Podcasts about RAA

Last time we spoke about the surrender of Japan. Emperor Hirohito announced the surrender on August 15, prompting mixed public reactions: grief, shock, and sympathy for the Emperor, tempered by fear of hardship and occupation. The government's response included resignations and suicide as new leadership was brought in under Prime Minister Higashikuni, with Mamoru Shigemitsu as Foreign Minister and Kawabe Torashiro heading a delegation to Manila. General MacArthur directed the occupation plan, “Blacklist,” prioritizing rapid, phased entry into key Japanese areas and Korea, while demobilizing enemy forces. The surrender ceremony occurred aboard the Missouri in Tokyo Bay on September 2, with Wainwright, Percival, Nimitz, and UN representatives in attendance. Civilians and soldiers across Asia began surrendering, and postwar rehabilitation, Indochina and Vietnam's independence movements, and Southeast Asian transitions rapidly unfolded as Allied forces established control. This episode is the Aftermath of the Pacific War 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.  The Pacific War has ended. Peace has been restored by the Allies and most of the places conquered by the Japanese Empire have been liberated. In this post-war period, new challenges would be faced for those who won the war; and from the ashes of an empire, a defeated nation was also seeking to rebuild. As the Japanese demobilized their armed forces, many young boys were set to return to their homeland, even if they had previously thought that they wouldn't survive the ordeal. And yet, there were some cases of isolated men that would continue to fight for decades even, unaware that the war had already ended.  As we last saw, after the Japanese surrender, General MacArthur's forces began the occupation of the Japanese home islands, while their overseas empire was being dismantled by the Allies. To handle civil administration, MacArthur established the Military Government Section, commanded by Brigadier-General William Crist, staffed by hundreds of US experts trained in civil governance who were reassigned from Okinawa and the Philippines. As the occupation began, Americans dispatched tactical units and Military Government Teams to each prefecture to ensure that policies were faithfully carried out. By mid-September, General Eichelberger's 8th Army had taken over the Tokyo Bay region and began deploying to occupy Hokkaido and the northern half of Honshu. Then General Krueger's 6th Army arrived in late September, taking southern Honshu and Shikoku, with its base in Kyoto. In December, 6th Army was relieved of its occupation duties; in January 1946, it was deactivated, leaving the 8th Army as the main garrison force. By late 1945, about 430,000 American soldiers were garrisoned across Japan. President Truman approved inviting Allied involvement on American terms, with occupation armies integrated into a US command structure. Yet with the Chinese civil war and Russia's reluctance to place its forces under MacArthur's control, only Australia, Britain, India, and New Zealand sent brigades, more than 40,000 troops in southwestern Japan. Japanese troops were gradually disarmed by order of their own commanders, so the stigma of surrender would be less keenly felt by the individual soldier. In the homeland, about 1.5 million men were discharged and returned home by the end of August. Demobilization overseas, however, proceeded, not quickly, but as a long, difficult process of repatriation. In compliance with General Order No. 1, the Japanese Imperial General Headquarters disbanded on September 13 and was superseded by the Japanese War Department to manage demobilization. By November 1, the homeland had demobilized 2,228,761 personnel, roughly 97% of the Homeland Army. Yet some 6,413,215 men remained to be repatriated from overseas. On December 1, the Japanese War Ministry dissolved, and the First Demobilization Ministry took its place. The Second Demobilization Ministry was established to handle IJN demobilization, with 1,299,868 sailors, 81% of the Navy, demobilized by December 17. Japanese warships and merchant ships had their weapons rendered inoperative, and suicide craft were destroyed. Forty percent of naval vessels were allocated to evacuations in the Philippines, and 60% to evacuations of other Pacific islands. This effort eventually repatriated about 823,984 men to Japan by February 15, 1946. As repatriation accelerated, by October 15 only 1,909,401 men remained to be repatriated, most of them in the Soviet Union. Meanwhile, the Higashikuni Cabinet and Foreign Minister Shigemitsu Mamoru managed to persuade MacArthur not to impose direct military rule or martial law over all of Japan. Instead, the occupation would be indirect, guided by the Japanese government under the Emperor's direction. An early decision to feed occupation forces from American supplies, and to allow the Japanese to use their own limited food stores, helped ease a core fear: that Imperial forces would impose forced deliveries on the people they conquered. On September 17, MacArthur transferred his headquarters from Yokohama to Tokyo, setting up primary offices on the sixth floor of the Dai-Ichi Mutual Life Insurance Building, an imposing edifice overlooking the moat and the Imperial palace grounds in Hibiya, a symbolic heart of the nation.  While the average soldier did not fit the rapacious image of wartime Japanese propagandists, occupation personnel often behaved like neo-colonial overlords. The conquerors claimed privileges unimaginable to most Japanese. Entire trains and train compartments, fitted with dining cars, were set aside for the exclusive use of occupation forces. These silenced, half-empty trains sped past crowded platforms, provoking ire as Japanese passengers were forced to enter and exit packed cars through punched-out windows, or perch on carriage roofs, couplings, and running boards, often with tragic consequences. The luxury express coaches became irresistible targets for anonymous stone-throwers. During the war, retrenchment measures had closed restaurants, cabarets, beer halls, geisha houses, and theatres in Tokyo and other large cities. Now, a vast leisure industry sprang up to cater to the needs of the foreign occupants. Reopened restaurants and theatres, along with train stations, buses, and streetcars, were sometimes kept off limits to Allied personnel, partly for security, partly to avoid burdening Japanese resources, but a costly service infrastructure was built to the occupiers' specifications. Facilities reserved for occupation troops bore large signs reading “Japanese Keep Out” or “For Allied Personnel Only.” In downtown Tokyo, important public buildings requisitioned for occupation use had separate entrances for Americans and Japanese. The effect? A subtle but clear colour bar between the predominantly white conquerors and the conquered “Asiatic” Japanese. Although MacArthur was ready to work through the Japanese government, he lacked the organizational infrastructure to administer a nation of 74 million. Consequently, on October 2, MacArthur dissolved the Military Government Section and inaugurated General Headquarters, Supreme Commander for the Allied Powers, a separate headquarters focused on civil affairs and operating in tandem with the Army high command. SCAP immediately assumed responsibility for administering the Japanese home islands. It commandeered every large building not burned down to house thousands of civilians and requisitioned vast tracts of prime real estate to quarter several hundred thousand troops in the Tokyo–Yokohama area alone. Amidst the rise of American privilege, entire buildings were refurbished as officers' clubs, replete with slot machines and gambling parlours installed at occupation expense. The Stars and Stripes were hoisted over Tokyo, while the display of the Rising Sun was banned; and the downtown area, known as “Little America,” was transformed into a US enclave. The enclave mentality of this cocooned existence was reinforced by the arrival within the first six months of roughly 700 American families. At the peak of the occupation, about 14,800 families employed some 25,000 Japanese servants to ease the “rigours” of overseas duty. Even enlisted men in the sparse quonset-hut towns around the city lived like kings compared with ordinary Japanese. Japanese workers cleaned barracks, did kitchen chores, and handled other base duties. The lowest private earned a 25% hardship bonus until these special allotments were discontinued in 1949. Most military families quickly adjusted to a pampered lifestyle that went beyond maids and “boys,” including cooks, laundresses, babysitters, gardeners, and masseuses. Perks included spacious quarters with swimming pools, central heating, hot running water, and modern plumbing. Two observers compared GHQ to the British Raj at its height. George F. Kennan, head of the State Department's Policy Planning Staff, warned during his 1948 mission to Japan that Americans had monopolized “everything that smacks of comfort or elegance or luxury,” criticizing what he called the “American brand of philistinism” and the “monumental imperviousness” of MacArthur's staff to the Japanese suffering. This conqueror's mentality also showed in the bullying attitudes many top occupation officials displayed toward the Japanese with whom they dealt. Major Faubion Bowers, MacArthur's military secretary, later said, “I and nearly all the occupation people I knew were extremely conceited and extremely arrogant and used our power every inch of the way.” Initially, there were spasms of defiance against the occupation forces, such as anonymous stone-throwing, while armed robbery and minor assaults against occupation personnel were rife in the weeks and months after capitulation. Yet active resistance was neither widespread nor organized. The Americans successfully completed their initial deployment without violence, an astonishing feat given a heavily armed and vastly superior enemy operating on home terrain. The average citizen regarded the occupation as akin to force majeure, the unfortunate but inevitable aftermath of a natural calamity. Japan lay prostrate. Industrial output had fallen to about 10% of pre-war levels, and as late as 1946, more than 13 million remained unemployed. Nearly 40% of Japan's urban areas had been turned to rubble, and some 9 million people were homeless. The war-displaced, many of them orphans, slept in doorways and hallways, in bombed-out ruins, dugouts and packing crates, under bridges or on pavements, and crowded the hallways of train and subway stations. As winter 1945 descended, with food, fuel, and clothing scarce, people froze to death. Bonfires lit the streets to ward off the chill. "The only warm hands I have shaken thus far in Japan belonged to Americans," Mark Gayn noted in December 1945. "The Japanese do not have much of a chance to thaw out, and their hands are cold and red." Unable to afford shoes, many wore straw sandals; those with geta felt themselves privileged. The sight of a man wearing a woman's high-buttoned shoes in winter epitomized the daily struggle to stay dry and warm. Shantytowns built of scrap wood, rusted metal, and scavenged odds and ends sprang up everywhere, resembling vast junk yards. The poorest searched smouldering refuse heaps for castoffs that might be bartered for a scrap to eat or wear. Black markets (yami'ichi) run by Japanese, Koreans, and For-mosans mushroomed to replace collapsed distribution channels and cash in on inflated prices. Tokyo became "a world of scarcity in which every nail, every rag, and even a tangerine peel [had a] market value." Psychologically numbed, disoriented, and disillusioned with their leaders, demobilized veterans and civilians alike struggled to get their bearings, shed militaristic ideologies, and begin to embrace new values. In the vacuum of defeat, the Japanese people appeared ready to reject the past and grasp at the straw held out by the former enemy. Relations between occupier and occupied were not smooth, however. American troops comported themselves like conquerors, especially in the early weeks and months of occupation. Much of the violence was directed against women, with the first attacks beginning within hours after the landing of advance units. When US paratroopers landed in Sapporo, an orgy of looting, sexual violence, and drunken brawling ensued. Newspaper accounts reported 931 serious offences by GIs in the Yokohama area during the first week of occupation, including 487 armed robberies, 411 thefts of currency or goods, 9 rapes, 5 break-ins, 3 cases of assault and battery, and 16 other acts of lawlessness. In the first 10 days of occupation, there were 1,336 reported rapes by US soldiers in Kanagawa Prefecture alone. Americans were not the only perpetrators. A former prostitute recalled that when Australian troops arrived in Kure in early 1946, they “dragged young women into their jeeps, took them to the mountain, and then raped them. I heard them screaming for help nearly every night.” Such behaviour was commonplace, but news of criminal activity by occupation forces was quickly suppressed. On September 10, 1945, SCAP issued press and pre-censorship codes outlawing the publication of reports and statistics "inimical to the objectives of the occupation." In the sole instance of self-help General Eichelberger records in his memoirs, when locals formed a vigilante group and retaliated against off-duty GIs, 8th Army ordered armored vehicles into the streets and arrested the ringleaders, who received lengthy prison terms. Misbehavior ranged from black-market activity, petty theft, reckless driving, and disorderly conduct to vandalism, arson, murder, and rape. Soldiers and sailors often broke the law with impunity, and incidents of robbery, rape, and even murder were widely reported. Gang rapes and other sex atrocities were not infrequent; victims, shunned as outcasts, sometimes turned to prostitution in desperation, while others took their own lives to avoid bringing shame to their families. Military courts arrested relatively few soldiers for these offenses and convicted even fewer; Japanese attempts at self-defense were punished severely, and restitution for victims was rare. Fearing the worst, Japanese authorities had already prepared countermeasures against the supposed rapacity of foreign soldiers. Imperial troops in East Asia and the Pacific had behaved brutally toward women, so the government established “sexual comfort-stations” manned by geisha, bar hostesses, and prostitutes to “satisfy the lust of the Occupation forces,” as the Higashikuni Cabinet put it. A budget of 100 million yen was set aside for these Recreation and Amusement Associations, financed initially with public funds but run as private enterprises under police supervision. Through these, the government hoped to protect the daughters of the well-born and middle class by turning to lower-class women to satisfy the soldiers' sexual appetites. By the end of 1945, brothel operators had rounded up an estimated 20,000 young women and herded them into RAA establishments nationwide. Eventually, as many as 70,000 are said to have ended up in the state-run sex industry. Thankfully, as military discipline took hold and fresh troops replaced the Allied veterans responsible for the early crime wave, violence subsided and the occupier's patronising behavior and the ugly misdeeds of a lawless few were gradually overlooked. However, fraternisation was frowned upon by both sides, and segregation was practiced in principle, with the Japanese excluded from areas reserved for Allied personnel until September 1949, when MacArthur lifted virtually all restrictions on friendly association, stating that he was “establishing the same relations between occupation personnel and the Japanese population as exists between troops stationed in the United States and the American people.” In principle, the Occupation's administrative structure was highly complex. The Far Eastern Commission, based in Washington, included representatives from all 13 countries that had fought against Japan and was established in 1946 to formulate basic principles. The Allied Council for Japan was created in the same year to assist in developing and implementing surrender terms and in administering the country. It consisted of representatives from the USA, the USSR, Nationalist China, and the British Commonwealth. Although both bodies were active at first, they were largely ineffectual due to unwieldy decision-making, disagreements between the national delegations (especially the USA and USSR), and the obstructionism of General Douglas MacArthur. In practice, SCAP, the executive authority of the occupation, effectively ruled Japan from 1945 to 1952. And since it took orders only from the US government, the Occupation became primarily an American affair. The US occupation program, effectively carried out by SCAP, was revolutionary and rested on a two-pronged approach. To ensure Japan would never again become a menace to the United States or to world peace, SCAP pursued disarmament and demilitarization, with continuing control over Japan's capacity to make war. This involved destroying military supplies and installations, demobilizing more than five million Japanese soldiers, and thoroughly discrediting the military establishment. Accordingly, SCAP ordered the purge of tens of thousands of designated persons from public service positions, including accused war criminals, military officers, leaders of ultranationalist societies, leaders in the Imperial Rule Assistance Association, business leaders tied to overseas expansion, governors of former Japanese colonies, and national leaders who had steered Japan into war. In addition, MacArthur's International Military Tribunal for the Far East established a military court in Tokyo. It had jurisdiction over those charged with Class A crimes, top leaders who had planned and directed the war. Also considered were Class B charges, covering conventional war crimes, and Class C charges, covering crimes against humanity. Yet the military court in Tokyo wouldn't be the only one. More than 5,700 lower-ranking personnel were charged with conventional war crimes in separate trials convened by Australia, China, France, the Dutch East Indies, the Philippines, the United Kingdom, and the United States. Of the 5,700 Japanese individuals indicted for Class B war crimes, 984 were sentenced to death; 475 received life sentences; 2,944 were given more limited prison terms; 1,018 were acquitted; and 279 were never brought to trial or not sentenced. Among these, many, like General Ando Rikichi and Lieutenant-General Nomi Toshio, chose to commit suicide before facing prosecution. Notable cases include Lieutenant-General Tani Hisao, who was sentenced to death by the Nanjing War Crimes Tribunal for his role in the Nanjing Massacre; Lieutenant-General Sakai Takashi, who was executed in Nanjing for the murder of British and Chinese civilians during the occupation of Hong Kong. General Okamura Yasuji was convicted of war crimes by the Tribunal, yet he was immediately protected by the personal order of Nationalist leader Chiang Kai-Shek, who kept him as a military adviser for the Kuomintang. In the Manila trials, General Yamashita Tomoyuki was sentenced to death as he was in overall command during the Sook Ching massacre, the Rape of Manila, and other atrocities. Lieutenant-General Homma Masaharu was likewise executed in Manila for atrocities committed by troops under his command during the Bataan Death March. General Imamura Hitoshi was sentenced to ten years in prison, but he considered the punishment too light and even had a replica of the prison built in his garden, remaining there until his death in 1968. Lieutenant-General Kanda Masatane received a 14-year sentence for war crimes on Bougainville, though he served only four years. Lieutenant-General Adachi Hatazo was sentenced to life imprisonment for war crimes in New Guinea and subsequently committed suicide on September 10, 1947. Lieutenant-General Teshima Fusataro received three years of forced labour for using a hospital ship to transport troops. Lieutenant-General Baba Masao was sentenced to death for ordering the Sandakan Death Marches, during which over 2,200 Australian and British prisoners of war perished. Lieutenant-General Tanabe Moritake was sentenced to death by a Dutch military tribunal for unspecified war crimes. Rear-Admiral Sakaibara Shigematsu was executed in Guam for ordering the Wake Island massacre, in which 98 American civilians were murdered. Lieutenant-General Inoue Sadae was condemned to death in Guam for permitting subordinates to execute three downed American airmen captured in Palau, though his sentence was commuted to life imprisonment in 1951 and he was released in 1953. Lieutenant-General Tachibana Yoshio was sentenced to death in Guam for his role in the Chichijima Incident, in which eight American airmen were cannibalized. By mid-1945, due to the Allied naval blockade, the 25,000 Japanese troops on Chichijima had run low on supplies. However, although the daily rice ration had been reduced from 400 grams per person per day to 240 grams, the troops were not at risk of starvation. In February and March 1945, in what would later be called the Chichijima incident, Tachibana Yoshio's senior staff turned to cannibalism. Nine American airmen had escaped from their planes after being shot down during bombing raids on Chichijima, eight of whom were captured. The ninth, the only one to evade capture, was future US President George H. W. Bush, then a 20-year-old pilot. Over several months, the prisoners were executed, and reportedly by the order of Major Matoba Sueyo, their bodies were butchered by the division's medical orderlies, with the livers and other organs consumed by the senior staff, including Matoba's superior Tachibana. In the Yokohama War Crimes Trials, Lieutenant-Generals Inada Masazumi and Yokoyama Isamu were convicted for their complicity in vivisection and other human medical experiments performed at Kyushu Imperial University on downed Allied airmen. The Tokyo War Crimes Trial, which began in May 1946 and lasted two and a half years, resulted in the execution by hanging of Generals Doihara Kenji and Itagaki Seishiro, and former Prime Ministers Hirota Koki and Tojo Hideki, for war crimes, crimes against humanity, and crimes against peace, specifically for the escalation of the Pacific War and for permitting the inhumane treatment of prisoners of war. Also sentenced to death were Lieutenant-General Muto Akira for his role in the Nanjing and Manila massacres; General Kimura Heitaro for planning the war strategy in China and Southeast Asia and for laxity in preventing atrocities against prisoners of war in Burma; and General Matsui Iwane for his involvement in the Rape of Nanjing. The seven defendants who were sentenced to death were executed at Sugamo Prison in Ikebukuro on December 23, 1948. Sixteen others were sentenced to life imprisonment, including the last Field Marshal Hata Shunroku, Generals Araki Sadao, Minami Hiro, and Umezu Shojiro, Admiral Shimada Shigetaro, former Prime Ministers Hiranuma Kiichiro and Koiso Kuniaki, Marquis Kido Koichi, and Colonel Hashimoto Kingoro, a major instigator of the second Sino-Japanese War. Additionally, former Foreign Ministers Togo Shigenori and Shigemitsu Mamoru received seven- and twenty-year sentences, respectively. The Soviet Union and Chinese Communist forces also held trials of Japanese war criminals, including the Khabarovsk War Crime Trials, which tried and found guilty some members of Japan's bacteriological and chemical warfare unit known as Unit 731. However, those who surrendered to the Americans were never brought to trial, as MacArthur granted immunity to Lieutenant-General Ishii Shiro and all members of the bacteriological research units in exchange for germ-w warfare data derived from human experimentation. If you would like to learn more about what I like to call Japan's Operation Paper clip, whereupon the US grabbed many scientists from Unit 731, check out my exclusive podcast. The SCAP-turn to democratization began with the drafting of a new constitution in 1947, addressing Japan's enduring feudal social structure. In the charter, sovereignty was vested in the people, and the emperor was designated a “symbol of the state and the unity of the people, deriving his position from the will of the people in whom resides sovereign power.” Because the emperor now possessed fewer powers than European constitutional monarchs, some have gone so far as to say that Japan became “a republic in fact if not in name.” Yet the retention of the emperor was, in fact, a compromise that suited both those who wanted to preserve the essence of the nation for stability and those who demanded that the emperor system, though not necessarily the emperor, should be expunged. In line with the democratic spirit of the new constitution, the peerage was abolished and the two-chamber Diet, to which the cabinet was now responsible, became the highest organ of state. The judiciary was made independent and local autonomy was granted in vital areas of jurisdiction such as education and the police. Moreover, the constitution stipulated that “the people shall not be prevented from enjoying any of the fundamental human rights,” that they “shall be respected as individuals,” and that “their right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness shall … be the supreme consideration in legislation.” Its 29 articles guaranteed basic human rights: equality, freedom from discrimination on the basis of race, creed, sex, social status or family origin, freedom of thought and freedom of religion. Finally, in its most controversial section, Article 9, the “peace clause,” Japan “renounce[d] war as a sovereign right of the nation” and vowed not to maintain any military forces and “other war potential.” To instill a thoroughly democratic ethos, reforms touched every facet of society. The dissolution of the zaibatsu decentralised economic power; the 1945 Labour Union Law and the 1946 Labour Relations Act guaranteed workers the right to collective action; the 1947 Labour Standards Law established basic working standards for men and women; and the revised Civil Code of 1948 abolished the patriarchal household and enshrined sexual equality. Reflecting core American principles, SCAP introduced a 6-3-3 schooling system, six years of compulsory elementary education, three years of junior high, and an optional three years of senior high, along with the aim of secular, locally controlled education. More crucially, ideological reform followed: censorship of feudal material in media, revision of textbooks, and prohibition of ideas glorifying war, dying for the emperor, or venerating war heroes. With women enfranchised and young people shaped to counter militarism and ultranationalism, rural Japan was transformed to undermine lingering class divisions. The land reform program provided for the purchase of all land held by absentee landlords, allowed resident landlords and owner-farmers to retain a set amount of land, and required that the remaining land be sold to the government so it could be offered to existing tenants. In 1948, amid the intensifying tensions of the Cold War that would soon culminate in the Korean War, the occupation's focus shifted from demilitarization and democratization toward economic rehabilitation and, ultimately, the remilitarization of Japan, an shift now known as the “Reverse Course.” The country was thus rebuilt as the Pacific region's primary bulwark against the spread of Communism. An Economic Stabilisation Programme was introduced, including a five-year plan to coordinate production and target capital through the Reconstruction Finance Bank. In 1949, the anti-inflationary Dodge Plan was adopted, advocating balanced budgets, fixing the exchange rate at 360 yen to the dollar, and ending broad government intervention. Additionally, the Ministry of International Trade and Industry was formed and supported the formation of conglomerates centered around banks, which encouraged the reemergence of a somewhat weakened set of zaibatsu, including Mitsui and Mitsubishi. By the end of the Occupation era, Japan was on the verge of surpassing its 1934–1936 levels of economic growth. Equally important was Japan's rearmament in alignment with American foreign policy: a National Police Reserve of about 75,000 was created with the outbreak of the Korean War; by 1952 it had expanded to 110,000 and was renamed the Self-Defense Force after the inclusion of an air force. However, the Reverse Course also facilitated the reestablishment of conservative politics and the rollback of gains made by women and the reforms of local autonomy and education. As the Occupation progressed, the Americans permitted greater Japanese initiative, and power gradually shifted from the reformers to the moderates. By 1949, the purge of the right came under review, and many who had been condemned began returning to influence, if not to the Diet, then to behind-the-scenes power. At the same time, Japanese authorities, with MacArthur's support, began purging left-wing activists. In June 1950, for example, the central office of the Japan Communist Party and the editorial board of The Red Flag were purged. The gains made by women also seemed to be reversed. Women were elected to 8% of available seats in the first lower-house election in 1946, but to only 2% in 1952, a trend not reversed until the so-called Madonna Boom of the 1980s. Although the number of women voting continued to rise, female politicisation remained more superficial than might be imagined. Women's employment also appeared little affected by labour legislation: though women formed nearly 40% of the labor force in 1952, they earned only 45% as much as men. Indeed, women's attitudes toward labor were influenced less by the new ethos of fulfilling individual potential than by traditional views of family and workplace responsibilities. In the areas of local autonomy and education, substantial modifications were made to the reforms. Because local authorities lacked sufficient power to tax, they were unable to realise their extensive powers, and, as a result, key responsibilities were transferred back to national jurisdiction. In 1951, for example, 90% of villages and towns placed their police forces under the control of the newly formed National Police Agency. Central control over education was also gradually reasserted; in 1951, the Yoshida government attempted to reintroduce ethics classes, proposed tighter central oversight of textbooks, and recommended abolishing local school board elections. By the end of the decade, all these changes had been implemented. The Soviet occupation of the Kurile Islands and the Habomai Islets was completed with Russian troops fully deployed by September 5. Immediately after the onset of the occupation, amid a climate of insecurity and fear marked by reports of sporadic rape and physical assault and widespread looting by occupying troops, an estimated 4,000 islanders fled to Hokkaido rather than face an uncertain repatriation. As Soviet forces moved in, they seized or destroyed telephone and telegraph installations and halted ship movements into and out of the islands, leaving residents without adequate food and other winter provisions. Yet, unlike Manchuria, where Japanese civilians faced widespread sexual violence and pillage, systematic violence against the civilian population on the Kuriles appears to have been exceptional. A series of military government proclamations assured islanders of safety so long as they did not resist Soviet rule and carried on normally; however, these orders also prohibited activities not explicitly authorized by the Red Army, which imposed many hardships on civilians. Residents endured harsh conditions under Soviet rule until late 1948, when Japanese repatriation out of the Kurils was completed. The Kuriles posed a special diplomatic problem, as the occupation of the southernmost islands—the Northern Territories—ignited a long-standing dispute between Tokyo and Moscow that continues to impede the normalisation of relations today. Although the Kuriles were promised to the Soviet Union in the Yalta agreement, Japan and the United States argued that this did not apply to the Northern Territories, since they were not part of the Kurile Islands. A substantial dispute regarding the status of the Kurile Islands arose between the United States and the Soviet Union during the preparation of the Treaty of San Francisco, which was intended as a permanent peace treaty between Japan and the Allied Powers of World War II. The treaty was ultimately signed by 49 nations in San Francisco on September 8, 1951, and came into force on April 28, 1952. It ended Japan's role as an imperial power, allocated compensation to Allied nations and former prisoners of war who had suffered Japanese war crimes, ended the Allied post-war occupation of Japan, and returned full sovereignty to Japan. Effectively, the document officially renounced Japan's treaty rights derived from the Boxer Protocol of 1901 and its rights to Korea, Formosa and the Pescadores, the Kurile Islands, the Spratly Islands, Antarctica, and South Sakhalin. Japan's South Seas Mandate, namely the Mariana Islands, Marshall Islands, and Caroline Islands, had already been formally revoked by the United Nations on July 18, 1947, making the United States responsible for administration of those islands under a UN trusteeship agreement that established the Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands. In turn, the Bonin, Volcano, and Ryukyu Islands were progressively restored to Japan between 1953 and 1972, along with the Senkaku Islands, which were disputed by both Communist and Nationalist China. In addition, alongside the Treaty of San Francisco, Japan and the United States signed a Security Treaty that established a long-lasting military alliance between them. Although Japan renounced its rights to the Kuriles, the U.S. State Department later clarified that “the Habomai Islands and Shikotan ... are properly part of Hokkaido and that Japan is entitled to sovereignty over them,” hence why the Soviets refused to sign the treaty. Britain and the United States agreed that territorial rights would not be granted to nations that did not sign the Treaty of San Francisco, and as a result the Kurile Islands were not formally recognized as Soviet territory. A separate peace treaty, the Treaty of Taipei (formally the Sino-Japanese Peace Treaty), was signed in Taipei on April 28, 1952 between Japan and the Kuomintang, and on June 9 of that year the Treaty of Peace Between Japan and India followed. Finally, Japan and the Soviet Union ended their formal state of war with the Soviet–Japanese Joint Declaration of 1956, though this did not settle the Kurile Islands dispute. Even after these formal steps, Japan as a nation was not in a formal state of war, and many Japanese continued to believe the war was ongoing; those who held out after the surrender came to be known as Japanese holdouts.  Captain Oba Sakae and his medical company participated in the Saipan campaign beginning on July 7, 1944, and took part in what would become the largest banzai charge of the Pacific War. After 15 hours of intense hand-to-hand combat, almost 4,300 Japanese soldiers were dead, and Oba and his men were presumed among them. In reality, however, he survived the battle and gradually assumed command of over a hundred additional soldiers. Only five men from his original unit survived the battle, two of whom died in the following months. Oba then led over 200 Japanese civilians deeper into the jungles to evade capture, organizing them into mountain caves and hidden jungle villages. When the soldiers were not assisting the civilians with survival tasks, Oba and his men continued their battle against the garrison of US Marines. He used the 1,552‑ft Mount Tapochau as their primary base, which offered an unobstructed 360-degree view of the island. From their base camp on the western slope of the mountain, Oba and his men occasionally conducted guerrilla-style raids on American positions. Due to the speed and stealth of these operations, and the Marines' frustrated attempts to find him, the Saipan Marines eventually referred to Oba as “The Fox.” Oba and his men held out on the island for 512 days, or about 16 months. On November 27, 1945, former Major-General Amo Umahachi was able to draw out some of the Japanese in hiding by singing the anthem of the Japanese infantry branch. Amo was then able to present documents from the defunct IGHQ to Oba ordering him and his 46 remaining men to surrender themselves to the Americans. On December 1, the Japanese soldiers gathered on Tapochau and sang a song of departure to the spirits of the war dead; Oba led his people out of the jungle and they presented themselves to the Marines of the 18th Anti-Aircraft Artillery Company. With great formality and commensurate dignity, Oba surrendered his sword to Lieutenant Colonel Howard G. Kirgis, and his men surrendered their arms and colors. On January 2, 1946, 20 Japanese soldiers hiding in a tunnel at Corregidor Island surrendered after learning the war had ended from a newspaper found while collecting water. In that same month, 120 Japanese were routed after a battle in the mountains 150 miles south of Manila. In April, during a seven-week campaign to clear Lubang Island, 41 more Japanese emerged from the jungle, unaware that the war had ended; however, a group of four Japanese continued to resist. In early 1947, Lieutenant Yamaguchi Ei and his band of 33 soldiers renewed fighting with the small Marine garrison on Peleliu, prompting reinforcements under Rear-Admiral Charles Pownall to be brought to the island to hunt down the guerrilla group. Along with them came former Rear-Admiral Sumikawa Michio, who ultimately convinced Yamaguchi to surrender in April after almost three years of guerrilla warfare. Also in April, seven Japanese emerged from Palawan Island and fifteen armed stragglers emerged from Luzon. In January 1948, 200 troops surrendered on Mindanao; and on May 12, the Associated Press reported that two unnamed Japanese soldiers had surrendered to civilian policemen in Guam the day before. On January 6, 1949, two former IJN soldiers, machine gunners Matsudo Rikio and Yamakage Kufuku, were discovered on Iwo Jima and surrendered peacefully. In March 1950, Private Akatsu Yūichi surrendered in the village of Looc, leaving only three Japanese still resisting on Lubang. By 1951 a group of Japanese on Anatahan Island refused to believe that the war was over and resisted every attempt by the Navy to remove them. This group was first discovered in February 1945, when several Chamorros from Saipan were sent to the island to recover the bodies of a Saipan-based B-29. The Chamorros reported that there were about thirty Japanese survivors from three ships sunk in June 1944, one of which was an Okinawan woman. Personal aggravations developed from the close confines of a small group on a small island and from tuba drinking; among the holdouts, 6 of 11 deaths were the result of violence, and one man displayed 13 knife wounds. The presence of only one woman, Higa Kazuko, caused considerable difficulty as she would transfer her affections among at least four men after each of them mysteriously disappeared, purportedly “swallowed by the waves while fishing.” According to the more sensational versions of the Anatahan tale, 11 of the 30 navy sailors stranded on the island died due to violent struggles over her affections. In July 1950, Higa went to the beach when an American vessel appeared offshore and finally asked to be removed from the island. She was taken to Saipan aboard the Miss Susie and, upon arrival, told authorities that the men on the island did not believe the war was over. As the Japanese government showed interest in the situation on Anatahan, the families of the holdouts were contacted in Japan and urged by the Navy to write letters stating that the war was over and that the holdouts should surrender. The letters were dropped by air on June 26 and ultimately convinced the holdouts to give themselves up. Thus, six years after the end of World War II, “Operation Removal” commenced from Saipan under the command of Lt. Commander James B. Johnson, USNR, aboard the Navy Tug USS Cocopa. Johnson and an interpreter went ashore by rubber boat and formally accepted the surrender on the morning of June 30, 1951. The Anatahan femme fatale story later inspired the 1953 Japanese film Anatahan and the 1998 novel Cage on the Sea. In 1953, Murata Susumu, the last holdout on Tinian, was finally captured. The next year, on May 7, Corporal Sumada Shoichi was killed in a clash with Filipino soldiers, leaving only two Japanese still resisting on Lubang. In November 1955, Seaman Kinoshita Noboru was captured in the Luzon jungle but soon after committed suicide rather than “return to Japan in defeat.” That same year, four Japanese airmen surrendered at Hollandia in Dutch New Guinea; and in 1956, nine soldiers were located and sent home from Morotai, while four men surrendered on Mindoro. In May 1960, Sergeant Ito Masashi became one of the last Japanese to surrender at Guam after the capture of his comrade Private Minagawa Bunzo, but the final surrender at Guam would come later with Sergeant Yokoi Shoichi. Sergeant Yokoi Shoichi survived in the jungles of Guam by living for years in an elaborately dug hole, subsisting on snails and lizards, a fate that, while undignified, showcased his ingenuity and resilience and earned him a warm welcome on his return to Japan. His capture was not heroic in the traditional sense: he was found half-starving by a group of villagers while foraging for shrimp in a stream, and the broader context included his awareness as early as 1952 that the war had ended. He explained that the wartime bushido code, emphasizing self-sacrifice or suicide rather than self-preservation, had left him fearing that repatriation would label him a deserter and likely lead to execution. Emerging from the jungle, Yokoi also became a vocal critic of Japan's wartime leadership, including Emperor Hirohito, which fits a view of him as a product of, and a prisoner within, his own education, military training, and the censorship and propaganda of the era. When asked by a young nephew how he survived so long on an island just a short distance from a major American airbase, he replied simply, “I was really good at hide and seek.”  That same year, Private Kozuka Kinshichi was killed in a shootout with Philippine police in October, leaving Lieutenant Onoda Hiroo still resisting on Lubang. Lieutenant Onoda Hiroo had been on Lubang since 1944, a few months before the Americans retook the Philippines. The last instructions he had received from his immediate superior ordered him to retreat to the interior of the island and harass the Allied occupying forces until the IJA eventually returned. Despite efforts by the Philippine Army, letters and newspapers left for him, radio broadcasts, and even a plea from Onoda's brother, he did not believe the war was over. On February 20, 1974, Onoda encountered a young Japanese university dropout named Suzuki Norio, who was traveling the world and had told friends that he planned to “look for Lieutenant Onoda, a panda, and the abominable snowman, in that order.” The two became friends, but Onoda stated that he was waiting for orders from one of his commanders. On March 9, 1974, Onoda went to an agreed-upon place and found a note left by Suzuki. Suzuki had brought along Onoda's former commander, Major Taniguchi, who delivered the oral orders for Onoda to surrender. Intelligence Officer 2nd Lt. Onoda Hiroo thus emerged from Lubang's jungle with his .25 caliber rifle, 500 rounds of ammunition, and several hand grenades. He surrendered 29 years after Japan's formal surrender, and 15 years after being declared legally dead in Japan. When he accepted that the war was over, he wept openly. He received a hero's welcome upon his return to Japan in 1974. The Japanese government offered him a large sum of money in back pay, which he refused. When money was pressed on him by well-wishers, he donated it to Yasukuni Shrine. Onoda was reportedly unhappy with the attention and what he saw as the withering of traditional Japanese values. He wrote No Surrender: My Thirty-Year War, a best-selling autobiography published in 1974. Yet the last Japanese to surrender would be Private Nakamura Teruo, an Amis aborigine from Formosa and a member of the Takasago Volunteers. Private Nakamura Teruo spent the tail end of World War II with a dwindling band on Morotai, repeatedly dispersing and reassembling in the jungle as they hunted for food. The group suffered continuous losses to starvation and disease, and survivors described Nakamura as highly self-sufficient. He left to live alone somewhere in the Morotai highlands between 1946 and 1947, rejoined the main group in 1950, and then disappeared again a few years later. Nakamura hinted in print that he fled into the jungle because he feared the other holdouts might murder him. He survives for decades beyond the war, eventually being found by 11 Indonesian soldiers. The emergence of an indigenous Taiwanese soldier among the search party embarrassed Japan as it sought to move past its imperial past. Many Japanese felt Nakamura deserved compensation for decades of loyalty, only to learn that his back pay for three decades of service amounted to 68,000 yen.   Nakamura's experience of peace was complex. When a journalist asked how he felt about “wasting” three decades of his life on Morotai, he replied that the years had not been wasted; he had been serving his country. Yet the country he returned to was Taiwan, and upon disembarking in Taipei in early January 1975, he learned that his wife had a son he had never met and that she had remarried a decade after his official death. Nakamura eventually lived with a daughter, and his story concluded with a bittersweet note when his wife reconsidered and reconciled with him. Several Japanese soldiers joined local Communist and insurgent groups after the war to avoid surrender. Notably, in 1956 and 1958, two soldiers returned to Japan after service in China's People's Liberation Army. Two others who defected with a larger group to the Malayan Communist Party around 1945 laid down their arms in 1989 and repatriated the next year, becoming among the last to return home. That is all for today, but fear not I will provide a few more goodies over the next few weeks. I will be releasing some of my exclusive podcast episodes from my youtube membership and patreon that are about pacific war subjects. Like I promised the first one will be on why Emperor Hirohito surrendered. Until then if you need your fix you know where to find me: eastern front week by week, fall and rise of china, echoes of war or on my Youtube membership of patreon at www.patreon.com/pacificwarchannel.

In this National Recovery Month special, co-host Wendy Beck and program director Rachel share how Rage Against Addiction (RAA) went from a mother's mission to a three-home sober living program for women, emphasizing that “healing begins with safe housing.” They walk through RAA's structure—from 30-day acclimation to workshops across the Eight Dimensions of Wellness—and the powerful alumni network that proves long-term recovery is possible. Listeners hear how monthly giving fuels essentials like drug testing, linens, and even emergency appliances—practical support that protects women's dignity and safety. Sponsored by Rage Against Addiction Guest Bio:  Rachel is the Program Director at RAA. In recovery herself, Rachel helped open RAA's first women's sober living home in 2018 and now oversees three homes, day-to-day structure, resident mentorship, and the alumni network—creating safe, welcoming homes where women can rebuild. Main Topics: ·         Podathon for Recovery: 12 Days of Hope benefiting Rage Against Addiction·         Why Wendy founded Rage Against Addiction in 2014; growth to three women's sober homes (Harford County, serving women from across the U.S.) ·         Program structure: 30-day “blackout” period focused on stabilization, healthcare, employment steps, and 12-step engagement (sponsor, home group, step work) ·         Workshops & wellness: yoga, meditation, sound bath, goat yoga, budgeting, resumes/interviews; rollout of the Eight Dimensions of Wellness track via a new grant ·         Alumni network: monthly shares, rides, volunteering; one standout success story from early resident to graduate, mother with custody restored, and RAA board member ·         The real costs of safe housing: drug tests, linens, utilities, repairs, snow removal, appliances—and why recurring gifts matter ·         Annual Memory Walk & Recovery Run; Fall Bingo; Pampered Chef (double donations in August); Christmas Kids initiative; corporate sponsorships needed ·         Past episodes with Rachel: 1.      Send us a textDonate HereRage Against AddictionRage Against Addiction is a non-profit organization dedicated to connecting addicts and their familiDisclaimer: This post contains affiliate links. If you make a purchase, I may receive a commission at no extra cost to you.Support the showRate & Review on Apple Podcasts Follow the Conversations with Rich Bennett podcast on Social Media:Facebook – Conversations with Rich Bennett Facebook Group (Join the conversation) – Conversations with Rich Bennett podcast group | FacebookTwitter – Conversations with Rich Bennett Instagram – @conversationswithrichbennettTikTok – CWRB (@conversationsrichbennett) | TikTok Sponsors, Affiliates, and ways we pay the bills:Hosted on BuzzsproutSquadCast Subscribe by Email

A mesterséges intelligencia legújabb alkalmazási trendjei a bankszektorban címmel jelent meg Lülök Gergelynek, a Budapesti Műszaki és Gazdaságtudományi Egyetem (BME) PhD-hallgatójának és Sebestyén Zoltánnak, a BME egyetemi docensének közös tanulmánya, valamint Prisznyák Alexandra, AI-kockázatkezelési szakértő, tanácsadó Robo Sapiens Bankerius: Egy ideálisan tervezett humanoid banki szolgáltató robot? című esszéje a Hitelintézeti Szemle 2025. júniusi számában. E cikkekhez kapcsolódóan a Magyar Közgazdasági Társaság (MKT) és a Hitelintézeti Szemle panelbeszélgetést szervezett 2025. július 9-én, szerdán.A rendezvény kezdetén az érdeklődőket Virág Barnabás, az MNB alelnöke, a Hitelintézeti Szemle Szerkesztőbizottságának elnöke, az MKT Versenyképességi szakosztályának elnökségi tagja köszöntötte. Ezt követően a szerzők röviden bemutatták írásuk legfontosabb következtetéseit. A bevezető prezentációkat követő panelbeszélgetés résztvevői: Lülök Gergely, Prisznyák Alexandra, valamint Marton Tamás, a GRÁNIT Bank Nyrt. AI-szakértője és Kuthy Antal, az E-Group alapító vezérigazgatója, az MKT Informatikai szakosztályának elnökségi tagja voltak. Felkért hozzászóló: Hegedüs Éva, a GRÁNIT Bank Nyrt. elnök-vezérigazgatója és az MKT főtitkáraA panelbeszélgetést Fáykiss Péter, a Budapesti Metropolitan Egyetem tanszékvezetője, a HOLD Alapkezelő nemzetközi üzletfejlesztési igazgatója moderálta.

Spotify Podcast Description:In Episode 17 of Face Value, hosts Tonia Vailas, MAI, AI-GRS, and Warren Boizot, SRA, AI-RRS, sit down with Woody Fincham, SRA, AI-RRS, ASA, RAA, RAC, to explore the world of specialty valuations. With over 25 years of experience, Fincham discusses his shift from traditional appraisal work to complex assignments in litigation, conservation easements, and high-performance homes.He shares how writing and communication are critical skills in litigation appraisal—“appraisers are technical writers first and foremost”—and why professional designations matter more than ever in court. Whether you're a seasoned appraiser or considering a new path, this episode offers real insights into building a specialized valuation practice.Have a topic idea? Email us at facevalue@appraisalinstitute.org.

This week we visit with Josh Standing Elk, an RAA and a FIRST YEAR Athletic Director! Josh gets to share his journey so far along with some Best Practices that he has learned. It's a full circle moment on The Educational AD Podcast!

The marketing funnel doesn’t exist, suggests RAA CMO, Michael Healy. He thinks “too many marketers get too ideological about how you have to do brand and then awareness and then conversion”. He has an interesting anecdote about a $329 knife, his wife, and Meta, to support the theory. Healy says “the vast majority of marketers that I talk to – from startup to enterprise – don't actually have a marketing strategy.” They just have “a plan and a budget”. He recommends reading Richard Rumelt’s Good Strategy, Bad Strategy – and stop treating brand and performance separately. “It's all performance and it's all brand,” per Healy. “Everything is double duty.” Equally, he urges marketers to focus on the metrics that matter: “What is driving business performance?” Tammy Barton, CEO and founder of MyBudget is the brand, literally. Along with its customers, Barton features in its ads. The one time she changed tack, at the suggestion of “one of Australia’s largest agencies”, it backfired. Results tanked and she had to pull the expensive series of TVCs. She put the old ads back on TV “and leads immediately that week went up 15 per cent”. She shot low cost new versions – still using real customers – “and leads went up another 40 per cent”, says Barton. “So you just do whatever works.” MyBudget’s marketing team looks at “hundreds of metrics”, she says. “But the ones that are really important to us are, what is it costing us per lead? What is it costing us per contract? What is it costing us per acquisition, including our sales expense? And we have to look at our lifetime value … versus what are we investing for that cost of acquisition, and what is that ratio? We track that every month.” Atomic 212° co-founder and Chief Digital Officer, James Dixon, thinks media agencies “have been guilty of metric vomit over the years”, spewing data and numbers at clients. Dixon suggests only one “mother metric” is required: MROI – which can stand for marketing return on investment, or, in the media agency context, media return on investment. To underline how media is delivering returns, Atomic 212° has been “doubling down on MMM” with clients, but focusing on media, rather than broader variables within market mix models. RAA’s Healy thinks Dixon “is onto something”, though, “I just don't think it's applicable in all circumstances”. Either way, he backs MyBudget’s Barton: “Just test everything. Whatever works, do that. And if it doesn’t work, get out of it, fast.”See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

It's Back to Back OREGON episodes and this time it's with Jacob Wolbaum, RAA and the Director of Athletics at Life Christian School in Hillsboro which is about 30 minutes outside of Portland. Jacob shares his journey as a home school student / high school athlete along with some Best Practices on The Educational AD Podcast!

What happens when two real estate appraisers give different values for the same property? In this episode, broker Lutalo McGee and appraiser Maureen Sweeney join host Marki Lemons Ryhal to explain the real estate appraisal process, why home appraisals can vary, and how real estate agents can effectively communicate with appraisers to help ensure accurate home valuations.   Learn tips for preparing for a home appraisal, how to handle a low appraisal, and when to request a reconsideration of value. Plus, hear why appraisal contingency risks matter in today's market.  Meet the Guests...  Lutalo McGee, ABR, GRI, is the owner and managing broker of Ani Real Estate in Chicago. He currently serves as the president-elect of the Chicago Association of REALTORS® and is a member of NAR's Real Property Valuation Committee.  Maureen Sweeney, RAA, is a Chicago-based real estate appraiser who specializes in residential and small income-producing properties. She is the 2025 chair of the Real Property Valuation Committee and serves as member of the Illinois Real Estate Appraisal Administration and Disciplinary Board.  

In this episode, Sam Street interviews Matt Hobbs, CEO of the Motor Trades Association of Australia, about the Code of Conduct review. We start with getting an understanding of why the Code of Conduct review is being conducted with issues surrounding governance structures, sanctions and penalties, dispute resolutions, and unclear assessment times. Matt shares his experience in what caused delays in the review, the importance of liaising with the Australian Motor Body Repairers Association (AMBRA), and how industry and government have an invested interest in negotiating an outcome that improves the dispute resolution process. Matt also gives us an insight into how they will launch this review, the feedback process that it will undergo, and how they will find a suitable and truly independent reviewer.  We wrap up by discussing concerns surrounding insurance mergers and the dominance of large insurers leading to a lack of competition.   Links & Resources: Review of the Motor Vehicle Insurance and Repair Industry Code of Conduct www.mviricode.com.au/  Whole industry collaboration on code www.paintandpanel.com.au/news/news/whole-industry-collaboration-on-code Industry consultation on draft code to open in early March www.paintandpanel.com.au/news/news/industry-consultation-on-draft-code-to-open-in-early-march  RAA sells its insurance book to Allianz www.paintandpanel.com.au/news/news/raa-sells-its-insurance-book-to-allianz ACCC calls for submissions on insurance take over deals www.paintandpanel.com.au/news/news/accc-calls-for-submissions-on-insurance-take-over-deals MTAA says no to insurance mergers www.paintandpanel.com.au/news/news/mtaa-says-no-to-insurance-mergers ------------------------------ The PKN Podcast is produced by Southern Skies Media on behalf of Paint and Panel, owned and published by Yaffa Media.   Hosts: Sam Street & Grant McHerron Producer: Steve Visscher Paint and Panel - © 2025

Shivaratri is made up of two words – Shiva & Ratri.  The word Shiva means – “Shete tishthati sarvam jagat Yasmin sah shivah shambhuh vikararahitah”  Shiva is the One in whom the entire universe rests, who is changeless and brings auspiciousness to everyone.  Shiva is Pure Consciousness or the very life-spark in our heart.  Consciousness is Sat-Chit-Ananda or Satyam Shivam and Sundaram.  Shiva means auspicious, beautiful. Consciousness alone is truly beautiful because true beauty never fades, is eternal and changeless. Our Body, Mind & Intellect are inert. They appear to be sentient and beautiful only because of reflection of Consciousness.   Ratri is formed of the samskrit root – Raa, which means to give. That which provides happiness and bliss is one meaning of Ratri.  Parvati is one who is born to Parvatraj Himalaya. She signifies Prakriti or Shakti. She is the source of all matter, energy and diversity. In Samskrit, Shiva is masculine gender word. Ratri is feminine gender, is symbolic of Prakriti or Shakti. Maha-Shivaratri is the union of Shiva & Shakti(Parvati).  It is also the night which provides illumination and bliss when Jiva unites with Shiva.   May we do tapasya like Mother Parvati, with single-pointedness, subtlety, purity and persistence to discover our oneness with Bhagawan Shiva and truly celebrate Mahashivaratri.  #shiva #shivaratri #shivarathri #hindu #hindufestival#parvati[marriage, shiva, festival, celebration, fasting, penance, union, wedding]

We hope this episode was helpful for you.If you'd like to join our next group coaching round:https://joy-dima.mykajabi.com/offers/Pniujubz/checkoutIf you'd like to join RAA:https://joy-dima.mykajabi.com/offers/Pniujubz/checkoutAnd if you have any questions, email us at hello@joyandmathieu.com

The podcast makes another visit to Utah County. UIAAA Connection #212– Brandon Waite, RAA, Director of Athletics at Freedom Prep Academy, is now available. Brandon, who grew up in Colorado Springs, shares his experience of serving as the AD and Assistant Principal at the same time. His advice about being organized and knowing your students and facilities is worth the listen. Please Listen, Learn and Share! You can subscribe to UIAAA TV on YouTube!  This podcast is also available on Amazon Music, Apple Podcast,  Breaker, Castbox, Google Podcast, iHeartradio, Overcast, Pocket Casts, RadioPublic, Spotify, Sticher and YouTube.

This week on The Beat, CTSNet Editor-in-Chief Joel Dunning explores the balance between the risks and benefits of holding The Society of Thoracic Surgeons (STS) Annual Meeting in Los Angeles. He discusses Dr. Jennifer Romano's address on the STS 2025 meeting, the ongoing fires in LA, and potential ways to support the city. Dunning also emphasizes the importance of hosting annual meetings, explores alternative options for the event, and highlights the relief fund. Additionally, he provides a preview of the pre-conference symposia and two keynote addresses that will take place at the annual meeting.   Joel also reviews recent JANS articles on women in cardiac surgery, the European Association of Cardiothoracic Surgeons future view on robotic cardiac surgery in Europe, aortic valve replacement versus clinical surveillance in asymptomatic severe aortic stenosis, and robotic-assisted versus video-assisted thoracoscopic surgery for thymic epithelial tumors.   In addition, Joel explores a truncus arteriosus repair with modified Barbero Marcial technique with reconstruction of neopulmonary valve with RAA, redo endoscopic left ventricular mass removal, and implantation of a modified Micra Pediatric Implantable Pulse Generator for epicardial pacing. Before closing, he highlights upcoming events in CT surgery.   JANS Items Mentioned  1.) Women in Cardiac Surgery: A Global Workforce Analysis  2.) European Association of Cardiothoracic Surgeons Future View on Robotic Cardiac Surgery in Europe  3.) Aortic Valve Replacement vs Clinical Surveillance in Asymptomatic Severe Aortic Stenosis: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis  4.) Robotic-Assisted Versus Video-Assisted Thoracoscopic Surgery for Thymic Epithelial Tumours, From the European Society of Thoracic Surgeons Database  CTSNET Content Mentioned  1.) Truncus Arteriosus Repair With Modified Barbero Marcial Technique With Reconstruction of Neo-Pulmonary Valve With RAA  2.) Redo Endoscopic Left Ventricular Mass Removal  3.) Implantation of a Modified Micra Pediatric Implantable Pulse Generator for Epicardial Pacing  Other Items Mentioned  1.) STS 2025 Update: Dr. Jennifer Romano  2.) CTSNet Events Calendar  Disclaimer The information and views presented on CTSNet.org represent the views of the authors and contributors of the material and not of CTSNet. Please review our full disclaimer page here.

Wer zum Race Around Austria antritt, weiß, was das bedeutet.  2.200 Kilometer Fahrstrecke und rund 30.000 Höhenmeter erwarten die Sportler:innen bei diesem einzigartigen Event.  Beim 16. RAA gelang es Elena Roch, an die Spitze des Podests zu fahren.  In 4 Tagen und zwei Stunden hatte Elena nicht nur die Bestleistung bei den Frauen, sondern war auch dem schnellsten Mann um ca. 2 Stunden voraus.  Hinzu kommt ihr letzter Sieg bei der 24-Stunde-Zeitfahr-Weltmeisterschaft, bei der sie gemeinsam mit Philipp Kaider den WM-Titel nach Österreich holte.  Doch wie gewinnt man? Wo ist die Grenze? Wie geht man mit Tiefpunkten um? Wem schuldet man etwas? Im Podcast-Interview spricht Elena Roch mit Podcast-Host Robert Pacher über Disziplin, Erfolg, Leistung, Grenzen und vieles mehr.  ⬇️ **Elena Roch** Radsportlerin

The podcast another visit to Salt Lake County. UIAAA Connection #204 – Pat Thurman, RAA, Director of Athletics at Corner Canyon High School, is now available. Pat, a graduate of The University of Utah and Westminster College, shares his story in interscholastic athletics. His mentor was Morgan Brown, longtime AD at Alta High School. His advice regarding developing relationships with your coaches, students and parents  is not to be missed.  Please Listen, Learn and Share! You can subscribe to UIAAA TV on YouTube! This podcast is also available on Amazon Music, Apple Podcast,  Breaker, Castbox, Google Podcast, iHeartradio, Overcast, Pocket Casts, RadioPublic, Spotify, Sticher and YouTube.

Our journey with SMALL SCHOOL ADs continues as we head to Illinois to visit with Sarah Chapman, RAA of the Hiawatha School District! Sarah is an AP / AD and today she shares her Best Practices on The Educational AD Podcast! --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/educational-ad-podcast/support

Heute feiern wir gemeinsam die 200. Episode unseres Sitzfleisch Podcasts! Wir hatten schon Live-Shows in der Millionenstadt München und im ehrwürdigen Orpheum Graz, doch was gibt es Besseres, als dieses Jubiläum im „Der Schrenk“ in Passail zu zelebrieren?Unsere Gäste, Maria und Lukas können auch einiges zum heutigen Thema erzählen, denn sie haben im Zweier Team nicht nur das Race Around Niederösterreich gefinisht und das Race Around Austria gewonnen, sondern was noch viel mehr zählt: Sie haben die „Sitzfleisch Challenge Connected“ durch die wunderschöne Ferienregion Oststeiermark absolviert.Der Verein Ride4hope hat diese Challenge ins Leben gerufen, und hier kann jede(r) wann immer man Lust hat, die 216km „Oststeiermark-Tour“ oder die 105km „Coffee Ride“ Runde fahren und damit den guten Zweck unterstützen. Wem das nicht reicht, der kann die beiden Touren zur „Connected Runde“ kombinieren und bekommt dafür ein 4-Gänge Menü im „Der Schrenk“ spendiert. Auch virtuell kann diese Challenge nun gefahren werden, die Strecke wurde abgefilmt und steht auf der Plattform BKool zur Verfügung.Die Spenden kommen dem Verein Med4hope zugute, und wir hören heute von Frau Dr. Stark, wie wir mit unseren Radl Kilometern und den Spenden dort genau helfen.Die Höhepunkte der heutigen Episode sind aber die vielen Geschichten von Maria und Lukas: Ein Radrennen im Team ist irgendwie so etwas wie eine Beziehungsprobe oder Paartherapie. Da die beiden sich kurz nach dem RAA ein „überaus romantisches“ Ja-Wort gegeben haben, dürfte sie wohl gar nichts mehr erschüttern. Nicht einmal das Kühtai, das man ja auch mal mit dem großen Kettenblatt fahren kann!Zum Abschluss gibt es noch eine Fragerunde mit dem Publikum. Alle Infos, Partner, Sponsoren und Strecken zur Sitzfleisch Challenge unter: www.sitzfleisch.netMaria Erlinger (vorm. Maria Winter) auf Instagram: www.instagram.com/mariaa__winterLukas Erlinger auf Instagram: www.instagram.com/lukas.erlingerWebsite Med4hope: www.med4hope.org 

We go to Houston, Texas and sit down with Tamika Newman, RAA of Northland Christian who shares a little of her journey along with some great tips on SMALL SCHOLL AD. This is The Educational AD Podcast! --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/educational-ad-podcast/support

We hope you enjoy this episode! If you'd like to join RAA, use this link and put BACKTOSCHOOL as a coupon code to get $14 off your membership for 6 months: https://joy-dima.mykajabi.com/offers/55SFX2at 1:1 coaching with Joy: https://gz43pjtl2nc.typeform.com/to/nRp3NRTy?typeform-source=stan.store

Nhật Bản vừa ký với Phillipines Thỏa thuận Tiếp cận Hỗ tương (RAA), thỏa thuận phòng thủ an ninh đầu tiên mà Nhật Bản ký ở châu Á, nhằm tạo điều kiện thuận lợi cho việc nhập khẩu thiết bị quân sự và quân đội, dành cho các mục tiêu huấn luyện chiến đấu và ứng phó thảm họa, giữa Manila và Tokyo.

- Chủ tịch nước Tô Lâm và Thủ tướng Phạm Minh Chính dự Hội nghị Quân uỷ Trung ương lần thứ 10. Tổng bí thư Nguyễn Phú Trọng – Bí thư Quân ủy Trung ương gửi bài phát biểu chỉ đạo tới Hội nghị, yêu cầu Quân ủy trung ương với tinh thần “5 quyết tâm và 5 chủ động” cùng toàn quân thực hiện thắng lợi nhiệm vụ trong 6 tháng cuối năm.- Chủ tịch Quốc hội Trần Thanh Mẫn dự Kỳ họp thứ 20 HĐND tỉnh Thanh Hoá, yêu cầu các đại biểu Hội đồng nhân dân thể hiện tinh thần trách nhiệm, uy tín, trí tuệ, bản lĩnh trong công việc, “đúng vai, thuộc bài”.- Truy xuất nguồn gốc hàng hóa là yêu cầu đầu tiên và quan trọng để đưa sản phẩm Việt Nam ra thế giới. Chương trình “Điểm hẹn kiều bào tháng 7” tại TPHCM chia sẻ kinh nghiệm và giải pháp làm “căn cước” cho hàng Việt ra nước ngoài.- Chủ tịch Trung Quốc Tập Cận Bình gặp Thủ tướng Hungary Viktor Orban tại Bắc Kinh, trao đổi sâu rộng về cuộc xung đột tại Ucraina.- Philippines - nước đầu tiên ở châu Á có Hiệp ước quốc phòng RAA với Nhật Bản.- Hơn 1000 nhà nghiên cứu tham dự Hội nghị quốc tế về sự nóng lên của trái đất. Chủ đề : Chủ tịch nước Tô Lâm, Thủ tướng Phạm Minh Chính, Hội nghị Quân uỷ Trung ương --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/vov1thoisu0/support

- Trong bối cảnh tình hình tại các khu vực như Biển Hoa Đông, Biển Đông có nhiều diễn biến căng thẳng và phức tạp, Nhật Bản và Phi-líp-pin có nhiều biện pháp tăng cường hợp tác nhằm đối phó với các nguy cơ có thể xảy ra. Hiệp định Tiếp cận Tương hỗ (RAA) vừa được hai bên ký sáng 8/7 tại Manila được coi là bước cụ thể hóa các khuôn khổ hợp tác an ninh - quốc phòng song phương. Chủ đề : Nhật Bản, Philippine --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/vov1tintuc/support

Flo und Straps sind momentan fleißig am „schepfn“ und bei Erscheinen dieser Episode wahrscheinlich noch beim Race Across Austria unterwegs, bzw. gerade erst im Ziel angekommen und noch im wohlverdienten Tiefschlaf.Daher gibt es heute wieder einen Rückblick und eine Auswahl aus den „best-of-Sitzfleisch“ Episoden. Wir befinden uns im August 2020, das Race Around Austria wird soeben gestartet. Straps am Rad, Flo im 6-köpfigen Betreuerteam. Im Laufe des Rennens wird es Höhen und Tiefen, Sonne und Regen, spannende Duelle mit der Konkurrenz und intensive Unterhaltungen mit der Crew geben. Auch der „Hummelmodus-Mythos“ sollte beim RAA entstehen.Wir haben eine gesamte Staffel mit insgesamt 12 Episoden zum RAA aufgenommen, wenn ihr die gesamte Serie (die Folgen #13 bis #24) nochmal nachhören möchtet, ist das ein guter Einstieg. Und in einer Woche gibt es wieder Aktuelles aufs Ohr!Race Across Austria RACA Live Tracking: https://www.followmychallenge.com/live/race-across-austria-2024/ +++++Danke an Cyclite, unseren heutigen Werbepartner!Flo Kraschitzer hat durch seinen unendlichen Fame seinen ersten Ausrüster gefunden, und darf mit Bikepacking Taschen von Cyclite ins Race Across Austria starten. Die innovativen Taschen werden in Bayern entwickelt und sind in der Ultracycling Szene weit verbreitet: Cyclite Taschen sind die leichtesten auf dem Markt (trotzdem robust und wasserfest) und kommen mit diversen hilfreichen Funktionen (wie z.B. die Aerodynamik der einzigartigen AERO BAG, der schwingfreie Sitz der SADDLE BAG, oder der große Zugriff mit gutem Überblick der TOP TUBE BAG).Mit dem Rabattcode „sitzfleisch“ könnt ihr auf www.cyclite.cc und auf www.ultracyclingshop.com um 10% günstiger bestellen!

On this week's podcast, I sat down with Royal Australian Artillery Warrant Officer Class 2 Mark Henneberry. Mark served for 23 years in the RAA. Mark joined the Army at 17. We discussed his deployment to Cambodia in 1993 and the effects of deploying at a young age. Mark talked about what all veterans and first responders face when they discharge, finding purpose after service. Mark found that purpose and now works in defence industries. Mark is a partner with other veterans and first responders for a whiskey company called Wet Canteen Bottling Company. Creating an authentic taste for veterans and first responders to come together and reflect on service and mateship. Head over to Wet Canteen to grab your copy of whiskey today.   Presenter: Adam Blum Guest: Mark Henneberry Editor: Kyle Watkins Investigative Consultant: Adam Holloway

We're back in the same room after a year online. Consequently, we're a little giddy but get ourselves on track and discuss the CVAA strategy update that we were attending in that London. We ask the question that many prospective adopters ask, RAA or VAA? Then we unpick adopter sufficiency, PP+, the three year rule and more. 

In this episode, we respond to one of our followers questions about marriage. A lot of people have different opinions on this and unfortunately some of them can be harmful and cause anxiety. That's why we wanted to address it and give you our thoughts. We hope this is helpful and if you want to know more about RAA, click on the following link: https://joy-dima.mykajabi.com/offers/55SFX2at

On today's Zero Limits Podcast part 2 podcast  with Craig “Spins” Turnball. Spins was a K9 Handler in the Incident Response Regiment (IRR) now known as SOER and also spent time in 2 CER and 3 CER (Combat Engineer Regiment)Craig enlisted into the army reserve in 1990  whilst still at school and spent a couple years at 5/11 regt RAA as a FO Sig. In 1994 he enlisted into the regular army and was posted to the transport corps. After 12 months in transport he put in his transfer to become a combat engineer. Craig was posted to 2CER/ 3CER and to the Incident Response Regiment as a K9 handler.He deployed on multiple deployments including Solomons Islands , SOTG III and SOTG IV deployments with SASR as an explosive detection handler from Incident Response Regiment and a deployment with Combat Engineer Regiment Afghanistan MTF1.  During this part 2 Craig talks about the deployment to Afghanistan on MTF1 which was one of the deadliest years for the Australian Defence Force and more specifically mentoring task force.www.getsome.com.auInstagram @getsome_auDiscount Code ZEROLIMITS www.3zeroscoffee.com.auInstargram @3zeroscoffee Discount Code 3ZLimits Website - www.zerolimitspodcast.comInstagram - https://www.instagram.com/zero.limits.podcast/?hl=enShow Sponsors www.3zeroscoffee.com.au Discount code 3ZLimitswww.getsome.com.au Discount code ZEROLIMITS

【Eat Partner 好夥伴】點擊連結 [輸入３ /或/ 按我要預約]！飲食駭客突破卡關的數字，自煮外食、聚餐美食、聰明簡單、不餓肚子！ 〔Line官方帳號〕https://bit.ly/3JaKBcg －－－－以上訊息由 SoundOn 動態廣告贊助商提供－－－－ 就在賴總統就職之前，以及美日菲高峰會之際，馬英九為何迎合習近平的統戰需要，趕在此時進京面聖，進行第二次馬習會的目的是什麼？對台灣有任何好處嗎？能緩解兩岸緊張關係嗎？中共軍機擾台有因此減少嗎？馬英九從深圳到北京一路「感動」哭不停，卻對花蓮地震漠不關心，是否本末倒置？台海與南海局勢的連動，美國的戰略態勢又是如何？!精彩訪談內容，請鎖定@華視三國演議！ 本集來賓：#宋國誠 #矢板明夫 主持人：#汪浩 以上言論不代表本台立場 #馬習會 #哭泣之旅 #習近平 #美日菲峰會 電視播出時間

On today's Zero Limits Podcast in a 2 part podcast I chat  with Craig “Spins” Turnball. Spins was a K9 Handler in the Incident Response Regiment (IRR) now known as SOER and also spent time in 2 CER and 3 CER (Combat Engineer Regiment)Craig enlisted into the army reserve in 1990  whilst still at school and spent a couple years at 5/11 regt RAA as a FO Sig. In 1994 he enlisted into the regular army and was posted to the transport corps. After 12 months in transport he put in his transfer to become a combat engineer. Craig was posted to 2CER/ 3CER and to the Incident Response Regiment as a K9 handler.He deployed on multiple deployments including Solomons Islands , SOTG III and SOTG IV deployments with SASR as an explosive detection handler from Incident Response Regiment and a deployment with Combat Engineer Regiment Afghanistan MTF1. During one of the SOTG deployments as spoken about in Mark Direen's Podcast Ep. 159, Mark's and Spins LRPV hit a IED with Mark and vehicle driver getting medically evacuated due to injuries. Spins and his Explosive Detection K9 Razz were rattled from the explosion but carried on with the patrol however a couple of hours later during a route search K9 Razz indicated and sat on a IED which initiated the main charge being killed instantly with spins only a short distance away yet again gets thrown by the blast and injured.www.getsome.com.auInstagram @getsome_auDiscount Code ZEROLIMITS www.3zeroscoffee.com.auInstargram @3zeroscoffee Discount Code 3ZLimits Website - www.zerolimitspodcast.comInstagram - https://www.instagram.com/zero.limits.podcast/?hl=enShow Sponsors www.3zeroscoffee.com.au Discount code 3ZLimitswww.getsome.com.au Discount code ZEROLIMITS

Avination, welcome back to the Pilot to Pilot podcast. Today's, episode is from a live webinar I hosted for RAA. In this episode we talk about what has changed in the aviation industry and sprinkle in a few financial tips from the experts at RAA!

This was a question we received in our emails a couple weeks ago and we thought it would be an amazing topic. We hope this is helpful and if you'd like to join RAA, click on the following link: https://joy-dima.mykajabi.com/offers/55SFX2at

That's a question we often get when it comes to relationship anxiety. If your relationship is good, why is it that it is so hard when you have anxiety? Does it mean it might be wrong? Does it mean you should leave? Those are questions we talk about in this episode. If you'd like to join our online community called RAA, click on the following link: https://joy-dima.mykajabi.com/offers/55SFX2at

Summary In this episode of That Annuity Show, Bobby Samuelson, President of Life Innovators, discusses the current state of the annuity market and the challenges and opportunities it presents. He highlights the entry of new companies into the market and the different strategies they employ. Bobby also discusses the role of proprietary indices in annuities and the need for innovation in product development. He emphasizes the importance of technology in enabling advisors to tell the annuity story more effectively. Overall, Bobby provides insights into the changing dynamics of the annuity market and the evolving expectations of customers. Takeaways New companies are entering the annuity market, with many focusing on multi-year guarantee annuities (MYGAs) as an entry point. The annuity market is highly competitive, and companies need to differentiate themselves through innovation in product development. Proprietary indices have played a significant role in the annuity market, but there is a need for more innovation and a focus on the underlying product structure. The annuity market faces challenges in attracting and retaining customers, and companies need to adapt to changing customer expectations and preferences. Technology can play a crucial role in enabling advisors to sell annuities more effectively and reach new markets. Chapters 00:00 Introduction and Focus of Bobby Samuelson 03:45 New Entrants in the Annuity Market 07:43 Competition and Innovation in the Annuity Market 13:42 The Role of Proprietary Indices in Annuities 20:31 Challenges and Opportunities in the Annuity Market 27:12 Changing Customer Expectations in the Annuity Market 30:44 The Role of Technology in the Annuity Market 35:37 Conclusion and Closing Remarks Paul Tyler (00:03.644) Hi, this is Paul Tyler and welcome to another episode of That Annuity Show. Tisa, good to see you. Tisa Rabun-Marshall (00:09.89) Good to see you, Paul. Good morning, everyone. Paul Tyler (00:11.708) Yeah, we're having a lot of fun at work these days.  Paul Tyler (00:29.411) Ramsey Atlanta is like, I don't want to know. I'm not sure I want to know what Atlanta is like. Ramsey Smith (00:32.292) It's sunny. It's chilly, but it is bright sunny day. Can't complain. Paul Tyler (00:36.464) Okay. All right. Bobby, hey, listen, first of all, thanks for coming back. It's always good, you know, when guests, we have guests on once and they say yes to coming back. It's been a couple years, but we are lucky and fortunate to have Bobby Samuelson, President of Life Innovators, on our show. And Bobby, hey, just tell, it brings up the speed, you know, tell us, you know, what's your focus these days? Bobby (00:36.797) Same in Charlotte. Bobby (00:50.781) See you back. Bobby (01:02.789) Yeah, sure. So I've been doing, um, obviously worked at midlife Bright House for a few years. Less than 2017 started up a newsletter that I actually had done prior to going to Bright House. So I still do that called the life product review. That's, you know, three to 4,000 words every week on what's going on in the life insurance side of the world. Um, and then we also started up an annuity product development company. And so basically we serve as an outsourced chief product officer to small and midsize insurance companies. And so a lot of these newer entrants getting into the space. can't hire product talent, can't find product talent. And so they use us as their chief product officer effectively. And then we've also picked up, I'd say a few kind of insurance companies that are either doing other types of products and want to get into annuities or maybe are already doing annuities, but haven't done for example, an FIA or a RYLA or even a VA and they hire us to help them build those products. And then along the way with that, we kind of realized that wait a second, we're doing, you know the life product review, can we do something? on kind of what's going on in the competitive landscape on the annuity side of the world. And so we started a newsletter called the annuity edge. And that is basically a weekly digest of, you know, everything going on in the competitive side of the annuity world. And so we, we scan, we look at all the filings that come through the States and the compact, we look at all the stuff that comes through competitive scan. We look at stuff that comes through, you know, the various rate providers, plus the conversations we have with carriers. And we basically write all that up and sort of a, a narrative kind of format to try to tell the story of. What's going on every week in annuities. And, you know, look, we've had, we've had plenty to write about. Like there's tons of stuff having, it feels like every week there's something going on. New products, significant rate changes. We usually do like a market update every week because the rates have been changing so much. We also run every week a weekly index spotlight. So we go on and take, you know, there's 180, uh, engineered indexes. That's what we call them engineered indexes in the market. We take one every week and sort of dissect it. Talk about. why it worked well over a certain period of time, why it probably didn't work well in 2022, how it looks like the index is calibrated kind of going forward, and try to again, kind of tell the story. And so in our view, there's so many places in annuities where you can get rates, and there's places where you can get, you know, flyers, and there's places where you can get kind of raw materials, but our job is to craft all that into a story so that people can sort of digest it. And so we got six people on the Life Innovators team, we all kind of chip in different. Bobby (03:22.221) sections of the annuity edge. So I'd say most of what we've been working on these days, besides just product development, it's just cranking out that annuity edge, two or 3000 words every week on what's going on in the, in the, in the annuity market. And it's been, like I said, no shortage of things to write about. In fact, Nassau is going to be featured in next week's edition. The new income writer you guys released. Yes, we were just ripping it apart yesterday and we're going to write a little bit. So I'll probably, I'll send you a little draft before you, before we release that. So. Paul Tyler (03:45.44) Good. Paul Tyler (03:49.672) Oh, oh, tremendous. Well, yeah, first of all, thank you. And we, you know, we talk a little bit about the launch and kind of where this is headed. I'll lead off because wow, are there a lot of threads to pull in what you just talked about, but let's sort of talk about MyGa's new entrance. Like if I just stuck there, you know, and kind of look back at 2023. Man, do we have a lot of new entrants coming in here. I think, no, I think my guess, and it's not just about my guess, I think this was an easy entry point for new companies. You think we're going to see new names, a lot of new names this year, or will we see those new names now expanding into the FIA space? Bobby (04:15.31) Oh yeah. Bobby (04:31.973) Yeah, both. Um, you know, when we talk to companies that are not in our business, that are looking to get in our business, I'd say there's, you know, two or three different playbooks that they're all kind of executing on. Some of them are, are more asset oriented. Some are more operational oriented. They actually really want to run an insurance company. They like the insurance company economics, which, which makes sense to others are more liability oriented, they're trying to figure out, okay, if I take these assets on, for example, you know, longevity, mortality, morbidity, sort of the health. metrics side of the world, or even interest rate risk. Um, maybe they think they can do better with it. And so every, every new entrance has sort of a different angle on, on what they want to do in the insurance space. But for most of these companies, MYGAs is sort of seen as the natural entry point. And it's just such a commoditized market. If you come in with a hot rate, no one's going to, you know, people don't need to have like a 30 year relationship with an insurance company to sell a MYGAs product. You can kind of get in, sell a MYGAs, um, you know, call it a day. And so I think that's, that's. Ramsey Smith (05:26.348) Hmm. Bobby (05:30.481) the appeal of the market. I think it's also the danger of the market because it is so commoditized. So some of these companies have a hot rate and then all of a sudden it can flip to the other direction. And they end up kind of feeling the case usurped by other companies that get in the space. And so every company doesn't say most companies don't view my guy as their permanent strategy. They view it to your point as sort of like, get in, get the new business operations and tech kind of get the skids greased on that. And then once we get the get, get our Business sorted out, then we can start to pivot over to the real prize, which is, which is FIA and there's a variety of reasons why companies view that as the real prize. Uh, that pivot is really, really hard. So the joke that I make to insurance companies when they ask me about sort of how long do we need to wait until we go sell FIA, I said, well, listen, let me give you an example. So I can go out to this track in the school across the street from my house and I can, and I can run a 400. Okay. And you can run a 402. Okay. Neither of us are going to be in the Olympics. So even though we're doing the same activity as Olympians, we're not doing it to the same degree. So if you want to make the jump from my get an FAA, that's like you go into the track, my gets going to the track and running a pretty quick lab, selling up, you know, $8 billion a year of FIA is like being in the Olympics. And so every company comes in and says, Oh, well, we'll just going to do some my, and then we're going to sell a billion dollars of FAA. And it's like, yeah, that's like literally me going to the track and then trying out for the Olympics. Like that is a much harder, longer process. You know, then people think, so I think there is a little bit of realism now in the market on how hard it is to make that pivot from my God to FIA. That being said, when we get calls every week or an hour week, every month from some company that's either not in this business or it's kind of parallel ancillary to this business, looking to get into the space, buying a shell company, you know, buying one of the many companies that are on the block right now. And so I do think we will see more entrance getting in. Um, and I think that's generally a good thing. I mean, annuities are. Effectively a financial product. So more companies in more competitive rates, more competitive environments, probably pretty good for customers. Is it going to be great for all these companies and their own economics? That's to some degree a separate question. Like I think, I think the jury is still out on whether or not it's this playbook can be repeated over and over and over again, but, but there are plenty of companies out there trying to give it a shot and I think, I don't think that's going to change anytime soon. Ramsey Smith (07:43.616) So let me ask you this, and I've had the similar observation. I mean, my view is that the annuity market, MYGAs and FIAs, it's a pretty established market. It's very competitive. Leadership in the market sort of rotates as different companies decide they really wanna focus on it. So in some ways, it's a vibrant market, especially in the last couple of years, but it's, I guess, in sort of blue ocean, red ocean terms. Bobby (08:13.281) Yeah, it's red. Yeah. Ramsey Smith (08:13.32) Right? It's a place where there's already a lot of people. Yeah, it's very red. So I've been surprised as I talked to sort of aspirational players, I've been surprised at how many of them want to jump into this space. And I'm just wondering why you think that is, why they aren't looking for greener pastures. Bobby (08:33.957) think there's an established playbook, honestly set down by a theme that this can work. And by the way, I think NASAL is becoming another kind of proof point of if you stick with it long enough and you kind of are consistent enough, you can build a real franchise, you know, in this space, even though to your point, Ramsey, it's total red ocean. And so what I hear a lot of times, and this is kind of a joke, but it's not really a joke, is every time we talk to one of these guys and maybe you have the same experience. Ramsey Smith (08:44.405) Yeah. Bobby (09:00.945) They all say, well, yeah, but we do a great job managing assets. We're kind of better than everybody else and we've got some special stuff. And so there is, I think there's also a little bit of this. Maybe you call it arrogance, maybe call it optimism. Maybe you call it, you know, realist them that they've had a great track record. Some of these, especially as asset managers come in and sort of say, yeah, but we've got the secret sauce and our secret sauce works really well with, you know, annuity liability, uh, structures. And so, you know, we've got the raw materials and what we really need to do is just kind of package it up and cook the meal. And then everybody, all the diners are going to love it. And I think, and so I think everybody kind of has a view that they've got some sort of special ingredient that they're going to sprinkle into the, to the meal to make it work, but to your point, I mean, it's very much red ocean and that's why we, I try to communicate that to all of our prospective clients that this is really, really hard. And a lot of times I feel like I'm kind of the guy raining on everybody's parade in this conversation because everyone gets excited about the opportunity to be the next to theme. And my point is, yeah, but a theme was here 10 years before you were, and the world looked completely different back then replicating that playbook is going to take another 10 years. And so don't expect to show up and have success overnight. And by the way, you say you have special sauce. Everyone I talked to says they have special sauce. If they didn't think they had special sauce, they wouldn't be buying a life insurance company and trying to get into the space, because to your point, it is heavily commoditized. Ramsey Smith (10:13.862) Mm. Bobby (10:19.497) Over time, we'll find out who really has the right playbook. And by the way, I think it's a lot more than what most of these asset managers and private equity firms think they think we've got great raw materials, we're going to cook a great meal. Well, in order to do that, you've got to have a great chef. And what that means, and you know, Paul, from your vantage point is you got to have great distribution relationships. You've got to have compelling product. You've got to have a great marketing story. You've got to have great systems and processes. Your new business needs to be flawless. Your agent portal needs to be good. Your client portal needs to be good. There's branding. corporate story ratings. Like when you really think about it, yes, ingredients are a big piece of the puzzle, but the actual construction of the meal is where a lot of these firms, I think, kind of miss the importance of that. And so they come in thinking, well, I've got great raw ingredients. I'm going to be, even though it's Red Ocean, I'll make it work. Not realizing I've got to assemble a team to make this work. And that's where I think the jury's still out on some of these firms is do they have the staying power so that over the next 10 years, they'll figure out how to really come in. Kind of build that persistent business. Some will and some won't. And by the way, I mean, we've seen some fantastic examples of where this has worked recently. Like I would throw a speed out there. A speed is a great example of a company that kind of came out of nowhere and has built a brand and has fantastic processes, like they're sticking around very clearly. Um, I'd say, you know, I've Dex this is sort of showing signs of that too. Other firms are much more transactional and those are different paths, right? Those are different. They're making different choices. Paul Tyler (11:22.761) Yeah. Bobby (11:44.061) I think we're going to see that again, play out over the next few years and how that, how that stuff works out. Paul Tyler (11:49.784) Yeah, I've heard really good things about the speed of what Lew's doing there. I think it's a real interesting company. I think I saw it in some of our stats. I think they did like two billion dollars of sales or something last year. It's impressive. Yeah, Bobby, thanks for the high praise. It's hard. This business is a... It's a hard business. Now, I've had the opportunity to do this twice. Once with F&G when we rebrand, bought it from Old Mutual, took it to a certain point. team there has done a spectacular job taking it to the next level. Got the opportunity with TISA to do it a second time. And I think to your point, where are you starting from and when are you starting from it? Right? Like the starting point with F&G, you know, in 2011 was very different than, you know, Phoenix in 2016. And the market's changed, right? The distribution environment has changed. The product has changed a lot. Bobby (12:21.201) Yeah, they have. Paul Tyler (12:48.156) I do think the one thing that, you know, what remains constant, that's always a good opportunity, is to your point, it's persistence and consistency is incredibly valuable in this marketplace. Big splash, high rates, yeah. So, if we shift gears to product, maybe for a few minutes, you mentioned your focus on proprietary indices are a lot. We have a lot. We have quite a few in Bobby (13:00.217) Yep. Yeah, I completely agree. Paul Tyler (13:18.108) I would say the bloom came off the rose in the pandemic when we saw incredibly high volatility and then we started to see high rates, which allowed companies, yes, on the MYGAs side to offer high rates, but then also on the FII side, all of a sudden we could offer much higher participation rates on conventional indices like the S&P 500. Where are we headed this year? Bobby (13:42.349) Yeah, we, uh, we, as a firm draw a distinction between product development and index development. And those are two totally different things. Um, and so we, as a firm don't do much in the index space. We, we write about them. We watch them, but when our clients say, Hey, what indexes do you guys like? We go, we don't, whoa, whoa. That's not our business. You can put any index you want to into your FIA. And if you pick one that is optimized for back tests and is not going to work well in the future, that's. Kind of on you, right? We're not, we're not. So, so I think from our point of view, we're trying to be more agnostic. Unfortunately, I think a lot of people were not agnostic. I think there was a big story coming in really 2015 and kind of beyond, maybe even going back to 2012, this, this narrative that these indexes were going to completely change the economics of the product, illustrations, you know, kind of seemed to back that up when you got FIAs illustrating the top FIA right now illustrates at 33%. So when you think about a, a principal protected non-registered product, yes, that's real Ramsey. non-registered product illustrating at 33% returns. That is telling, we are very far away at that point from the traditional FIA story of downside protection, upside potential fixed income alternative. We have now stretched somewhere deep into this idea that FIA can be an equity replacement with no risk. And I think the FIA world effectively levered up on that concept. because of the illustration regulations and because of all the money to be made in those indexes and because advisors were looking for a new story to tell. There was a lot of reason. It wasn't just one cause where all these calls kind of lined up. And of course the banks and asset managers are more than happy to, to supply what is effectively an infinite number of indexes into the market. I mean, the joke I always make on stage is we've got 180 there in FIA and IUL products, what is the possible number of indexes that could be made? And the answer is what's infinite. You can create an infinite number of indexes. And so this is just a very small subset. The subset, by the way, that illustrates well and the back test well, and that, and that carriers felt like had a good enough story to put in there, put in their products. So I think, I think we as an industry levered up really hard on that. Um, and it worked great in a low rate environment because you could show the high par rates, even though people didn't realize, yeah, you get a higher par rate on an index that has very low intrinsic equity participation. And so the effective result is actually very similar to if you just got a true par rate on the S and P, but it was sort of gussied up and other, you know, the fixed income sleeve was adding some. Bobby (16:06.565) some alpha on the illustration. Like you kind of, your Sharpe ratio looks really high on these things. So anyway, we levered up on that. Yeah. 2020 was an issue for sure, but most indexes were actually positive in 2020. So at least, at least they sort of showed, okay, not compared to the West, where the S and P was, but they sort of showed, okay, 2022 to me was the year where everything sort of fell apart because all these indexes, most of them had pushed into long duration, fixed income that got crushed and then the equity component crap got crushed, you know, 21 comes around S and P has an amazing year. I'm sorry. Tisa Rabun-Marshall (16:17.422) Thank you. Bobby (16:35.729) 2023 comes around, S&P has an amazing year, but these indexes lag. Why is that? Well, because the way that it happened was you had a few stocks in the S&P that drove the return and a lot of these indexes were either multi-asset indexes or calibrated towards low volatility or maybe even equal market cap weighted exposure to equities, but that didn't work in 23. And, and at the same time we had rates going up for most of the year and most of them were allocated there and so they get crushed and so to me, 23, 23 is actually the year of like disillusionment. 2022 is everything went down and so did these indexes. Oh, well, 2023 is like. Wait a second. You know, we were supposed to have a great year this year and we didn't. Why, why did that happen? So what I've seen this year is all the, all the banks and as a managers have been coming out with kind of next generation concepts that don't use long duration fixed income and have higher volatility targets or use volatility overlays for their, I mean, sorry, use the duration overlays for the fixed income sleep. Like they're trying to sort of, or they just get out of fixed income all together and just use cash. They're trying to sort of say, it's sort of like when my kids don't apologize, even though they're effectively apologizing. Okay. So it's like an effective apology of saying, we're sorry for all this stuff we gave you in the past, we're going to fix it in the future with this new variant, solving the problem of 2023 or 2022, you know, for 2024 and beyond. Okay. Well, that just means there's gonna be new problems that these new indexes aren't contemplating that will show up in the future. And so from a product standpoint, you know, if you were to say what, you know, what was innovative over the last 10 years, so much of it revolved around those indexes. And That I think what we're seeing is that was not innovation that was reshuffling and creating new trade-offs that now are showing their teeth. And people are going to your point, Paul, like, well, why don't I just go back to the simple stuff like SMP 500 or like you guys have a NASDAQ sleeve, like why not just go back to a NASDAQ. Let's go back to the basics. And what's interesting is for a lot of the new indexes that we track, a lot of those indexes are going back to simpler structures. I was looking at one yesterday that. The old version of it used to be sort of a long duration fixed income equity allocation. Now it's just pure equities and cash. So effectively all it is just a par rate on the S and P 500 stylized as an excess return index with a decrement on it as something different. Well, all that is, it's just exposure to the S and P with potentially a slightly more stable, you know, par rates. And so anyway, that being said, like. Ramsey Smith (18:40.512) Mm-hmm. Bobby (18:53.573) I think that's not innovation. I think where we need to go as an industry is, okay, what does the chassis of the future look like? And I think that's where it's really, really hard. So one of the things we tell customers, our name is Life Innovators. Theoretically, that means we should do innovative stuff. We have built some really innovative products. They have had trouble selling in the market because at the end of the day, most people who sell annuities just want to drop a ticket and move on. They don't want to explain, they don't want to learn something new, they don't want to go figure out a new story, they just want to do what they've been doing and drop the ticket and move on. So I think... Part of the reason indexes were so attractive as an innovation substitute was it didn't require the advisors to change their story at all. But real innovation requires a little bit of work. And so I think where's the blue ocean kind of back to your comment, Ramsey, like it is an innovative products, but the challenge in our business is agents and IMOs don't want innovative products. They say they do, but they're actually don't because it messes with the system and the system works really well. And so. You know, like give me innovation on the very fine little edges. Give me innovation that makes it illustrate better. Give me innovation that pays me more comp, but don't give me innovation that actually forces me to change my story and educate advisors because that takes time, energy and effort, and I'd rather just keep dropping tickets and move on. And I think that's a little bit of the challenge here is like the blue ocean's hard to get because everybody's making so much money in the red ocean and they don't really want to go shift over to the new stuff. So that's a little bit of where I think we're at a break point is like we, the world has changed. Our products need to change too. That is not just index development, it's product development. And yet that's the hardest thing, frankly, this industry has to do. And it takes a long time for that to work. Ramsey Smith (20:31.784) Yeah, you know, I think that, sorry, Tisa, let me just, I wanna, I'll come back. But this, in my view, this ultimately mirrors some of the same things you see in the mutual fund industry, right? Like, you know, active versus passive, versus passive funds, thematic funds. At the end of the day, like, the storytelling part of it is just part of the ethos of... Tisa Rabun-Marshall (20:32.063) Yep. Tisa Rabun-Marshall (20:36.462) Sure. Ramsey Smith (20:58.844) of personal finance, I would argue even institutional at times, certainly personal finance. And so I think that, I think it's not unique to this industry. I think you see it sort of, you know, across the board. I would ask, you know, so what do some of these, what do some of these chassis of the future look like? So what is it that, what are some of the things you suggested that you think are a better solution but are a little bit early because people need to... Because the people that sell them need to better understand how they work. Bobby (21:30.277) Yeah, great question. And by the way, I completely agree. I love the active versus passive analogy for engineered indexes versus like the S and P 500. And I actually make the joke that these engineered indexes aren't even active. They're algorithmic, right? You set them up and then you're hands off. So at least with an active manager, they can change their strategy along the way, as long as they stay within the fund mandate, but these indexes, like you set it up in 2011 or 2012, you can't go in and change the index rules. You got to create a new version of it, but you can't go in and like, Ramsey Smith (21:39.132) Yeah. Bobby (22:00.005) So it's sort of, it's almost like a different category, but I totally agree. It's it's we've got ebbs and flows on that product chassis, you know, they're tricky because we have these defined categories in the industry. So let me give you one that I think is kind of interesting that we've seen more of, uh, this sort of idea that you can do is across between a my go and an FIA. And this idea of like a, we, we haven't got a good analogy on this. Everyone's calling a mafia, right? Like a multi-year FIA, multi-year guarantee FIA, make FIA. No one knows what to call it. Ramsey Smith (22:06.613) Yeah. Ramsey Smith (22:27.649) Alright. Bobby (22:28.297) But if you think about it, it's a logical concept. So for example, what is a my go? My go is a marketing term for a fixed deferred annuity with guarantee option periods. Okay, well, what do you call an FIA product that has, for example, a five year or seven year or even a 10 year guarantee on the cap level? That's a my go. It's a multi-year guarantee annuity. We're just guaranteeing the cap. We're not guaranteeing a return, we're guaranteeing the cap. So that's an interesting concept. You can't do that when interest rates are super low, the yield isn't there for it. With. Tisa Rabun-Marshall (22:28.462) Thanks for watching! Ramsey Smith (22:48.748) Hmm. Bobby (22:56.133) The current environment, you can get away with that. We see more and more companies doing things like that or combining sort of base guarantees with some sort of guaranteed index exposure on top. American Life has done this, Ibexas has done this. We feel the companies out there that have kind of done this. That's a category that sort of fits between. On the variable side, think about like a contingent deferred annuity. CDAs have been the next big thing for years. And there's all the logic in the world for why CDAs make sense, right? You can have separately managed accounts when you can layer a guarantee on top of it. Like if you describe that to an RAA, they would all say, I'd rather have a CDA than to talk about variable annuities. And yet CDAs never go anywhere because it's a change in process. There are some new rules built around it. Like, and people don't ultimately want to make the, yes, you're going to say something. Ramsey Smith (23:43.268) Oh, well, I'm going to say that that's a battle over who owns the assets. Right. So if it's a, if it's a CDA, then the RRA keeps the assets. If, if it's not a CDA, then the carrier has the assets and, you know, just. Yeah. So this chair has company does. And so, and, and my, you know, my only, I like conceptually, I like the CDA, but from a risk management perspective, I mean, you're, you're selling, you're just selling pure tail risk. Right. And, and, and so. Bobby (23:47.288) Yeah. Bobby (23:53.921) Insurance company, yeah, totally agree. Ramsey Smith (24:12.454) I like it less from a risk management perspective. Just my two cents. Bobby (24:14.777) It's, you know, it's interesting. We have a client who's done, yeah, we've done clients who've done CDA or has done a CDA and I say, if you do it right, the pricing actually looks a lot like a VA. It's not, it's not, it's not as much of a crop. There's not as much of just tail as you think, cause you can actually set up some structures on the, on the fund. Um, and, and also if he has a lot of cross-pollination between like the M&E, the fund expenses and the rider fee, whereas you have to be very explicit with that on the CDA. But to your point, it's a different structure. It's a different owner. It's kind of a different ownership mentality. Ramsey Smith (24:28.529) Yeah. Ramsey Smith (24:37.347) Yeah. Bobby (24:42.673) So I say that's one, you know, RYLA versus VA, we're seeing blurred lines there too, like equitable, huge in the RYLA space, where they are now adding RYLA funds to some of their traditional VA contracts. Like, again, why do we have a separate category for RYLA? Really all that is just a subset of variable annuities. So those are the sorts of things there. And then on the income side, you've got all these ideas of like, how do you get work-side income type products? How do you get sort of the built-in defined income features inside of group plans? Like... That whole world is trying to get traction. There's all sorts of issues there. I'll give you one that's personal for me. We built an FIA product that effectively has a lot of the characteristics of a RYLA, but it's a non-registered product. And so it's an FIA that allows you to have downside exposure without piercing principle. We call it a FYLA, right? It's kind of a joke, because it's not really a category either, but it's somewhere between an FIA and a RYLA. There's no trade-offs. Paul Tyler (25:33.088) Hmm. Bobby (25:37.893) So if you're a producer and you want to sell, you know, 0% floors, just like a normal FIA, you can do it. If you want to have negative floors, you can have access. So it's a technological advancement in that it gives you all the features and benefits of an FIA with some of the features and benefits of a RYLA with no trade-offs. And yet people are choking on the fact that it's just a little bit slightly different than a normal FIA product. And it's like, Yes, but it gives you this ability to have these annual reviews with clients where you can talk about risk appetite and you can allow, you know, clients who've had great gains can put some of that at risk, get way more upside and allows you to look more and more like equities over time. Like it opens up this incredible conversation from a planning standpoint customers and in terms of real returns, we have two academic papers showing that these outperform FIAs all day every day because of the larger risk exposure does not matter. Agents who get it love it. Most agents are like it, this, this is a little bit different. Ramsey Smith (26:11.052) Mm-hmm. Bobby (26:33.853) And I'm a busy over here selling like my normal FIA with this, you know, index that I like talking about. And so like, don't, don't bother me with any different. I'm, I'm busy. I'm happy to do what I'm doing. And that's, I think the challenge in this space is there are clear. Chassis improvements we can make. Um, and again, I even argue this NASL income writer you guys came out with. It allows us sort of higher upfront with a lesson to tail. Like that's a chassis improvement. North American control X chassis improvement allows multiple income streams all at once. Whether advisors care about it is completely a separate question. And whether they're going to take time to learn about it. Again, completely separate question. Tisa Rabun-Marshall (27:12.534) Thanks, Bobby. I want to go back. So let me just say, I like this restaurant analogy that you were playing with, special sauce and the meals and all of that. So I kind of want to go back to that a little bit where you're talking about new entrants into the market and why they were coming in and what they think they can offer. There's no special sauce. We're innovatish who are not really innovating. And talk a little bit about the customer. So I'm going to call the customer the diner, right? And can you talk a little bit about what you're seeing changing there? We've talked about what's constant and what's maybe not changing, but I'm curious what you've seen, maybe what you're advising your clients on. If it's not going to be product-based, what are their expectations? Are they looking for the line cook to become the personal chef? Where are you seeing this shift in what the diners, the customers, investors are looking for from these carriers outside of product? Bobby (28:04.205) Yeah, great, great question. Um, great question. So, so who is the customer? I think is always the operative question here. And I'd love to say that people buying the annuities of the customers, but y'all know that's not the case, right? The customers are the advisors who are selling this stuff. And then, and then in a lot of ways, kind of, and especially in our world, right? The IMO channel, it's, it's the upline on what's the IMO and, and they're the ones who are really kind of consuming, if you will, the meals we're creating. And I want to be clear too, I'm a believer in product innovation. And I do think that's a piece of the puzzle, but it's, it's the way you build long-term market share, not short-term market share. So, so I think there is always and always must be an innovative product angle to what you're doing, not because you're going to sell a lot of it out of the gate, but because over the next 10 years, Paul, to your point on persistency and consistency in the business and stickiness, that's how you build long-term stickiness, but you can't, you can't expect mass adoption, you know, on, on day one. So what do they, what do they want? What they, what I think they want. So increasingly it's changing a little bit. What I think they want is they want simple processes. Like we, as speed is just a great example of this. They have a fantastic new business process and their advisors who just love doing. Working with the speed of because of the process. And so I think, I think simplification of the process is part of it. Um, I think it's a big piece of it. I think, I think a corporate story matters too. Tisa Rabun-Marshall (29:20.203) easily. Bobby (29:26.181) You know, feeling like they're connected to the company, feeling like there are people there that they like, like this is a thing today, a relationship business that matters and that counts for a lot. Um, and then I think they are looking for stories to tell in terms of product to fill niches that they may not fill. Today are kind of around the edges. Um, but look, that's not, that leaves a lot of open turf that I think is grabbed by the incumbents. And so that's why, even though yes, the top five are always trading share, the top five are pretty stable. Tisa Rabun-Marshall (29:32.59) Thank you. Bobby (29:56.633) Right. In the FIA world, it's, it's kind of a theme, Allianz American equity. Like, you know, those companies stay up there kind of for a re Sam and like, they stay up there for a reason, which is they've already got the mind share on all the, like all the main dishes are covered. We're, we're dabbling in the appetizers, the desserts and the cocktails, but, but they're sort of cooking the main dishes. And I think that's a little bit of where, you know, for a lot of companies, they kind of realize where they are in the meal. Um, and recognizing that going in and trying to say, like, don't sell Allianz is, is very, very difficult. versus having something that tells a nice story for the customers where Allianz is not a fit. And that's where I think most of these companies were kind of trying to say, okay, how do I work kind of work around some of this stuff? Yeah, competing heads up against Allianz and Athene is just exceedingly difficult, especially Athene these days, it's almost impossible, frankly. Tisa Rabun-Marshall (30:31.523) Thank you. Yeah, around that. Paul Tyler (30:44.004) Yeah. Well, Bobby, I know we're kind of close to the top of the time. We will not do this topic justice, but technology. And first of all, thank you so much for coming out to our Retar Tech event, April 8th through 10th in Las Vegas. This will be great. Great to see you in person and have you on our panel talking more about this. So people listening want to hear more about it, come out to Las Vegas, join us in person. We'll do a couple of shows out there live as well. We'll have to get people involved. So you mentioned process with Aspida. Now, where does technology fit in this process? Now, I'm not going to go deep into our product because I also want to make it easy for our compliance department, not to have to review this stuff, but we're doing something different. You kind of said that. Now, how do you get agents to do something different, make it real easy? I would say we've got a three-prong strategy here on the tech side. So we've got an interesting partnership with Life Yield. He's been sort of managing this where You've got an advisor who's more of a financial planner. We've got a tool where our product kind of plugs right in. You know, Sheryl Moore saw it. She really liked it. The other end, we've got these retirement checks. Like I can email you a check to Bobby Samuelson, show you viscerally, here are two checks you'll get. Higher amount on this date, lower amount on this date. And we've got something in the middle, which is a generative AI platform. Ties and I are having just a fun time working it through our risk management department, but... which will help you look, you're going to do a lot of emails and content. How do you position this and super easily sell a product? Where do you see tech fitting here? You know, for again, our looking, I'm going to look at our customers as agents for this conversation. Bobby (32:25.949) Yeah, yeah, yeah. I mean, what you just described are ways to help them tell the story more efficiently and more effectively. And I think that's a big piece of it. I think for a lot of companies though, it's just literally not screwing up the application process. Like, don't ever complicate it. It's having good EAP, it's having good reporting, it's having a way for them to go check in on a case status, it's having a way for them to see what's going on with the 1035 exchange. It's a lot of blocking and tackling, and that's where I think a lot of companies kind of. Like you got to get that stuff right first before you can do all the things you guys are talking about. Um, but that being said, yeah, I do. I am a big believer that tech is a part of the enablement process here. On the flip side of that, a lot of these agents are 55, 60 years old. Their clients are 55, 60, 65 years old. Like tech, you know, you gotta, you gotta kind of do tech on their terms. And I think that's a little bit of the dance here is like, how do you create tech that is attracted to them and that they can get their arms around without over, overburdening them to some degree. Um, With some of this stuff, what gets me excited too, is thinking about new markets for our products. And I see this on the annuity side and the life side too, like how does tech get you to new markets? And I think that's the part of the industry is just now starting to kind of figure, figure out. Um, and it is not traditional advisors. It's, it's younger advisors. And look, younger advisors do business differently than older advisors. When I talk to younger advisors, most of them have, you know, virtual practices that unimaginable to advisors that are 60 plus years old. to think about that back when they were in their thirties. And so there's just a very different feel for younger advisors. And I don't think most of those advisors are working with on the annuity side, annuity customers yet, right? Like if you're 35 years of working with people your own age, there's some exceptions to that. That's where we see, so on the life side, I see a lot more of this sort of tech sort of integration and enablement going on because it's younger customer, younger advisor that's coming for annuities. It's just going to be a few years out. And I think. The investments you guys are making and other companies are making is laying the groundwork for that going forward. I mean, if we pin our hopes on independence, insurance only agents, selling annuities forever, that is a kind of in the old school way, that is a shrinking market. It'll always be there, but it's a shrinking market. These are great products. These do fantastic things for families and for people. We need to get the story out. We can't be wedded to distribution that works a certain way. We've got to broaden that. I think. Bobby (34:45.285) You can't do that without thinking about tech enablement. Um, and so that does get me excited as a product guy. It's not really in my wheelhouse as much, but it does spur some interesting questions about, okay, if we know innovation kind of hits the wall, sometimes with traditional advisors. If you switch to more tech enabled, can you do things in product that used to be kind of unimaginable, but we'll work in these new environments. And I've got a couple of clients where that's exactly the market strategy is use tech with different products that would not fly in the normal space. Ramsey Smith (34:53.812) Hmm. Bobby (35:12.601) But will fly when you kind of go after new distribution, new customers, new advisors, new technology, and you can tell that story effectively. And we're seeing that, yeah, that works. Like they don't come in with preconceived notions. And when they come in without the preconceived notions, they're willing to hear new ideas and tell those new stories. And it's, it's very cool to see that kind of stick with some of these folks in a way that would not happen with traditional advisors. Paul Tyler (35:37.904) Bobby, this was tremendous. Hey, listen, we're at time. Thanks so much for coming. Ramsey, thank you. Tisa, Tisa. And I think we lost Bruno, unfortunately. I think the internet just did not cooperate with us. Blame it on the snow and the cold here. So we'll get him back next time. But hey, thanks so much. Hey, listen, and if you like this show, share it with your friends and be sure to tune in again next week for another... Ramsey Smith (35:46.176) Pleasure as always. Tisa Rabun-Marshall (35:49.45) Thanks, Bobby Yeah. Tisa Rabun-Marshall (35:55.71) Mm-hmm. Paul Tyler (36:04.849) episode of That Annuity Show. Thanks so much! Bobby (36:08.23) guys.  

The Honorable Ron Simmons served three terms in the Texas House of Representatives. He served on the Appropriations, Transportation, Elections, Homeland Security, and Business & Industry Committees while in the Texas House. In business, Ron was the cofounder, chairman, and CEO of Retirement Advisors of America (RAA). RAA is a wealth management company and, at the time of its sale to another investment firm in 2019, managed over $3 billion for approximately two thousand retired commercial airline pilots from all the major airlines who resided in all fifty states and multiple foreign countries.In 2019, Governor Greg Abbott appointed Ron as chairman of the board of Texas Mutual Insurance Company, an exclusive worker compensation insurance provider located in Texas with over $1 billion in annual revenue serving over seventy thousand companies located in Texas. Simmons is an advisor to the CEOs of The Heritage Foundation and the Texas Public Policy Foundation. Ron is the son of two public school teachers and has been married to his wife, Lisa, for more than forty years. He and Lisa have three children: Justin, an assistant US Attorney in the Justice Department; Daniel, who is on the autism spectrum and a fantastic artist and hard worker; and Allie Beth, a podcast host (Relatable), author, and speaker. Their crowning achievement, though, is their five grandchildren!Topic Ideas:-Feeling driftless in life? Why the answer might lie in one of the most popular childhood toys-How to take the next uncomfortable step on your journey from settling to soaring-From a 10-year undergrad degree to managing over $3 billion in assets: Ron Simmons' story of success and meaningful lifeHow to take control of your own wagon and A.C.T. (Action, Consider, Takeaway)-Moving your wagon forward in life takes vision and intentionality. Use Dream, Goal, Plan, and Effort to make your goals your reality -How to stay solid in your faith and beliefs during times of uncertainty -Nearly 5.1 million new businesses were started in the U.S. in 2022 – here is entrepreneur Ron Simmons' advice for moving forward when the going gets tough-How to pursue your dreams with a plan, even in times of economic uncertainty-Three things to look for in a mentor -Change the method, but don't ever change the message – how to know when to say “no” to good opportunitiesWhat would you like us to promote for you?:Ron's book, Life Lessons from the Little Red Wagon: 15 Ways to Take Charge and Create a Path to Success (Maxwell Leadership Books, March 21, 2023)

In this episode of Created for This, I'm talking with Ron Simmons who served as a state representative, CEO of a wealth management company, and is a father and grandfather.   We're talking about Ron Simmons' book Life Lessons from the Little Red Wagon. In this episode of Created for This, I'm talking with Ron Simmons who served as a state representative, CEO of a wealth management company, and is a father and grandfather.   We're talking about Ron Simmons' book Life Lessons from the Little Red Wagon.   Intentionality - why has it been so important in your life, and why should it be important for others? If you don't know where you're going, you'll be surprised when you get there. You have to have an idea of where you're going so you can get there.   Determining the next step and getting uncomfortable - It's not a matter of not knowing what the step is, it's a matter of taking the next step. Ron gives a few steps to help you do this.   A lot of times, the fear of failure is greater than the joy of success.   How Ron's view of Jesus helps him deal with the fear of failure.    How to overcome perfectionism and move forward. We have to purposefully find people who help us and push us to action instead of staying stuck in inaction.   Ron's number one piece of advice for business owners: stick with your idea instead of moving on to the next idea too quickly. Secondly, don't make your business about you. Make it so you can sell it to others or pass it on to your children.   Listening to the Bible is how Ron reads through his Bible (pray.com). Listening to the Bible counts as Bible reading.   Making room for rest and relaxation. John Maxwell says you're cheating yourself if you don't take time to rest. Find what rejuvenates you.   Referenced in the episode: Life Lessons from the Little Red Wagon by Ron Simmons Thinking for a Change by John Maxwell Prayer app - pray.com Ron's email: ron@ronsimmons.com   About Ron Simmons  The Honorable Ron Simmons served three terms in the Texas House of Representatives. He served on the Appropriations, Transportation, Elections, Homeland Security, and Business & Industry Committees while in the Texas House.   In business, Ron was the cofounder, chairman, and CEO of Retirement Advisors of America (RAA). RAA is a wealth management company and, at the time of its sale to another investment firm in 2019, managed over $3 billion for approximately two thousand retired commercial airline pilots from all the major airlines who resided in all fifty states and multiple foreign countries.   In 2019, Governor Greg Abbott appointed Ron as chairman of the board of Texas Mutual Insurance Company, an exclusive worker compensation insurance provider located in Texas with over $1 billion in annual revenue serving over seventy thousand companies located in Texas. Simmons is an advisor to the CEOs of The Heritage Foundation and the Texas Public Policy Foundation.   Ron is the son of two public school teachers and has been married to his wife, Lisa, for more than forty years. He and Lisa have three children: Justin, an assistant US Attorney in the Justice Department; Daniel, who is on the autism spectrum and a fantastic artist and hard worker; and Allie Beth, a podcast host (Relatable), author, and speaker. Their crowning achievement, though, is their five grandchildren! You can find Ron on LinkedIn or Twitter.   There are affiliate links in this episode. At no cost to you, I receive a small percentage for recommending this product - thank you for supporting my family and me through your purchase.

Shir uu la galey Erdogan ayaa Raa'isul Wasaaraha Iskotland dawlada Boqortooyada Ingriisku ugu hanjabtey iney hakin doonaan wada shaqeynta ka dhaxeysa. Tixraac https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/12/11/uks-david-cameron-scolds-scottish-leader-humza-yousaf-over-erdogan-meetinghttps://www.bbc.com/news/uk-scotland-scotland-politics-67675005https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2023/dec/10/david-cameron-threat-over-humza-yousafs-meeting-with-turkish-president Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week on the Lead to Win Podcast, we visit with Alex Johnson, RAA. Alex is currently the Assistant Principal and Athletic Director at Bayless High School in St. Louis, MO. Alex discusses tips and tricks on improving organizational branding as well as the importance of developing and implementing your own personal brand as a leader. We also discuss the All-In Process, which he co-founded with his mentor Stewart Hardy from the All-In Sports Outreach. Let's get to work! Follow and keep up with Alex on X: https://x.com/TheAllInAD?s=20 All-In Process: https://www.allinprocess.com/ --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/lead2win/support

Today we head to Massachusetts and sit down with Todd Robbins, an RAA who is the new AD at Fitchburg High School! Todd shares his story along with some great ideas for ADs, Coaches, and Leaders on The Educational AD Podcast! --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/educational-ad-podcast/message Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/educational-ad-podcast/support

Adam Mulheron is an RAA and an Aspiring Athletic Director currently coaching at St. Sebastian in Milwaukie, Wisconsin and today he shares his story along with some Best Practices on The Educational AD Podcast. --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/educational-ad-podcast/message Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/educational-ad-podcast/support

Avination, welcome back to the Pilot to Pilot podcast. Todays episode is with a fellow fractional pilot and Black Hawk pilot, Suzy Danielson. We had so much fun recording this podcast LIVE at the RAA booth. Can't wait for next year to record another one! Don't forget to get your Pilot to Pilot Hat before they sell out! https://collabs.boldaviator.com/product/pilot-to-pilot-performance-hat/

On this episode, three-term member of the Texas House of Representatives Ron Simmons shares why Christian business professionals ought to engage in the political sphere. The Honorable Ron Simmons served three terms in the Texas House of Representatives. He served on the Appropriations, Transportation, Elections, Homeland Security, and Business & Industry Committees while in the Texas House. In business, Ron was the cofounder, chairman, and CEO of Retirement Advisors of America (RAA). RAA is a wealth management company and, at the time of its sale to another investment firm in 2019, managed over $3 billion for approximately two thousand retired commercial airline pilots from all the major airlines who resided in all fifty states and multiple foreign countries. In 2019, Governor Greg Abbott appointed Ron as chairman of the board of Texas Mutual Insurance Company, an exclusive worker compensation insurance provider located in Texas with over $1 billion in annual revenue serving over seventy thousand companies located in Texas. Simmons is an advisor to the CEOs of The Heritage Foundation and the Texas Public Policy Foundation. Ron is the son of two public school teachers and has been married to his wife, Lisa, for more than forty years. He and Lisa have three children: Justin, an assistant US Attorney in the Justice Department; Daniel, who is on the autism spectrum and a fantastic artist and hard worker; and Allie Beth, a podcast host (Relatable), author, and speaker. Their crowning achievement, though, is their five grandchildren! He's the author of the new book, Life Lessons from the Little Red Wagon: 15 Ways to Take Charge and Create a Path to Success. Christianity in Business is the show that helps Christian business leaders to integrate biblical values into business. | Entrepreneurship | Marketing | Nonprofit | Church | Author | Startups | Marketplace | Ministry | Business as Mission | Faith and Work | Faith | Success | Leadership | www.ChristianityInBusiness.com 

On this episode, three-term member of the Texas House of Representatives Ron Simmons shares why Christian business professionals ought to engage in the political sphere. The Honorable Ron Simmons served three terms in the Texas House of Representatives. He served on the Appropriations, Transportation, Elections, Homeland Security, and Business & Industry Committees while in the Texas House. In business, Ron was the cofounder, chairman, and CEO of Retirement Advisors of America (RAA). RAA is a wealth management company and, at the time of its sale to another investment firm in 2019, managed over $3 billion for approximately two thousand retired commercial airline pilots from all the major airlines who resided in all fifty states and multiple foreign countries. In 2019, Governor Greg Abbott appointed Ron as chairman of the board of Texas Mutual Insurance Company, an exclusive worker compensation insurance provider located in Texas with over $1 billion in annual revenue serving over seventy thousand companies located in Texas. Simmons is an advisor to the CEOs of The Heritage Foundation and the Texas Public Policy Foundation. Ron is the son of two public school teachers and has been married to his wife, Lisa, for more than forty years. He and Lisa have three children: Justin, an assistant US Attorney in the Justice Department; Daniel, who is on the autism spectrum and a fantastic artist and hard worker; and Allie Beth, a podcast host (Relatable), author, and speaker. Their crowning achievement, though, is their five grandchildren! He's the author of the new book, Life Lessons from the Little Red Wagon: 15 Ways to Take Charge and Create a Path to Success. Christianity in Business is the show that helps Christian business leaders to integrate biblical values into business. | Entrepreneurship | Marketing | Nonprofit | Church | Author | Startups | Marketplace | Ministry | Business as Mission | Faith and Work | Faith | Success | Leadership | www.ChristianityInBusiness.com 

Liz Denbigh, RAA stops by the Podcast to share her story along with some Best Practices! Liz is the Athletic Coordinator for The Shipley School in Philadelphia and THIS is The Educational AD Podcast! --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/educational-ad-podcast/message Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/educational-ad-podcast/support

Bryan's special guest Lisa Meinczinger, SRA, AI-RRS, ASA, CRP, RAA, CDEI, discusses the need for qualified appraisers to take on relocation appraisal assignments for companies that buy and sell property to support employee transfers. Bryan and Lisa talk about how to expand your practice and market yourself in this field, which is considered interest-rate safe. Even better: there's no client pressure, and the fees are higher.

We're off to Maine and it's a "Two for One" as we visit with Susan Robbins, CMAA of Gray-New Glouster H.S. in Yarmouth and Jon Solomon, RAA from Houlton H.S. Together, they are the Co-Chairs for the MIAAA's Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Committee - one of the first states to create this Board Level Position. Susan and Jon share their own stories along with some Best Practices on this episode of The Educational AD Podcast! --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/educational-ad-podcast/message Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/educational-ad-podcast/support

It's another stop in Ohio and this time it's a RISING STAR - Kyle Sasala, RAA - who is the AD at St. Vincent-St. Mary High in Cincinnati. Kyle is a product of Dr. David Kelly's University of Cincinnati Masters Program and he has already made a big impact on his school and the profession! Today he shares his story + some BEST PRACTICES on this episode of The Educational AD Podcast! --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/educational-ad-podcast/message Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/educational-ad-podcast/support

習近平2012年上台後，東亞與印太地區的安全局勢產生整體性的翻轉與變化。日本首相岸田上任前，有些媒體擔心他比較鴿派，無法像安倍一樣在國際事務中扮演舉足輕重的角色。不過岸田就任一年半後，日本在全球民主陣營中的領導地位已不可或缺，更是拜登總統的重要合作夥伴。日本通過強化日美聯盟，和美國、日本、印度與澳洲「四方安全對話」，協調彼此的區域戰略，但更重要的是行動，岸田政府宣布「歷史性」擴軍計畫，主要是針對中國的「核心挑戰」嗎？精彩訪談內容，請鎖定@華視三國演議！ 本集來賓：#郭育仁 #矢板明夫 主持人：#汪浩 以上言論不代表本台立場 #岸田 #G7 #AUKUS #島鏈 電視播出時間

Today is an UPDATE Interview with Megan Davidson (Ep. #159) who is now a RAA and the Assistant AD at Cincinnati's Ursuline Academy. Megan was a College Coach when we last spoke with her and today she shares her journey along with some BEST PRACTICES on The Educational AD Podcast! --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/educational-ad-podcast/message Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/educational-ad-podcast/support

In the 1932 Supreme Court ruling, Justice Louis Brandeis popularized the phrase “laboratories of democracy“ to describe how “a single courageous state may, if its citizen choose, serve as a laboratory and try novel social and economic experience without risk to the rest of the country.”   Many states have looked to become laboratories to address some of the gaps in the US current retirement system that federal policy hasn't yet been able to successfully solve. Josh Cohen and guest co-host Michael Kreps talk to two early experimenters, Hank Kim and Daniel Biss, to learn from their experiences turning policy ideas into legislation.    Hosted by Josh Cohen, The Accidental Plan Sponsor podcast explores the history, evolution and future of employer-based retirement plants, including the 401(k), through the eyes of its creators -- providing unparalleled insights into an imperfect system that works for many, but not all.    Key Takeaways: [:38] Josh Cohen, your host, approaches the fact that some states have become laboratories to address some of the gaps in the current retirement system, which federal policy cannot tackle yet.  It can be a lengthy process to set up these kinds of experiments.  [1:51] Josh gives a refresher on the last episode. [3:44] How did states get involved in retirement policy when it is typically taken care of at a national level?  [4:07] Michael Kreps, Principal at Groom Law, joins Josh. [4:32:] Michael shares some of his recollections and experiences about the journey that some of the states have been going through. [6:06] What drove some states to go down this path of turning policy ideas into laws? Who were some of the most important players? [7:15] Hank Kim, Executive Director & Counsel at NCPERS, talks about Secure Choice Plans (a term he coined himself). [8:50] Hank shares how he got involved in the healthcare sector. [9:04] Hank talks about how he began working on pension issues, starting with the union of firefighters. [9:37] Hank speaks of the history of NCPERS. [11:32] Hank explains why NCPERS showed interest in the private sector. [12:40] In 2010, the markets crashed and pension assets were hit hard, especially the private sector ones; Hank talks about what NCPERS did to protect those funds. [14:12] Hank shares how they came up with the Secure Choice Pension concept and what it is. [16:08] Hank talks about the Californian, Oregon, and Illinois policymakers and how they couldn't get around political challenges as they defined the benefit pension approach. [18:42] Mike explains why timing is everything. [19:58] Mike talks about what happens at the legislative-process stage. [21:27] Illinois was the first state to pass legislation approving the launching of an auto RAA program. Daniel Biss, Mayor of Evanston, explains how he plays a part in the story of retirement security. [24:25] Daniel shares the funny story behind how the auto RAA program became on his radar. [27:13] Daniel talks about his journey overcoming opposition. [28:21] Daniel voices another funny story involving a small business owner. [30:20] Daniel tells what happened in early November 2014, before the final vote. [31:16] The bill had to go back to the Senate after some changes were made to it. [32:50] Daniel recognizes this isn't the perfect solution to some retirement policy challenges. [33:40] Daniel explains why states can be the laboratory of democracy. [34:30] Even today, as the mayor of Evanston, Daniel still feels the weight of these issues. [35:05] Michael shares his perspective about states being laboratories of innovation. [37:31] If several states experiment with different designs, could that contribute to a consensus around a National policy? Michael gives his expert opinion.   Thank you for tuning in. If you liked what you heard, please subscribe and leave us a review wherever you listen to your podcasts.   Links: The Accidental Plan Sponsor   Mentioned in this episode: More about Michael Kreps More about Hank Kim More about Daniel Biss  

This week on WEDNESDAY WISDOM we have good friend Julie Kelly, RAA of Gentry H.S. in Arkansas. Julie has an extensive background in Athletic Administration and today she shares her thoughts on The Educational AD Podcast! --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/educational-ad-podcast/message Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/educational-ad-podcast/support