical Incident Response Group (CIRG), in the Crisis Negotiation Unit. In this episode of FBI Retired Case File Review, Mark Thundercloud reviews  the case of an American mother and son, Gerfa and Kevin Lunsmann, kidnapped by terrorist organization Abu Sayyaf while visiting relatives in the Philippines. Thundercloud also talks about his role in the rescue from Somali pirates of Richard Phillips, the captain of the Maersk Alabama, a commercial vessel. During his career, Mark Thundercloud responded to major crisis incidents around the world and managed the FBI Crisis Negotiator Program and the approximately 375 Special Agent negotiators throughout the U.S. He also organized many instructional courses and trained hostage/crisis negotiation and suicide intervention to thousands of FBI Agents, domestic and foreign police officers, military, and other personnel throughout the U.S. and the world. Mark Thundercloud personally responded to major incidents in the United States such as the Ruby Ridge standoff in Idaho, the Freemen incident in Montana, the Boston Marathon Bombings, and to the Standing Rock, North Dakota oil pipeline conflict. He has also deployed with the FBI Hostage Rescue Team to numerous other arrest and search warrant events. To assist in negotiations of kidnaped Americans and others, Thundercloud deployed to the countries of Afghanistan, Colombia, England, Greece, Haiti, Honduras, Hungary, Nigeria, Pakistan, the Philippine Islands, Qatar, and Trinidad and Tobago, as well as inside the United States. In 2011, Mark Thundercloud received the FBI Director’s Meritorious Achievement Award for negotiations conducted during a piracy-related hijacking of the near the coast of Somalia.     Join my reader team to get the 20 clichés about the FBI Reality Checklist, the FBI Reading Resource - Books about the FBI, written by FBI agents, and keep up to date on the FBI in books, TV, and movies. Join here:  https://us12.list-manage.com/subscribe?u=a3799f1fa1e3202c505b5a45a&id=b1b43cd57d Jerri Williams, a retired FBI agent, author and podcaster, attempts to relive her glory days by writing crime fiction about greed and hosting FBI Retired Case File Review, a true crime/history podcast. Her novels—Pay To Play and Greedy Givers—inspired by actual true crime FBI cases, feature temptation, corruption, and redemption, and are available at Amazon.com.   

In 1974 a hippie kid hiked into the Philippine jungles searching for the existence of wild Panda’s the Abominable Snowman and one Lieutenant Hiro Onoda.    Hiro Onoda was a young Japanese Soldier in his 20’s In 1944. The 2nd World War is raging in the Pacific. Lieutenant Onoda is dropped off on one of the innumerable, heavily jungled Philippine Islands and is told to do what he can to hamper allied activities in the area. And to continue fighting until he heard order to the contrary from the commanding officer who sent him on the mission.    That order did not come until the 9th of March, 1974, 29 years after the 2nd World War ended. This guy had been fighting, shooting, being shot at, killing and injuring the locals for 30 years.    He came out with 100’s of rounds of ammo, a well maintained working rifle and hand-grenades.    The guy who formally dismissed him, his commanding officer had long since retired from military service and was working as a bookseller. He had to be flown in by the Japanese government to this Philippine Island before Onoda would come out.   People asked him why… to which he replied that he sincerely didn’t believe the war was over. He would find newspapers with reports about life in Japan, which he thought to be propaganda by the enemy. Because he was convinced as long as a single Japanese citizen was living the war was not over.    Can you imagine spending 30 years in the Jungle only to emerge in the 70’s, to DISCO? Think of all that had changed.    Change is an inevitable part of life - we change personally, and the world around us changes. That’s why the wisest man who ever lived Solomon compared life to a series of Seasons. Learning to embrace a new season and celebrate it is one of the keys to a happy life. Rather than like Hiro Onoda climbing into a jungle and waiting for it to pass.     Today we are looking at one of life’s most challenging seasons - the season of loss. How do you face life when someone you love passes from this world?    The statistics on death are staggering, one out of everyone one persons that live die. 3 people die every second, 180 people die every minute, 11,000 people die every hour, 260,000 people die every day 95 million people die every year I hope you have no need of this sermon today, but the day is coming when you will need these words…. Death is the Great Equalizer - Death visits the elderly, the youth, the strong, the weak, the rich, the poor. Strong young men die, and occasionally small children drop their toys to wrestle with the strong arm of death. I’ve buried little babies 5 year old boys Teenagers Young mother Middle aged men Senior adults   I’ve buried people who have died in a drunken stupor and I have buried preachers of the Gospel. I’ve buried saintly senior adults and a war veteran who died an atheist.    But nothing is as sad as ministering to a man who is burying his wife.    That is the case in our text this morning – At this point in our story Sarah is 127 and Abraham is 137. She and Abraham had been married well over a hundred years.    BTW, “What do you get someone at their 100th wedding anniversary?”   It had been exactly 62 years since they had left Ur of the Chaldeans to follow God on their Journey of Faith.    Sarah and Abraham were the parents of a 37 year old son named Isaac.    It was then that Sarah met her appointment with death. Hebrews 9:27 that we all have an appointment with death -    27And as it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment: THOUGHT - We know of only two people who never tasted death – Elijah and Enoch. Quite possibly they are the two witnesses who will stand and prophecy in the last days as recorded in the book of revelation. Then, even they also will taste death. David writes in Psalm 139:16 16 Your eyes have seen my unformed substance; And in Your book were all written The days that were ordained for me, When as yet there was not one of them.   It’s important that you realize that there are a certain number of days ordained for you. When those days are complete, there isn’t a doctor on the planet that can extend them.  ILLUSTRATION: Kind of kills any motivation for dieting doesn’t it? We take care of ourselves to improve the quality of our life, but the quantity is already determined.    TEXT: Moses our human author, the Holy Spirit our Divine author gives one verse to the death of this great woman. Genesis 23:1 (NAS) 1 Now Sarah lived one hundred and twenty-seven years; these were the years of the life of Sarah.    One verse – then the remainder of the chapter focuses on how Abraham dealt with Sarah’s death. I find that interesting. You see, her story was over. Nothing could be added or taken away from the account of her earthly life. Her story continues in Heaven.    Paul speaking of the believers death in 2 Corinthians 5:8 (NAS) 8 we are of good courage, I say, and prefer rather to be absent from the body and to be at home with the Lord.    Sarah is at home with the Lord. But Abraham isn’t, he’s here on earth alone. As some of you are, as many of you will be one day. What are we to learn from the Patriarch’s example? We are to Mourn the Loss  Genesis 23:2 (NAS) 2 Sarah died in Kiriath-arba (that is, Hebron) in the land of Canaan; and Abraham went in to mourn for Sarah and to weep for her. I’ve heard preachers rebuke families for mourning, reminding them that this is to be the celebration of a home going. But friend, that’s all well and good, but it’s sad just the same and it’s ok to weep. I believe the ability to weep is a gift that helps us cope with the pain of loss. ILLUSTRATION: Carly space camp: I remember when my daughter Carly went to her first Summer Camp – Space Camp here in H’ville. I remember watching her walk away with the counselor with her little pink back pack on. Thinking that at any minute she was going to turn around and run back to me and call the whole thing off. But she didn’t, she never even looked back. Well, I knew she was going to be fine. I just didn’t like the separation. I knew the house would be a little quieter now. Some of you have had that experience when a son or daughter went to college. You know they are safe, but it doesn’t make it easier. In the same way when you loose someone who is a Christian – you know they are safer than ever. But it still hurts. Our Lord Jesus wept at the grave of Lazarus. It’s the shortest verse in the Bible. Now if anyone knew the fact that his friend was in Heaven it’s Jesus. If anyone understood the power of the resurrection, it’s Jesus. Just the same he cried.  King David wept over the loss of his son Absalom.  Jesus cried at death, David cried at death Abraham cried at death and friend it’s ok if you cry at death. 1 Corinthians 15:26 (NAS) 26 The last enemy that will be abolished is death.  Friend I hope you live the kind of life that people will mourn your death.    I’m telling you some of you the burning question on the minds of people after the dirt is on your grave is, “Where is the potato salad??”   But that is why I beg you to make your life count for eternity, “life is short will soon be passed only what is done for Christ will last.” If that’s true – everything else is a utter waste. Abraham mourned the death of Sarah…   Mourning is one of the healthiest things you can do when you experience the loss of a loved one.    ILLUSTRATION: I remember over 10 years ago my wife Julie miscarried… we lost a child just a few weeks old… but I mourned… I remember thinking - I wanted to give that child so much! I wanted to give them a home, an education, a car… but all I could give them were tears… so I gave the child my tears.    Abraham mourned the death of Sarah… He Honored the Loss Genesis 23:3–4 (NAS) 3 Then Abraham rose from before his dead, and spoke to the sons of Heth, saying, 4 “I am a stranger and a sojourner among you; give me a burial site among you that I may bury my dead out of my sight.” It is a sad fact that you aren’t able to mourn for long before your attention must be turned to matters of business. Specifically, securing a proper burial. NOW – Why is this important? We as Christians believe that the person is with God right? So what difference does it make how we deal with the body left behind?  Well you need to understand that there is something very special about the particular body you inhabit. You see – when a believer dies his Soul is immediately taken into God’s presence.  2 Corinthians 5:8 (NAS) 8 we are of good courage, I say, and prefer rather to be absent from the body and to be at home with the Lord. The believer’s body obviously stays here on earth –  Then when the Lord Jesus Christ returns -  Paul explains in 1 Thes. 4:14 … God will bring with him those who have fallen asleep”  1 Corinthians 15:52 … the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed.  The Body and Spirit are rejoined to the resurrected body. Jesus says in John 5:28, “The hour is coming when all who are in the tombs will hear his voice and come forth, those who have done good to the resurrection of life and those who have done evil to the resurrection of judgment”. Jesus also says in John 6:39, “This is the will of him who sent me, that I should lose nothing of all that he has given me, but raise it up at the last day. For this is the will of my Father, that every one who sees the Son and believes in him should have eternal life; and I will raise him up at the last day” (John 6:39–40) Well what will that body be like? The same, but different - 1 Corinthians 15:42–44 (NAS) 42 So also is the resurrection of the dead. It is sown a perishable body, it is raised an imperishable body; 43 it is sown in dishonor, it is raised in glory; it is sown in weakness, it is raised in power; 44 it is sown a natural body, it is raised a spiritual body. If there is a natural body, there is also a spiritual body. NOW – with this reality in mind, what are we to do with the body of those who die before the return of Christ? We are to honor the body of the deceased. We see that when Jesus died, Joseph of Aramathia claimed his body and buried it according to Jewish custom. One of the most fascinating passages in scripture is found in 2 Kings 13.  Remember that when God called Elijah up to Heaven that Elisha requested that a double portion of the Spirit be upon him. Elijah told him that if his mantle fell as he ascended into Heaven it would be done. Sure enough it happened. Now count the number of miracles that were performed by Elijah then the number performed by Elisha and you will find that Elisha performed almost double in his lifetime, but he was one short of double. But them in 2 Kings 13 2 Kings 13:20–21 (NAS) 20 Elisha died, and they buried him. Now the bands of the Moabites would invade the land in the spring of the year. 21 As they were burying a man, behold, they saw a marauding band; and they cast the man into the grave of Elisha. And when the man touched the bones of Elisha he revived and stood up on his feet. NOW think about this – the soul of Elisha was with the Lord, but the Spirit of God still used the body of Elisha. What about cremation? The Bible does not directly address the subject of cremation, and theologians have varying views on the subject. Typically cremation is reserved for people who died a dishonorable death, but there is an exception in the case of Jonathon the son of Saul in 1 Sam. 31. We should also remember that burning was an honorable way to treat sacrifices to the Lord (e.g. the burnt offerings). Paul even compared Christ's death to a burnt offering (see "aroma" in Eph. 5:2; cf. Exod. 29:18,25; 29:41) It all comes down to an issue of attitude. God can made man from the dust of the earth, it is no problem for God to call up the ashes of the deceased and glorify their body. We are to mourn the loss, honor the body… Exhibit Your Faith In verses 3-20 Abraham engages in a series of typical Middle Eastern negotiations. They follow a well established pattern of respect and request. The sons of Heth offer to give Abraham a cave to bury Sarah, but Abraham refuses to receive the cave as a gift, as a matter of fact, ultimately, he pays far more than the land was worth to purchase both the cave and a large spot of land here in the heart of Canaan. Why? Why did he not take her body back to Ur of the Chaldeans? We will see in Chapter 24 they still had family there. Because God had promised that he would give the land of Canaan to Abraham and his descendants. By insisting that he purchase the land in a public way, paying far more than it was worth Abraham was saying that he intended to put down roots in Canaan. We don’t hear about this land until the end of Genesis Israel makes a request of Joseph that he be buried back in this same cave. When God called Abraham he promised to give him the land from River of Egypt to the Euphrates River… but Abraham did not receive that promise in his lifetime… the only land Abraham took possession of was this little field and a cave in which to bury his wife.    How would you feel if you followed God expecting a NATION but ending up with FIELD?    Speaking of Abraham and Sarah - The writer to the Hebrews writes in Hebrews 11:13–16 (ESV) 13 These all died in faith, not having received the things promised, but having seen them and greeted them from afar, and having acknowledged that they were strangers and exiles on the earth.    In taking possession of this field Abraham greeted from afar that which God had promised…. Like the little cloud that Elijah saw and ran for the hills lest he be swept away in the flood… this little field was evidence that his faith had not been in vain.    Ultimately Abraham’s descendants would receive the territory promised… but better than that…Abraham’s eyes were set elsewhere…   16 But as it is, they desire a better country, that is, a heavenly one. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, for he has prepared for them a city.   There are a few times in life when your faith is placed on display -  When you respond to the Gospel.  When you are baptized.  When you face death.    ILLUSTRATION: Dr. Barnhouse tells the story of a young wife who received the news that her relatively new husband had just been killed in battle. After the military personal left the home the young lady ran up to her room and closed the door. Her mother called her father and he quickly returned home. He went upstairs in her room and found his daughter with the letter opened on her bed, she was bowed down on the floor praying, “Oh Father, Oh Heavenly Father, Oh heavenly father”. The dad closed the door, went back down stairs, hugged the mother and said, “She’s in better hands than mine…”   Perhaps the light of the gospel never shines brighter than it does at the graveside – where you weep with hope.    You say, but pastor didn’t you tell us we should grieve? Yes but 1 Thessalonians 4:13 13 But we do not want you to be uninformed, brethren, about those who are asleep, so that you will not grieve as do the rest who have no hope.    We know that the shadow of death is inevitable, but we also Remember there can be no shadow without light – the fact that death is difficult reminds us that eternity is set in the hearts of man.    ILLUSTRATION: The story of two boys in the back seat of the car when a bee stung the younger. The elder brother was stung first. The bible says, 1 Corinthians 15:54-56 55"Where, O death, is your victory? Where, O death, is your sting?"[b] 56The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. Jesus took deaths sting on the cross. So now death is a precious friend that escorts us into the presence of our Savior. "I have performed my duty to my God, my country, and my family. I have nothing to fear in approaching death. To me it is the mere shadow of God's protecting  wing . . “ Andrew Johnson (Written just before his death in July 1875)  

This podcast finds us on the autobahn driving through Germany. We discuss everything from Paul and his family living in Germany to his childhood growing up in the Philippine Islands. Also , we bring clarity to the name of the Missions organization we both work for ; formerly known as "Global Harvest" it is now "Praise Chapel Missions."   “He who began a good work in you, will carry it through…” Philippians 1:6    Instagram | @carryusthroughpod Facebook | @carryusthrough Twitter | @carryusthrough   Host: Instagram | @GabrielMenchaca_ GabrielMenchaca.com   Gabriel & Vanessa Menchaca are Christ-centered, community driven church planters focused on facilitating healthy families and healthy Churches. Through discipleship, edification, encouragement and real world application of scripture into everyday life.    Church :   Instagram | @NWLAChurch NWLAChurch.com  

THEY MAKE STUFF UP AS THEY GO! The media is trying to shape the news for us now that Donald Trump is the prospective GOP candidate. It’s probably time to completely turn off the TV news programs, including Fox News, and rest your minds for awhile secure in the knowledge that you are missing the left wings massive propaganda campaign against America’s middle class and its candidate. OUT OF DATE AND OUT OF IDEAS!! Both Bush presidents, plus Jeb Bush, Michael Reagan and Mitt Romney have declared they will absent themselves from the GOP Convention in Cleveland. Probably a good idea because I have a feeling they are not welcomed anyway, at least by the GOP’s base voters. They’re old, out of date and out of ideas. IT HAS AT LAST OCCURRED TO THE VOTERS THAT IT NO LONGER MAKES ANY DIFFERENCE WHICH PARTY CONTROLS OUR GOVERNMENT AS THEY ARE BOTH CORRUPT. George McClellan’s professional career covers 43 years in Law Enforcement including the California Highway Patrol and the US Naval Investigative Service. He has worked in many countries from the Philippine Islands to the United Kingdom, Asia, the Middle-East, throughout Europe and Russia. He is passionate and like most Americans - worried about out future. You'll find a full list of George's columns here. There’s a Revolution Coming (if it hasn’t already started) The voters have recognized that Government is out of control militarily, socially, economically and morally. It does not create jobs but destroys them. It does not create wealth, but absorbs it, each year spending more that the year before. The GOP and The Donald It is the politicians who have ruined America and it is the politicians who refuse to correct their errors, blaming others instead. The Divine Rights of Kings… Perhaps The GOP is at a tipping point. Lacking a King, by divine right, political parties have formed to relieve the masses of the dreary burden of leadership through the democratic process of group think (electioneering).

Ernest Hueter, veteran of World War II, saw some of the greatest action in the South Pacific, was once assigned to General MacArthur's staff, and was present when Gen. MacArthur made his return to the Philippine Islands. He talks about he inspiration for joining the service, and how his combat experience shaped his life.

Adam and Eve (828.1) 74:0.1 ADAM AND EVE arrived on Urantia, from the year A.D. 1934, 37,848 years ago. It was in midseason when the Garden was in the height of bloom that they arrived. At high noon and unannounced, the two seraphic transports, accompanied by the Jerusem personnel intrusted with the transportation of the biologic uplifters to Urantia, settled slowly to the surface of the revolving planet in the vicinity of the temple of the Universal Father. All the work of rematerializing the bodies of Adam and Eve was carried on within the precincts of this newly created shrine. And from the time of their arrival ten days passed before they were re-created in dual human form for presentation as the world’s new rulers. They regained consciousness simultaneously. The Material Sons and Daughters always serve together. It is the essence of their service at all times and in all places never to be separated. They are designed to work in pairs; seldom do they function alone. 1. Adam and Eve on Jerusem (828.2) 74:1.1 The Planetary Adam and Eve of Urantia were members of the senior corps of Material Sons on Jerusem, being jointly number 14,311. They belonged to the third physical series and were a little more than eight feet in height. (828.3) 74:1.2 At the time Adam was chosen to come to Urantia, he was employed, with his mate, in the trial-and-testing physical laboratories of Jerusem. For more than fifteen thousand years they had been directors of the division of experimental energy as applied to the modification of living forms. Long before this they had been teachers in the citizenship schools for new arrivals on Jerusem. And all this should be borne in mind in connection with the narration of their subsequent conduct on Urantia. (828.4) 74:1.3 When the proclamation was issued calling for volunteers for the mission of Adamic adventure on Urantia, the entire senior corps of Material Sons and Daughters volunteered. The Melchizedek examiners, with the approval of Lanaforge and the Most Highs of Edentia, finally selected the Adam and Eve who subsequently came to function as the biologic uplifters of Urantia. (828.5) 74:1.4 Adam and Eve had remained loyal to Michael during the Lucifer rebellion; nevertheless, the pair were called before the System Sovereign and his entire cabinet for examination and instruction. The details of Urantia affairs were fully presented; they were exhaustively instructed as to the plans to be pursued in accepting the responsibilities of rulership on such a strife-torn world. They were put under joint oaths of allegiance to the Most Highs of Edentia and to Michael of Salvington. And they were duly advised to regard themselves as subject to the Urantia corps of Melchizedek receivers until that governing body should see fit to relinquish rule on the world of their assignment. (829.1) 74:1.5 This Jerusem pair left behind them on the capital of Satania and elsewhere, one hundred offspring — fifty sons and fifty daughters — magnificent creatures who had escaped the pitfalls of progression, and who were all in commission as faithful stewards of universe trust at the time of their parents’ departure for Urantia. And they were all present in the beautiful temple of the Material Sons attendant upon the farewell exercises associated with the last ceremonies of the bestowal acceptance. These children accompanied their parents to the dematerialization headquarters of their order and were the last to bid them farewell and divine speed as they fell asleep in the personality lapse of consciousness which precedes the preparation for seraphic transport. The children spent some time together at the family rendezvous rejoicing that their parents were soon to become the visible heads, in reality the sole rulers, of planet 606 in the system of Satania. (829.2) 74:1.6 And thus did Adam and Eve leave Jerusem amidst the acclaim and well-wishing of its citizens. They went forth to their new responsibilities adequately equipped and fully instructed concerning every duty and danger to be encountered on Urantia. 2. Arrival of Adam and Eve (829.3) 74:2.1 Adam and Eve fell asleep on Jerusem, and when they awakened in the Father’s temple on Urantia in the presence of the mighty throng assembled to welcome them, they were face to face with two beings of whom they had heard much, Van and his faithful associate Amadon. These two heroes of the Caligastia secession were the first to welcome them in their new garden home. (829.4) 74:2.2 The tongue of Eden was an Andonic dialect as spoken by Amadon. Van and Amadon had markedly improved this language by creating a new alphabet of twenty-four letters, and they had hoped to see it become the tongue of Urantia as the Edenic culture would spread throughout the world. Adam and Eve had fully mastered this human dialect before they departed from Jerusem so that this son of Andon heard the exalted ruler of his world address him in his own tongue. (829.5) 74:2.3 And on that day there was great excitement and joy throughout Eden as the runners went in great haste to the rendezvous of the carrier pigeons assembled from near and far, shouting: “Let loose the birds; let them carry the word that the promised Son has come.” Hundreds of believer settlements had faithfully, year after year, kept up the supply of these home-reared pigeons for just such an occasion. (829.6) 74:2.4 As the news of Adam’s arrival spread abroad, thousands of the near-by tribesmen accepted the teachings of Van and Amadon, while for months and months pilgrims continued to pour into Eden to welcome Adam and Eve and to do homage to their unseen Father. (829.7) 74:2.5 Soon after their awakening, Adam and Eve were escorted to the formal reception on the great mound to the north of the temple. This natural hill had been enlarged and made ready for the installation of the world’s new rulers. Here, at noon, the Urantia reception committee welcomed this Son and Daughter of the system of Satania. Amadon was chairman of this committee, which consisted of twelve members embracing a representative of each of the six Sangik races; the acting chief of the midwayers; Annan, a loyal daughter and spokesman for the Nodites; Noah, the son of the architect and builder of the Garden and executive of his deceased father’s plans; and the two resident Life Carriers. (830.1) 74:2.6 The next act was the delivery of the charge of planetary custody to Adam and Eve by the senior Melchizedek, chief of the council of receivership on Urantia. The Material Son and Daughter took the oath of allegiance to the Most Highs of Norlatiadek and to Michael of Nebadon and were proclaimed rulers of Urantia by Van, who thereby relinquished the titular authority which for over one hundred and fifty thousand years he had held by virtue of the action of the Melchizedek receivers. (830.2) 74:2.7 And Adam and Eve were invested with kingly robes on this occasion, the time of their formal induction into world rulership. Not all of the arts of Dalamatia had been lost to the world; weaving was still practiced in the days of Eden. (830.3) 74:2.8 Then was heard the archangels’ proclamation, and the broadcast voice of Gabriel decreed the second judgment roll call of Urantia and the resurrection of the sleeping survivors of the second dispensation of grace and mercy on 606 of Satania. The dispensation of the Prince has passed; the age of Adam, the third planetary epoch, opens amidst scenes of simple grandeur; and the new rulers of Urantia start their reign under seemingly favorable conditions, notwithstanding the world-wide confusion occasioned by lack of the co-operation of their predecessor in authority on the planet.* 3. Adam and Eve Learn About the Planet (830.4) 74:3.1 And now, after their formal installation, Adam and Eve became painfully aware of their planetary isolation. Silent were the familiar broadcasts, and absent were all the circuits of extraplanetary communication. Their Jerusem fellows had gone to worlds running along smoothly with a well-established Planetary Prince and an experienced staff ready to receive them and competent to co-operate with them during their early experience on such worlds. But on Urantia rebellion had changed everything. Here the Planetary Prince was very much present, and though shorn of most of his power to work evil, he was still able to make the task of Adam and Eve difficult and to some extent hazardous. It was a serious and disillusioned Son and Daughter of Jerusem who walked that night through the Garden under the shining of the full moon, discussing plans for the next day. (830.5) 74:3.2 Thus ended the first day of Adam and Eve on isolated Urantia, the confused planet of the Caligastia betrayal; and they walked and talked far into the night, their first night on earth — and it was so lonely. (830.6) 74:3.3 Adam’s second day on earth was spent in session with the planetary receivers and the advisory council. From the Melchizedeks, and their associates, Adam and Eve learned more about the details of the Caligastia rebellion and the result of that upheaval upon the world’s progress. And it was, on the whole, a disheartening story, this long recital of the mismanagement of world affairs. They learned all the facts regarding the utter collapse of the Caligastia scheme for accelerating the process of social evolution. They also arrived at a full realization of the folly of attempting to achieve planetary advancement independently of the divine plan of progression. And thus ended a sad but enlightening day — their second on Urantia. (831.1) 74:3.4 The third day was devoted to an inspection of the Garden. From the large passenger birds — the fandors — Adam and Eve looked down upon the vast stretches of the Garden while being carried through the air over this, the most beautiful spot on earth. This day of inspection ended with an enormous banquet in honor of all who had labored to create this garden of Edenic beauty and grandeur. And again, late into the night of their third day, the Son and his mate walked in the Garden and talked about the immensity of their problems. (831.2) 74:3.5 On the fourth day Adam and Eve addressed the Garden assembly. From the inaugural mount they spoke to the people concerning their plans for the rehabilitation of the world and outlined the methods whereby they would seek to redeem the social culture of Urantia from the low levels to which it had fallen as a result of sin and rebellion. This was a great day, and it closed with a feast for the council of men and women who had been selected to assume responsibilities in the new administration of world affairs. Take note! women as well as men were in this group, and that was the first time such a thing had occurred on earth since the days of Dalamatia. It was an astounding innovation to behold Eve, a woman, sharing the honors and responsibilities of world affairs with a man. And thus ended the fourth day on earth. (831.3) 74:3.6 The fifth day was occupied with the organization of the temporary government, the administration which was to function until the Melchizedek receivers should leave Urantia. (831.4) 74:3.7 The sixth day was devoted to an inspection of the numerous types of men and animals. Along the walls eastward in Eden, Adam and Eve were escorted all day, viewing the animal life of the planet and arriving at a better understanding as to what must be done to bring order out of the confusion of a world inhabited by such a variety of living creatures. (831.5) 74:3.8 It greatly surprised those who accompanied Adam on this trip to observe how fully he understood the nature and function of the thousands upon thousands of animals shown him. The instant he glanced at an animal, he would indicate its nature and behavior. Adam could give names descriptive of the origin, nature, and function of all material creatures on sight. Those who conducted him on this tour of inspection did not know that the world’s new ruler was one of the most expert anatomists of all Satania; and Eve was equally proficient. Adam amazed his associates by describing hosts of living things too small to be seen by human eyes. (831.6) 74:3.9 When the sixth day of their sojourn on earth was over, Adam and Eve rested for the first time in their new home in “the east of Eden.” The first six days of the Urantia adventure had been very busy, and they looked forward with great pleasure to an entire day of freedom from all activities. (831.7) 74:3.10 But circumstances dictated otherwise. The experience of the day just past in which Adam had so intelligently and so exhaustively discussed the animal life of Urantia, together with his masterly inaugural address and his charming manner, had so won the hearts and overcome the intellects of the Garden dwellers that they were not only wholeheartedly disposed to accept the newly arrived Son and Daughter of Jerusem as rulers, but the majority were about ready to fall down and worship them as gods. 4. The First Upheaval (832.1) 74:4.1 That night, the night following the sixth day, while Adam and Eve slumbered, strange things were transpiring in the vicinity of the Father’s temple in the central sector of Eden. There, under the rays of the mellow moon, hundreds of enthusiastic and excited men and women listened for hours to the impassioned pleas of their leaders. They meant well, but they simply could not understand the simplicity of the fraternal and democratic manner of their new rulers. And long before daybreak the new and temporary administrators of world affairs reached a virtually unanimous conclusion that Adam and his mate were altogether too modest and unassuming. They decided that Divinity had descended to earth in bodily form, that Adam and Eve were in reality gods or else so near such an estate as to be worthy of reverent worship. (832.2) 74:4.2 The amazing events of the first six days of Adam and Eve on earth were entirely too much for the unprepared minds of even the world’s best men; their heads were in a whirl; they were swept along with the proposal to bring the noble pair up to the Father’s temple at high noon in order that everyone might bow down in respectful worship and prostrate themselves in humble submission. And the Garden dwellers were really sincere in all of this. (832.3) 74:4.3 Van protested. Amadon was absent, being in charge of the guard of honor which had remained behind with Adam and Eve overnight. But Van’s protest was swept aside. He was told that he was likewise too modest, too unassuming; that he was not far from a god himself, else how had he lived so long on earth, and how had he brought about such a great event as the advent of Adam? And as the excited Edenites were about to seize him and carry him up to the mount for adoration, Van made his way out through the throng and, being able to communicate with the midwayers, sent their leader in great haste to Adam. (832.4) 74:4.4 It was near the dawn of their seventh day on earth that Adam and Eve heard the startling news of the proposal of these well-meaning but misguided mortals; and then, even while the passenger birds were swiftly winging to bring them to the temple, the midwayers, being able to do such things, transported Adam and Eve to the Father’s temple. It was early on the morning of this seventh day and from the mount of their so recent reception that Adam held forth in explanation of the orders of divine sonship and made clear to these earth minds that only the Father and those whom he designates may be worshiped. Adam made it plain that he would accept any honor and receive all respect, but worship never! (832.5) 74:4.5 It was a momentous day, and just before noon, about the time of the arrival of the seraphic messenger bearing the Jerusem acknowledgment of the installation of the world’s rulers, Adam and Eve, moving apart from the throng, pointed to the Father’s temple and said: “Go you now to the material emblem of the Father’s invisible presence and bow down in worship of him who made us all and who keeps us living. And let this act be the sincere pledge that you never will again be tempted to worship anyone but God.” They all did as Adam directed. The Material Son and Daughter stood alone on the mount with bowed heads while the people prostrated themselves about the temple. (832.6) 74:4.6 And this was the origin of the Sabbath-day tradition. Always in Eden the seventh day was devoted to the noontide assembly at the temple; long it was the custom to devote this day to self-culture. The forenoon was devoted to physical improvement, the noontime to spiritual worship, the afternoon to mind culture, while the evening was spent in social rejoicing. This was never the law in Eden, but it was the custom as long as the Adamic administration held sway on earth. 5. Adam’s Administration (833.1) 74:5.1 For almost seven years after Adam’s arrival the Melchizedek receivers remained on duty, but the time finally came when they turned the administration of world affairs over to Adam and returned to Jerusem. (833.2) 74:5.2 The farewell of the receivers occupied the whole of a day, and during the evening the individual Melchizedeks gave Adam and Eve their parting advice and best wishes. Adam had several times requested his advisers to remain on earth with him, but always were these petitions denied. The time had come when the Material Sons must assume full responsibility for the conduct of world affairs. And so, at midnight, the seraphic transports of Satania left the planet with fourteen beings for Jerusem, the translation of Van and Amadon occurring simultaneously with the departure of the twelve Melchizedeks. (833.3) 74:5.3 All went fairly well for a time on Urantia, and it appeared that Adam would, eventually, be able to develop some plan for promoting the gradual extension of the Edenic civilization. Pursuant to the advice of the Melchizedeks, he began to foster the arts of manufacture with the idea of developing trade relations with the outside world. When Eden was disrupted, there were over one hundred primitive manufacturing plants in operation, and extensive trade relations with the near-by tribes had been established. (833.4) 74:5.4 For ages Adam and Eve had been instructed in the technique of improving a world in readiness for their specialized contributions to the advancement of evolutionary civilization; but now they were face to face with pressing problems, such as the establishment of law and order in a world of savages, barbarians, and semicivilized human beings. Aside from the cream of the earth’s population, assembled in the Garden, only a few groups, here and there, were at all ready for the reception of the Adamic culture. (833.5) 74:5.5 Adam made a heroic and determined effort to establish a world government, but he met with stubborn resistance at every turn. Adam had already put in operation a system of group control throughout Eden and had federated all of these companies into the Edenic league. But trouble, serious trouble, ensued when he went outside the Garden and sought to apply these ideas to the outlying tribes. The moment Adam’s associates began to work outside the Garden, they met the direct and well-planned resistance of Caligastia and Daligastia. The fallen Prince had been deposed as world ruler, but he had not been removed from the planet. He was still present on earth and able, at least to some extent, to resist all of Adam’s plans for the rehabilitation of human society. Adam tried to warn the races against Caligastia, but the task was made very difficult because his archenemy was invisible to the eyes of mortals. (833.6) 74:5.6 Even among the Edenites there were those confused minds that leaned toward the Caligastia teaching of unbridled personal liberty; and they caused Adam no end of trouble; always were they upsetting the best-laid plans for orderly progression and substantial development. He was finally compelled to withdraw his program for immediate socialization; he fell back on Van’s method of organization, dividing the Edenites into companies of one hundred with captains over each and with lieutenants in charge of groups of ten. (834.1) 74:5.7 Adam and Eve had come to institute representative government in the place of monarchial, but they found no government worthy of the name on the face of the whole earth. For the time being Adam abandoned all effort to establish representative government, and before the collapse of the Edenic regime he succeeded in establishing almost one hundred outlying trade and social centers where strong individuals ruled in his name. Most of these centers had been organized aforetime by Van and Amadon. (834.2) 74:5.8 The sending of ambassadors from one tribe to another dates from the times of Adam. This was a great forward step in the evolution of government. 6. Home Life of Adam and Eve (834.3) 74:6.1 The Adamic family grounds embraced a little over five square miles. Immediately surrounding this homesite, provision had been made for the care of more than three hundred thousand of the pure-line offspring. But only the first unit of the projected buildings was ever constructed. Before the size of the Adamic family outgrew these early provisions, the whole Edenic plan had been disrupted and the Garden vacated. (834.4) 74:6.2 Adamson was the first-born of the violet race of Urantia, being followed by his sister and Eveson, the second son of Adam and Eve. Eve was the mother of five children before the Melchizedeks left — three sons and two daughters. The next two were twins. She bore sixty-three children, thirty-two daughters and thirty-one sons, before the default. When Adam and Eve left the Garden, their family consisted of four generations numbering 1,647 pure-line descendants. They had forty-two children after leaving the Garden besides the two offspring of joint parentage with the mortal stock of earth. And this does not include the Adamic parentage to the Nodite and evolutionary races. (834.5) 74:6.3 The Adamic children did not take milk from animals when they ceased to nurse the mother’s breast at one year of age. Eve had access to the milk of a great variety of nuts and to the juices of many fruits, and knowing full well the chemistry and energy of these foods, she suitably combined them for the nourishment of her children until the appearance of teeth. (834.6) 74:6.4 While cooking was universally employed outside of the immediate Adamic sector of Eden, there was no cooking in Adam’s household. They found their foods — fruits, nuts, and cereals — ready prepared as they ripened. They ate once a day, shortly after noontime. Adam and Eve also imbibed “light and energy” direct from certain space emanations in conjunction with the ministry of the tree of life. (834.7) 74:6.5 The bodies of Adam and Eve gave forth a shimmer of light, but they always wore clothing in conformity with the custom of their associates. Though wearing very little during the day, at eventide they donned night wraps. The origin of the traditional halo encircling the heads of supposed pious and holy men dates back to the days of Adam and Eve. Since the light emanations of their bodies were so largely obscured by clothing, only the radiating glow from their heads was discernible. The descendants of Adamson always thus portrayed their concept of individuals believed to be extraordinary in spiritual development. (834.8) 74:6.6 Adam and Eve could communicate with each other and with their immediate children over a distance of about fifty miles. This thought exchange was effected by means of the delicate gas chambers located in close proximity to their brain structures. By this mechanism they could send and receive thought oscillations. But this power was instantly suspended upon the mind’s surrender to the discord and disruption of evil. (835.1) 74:6.7 The Adamic children attended their own schools until they were sixteen, the younger being taught by the elder. The little folks changed activities every thirty minutes, the older every hour. And it was certainly a new sight on Urantia to observe these children of Adam and Eve at play, joyous and exhilarating activity just for the sheer fun of it. The play and humor of the present-day races are largely derived from the Adamic stock. The Adamites all had a great appreciation of music as well as a keen sense of humor. (835.2) 74:6.8 The average age of betrothal was eighteen, and these youths then entered upon a two years’ course of instruction in preparation for the assumption of marital responsibilities. At twenty they were eligible for marriage; and after marriage they began their lifework or entered upon special preparation therefor. (835.3) 74:6.9 The practice of some subsequent nations of permitting the royal families, supposedly descended from the gods, to marry brother to sister, dates from the traditions of the Adamic offspring — mating, as they must needs, with one another. The marriage ceremonies of the first and second generations of the Garden were always performed by Adam and Eve. 7. Life in the Garden (835.4) 74:7.1 The children of Adam, except for four years’ attendance at the western schools, lived and worked in the “east of Eden.” They were trained intellectually until they were sixteen in accordance with the methods of the Jerusem schools. From sixteen to twenty they were taught in the Urantia schools at the other end of the Garden, serving there also as teachers in the lower grades. (835.5) 74:7.2 The entire purpose of the western school system of the Garden was socialization. The forenoon periods of recess were devoted to practical horticulture and agriculture, the afternoon periods to competitive play. The evenings were employed in social intercourse and the cultivation of personal friendships. Religious and sexual training were regarded as the province of the home, the duty of parents. (835.6) 74:7.3 The teaching in these schools included instruction regarding: (835.7) 74:7.4 1. Health and the care of the body. (835.8) 74:7.5 2. The golden rule, the standard of social intercourse. (835.9) 74:7.6 3. The relation of individual rights to group rights and community obligations. (835.10) 74:7.7 4. History and culture of the various earth races. (835.11) 74:7.8 5. Methods of advancing and improving world trade. (835.12) 74:7.9 6. Co-ordination of conflicting duties and emotions. (835.13) 74:7.10 7. The cultivation of play, humor, and competitive substitutes for physical fighting. (835.14) 74:7.11 The schools, in fact every activity of the Garden, were always open to visitors. Unarmed observers were freely admitted to Eden for short visits. To sojourn in the Garden a Urantian had to be “adopted.” He received instructions in the plan and purpose of the Adamic bestowal, signified his intention to adhere to this mission, and then made declaration of loyalty to the social rule of Adam and the spiritual sovereignty of the Universal Father. (836.1) 74:7.12 The laws of the Garden were based on the older codes of Dalamatia and were promulgated under seven heads: (836.2) 74:7.13 1. The laws of health and sanitation. (836.3) 74:7.14 2. The social regulations of the Garden. (836.4) 74:7.15 3. The code of trade and commerce. (836.5) 74:7.16 4. The laws of fair play and competition. (836.6) 74:7.17 5. The laws of home life. (836.7) 74:7.18 6. The civil codes of the golden rule. (836.8) 74:7.19 7. The seven commands of supreme moral rule. (836.9) 74:7.20 The moral law of Eden was little different from the seven commandments of Dalamatia. But the Adamites taught many additional reasons for these commands; for instance, regarding the injunction against murder, the indwelling of the Thought Adjuster was presented as an additional reason for not destroying human life. They taught that “whoso sheds man’s blood by man shall his blood be shed, for in the image of God made he man.” (836.10) 74:7.21 The public worship hour of Eden was noon; sunset was the hour of family worship. Adam did his best to discourage the use of set prayers, teaching that effective prayer must be wholly individual, that it must be the “desire of the soul”; but the Edenites continued to use the prayers and forms handed down from the times of Dalamatia. Adam also endeavored to substitute the offerings of the fruit of the land for the blood sacrifices in the religious ceremonies but had made little progress before the disruption of the Garden. (836.11) 74:7.22 Adam endeavored to teach the races sex equality. The way Eve worked by the side of her husband made a profound impression upon all dwellers in the Garden. Adam definitely taught them that the woman, equally with the man, contributes those life factors which unite to form a new being. Theretofore, mankind had presumed that all procreation resided in the “loins of the father.” They had looked upon the mother as being merely a provision for nurturing the unborn and nursing the newborn. (836.12) 74:7.23 Adam taught his contemporaries all they could comprehend, but that was not very much, comparatively speaking. Nevertheless, the more intelligent of the races of earth looked forward eagerly to the time when they would be permitted to intermarry with the superior children of the violet race. And what a different world Urantia would have become if this great plan of uplifting the races had been carried out! Even as it was, tremendous gains resulted from the small amount of the blood of this imported race which the evolutionary peoples incidentally secured. (836.13) 74:7.24 And thus did Adam work for the welfare and uplift of the world of his sojourn. But it was a difficult task to lead these mixed and mongrel peoples in the better way. 8. The Legend of Creation (836.14) 74:8.1 The story of the creation of Urantia in six days was based on the tradition that Adam and Eve had spent just six days in their initial survey of the Garden. This circumstance lent almost sacred sanction to the time period of the week, which had been originally introduced by the Dalamatians. Adam’s spending six days inspecting the Garden and formulating preliminary plans for organization was not prearranged; it was worked out from day to day. The choosing of the seventh day for worship was wholly incidental to the facts herewith narrated. (837.1) 74:8.2 The legend of the making of the world in six days was an afterthought, in fact, more than thirty thousand years afterwards. One feature of the narrative, the sudden appearance of the sun and moon, may have taken origin in the traditions of the onetime sudden emergence of the world from a dense space cloud of minute matter which had long obscured both sun and moon. (837.2) 74:8.3 The story of creating Eve out of Adam’s rib is a confused condensation of the Adamic arrival and the celestial surgery connected with the interchange of living substances associated with the coming of the corporeal staff of the Planetary Prince more than four hundred and fifty thousand years previously. (837.3) 74:8.4 The majority of the world’s peoples have been influenced by the tradition that Adam and Eve had physical forms created for them upon their arrival on Urantia. The belief in man’s having been created from clay was well-nigh universal in the Eastern Hemisphere; this tradition can be traced from the Philippine Islands around the world to Africa. And many groups accepted this story of man’s clay origin by some form of special creation in the place of the earlier beliefs in progressive creation — evolution. (837.4) 74:8.5 Away from the influences of Dalamatia and Eden, mankind tended toward the belief in the gradual ascent of the human race. The fact of evolution is not a modern discovery; the ancients understood the slow and evolutionary character of human progress. The early Greeks had clear ideas of this despite their proximity to Mesopotamia. Although the various races of earth became sadly mixed up in their notions of evolution, nevertheless, many of the primitive tribes believed and taught that they were the descendants of various animals. Primitive peoples made a practice of selecting for their “totems” the animals of their supposed ancestry. Certain North American Indian tribes believed they originated from beavers and coyotes. Certain African tribes teach that they are descended from the hyena, a Malay tribe from the lemur, a New Guinea group from the parrot. (837.5) 74:8.6 The Babylonians, because of immediate contact with the remnants of the civilization of the Adamites, enlarged and embellished the story of man’s creation; they taught that he had descended directly from the gods. They held to an aristocratic origin for the race which was incompatible with even the doctrine of creation out of clay. (837.6) 74:8.7 The Old Testament account of creation dates from long after the time of Moses; he never taught the Hebrews such a distorted story. But he did present a simple and condensed narrative of creation to the Israelites, hoping thereby to augment his appeal to worship the Creator, the Universal Father, whom he called the Lord God of Israel. (837.7) 74:8.8 In his early teachings, Moses very wisely did not attempt to go back of Adam’s time, and since Moses was the supreme teacher of the Hebrews, the stories of Adam became intimately associated with those of creation. That the earlier traditions recognized pre-Adamic civilization is clearly shown by the fact that later editors, intending to eradicate all reference to human affairs before Adam’s time, neglected to remove the telltale reference to Cain’s emigration to the “land of Nod,” where he took himself a wife. (838.1) 74:8.9 The Hebrews had no written language in general usage for a long time after they reached Palestine. They learned the use of an alphabet from the neighboring Philistines, who were political refugees from the higher civilization of Crete. The Hebrews did little writing until about 900 B.C., and having no written language until such a late date, they had several different stories of creation in circulation, but after the Babylonian captivity they inclined more toward accepting a modified Mesopotamian version. (838.2) 74:8.10 Jewish tradition became crystallized about Moses, and because he endeavored to trace the lineage of Abraham back to Adam, the Jews assumed that Adam was the first of all mankind. Yahweh was the creator, and since Adam was supposed to be the first man, he must have made the world just prior to making Adam. And then the tradition of Adam’s six days got woven into the story, with the result that almost a thousand years after Moses’ sojourn on earth the tradition of creation in six days was written out and subsequently credited to him. (838.3) 74:8.11 When the Jewish priests returned to Jerusalem, they had already completed the writing of their narrative of the beginning of things. Soon they made claims that this recital was a recently discovered story of creation written by Moses. But the contemporary Hebrews of around 500 B.C. did not consider these writings to be divine revelations; they looked upon them much as later peoples regard mythological narratives. (838.4) 74:8.12 This spurious document, reputed to be the teachings of Moses, was brought to the attention of Ptolemy, the Greek king of Egypt, who had it translated into Greek by a commission of seventy scholars for his new library at Alexandria. And so this account found its place among those writings which subsequently became a part of the later collections of the “sacred scriptures” of the Hebrew and Christian religions. And through identification with these theological systems, such concepts for a long time profoundly influenced the philosophy of many Occidental peoples. (838.5) 74:8.13 The Christian teachers perpetuated the belief in the fiat creation of the human race, and all this led directly to the formation of the hypothesis of a onetime golden age of utopian bliss and the theory of the fall of man or superman which accounted for the nonutopian condition of society. These outlooks on life and man’s place in the universe were at best discouraging since they were predicated upon a belief in retrogression rather than progression, as well as implying a vengeful Deity, who had vented wrath upon the human race in retribution for the errors of certain onetime planetary administrators. (838.6) 74:8.14 The “golden age” is a myth, but Eden was a fact, and the Garden civilization was actually overthrown. Adam and Eve carried on in the Garden for one hundred and seventeen years when, through the impatience of Eve and the errors of judgment of Adam, they presumed to turn aside from the ordained way, speedily bringing disaster upon themselves and ruinous retardation upon the developmental progression of all Urantia. (838.7) 74:8.15 [Narrated by Solonia, the seraphic “voice in the Garden.”]

I'm thrilled to bring my listeners one of the sexiest, brightest and HOTTEST TS performers in adult film today... Ms Eva Lin! BIO: Eva Lin is an adult film performer born in the Philippine Islands, but raised in Hayward, CA. She moved to San Francisco, CA to become an exotic dancer and bartender. After bartending for 4 years she then moved on to pursue a career in adult films.  Eva is very passionate about what she does and only gives the best to her fans. Fans are very important and play a major role in my career as well as family, god and friends. Some of hobbies include reading, cooking, and traveling, also have very strong towards animals and nature. Eva having just a short time in the industry has taken home three Tranny Awards in 2011 along with being showered for the year 2013, first winning 'TS performer of the year'. The future is looking great for this beautiful starlet and the best is yet to come. **Please Note** If you see a differing date in the url of this program, this is a BTR glitch for shows that start after a certain time of day. This show is definitely Tues Feb 5, 2013 at 10 PM ET. Although all our shows say that they are 2 hrs in length we try to keep it as close to 1 hr as possible so get those calls in EARLY!  

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We are continuing our study on the Sermon on the Mount with a very important sermon, a very important message, I think, especially for this day and age that we are living in. I would like to begin by telling you a story of a mission trip that I made, I have referred to it in the past, to Pakistan. In the North-West Frontier Province of Pakistan is the prettiest place I have ever seen in the world. Now, I am not saying there are not prettier places somewhere, I'm just telling you I have never seen a prettier place than the Hunza Valley. The Hunza Valley is surrounded by the Karakoram Mountains, which are well over 20,000 feet high, the second highest mountains in the world, behind only the Himalayas. Those mountains are snow-capped year round, and the Indus River just flows right down through them into a little, beautiful valley that is nourished by artificial irrigation and is green year round. There are cherry trees there, and I remember sitting and having a quiet time under a cherry tree, eating as many of them as I wanted, smelling the fragrance and looking at this beautiful valley as it went and spread out in front of me. It was just incredible. I think you're picturing some times when you have seen things like that, when you have been up on a mountain and seen beauty. This was a beautiful, beautiful place. What I didn't know was that on the opposite side of valley was a young girl, about 10 years old. She was a native to that area. And she had a certain problem with her eyes. Now we were there to do an eye camp. We were there with a British surgeon who went, took his vacation time every year and set up an eye camp and did eye surgery for those who needed it and gave glasses, cataract surgery, eye drops, whatever was necessary. He had been doing this for a number of years, so the people from miles around flocked to this eye camp. It is free of charge, of course. But this young girl had an affliction known as trichiasis, which was some kind of a parasite that infected her eyelids and caused her eyelids to grow inward, so that her eyelashes touched the surface of her eye with every blink. I can't even imagine that kind of pain. When I get one eyelash in my eye, everything stops. Can any of you testify to that? If you get one eyelash in your eye, your world stops until you get it out. Well, this young girl had all her eyelashes rubbing every time on the surface of her eye. It was abrading it and gradually she would have gone blind if that problem had not been solved. Why do I talk about this kind of eye surgery? Because Jesus himself in the passage that we are looking at today, talks about a kind of an eye procedure, taking a speck or a splinter out of a brother's eye. Now, because this passage is so frequently taken out of context and used improperly, it is very important for us to understand it. But I'm going to tell you right away what I'm going to say. Jesus wants this eye procedure done, but he wants it done by humble, gentle, eye surgeons. So the process here is that first the eye surgeons need to have some eye surgery done on themselves before they are fit and able to do that procedure to others, and that's where we are coming from. Let's read these verses together. Matthew 7:1-6, "Do not judge, or you too will be judged. For in the same way you judge others, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you. Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother's eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye? How can you say to your brother, 'Let me take the speck out of your eye,' when all the time there is a plank in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the plank from your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother's eye. Do not give dogs what is sacred; do not throw your pearls to pigs. If you do, they may trample them under their feet, and then turn and tear you to pieces." This section of Matthew, of Matthew 7, culminates the Sermon on the Mount. And this last series of teachings may seem unrelated one to another, but they are not unrelated. I believe that the theme of Matthew 7 is a preparation for judgment day, and as we move on in this chapter you are going to see that more and more clearly. Now of course, all of the Sermon on the Mount has been preparing us for judgement day, hasn't it? But here we get right to the issue of judging. And in the first section of chapter seven, verses 1-12, there are really three dangers that Jesus alludes to, leading to one golden rule. The first danger is the danger of judgmentalism, verses 1-5. The second is the danger of an undiscriminating heart, the inability to discern or to judge from one to the other. And then the third, verses 7-11, the danger of lacking a child-like, persistent, trusting faith. All of that culminates, as we will see next week in the Golden Rule, "Do to others what you would have them do to you." At that point then Jesus sets before his hearers consistently a choice, a decision that needs to be made. There are two paths, one leading to eternal life, one leading to eternal destruction. There are two trees, one bearing good fruit, one bearing evil fruit. Two claims, one who says, "Lord, Lord" and has deeds to support it. One who says, "Lord, Lord" and has no deeds to support it. And then ultimately, two houses. One built on a solid foundation, which will last the test of judgement day. And then one built on sand, which will not last the test of judgement day. And that is how the entire chapter lays out before us. I.The Only Sin Left in America: Intolerance So we come right at this beginning to this injunction, so famously put, "Judge not, lest you be judged." Now, I think it is so important for us to understand this principle because I think it may be the only Bible verse that some people know. I have heard it quoted, I have heard it discussed. This has become maybe the only verse left in America. And therefore, the only sin left in America is the sin of intolerance. We are very tolerant people, have you noticed that? We are becoming more and more tolerant as time goes on. Now, tolerance in some cases is a good thing, but tolerance of sin is never a good thing. God does not tolerate sin. God deals with it quite directly. But we are called upon to be tolerant, to “judge not, lest we be judged.” And in this way, one can excuse almost any heinous crime. “We shouldn't judge this person, we shouldn't judge that person.” We still wrestle with, "Maybe we still should judge Hitler, okay, but nobody else, alright? He is in a special category, alright?" See, the point is that we are really wrestling with this issue of “is there any right and wrong anymore in America?” And so this verse is very important for us to understand, because it is quoted. It is cited so frequently. "Judge not, lest you be judged." The only true villains I think left in America are those men and women of principle who truly believe something. And if you are willing to stand up and say something about it, you are going to hear this verse not too very much long after that. "Judge not, lest you be judged." And that includes also doctrinal convictions. If you have firm convictions that come from Scripture, you are supposed to mute them, kind of keep them under control. Keep them quiet. We don't want division, we don't want disagreement. We want peace; we want harmony in the body. What we really want is openness, not close-mindedness. “Minds are like parachutes, they function best if they're open.” You may have seen that bumper sticker. That's a beautiful bumper sticker of the spirit of our age. We are looking for openness and that means including any kind of lifestyle, any way of thinking. But is that what God says? Is that what He means? Is that what Jesus means when it says, "Judge not, lest you be judged."? I think we are getting to the point where it is kind of anything for peace and quiet, and we want harmony in our society, and so we are willing to tolerate just about any sin. But I don't think that is what Jesus had in mind when He said, "Do not judge or you'll be judged." II. Overview: Matthew 7… Preparing for Judgment Day Let's look at that verse, at that expression, and try to find out what it means. And I like to begin by saying what it does not mean. What does this verse not mean? The Greek word "judge" is a simple and very common everyday word. It means to make assessments, it means to condemn eternally as a judge. It means to weigh or to discern. It means all kinds of things. And so you have to kind of begin weeding out and saying, "Well, it doesn't mean this and it doesn't mean that," when Jesus says we are not to judge. I think it does not mean that we are to exercise no spiritual discernment at all, no spiritual judgement at all, that I think it does not mean. Jesus himself, later today gives us a difficult verse, which I think at the heart of it involves a very strong spiritual discernment. "Do not give dogs what is sacred; do not throw pearls to pigs. If you do, they may trample them under their feet, and then turn and tear you to pieces." Now, how many of you think Jesus is really talking about dogs and pigs there? Well, I don't think he is. I think He is talking about people. And there are some people that act like a wild boar or like a ravenous dog. And when you are in the presence of someone like that, you should act a certain way. But we will get to that later, all things in good order. You have to be able to discern who is behaving like a dog, who is behaving like a pig. We need spiritual discernment. And it is even attached to a person. It gets clearer as we look down at Matthew 7:13, Jesus gives us a warning in which He says, "Watch out for false prophets. They come to you in sheep's clothing but inwardly they are ferocious wolves." Doesn't this take a certain amount of discernment to tell the difference? Jesus says it is even more difficult. They look good on the outside, but you are supposed to look more carefully on the inside. You are supposed to assess their fruit, "By their fruit you will know them." Could I say by their fruit you will judge whether they are a false prophet or not. We are supposed to be assessing; we are supposed to be judging. I would challenge each one of you to assess everything you hear from this pulpit. Everything that comes out of my mouth must line up with scripture or it is false. You are supposed to be assessing. You are supposed to be judging. Jesus Himself says so. John 7:24, is another time when Jesus commands us to judge. Actually in this case He was speaking to his Jewish adversaries who were so upset at his healing on the Sabbath. They are getting after Him all the time for this healing on the Sabbath. And then Jesus says in John 7:24, "Stop judging by mere appearances and judge with right judgment." In other words, judge properly. Make your assessment on a firm foundation. A clear command Jesus gives to his adversaries to judge properly. And then in the New Testament, the whole thing branches out even wider. We are to judge whether doctrine is true or not just as I alluded to in reference to my preaching. The early church, the New Testament church, was to test the spirits. It says in 1 John 4:1, "Dear friends, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world." So you are supposed to test whether what you are hearing is truly from God or not. False practice was also to be assessed or judged. This is the whole foundation of the principle of church discipline. If there is sin in the church, it needs to the dealt with. 1 Corinthians 5 and 6 deal with this very openly. In that case, a brother was sinning by having illicit affair with his stepmother, I believe. It is hard to find the exact situation, but there was some kind of sexual immorality going on in 1 Corinthians 5. And Paul says, "It's of the kind not even found among pagans, they don't even do that. And yet you're proud, you're boastful, you're not doing anything about this person." And then he gave them a principle, Paul did, he said, "A little yeast works through the whole batch of dough.” If you don't do something about this, it's going to spread. It's going to affect the whole body. There is a time for tolerance, but then there's a time for no tolerance, we must deal with this." So Paul says very plainly that they are to deal with this individual and to bring him to repentance. And if he will not repent, he is to be put out of the body, 1 Corinthians chapter 5. So there is supposed to be an assessing there. Ultimately, proper spiritual judgment, done properly, is a matter of spiritual maturity. Hebrews, chapter 5, says, "Anyone who lives on milk, being still an infant, is not yet acquainted with the teaching about righteousness. But solid food is for the mature, who by constant use have trained themselves to distinguish between good and evil." What is another word for "distinguish" there? It is to judge, between good and evil. You are supposed to be discerning, be able to distinguish things, as a measure of maturity. And so Paul prays in Philippians 1, he prays for the Philippians that they may have a depth of insight, so that they may be able to discern what is best and may be pure and blameless. What is another word for "discern"? Perhaps "judge". So you can judge what is best for your life. I have kind of weeded out what this does not mean. It does not mean that you are not to judge whether somebody is a false prophet or not. Or to judge whether somebody's lifestyle is wretched or sinful or if they are unrepentant in that, or else there would be no church discipline. You are not called on not to judge a doctrine or to judge your own life. You are called to discern every day, what is best from what is good. So there are all kinds of judging, all kinds of discerning. Okay, then what does it mean? I think there are two aspects to what Jesus means when He gets here. First of all, we are not to condemn. In other words, we are not to put ourselves in the judgment seat as though we are the final judge. Who has reserved that role for Himself? Jesus Christ. And actually it was given to Him by God, the Father. It says in John, chapter 5, that, The Father “has entrusted all judgment to the Son, that all may honor the Son, just as they honor the Father." If we sit up there in that great white throne doing the judging, we have taken Jesus' place, and that is not for us to do. There is a very good example of this kind of condemning in which there is a desire for God's wrath to be poured down on some people. Do you remember this story? It is in Luke, chapter 9. Jesus, going from town to town, came to a Samaritan village. You know the story about the Jews and Samaritans. They really hated each other, couldn't stand each other. And so Jesus, being very gracious was reaching out to the Samaritans. In John 4, he reached out to that Samaritan woman at the well. So He is bridging the gap, reaching across, and He is reaching out to these Samaritans. But the problem they had with Jesus was that He was going to go on to Jerusalem. And they rejected Jerusalem as a wicked city, and they did not feel that Jesus should go on there. And because Jesus had intended to go to Jerusalem, they did not want anything to do with Jesus. They refused to let Jesus come in their city. Well, at that point, James and John took over. And they said, "Lord, do you want us to call fire down from heaven to destroy them?" [chuckle] They were ready to roll up their sleeves and do a Sodom and Gomorrah at that point, remember? Remember Abraham interceding? The problem was Abraham was on the other side, he was interceding for Sodom and Gomorrah that judgment would not come. But here are James and John saying, "Bring it on Lord. Let's see it happen. I want to see that judgement come down." And what did Jesus say? He rebuked them and He said, "You do not know what kind of spirit you possess. For the Son of Man did not come to destroy lives, but to save them. That's not My purpose here this first time." The second coming of Christ is a whole different story. Read about it in the book of Revelation. But the first time, it is a time of mercy. It is a time of mercy, a time of compassion, but not tolerance, mind you. It is a time of dealing with sin through redemption and through repentance and through healing, but not a time for judgment to come. We are not the judge. We are not in that position to sit there. I had a great illustration. I'll tell you something, to me, this frees me. I am freed from that role. I do not need to go around discerning whether this person is doing this or that, etcetera. I do not need to be the judge. Jesus will do that. I just need to carry on my ministry. I was working as an engineer at a place, and word got out I think over a period of time, that I was an ordained minister, and that I had a Bible study. A number of people came to the Bible study, but then I noticed people were treating me differently than they had treated me before. It was like they were walking on egg shells around me, I noticed. And there was this one guy who was in the habit of taking the name of the Lord in vain. And I had noticed that he was doing that, but at some point he stopped doing that around me. I thought it was kind of interesting. And then at one point, under a moment of duress, he let it slip. And then he said, "Oh, I'm sorry." He said that to me, "I'm sorry." I said, "Why are you apologizing to me? I'm not your judge. You should behave in front of me the way you do all the other times. But there is a judge, He's invisible, and He's with you all the time. He remembers everything you say and do, and there will come an accountability time. I'm just telling you that when that time comes, it is not going to be me sitting on that throne." We got into an incredible conversation at that point about the gospel. III. ”Judge not, lest you be judged” It is so freeing to not be the judge. We are not the ones that are going to sit there and do that final judgement. But I think this actually has a deeper meaning here, more rooted to the overall context of the Sermon on the Mount, and that is the matter of self-righteousness. I think that is the key issue here. Remember that Jesus said, "Unless your righteousness surpasses that of the Pharisees and teachers of the law, you will by no means enter the kingdom of heaven." And so the Pharisees are the epitome of the opposite of what Jesus is teaching. They did this kind of judging. They went around and assessed people all the time. And Jesus, and this is so beautiful, in Luke 18, tells a parable, this parable about the Pharisees. The Pharisee and the tax collector were in the temple, praying. But what is so beautiful is the introduction that Luke gives before the parable. And this really sums up Luke 18:9, you could really write that down and just connect Luke 18:9 and also Galatians 6:1, which we will get to in a minute, as key connections to Matthew 7:1. Luke 18:9 says this, "To those who were confident of their own righteousness and looked down on everybody else, Jesus told this parable.” You could just put that emblazoned over Matthew 7:1 and you will understand what Jesus is getting at here. He says, "To those who were confident in their own righteousness and looked down on everybody else." That is what He means when He says, "Do not judge." First of all, to be confident that you are of yourself, righteous, that you are ready for judgement day apart from the grace of God, that you find inside yourself all the resources you need for righteousness. Well, that is not being a spiritual beggar, is it? Remember the very first verse of The Sermon on the Mount, "Blessed are the poor in spirit, [the spiritual beggars] for theirs, [and theirs alone] is the kingdom of heaven." Now, a spiritual beggar cannot do this kind of judging, can they? And so this is how the parable goes: Two men stood up to pray, one a Pharisee, and the other a tax collector. The Pharisee stood up and prayed about himself, isn't that beautiful? He prayed about himself. How do you pray about yourself? I can pray for myself, but how do I pray about myself? Well, listen to how it's done in case you don't know how it's done, and he'll tell you. The Pharisee stood by himself and prayed: ‘God, I thank you that I am not like other people—robbers, evildoers, adulterers—or even like this tax collector. I fast twice a week and give a tenth of all I get.’ He felt righteousness, confidence, needing nothing from God, certainly not a spiritual beggar. But then there's this tax collector who stands off at a distance. And he doesn't even look up to heaven and he beats his breast and says, "God, have mercy on me, a sinner." "God, have mercy on me, a sinner.’ I tell you the truth, this man, rather than the other, went home justified before God.” That is a beautiful picture of self-righteousness and judgment on the one hand, and a spiritual beggar who recognizes his need for God's grace, on the other. Well, let's look at that expression, "To those who were confident of their own righteousness and looked down on everyone else." I think what ends up happening at that point is you are making comparisons. When it says, "Do not judge or you will be judged," what you are doing is you are looking around at other people and how they are doing in the spiritual race of life. And how do you come out in each of these assessments? A little bit ahead. Maybe even a lot ahead. You are doing pretty well. "Oh yes, I know, there are special spiritual sorts that are way up there, we don't worry about them. I just know that I'm doing better than this guy, and better than this woman, and better than this man over here." So we feel good about ourselves, makes us feel good. And so, therefore, how would that person respond when there is a fault or a sin in somebody else? Secretly happy, I think. Kind of fuels the engine, doesn't it? The worse they are, the better I look. There is a delight in sin, therefore, a keeping of record of wrongs, a catalog of sins. The person is looking around and seeing, "Well there, he's doing that, see? Therefore, he's not a Christian." Or "She's doing that and therefore such and such." Keeping a record of wrongs and delighting in it. They are delighting in stories of failures about other people. That leads very quickly to gossip and slander. Sharing prayer requests of course, but on it goes, and there is a secret delight in talking about it. I have even found myself doing it when I talk about the moral state of our country, when I look at elected officials and I find... I'm saying, "Why do I enjoy this?" It is because I am comparing myself to somebody else and I am feeling good about it. That is wrong. Because once you start looking around, who is it you are not looking at anymore to compare yourself? You are not looking to Jesus Christ. And He is the comparison. God the Father is the comparison. Remember Matthew 5:48, "You must be perfect therefore, [as who? As your neighbor is perfect? As the worst guy you can find to compare... No,] You must be perfect as your Heavenly Father is perfect." Once you start doing this judging, you take your eyes off of God and you start looking around, and you look favorably at yourself. What are some manifestations of the judgmental spirit? I think the critical eye is one of them. Jesus said, "If your eyes are healthy, your whole body would be full of light." So as you are looking around, it's the assessment, looking for failure, looking for sin, scooping it up and delighting in it. I think a good test of the judgmental spirit is, when you see sin in others, does it break your heart? Cause you to look inward in terms of your own sinfulness? Confess perhaps your own sins, maybe not the same sin, but realize that you yourself are a sinner and then to pray for that brother or sister in a broken-hearted way? If so, then you do not have a judgmental spirit. But if on the other hand, you look and see a fault or failure in somebody else and it makes you feel good about yourself, then there's every indication that you are manifesting a judgmental spirit at that point. What is the danger of judgmental spirit? Jesus said, "Do not judge, or, [what?] you will be judged. For in the same way you judge others, you will be judged and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you." I think what happens is that you stop being a spiritual beggar. If it goes on long enough, I wonder if you ever were a spiritual beggar. And if you never were a spiritual beggar, what does that mean? You never enter the kingdom of heaven. If you are consistently characterized by this judgmental spirit, I wonder if you ever enter. Because how do we enter? We enter on our knees. We enter broken, humbled, mourning over sin. Do we forget how to do that? That is the danger. We stop hungering and thirsting for righteousness. We start looking around for fool's gold, self-righteousness. And we cling to that instead. That is the danger. And the inevitable outcome is that we will be judged. There is a judging that comes here on earth. And perhaps God will give us the grace to do it to ourselves. Have you ever kind of seen a fault in someone else, and then within a week seen it in yourself? Rejoice and be glad, God is working in you. God did it to me once. I was sitting in bumper to bumper traffic, it was a hot day, and I did not want to be there. And to my right was that thing known as the breakdown lane. Now, as far as I know, the breakdown lane is for breakdowns. It is not for people trying to beat the system, running up, skipping 50 cars and then cutting in ahead. I started to feel self-righteous as I saw car after car streaming past me. And I said, "Boy, what a bunch of sinners. I'm going to sit here and be righteous. I'm going to sit here and be hot and they are going to go one after another." And I was just feeling so sanctimonious with myself. A week later, I did it. I don't even know why. I hardly ever do that. But I found myself in a hurry, I saw there were about 10 cars ahead of me and I just zipped out and... And God just waited and at that right moment, conviction. He said, "Is there anything that you can judge someone else about that you can't find in yourself?" Romans 2:1, it says, "You, therefore, have no excuse. You who pass judgment on someone else, for whatever point you judge the other, you are condemning yourself, because you who pass judgment do the same things." Spiritual beggar knows that. So a spiritual beggar says, "I don't need to judge anymore. I want to pray, I want to minister, I want to help. But I don't want to judge. That's not what I'm going to do." God uses on us the measure we use on others. And this is the standard reaction He gives us, "Blessed are the merciful for they will be shown mercy." You see? "If you forgive other people when they sin against you, your Heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive others their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins." That is at the end of the Lord's Prayer. It is consistent. How about Matthew 7:12, the Golden Rule? "So in everything, do to others what you would have them do to you." The measure you use to others is what you get back on yourself. Then Jesus gives us a vivid example here, and I love this. He says, "Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother's eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye? How can you say to your brother, 'Let me take the speck out of your eye,' when all the time there is a plank in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother's eye." I want you to know the very last phrase there is the key to understanding this whole passage, "And then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother's eye." People forget that that is in there when they do, "Judge, not lest you be judged." There is a ministry. There is something we are to do, but there is a way to do it and then there is a way not to do it. And that is what He is getting at. I don't involve myself in much speculation in terms of the life of Jesus, thinking about what it was like for Him when He was growing up, or what it was like for Him in the carpentry shop. But I do not think it is a stretch to think that illustration came perhaps from Jesus' experiences in working with his father who was a carpenter. Perhaps when He was working, and by the way, it says "a speck" in your brother's eye, it really could better be translated "a splinter". It's not just like a little piece of lint. It is something that causes pain. And so perhaps Jesus, while working, found a piece of sawdust or some splinter in His eye, and so He picks up on this. But He is giving a really ridiculous scene. We have one person who has this 2 by 4, a plank, sticking out of his eye. How close can he get to see clearly and do anything in anybody's eye? Jesus is ridiculing this kind of judgmentalism. He thinks it is ridiculous that anyone should do that. Now, someone as pure as Jesus who knows everyone's heart, can see how foolish it is, that we have all this sin, even more we who may be self-righteous, should go around and behave in this kind of attitude. It is ridiculous. Key word here is, "You hypocrite." Remember what a hypocrite is. A hypocrite is an actor, somebody who pretends to be something he is not. That is what a hypocrite is. It is somebody who acts as though they have no need of grace. They act as though they have no need of righteousness or forgiveness, and in that spirit goes and says, "Let me take that splinter out of your eye." You see, that is self-righteousness. So the plank sticking out of the eye is self-righteousness. It is not sin itself, because there is no sinless eye surgeon in this world. If so, we would never be able to take a speck out of our brother's or sister's eye. No, it is self-righteousness, and that is what must be removed. The speck or the splinter is some kind of sin in the brother's eye. And then the basic question I have to ask you is, “Should that splinter be removed from the brother's eye? Should we do it? Should we be involved?” The New Testament answers unequivocally, "Yes, yes, yes, we should." But there is a way to do it, and then there is a way not to do it. I'm reading a story right now about Douglas MacArthur, who was a general during World War II. He was a very brilliant general, very intelligent, also had by all accounts, somewhat of an ego problem. Many of those great generals did, and he was that way. Anyway, he got rescued four months after Pearl Harbor from the Philippine Islands and was snuck by a Japanese blockade and made his way down to Australia. And they landed in the center of Australia, and Australia is a huge country. And then they were taking a train going from the center of Australia to one of the port cities. And on the way, this general, who was very famous, no question about it, heard... And the train was slowing down and stopping and heard that some sheep ranchers were stopping the train. They were hailing the train and asking the train to stop. So he presumed that they were there to welcome him and they were so excited to see him. And so he put on his best dress uniform, began to primp and get some quotes ready and started to come out, and somebody stopped and said, "No, it's not you they want. It's your doctor, it's your surgeon. Because one of these guys has a steel splinter in his eye and he heard that you were here and that you have a doctor." And so he stopped this whole train for the general so that he could get this steel splinter out of his eye. Well, needless to say, Douglas MacArthur was greatly disappointed and went back to his private quarters. But think about it this way. What would a sheep rancher do to get that steel splinter out of his eye? He'll do anything; even stop a train with a powerful general on it just so he can talk to his surgeon. The splinter must be removed from the eye. Who's going to do it? It is a matter of brotherly love. It is a matter of the purity of the church. It is a matter of church discipline, if need be, but the speck must be removed. Now, I was reading a book recently called, Fearfully and Wonderfully Made. It is a great book, by Dr. Paul Brand. Some of you perhaps have seen it. But he was talking about the surface of the body and the nerve endings in different parts of the body, and the sensitivity found in each part of the body. For example, he said, "The soles of the foot require 250 milligrams per square millimeter before it'll feel anything." In other words, your feet are so filled with calluses and they are so tough that it takes a while before you feel anything. It takes 250 milligrams per square millimeter of pressure. Back of the forearm, 33 milligrams and you'll start to feel it. 33. The back of the hand, 12, 12. So a smart mosquito would go for the sole of the foot, back of the neck, forearm, rather than the back of the hand. Fingertips, three milligrams of pressure and you'll start to feel it. It takes three milligrams. The lips only take two milligrams. Two milligrams of pressure and you'll feel it. So mosquitoes should never go for your lips. You will feel it right away. But this is what Dr. Brand writes, "All nerves seem sluggish when compared to those in the cornea of the eye, transparent, deprived of blood and thus incredibly vulnerable. The cornea fires off a response if just two tenths of a milligram of pressure is applied." Two tenths of a milligram and you will feel it in your eye. So if you have a splinter in your eye, you want somebody to take it out. That is what Jesus says is true of sin. And so He wants the procedure done, but it needs to be done gently. If your eye feels two tenths of a milligram, somebody with a 2 by 4 in their eye will only smack your eye. They will only poke you in the eye. They certainly will not get close enough to do that fine, careful, gentle work needed to do to help you get past that sin problem in your life. Gentleness is essential. On your outline, I've given you Galatians 6:1. Just look down there and see. This is, I think, probably the most key verse in understanding Mathew 7:1. It says, "Brothers, if someone is caught in a sin, you who are spiritual should restore him," what's the next word? "Gently." "You who are spiritual should restore him gently but watch yourself or you also may be tempted." In other words, gently and with humility, "watch yourself or you may also be tempted." So the person is going to have that gentle touch, but they are also going to be humble enough to recognize that, "Any sin that that person is in, I could be in too. If the person is struggling with their marriage, I could have problems with mine. If the person is struggling with this sin pattern it could be me too. Maybe a month from now it will be me, and then I'll need them to come and help me out." That's a whole different approach than the self-righteousness of the Pharisees, isn't it? The gentleness, the humility, but we must do it. Galatians 6:2, says, "Carry each other's burdens and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ." We need to go. We need to help. We need to purify the church, but it must be done gently, it must be done humbly, it must be done carefully. Satan's ultimate plan from the church is this, either we are going to be judgmental on the one side, and there are churches like that, there really are. Where everything is judged, everything is set even down to dress codes, and speech patterns and attitude. Everything is going to be judged. Judgmentalism, on the one side, and tolerance, anything goes. And there are churches of both kinds. We, end up walking a balance in the middle. Recently, I saw a movie in Louisville in the IMAX Theater. Have any of you heard of the IMAX? It is this huge theater with this incredible screen. And I saw one on Mount Everest. It is incredible. There was an article recently in USA Today about how they filmed that. Now, if you want to get up to the summit of Everest, you have to walk along this knife edge with a steep decline on each side. And right about that time that you are starting to get weary from lack of oxygen and fatigue, you are really getting close. And it is dangerous; there is a steep drop-off on each side. That is the way I see this passage. You have walk along between judgmentalism on the one side and tolerance or anything goes on the other. You have walk in the middle, or else the church suffers- either with judgmentalism in which the person is self-righteous and doesn't look inward for sin, or tolerance in which sin isn't dealt with at all. Either way, sin is allowed to flourish, and it must be fought. Well then you say, "Okay, well what is this verse six?” “Do not give dogs what is sacred; do not throw your pearls to pigs. If you do, they may trample them under their feet, and then turn and tear you to pieces." Well, within the context, it may be a matter of doing eye surgery or eye procedures on a dog or a pig. Now, realize this is not a household pet. The dog is not a household pet. Most dogs roamed around in junk yards eating what they could find. They were wild animals. It was the same with a pig, more like a boar, a wild boar. Would you try to go and steady the boar or steady the wild dog and say, "I see a splinter in your eye and I'd like to get that out for you." Well, what do you think is going to happen if you go to that kind of a wild boar or a pig and try to get anything out of its eye? It's going to turn on you and trample you, tear you to pieces. What does it mean going to a non-Christian, a rebellious person who has no interest in spiritual things and saying, "You know, I think you have a problem with slander, and I think you might want to work on that because, you know, slander's just sin. For you to talk behind people's back about them is character defamation." How do you think they're going to react to that? Even if you go gently, even if you go in prayer, are they going to receive that? So it could be that that's what Jesus means here. I think more likely it's talking about the gospel ministry as a whole. He says, "Do not give dogs what is sacred; do not throw your pearls to pigs." That could be the whole gospel ministry. As you are moving through the world and evangelizing, you're going to come to some people who are vigorous, even violent in their opposition to the gospel. Don't waste your time, is what He's saying. Don't keep trying to minister to those who will do nothing but arrest you or torture you or torment you. There comes a time for shaking the dust off your feet, for recognizing that these people will never receive it. You remember as we were preaching through 2 Timothy, chapter 4, Paul said, "Alexander the metalworker did me a great deal of harm. The Lord will repay him for what he has done. You too should be on your guard against him, because he strongly opposed our message." Watch out for Alexander. He's a wild boar. He's a wild dog. Don't get near him. He's going to tear you to pieces. That's the warning. Jesus himself gives His disciples this warning, He said, "I am sending you out like sheep among wolves. Therefore be shrewd as snakes and innocent as doves." What's a wolf? It's like a wild dog or wild boar, it's a violent animal. He says you should be discerning like a snake to know when and how to act, how to be as you move through the world, doing the gospel ministry. Just to sum up what we're saying here. Realize the beautiful balance that Jesus puts in this text. How many verses are there on the danger of judgmentalism? Five verses on the danger of judgmentalism. How many verses on the danger of lacking discriminating spirit? We see only one. I think there is a much greater danger for us to slip off into judgmentalism, than for us to be undiscerning in how we carry on the gospel ministry. So the great danger here is judgmentalism. And as we look around the world, we should look around as broken-hearted sinners, who seek a desire to minister with gentleness and with humility rather than with that judgmental spirit. Applications: I've written them out on your sheet here. I think you need to begin by constantly reminding yourself that you are a spiritual beggar before God and that you have no right to a condemning, judgmental attitude. The second is that you should pray that God would work a genuine work of humility in your heart. Pray for it, ask it and God will do it. And when you are ready, ask God to give you a ministry of gentle eye surgery for the body of Christ. Say, "I want to be one of the ones able, with humility, with gentleness, to help brothers and sisters with sin problems in their lives, because I can see the sin in my own life and I want brothers and sisters to be free from that as much as I want to be. I want them to do it for me too." Pray that God would give you that kind of a ministry. Don't let sin just fester, go to the sinning brother. Go to him or her gently, humbly, privately with the Holy Spirit, and take that splinter out of his or her eye. Take it out, minister, help them. Number five is to ask God, of course, for a spirit of discernment to see if someone is hostile or angry or opposed to the gospel of the ministry you are doing, fit to trample you under foot. Be discerning, but ultimately be on your guard against delighting in evil, against judgmentalism. And in this way, we can carry on the ministry that Jesus intended in these verses. Let's close in prayer.