Podcast appearances and mentions of Saddam Hussein

Her Triumph Over PTSD, In Marriage and Life. Special Episode. Trauma often leaves silent scars. Jen Satterly has emerged as a powerful voice for recovery, resilience, and hope. Her journey, from behind the camera lens to the front lines of healing, reveals a deeply personal and professional commitment to helping others overcome the lingering effects of PTSD, especially within the tight-knit communities of Special Forces veterans and their families. The Law Enforcement Talk Radio Show and Podcast episode is available for free on their website , Apple Podcasts , Spotify and most major podcast platforms. Jen's story begins not in uniform, but in creativity. As an award-winning advertising specialist and filmmaker, she was invited to embed with elite military units, capturing the essence of Special Operations training missions. Working alongside Navy SEALS, Green Berets, and Army Rangers, she documented the unfiltered reality of war simulation. But what she captured went far beyond the battlefield. It is also promoted across their Facebook , Instagram , LinkedIn , Medium and other platforms. “Being embedded in that world opened my eyes not only to the courage of our warriors,” Jen shared, “but also to the invisible wounds they carry, ones that follow them home.” It was during this time that Jen met Tom Satterly, a retired Command Sgt. Major with Delta Force, and a highly decorated combat veteran. Tom's career had taken him through the darkest corners of modern warfare, including the Battle of Mogadishu, portrayed in the Oscar-winning movie "Black Hawk Down". This brutal engagement marked the longest firefight since Vietnam and left permanent imprints on all who survived. Her Triumph Over PTSD, In Marriage and Life. Look for supporting stories about this and much more from Law Enforcement Talk Radio Show and Podcast in platforms like Medium , Blogspot and Linkedin . Tom's internal battle didn't end with his military service. Like many veterans, he struggled with Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), and Jen quickly realized the emotional toll extended beyond the soldier to the entire family unit. Their marriage became both a test and a testament to what love and understanding could achieve in the face of trauma. Together, they founded the All Secure Foundation, a nonprofit organization dedicated to helping Special Operations warriors and their families heal from the trauma of war. Jen, now a certified health and wellness coach, stepped away from production to focus on helping others navigate life after combat. Their mission: to treat both the seen and unseen wounds of war. “PTS doesn't just affect the veteran,” Jen emphasized. “It's a battle that affects the entire household. Spouses and children experience what's called complex secondary PTSD. They become collateral damage in a war they never signed up for.” Available for free on their website and streaming on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and other podcast platforms. Jenn Satterly co-authored "Arsenal of Hope", a powerful book that delivers practical tools and raw, authentic stories from their life together. In it, Jen draws from both scientific research and lived experience, weaving together tactics to manage PTSD symptoms, from isolation and anxiety to anger and depression, through actionable advice and humor. Her Triumph Over PTSD, In Marriage and Life. “Arsenal of Hope isn't just a book,” Jen said. “It's a lifeline for anyone who feels like they're drowning.” Jen also founded Virago, a platform tailored specifically for women who face PTSD on the home front. Virago, which means a woman of strength, aims to educate, empower, and connect women who are often the silent strength behind our nation's heroes. Their story has resonated with thousands, especially through social platforms like Facebook, Instagram, and LinkedIn, where they regularly share resources, insights, and community events. Their podcast, also titled All Secure, is available on Apple and Spotify, and features unflinching conversations about trauma, healing, and personal transformation. You can listen to his stories and interview on our website for free in addition to platforms like Apple Podcasts and Spotify, and other major podcast platforms. In this episode of the Law Enforcement Talk Radio Show and Podcast listeners will find an unfiltered look into the reality of military marriages, life after combat, and practical recovery strategies. The Satterlys' efforts haven't gone unnoticed. The All Secure Foundation has earned top ratings from nonprofit watchdogs and now serves thousands of veterans and families. Their work fills a vital gap in the support system, especially for those in the elite Special Operations community who often face stigma around seeking help. Her Triumph Over PTSD, In Marriage and Life. Tom, who once led missions capturing war criminals and taking down high-value targets, including Saddam Hussein, now channels his warrior ethos into emotional recovery. He credits Jen not only as his wife but as his partner in healing. “She didn't just marry me,” Tom says. “She married the mission, and together, we're bringing light to a very dark place.” Follow the Law Enforcement Talk Radio Show and podcast on Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, Medium and most all social media platforms. The Battle of Mogadishu may have defined Tom's career, but it's the battles fought in the quiet corners of home, through connection, understanding, and advocacy, that now define the couple's legacy. And for Jen, the mission is clear: turn pain into purpose and help others find victory in their own war against PTSD. You can also follow them on Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, X and other Social Media Platforms. To follow Jen Satterly's journey, connect with her on Social Media like Facebook, Instagram, and LinkedIn, or visit AllSecureFoundation.org. Her voice, advocacy, and compassion continue to serve those still fighting their battles, long after the gunfire fades. Her Triumph Over PTSD, In Marriage and Life. The interview is available as a free podcast on the Law Enforcement Talk Radio Show and podcast website, also available on platforms like Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and most major podcast outlets. Your golden years are supposed to be easy and worry free, at least in regards to finances. If you are over 70, you can turn your life insurance policy into cash. Visit LetSavings.com , LetSavings.com or call (866) 480-4252, (866) 480-4252, again that's (866) 480 4252 to see if you qualify. Learn useful tips and strategies to increase your Facebook Success with John Jay Wiley. Both free and paid content are available on this Patreon page . Time is running out to secure the Medicare coverage you deserve! Whether you're enrolling for the first time or looking for a better plan, our experts help you compare options to get more benefits, lower costs, and keep your doctors, all for free! Visit LetHealthy.com , that's LetHealthy.com or call (866) 427-1225, (866) 427-1222 to learn more. You can help contribute money to make the Gunrunner Movie . The film that Hollywood won't touch. It is about a now Retired Police Officer that was shot 6 times while investigating Gunrunning. He died 3 times during Medical treatment and was resuscitated. You can join the fight by giving a monetary “gift” to help ensure the making of his film at agunrunnerfilm.com . Be sure to check out our website . Be sure to follow us on MeWe , X , Instagram , Facebook, Pinterest, Linkedin and other social media platforms for the latest episodes and news. Background song Hurricane is used with permission from the band Dark Horse Flyer. You can contact John J. “Jay” Wiley by email at Jay@letradio.com , or learn more about him on their website . Get the latest news articles, without all the bias and spin, from the Law Enforcement Talk Radio Show and Podcast on Medium , which is free. Find a wide variety of great podcasts online at The Podcast Zone Facebook Page , look for the one with the bright green logo. Her Triumph Over PTSD, In Marriage and Life. Special Episode. Attributions Amazon.com All Secure Foundation Wikipedia Brittanica

John has extensive experience in both the Military and Civilian realms. He has 35 years in Active Duty, Reserve and National Guard service and 22 straight months in Iraq and Kuwait.  While deployed to OIF I and II, he served in various positions on the staffs of Lt Generals David McKiernan, Rick Sanchez, GEN George Casey, Under Secretary of the Navy (Admiral) Greg Slavonic, and Major General Erv Lessel.  His assignments included handling media during Saddam Hussein's arraignment, numerous press conferences, and serving as the Intelligence Liaison to the Interim Iraqi Government under MG Barb Fast.  He developed U.S. media strategy for addressing anti-coalition press and propaganda in Arab media during the battles of An Najaf and Fallujah, as well as many other special assignments in Baghdad.

Darrell Castle talks about Present Trump's trip to the Middle East and how it reflects Trump's vision of the world --- how it can be more peaceful and prosperous for everyone. Transcription / Notes WHY NEO-CONS HATE TRUMP Hello, this is Darrell Castle with today's Castle Report. This is Friday the 16th day of May in the year of our Lord 2025. I will be talking about President Trump's trip to the Middle East which should be finishing just about as I record this report. The trip reflects Trump's vision of the world and how it can be more peaceful, and prosperous for everyone, in other words the anti-neo-con view of the world. President Trump is currently on a Presidential trip to several Middle East countries including Saudi Arabia, his first stop, and then several of the Gulf Arab States including Qatar, the second stop. While he was in Riyadh, he spoke to the new leader of Syria which is interesting because until the fall of Assad that man was listed as a wanted international terrorist. Apparently Mr. Erdogan of Turkey joined in the conversation by phone and lobbied Trump to lift the sanctions on Syria which Trump agreed to do. His reception by the Middle East countries has been phenomenal and met with similar joy as his election was met with joy by his supporters. That joy is in reality hope for what could be and hopefully will be with the Trump Presidency. When Air Force One entered Saudi air space six Saudi jet fighters came out and flew escort for the descent into Riyadh. The Crown Prince, Bin Salman came out to personally greet his arrival something he publicly did not do when President Biden visited. A long purple carpet stretched from the airplane steps to the waiting limousines while American music played from loudspeakers. The Saudis even rigged up a mobile McDonalds restaurant on the trailer of a large truck in reference to the President's legendary fondness for McDonalds cheeseburgers. Trump seems to have an affinity for Middle East people and especially their leaders because he shares a few things in common with them. He doesn't drink and he does not condemn their culture and way of life. Let me pause here for a moment and give a little history to illustrate my point. First we have George H.W. Bush's war to oust Saddam Hussein from Kuwait with its “this aggression will not stand rhetoric.” Then we have 8 years of Bill Clinton's no fly zone over Iraq with its starvation of hundreds of thousands, allegedly. We then follow that with 8 years of George W. Bush's Global War on Terror with its invasion of Iraq and Afghanistan. We follow that with 8 years of Barack Obama's Afghanistan the good war as opposed to Iraq the bad war. Donald Trump comes in and tries to extricate himself from Afghanistan but Joe Biden finally does it, albeit with an extreme cost. Joe Biden almost immediately becomes embroiled in a European war between Ukraine and Afghanistan so it's basically been a 25-year struggle of war which means killing, dying, and total destruction. The leaders of the Middle East apparently see this man Trump with his prosperity instead of war rhetoric and they like it and are hopeful. His statements before the trip reflected the new attitude and purpose of the trip. He said he wanted to make new deals for peace and profit and that went over especially well in the Saudi Kingdom. Quote from the President, “a land of peace, safety, harmony, opportunity, innovation, and achievement right here in the Middle East is within our grasp.” That was apparently music to the ears of Bin Salman and when you think about it's hard for me to find fault with that ambition. Perhaps Trump's joyous reception is because his approach to foreign policy in general and the Middle East in particular, in contrast to all those presidents I just mentioned, is not ideological. To illustrate here's a quote from the President that was apparently well received in Saudi ears, “too many American presidents have been afflicted wi...

He appears in the dark — a shadowy figure with a wide-brimmed hat — and countless people across the world share the same chilling encounter: the Hat Man is watching. Why is he so much more terrifying than other shadow people?Download The FREE PDF For This Episode's WORD SEARCH Puzzle:https://weirddarkness.com/HatManAndShadowPeopleGet the Darkness Syndicate version of #WeirdDarkness: https://weirddarkness.com/syndicateDISCLAIMER: Ads heard during the podcast that are not in my voice are placed by third party agencies outside of my control and should not imply an endorsement by Weird Darkness or myself. *** Stories and content in Weird Darkness can be disturbing for some listeners and intended for mature audiences only. Parental discretion is strongly advised.IN THIS EPISODE: Is there really such a thing as coincidence? One girl used to think so – but a strange paranormal experience has her now thinking there's no such thing as happenstance. (More Than a Coincidence) *** Is it possible that the real reason for the USA-Iraq war had nothing to do with weapons of mass destruction, and everything to do with the appropriation of other-worldly alien technology? (Saddam Hussein's Stargate) *** Weirdo family member Heather Circle brings us a terrifying story that starts, innocently enough, with her child's missing plastic drinking cup. (A Little Pink Sippy Cup) *** Rebecca Schaeffer was destined to be a star. But before she had the chance to make it in Hollywood, she was murdered by an obsessed fan. (Hollywood's Sweetheart Killed By a Stalker) *** With the internet's recent obsession with Black Eyed Kids encounters and “Shadow People” visitations, you might not notice another phenomena that's quickly becoming part of the paranormal pop-culture consciousness: The Hat Man. Reports of the strange “Hat Man”, a mysterious entity dressed in a long-brimmed hat, continue to pour in from all over the world. Who is the Hat Man? What does he want? Why have so many people around the world been visited by this strange entity? (The Hat Man And Shadow People) *** If you've ever seen the film “The Wicker Man”, you are familiar with the ending of the burning giant made of wood and the human sacrifice therein. But is it possible that this terrifying idea was not an invention of novelists and screenwriters – but was a very real practice at one time? Or even today? (The History Behind The Wicker Man) *** The life that serial killer Dennis Rader lived on the outside, hid his dark secret inside, which he was so desperate to reveal that he began dropping breadcrumbs to the media. (The Paper Trail of BTK) *** A graveyard is typically a quiet place, but Graceland Cemetery in Chicago seems to be a bit too quiet – which might have something to do with its resident ghosts. (The Deathly Silence of Graceland Cemetery) *** In 1888, London was terror-struck by the grotesque murders of Jack the Ripper, who was shortly about to claim his next-victim: 47-year-old prostitute Annie Chapman. Her dissection at the hands of the madman was nothing short of gruesome. (The Dissection of Annie Chapman) *** Annie Chapman likely got a good look at her killer. At the time, scientists thought they could user her corpse's eyeballs to identify the attacker. Is something like that possible? Could the last visual image of someone's life remain burned into the eye even after death? (The Last Thing a Corpse Sees)CHAPTERS & TIME STAMPS (All Times Approximate and Only Accurate For the Commercial Version)…00:00:00.000 = Lead In00:00:48.416 = Show Open00:04:18.611 = Hat Man And Shadow People00:16:57.721 = More Than a Coincidence00:21:37.346 = A Little Pink Sippy Cup00:25:34.161 = Saddam Hussein's Stargate00:33:00.675 = Hollywood's Sweetheart Killed by a Stalker00:47:28.250 = Dissection of Annie Chapman00:58:31.078 = The Last Thing a Corpse Sees01:04:39.727 = History Behind the Wicker Man01:09:28.044 = The Paper Trail of BTK01:15:55.830 = Deathly Silence of Graceland Cemetery01:26:35.520 = Show CloseSOURCES AND RESOURCES FROM THE EPISODE…“The Hat Man And Shadow People” by Greg Newkirk (http://bit.ly/36DLMwg) and Dana Matthews (http://bit.ly/33oEfiJ) for Week In Weird.“More Than a Coincidence” is by Cherubim and was posted at YourGhostStories: http://bit.ly/2JXuCQC“Saddam Hussein's Stargate” by Michael Moran for The Daily Star: http://bit.ly/2pNfVst“A Little Pink Sippy Cup” by Weirdo family member Heather Circle“Hollywood's Sweetheart Killed By a Stalker” by Natalie DeGroot from All That's Interesting: http://bit.ly/2NoBbh9“Dark Annie” from Awesome Stories: http://bit.ly/33H5hlC“The Dissection of Annie Chapman” by Hannah McKennet for All That's Interesting: http://bit.ly/2p98hZb“The Last Thing a Corpse Sees” by Marissa Fessenden for the Smithsonian: (link no longer available)“The History Behind The Wicker Man” from Ancient Origins: http://bit.ly/2Kr38TR“The Paper Trail of BTK” by Rachel Chang for Biography: http://bit.ly/32zqpZL“The Deathly Silence of Graceland Cemetery” by Ursula Bielski for Chicago Hauntings: (link no longer available)=====(Over time links seen above may become invalid, disappear, or have different content. I always make sure to give authors credit for the material I use whenever possible. If I somehow overlooked doing so for a story, or if a credit is incorrect, please let me know and I will rectify it in these show notes immediately. Some links included above may benefit me financially through qualifying purchases.)= = = = ="I have come into the world as a light, so that no one who believes in me should stay in darkness." — John 12:46= = = = =WeirdDarkness® is a registered trademark. Copyright ©2025, Weird Darkness.=====Originally aired: August 2019EPISODE PAGE at WeirdDarkness.com (includes list of sources):https://weirddarkness.com/HatManAndShadowPeople

Nick Kaldas is an Australian law enforcement legend with a career spanning over 40 years. From undercover ops and hostage negotiations, to rebuilding Iraq’s police force post Saddam Hussein, Nick has seen it all. In this episode of Crime Insiders Detectives, Nick shares jaw-dropping stories from the front lines with host Brent Sanders. He'll reveal the emotional toll of policing, the brutal reality of insurgency, and the silent crisis of veteran mental health. This episode has descriptions of violent crime and suicide. If you or anyone you know needs assistance, contact Lifeline on 13 11 14.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Thanks, y'all, for being patient with me while we got my sweetheart out of her slum. I know we missed a day of horrors, but we were in the midst of our own. Never clean a "goldenrod" oven from the 1977 Sears catalog that hasn't been cleaned since Saddam Hussein was an ally of the United States. Just sayin'. Meanwhile, in America: ACABs are driving innocents into the night in their altogether, stealing everything they have . . . even when their "warrant" is garbage and they don't even have the right house.

Well, we've finally reached the zenith of utter nonsense with Dave revealing his new military contractor connections.Combine this intrigue with how Saddam Hussein was found and a soupçon of top notch papal facts and ladies and gents, we've got ourselves a podcast.To listen to Dave on the radio check outhttps://www.todayfm.com/shows/dave-moore-1499732 To see Neil on tour check outwww.neildelamere.com/gigs Sources:https://www.nme.com/news/music/blink-182-mark-hoppus-could-have-helped-capture-sadam-hussein-3853915https://www.google.com/amp/s/abcnews.go.com/amp/WNT/Pope/story%3fid=681429Presented and Produced by Neil Delamere and Dave MooreEdited by Nicky RyanMusic by Dave MooreArtwork by Ray McDonnell Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

KiddChris and Sara wish happy birthday to Jay Leno, noting his wife's illness.Saddam Hussein's birthday is also mentioned and the Property Brothers (Jonathan and Drew Scott), leading to a discussion about how Sara initially thinking the twins were a gay couple. Too Short's birthday is acknowledged.⁣⁣The anniversary of Boy George chaining a Norwegian male prostitute to his bedroom wall in 2007, resulting in his arrest for false imprisonment, is discussed.⁣⁣Sara breaks a story about a massage parlor bust in conservative Westchester, where a 60-year-old woman, Lin Jen, was allegedly performing sexual acts for money. KiddChris and Sara discuss whether this situation could involve human trafficking. Despite the bust, the massage parlor, New Oriental Massage, reportedly remains open with good online reviews.⁣⁣KiddChris and Sara prepare to address a large number of listener talkbacks. A listener shares a story about being scared by bees in their shoe while driving. A humorous, fake message for Sara regarding jury duty and demanding "feet pics" is played. KiddChris and Sara solicit listener stories about high school teachers who were arrested, fired, or vanished due to scandals. A listener named Sierra calls in with a story about a history teacher who seemed to be under the influence, was arrested for a DUI, and then moved to a night school position. Another listener, Krista, shares a story about her fiancé sleeping with his high school teacher throughout his senior year, around 2015, and never getting caught.⁣⁣The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductees for 2025 are announced: Bad Company, The White Stripes, Cindy Lauper, and Soundgarden. This leads to a discussion about Chubby Checker's past outrage over not having his own statue at the Hall of Fame and his confrontational on-air appearance on their show years prior. KiddChris and Sara replay audio of Chubby Checker arguing with a caller who claimed he didn't play real rock and roll.⁣

Được biết đến với những bức hình dọc sông Mêkông, nhiếp ảnh gia, nhà báo ảnh người Pháp gốc Việt vẽ lại hành trình hơn 30 năm sự nghiệp, qua cuốn sách « Kurdistan, mon ami », kể về vùng đất xa lạ, nhưng gần gũi, khiến ông chia sẻ những đau thương với một dân tộc Kurd phải chịu nhiều mất mát vì chiến tranh, xung đột. Sinh ra tại Paksé, Lào, nhiếp ảnh gia người người Pháp gốc Việt Lâm Đức Hiền, được biết đến qua những tấm ảnh được đăng trên những tờ báo lớn của Pháp như Libération, Le Monde hay Paris Match. Ông cũng giành được nhiều giải thưởng về nhiếp ảnh tại Pháp đặc biệt là giải quán quân Word Press Photo cho bộ ảnh « Gens d'Irak » - Những người dân Irak.Vào cuối năm 2024, ông đã cho ra mắt độc giả tại Pháp cuốn « Kurdistan, mon ami » - « Kurdistan, người bạn của tôi », kể về những gắn bó của ông với mảnh đất chịu nhiều đau thương, nơi mà ông đặt chân đến cách nay 30 năm trong những ngày đầu sự nghiệp nhiếp ảnh. Với lối kể chuyện chậm rãi, tái hiện ký ức về cuộc gặp gỡ với người dân Irak, xen kẽ với những bức ảnh khó tả, cuốn sách là những đồng cảm của một « thuyền nhân » với dân tộc Kurdistan phải đi tị nạn, chốn chạy xung đột, chiến tranh, như một cách để « kể cho thế giới » về một dân tộc « chẳng ai quan tâm », về những nỗi đau ẩn giấu trong thế giới « Nghìn lẻ một đêm ».RFI Pháp ngữ đã có dịp phỏng vấn ông về cuốn sách có thể nói là đánh dấu 30 năm sự nghiệp nhiếp ảnh của người con sông Mêkông, ban Tiếng Việt  xin trích dịch.***Cuốn sách  « Kurdistan, mon ami », được giới thiệu như là một tác phẩm kể về hơn 30 năm làm nhiếp ảnh, báo ảnh của ông. Ông có thể giải thích lý do tại sao không ?Lâm Đức Hiền: Lần đầu tiên tôi đến Kurdistan cách nay hơn 30 năm. Đó là vào năm 1991, trong một chuyến đi hỗ trợ nhân đạo sau cuộc thảm sát người Kurd của Saddam Hussein. Lúc đó, tôi khám phá một dân tộc phải trả qua nhiều đau đớn, nhưng họ kiên cường và có khả năng phục hồi to lớn. Những chiến binh Peshmergas đã bảo vệ tôi, cho phép tôi làm việc, chụp ảnh họ. Tôi ở đó gần một năm, và vài năm sau đó, tôi trở thành nhiếp ảnh gia và tiếp tục quay lại thường xuyên.Tôi cũng đã suýt chết nhiều lần. Một lần trong vụ tai nạn xe hơi, nhưng người Kurd đã cứu tôi. Một lần khác, khi chế độ Hussein sụp đổ, tôi bị rơi vào giữa làn đạn của quân khủng bố al-Qaeda và quân đội Hoa Kỳ.Vào năm 2013, trong một lần đi làm phóng sự, tôi đã có một trải nghiệm đặc biệt đáng sợ, khiến tôi quyết định ngừng đưa tin về chiến tranh, và phải mất 10 năm sau, tôi mới có thể chữa lành vết thương và quay lại với nhiếp ảnh.Tuy nhiên, mối liên hệ với người Kurd vẫn mạnh mẽ, thôi thúc tôi quay lại để tìm những người tôi đã chụp ảnh vào năm 1991, tìm hiểu về họ, hiện giờ ra sao. Cuối cùng, tôi quyết định kể câu chuyện của họ thông qua một cuốn sách.Trong cuốn sách, ông đề cập đến những cuộc chạm trán quyết liệt, cũng như những cuộc gặp đáng nhớ, kết bạn với những người Kurd, mà một trong số họ đã trở thành những nhân vật quan trọng. Những mối liên hệ này đã ảnh hưởng thế nào đến công việc và tầm nhìn của ông về Kurdistan? Lâm Đức Hiền: Năm 2015, trong một lần làm việc cho tờ Le Monde, tôi vô tình đến chiến tuyến giữa người Kurd và tổ chức Nhà Nước Hồi Giáo Daech. Một chiến binh người Kurd trẻ tuổi đã hỏi tôi rằng đây có phải lần đầu tiên tôi đến Kurdistan không. Tôi cười và trả lời: "Không, trước khi cậu sinh ra, thì tôi đã ở đây rồi."Khi tôi cho cậu ấy xem những bức ảnh cũ của tôi từ năm 1991, chỉ huy của cậu ấy nhận ra rằng tôi đã chụp ảnh người đàn ông hiện trở thành bộ trưởng Quốc Phòng Kurdistan. Từ thời điểm đó, người này đã hỗ trợ tôi tất nhiều, đưa tôi đến những nơi đặc biệt, để thực hiện cuốn sách về người Kurd, về một dân tộc không được ai quan tâm. Dần dần, tôi tìm thấy những người mà tôi đã chụp ảnh nhiều thập kỷ trước. Có những người tị nạn trở thành mục sư, có những chiến binh trở thành nhà lãnh đạo. Cuốn sách này kể lại câu chuyện về họ, về những thay đổi của những người Kurd trong hơn 3 thập kỷ qua.Cuốn sách của ông không chỉ nói về những tác động của chiến tranh, mà còn về cuộc sống thường nhật của người Kurd, về sự kiên cường của dân tộc này. Ông có thể giải thích về cách tiếp cận này được không ?Lâm Đức Hiền:Tôi không muốn cuốn sách của mình thành một bản ghi chép, báo cáo về chiến tranh. Kurdistan không chỉ có chiến tranh, mà còn có những tái thiết, cuộc sống vẫn tiếp diễn.Tôi đã theo dõi một số người trong 30 năm. Ví dụ, một chiến binh Kurd đã cứu mạng tôi và nay, là một nông dân. Một người mà tôi chụp ảnh khi còn nhỏ, nay đã trở thành thủ tướng, và tổng thống. Cũng có một gia đình, vào năm 1991, họ sống trong một hang động tuyết, nay có một căn nhà và khu vườn. Đó là những câu chuyện mang lại linh hồn cho cuốn sách của tôi. Ngoài ra, tôi cũng chụp những phong cảnh của Kurdistan, những ngọn núi phủ tuyết, gợi nhớ đến Thụy Sĩ, những cánh đồng hoa,…, mà đằng sau vẻ đẹp đó, là những vùng đất bị tàn phá bởi chiến tranh, mà mỗi bước chân đều đầy rẫy những hiểm nguy.Tôi cũng muốn người Kurd đọc được cuốn sách này. Vì vậy tôi đã yêu cầu dịch sang tiếng của họ, để họ có thể nhận thấy mình trong lịch sử của Kurdistan, và nói rằng « đó là ký ức của chúng tôi ».Liệu trải nghiệm từng là thuyền nhân có ảnh hưởng đến cách tiếp cận của ông với tư cách là một nhiếp ảnh, nhà báo ảnh ?Lâm Đức Hiền:Tôi nghĩ rằng là một người tị nạn, ai cũng sẽ cảm thấy bị bỏ rơi, bị quên lãng. Bức hình đầu tiên trong cuốn sách là về một người phụ nữ, nước mắt lưng tròng, giơ tay lên, khiến lúc đầu, tôi tưởng là bà ấy không muốn bị chụp ảnh. Tôi nhìn thấy ở bà ấy hình ảnh của mẹ tôi, về khoảnh khắc mà chúng tôi phải đi tị nạn, qua sông Mêkông.Nhưng trên thực tế, bà ấy nói với tôi rằng « Hãy chụp hình tôi đi, hãy cho cả thế giới thấy rằng chúng tôi đang bị tàn sát ». Đó chính là điều thôi thúc tôi trở thành nhiếp ảnh gia. Bởi vì nếu không ai nói về thảm kịch này, thì giống như là những cảnh này không tồn tại, dân tộc này không tồn tại, khiến họ bị quên lãng. Và chính điều này đã thôi thúc tôi, cho tôi thấy sự cần thiết để chụp những bức ảnh, để làm chứng, trong suốt sự nghiệp của mình.Mở đầu cuốn sách, ông nói về Kurdistan như một « người bạn », ông có thể chia sẻ về những trải nghiệm của ông với « người bạn » này ?Lâm Đức Hiền: Phải nói rằng tình bạn và độ tin cậy không chỉ được thể hiện bằng lời nói mà có thể chứng minh qua hành động.Vào năm 1991, bạn tôi Kawa đã nói rằng : « Nếu một viên đạn bắn nhắm vào ông thì tôi sẽ đứng trước, chặn nó lại. Tôi nghĩ rằng đó chỉ là lời nói suông thôi, cho đến một ngày, ông ấy đứng chắn ở phía sau tôi, và lãnh một viên đạn vào vai. Tôi đã chở ông ấy đến bệnh viện và cứu ông ấy.Ba mươi năm sau, tôi tìm lại ông ấy. Tôi được biết là Kawai đã từng di cư đến Hà Lan trong nhiều năm, sau đó vì nhớ quê mà trở lại Kurdistan. Khi chúng tôi gặp lại, cứ như là chúng tôi chưa từng xa nhau.Khi ở với Kurd, không ai cảm thấy cô đơn cả. Khi có một vấn đề, lúc nào cũng có gia đình, cộng đồng, bạn bè giúp đỡ. Tình đoàn kết này gợi tôi nhớ đến văn hóa Á châu của mình. Sự ấm áp của tình người chính là điều mà tôi muốn truyền tải qua cuốn sách này.

From UFOs and UAPs to Bigfoot, ancient mysteries, astrophysics, and the paranormal—we cover it all. Welcome to All Things Unexplained.

Rise. NO ENCORE is once more among the living as the best damn music podcast in town returns with a jam-packed episode for your Easter weekend. Dave Hanratty and Sonic Architect Adam are joined by Mark Conroy, who presents a new spin on the art of the comeback. Also en route and exclusively for patrons is a brand new episode of FIlm Club as Dave sits down with Andy McCarroll to discuss melodramatic 1992 box office smash The Bodyguard, which also spawned a soundtrack album you may have heard once or twice over the past few decades.  You can get that and all weekly bonus content including regular editions of NO ENCORE early access and advertisement-free by hitting up patreon.com/noencore for a mere five bucks a month - join us! As for this episode, well, it looks a bit like this...ACT ONE (4:19): Linkin Park finally reach the UEFA Champions League final, Katy Perry returns from her very important #girlboss space mission, Daredevil: Born Again gets a weird TV spot, Hulk Hogan tells yet another obvious non-truth, a significant other of Weezer runs afoul of the law, the fans of Leinster Rugby Club outdo themselves, Sabrina Carpenter enjoys some viral vinyl, Mark Hoppus may have contributed to the capture of Saddam Hussein, and what movie has A$AP Rocky been binging? It's the news. ACT TWO (42:24): Top 5 Resurrection Songs Get bonus content on Patreon Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Shannon The Dude and Billy Rutledge talk UK transfer portal news, erasing memories, and a member of Blink-182 claims he helped capture Saddam Hussein.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

2001 invaderade USA, med hjälp av sina NATO-allierade, Afghanistan med syfte att störta Talibanregimen som styrt landet sedan 1996. Sammantaget var kriget i Afghanistan mycket kort, men ockupationen desto längre. Operation Enduring Freedom var en direkt konsekvens av attackerna mot New Yorks Twin Towers i september 2001. Men konflikten mellan de islamistiska terrororganisationerna i Afghanistan och USA hade pågått under hela 1990-talet. I dagens avsnitt av Militärhistoriepodden pratar idéhistorikern Peter Bennesved och professorn i historia Martin Hårdstedt om invasionen av Afghanistan 2001, även kallad ”Operation Enduring Freedom”. Mindre än en månad efter Osama Bin Ladens attacker mot New York påbörjade USA sin invasion. Den 7:e oktober sattes bombningarna igång. Lika snabbt var invasionen över. Den 13:e november gick USA och deras allierade in i Kabul och fällde den sittande regeringen, och i december kunde man konstatera att Talibanerna hade besegrats. Precis som med den sovjetiska invasionen av Afghanistan 1979 betydde dock inte Kabuls fall att motståndet försvann. Precis som tidigare drog sig Talibanerna tillbaka ner i södra Afghanistan och in i Pakistan, och kriget fortgick fram till 2021 i vågor fram och tillbaka genom gerillakrigföring i de afghanska bergsområdena och över opiumfälten i Helmand. Som stöd hade USA med sig NATO-alliansen, men samarbetet mellan å ena sidan de olika europeiska länderna och Kanada å andra sidan USA förblev ansträngd. Attackerna mot New York innebar att NATO:s artikel 5 aktiverades för första gången i alliansens historia, men graden av uppslutning på USA:s sida varierade stort och med olika stort stöd. De politiska konflikterna mellan medlemsstaterna och USA blev ännu värre efter att USA och Storbritannien beslutade att angripa Irak 2003 för att en gång för alla göra sig av med Saddam Hussein. Även de nordiska länderna engagerade sig, men med olika politiska motiv. Norge och Danmark slöt upp som ”goda allierade” i Afghanistan och Finland och Sverige engagerade sig i fredsbevarande operationer under ISAF-flagg. Danmark var särskilt engagerade och förlorade också mest soldater i förhållande till sin folkmängd. Sammantaget var Operation Freedom i Afghanistan kulmen på ett inbördeskrig som pågått sedan Saur-revolutionen 1978, och som delvis ännu inte kommit till någon lösning. Den amerikanska utrymningen av Afghanistan 2021 innebar en bitter reträtt, med konsekvensen att Talibanerna återkom till makten. På det hela taget blev Operation Enduring Freedom ett misslyckande, och de militära erfarenheterna och lärdomarna sparsmakade. Bild: En Apache-helikopter ger skydd från luften medan fallskärmsjägare från kompani A, 1:a bataljonen, 325:e luftburna infanteriregementet, flyttar in i position kort efter luftanfall in i Lwar Kowndalan, Afghanistan, 1 oktober för att påbörja ett femdagarsuppdrag. Foto av Spc. Mike Pryor, USA, Wikipedia, Public Domain. Lyssna också på Kriget i Afghanistan 1979-89 – början på slutet på Sovjetmakten. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Remember Shuffle finally turns to the biggest geopolitical catastrophe of the 2000s, the Iraq War. On this table-setting episode, tThe Shuffle Bois trace the long history of American collaboration with Saddam Hussein's regime, the souring of that productive relationship in the 1990s, and the obsessive fixation America developped for regime change in Iraq, both on the Neoconservative and Liberal Interventionist sides of the divide. They then look at some of the Themes and Big Ideas of American Middle Eastern foreign policy through the late 20th century. They then close out with a palate-cleanser film review of 1999's “Three Kings.”Give Remember Shuffle a follow on Twitter⁠⁠⁠ And on Instagram⁠⁠ ⁠@RememberShufflePod⁠⁠⁠ to interact with the show between episodes. It also makes it easier to book guests. (soft launch) Join the free patreon (for now) at https://www.patreon.com/c/RememberShuffleEpisodes on the Patreon will be up in the next couple weeksBooks we recommended:Steve Coll's ‘The Achilles Trap' : https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/602066/the-achilles-trap-by-steve-coll/Debriefing the President, by John Nixon:

Ces derniers mois, de nombreux chantiers de reconstruction à Mossoul se sont achevés et les portes de ces bâtiments emblématiques de la ville se préparent à rouvrir. Parmi eux, plusieurs églises restaurées avec l'aide d'ONG internationales. Mais la reconstruction de ces bâtiments historiques, détruit par l'organisation de l'État islamique (EI) ou lors de l'offensive pour libérer la ville, ne suffit pas à redonner vie à ce patrimoine chrétien. On estime que 90 % de la population chrétienne mossouliote n'est pas rentrée après la fin de la guerre. De notre correspondant à Bagdad,Dans la vieille ville de Mossoul, le quartier chrétien historique n'en a plus que le nom. Mahmoud est propriétaire d'une échoppe dans cette ville d'Irak. Lui est sunnite, mais il regrette la vie du quartier d'avant l'arrivée de l'organisation de l'État islamique (EI). « Leurs maisons étaient dans ce quartier-là. Avant, il y avait beaucoup de chrétiens, mais maintenant, ils sont très peu nombreux. Avant Daesh, la situation était très bonne ici. Les musulmans avec les chrétiens, c'était une seule maison pour tous », se souvient-il.Seule une trentaine de familles chrétiennes serait rentrée depuis la chute du groupe EI : elles étaient plus de 1 200 avant 2014. Pourtant, depuis six ans, le patrimoine chrétien détruit se relève progressivement avec l'aide d'organisations internationales. Le père Najeeb Musa Mikhail, archevêque de Mossoul, y voit un espoir de faire revivre la communauté chrétienne. « C'est important de préparer un lieu avant que les gens viennent, ce sont des symboles qui encouragent les gens à rentrer et qui leur donne confiance », explique-t-il en français.Mais le père Najeeb est très conscient que la reconstruction de ces lieux de culte ne suffit pas : « Quand ils commencent à rentrer, ils n'ont plus d'emplois, leur place a été occupée par d'autres. Aujourd'hui, c'est le travail du gouvernement d'avoir la possibilité de vivre et aussi la reconstruction de leurs maisons. 80 % des maisons des chrétiens sont par terre. Ils préfèrent rester à Erbil, à Dohouk ou dans le nord. En fait, c'est une question de confiance, beaucoup de familles disent tous les 10-20 ans, on recommence de nouveau à zéro », regrette-t-il.Une partie de cette communauté a trouvé refuge à 80 km de Mossoul, à Erbil, la capitale du Kurdistan irakien. Sue s'y est installée dans le quartier chrétien d'Ainkawa. Elle a fui, en 2013, un climat de violence qui ne cessait de se dégrader, selon elle, à la suite du renversement de Saddam Hussein. « À partir de 2003, beaucoup de pressions ont été exercées contre les chrétiens, on était menacés, et la violence a augmenté sous plein d'aspect. Il y avait des kidnappings, des meurtres et des menaces », se remémore-t-elle.Pendant 10 ans, elle a porté le hijab à l'extérieur pour éviter d'attirer l'attention. Avant de tout abandonner, juste avant l'entrée des jihadistes du groupe EI dans Mossoul. Une décennie plus tard, elle ne veut toujours pas rentrer. « Il y a de la peur, il y a un manque de confiance, il y a la situation économique. Ici, c'est sécurisé, les autres nous rassurent. Mais peut-être que cette mentalité ne va durer qu'un temps, mais qu'à la fin rien n'aura changé », se demande-t-elle. Elle craint que les violences reprennent un jour, mais ajoute en souriant qu'une paix durable n'est pas complètement impossible. À lire aussiMoyen-Orient: les communautés chrétiennes entre persécutions, exil et instrumentalisation

Derek, Joey and WoolleyDoog hung out this Saturday morning and talked about all kinds of topics. This includes Demond Williams, an improved UW defensive line, the 1985 Husky-Duck game, Marcel Reese showing up on the Food Network and a lovely virtual tour of Hamilton, WA. Come join the fun and register for free at HardcoreHusky.com !!

What the hell was that song and how do we find it? Headlines with Mark Hoppus and Saddam Hussein, what's the connection? Sports with amateur golfer Ballester pissing on the course yesterday

Not clickbait - we promise. Chicago’s best morning radio show now has a podcast! Don’t forget to rate, review, and subscribe wherever you listen to podcasts and remember that the conversation always lives on the Q101 Facebook page. Brian & Kenzie are live every morning from 6a-10a on Q101. Subscribe to our channel HERE: https://www.youtube.com/@Q101 Like Q101 on Facebook HERE: https://www.facebook.com/q101chicago Follow Q101 on Twitter HERE: https://twitter.com/Q101Chicago Follow Q101 on Instagram HERE: https://www.instagram.com/q101chicago/?hl=en Follow Q101 on TikTok HERE: https://www.tiktok.com/@q101chicago?lang=enSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Mark Hoppus from Blink-182 said he helped catch Saddam Hussein in the Hollywood Minute. We found a really good mashup in That's Incredible!Does the show need to make a trip to Cadbury World?

An end of an era: Publishers Clearing House is bankrupt, Headline of the week contender: Stranger has sex with corpse on Manhattan subway train, body robbed twice, Mark Hoppus from Blink 182 says he may have been responsible for the capture of Saddam Hussein

Tonight's rundown:  Hey BillOReilly.com Premium and Concierge Members, welcome to the No Spin News for Wednesday, April 9, 2025. Stand Up for Your Country.  Talking Points Memo: Takeaways from Donald Trump's speech at the National Republican Congressional Committee dinner. Do voters want President Trump to run for a third term in 2028? Bill looks at the latest SCOTT Rasmussen poll. The Trump administration introduces a new plan to fine migrants nearly $1,000 per day if they fail to leave the U.S. Host of The Dan Abrams Show, Dan Abrams, enters the No Spin Zone to discuss why broadcast media is losing its influence and the impact Trump had on destroying the media landscape. This Day in History: Iraqis celebrate the collapse of Saddam Hussein's regime. Final Thought: Why now is a good time to buy a car.   In Case You Missed It: Read Bill's latest column, Make America Scared Again. Stand out from the crowd with our Not Woke baseball cap for just $28.95! For a limited time, get Bill O'Reilly's bestselling The United States of Trump and a No Spin Mug for only $39.95. Pre-order Bill's next book in the new Confronting Series, ‘Confronting Evil' NOW! Now's the time to get a Premium or Concierge Membership to BillOReilly.com, the only place for honest news analysis. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This week: Trump's tariffs – madness or mastermind? ‘Shock tactics' is the headline of our cover article this week, as deputy editor Freddy Gray reflects on a week that has seen the US President upend the global economic order, with back and forth announcements on reciprocal and retaliatory tariffs. At the time of writing, a baseline 10% on imports stands – with higher tariffs remaining for China, Mexico and Canada. The initial announcement last week had led to the biggest global market decline since the start of the pandemic, and left countries scrambling to react, whether through negotiation or retaliation. China announced a second wave of retaliatory tariffs – to 84% – and Trump, while softening his stance towards other countries, appeared to lean in to a trade war with China by announcing a further hike to 125%. As Freddy writes, for Trump and his supporters ‘China is America's chief enemy.' ‘President Trump just took a massive punch at Xi, right in the chops,' said Steve Bannon. ‘The overlords of easy money, the sociopathic overlords that run Wall Street, the globalist corporatists and the apartheid state of Silicon Valley – all of them combined are the partners of the Chinese Communist party.' But, as Freddy asks in the magazine, is there method in the madness? Freddy joined the podcast to discuss alongside the financial journalist and Spectator contributor Michael Lynn. (1:35) Next: should cousin marriages be banned? Cousin marriage has been back in the news since the Conservative MP Richard Holden proposed banning the practice. Much of the debate has focused on the British Pakistani community where marriage between cousins is less taboo than other communities within the UK. But, as Iram Ramzan writes in the magazine this week, marriage between cousins has been legal in the UK stretching back to Henry VIII. The dictator Saddam Hussein, the musician Jerry Lee Lewis and even the father of evolution Charles Darwin are surprising examples of people who married their first cousins. Iram writes that it was to her horror that her family suggested she marry her second cousin. To what extent is the law the right recourse to deter cousin marriage? And what are the cultural, ethical, as well as genetic, considerations? Iram joined the podcast alongside Dominic Wilkinson, professor of medical ethics at the University of Oxford. (18:09) And finally: restaurant thefts are rising – why? The Spectator's food columnist Olivia Potts explores how restaurants are facing a rising problem of theft. Gordon Ramsay's latest restaurant suffered a £2,000 loss in one week for example. from theft. And, as many as 17 million Britons say they have stolen from a pub or restaurant. Why do they do it? And why is restaurant theft a particular problem now? Liv joined us to discuss further, alongside an anonymous contributor who agreed to share their own experience of stealing from restaurants. (29:57) Presented by William Moore and Lara Prendergast. Produced by Patrick Gibbons and Oscar Edmondson.

This week: Trump's tariffs – madness or mastermind? ‘Shock tactics' is the headline of our cover article this week, as deputy editor Freddy Gray reflects on a week that has seen the US President upend the global economic order, with back and forth announcements on reciprocal and retaliatory tariffs. At the time of writing, a baseline 10% on imports stands – with higher tariffs remaining for China, Mexico and Canada. The initial announcement last week had led to the biggest global market decline since the start of the pandemic, and left countries scrambling to react, whether through negotiation or retaliation. China announced a second wave of retaliatory tariffs – to 84% – and Trump, while softening his stance towards other countries, appeared to lean in to a trade war with China by announcing a further hike to 125%. As Freddy writes, for Trump and his supporters ‘China is America's chief enemy.' ‘President Trump just took a massive punch at Xi, right in the chops,' said Steve Bannon. ‘The overlords of easy money, the sociopathic overlords that run Wall Street, the globalist corporatists and the apartheid state of Silicon Valley – all of them combined are the partners of the Chinese Communist party.' But, as Freddy asks in the magazine, is there method in the madness? Freddy joined the podcast to discuss alongside the financial journalist and Spectator contributor Michael Lynn. (1:35) Next: should cousin marriages be banned? Cousin marriage has been back in the news since the Conservative MP Richard Holden proposed banning the practice. Much of the debate has focused on the British Pakistani community where marriage between cousins is less taboo than other communities within the UK. But, as Iram Ramzan writes in the magazine this week, marriage between cousins has been legal in the UK stretching back to Henry VIII. The dictator Saddam Hussein, the musician Jerry Lee Lewis and even the father of evolution Charles Darwin are surprising examples of people who married their first cousins. Iram writes that it was to her horror that her family suggested she marry her second cousin. To what extent is the law the right recourse to deter cousin marriage? And what are the cultural, ethical, as well as genetic, considerations? Iram joined the podcast alongside Dominic Wilkinson, professor of medical ethics at the University of Oxford. (18:09) And finally: restaurant thefts are rising – why? The Spectator's food columnist Olivia Potts explores how restaurants are facing a rising problem of theft. Gordon Ramsay's latest restaurant suffered a £2,000 loss in one week for example. from theft. And, as many as 17 million Britons say they have stolen from a pub or restaurant. Why do they do it? And why is restaurant theft a particular problem now? Liv joined us to discuss further, alongside an anonymous contributor who agreed to share their own experience of stealing from restaurants. (29:57) Presented by William Moore and Lara Prendergast. Produced by Patrick Gibbons and Oscar Edmondson.

What compelled these world leaders at one point to wild out? Join us, as we talk about some of the most evil dictators throughout time and even rank them! WELCOME TO CAMP!

"I respect the Argentinians. I can't say I forgive them. It's been 40 odd years and I still can't," This icebreaker is the lead into the full conversation with Nigel, a veteran of 22SAS and 2 Para, who discusses the peculiar journey of Saddam's artifacts, including the challenges of auctioning Saddam Hussein's butter sculpture. He details the interest from major networks like Netflix and Sky for a TV series adaptation and highlights his personal legal troubles related to the artifact under UN sanctions. Nigel also touches on military culture, training hardships, the dynamics within units post-combat tours, and the psychological impact on soldiers. The discussion covers personal encounters with violence during training, interactions with former enemies, and the profound effects of combat on soldiers' mental health. Follow Nigel via his website https://www.nigelely.com/ and via his Instagram profile: https://www.instagram.com/nigel_ely/ You can also find his book Bring Me The Arse of Saddam at https://www.amazon.co.uk/Bring-Arse-Saddam-Nigel-Ely/dp/0995660506/

"No good deed goes unpunished." Nigel Ely joins the H-Hour podcast to share his incredible journey from SAS veteran to war journalist. He recounts his daring escapades, including acquiring a chunk of Saddam Hussein's statue, navigating the chaos of the Iraq invasion, and the bizarre aftermath back in the UK. The episode also delves into the psychological and social dynamics among Falklands War veterans, the intricacies of military culture, and Nigel's upcoming book projects. A compelling conversation filled with personal anecdotes and profound insights into the life of a soldier and journalist. Follow Nigel via his website https://www.nigelely.com/ and via his Instagram profile: https://www.instagram.com/nigel_ely/ You can also find his book Bring Me The Arse of Saddam at https://www.amazon.co.uk/Bring-Arse-Saddam-Nigel-Ely/dp/0995660506/

Een Europees kernwapen? Die vraag is actueler dan ooit nu Europa zich niet meer veilig waant onder de Amerikaanse atoomparaplu. Bondskanselier Friedrich Merz, de Poolse premier Donald Tusk en andere Europese leiders voeren plotsklaps een dialoog met de chef van de Franse kernwapens, president Emmanuel Macron. En die reikt hen de hand. Dat doet hij niet voor het eerst, maar nu blijkt zijn gebaar uiterst relevant.Jaap Jansen en PG Kroeger duiken in de uitzonderlijke historie van de 'Force de Frappe', waarin de Fransen keer op keer een eigenwijze, lastige positie innamen en soms jaren later gelijk kregen. Gaat dat nu weer zo? En wat doet Nederland?***Deze aflevering is mede mogelijk gemaakt met donaties van luisteraars die we hiervoor hartelijk danken. Word ook vriend van de show!Heb je belangstelling om in onze podcast te adverteren of ons te sponsoren? Zend een mailtje naar adverteren@dagennacht.nl en wij zoeken contact.Op sommige podcast-apps kun je niet alles lezen. De complete tekst plus linkjes en een overzicht van al onze eerdere afleveringen vind je hier***De Franse nucleaire ambitie is ongeveer de oudste in Europa. Wetenschappelijk liepen ze voor op bijna iedereen. Toch blokkeerde president Roosevelt deelname van Frankrijk aan het Manhattan-project. Dat trauma werkt door tot vandaag.Na 1945 was Frankrijk arm, maar ambitieus. Net als zijn geheime bondgenoot, de nieuwe en bedreigde staat Israël. Zij bundelden hun innovatief vernuft. De linkse premier Pierre Mendès France nam in 1954 het besluit een eigen kernwapen te bouwen. Dat zou van Frankrijk het leidende land in de nieuwe Europese Defensie Gemeenschap maken en het Duitsland van Konrad Adenauers Wirtschaftswunder overtreffen.In 1958 werd Charles de Gaulle president in een diepe nationale crisis. Hij pakte aan, strategisch en eigenzinnig. Ook met dat kernwapen, de 'Force de Frappe'. Zijn markante koerswending blijkt in 2025 bijna profetisch.Wat Macron nu aanbiedt is ondenkbaar zonder wat De Gaulle op eigen kracht realiseerde. De 'dissuasion' - afschrikking - van 'La Russie' en diepe argwaan naar Amerika vormden samen de kern van De Gaulles visie op Franse macht en capaciteiten.Jaap en PG vertellen over opmerkelijke momenten in deze historie. Van kernproeven in de Sahara, de Jupiter-bunker in hartje Parijs en de export van wapens en kennis naar tirannen als Saddam Hussein. En hoe dát afliep.Een verrassende rol speelde president François Mitterrand. Hij was links, maar geopolitiek een ijskoude realist. Hij verrukte Ronald Reagan. In de Bondsdag gaf-ie een spijkerhard college machtspolitiek. En hij zorgde dat het Franse kernwapen gemoderniseerd werd, juist omdát de Muur viel. Want Amerika zou na de Koude Oorlog de Europeanen meer op zichzelf gaan laten.Nu, in 2025, bouwt Macron hier onmiskenbaar op voort. Hij wil de gesneefde Europese Defensie Gemeenschap van Mendès France in nieuwe vorm laten herrijzen en deze zelfs verbinden met de veel bredere Europese Politieke Gemeenschap. Dan worden ook landen als Oekraïne, Moldavië, het Verenigd Koninkrijk en Noorwegen deel van een nieuwe 'veiligheidsarchitectuur' in Europa. Met de Franse kernmacht als een stevige garantie. Tegen 'La Russie'. En Amerika, zo nodig. Helemaal De Gaulle!In Nederland reikt het denken nog niet zo ver. Verwarring heerst. De motie-Eerdmans werkt funest door en verlamt de coalitie van premier Dick Schoof. De kans dat Nederland zichzelf marginaliseert is reëel. En verontrustend.***Verder lezenEurope thinks the unthinkable on a nuclear bomb (Economist, 12 maart 2025)Claire Mills - The French Nuclear Deterrent (House of Commons, 20 november 2020)Europese Commissie publiceert Witboek over Europese defensie en ReArm Europe / Readiness 2030***Verder luisteren490 – Duitslands grote draai. Friedrich Merz, Europa en Nederland484 - Hoe Trump chaos veroorzaakt en de Europeanen in elkaars armen drijft469 – Nieuwe kruisraketten in Europa? In de jaren '70 en '80 zat topdiplomaat Boudewijn van Eenennaam in het brandpunt van de besluitvorming461 - Ruud Lubbers zag het een slag anders447 - Als Trump wint staat Europa er alleen voor419 - Europa kán sterven - Emmanuel Macrons visie op onze toekomst378 - Dertig jaar na 'Maastricht' is Europa toe aan een nieuwe sprong voorwaarts333 - Een 'bromance' tussen Rishi Sunak en Emmanuel Macron. De haat-liefdeverhouding van Britten en Fransen272 - Dankzij Poetin: nu écht intensief debat over de toekomst van Europa45 – De liefdesbrieven van Francois Mitterrand35 - Charles De Gaulle32 - Churchill en Europa: biografen Andrew Roberts en Felix Klos (vanaf 1 uur 3)28 - De relatie Nederland-Frankrijk***Tijdlijn00:00:00 – Deel 100:29:22 – Deel 200:57:26 – Deel 301:21:48 – Einde Zie het privacybeleid op https://art19.com/privacy en de privacyverklaring van Californië op https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Turkey's Recep Tayyip Erdogan has rivaled the likes of Iraq's Saddam Hussein, Iran's Ayatollah Khameini and Syria's Bashir Assad for the length of his rule, its ruthless dictatorship at home and its aspirations for imperial power abroad.  In particular, in keeping with his Sharia-supremacist ideology, Erdogan has long sought to reconstitute the Ottoman empire and  become its ruling caliph. His recent success in replacing Assad with a murderous jihadist puppet seemed to clear the way for not only destroying our Kurdish and other friends in Syria, but running the table in the wider Mideast. Suddenly, though, the would-be caliph is reckoning with violent revolts at home and relying on foreign jihadists to keep him in power. Official Washington's reflexive response would likely be to try to prop us this supposed “NATO ally” who hosts key U.S. bases. We should resist the temptation. This is Frank Gaffney.

Cette nouvelle guerre d'Irak à laquelle la France, par la voix de Jacques Chirac, a refusé de s'associer, a pour but affiché de renverser le régime de Saddam Hussein. Ecoutez Les pépites RTL avec Jérôme Florin du 19 mars 2025.Distribué par Audiomeans. Visitez audiomeans.fr/politique-de-confidentialite pour plus d'informations.

Nick Kaldas' life as an undercover cop saw him play a drug baron in the market for vast quantities of hemp oil, track a fugitive with a penchant for hair transplants, and pose as a hit man for a spurned lover.Nick was a 21-year-old immigrant lad from Egypt when he decided to join the NSW Police Force.He soon rose up the ranks from working as a junior constable on the beat, then as one of the first Arab-Australian undercover cops, to becoming one of the most senior police officers in Australia.While undercover, Nick tracked a fugitive with a hair transplant, bought hemp oil and heroin at the Sydney Hilton, and was hired as a hit man by a spurned lover.He then had stints as the head of the homicide squad, the gangs squad and led some of NSW's biggest criminal investigations as Deputy Police Commissioner. Nick's work also took him to Iraq to rebuild the police force after the fall of Saddam Hussein's regime.Since leaving the NSW Police, Nick has continued his work in international law enforcement.This episode of Conversations explores crime, gangs, Egypt, migration, the Arab world, Syria, Iraq, Saddam Hussein, policing, law enforcement, corruption, inquiry, undercover cops, films, Batman.Behind the Badge is published by Angus and Robertson.

Puntata a cura di UntimoteoIl comic book Sheriff of Babylon è stato scritto nel 2017 per la Black Label della DC Comics. Originariamente distribuito in 12 puntate, si può recuperare in libreria come volume unico. Come unica è la sua storia. L'opera, pur con molte - ovvie - divergenze, trae spunto dall'esperienza fatta sul campo dal suo sceneggiatore. Tom King, allora agente CIA che, come uno dei protagonisti, per diversi mesi fu di stanza nell'Iraq appena liberato dalla dittatura di Saddam Hussein, in un crescente clima di tensione interna. Per usare le stesse parole dell'autore: “Il mio obiettivo era scrivere qualcosa che non fosse politico né sembrasse un compitino, non volevo esprimermi su quanto fosse giusto o sbagliato essere lì; volevo semplicemente descrivere come fosse vivere lì in quel preciso momento storico”. Sheriff of Babylon è un thriller ad alta tensione, ambientato in uno scenario di cui si sa poco, con tre carismatici e controversi protagonisti.“Fumetto” è il formato del podcast di Mondoserie dedicato al mondo dei fumetti. Dai grandi classici alle opere più recenti. Italiani, orientali, occidentali.Parte del progetto: https://www.mondoserie.it/ Iscriviti al podcast sulla tua piattaforma preferita o su: https://www.spreaker.com/show/mondoserie-podcast Collegati a MONDOSERIE sui social:https://www.facebook.com/mondoseriehttps://www.instagram.com/mondoserie.it/ https://twitter.com/mondoserie_it https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCwXpMjWOcPbFwdit0QJNnXQ https://www.linkedin.com/in/mondoserie/

The boys are at CPAC and find a very cool friend to join them on the podcast! Watch this episode ad-free and uncensored on Pepperbox! https://www.pepperbox.tv/ WATCH THE AFTERSHOW & BTS ON PATREON! https://www.patreon.com/UnsubscribePodcast ------------------------------ THANK YOU TO OUR SPONSORS! GHOSTBED Go to https://ghostbed.com/unsubscribe to receive 50% off sitewide! TUSHY Over 2 million butts love TUSHY! Get 10% off TUSHY with the code UNSUBSCRIBE at https://hellotushy.com/UNSUBSCRIBE ------------------------------ UNSUB MERCH: https://www.bunkerbranding.com/pages/unsubscribe-podcast BUY THE GANG A DRINK https://paypal.me/UnsubscribePodcast ------------------------------ FOLLOW THE HOSTS: Eli_Doubletap https://www.instagram.com/eli_doubletap/ https://www.twitch.tv/Eli_Doubletap https://x.com/Eli_Doubletap https://www.youtube.com/c/EliDoubletap Brandon Herrera https://www.youtube.com/@BrandonHerrera https://x.com/TheAKGuy https://www.instagram.com/realbrandonherrera Donut Operator https://www.youtube.com/@DonutOperator https://x.com/DonutOperator https://www.instagram.com/donutoperator The Fat Electrician https://www.youtube.com/@the_fat_electrician https://thefatelectrician.com/ https://www.instagram.com/the_fat_electrician https://www.tiktok.com/@the_fat_electrician ------------------------------ unsubscribe pod podcast episode ep unsub funny comedy military army comedian texas podcasts #podcast #comedy #funnypodcast Chapters 00:00:00 - Introduction to Unsubscribe Podcast 00:01:36 - CPAC Overview 00:03:50 - Drinking at the Pentagon Story 00:05:39 - Phen's Outfit at the White House 00:08:06 - Interactions with Military 00:09:19 - Navy Reunion Story 00:11:15 - Accidental Comedy Moments 00:13:00 - Crypto Meme Coin Discussion 00:18:05 - Funny Studio Experience 00:19:30 - Cody's YouTube Fame Explained 00:20:50 - Dad's Sweet Support 00:22:10 - Funny Family Dynamics 00:23:20 - Eli's Dad's Hilarious Antics 00:25:50 - Mark's Introduction 00:27:30 - Ted Cruz Encounter 00:29:25 - Brandon's Military Experience 00:31:30 - Night Sweats and Mattresses 00:33:55 - Irish Immigrants in History 00:35:55 - Mark's Background and Navy Seals 00:37:18 - Gold Squadron Watches Explained 00:38:41 - Funny Comparisons: Watches vs. Guns 00:40:28 - Unexpected Guests on the Podcast 00:42:24 - Combat Diver Stories & Experiences 00:45:02 - Boot Camp Experiences & Challenges 00:47:05 - First Experiences in SEAL Team 5 00:50:41 - Training with Firearms and Weapons 00:53:26 - Favorite Weapons for Training 00:55:03 - Impact of Barrel Length on Accuracy 00:57:02 - Military Career Highlights 00:58:19 - Injury During Fast Rope Deployment 01:03:05 - Post-Injury Recovery and Surgery 01:04:41 - Discussion on Osama Bin Laden 01:06:11 - Failed Opportunities Against Osama 01:08:59 - Touring the White House Experience 01:11:51 - Military Rules of Engagement 01:14:11 - Darth Vader Helmet Connection 01:16:40 - Saddam Hussein's Movie Preferences 01:19:20 - Random Encounters in DC 01:21:40 - Podcast Challenges and Audio Quality 01:23:20 - Brandon's Political Aspirations 01:25:10 - Founding Fathers' Drinking Habits 01:29:15 - Planning the 4th of July Party 01:31:05 - Closing Thoughts and Farewell Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

A version of this essay was published by firstpost.com at https://www.firstpost.com/opinion/shadow-warrior-britains-outsized-malign-role-in-global-chaos-13872084.html?utm_source=twitter&utm_medium=socialBeing a keen observer of the United Kingdom, I have lately noticed a few apparently unconnected events with dismay. If I were to connect the dots, it begins to appear that Britain has had an outsize influence on international affairs. Maybe the James Bond meme isn't the total fantasy I had assumed it was: a juvenile wet dream about nubile maidens and irresistible heroes bumping off sundry villains.The reality appears to be quite impressive. This tiny, rainy island off Northwest Asia has been running quite a number of worldwide schemes. Its administrative center, Whitehall, manages a global web of intrigue and narrative-building, and has created a number of ‘imperial fortresses', thus punching above its weight-classOne of their principal assets in gaslighting others is the BBC (not to mention their plummy accents that, for example, make Americans just melt). The BBC has a sterling reputation which does not seem well-deserved. There have been many instances of motivated bias (eg. in their Brexit or India coverage), lack of integrity (eg. sexual transgressions by senior staff) and so on. In reality, it is about as unabashed at pushing its agenda as Al Jazeera is about its own.Admittedly, Britain has made one major blunder along the way, though: Brexit, which left them in trisanku mode, sort of adrift mid-Atlantic. They were distancing themselves from the European Union, counting on their so-called ‘special relationship' with the US to sustain them, away from what they perceived, correctly, as a declining and disunited Europe. They also thought they could dominate their former colonies again (see the frantic pursuit of a Free Trade Agreement with India?) without onerous EU rules. Sadly, none of this quite worked out.The reason is a fundamental problem: there is not much of a market for British goods any more. Indians once coveted British products as status symbols, but today, with the possible exceptions of Rolls Royce cars and single-malt whiskey, there's very little anybody wants from them. They still do good R&D, make aircraft engines (India could use that technology), and their apparently for-hire journalism is well-known, but that's about it.On the other hand, they have managed to stay entrenched in the international financial system, starting with colonial loot, especially the $45 trillion they are believed to have taken from India. It is rumored that they used stolen Indian gold to buy distressed assets in the US after the Civil War. It is possible they had the same game plan for Ukraine: acquire rich agricultural land and mineral deposits at distressed prices. Some point to the port of Odessa as another targetUkraine: bad faith actor?It is remarkable how Boris Johnson, then PM of UK, is alleged to have single-handedly ruined the chance of a ceasefire in April 2022 during his visit to Kiev in the early days of the Ukraine war, when there was a chance of a negotiated cessation of hostilities with all parties adhering to the Minsk 1 and 2 agreements.In January, just before President Trump took office, UK PM Starmer signed a minerals agreement with Ukraine as part of a “100-Year Partnership” that appears to pre-emptively undercut Trump's proposed $500-billion US deal. That lends credence to allegations about the UK's coveting minerals, as well as its not being interested in ending the tragic war.Gold: is it all there?The UK does have a thing for tangible assets, including gold. A lot of the world's gold (5000 metric tons) is supposedly held in secure custody in London. But there are fears that this may not physically be there in the vaults of the Bank of England any more. They may have indulged in ‘gold leasing', where the actual gold ends up being replaced by paper promises after it is lent out to bullion banks, from where it may be moved around and be inaccessibleExtraordinary delays in gold deliveries in 2025 (on withdrawals to New York triggered by tariff fears) increase this concern. There is a lack of transparency in transactions in the metal in the UK. Spooked, many countries are taking their gold back. India repatriated 200+ tons of its own gold from London in 2024. Venezuela is fighting a court battle to get its gold back.Then there are concerns raised by the arguably unfair freezing of Russian assets held abroad as part of Ukraine-war sanctions: Starmer recently promised to give Ukraine $2 billion, basically the interest generated by those assets. This doesn't sound quite right, and has dented the image of London as a reliable financial hub. Brexit was a blow; the rise of Dubai, Singapore, Shanghai and Zurich all threaten the City of London, but it is second only to New York, still.Imperial Fortresses galoreAnother win for the British was the selection of Mark Carney, a former Bank of England governor, as the Prime Minister of Canada. The Anglosphere continues to be dominated by the UK, although the Commonwealth is a club that serves no particular purpose any more, except as a curious relic of the British empire.This highlights the concept of ‘imperial fortresses': far-flung outposts that have helped sustain British military power and diplomatic clout despite the loss of empire. Traditionally, these were naval bases/garrisons such as those in Malta, Gibraltar, Bermuda, etc. that allowed Britain to keep an eye on the ‘restless natives'. However, I contend that the entire Anglosphere has been treated as imperial fortresses by them.Canada, Australia and New Zealand still continue to have the British King as their Head of State, which is astonishing for supposedly sovereign nations. But it's far more interesting that, in effect, the US has been treated as another vassal by the Brits, pillow-talked into doing things that are generally only in the interests of Britain. All that pomp and circumstance has beguiled poor Americans. Whitehall, I assert, have been Svengalis to Foggy Bottom.Master Blaster blowback?The other metaphor is from Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome (1985), where "Master Blaster" is a literal duo: Master, a cunning dwarf, and Blaster, his brawny, enforcer bodyguard. The Americans unwittingly have provided the muscle to the calculating dwarf's machinations, which generally end up mostly benefiting the latterBut there is yet another imperial fortress that we should consider: Pakistan. It was created expressly to be a geographically well-placed client state for the Brits to continue their 19th century Great Game from afar to checkmate Russia, and incidentally to contain India. From that point of view, Pakistan has been a successful imperial outpost, notwithstanding the fact that it, despite decades of US largesse, is a failing state (see the Baloch train hijack recently).This is part of the reason why Americans have a hard time explaining why they get involved in Pakistan and Afghanistan again and again to their ultimate regret, with painful exits. They have been induced to do this by the clever Brits, who, quite evidently, sided with Muslims against Hindus in the sub-continent, for instance in the British-led merger of Gilgit-Baltistan into Pakistan, contrary to the Instrument of Accession.There is considerable irony in all this, because one could argue that Pakistani-origin Brits have now done a ‘reverse master-blaster' to the Brits. That sounds eerily like the ‘reverse-Kissinger' that Trump is supposed to be doing. Or maybe it is a ‘recursive master-blaster', although the mind boggles at that.Consider the facts: UK rape-gangs are almost entirely of Pakistani origin; several current mayors (including Sadiq Khan in London) and past mayors are of that ethnicity, indicating a powerful vote-bank; they have at least 15 MPs and a large number of councillors.There's Pakistani-origin Sir Mufti Hamid Patel, the chair of the Office of Standards in Education; Shabana Mahmood, the Justice Secretary; Humza Yusuf, the former First Minister of Scotland. This imperial fortress is fighting back, indeed, and winning. The UK may not have quite anticipated this outcome.The American vassal-state is also beginning to rebel. Trump was personally incensed by the fact that Starmer sent 50 Labor operatives to work against him in the 2024 US elections: their interactions have been a little frosty.Khalil, an embedded asset?Then there is the case of a current cause celebre in the US, Mahmoud Khalil, a Syrian-born Algerian citizen of Palestinian descent. He has been accused of leading violent anti-Israel protests at Columbia University, and detained on that count. Interestingly, he had a security clearance from the UK, and was part of the UK Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, living in Beirut and leading a scholarship program for Syrians. Yes, Syria.And then Khalil suddenly showed up with a green card (not a student visa), got married to a US citizen named Noor Abdalla, finished his program at Columbia, and so on. To me, all this sounds like it was facilitated, and that he has certain powerful foreign friends. No prizes for guessing who they were.Iraq, Libya and Syria: Humanitarian crisesSpeaking of Syria, Whitehall spent at least 350 million pounds sterling between 2011 and 2024 in regime-change activities targeting the Assad government, according to Declassified UK.The UK's meddling in the Middle East, going back to the Sykes-Picot carving up of the Ottoman Empire after World War I, and mandates in Palestine and Iraq, and even earlier to the antics of T E Lawrence, was clearly intended to advance and sustain British interests in, and influence on, the region. Which is not unreasonable.The sad fact, though, is that it appears the British have actively fomented, or been deeply involved in, a lot of the military misadventures that have turned the region into a mess of human misery. To take relatively recent history, the invasions of Iraq, Libya, and now of Syria were arguably dreamt up or at least actively supported by Britain.The invasion of Iraq was certainly endorsed by Tony Blair's infamous September 2002 dossier about Iraq's alleged weapons of mass destruction (WMD), which turned out to be imaginary, but then, lo! Saddam Hussein was overthrown and killed.The invasion of Libya saw Britain take on an even more active role. David Cameron and France's Nicolas Sarkozy in effect prodded a somewhat reluctant Barack Obama to invade, even co-drafting the UN Security Council Resolution 1973 in 2011 that was the formal permission for the war. The net result was the killing of Muammar Gaddafi.In the case of Syria, Britain began covert operations in 2012, with MI6 allegedly organizing arms shipments, training and coordination of groups opposed to the Assad regime. The sudden fall of Assad in December 2024, driven by groups like Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) that Britain indirectly supported, underscores the successful outcomes of this policy.In all three cases, a secular dictatorship was overthrown and religious extremists took over. Earlier, civilians had reasonably prosperous lives; women were generally educated and present in the workforce. After the regime changes, all three are bombed-out hellholes, with no rights for women or religious minorities. In particular, the latter have been consistently subjected to massacres, as in the recent large-scale executions of Alawites in Syria.Even though Americans were the principal players in all these cases, the impression is that British Whitehall's gaslighting of their US counterparts in Foggy Bottom could well have tipped the scales and turned skirmishes into outright war and disaster.Thus it is clear that Britain is still a formidable player in the world of international relations, despite the loss of empire and relative decline. It is unfortunate, however, that the net result of its actions is to add to entropy and chaos and the loss of human lives and rights. Perfidious Albion it still is.1950 words, Mar 16, 2025AI-generated podcast from NotebookLM.google.com: This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit rajeevsrinivasan.substack.com/subscribe

Dans le supplément de ce dimanche, en première partie, direction l'Irak où il y a 37 ans, plus de 180 000 Kurdes ont été assassinés par l'armée de Saddam Hussein. En deuxième partie, direction le Pakistan, où la tendance est de posséder des fauves domestiques et, plus couramment, au sein de familles aisées. Génocide d'Anfal : le deuil impossible des Kurdes irakiensIl y a 37 ans, en Irak, l'armée de Saddam Hussein lance une rafle contre les Kurdes du nord du pays, c'est l'opération Anfal. En quelques semaines, la population de villages entiers est décimée, 180 000 Kurdes sont alors assassinés. Après des années d'attente, la Cour suprême irakienne a reconnu le caractère génocidaire de cette campagne meurtrière, ce qui ouvre la voie à un travail de fouille et de mémoire. Et c'est ce que nous allons illustrer aujourd'hui.En janvier 2025, en effet, un charnier a été exhumé dans le désert du sud du pays, révélant les restes de 153 femmes et enfants kurdes. Pour les rescapés d'Anfal, cette découverte ravive l'espoir de retrouver les corps de leurs proches.Un Grand reportage de Lucas Lazo qui s'entretient avec Sébastien Farcis.Lions et tigres de compagnie, une obsession pakistanaiseAu Pakistan, avoir un lion ou un tigre domestique à l'instar d'un chat ou d'un chien est de plus en plus tendance. Riches hommes d'affaires, industriels, propriétaires terriens ou trafiquants, ont leur zoo personnel. Sur les réseaux sociaux, pour des influenceurs, s'exhiber avec un félin sauvage est un symbole de puissance chic et choc. Les gros félins domestiqués seraient des centaines au Pakistan. Les organisations de défense de la cause animale dénoncent les mauvais traitements, les autorités laissent faire, la loi est permissive.Un Grand reportage de Shahzaib Wahlah, Sonia Ghezali (avec la collaboration de Talha Saeed) qui s'entretient avec Sébastien Farcis. 

A couple decades ago, "smart power" was all the rage in U.S. foreign policy discussions, largely in response to the perceived foolishness of the administration of then-U.S. President George W. Bush for having become bogged down in two overseas wars. Advocates of smart power used those failed interventions to point to the limitations of hard-power instruments - like military and economic coercion - for achieving foreign policy goals. The idea of smart power seems especially relevant to foreign policy discussions in what I last week called "the era of great power stupidity." But what exactly is meant by a smart foreign policy? That's not an easy question to answer, and that tells us a lot about the making of foreign policy in general. One place to start would be to identify desirable outcomes and ask whether the policies chosen by decision-makers will achieve them. In the foreign policy realm, peace and prosperity seem like clearly desirable outcomes. So if a government's policies bring about peaceful relations with other countries and make its country wealthier, then they must be smart policies. Right? Not necessarily. Foreign policy choices don't often boil down to "choose war or peace" or "choose prosperity or poverty." Instead, in many instances the "right" foreign policy choice is not obvious. Moreover, peaceful outcomes are not always the result of the situation having been smartly handled. Flukes, even positive ones, happen. Sometimes a policymaker just gets lucky. For instance, while U.S. policymakers attributed the peaceful end of the Cold War to their own astute policies, the collapse of the Soviet Union was largely due to structural factors that were outside the control of even the most skilled policymaker. Rather than specifying desirable outcomes, another way to determine if a foreign policy is smart is to consider the idea of "rationality," which is often invoked by international relations scholars. A simple variant of this idea holds that rational governments do indeed pursue policies that maximize national wealth and citizen wellbeing. But as discussed above, that is a difficult criterion to apply. A slightly more sophisticated version holds that rational governments make use of all available information when setting policies. But of course, no government can possess all possible information, and all governments face limits in their ability to process the information that is available to them. Instead of using rationality to mean simply achieving "good outcomes" or "using all information" when making foreign policy decisions, we can alternatively use it to refer to whether decision-makers pursue a course of action consistent with whatever outcome they want to achieve. Regardless of what that outcome is, does the decision-maker act in a way that maximizes the chances of getting it? For example, take Russian President Vladimir Putin's decision to invade Ukraine. If his goal was to ensure that Kyiv is unable to exercise its full sovereignty and disrupt European security, for now, at least, he has achieved his objective. You can argue that his goal is unreasonable, immoral and even stupid, but that doesn't mean it's not rational. The fact that a foreign policy decision is rational alone doesn't help us determine if it is smart. Here it helps to think again of the circumstances that led to the emergence of "smart power" as a concept: the U.S. invasion of Iraq in 2003. The Bush administration seemed determined to invade Iraq no matter what Saddam Hussein did, no matter what information was available and no matter what criticism its invasion drew internationally. That now clearly appears to have been foolish. But whether it was necessarily irrational depends on the goal. If the goal was simply to remove Saddam, it was both rational and successful, as the means achieved the desired end. Similarly, if it was to send a message to others that the U.S. cares so much about preventing nuclear proliferation that it will enga...

I learned from our guest this time that only about %1 of Americans serve in the military. For most of us, our understanding of the military and military life comes from what we see in the movies, watch on television and sometimes from what we read in books. Our guest today, Rob Richard, has served in the U.S. army for over 20 years and is now about to be fully retired from the life that he has come to know. Rob's upbringing was in a military family. I asked him if all that he had learned and seen growing up prepared him for a life in the military. His somewhat surprising answer was “no”. We spend much of this episode learning from Rob what his life was like. We get a glimpse into a military world that is significantly different than what we see in the movies and elsewhere. Rob offers us many great insights and helps us see a side of leadership that we all could learn from. Rob has visited 31 countries both for pleasure and work. What I like most about my time with Rob today is how he has used his military time to learn and develop an understanding of others much less himself. I think you will find Rob's observations poignant and useful in many ways. About the Guest: Rob Richard is a retired Army officer and a native of Southern Maryland. With 20 years of military leadership experience, he has served two combat tours in Iraq during the mid-2000s at the height of the war and several tours in Korea and Germany. Rob spent over six years as a Logistics officer in various Special Operations Units and 14 years in Conventional forces, gaining invaluable experience in both specialized and general military operations. His military experiences range from tragic and harrowing events to comedic tales of misadventure as he navigated his career through the bureaucracy of the American war machine. Rob's career has taken him around the globe, visiting over 31 countries for both work and leisure. He holds a Master's degree in Leadership and Management from Webster University and a Bachelor's degree in Communications from Towson University and completed the ROTC program through Loyola University of Baltimore. He is a dedicated husband and father of two. An alumnus of The Honor Foundation, Rob has successfully transitioned his elite military service to the private sector. The Honor Foundation serves as the premier career transition program for U.S. Special Operations Forces, helping to create the next generation of corporate and community leaders. Ways to connect with Rob: LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/in/robert-j-richard About the Host: Michael Hingson is a New York Times best-selling author, international lecturer, and Chief Vision Officer for accessiBe. Michael, blind since birth, survived the 9/11 attacks with the help of his guide dog Roselle. This story is the subject of his best-selling book, Thunder Dog. Michael gives over 100 presentations around the world each year speaking to influential groups such as Exxon Mobile, AT&T, Federal Express, Scripps College, Rutgers University, Children's Hospital, and the American Red Cross just to name a few. He is Ambassador for the National Braille Literacy Campaign for the National Federation of the Blind and also serves as Ambassador for the American Humane Association's 2012 Hero Dog Awards. https://michaelhingson.com https://www.facebook.com/michael.hingson.author.speaker/ https://twitter.com/mhingson https://www.youtube.com/user/mhingson https://www.linkedin.com/in/michaelhingson/ accessiBe Links https://accessibe.com/ https://www.youtube.com/c/accessiBe https://www.linkedin.com/company/accessibe/mycompany/ https://www.facebook.com/accessibe/ Thanks for listening! Thanks so much for listening to our podcast! If you enjoyed this episode and think that others could benefit from listening, please share it using the social media buttons on this page. Do you have some feedback or questions about this episode? Leave a comment in the section below! Subscribe to the podcast If you would like to get automatic updates of new podcast episodes, you can subscribe to the podcast on Apple Podcasts or Stitcher. You can subscribe in your favorite podcast app. You can also support our podcast through our tip jar https://tips.pinecast.com/jar/unstoppable-mindset . Leave us an Apple Podcasts review Ratings and reviews from our listeners are extremely valuable to us and greatly appreciated. They help our podcast rank higher on Apple Podcasts, which exposes our show to more awesome listeners like you. If you have a minute, please leave an honest review on Apple Podcasts. Transcription Notes: Michael Hingson ** 00:00 Access Cast and accessiBe Initiative presents Unstoppable Mindset. The podcast where inclusion, diversity and the unexpected meet. Hi, I'm Michael Hingson, Chief Vision Officer for accessiBe and the author of the number one New York Times bestselling book, Thunder dog, the story of a blind man, his guide dog and the triumph of trust. Thanks for joining me on my podcast as we explore our own blinding fears of inclusion unacceptance and our resistance to change. We will discover the idea that no matter the situation, or the people we encounter, our own fears, and prejudices often are our strongest barriers to moving forward. The unstoppable mindset podcast is sponsored by accessiBe, that's a c c e s s i capital B e. Visit www.accessibe.com to learn how you can make your website accessible for persons with disabilities. And to help make the internet fully inclusive by the year 2025. Glad you dropped by we're happy to meet you and to have you here with us. Well, hi everyone. I am Mike Hingson, your host here on unstoppable mindset, and we're going to have, I think, a lot of fun, as we usually do, and we love to anyway, I tell all of my guests who come on the podcast that the only rule that we have for unstoppable mindset, and it's a hard and fast rule is you got to have fun, so it's important to do that. Our guest today is Rob Richard. Rob has been in the military for these the last 20 years, and he is retiring, so I'm anxious to hear all about that, and any stories and other things that he wants to tell. But he's he's an intriguing individual. It's been fun chatting with him and preparing for this. So Rob, I want to welcome you to unstoppable mindset. We're really glad you're here.   Rob Richard ** 02:08 Thanks, Michael. It's, uh, it's honor to be here. You know, last night I told my son, um, a little bit about your backstory, and then I was coming on here, and he was like, Oh, that's such an honor to talk to him. And he said, wow, they picked you, dad, really? And I was like, I was like, I guess, I guess he wants to speak with me. So it's an honor talking to you, and I appreciate your backstory. And my son, you know, learning about history in America over the past, you know, 20 years or so, being nine, he was very, you know, thought it was very honor for me to speak with you today. And I agree. I concur. So thank you very much for having   Michael Hingson ** 02:36 me. Well, I don't know, as a matter so much a matter of picking my belief is that everyone has a story to tell, and I believe that we're all more unstoppable than we think we are. And the problem is that we grow up mostly not really learning to have as much in the way of self confidence, and I mean that in a positive way, as opposed to just an ego, but self confidence and self respect as we should have, and all too often, were were encouraged not to really think as strongly about our capabilities and ourselves as we should. So my goal with unstoppable mindset has always been to give people an opportunity to come on and tell their story and help all of us realize that we're more unstoppable than we think we are. And I think that's really pretty important to do. So I Well, one of these days we we have to interview your son, and that ought to be fine. He's   Rob Richard ** 03:36 going to achieve great things. He's more kids, so it takes after his mom. So Well, there   Michael Hingson ** 03:41 you go. Well, I suspect that you have something to do with it too, sure. Well, tell us a little bit kind of about the early Rob growing up and all that sort of stuff.   Rob Richard ** 03:51 So I come from a military family. My father was in the army, and he's from New Jersey originally, but my maternal family was based out of Baltimore. My grandfather, paternal grandfather, was also in the military. I spent most of my formative years in Southern Maryland, in Charles County, Maryland, which is a distinctly unique place. It's about, you know, 45 to 50 minutes south of DC. So there's a bit of this sort of rural kind of where the south starts right the Chesapeake Bay and the lower Potomac River, a culture of nefarious characters and great fun growing up there. But I was close enough to DC to be around that that sort of government culture quite a bit. Also had a few formative years in Alabama and Alaska as well, moving around so that shaped a lot of who I was living in the South in the in the 80s and early 90s. And then, of course, you know, I went to college in Baltimore, very closely connected to that city, based on my maternal family's connection. There huge oils fan. I love the city of Baltimore. Brother was a police officer there for a while. So I'm a Maryland guy through and through. I'm from there. Very proud of it. I went to college at Towson University in Baltimore, Maryland. Ah. Where I did the ROTC program through Loyola College, and that's pretty much the gist of me. I think that growing up where I did around the folks that I did, the interesting characters, the type of youth that I had a little bit wild and and sort of free for all that sort of Gen Xenu youth, of just kind of being let, let go to my own devices kind of help shape who I am and help shape my character greatly. So that's pretty much my early start in life.   Michael Hingson ** 05:26 So there was kind of no doubt that you were going to go into the military. Probably family expected it, and you grew up expecting it, I guess.   Rob Richard ** 05:36 Well, you know, I to be honest, I never thought much about the military until I was going to go away to college, right? And so my dad was like, hey, you know, the ROTC program is a great way to give yourself an opportunity right out of college, and they pay for everything. So Truth in Lending, I probably joined the army more for financial reasons out of the gate than, you know, family patriotic reasons. They're certainly part of that. And obviously, when I was in ROTC, the second year, 911 obviously happened. And so I knew that my future was kind of written for me, with a lot of strife going forward as a military guy. So I knew probably around 2021, that's kind of what I wanted to do. But it wasn't always that way. There was a lot of other things I wanted to do growing up, and it just kind of, for whatever reason, that was the shining light that kind of, you know, directed me towards, you know, serving. So I ended up doing that for 20 years, and here I am now. So   Michael Hingson ** 06:30 Well, there you go. Well, on the other hand, if there were other things that you wanted to do, did you get to do any of them in the military? Did the military give you up an environment where you were able to stretch and grow and maybe do some things that that you wanted to do, or maybe that you didn't even think you were ever going to do.   Rob Richard ** 06:48 Yes, I think, you know, one of the great things that that the military offered me was a chance to, I love getting in front of audiences, and I love to tell a story, and I love to tell and, you know, and tell a joke, and tell the things, and do these sort of things. So as a leader, you have to develop a great sense of communication, a great sense to relate to people who come from different backgrounds and and, you know, different places than yourself. And I think the military, being a leader in the military, in particular, you know, the branch of service that I served in the Army, as a logistician, I got a chance to really work with a lot of different types of folks and a lot of different groups of people. And it let me kind of see just all walks of life. And then I kind of mentioned we sent our pre question was, I've been to 31 countries for fun, you know, not just for work. I met my wife in Germany. She's was an American soldier as well. I've got a chance to see the world. The world. The military gave me that privilege. They gave me that opportunity that a lot of people just don't get, you know, I've gotten to see all kinds of things and go out and see the world. So I was very fortunate. And so I guess meeting new and interesting people, seeing the world leading young men and women in combat, is very important to me. It's something that I, you know, never really thought I would have a chance to do growing up, and there's, there's no war now, there was one. So, yeah, I got a chance to do, do these things for many years over so I'm very thankful to the military for that,   Michael Hingson ** 08:11 just the military, and this is just just popped into to my head. So it's just a curiosity, does the military overall tend to evolve as society evolves. I mean, it's not a stagnant kind of a thing. I would assume. I   Rob Richard ** 08:27 think it's a little bit ahead of the game, but I don't necessarily think they're ahead of the game, because it's necessarily the righteous thing to do, but it's almost a business decision, meaning so they desegregated units before most of America, you know, in our general populace was desegregated, but that was more of a decision because they they needed to have people work together, right? Because they had wars and to fight and and things to do. So I think the military is often ahead of the curve when it comes to, you know, desegregation, when it comes to, you know, moving people forward that don't have the backgrounds that are necessarily totally accepted by society at the time. So I think they're a little ahead of the head of the game when it comes to to those sort of things. So I think they generally keep pace with society, yes, if not a little bit ahead.   Michael Hingson ** 09:11 I'll tell you why I asked. It just was something I was thinking about as you were talking. I grew up in the Vietnam era, and for what that was worth on all sides. But during that time, they instituted and had the draft and they even developed a lottery system to decide who was going to go first. And my lottery number was fairly low, but when I turned 18, I fairly quickly got a letter saying you are classified one, a which was the classification where you could be drafted into the military. And I knew that that wasn't going to last being blind, and that they would figure that out, and they did, but I've always thought for me and. And others, they missed it. Why is it that a blind person couldn't find opportunities to serve in the military? It doesn't necessarily mean that we have to be in in the middle of a war zone. There are certainly other aspects of working in the military that a blind person could do, and yet the military kind of never really took advantage of that. Now there are a few people who were blinded in in wartime or because of one thing or another with terrorists, and so they're in the military. They started in the military and then they continued. But it still is true that you don't find real opportunities for blind people to serve in any aspect of the military. And I had a company that I formed back in 1985 and one of the main people who helped me was a retired colonel from the Marines, and he even said there is no reason why there there aren't opportunities available for people who are blind and think tanks and doing other kinds of things that are outside the regular war zone. So it's kind of fascinating, but I think it's an interesting and relevant thing to think about that clearly there are opportunities that ought to be available. Does that make sense?   Rob Richard ** 11:23 It does. I agree. I think one, the one thing about being a soldier at any level is there needs to be a commonality and a standard of that people can do a baseline thing, right? So there's physical fitness assessments, there's things that people need to do based on, you know, certain levels of training, whether it's shooting or going out and doing all these things, that there needs to be a baseline where everyone's kind of even So certain things that I worked in recruiting, uh, ironically enough, for two years, and certain things that are just qualifiers take away from the universal, uh, set that people need a universal set of skills, that people need to be a soldier in general. So there's avenues and different things that you can do with a disability or with things that are would mitigate you from serving in the front lines. But a little bit of what we'll talk about is in these previous wars, not everybody that was necessarily considered a frontline soldier, you know, was, was certainly not negated from from facing combat. And we can, we can talk about that, expound that a little bit, but I think that every person needs to have a basic set of skills. And there are certain things that, if you are blind or if you do have a disability that would, you know, take away from your your ability to do things that are a standard set of things, like, even as a senior officer or a senior non commissioned officer, you still have to take a certain physical fitness test, you still have to, you know, go out and shoot your weapon. You still have to do things that require sight, that require a certain level of hearing. Once you take away from that commonality that everyone has, now you're looking at someone who's not brought into the field and accepted as a soldier of commonality. Does that does that make sense? Or   Michael Hingson ** 12:59 you make an assumption, though, that isn't necessarily so. For example, there are a number of blind people who do shoot their hunters and so on. And so the issue is you have to separate out the skill from how you exhibit the skills. So, for example, right, shooting at a target, if there is a, if there is an auditory cue that allows me to aim at the target, can I learn to shoot at a target and and likewise, yeah, but I hear what you're saying, but I think at the same time, the reality is that that there are, there are certainly options, and what we really need to do is not leave out intelligent minds that might very well be able to contribute to what we do. And that's kind of what prompted the question,   Rob Richard ** 13:58 Oh, I agree, too. And I think that when you see the recruiting crisis that in particularly the army is facing, there needs to be avenues that bring other folks in who might not have the traditional physical skill set that other soldiers have, and allow them to serve. I agree with that, and that's something, I think, especially modern technology, that could be something to be brought into the fold in the future, to be looked at. But I do think, for like, I worked in Special Operations for, you know, for several years, you know, as paratrooper these sort of things. There are certain things that you must have this physical acumen and things that you must be able to do in order to accomplish those tasks in those schools. And, you know, the different training assessments that you have. So if there's a separate place that people can go and have those technologies available to mitigate anything that perhaps their, you know, disability might stop them from doing, I think that's certainly something to consider and something to look at going forward. So that's a great point. Like, I appreciate you bringing that up. I never looked at it that way, to be honest. So I always thought about this linear way of looking at. That you have to have these certain physical attributes to serve. But that's great. I that's a good way to look at it. So it's   Michael Hingson ** 15:06 well and I think, I think it's important to look at what attributes are are necessary to have, but But I also think that a lot of times what we can discover is that exhibiting those attributes may not be the same for one person as opposed to another, but the point is, we can still exhibit the attributes. So it's an interesting thing to, you know, to explore. Great. So tell me about the you know, and I realize that you're speaking for you and your observations and so on. But tell me a little bit about the crisis. You mentioned that, and I read it elsewhere. Tell me a little bit more about the crisis that we're really exhibiting today.   Rob Richard ** 15:46 So I worked in the Dallas, United States Army recruiting Dallas for two years. I was executive officer there, and I was also a time operations officer. And so I got to see the big picture of how the army does recruiting. And even then, in the height of the war, when the what they call the numbers was up and recruiting was was pretty good, still, they struggled to to link up the kind of bridge where they call it military civilian gap, right? So there's a couple different things I think that we need to take into consideration here. Number one, I think about only 1% of the nation serves right? And a large percentage of those folks are like myself. There they are legacy people, people who have a connection to the military. So I think the first thing to do is you have to bridge that military and civilian gap, and you have to look at why aren't people joining the military, right? And I'll be honest with you, the the army itself is terrible at branding in comparison to, say, the Marine Corps, right? Things like uniform and commonality of identity, the Marines do that way better, I think, than the army does. Right? As far as like, we have this certain set of things that we go with are always kind of changing their motto and go in different directions. But in general, there's also a population of people, because we just hit on it. Now you talk about, you know, having something that's going to stop you from serving. There are a large number of people who just don't meet the criteria. It's actually harder to get into the United States Army than it is to go to a four year university. So you're talking about physical fitness requirements. You're talking about legalities. You know, people getting in trouble with the law that disqualifies them from service, prior drug use, things like that, things that are looking at packing away and taking away for waivers. But the number one biggest thing is, I just think society societal differences on how civilian people and the military are connected. I think people just have a general misunderstanding of what the military is. They have a general misunderstanding of what it is to serve. And I just don't think that in our in our current society, that enough people are willing to step up and do it because life is too comfortable, and that's my personal opinion. That's not necessarily, you know, the Army's opinion. That's my opinion. Do you   Michael Hingson ** 17:51 think that it also has to do with how the military is portrayed, like in movies and TV shows and so on? Does that enter into it at all? Yes, I think, you know, we think so, and that's why I asked, I think   Rob Richard ** 18:04 so. And I like to get your take on what it is that when you say that, is it the is it a negative portrayal? Is a good portrayal. If you look at how certain wars are portrayed, right, you take it away. World War Two was portrayed versus, say, Vietnam, right? They're not portrayed totally different ways, right? You look at the modern war, and often veterans are painted this picture of a tragic experience, a tragic a tragedy, right? There's often this experience that is okay. This is a person that had a tragic thing happened to them. The war is something that was they went through and now they have this ailment, or whatever it is. It's often framed as that, but it's more complex than that. Yeah, a service is more complex than that. And I think that another thing is people don't understand that most military folks are middle class by the time they hit a certain age, right? So by the time you are excuse, by the time they hit a certain rank or time in service, they have middle class, you know, houses they live in a certain way of of a certain lifestyle that the army and the military in general affords to them. And I don't think people understand the financial and monetary benefit that you get for from the military. I don't think that's clearly articulated as a as a form of, hey, this is something I want my kid to do. You know, there's a lot of this, not in my backyard, type, but hey, that's great. Thank you for your service. But I don't want to serve, right? There's a lot of that that goes around in American society, I think. And I don't know if that resonates with you or if you agree, or Yeah, I   Michael Hingson ** 19:23 do understand that. I certainly don't disagree. I think that there is a lot of merit to that. What, what strikes me, though, is that there is a great misunderstanding. You know, if you watch some of the TV shows that are on when they talk about the military, it's, it's kind of a romanticized sort of thing, but the the and the the tragedy of veterans and so on, certainly there, there's a lot of that is focused on that at the same time when. We, when we go back and look at it, what, what caused that tragedy? What did? What did we not do as a society, to say, Bring a veteran home and be able to completely integrate them back into or bring them fully into society? And that's something where I think we as a as a society, do miss the point that where is much to I don't I want to use the word blame, but be responsible for integrating people back in because clearly, one of the things that I think is true about the military, and I don't think it's a bad thing, is that it is a particular kind of lifestyle. It's a very regimented lifestyle, and that's okay. But now, when you bring people, say, who have been to war and who have seen things back into society, there are, there is a lot more that we probably really ought to do to make sure that we're helping people get back into into the world that we're most of us are used to, and the fact that we don't understand what the world was that they were in, sort of contributes to us not really knowing how to bring them back into it.   Rob Richard ** 21:16 I agree. I agree. I think one of the things about special operations, where I worked for the past seven years, is they do a really good job of helping veterans, like, transition out of the military, whether they've had four or five years, or whether they've had, you know, 20 years, like myself, they have great programs. I told you. I completed the Honor Foundation, which was, you know, did a great service for me, helping me trans. Help Me transfer into civilian life and help me prepare for not in the corporate world, but just life in general. I think the military is getting better at that. I certainly think that our modern day era veterans were treated far better than, say, Vietnam veterans who came home. Yeah, you know, I really do believe that. I know my grandfather was a Vietnam vet, and I know there were times where, you know, he couldn't wear his uniform anywhere, or there's just people weren't treated with the same level of respect that I was. I always felt that when I came home, right, not necessarily the integration piece, but the fact that, you know, being a veteran, I always felt that I was thanked, or at least it's somewhat some way, even though it might seem patronizing that I was at the very least welcomed home and welcomed back and people appreciated, you know, whether they've experienced it or not, appreciate what I had been through, and we're very grateful for the most part, as to where in Vietnam, they certainly weren't. I think we've gotten better as a society about that. But where does that take you in, in the real and Reality of Things, right? Is it? Is it better veterans care, better mental health awareness, you know, things that I think they're working on? I certainly don't think we do a great job, in general, providing mental health for soldiers outside of special operations, right outside of the elite units that get elite care to access a lot of what military mental health care is is simply just getting you to go back to do your job, right? But when you leave the military, then the behavioral health, mental health care, it should be about getting you back to being a, you know, a human that is going to enjoy and live life to the fullest, right? So there's a difference, right? One's kind of make you a person who's going to go back to work and do is, you know, run the machines and run the papers as a as George Carlin would say. And the other is going to help you kind of be a normal human that fits into society, and that's the difference, you know? I think, well, the   Michael Hingson ** 23:25 other, the other aspect of it is that in the military, it is a very regimented sort of thing, and most of the time, there are people above you, and you realize they make the decisions, and we just carry out the orders. And now being back in the mainstream of society, you are more responsible for doing a lot of those things for yourself. And again, that's something that we need to teach people how to do.   Rob Richard ** 23:52 Again, sure. Well, I would, oh, go ahead, Michael, go ahead. No, go ahead. I was going to say I tend to disagree with that a little bit. I think people have a stereotype about military folks. You know, I you know most military people after, I said, as I mentioned before, after they hit a certain time and service a certain rank, their life is somewhat individualized. It's not necessarily a control that's a good point. Yeah, it really much is, I live in my own house. I don't live on post. I don't wake up every day and go to listen to listen to the bugle at five o'clock in the morning. You know, I think there's a misconception that soldiers are robots. When they are individuals with families, they are individuals, you know, that live lives outside of the military. Is it regimented? Yes. Is it a lifestyle? Yes. But I do think there's a misconception that the military is this completely controlling organization that has every facet of your life under control, and that's just not the case. You know, like I said, it's a it's just not really the case of how most military folks are. And there's so many great minds and artists and people that have all these great ideas that serve in the military, that are very bright and articulate and all these things. There's just a misconception about what a veteran is, I think. And I. Think that's another thing that when we tie in service and why people will and won't join, is the misconception. I mean, how many veterans do most people know? Do they have an uncle or a cousin or somebody that serves and that's something that we miss? You know, it's not exactly all the things that you see in the movie, you know, the guy on the street corner with the fatigue jacket and the one arm missing asking for money, that's that's not really most veterans. That's not really most of us. I think that's a misconception. Michael, that's just my take. Yeah,   Michael Hingson ** 25:24 and I, and I certainly didn't want to imply that it's so regimented that everybody's a robot, but, but I, but I, but I do think that until you get to that level that you were talking about, and I think that's a very valid point, it's probably more regimented than than a lot of people absolutely are used to. But by the same token, it still gets back to what level of support do we really give people when they when they come back, and the fact that there probably is a lot more that we could do. But you, you said something that prompts another question. And I think I'm well, I think I know the answer to this, but I'll be curious to see what you say, and that is, you're right back in the days of Vietnam veterans came home and they were they were spit on, they were not treated well, and so on. And it's a lot different today. Do you think that September 11 had a lot to do with that?   Rob Richard ** 26:20 I do. I think that people became, I was a young college student in the ROTC program, not quite in the military just yet, but I think that that event was the single catalyst to people realizing that, you know, we came together as a nation, more so than any other thing in my lifetime, ever after 911 so we came together. Now the wars that followed subsequently were very controversial, right? And they were something that divided the nation, but that particular event, you know, made the nation come together at writ large, more than any other event in history. So I think that that that kind of triggered people to be more understanding and appreciative of the military and the things that they would go do right, regardless of the political landscape, of what the wars would follow. People were very grateful. So I think 100% that 911 was a catalyst for people to be more patriotic, more supporting of the military. You know, enlistments were up. People were left and right, looking to join during that time frame, at least the first five to six years prior to the wars kind of going on, becoming quagmire, if you will. So I think so. I think you're right,   Michael Hingson ** 27:30 yeah, well, and I also think that the whole issue with the wars that followed, unfortunately, politics got much too much involved with it. So after September 11, should we have gone into Afghanistan to go after Osama bin Laden? That's one thing, but then, but then we decided to go into Iraq and go after Saddam Hussein, which was a totally different thing. And I still, yeah, and I still believe that that made no sense to do, but we did Sure, and we took our eye off the bin Laden ball, which is part of the problem. So unfortunately, politics gets too much into it and and that, in part, comes from the low bar that we have for politicians. So what do you do?   Rob Richard ** 28:19 I agree with that, yeah, we can agree on that. Yeah,   Michael Hingson ** 28:23 it's, it's a it's a challenge, you   Rob Richard ** 28:25 know, here's something I'll say on that, as far as I think when you serve in in I was, I'm a wreck veteran, so I've been to Iraq. I spent 15 months of my life there. And I will tell you that when you're there, you know, and I went there kind of a starry eyed sort of young lieutenant, just with the delusions of how things were going to go. So it's really a movie character on those sort of like character Oliver Stone movie, and what I saw was quite different than the reality of what I thought I would see. But I will tell you this at the end of the day, regardless of the political implications of the wars and the meanings behind them, when you have the American military machine together, right? And however chaotic it is, or however things are, I can hang my head on the fact that I was able to lead my soldiers, men and women, young people from you know, like The Rolling Stones of that great song, the salt of the earth, right? Say, say a prayer for the common foot soldier. Those were my guys, the common truck driver, mechanic and people that you know join the military for a certain purpose, whether it's money for patriotism, whatever, when asked to do this mission, regardless of its political implications, they did it. They did it well, and they did it to a level that's impressive and something that is beautiful to watch in action and that I'll always be proud of. Yeah. So if Aaron ever says, hey, you know, you serve these wars, and they're this, that and the other. I don't think when you're there, you think too much about it. That's the Coming Home part. That's the that's the thing you face later. When you're dealing with, you know, whether it's PTSD or these other sort of issues, that's when the philosophical question is to be answered. When you're there, when you're in the fight, that is. This, you doing your mission, you and your guys, the old adage, adage of left and right, that's what you're doing, and that I'm proud of, and that I can think our military did a great job. Right. Losing the war in the political sense is far different than losing the battles right in the actual militarily sense. So that's just something I hang my hat on. And I think that if we overlooked that as a society, and we overlooked that as a culture, that the wars are just this negative thing, and they were kind of, you know, excuse my language, or kind of, Bs, whatever. Yeah, we're overlooking the accomplishments of the actual people that were asked to do these things, right?   Michael Hingson ** 30:32 Well, and also well, and ultimately, let's, let's take Afghanistan. You know, we have we were there for a long time. Should we have been there as long as we were? I think that's a question that you can you can discuss and debate, but at the same time, the ultimate thing we were looking to do was to deal with Osama bin Laden, and we did that. But then we did continue to stay, and there were reasons for it. Should we have or should we have been smarter about withdrawing again? Those are all discussions that one could have. But I think that ultimately, it seems to me, you know, if people said, and people ask me, Well, did we lose the war in Afghanistan? I don't know that we lost the war, but I think the politicians didn't help but I think that the military did what they were supposed to do. I   Rob Richard ** 31:24 agree. But, you know, I the the general who said this escapes me, but it was not a 20 year war. It was a one year war fought 20 times. Yeah. So when you so you have these wars, you have a different general, a different you know, whatever it is, come in and they all have a different take on how we're going to accomplish this goal. But both those wars, whether it was the one I fought in Iraq or the one in Afghanistan, you know, they there were no real clear objectives for us. They were one year at a time, little hash marks of trying to accomplish these small goals. And we were never given a clear picture of what victory looked like, very similar to Vietnam. So I think that's, I don't think that's put on the that's not put on the backs of the common veteran. That's put on the backs of the politicians. Yeah, that was that, I was sure that's put on. I The generals too. I think so they, they owe their, you know, by that time you hit to that, that level, it's, it's a political level. And I think they're, they owe an answer to that. You know, my personal opinion, me as a retired Army officer, I think they owe an answer to that.   Michael Hingson ** 32:23 Well, we don't necessarily have the same kind of generals as we had with a patent or even a storm in Norman Schwarzkopf. You know the Sure, sure.   Rob Richard ** 32:31 Well, there's some very particular generals out there. Some good there are. But I there are, I think, I think those wars were never, never given clear, clearly defined objectives by any political figure, and that makes it impossible to what you would traditionally call a win, right? Yeah,   Michael Hingson ** 32:48 I do. I do. I know exactly what you're saying, and it makes and it makes perfect sense well for you. So you joined the military. Did you think that you were going to be traveling the world and seeing 31 countries and doing all the things that that you did, or was any of that a surprise to you? No,   Rob Richard ** 33:05 I'll tell you. So when you're in college and you're ROTC, you you know, or West Point, or whatever you're, you know, I was an ROTC guys. So you have West Point, you have OCS, your different commissioning sources, you're, you're branched a certain whether it's infantry or armor or whatever, I was a transportation branch. So I thought I, you know, I got stationed in Germany, my first duty assignment. And, you know, I had two deployments to the Middle East during that time. It was about a six year stint. And I never thought that I would have this amazing fun, adventurous and it's a family show here, adventurous show. Adventurous life that I had, that that that I was given. I thought I would just end up at some base somewhere in Texas, and barbecue on Sundays, drink more lights, watch football like everybody else. I never thought I'd have this great life. I never thought I'd travel the world in Gallivan so I'm very fortunate in that way. And I just, I don't think most people picture that, but when you get your first what they call assignment, your duty station, and it's Germany, and my second one being Korea, traveling all around Asia. You know, with my, my awesome wife, I I'll tell you, I never thought I would have that, to be honest with you, that's never something that crossed my mind. That level of adventure and fun, it almost kind of mitigates some of the things that you had to go through in war. It almost makes it like they kind of balance each other out, I think, well,   Michael Hingson ** 34:19 and traveling to and traveling to Germany, of course, got you your wife.   Rob Richard ** 34:24 Yes, true, yeah. So we met. You were both soldiers, and just, you know, we, we met by by sheer chance, and that's something that I look back on, and I'm always very thankful to Uncle Sam for that. So,   Michael Hingson ** 34:34 yeah, there's, there is that. Did she stay in the military?   Rob Richard ** 34:38 No, she got out. So we, we were in Korea, and then I got stationed to go work in recruiting in Dallas. And she made the decision that, you know, I was a little bit further along, a little bit older. And she made, we made the decision that, hey, the dual military thing is very difficult. That is one of the, I think, most difficult career choices you could make, is to have two service members in especially once you hit the senior levels. And so we decided, hey, you know. I'm going to stay in, she's going to get out, and she's a very successful entrepreneur, doing very well with with some things that she's got going on. So I think we made the right choice, and she gets to be mom and be this amazing mother. So I think that's something, I think collectively, was the right decision. Well, that that worked. How old? How old are the kids? I got a nine year old, my son, Alex, and then he's about to be 10, and then my daughter, Evie, named Evangeline, after a song by the the band the Great, the band Yvonne Hill, she is six. So they're, they're still pretty young. A lot of give me, give me a handful here. Well, that's,   Michael Hingson ** 35:34 that's fine, you know. And we'll see who, who does better and who handles who better? The kids handle you guys, or you handle the kids better. We   Rob Richard ** 35:43 were on a pretty tight ship here, Michael, so at least my wife does. I'm going to push over, yeah.   Michael Hingson ** 35:49 Well, there you go. Well, but it, but it's, but it is interesting to to be able to see a lot of the world. And I, you know, I've, I've had the never been to Germany. I've been to Korea and spend some time there. And that was a lot of fun. I've been to Japan and to some places. I've been to the Netherlands, but not to Germany, when actually, in about a month and a half, no, actually about a month, I'll take my first trip to London to speak. Oh, wow. I've been to Ireland, but never to London. And then it's fun to go through the logistics of being able to take a guide dog to London and doing all the things to to clear the dog. I think it's a lot more work to get him ready to go than me, but we'll cope. Yeah, but it's, but it's, but it is fun. And I, I think there is so much value in seeing so many different places around the world and all that we can learn. I think that we take way too much for granted, and we we think that we're so much better, sometimes than than other places. And in some right, some ways, our country and our society works better, and some ways it doesn't necessarily do that, but I don't think it's my place to judge, but rather to go and learn and bring back knowledge and put it to use.   Rob Richard ** 37:04 I agree, it certainly makes you a better person as as a collective right to understand. You know, America's a great place, and I love this country dearly, but there are many things that that we can learn from other cultures. You know, we work so hard here in Germany, and I tell you about three o'clock, they take off and go have a beer and relax a little bit. You know, there's, and they still, they managed to run a very efficient society without the hustle culture that we have. And I, I am a stern capitalist. I love to work hard. But there's something to take away from that. You know, there's also, on the other side of the spectrum, in Korea and Asia, they work even harder than we do, right? So there's, there's a level of where to meet in the middle, and looking at these different cultural things. And, you know, it's just, I just very fortunate to have seen all that, and take a little bit from each one and kind of develop my own life, and these are gonna teach my children and stuff. So that's, that's great. I think I love London, too. The   Michael Hingson ** 37:54 founder of the National Federation of the Blind was a blind constitutional law scholar, Jacobus tembrick, who was at UC Berkeley, and one of the things that his wife told me, I never did get to know chick 10 Brook, but I knew his wife, and she said that he could go for long periods of time, because he would take what we now call a power nap for 20 minutes, and then he could get up and work for hours. And we don't encourage any of that, and I think it's truly unfortunate, because there's a lot of value in having a little bit of downtime that then keeps you able to keep moving a lot more than you think you might.   Rob Richard ** 38:33 No, no, I agree. I think that's something in the military they focused a few years, the past couple of years, on, which is, I don't know it's, maybe it's all for not but focusing on on sleep, you know, wellness and overall spiritual you know, thing that's going on here, trying to get everybody together in this sort of triad approach of wellness, sleep and physical fitness and stuff. And sleep is so important to being a successful leader. You know, one hour of sleep versus four makes all the difference in your decision making. Makes all the difference in your ability to lead, your ability to persevere through problems. So slaves huge, you know, even it's only four hours, yeah, well,   Michael Hingson ** 39:12 and but again, even during the day, taking a half hour and resting your eyes and then coming back gives you energy to continue, and we don't. We don't do enough of that. So I'm, I'm all in favor of exploring and and doing more to to deal with sleep and wellness and looking at other ways to help us move more effectively and more efficiently during the day. I agree. Yeah, so it makes sense well, now your career as a logistician and so on, as you said, is pretty unique. What what made it so unique, and why do you feel that that really helped shape you into what you are, and where do you think this is going to take you going forward?   Rob Richard ** 39:58 So I think a lot of times. When you are again, we talk about conditioning source. So when you go into the military, a lot of guys, they say, Okay, I want to be an infantry person. I want to be an armor guy. I want to be special forces, whatever. There's many different avenues that you can enter the military. And I think coming in initially as a transportation officer. You know, I went to Iraq, and I had these sort of experiences that, I think, again, we talk about movies, they're often overlooked, right? So I was in Iraq for 12 months. My first deployment, I was a platoon leader. I had 60 soldiers. I went on well over 60 plus missions that are, what are called convoys. So I was putting in these dangerous, arduous situations and these things that that could result in grave violence, and these sort of things that I experienced, and that my soldiers experienced, that gave me a unique out outlook on life, right? And I think that because of our underdog persona in nature, as logistics guys, you know, it's all a big wheel, and there's all these folks that make it work, right? And so as an underdog type character, and having these sort of salt of the earth type soldiers, it's given me a unique perspective on people, a unique empathy. I think a lot of military guys are kind of seen, seen as cold and stern, these sort of square jaw type characters. I don't really think I'm like that at all. It's giving me a unique perspective to grow and to be more loving and empathetic, to be a better dad. I think just serving that type of field and that type of profession is very different. It's also a little more diverse than, like, say, your standard, like Special Operations Unit, which is a lot of square jawed white guys from the Midwest, you know, as to where logistics, there's a much more diverse profile of people from all over, you know, from Jamaica or Puerto Rico, from every different state, from these, these different types of folks. And I really had a chance to just work with people who are different, who built my level of love and empathy overall. And I think being in the branch and the field that I was in really helped shape that for me. And then just, I don't think I would have had the experiences say I had been, you know, I mean, I went to airborne school when I was 38 so I did the paratrooper thing. I served in Special Operations units, airborne units, this sort of thing. And I'm honored to have been with those. But I think if I hadn't started in these sort of, like working class type units, you know, out of Germany, you know, under equipment, under trained, I really learned to persevere through things without the best of everything, right, without the best training, without the best you know, given the best tools to go accomplish, you had to accomplish more with less, right? And I think that really is a lesson that you can't really get necessarily in other fields and other branches of the military. I really think what I got assigned to do really helped me persevere through things and become a better person overall. And I don't know if that answers the question. But I think that's kind of, you know, the uniqueness of it that makes it different. And most people, again, haven't had the opportunity to travel and see the things I have. And I just think that, you know, I'm very fortunate in that realm. So I just think overall, holistically, my life has been better because of the job that I got. And to be honest with you, I mean, it's great to be an infantry guy, but a supply chain manager, professional supply chain manager, really does prepare you a little better for the corporate world. So in the end, it kind of helps you transition to the civilian thing that you can do and gain monetary advantage. So I think it all worked out. I   Michael Hingson ** 43:16 think it does probably just with the little that I know about it and understand about I think it does probably better prepare you, because the jobs are fairly similar to what you'll find in certain aspects of the corporate world, which is kind of important. And I like your idea on your analogy of doing things with less. I think a lot of us, especially for those of us who are blind, for example, and people with disabilities in general, oftentimes we have to deal with less, just because society hasn't emphasized making sure that we have alternatives that give us the same chances and opportunities as others do. So we have to deal with less like I work for accessibe. And so accessibe is a company that, among other things, helps makes websites more inclusive for for people with disabilities. Well, the bottom line is that people creating websites don't do things that they could do to make websites more usable and accessible right off the bat. And so the result is that we have to get creative in figuring out how, if it at all possible, we can use a website, and some we can't, because there's just no way, no way to have information that works. But there are also any number of websites that are accessible enough or have enough information that is a friend of mine once said, we can muddle through and make it work, but we do have to deal with those challenges, and I think it makes us better, because we face the challenges and we work through them.   Rob Richard ** 44:54 That makes perfect sense. That does Yeah. And   Michael Hingson ** 44:56 so you having to do that same sort of thing. Sometimes it it makes you a better person. It makes you probably more of a resilient person, but at least it makes you a more inventive person, because you don't take some things for granted.   Rob Richard ** 45:11 Yes, and you know, I think people when they have an idea of a soldier or a leader, I think emotional intelligence and empathy are something that people don't associate with the military. But when you're when you're a young, 24 year old lieutenant, all the way up through, you know, being a more senior officer or senior leader, you have so much of your life that is assigned and tasked to helping others and taking care of people. Their problems are your problems, right? You learn so much about the human condition through serving in the military that I don't think it can even compare in any other walk of life, you know, say, maybe being a first responder or something along those lines. But when you're with somebody in this this situation is arduous and dangerous for 12 months, you know, going on all the way through a 20 year career, you can't put a price or a value on how much experience you get of developing an emotionally intelligent approach to things, right? Some people, I think anybody who doesn't struggle with decisions as a human right, it goes through the experience of war and serving in the military. I think very rarely do you not come out of that with a real profound understanding of the human condition, right? And I don't think anything else could give you that, as far as a profession. And I think understanding people becoming more loving, it might not seem like something from a military guy to say, but loving empathy, you know, understanding the these, these folks and different types of people. I think it's a beautiful thing to be honest, you know, and I feel very cherished that I've had to have that opportunity to become a better human. Again, things aren't necessarily associated with like a military man who's straightforward and, you know, talks in a certain way. And again, some people aren't like that. Some people kind of go through, you know, self absorbed, like any profession, just about themselves. But I think a good military leader. You know, the army a leader, and particularly officers, we always eat last, right? So when I went to Airborne School at 38 years old, as an old, older guy, I was the second oldest guy in my class, the highest ranking person in my class, and so I ate after 200 soldiers, I let 200 people go in front of me, right? And that's not to be hubris or to brag about something, but that's just what you're supposed to do as a leader, to get to show that, hey, I'm here for you guys. You guys eat first, right? You always leaders, always eat last. There's that old adage. And I just think the regular world is not necessarily, the regular civilian world isn't necessarily that way, you know? And I think that's something that really made me grow as a human and to be a better person. So Well, I've always   Michael Hingson ** 47:40 felt, having worked in the corporate world, that a good boss is a boss who doesn't boss people around, who recognizes that leadership means sometimes you give up leadership to somebody else when there's a specific thing that you figure out they can do better. But also I believe that my role is to add value to each and every person who works for me, and I have to figure out with them how to add that value, but for the people who get it, it makes everyone a lot more powerful. And I mean that in a positive sense, it makes them a lot more productive and a lot more efficient. I think that that good leaders figure out how to do that, and that's important to do. Well, I wholeheartedly agree. So I'm curious about something. I keep coming back to it in my brain. So I'm going to ask in places like Israel, where everyone, at some point needs to go into the military, and goes into the military. And I understand why that happened. We don't do that here. How do you contrast, or what do you think about the contrast in those two methods of dealing with the military? Because then I asked that because you talked about the crisis, I'm not convinced that everyone should necessarily have to go in the military, but it's an interesting discussion to have.   Rob Richard ** 49:01 I kind of, I, you know, I like the way Korea does it. Korea has a societal conscription sort of program, right? So you can either join the military, you can be a paramedic, you can be a policeman. I don't necessarily think we need to go to that level, but I think there should be some general level of civic service, right? You have to have some level of commitment. And I think that not everyone, especially in our current society, is cut out to be in the army, to be in, you know, to be in the armed services, but there should be some level of civic conscription where people have to serve for maybe a year or two in somewhere. I really do believe in that. It might sound a little bit draconian libertarian, but I think it's something to look at. I think it would make people better humans. Because nowadays, like, there wasn't World War Two, there was a general understanding that we have a universal effort, that we're going forward as a nation. There was such a connection to the military service, and everyone chipped in, you know, everyone chipped in and all the time, and I don't think that really is the case. Everyone is going in their own direction. Shouldn't we're not going in a general direction. It's good for the country as a society, and without some sort of civic inscription, I don't know if that's possible people to truly understand what others go through, right? And so I agree. I think that we should have some sort of level of of civil civic service, not necessarily level of the draft, but right, not quite like how Israel does it, but   Michael Hingson ** 50:20 yeah, so, and I think that makes a lot of sense, and I think that also it's a great learning experience, yes, which is a part of what I think you're also suggesting, and I think that that makes a lot of sense, that that brings you into being a more well rounded individual as you go forward. And I think that it's important to do that, and we need to figure out some way to do that.   Rob Richard ** 50:46 No, I agree. I think that, you know, when you're in Israel, is a homogenous society, very similar. People have similar religions, similar takes. Our society, when you look at as a whole, is completely different than any other society in the world, as how different we are in the many cultures that we have in a collective approach to civil service, I think could help, I really do think could help something to unify us. Again, not quite to the 911 unification type, right, but somewhere where we can come together as society and say, Hey, we got a common purpose here. Let's go forward with it. You know, so   Michael Hingson ** 51:18 Well we, we were so unified after September 11, and I can point to specific political things that damaged that and took away from the unification and so unfortunate that that kind of thing occurred. And we have, there are other aspects. I mean, we also now have this technology where everyone has so much instantaneous access to so much information, some of which is real and some of which is false, but still the the fact is, we have access to things that we didn't before. And you mentioned World War Two, I collect old radio shows as a hobby, and I listen to many of the shows in the World War Two era, and listen to how all the actors, all the people on those shows, were part of the story that helped pull the country together, and everyone was committed. Yeah, there were challenges. Yeah, there were problems, but people really did come together for the most part, and worked because we knew it's what we needed to do, and that's the operative part. We knew what we needed to do. We needed to be unified, and if we weren't, that was a problem.   Rob Richard ** 52:36 Oh no, I agree. I think, though, there's a fine balance between unification and then a controlled narrative that takes people away from a independent free thought, right? One of the things we've gotten away from is independent free thought. There are two sides to everything. There's my side, your side, and a good collective would be great, but that you still have to have that, that approach to independent thought, right? And I also think something's missed about the military, if I could expound a little bit, is that many people in the military here are some of the world class cynics. You know, they're not necessarily these, hook, line and sinker, follow suit, type of folks. They're just the they're very aware of their situation and sort of what's going on. And they're very like, okay, is this really the deal here? You know, people are very skeptical. They're very they have a lot of free thought, a lot of independent thought. They're very politically engaged in what they think, and very go after things and have articulate points that that they clearly think of, as opposed to just like, Oh, we're all we all think the same. You know, that's a misconception about the military. We don't there are people of all different facets and walks of life and and think completely different on every issue under the sun, and that's important. So I think having a collective civic response and duty to things is great, but we start to keep our independent thought as a nation in a society.   Michael Hingson ** 53:53 I think the other part of that, though, is that we need to learn again, to be understanding of people who have a different position than we do, and we need to stop saying, Well, you're wrong, and because they think we're wrong, whoever they and we and you are. And the reality is it's it's more than just having the independent thinking ability and opportunity, but it's being able to talk about it and people who truly can, again, learn so much because you you learn to understand why people think the way they do sometimes or a lot of times. And that's important too.   Rob Richard ** 54:36 Yes, absolutely, I agree 100% so   Michael Hingson ** 54:40 logisticians are generally not part of when you watch movies and so on, they're not typically what's featured. What? Why is that? Or how do we get the logistics world a little bit more understood? And I know that that goes beyond the military, but you know, nevertheless, yeah.   Rob Richard ** 54:59 Yeah, well, so again, I think you're looking at what in this. This is to take nothing away from anyone. So when you look at most of the majority of TV shows and books, and rightfully so, I'll say rightfully so, so much of it is about special operations, yeah, frontline soldiers, what you would call, you know, in World War Two, there was a linear Battlefield, so there were two entities facing each other, face to face in a situation, but over the past 20 years, and even all going all the way back to Vietnam, they weren't linear battlefields. They were battlefields where all these support type soldiers, whether it's communicators or truck drivers, mechanics, even cooks and these other people, are combat veterans. They are facing combat. They have dangerous and arduous tales of heroics that need to be told often. You know, especially in particular in convoy operations throughout Afghanistan and Iraq. I think it's overlooked because it's well, it's not sexy, it's not what people want to see. It's not the conditioned thing of what people are supposed to see. But I think it can often be talked about in a humorous way, like we, I think you and I, we talked a little bit about mash, right? And that's about doctors, Army doctors who are support personnel and enablers. And there's a comedic approach to it. It's not all just serious, stoic, you know, movie sort of nonsense. It is a, it is a comedic approach to a real topic, and it covered it gracefully. You know, Hogan's Heroes, these sort of comedic shows that we all had, that we were elected, who understood, and that we love McHale's Navy again, another one. I think that logisticians and support folks are often overlooked because it's just not what is considered to be cool. But there are stories about war, about these brave and courageous things that people have done, and I've witnessed with my own eyes that I think is an interesting and fun story, not fun, but an interesting story that needs to be told so that legacy doesn't drift off into the wind, like the gun trucks in Vietnam, right? There was these things that were developed. A great documentary on Smithsonian about

Il y a 37 ans, en Irak, l'armée de Saddam Hussein lance une rafle contre les Kurdes du nord du pays, c'est l'opération Anfal. En quelques semaines, la population de villages entiers est décimée, 180 000 Kurdes sont alors assassinés. Après des années d'attente, la Cour suprême irakienne a reconnu le caractère génocidaire de cette campagne meurtrière, ce qui ouvre la voie à un travail de fouille et de mémoire. Et c'est ce que nous allons illustrer aujourd'hui. En janvier 2025, en effet, un charnier a été exhumé dans le désert du sud du pays, révélant les restes de 153 femmes et enfants kurdes. Pour les rescapés d'Anfal, cette découverte ravive l'espoir de retrouver les corps de leurs proches.« Génocide d'Anfal : le deuil impossible des Kurdes irakiens », un Grand reportage de Lucas Lazo.

“We don't give nature enough credit. All mankind needs is to do is to move aside and let the natural system return.”Iraq is one of the five countries most touched by some effects of climate change, according to the United Nations. In this episode of Rewilding the World Ben Goldsmith talks with Azzam Alwash, founder of Nature Iraq, about the fabled Mesopotamian marshes. This great wetland is considered to have been the original Garden of Eden. Destroyed by Saddam Hussein, and now coming back to life, this is an extraordinary story of restoration. Ben Goldsmith is a British financier and rewilding enthusiast. Join him as he speaks to people from all over the world who champion nature and are helping to restore habitats and wildlife to some of the most nature depleted parts of our planet.This podcast is produced by The Podcast Coach.Text Rewilding the World here. Let us know what you think of the podcast and if there are any rewilding projects you would love Ben to feature in future episodes. The Conservation Collective support locally-led environmental Foundations around the world. Together we'll protect and restore the wild places we know and love.

There are few wrestlers ever who have made the impact that Sgt. Slaughter did throughout his career. The first major splash for Slaughter happened in the 1980's when he made the extremely successful decision to leave wrestling and become the face of G.I. Joe. The massively popular cartoon and toy line thrust Slaughter into every home with children in America. It put him on a level only Hulk Hogan had achieved in the industry. In this interview we discuss the impact of that business move. But we also discuss his other major decision when he returned to wrestling. That was to start a storyline where he became an “Iraqi Sympathizer” during the Gulf War and publicly backed Saddam Hussein on WWE (then WWF) television. This was an era when many fans still believed WWE storylines as reality. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

From radio row at the NFL combine, The Ringer's Danny Heifetz, Craig Horlbeck, and Danny Kelly begin by talking about the biggest story of the day: the Starbucks confrontation between reporters Ian Rapoport and Jordan Schultz that took the sports media world by storm. Then, the guys fantasize about potential trade destinations for Matthew Stafford before discussing this year's draft class, including Abdul Carter's foot injury and the guys' opinions on whether Travis Hunter will successfully be able to play wide receiver and cornerback. The guys also recap their time at St. Elmo Steak House in Indianapolis, where they had an unexpected run-in with Saddam Hussein. CHAPTERS: Greetings from Indy (00:00) Starbucks fight (01:36) Matt Stafford trade talk (11:24) Abdul Carter's injury (22:20) Travis Hunter's two-way prospects (31:06) DK's NFL Draft Guide (39:49) Chiefs franchise tag Trey Smith (53:32) St. Elmo Steak House recap (01:05:30) For The Ringer's complete guide to the 2025 draft, click here. Hosts: Danny Heifetz, Craig Horlbeck, and Danny Kelly Producer: Troy Farkas Additional Production Support: Tucker Tashjian, Dan Comer, Jake Loskutoff, and Nikola Stanjevich Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

YMH Live is back and better than ever! We're going all out for our tenth live show, tickets go on sale tomorrow (2/26) at 7am CT on ymhstudios.com. Touch our camera through the fence, chomos! SPONSORS: Go to https://shopify.com/momshouse to upgrade your selling today. Protect your online privacy TODAY by visiting https://ExpressVPN.com/ymh. Visit https://RedwoodOutdoors.com and use code YMH to save $175. Get 15% off at https://truewerk.com/ymh. Pull those jeans up over your head! It's another episode of YMH with Tom Segura and Christina P! This week the Main Mommies announce the triumphant return of YMH LIVE, a show that'll feature guests stars, original shorts, and a massive giveaway to one lucky fan. Before all that, Tom shares his thoughts on some documentaries about historical goofballs Hitler and Saddam Hussein. These guys always manage to stay relevant despite having been dead for so long. Tom then open the show with a clip of a cool white dude saying a word he probably shouldn't be saying with incredible confidence. Tom also brings up a P Diddy doc and the twosome also watch some 'Appy Burfday drive-thru videos. Momma and Poppa Jeans are next joined by actor/comedian Matt Fulchiron, who's no stranger to hearing people say his name wrong or even saying somebody else's name wrong for that matter. The trio also discuss some personal comedy show fails, OnlyFans, dumb prank videos, and Christina's fascination with an old TLC show called "My Husbands Not Gay". They also check out some horrible or hilarious clips and talk about fat people in ride shares. Your Mom's House Ep. 799 https://tomsegura.com/tour https://christinap.com/ https://store.ymhstudios.com https://www.reddit.com/r/yourmomshousepodcast NO PURCHASE NECESSARY. Open to legal residents of the 50 U.S./D.C., age 18+ (19+ in AL and NE, 21+ in MS). Void outside 50 U.S./D.C. and where prohibited. Sweepstakes starts 2/26/25 and ends 7:30pm CT on 3/7/25. Two ways to enter: (1) visit livestream.ymhstudios.com, purchase a ticket to attend Tenth YMH Live Show airing 3/7/25, follow link on confirmation screen, and complete and submit a survey with all required information, or (2) enter for free by visiting YMHStudios.com/YMHLiveX and complete and submit a survey with all required information. By entering you agree to receive periodic marketing emails from Sponsor and may unsubscribe at any time. ARV of one prize: $10,000. For full Official Rules: YMHStudios.com/YMHLiveX. Sponsor: John John Productions LLC, 2049 Century Park East, Suite 1400, Los Angeles, CA 90067. Chapters 00:00:00 - Intro 00:04:03 - Some Goofballs & Knuckleheads 00:15:41 - Opening Clip: Big Word, What? 00:21:16 - YMH LIVE X 00:24:57 - More 'Appy Burfdays 00:30:51 - Puff Daddy Doc 00:37:14 - Clip: Whistler Feeling Alright 00:39:21 - Comedy Show Fails 00:49:12 - Tour Dates & OnlyFans 00:53:09 - Clip: Dad Pranks 00:56:09 - Clip: Crow Wife Scares Her Husband 00:58:22 - Clip: Morning Rub 01:00:03 - My Husbands Not Gay 01:06:05 - Clip: Pissfluencers 01:06:50 - Back To The Gay Husband Show 01:10:52 - Too Fat For Waymo 01:15:19 - Hit And Run 01:21:34 - Horrible Or Hilarious 01:29:23 - Clip: Fat Person Grocery Haul 01:30:40 - Clip: Down For Some Me Time 01:31:24 - Clip: Fart Hard 01:32:21 - Closing Song -"I Know I'm White" by Bruce Kristner Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This week on "Shat the Movies," we're exploring Three Kings (1999), a gritty, action-packed satire set during the Gulf War. Join us as we dive into the film's blend of humor, action, and social commentary, led by an all-star cast including George Clooney, Mark Wahlberg, and Ice Cube. Whether you're a fan of the genre or new to the film, get ready for a thought-provoking and entertaining discussion! Plot Summary:In the 1999 war satire Three Kings, directed by David O. Russell, George Clooney, Mark Wahlberg, and Ice Cube star as a group of disillusioned U.S. soldiers stationed in Iraq at the end of the Gulf War. When they discover a hidden map leading to a stash of stolen Kuwaiti gold, they embark on what they believe will be a quick and easy heist. However, their mission takes an unexpected turn, forcing them to confront the brutal realities of war, morality, and human suffering. Major Archie Gates (George Clooney), a cynical and seasoned Special Forces officer nearing retirement, leads the operation alongside Sergeant Troy Barlow (Mark Wahlberg), a naive reservist, Staff Sergeant Chief Elgin (Ice Cube), a pragmatic soldier, and Private Conrad Vig (Spike Jonze), an unpredictable and reckless grunt. Initially motivated by greed, the team infiltrates an Iraqi bunker in search of gold bars hidden by Saddam Hussein's regime. However, as they navigate war-torn Iraq, they encounter civilians desperately trying to escape oppression, revealing the true human cost of the conflict. As their plan unravels, the soldiers are faced with a moral dilemma: take the gold and escape, or risk their lives to help the suffering Iraqi people. What starts as a self-serving heist turns into an unexpected rescue mission, filled with explosive confrontations, tense shootouts, and moments of dark humor. The film's unique blend of action, satire, and social commentary highlights the absurdity of war while keeping audiences engaged with dynamic storytelling and stylish cinematography. Three Kings remains a standout war film, mixing humor, action, and political critique in a way that feels both entertaining and thought-provoking. Join our podcast review as we revisit this unconventional Gulf War adventure and discuss whether its biting satire and gripping action still hold up today. Subscribe Now Android: https://www.shatpod.com/android Apple/iTunes: https://www.shatpod.com/apple Help Support the Podcast Contact Us: https://www.shatpod.com/contact Commission Movie: https://www.shatpod.com/support Support with Paypal: https://www.shatpod.com/paypal Support With Venmo: https://www.shatpod.com/venmo Shop Merchandise: https://www.shatpod.com/shop Theme Song - Die Hard by Guyz Nite: https://www.facebook.com/guyznite

Episode 564In 1958, Billy Meier predicted the Iraq Wars, AIDS and global warming. Is it the biggest hoax or… the most important story in human history? You'll find the startling answer in this remarkable, true-life story about how a young Swiss boy's meetings with extraterrestrials would eventually lead him later in life through dozens of countries, meeting many famous world leaders – including Saddam Hussein – in order to fulfill ancient prophecies.This one-armed farmer from Switzerland has taken hundreds of the most startling photos in UFO History and has even filmed what he refers to as “Beam Ships” used by sentient beings that hail from a star system near the Pleiades. He has been able to produce photographs, film footage, sound recordings and even metal samples as evidence of his visitations.You'll be captivated by how in his twenties, “Billy” Eduard Albert Meier was transformed into “The Phantom” (a real life combination of Indiana Jones, Lawrence of Arabia and Han Solo) and by packing a .44 Magnum was able to apprehend serial killers and mass murderers. Meier's life story is an enigmatic journey that ultimately culminates with him becoming the messenger for an advanced race of beings known as the Plejaran.Their message is clear: earth is in trouble, the people have been asleep, and we must make drastic changes or there will be devastating consequences for all of mankind. Is this story real or too incredible for us to grasp? You must decide for yourself, but if it's a hoax, why has Meier been the target of 21 assassination attempts? Could it be that the message that humanity so desperately needs to hear is not welcome by many of our world leaders?Samuel Chong also joined in Certified court interpreter and ⁠Chinese translator⁠, Samuel Chong visited Michel Desmarquet, the author of ⁠Thiaoouba Prophecy⁠, in 2016 and 2018, and he was instrumental in arranging for the Chinese publication of Desmarquet's book, which has been a best-seller in both China and Taiwan, a rare phenomenon. He also translated the book "⁠334 ‰ Lies: The Revelation of H. M. v. Stuhl⁠", an autobiography of the High Master of the Chair of a secret society that was started in Germany. Today, he dedicates his efforts to promoting the messages in these books in order to give people hope and to help promote a better world through his scholarship at ⁠https://www.chinasona.org/scholarship.html⁠Graduated from UC Berkeley with a BA in economics, and Universidad Carlos III de Madrid with an MA in financial analysis, he currently resides in Los Angeles, California.

I want to introduce you to our guest this time, Fred Dummar. I met Fred through Susy Flory who helped me write Thunder Dog. Fred is taking a class from Susy on writing and is well along with his first book. I look forward to hearing about its publishing sometime in 2025.   Fred hails from a VERY small town in Central Nevada. After high school Fred went to the University of Nevada in Reno. While at University, Fred joined the Nevada National Guard which helped him pay his way through school and which also set him on a path of discovery about himself and the world. After college Fred joined the U.S. army in 1990. He was accepted into the Special Forces in 1994 and served in various locations around the world and held ranks from Captain through Colonel.   Fred and I talk a fair amount about leadership and how his view of that subject grew and changed over the years. He retired from the military in 2015. He continues to be incredibly active serving in a variety of roles in both the for profit and nonprofit arenas.   I love Fred's leadership style and philosophy. I hope you will as well. Fred has lots of insights that I believe you will find helpful in whatever you are doing.       About the Guest:   Colonel (Retired) Fred Dummar was born and raised in the remote town of Gabbs, Nevada. He enlisted in the Nevada National Guard in 1986 and served as a medic while attending the University of Nevada. He was commissioned as an Infantry Officer in the U.S. Army in April 1990.   Fred was selected for Special Forces in 1994 and went on to command at every level in Special Forces from Captain to Colonel. He trained and deployed in many countries, including Panama, Venezuela, Guyana, Nigeria, Zambia, Botswana, Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia, Iraq, and Afghanistan. Most notably, Col Dummar participated in the liberation of Kurdish Northern Iraq in 2003, assisting elements of the Kurdish Peshmerga (resistance fighters) with the initial liberation of Mosul.   Colonel Dummar's last tour in uniform was as the Commander of the Advisory Group for Afghan Special Forces from May 2014 to June 2015. Immediately after retiring, he returned to Afghanistan as a defense contractor to lead the Afghan Army Special Operations Command and Special Mission Wing training programs until May 2017.   Beginning in 2007 and continuing until 2018, Fred guided his friend, who was blinded in Iraq, through 40 Marathons, several Ultra marathons, climbing Mount Kilimanjaro, running with the bulls in Pamplona, and a traverse of the Sahara Desert to raise funds and awareness for Special Forces Soldiers. He personally ran numerous Ultramarathons, including 23 separate 100-mile runs and over a hundred races from 50 miles to marathon.   Fred graduated from the U.S. Army Command and Staff College and the U.S. Army War College with master's degrees in military art and science, strategy, and policy. He is currently pursuing a Doctoral Degree in Organizational Psychology and Leadership.   Since retiring from the Army in 2015, Fred has led in nonprofit organizations from the Board of Directors with the Special Forces Charitable Trust (2015-2022) as the Chief of Staff for Task Force Dunkirk during the evacuation of Afghan Allies in August 2021, as a leadership fellow with Mission 43 supporting Idaho's Veterans (2020-2023), and as a freshwater advocate with Waterboys with trips to East Africa in 2017 and 2019 to assist in funding wells for remote tribes.   Fred has led in the civilian sector as the Senior Vice President of Legacy Education, also known as Rich Dad Education, from 2017-2018 and as the startup CEO for Infinity Education from 2021-2022, bringing integrity and compassion to Real Estate Education. Fred continues investing in Real Estate as a partner in Slate Mountain Homes, Idaho and trains new investors to find, rehab, and flip manufactured homes with Alpine Capital Solutions.   Fred is married to Rebecca Dummar, and they reside in Idaho Falls, Idaho, with three of their children, John, Leah, and Anna. Their daughter Alana attends the University of Michigan.   Ways to connect with Fred:   Here is a link to my webpage - https://guidetohuman.com/ Here is a link to my Substack where I write - https://guidetohuman.substack.com/   About the Host:   Michael Hingson is a New York Times best-selling author, international lecturer, and Chief Vision Officer for accessiBe. Michael, blind since birth, survived the 9/11 attacks with the help of his guide dog Roselle. This story is the subject of his best-selling book, Thunder Dog.   Michael gives over 100 presentations around the world each year speaking to influential groups such as Exxon Mobile, AT&T, Federal Express, Scripps College, Rutgers University, Children's Hospital, and the American Red Cross just to name a few. He is Ambassador for the National Braille Literacy Campaign for the National Federation of the Blind and also serves as Ambassador for the American Humane Association's 2012 Hero Dog Awards.   https://michaelhingson.com https://www.facebook.com/michael.hingson.author.speaker/ https://twitter.com/mhingson https://www.youtube.com/user/mhingson https://www.linkedin.com/in/michaelhingson/   accessiBe Links https://accessibe.com/ https://www.youtube.com/c/accessiBe https://www.linkedin.com/company/accessibe/mycompany/   https://www.facebook.com/accessibe/       Thanks for listening!   Thanks so much for listening to our podcast! If you enjoyed this episode and think that others could benefit from listening, please share it using the social media buttons on this page. Do you have some feedback or questions about this episode? Leave a comment in the section below!   Subscribe to the podcast   If you would like to get automatic updates of new podcast episodes, you can subscribe to the podcast on Apple Podcasts or Stitcher. You can subscribe in your favorite podcast app. You can also support our podcast through our tip jar https://tips.pinecast.com/jar/unstoppable-mindset .   Leave us an Apple Podcasts review   Ratings and reviews from our listeners are extremely valuable to us and greatly appreciated. They help our podcast rank higher on Apple Podcasts, which exposes our show to more awesome listeners like you. If you have a minute, please leave an honest review on Apple Podcasts.       Transcription Notes:   Michael Hingson ** 00:00 Access Cast and accessiBe Initiative presents Unstoppable Mindset. The podcast where inclusion, diversity and the unexpected meet. Hi, I'm Michael Hingson, Chief Vision Officer for accessiBe and the author of the number one New York Times bestselling book, Thunder dog, the story of a blind man, his guide dog and the triumph of trust. Thanks for joining me on my podcast as we explore our own blinding fears of inclusion unacceptance and our resistance to change. We will discover the idea that no matter the situation, or the people we encounter, our own fears, and prejudices often are our strongest barriers to moving forward. The unstoppable mindset podcast is sponsored by accessiBe, that's a c c e s s i capital B e. Visit www.accessibe.com to learn how you can make your website accessible for persons with disabilities. And to help make the internet fully inclusive by the year 2025. Glad you dropped by we're happy to meet you and to have you here with us.   Michael Hingson ** 01:21 Well, hi everyone, and welcome to another edition of unstoppable mindset where inclusion diversity and the unexpected meet, but it's more fun to talk about unexpected than inclusion or diversity, although it is relevant to talk about both of those. And our guest today is Fred Dummar. It is pronounced dummar or dumar. Dummar, dummar, see, I had to do that. So Fred is a person I met Gosh about seven or eight months ago through Susy Flory, who was my co author on thunder dog, the story of a blind man, his guide dog and the triumph of trust at ground zero. And Susy introduced us because Fred is writing a book. We're going to talk about that a bunch today, and we'll also talk about Fred's career and all sorts of other things like that. But we've had some fascinating discussions, and now we finally get to record a podcast, so I'm glad to do that. So Fred Dummar, welcome to unstoppable mindset.   Fred Dummar ** 02:22 Yeah, no. Thanks for having me. Michael, yeah, we've had some some interesting discussions about everything unstoppable mind and blindness and diversity. And yeah, it's good to be on here.   Michael Hingson ** 02:34 Yeah. And one of the things I know that you have done is ran with a blind marathoner, and I'm anxious to hear about that, as well as what an ultra marathon is. We'll get to that, however. But why don't we start by you may be talking a little bit about kind of the early freight growing up and all that you grew up in, in Nevada, in a in a kind of remote place. So I'm going to just leave it to you to talk about all   Fred Dummar ** 02:57 that. Yeah, Michael, so, and actually, that's part of my, part of my story that I'm writing about. Because, you know, obviously, where we're from forms a large basis of how we sometimes interact with the world. And I came from a very remote town in Nevada. It's dying, by the way. I'm not sure how long that town will be with us, but, yeah, being from a small town where, you know, graduating class was 13 kids, and it's an hour to the closest place that you could watch a movie or get fast food, those types of things, it's definitely a different type of childhood, and much one, much more grounded in self reliance and doing activities that you can make up yourself, right? Instead of being looking for others to entertain you.   Michael Hingson ** 03:50 Yeah, I hear you. So what was it like growing up in a small town? I grew up in Palmdale, California, so it was definitely larger than where you grew up, we had a fairly decent sized High School senior graduating class. It wasn't 13, but what was it like growing up in that kind of environment?   Fred Dummar ** 04:12 Yeah, it was. It was one where you know, not only did you know everybody, everybody else knew you, and so you could pretty much count on anyone in the town for for assistance or, or, you know, if, I guess, if you were on the house for not, not assistance, so, but no, it was. It was a great place to have many, many, many friends from there. But it was, certainly was an adjustment, because I think growing up, there are our sort of outlook on life for us, you know, certainly from the people that that ran our high school and the other adults, most people were seen as, you know, your life after high school would be going to work at one of. The mines, or going to work on one of the, you know, family cattle ranch or something like that. So making the jump from there to, you know, even a few hours away to Reno, you know, to start at the University of Nevada, that was a big it's a big jump from for me, and because the school is so small, I ended up graduating from high school when I was 16, so I barely had a driver's license, and now I am several hours away and Reno, Nevada, going to the university. And, you know, quite an adjustment for me.   Michael Hingson ** 05:32 It's interesting. A few days ago, I had the opportunity to do a podcast episode with someone who's very much involved and knows a lot about bullying and so on, and just listening to you talk, it would seem like you probably didn't have a whole lot of the bully type mentality, because everyone was so close, and everyone kind of interacted with each other, so probably that sort of stuff wasn't tolerated very well. Yeah,   Fred Dummar ** 05:59 it was, it was more so outsiders. I mean, kids that had grown up there all sort of, you know, knew where they were or weren't in the pecking order. Things and things sort of stayed kind of steady stasis, without a lot of bullying. But yeah, new kids coming in. That's where you would see for me, from my recollection of growing up to that's where, you know, I remember that type of behavior coming out when, when you know, a new kid would come into the town,   Michael Hingson ** 06:31 was it mainly from the new kids or from the kids who are already there?   Fred Dummar ** 06:34 From the kids? Sometimes it was the integration, right? Some people integrate into new environments better than others. And you know, generally, no problems for those folks. But some, you know, it takes a bit more. And in a place like that, if you're you know, if you're seen as different, so you know to your theory on or your you know the topics you cover on diversity and inclusion. Sometimes when you're the one that that looks different or acts different in an environment like that, you definitely stick out, and then you become the target of of bullying.   Michael Hingson ** 07:10 What? What happens that changes that for a kid? Then, you know, so you're you're different or in one way or another. But what happens that gets kids accepted? Or do they?   Fred Dummar ** 07:21 Yeah, I don't know. I think, I think it's learning to embrace just who you are and doing your own thing. I think if you know, if you're trying to force yourself into an environment that doesn't want to accept you, I'm not sure that that's ever an easy battle for anyone. But just being yourself and doing your own thing. I think that's, that's the way to go, and that's certainly, you know, what I learned through my life was I wasn't one of the kids that planned on staying there and working in the mind, and I wasn't, you know, my family was, you know, at that point, my mom and dad owned the, the only grocery store in town, and I certainly wasn't going back to run the family business. So, you know, look, looking for a way, you know, for something else to do outside of that small town was certainly number one on my agenda, getting out of there. So being myself and and learning to adapt, or, as you know the saying goes, right, learning to be instead of being a fish in a small pond, learning to be a fish in a much larger pond,   Michael Hingson ** 08:27 yeah, well, and there's, there's a lot of growth that has to take place for that to occur, but it's understandable. So you graduated at 16, and then what did you do after   Fred Dummar ** 08:38 my uh, freshman year at college, which I funded by, you know, sort of Miss, Miss misleading people or lying about my age so that I could get a job at 16 and working construction and as an apprentice electrician. And that funded my my freshman year of college. But, you know, as as as my freshman year was dragging on, I was wondering, you know, hey, how I was going to continue to fund my, you know, continued universe my stay at the university, because I did not want to go, you know, back back back home, sort of defeated, defeated by that. So I started looking into various military branches of military service, and that's when it happened upon the National Guard, Nevada National Guard, and so I joined the National Guard. And right after, you know, I think it was five days after I turned 17, so as soon as I could, I signed up, and that summer after my freshman year, I left for training for the National Guard. Missed first semester of my sophomore year, but then came back and continued on with my university studies using, you know, my the educational benefits that came from being in the National Guard.   Michael Hingson ** 09:55 So you're in the National Guard, but that wasn't a full time thing, so you were able to go back and. Continue education. Yeah,   Fred Dummar ** 10:01 it was, you know, it's a typical one weekend a month, one weekend a month for duty. Typically, we would go in on a Friday night, spend Saturday and Sunday for duty. So we get a, you know, small check for that. And then we were also allowed to draw, you know, the GI Bill and the state of Nevada had a program at the time where you didn't get paid upfront for your classes, but at the end of every semester, you could take your final report card and for every class, for every credit that you had a C or higher, they would reimburse you. So yeah, so they were essentially paying my tuition, and then, you know, small stipend every month from the GI Bill. And then, you know, my National Guard check, so and in the 80s, you know, when I was going to school, that that was enough to keep, you know, define my education. And where did you go to school? At the University of Nevada in   Michael Hingson ** 10:59 Reno, in Reno, okay, yeah, so, so you kind of have ended up really liking Reno, huh?   Fred Dummar ** 11:07 Yeah, I, yeah. I became sort of home city. Obviously, no one would ever really know where. You know, if I would have mentioned that I grew up in a town called gaps, most people would, you know, not, not really understand. I sometimes, if they're, you know, press and say, hey, you know, where are you really? Because, you know, often say, Hey, I went to school in Reno. If they say, where did you grow up? I'll, you know, it's a longer conversation. I'll be like, okay, so if you put your finger, like, right in the middle of Nevada, in the absolute middle of nowhere, that's where I grew up.   Michael Hingson ** 11:40 Well, you know, people need to recognize and accept people for who they are, and that doesn't always happen, which is never fun, but Yeah, gotta do what you can do, yes, well, so Reno, on the other hand, is a is a much larger town, and probably you're, a whole lot more comfortable there than you than you were in Gabs, but that's okay. So yeah, so you went to the university. You got a bachelor's, yep, and then what did you do?   Fred Dummar ** 12:11 Yeah. Well, so along the way, while I was in the National Guard, you know, being a medic, right? I was convinced by a lieutenant that met me. I was actually doing the physical, because it was one of the things our section did when I was first in, you know, we gave the medical physicals, and this lieutenant said, you know, you should come transfer our unit. The unit was an infantry unit, and I became their only medic. And so that was much better than working in a medical section for a helicopter unit where I'd been and and the lieutenants, you know, said that I should consider joining ROTC, since I was already going to the university. So I did in my junior year, started the Reserve Officer Training Corps there at the University of Nevada. And so when I graduated college in the winter of 89 I accepted a commission into the army. So then a few months later, I was, I was off on my my Grand Army adventure,   Michael Hingson ** 13:11 alright, and then what did you do?   Fred Dummar ** 13:15 So, yeah, that was, you know, because it was an infantry Lieutenant went to Fort Benning, Georgia, and I believe now the army calls it fort Moore, but yeah, I trained there for about a year, doing all of the tasks necessary to become an infantry officer. And then I went down to Panama, when the US still had forces in the country of Panama. And I spent two and a half years down there was that past mariega, yeah, right after, because I had graduated from college in December of 89 while operation just caused to get rid of Noriega was happening. So year after my infantry training, I sort of ended up in Panama, and sort of as at the time, thinking it was bad luck, you know, because if you're in the army, you know, you want to, kind of want to go where things are happening. So I'm in Panama the year after the invasion, while Saddam Hussein is invading Kuwait, and everyone else is rushing to the desert, and I'm sitting in the jungle. So, you know, as a as a young person, you start to think, you know, oh, you know, hey, I'm missing. I'm missing the big war. I should be at the war, you know. So that was an interesting take, not what I would have now, but you know, as a young man,   Michael Hingson ** 14:31 what caused you to revise that view, though? Or time,   Fred Dummar ** 14:37 yeah, yeah. Just, just time. And, you know, later in life, you know, after, uh, serving combat rotations in Iraq and Afghanistan, I realized it wasn't something one needed to rush towards,   Michael Hingson ** 14:48 really quite so bad, where you were, yeah. So,   Fred Dummar ** 14:52 yeah, I spent a couple years in Panama, then I came back to Fort Benning, uh, Fort Moore, and worked at the Army's Airborne School. So. Uh, you know, the place that teaches people how to jump out of airplanes. And I did that for for a year. So it's, it's really fun because watching, you know, watching people go through the process of of training to jump out of an aircraft, and then sort of their very first time on an aircraft might takes off, and you can see the, you know, sort of the realization that they're not going to land with the plane for the first time in their life. You know, they're they're not going to be in the plane when it lands. That's always, you know, it's always a good time. And then, of course, when you know, then there's another realization, moment when the doors pop open right, and the doors, doors on the aircraft are opened so the jump masters can start making checks, you know, and out, yeah, and they're looking, you know, their eyes get larger and larger, you know, as as preparations for the jump. You know, when they're stood up and they're hooked up inside the aircraft, and then finally, you know, told to exit. Yeah, it's interesting. And during the time when I worked there, that's when I was eligible, because I was a senior lieutenant at that time, that I could apply to become a Green Beret. I could go through special forces training if I was selected. So I left from Fort Benning, I went up to Fort Bragg, now fort liberty, and went through the selection, Special Forces Assessment, selection, and was selected to become a Special Forces soldiers that I went to Fort Bragg, you know, spent the year or so becoming qualified to be a special forces team leader, and then the next I spent the next 20 years of my Army career in various units at at Fort liberty, and third Special Forces Group, Special Forces Command, seven Special Forces Group, Special Operations recruiting, just, you know, bouncing around in different assignments and then, but obviously during that time, 911, happened, and you know, was on the initial invasion in 2003 up in, up into the north. We were flying in from Romania, you know, before the war started. And so being there during that phase of the Iraq combat in Iraq, and then going to Afghanistan and and spending multiple, multiple tours and multiple years in Afghanistan. So, so   Michael Hingson ** 17:25 did you do much jumping out of airplanes?   Fred Dummar ** 17:29 Yeah, in combat, no. But over the years, yeah, I accumulated quite a few jumps. Because what, you know, every, every unit I was ever assigned to while I was in the army was always one that was, you know, airborne, which are, you know, the designation for units that jump out of airplanes. So   Michael Hingson ** 17:47 have to, yeah, yeah. Well, you're a pretty level headed kind of guy. What was it like the first time you jumped? I mean, you described what it looked like to other people. Do you think that was basically the same for you, or did you, yeah, kind of a thicker skin,   Fred Dummar ** 18:01 yeah, no, no, I think, I think that's why I was able to, you know, in large measure, that's how a lot of us are able to have empathy, right? If we've, if we've, if we've been through it, and we are able to access the memory of, okay, what was it like when I was doing it? It allows us to be, you know, more compassionate to the people that are going through it at that moment for the first time, but yeah, I can remember being in the plane, and then you know, that realization is like, hey, you know, in the pit of your stomach, I'm not, I'm not landing with this plane. And then, you know, the doors opening up, you're like, you know, kind of hey, those, I don't know what the gates of hell look like, but right now, that's that's in my mind, what, what they would look like, you know, and then going out the first time, and and then I think the second time might have been worse, because it was the anticipation of, oh, wait a minute, we're doing that again. And by the but if you do five jumps to qualify before you're given your parachute as badge, so I think by the third one, I'd come to terms with, with, with dealing and managing. You know, you know the fear of it, of leaving an airplane. And people you know often ask, you know when, when you're older and you're past the 100 jump mark, you know it's like, still, is there still fear and like, I think, I think, if there's not, I mean, then you know, there's probably something wrong with you, but, but it's not, it's nowhere near you know how it is when you know your First learning and your first learning to trust yourself and trust the equipment and trust the process. Well,   Michael Hingson ** 19:45 what you're learning a little bit along the way is to how to control fear. And you mentioned my book earlier, the one that's coming out live like a guide dog, which is all about trying to teach people to control fear, because we have so many things happen to. Us, or we think about so many things, that we develop so many fears consciously or not, that when something does unexpectedly happen to us, especially something that isn't necessarily a positive thing, we just automatically go into a fear reaction mode. And the the reality is it doesn't need to be that way you can learn to control fear, which is what we talk about in live like a guide dog, because it's important that people recognize you can learn to control fear. I would never say, Don't be afraid. Yeah, but I think you can learn to control fear, and by doing so, then you use that fear to help guide you and give you the the the the tools to really be able to move forward and focus. But most people don't really spend much time doing that. They don't learn introspection. They don't learn how to to slow down and analyze and develop that mind muscle so that later you can analyze incredibly quickly.   Fred Dummar ** 21:06 Yeah, we in the army, we call that stress inoculation, good description, you know, it's, you know, once you're, once you're, you've learned to deal with stress, or deal with, you know, stressful, fearful things. Then, you know, the next time you're you're better equipped. And that fear and that stress can be, you know, can be continually amped up. I used to laugh when I was doing Special Forces recruiting, because the you know, it would require a special physical for candidates to go get a special physical before they could come to training. And one of the boxes we would joke about was, I have no fear of heights or enclosed spaces. No everybody has those fears, is whether you can, you can manage those fears and deal with. You know, things are very uncomfortable. Well, that's   Michael Hingson ** 22:05 really it. It's all about managing. And so I'm sure that they want you to check no, that you don't have those fears when you're when you're going through. But at the same time, what you're hopefully really saying is you can manage it. Yeah,   Fred Dummar ** 22:20 that you can manage and that's why I was saying, that's why I would always laugh, because of course, everyone has those fears and but learning to deal with them and and how you deal with them, and that that's, you know, one of the things I discuss in one of the chapters of the book I'm writing is, is, you know when fear, when fear comes to You, you know, how do you deal with it and how do you overcome it? I think people are more and more recognizing you know that there are techniques through stress inoculation, you know, things like that. They'll teach you how you can overcome fear. And you know simple breathing techniques to you know, slow down your breathing and engage your brain, not just your brain stem, right? When you breathe, it fast, your brain stem is in charge, not your brain and yeah, and think your way through things, rather than just reacting as a, you know, as a frightened animal,   Michael Hingson ** 23:19 right? And it's one of the things that that, as I discuss in the book, and I talk to people about now a lot, that although I didn't realize it for many years, after September 11, I had developed a mindset on that day that said, You know what to do, because I had spent a lot of time learning what to do, how to deal with emergencies, what the rules were, and all that, and all of that just kicked in on September 11, which is as good as it could get.   Fred Dummar ** 23:45 Yeah. Well, Michael, you have a you have a distinct advantage. You had a distinct advantage a couple of them, but, but one being, you know, because you already live in a world without light in your sight, you're not dependent on that. And so another, when other people are, you know, in, you know, when I'm reading the book, I'm nodding my head knowingly, you know, as you're talking about being in the stairwell and other people being frightened, and you're just like, this is okay. This is an average, I mean, maybe unusual circumstances, but an average day for me,   Michael Hingson ** 24:21 yeah. But they side of it is, I know lots of blind people who would be just as much in fear as anyone else. It's the fact is, of course, we didn't know what was going on. Yes, September 11, a   Fred Dummar ** 24:35 bit of ignorance is bliss, right? Yeah. And   Michael Hingson ** 24:38 that was true for everyone. I had a great imagination. I could tell you that I imagine things that could happen that were a whole lot worse than in a sense, what did, but I, but I like science fiction and horror, so I learned how to imagine well, but the fact is that it isn't so much being blind that's an advantage, really. Really was the preparation. And so the result was that I had done that. And you know, of course, the airplane hit 18 floors above us on the other side of the building. So the reality is going down the stairs. None of us knew what happened. We figured out an airplane hit the building because we started smelling the fumes from burning jet fuel. But by the same token, that was all we knew. We didn't even know that tower two had been hit until, well, much later, when we got outside, colleagues saw David Frank, my colleague saw tower two was on fire, but we still didn't know what it was from. So yeah, the the fact is that blindness may or may not really be an advantage, but preparation certainly was, yeah,   Fred Dummar ** 25:43 how you reacted, how you reacted to being blind. Because, yeah, you can just, just like anything, right? You can react in in several different ways, and how you acted, how you built your life around,   Michael Hingson ** 25:54 sure. And most people, of course, just rely on reading signs. And so they also have the fear, what if I can't read the signs. What if there's smoke and all that? And again, they they build fears rather than doing the smart thing, which is just to learn what to do in the case of an emergency when you're in a building like that. But you know, it is part of what what we do talk about, and it is, it is pretty important that people start to learn a little bit more that they can control fear. I mean, we have in our in our whole world, politicians who just do nothing but promote fear, and that's unfortunate, because we all buy into it, rather than stepping back and go, Wait a minute. It doesn't need to be that way.   Fred Dummar ** 26:37 Yeah, I think the other thing, like you talked about your your preparation and training. And I always that was one of the way ways, or one of the things that brought me to ultra marathoning, you know, after my initial training in Special Forces, was, you know, if you're, if you're going to push your capacity to see, you know what you're what you're really capable of, or build, you know, build additional reserves. So, you know, if you are counted on to do something extraordinary or in extenuating circumstances, what do you really have, you know, yeah, how far can you really push yourself? And so it really brought me into the sport of ultra running, where, you know, the distances, or those distances that exceed a marathon. So a marathon being, you know, 26 miles, yeah. So the first ultra marathon is a 50k because, you know, Marathon is 42 so eight kilometers farther. And then the next, general, you know, length is 50 miles. And then there's some other, you know, 100k which is 62 miles. And then, kind of the, although, you know, now we see, see races longer, but kind of the the longest distance being 100 mile race and so, and the gold standard in 100 mile racing being, you know, for most, most courses, every course being different, but for most courses, is to finish under 24 hours, so within one one day, but to keep moving for one, you know, one entire day while, you know, while fueling yourself and and, and some people say, Well, you Know, wow, that pace doesn't seem that fast. Troy   Michael Hingson ** 28:22 yourself then and see, yeah,   Fred Dummar ** 28:24 and, like a lot of things, it doesn't, it doesn't exactly seem fast until you're factoring in, okay, but you're still gonna have to stop at some point to you, you know, relieve yourself, and you're gonna have to, you know, walk while you eat. And, you know, there's hills to climb and all these other sorts of obstacles. So, yeah, finishing under 24 hours is, you know, sort of the, you know, the standard, I guess, for the people want to achieve. And anyway, yeah, I became, for a bit there, became addicted to it. And then, so when I met Ivan, my friend, who you were talking about, who, who was, was blinded in in Iraq in 2006 when I met him, he had already been injured, and I realized that he really wanted to run marathons. He'd run one, and had to use, like, several different guides, right? You know, there were different people jumping in and out, and it really wasn't an ideal situation for him and he and he also needed someone who who wanted to do that, who would be a reliable training partner, right? Because it's not like, okay, you know, you might be able to find people that show up on marathon day. Want to run the marathon, or a few people, but, you know, day in, day out, to be training. And so I was like, Hey, this is one of those things that ends up in your path, right, that you can, maybe you can walk around it, but, but for me, when I, you know, when I saw. I was like, Okay, this was, this was something that, you know, for whatever reason, is on my path. I meant to do it. I meant to be the guy that does this. And so, yeah, we started training together. And, you know, ended up running 40 plus marathons together, you know, from London, Chicago, you know, every, every the Marine Corps Marathon, just everywhere. And, you know, summiting Mount Kilimanjaro and running with the bulls together. And then our last race was, it's often referred to as, you know, the world's toughest foot race. It's the marathon to Saab, and it's a, it's a distance race of 150 some miles across the Sahara Desert. And they break it up into stages. So on different days, some days, you run 30 miles. Some days, you know, 26 one day is a 50. I think we were at 53 miles on one of the days. But anyway, and you start the you start that race with whatever you're going to eat and whatever you're going to need, you know, in terms of gear on your back. And the only thing that's provided to you during the race is water. So, and that was our kind of, you know, he's like, I don't know how much longer I'm going to be able to run, and so I just want to do that before I stop. I stopped, right? So, but anyway, yeah, so that was how I ended up meeting my friend Ivan, and, you know, over the course of a decade and a half, we did all of these, you know, what some people think are incredibly dumb things, but, you know, sort of embracing the discomfort of training and competing to, you know, to make ourselves better, you know? Yeah,   Michael Hingson ** 31:44 so while you were in the military, I know you mentioned earlier something about doing some work in as a medic. Did you do that most of your time? Were you specializing in that? Or what?   Fred Dummar ** 31:54 No, no, that was only when I early on, when I was a soldier, I was a medic, and then when I was commissioned, I was commissioned, I was commissioned as an infantry officer, and then, and then, when it became Special Forces, you know, the officer is, sort of has, has no specialty other than leading the team. The team has medics and weapons guys and engineers and communicators and all that. But, you know, the officers sort of assigned as the as the planning the planning agent, you know, the to lead the team, rather than have any of the specialties,   Michael Hingson ** 32:30 right? And you participated long enough that you rose to the rank of colonel. Yeah, yeah, my participation   Fred Dummar ** 32:38 trophy was attaining the rank of colonel. And I would often tell people the arm don't think the army doesn't have a sense of humor. I was promoted to Colonel on April 1, so April Fool's days when, when I was promoted? And yeah, and I, after almost 30 years in uniform, retired in 2015 so I don't know that I would have went that long. But you know, they're about the middle of my career, from 1986 to 2015 you know 911 happened, and for me, it wasn't, it wasn't really a choice to to leave. Then, you know, it was like, Okay, we, you know, we have to do this. These Iraq and Afghanistan. In fact, my my very last, my last year in in uniform. I was in Afghanistan as an advisor to the Afghan commandos. And when I returned from that tour, you know, was told that, hey, I had to, I had to finally leave Fort Bragg after 20 years and and either go to, you know, the Pentagon or another headquarters. And that's when I decided to retire. Because it was like, okay, you know, if, if the wars don't need me anymore, then I, I can go home and do other things. Yeah, I can do other things. If the wars don't need me, you know, then I can probably hang it up. So   Michael Hingson ** 34:11 when did you get married? So   Fred Dummar ** 34:15 over the course of my Army career, I was divorced twice. Yeah, it's just not an easy No, it's not. It's just not an easy lifestyle. I'm not making any excuses for my own failings in that regard. But, you know, it is, it is, I think, easier to become emotionally detached from someone, especially, you know, as in my case, I think I often put the army, first, the army, my soldiers, the mission, you know, as the first on my mind. And you know, for someone else, you know that to be a pretty strong person, to sit in the back seat during that so. And I did not have any children and then, but after I retired, when went through my second and four. I met someone. And so, yeah, we were married in in 2020, and so I had a, I was able, you know, after not having children, my first son was born when I was 50. So I have a son who's, you know, four, four years old, four going on five. And then we decided that, you know, he should have someone to be with. So we were going to have a second child. And my wife had twins, so I have twin, three year old girls. So, yeah,   Michael Hingson ** 35:37 you're going to do it. You might as well go all the way, huh?   Fred Dummar ** 35:40 Yeah, and and, and I haven't, and I adopted Rebecca's older, the child that she that she had. And so now we have four children, Alana being much older, she's already finished for freshman year at the University of Michigan, and this get ready to go back to Ann Arbor and continue her studies and and then we have, you know, the small pack of humans that are still here in their pre, pre kindergarten phase. So   Michael Hingson ** 36:10 she is a a Wolverine fan, and there will ever be an Ohio State Buckeye,   Fred Dummar ** 36:18 yeah, something like that. Yeah, that rivalry is pretty intense. And, you know, never being part of a school that was, you know, in that, in that division, you know, not really realizing, well, you know, watching college football, I kind of understand the rival, all the rivalries. But once she started going to Michigan, and, you know, attending a football game there myself. And then, unfortunately, you know, we were able to go to the Rose Bowl this year, which, you know, when Michigan played Alabama. So we were able to go to that together. So, yeah, it was, it's interesting to learn that dynamic. And like, I tell her, it's like, never, never take for granted being part of a big school like that without those sorts of traditions. Absolutely.   Michael Hingson ** 37:06 Yeah, I went to UC Irvine, so we didn't really have a lot with with football, but my wife did her graduate work at USC, and I always like to listen to USC football games. I judge a lot about sports teams by the announcers they hire, I gotta say. And so we've been always so blessed out here in California, although I think that announcing isn't quite what it used to be, but we had good announcers that announced for USC out here on I think it was originally on Kx, and then it went to other stations. But anyway, when we got married, the wedding started late because a bunch of people were sitting out in their cars waiting for the end of the USC Notre Dame game. And so the wedding was 15 minutes late starting because everybody was waiting to see who was going to win the game. And I am quite pleased to say that we won, and God was on our side, as opposed to Notre Dame. And, yeah, the marriage lasted 40 years, so until she, she passed away in 2022 but I love to tell people that, you know, God clearly was on our side, especially when I tell that to my Notre Dame friends,   Fred Dummar ** 38:15 yeah, the touch touchdown, Jesus wasn't, wasn't there for them, not   Michael Hingson ** 38:19 that day. Yeah, but, but, you know, and there's college football is, is in a lot of ways, I just think so much more fun, or it has been than professional. But, you know, now a lot more money is getting into it, which is unfortunate too. Yeah,   Fred Dummar ** 38:37 I think that's caused some of the you know, teams re evaluate what they what they do happen, how they operate. And I think it's forced some of the older coaches to leave the game, yeah, because it's not the game they recognize, so not   Michael Hingson ** 38:53 what they had well. So you've been to a variety of different places. You've been a leader. And I think it's pretty clear that you really still are, but how did all the the different experiences, the different places that you went to, and all the the experiences that you participated in, how does that affect and shape your leadership style?   Fred Dummar ** 39:19 Yeah, Michael, you know, I think one of the first things, right, if you when your surface looking, and some people never go below the surface. So when you talk about things like diversity and inclusion, the things, the things that they will think about that make people divert diverse are not generally what I think about. Because, you know, when you look below the surface, you see a lot of commonalities in the human experience. You know, from my time living, living in Panama and operating in Central and South America, some countries in the in the you know, the Caribbean when I was first in special operations, and then. Obviously, I went and did some time in in Africa, some peacekeeping operations in Nigeria, some other exercises down in the south, southern countries in Africa, and then my time in Iraq and Afghanistan. People, you know, they're they come in different colors. They they have different their path to God or the universe or the higher power that they recognize that the cultural artifacts that they use may may look different, but you know, they're generally pointing if you if you can step aside from your own preconceived notions about things, you can see that they're they're just different signposts to the same God, right to the same, to the same, power to the same, to the same things, and people want the same things, you know, for their families, you know, for for security and prosperity, and you know that that sort of thing. So it's, that's where I, kind of, you know, came to my leadership philosophy, which is pretty easy to remember. It's just lead, lead with love. And you know, if you use, and I haven't tell people, doesn't really matter what denomination you are. If you read, you know, the Gospels of the New Testament purely as a leadership guide. You know it's, it's hard to find a a better leadership example than than what, what Jesus was was doing, you know, the way he was serving others the way he was leading. It's, it's, it's pretty powerful, pretty powerful stuff. And you know, even, even at the end, right during the Last Supper, when he tells people, you know, who, who's the most important is the most important person, the person sitting at the table getting ready to eat, or the person serving, you know. And of course, you as humans, you know, is based on our, you know, the way we think about the world. We think the most important person is, you know, not only the person sitting at the table, but the person at the nicest table, or the head of the table, and not the person serving. And so that was something I tried to embrace during my time in the military, and what I try and embrace now is, you know, being the person that serves others and using your position. You know, if you if, if and when you are promoted or asked to lead that, you approach it from a position of, you know, what? What can I do from this position to help other people and and just be compassionate to their actual circumstances. And that doesn't mean, you know, when people, people hear me say that they're, you know, they think, Well, that's pretty how does that reconcile with you being a Green Beret and being around, you know, a bunch of you know, meat eating savages, you know, how do you how do you reconcile that and like, well, leading with care and compassion doesn't mean you know that I'm coddling anyone, because I'm certainly not coddling anyone you know. You know, I demand high performance for myself and from from people in those positions like that. You know, when I was a member of a special forces organization, but not everybody's supposed to be doing that. And so I think recognizing the circumstances and the people and what the organization's supposed to do or and how it can care for people, I think those are things that became really, really important to me   Michael Hingson ** 43:33 well. And I think you raised some really valid points. The reality is that September 11, for example, was not a religious war, a religious event. It was a bunch of thugs who wanted to have their way with the world. But most people who truly practice the Islamic faith are the same as the rest of us, and they and they seek God just like we do, like Jewish people do and others do, and we've got to keep that in mind, but it's, it's so hard, because we mostly don't step back and evaluate that and realize that those 19 people on those four airplanes are just a bunch of thugs, pure and simple.   Fred Dummar ** 44:15 Yeah, that, yeah, that, and, and the organizations they represent, right? You know, they're, they're, they're, and they're not the only ones, right? People from of all faiths have harnessed, you know,   Michael Hingson ** 44:30 their various back to the Crusades, yeah, you know, you know, their   Fred Dummar ** 44:33 various religions have harnessed themselves up to, you know, to sway people to to hate, or to, you know, to engage in combat or whatever. So yeah, to to lump that all in. I think our, some of our responses, and then also some of the way people think, has really led it led us to a more a more divided we're. Well, then you know that are more inclusive and and you know, thinking of ourselves as one we we think of ourselves as, you know, many and different, and sometimes things that we think would bring us together or help us make things more fair, like, you know, talking about diversity and inclusion, if we aren't really thinking about what we're trying to do and what that looks like, we can end up making the world more divided and less inclusive.   Michael Hingson ** 45:34 And unfortunately, we're seeing way too much of that, and it isn't helping to do that. And hopefully at some point we'll, we'll figure that out, or we'll realize that maybe it's a little bit better, or can be a little bit better than we think. Yeah, and I know you in 2003 did a lot to help the Kurds in northern Iraq, right?   Fred Dummar ** 45:55 Yeah, that was primarily, you know, my, my experience in Iraq was, you know, before the 2003 invasion, I was in Romania with my special forces company. And, yeah, we flew into northern Iraq and linked up with a group of Kurds and from where they were at and primarily our mission, you know, at that point, nobody really knew what Saddam might do when the main offensive of, you know, conventional army, conventional Marine Corps, British, you know, other allies, started from the south towards Baghdad. What would Saddam do? Would he, you know, send his forces in the north against the Kurds to create a destabilizing effect, you know, one both killing Kurds, but causing Kurds to flee to Syria and Iran, and, you know, probably most importantly for people that were planning to Turkey, you know, to further destabilize the region. So obviously, out of a desire to protect, help protect the Kurds and help stop or prevent something like that from happening. You know, we went in a couple weeks before the actual ground war started, we were in place with the Kurds and started organizing them to to defend themselves. And do you know, take back the land that they considered theirs, because, after, you know, Desert Storm, the you know, the 90s, the 90s war against Iraq, Saddam had pushed into Kurdish territory and established, you know, what he referred to as a, you know, his, his buffer zone. And then, you know, the US had been forcing a, you know, a no fly zone up in the Kurdish areas, but the Kurds had still never been allowed to go back to some of the cities that they considered theirs. So, you know, when we got in there with them, we were able to get, you know, move currents that have been forced out of those towns moved back into their towns and and our particular sector we we cleared down to Mosul Iraq, which, you know, people in the Bible will recognize As as the city of Nineveh. Or maybe not know that, but yeah, so we were, I was able to go drive through the, you know, the biblical, the some of the remains of the, you know, city of Nineveh as we got to Mosul. And then once we were there, that was sort of when, you know, we stole the Kurdish allies that, hey, you guys can go back to go back home, and then at that point us, we're only there a few days before us conventional forces. Now this is a couple months into the war, but us conventional forces made their way up there, and, you know, started doing stabilizing the city, and it was probably best to get the Kurdish militia out of there at that point, for things between the Kurds and the Arabs continue to deteriorate. So yeah, but it was a it was a great experience for me being with the Kurds and helping them, you know, sort of move through and retake towns that they had historically lived in. And, you know, along the way we passed and were able to clear Assyrian monastery that's on one of the mountains on the route to Mosul. So some, definitely, some history along the way, history lessons along the way. I   Michael Hingson ** 49:38 had the pleasure of going to Israel last year in August, okay? And spent a day in Jerusalem, so we got to go to the Western Wall and so on. And I really appreciated, and do appreciate, the history and just the awesomeness of of being there and touching the the temple and the wall that's been there for so long. And, you know, there is so much history over there that I really wish people would more appreciate and and on all sides, would figure out how they could become better at working with each other. One of these days, there's going to have to be peace, or it's going to really get a whole lot worse, very quickly,   Fred Dummar ** 50:21 yeah, for sure. Yeah, it was. It was interesting, though, when we were there, obviously watching the various groups of, you know, Syrians, Kurds, Arabs and others that had various claims to different parts of Mosul and different parts of the area around it. So it's fascinating, you know, to watch history try and unwind itself from some of the decisions that were made. You know, post World War Two, when lines were being drawn in the desert to create countries and and the ramifications of that? Yeah. Well,   Michael Hingson ** 51:06 you certainly have a perspective that's built on a lot of knowledge and being there, which I think is great on the other hand, well, not on the other hand. But then you left the military that that had to be a major change in terms of what you had been doing and what you were used to after almost 30 years. What's it like when you decide to make that kind of a major change and then, in your case, go back into civilian life? Yeah. So   Fred Dummar ** 51:38 my first, my first step, wasn't that far away from the military. And I started referring it. Referred to my first job as sort of an addiction clinic, because I went, I went to work as a house, yeah, I went to work as a contractor, or, you know, defense contractor. I went back to Afghanistan for about a year and a half running training programs for some of the Afghan special operations forces. So, you know, it was, it was really, you know, there was, if I, if I was a heroin addict, you know, I was in the methadone clinic, you know, trying to, trying to get off of it. And then, yeah, I realized, you know, kind of needed to go home. And my marriage, you know, dissolved, and so it's like, Hey, I probably time to, like, go home and have, you know, a different kind of life. And I moved into a civilian job with a friend, a friend at the time, who was doing investment training around the world. And he's like, Hey, we, you know, I know you're, you will travel. There's a lot of people that, when I talk to him about travel, it's involved with our business, you know, they don't, don't really want to do that. And he's like, but I know, you know, from where you're at. And he's like, hey, I'll buy, buy a ticket. Fly to Hong Kong, see what our business is about. So I went there and learned about the investment training they were doing in Hong Kong and throughout Southeast Asia. And then they had an office in Johannesburg, and, you know, one in London, Canada and the US and doing all this training. And so for about a year, little over a year, I worked in that business and and learned, you know, the various things that they were doing. You know how they were teaching people to invest in real estate and stocks and that sort of thing. Started doing it myself less, as I wish I would have known earlier in my life, but started doing that, and then when I left that company, that's a lot of what I've been doing. I've taken some smaller jobs and smaller contract projects. But by and large, that's basically what I've been doing since then, is, you know, working in real estate investing or real estate projects   Michael Hingson ** 53:50 and continuing to hone your leadership skills. Yeah,   Fred Dummar ** 53:54 yeah. Well, you know, I kept continue to work with or a couple of, you know, jobs where I was helping people start up businesses, you know, as either in CEO role or in an operations role to help help them start their businesses. So I did some of that which, which is always fun. It's great working with new talent and establishing procedures and helping people grow that way. So that was, that was really fun. And then got to be part of a couple of nonprofits, Special Forces, Charitable Trust, probably my longest stint. I did that for, you know, about seven or eight years on the board of directors, you know, running, helping to develop activities and programs to support our Special Forces veteran. So, yeah, it was, it's been, it's been fun. And then obviously having a new family and spending a lot of time in my role as a dad has been probably the most rewarding.   Michael Hingson ** 54:53 Yeah, I bet. And that is, that's always so much fun, and you get to help bring some. New people along into the world and hopefully help to make a difference that way. And on top of that, you continue to study. You're getting a PhD. You mentioned it earlier, but you're getting a PhD in organizational psychology and leadership. There we go with the leadership again.   Fred Dummar ** 55:14 Yeah, you know, it's, it's fun, because, you know, when I do get the opportunity to speak at events. I move around and speak at different events. I know you do a lot of speaking. You probably do much more than I do, but the events I do speak at, I want to make sure that sometimes being a practitioner of something doesn't always mean that you have the exact language or the academic credentials to go along with being a practitioner. And I've been a practitioner of leadership for so many years, but now studying it and applying, you know, one working towards an academic credential in this says, Hey, this, this guy knows what he's talking about. But then also having, you know, the the latest developments. And studies on leading people effectively and and how people are doing it wrong, and how you can help them. I think it's, it's been, it's been, been a great journey to be on as well, especially keeping my mind active in in all things leadership and helping organizations do it better.   Michael Hingson ** 56:21 Well, you, you have been a leader for a long time, but now you're studying it. Would you say that you're also discovering new things along the way? And you know, I guess what I'm getting at is, of course, none of us are ever so much an expert that we can't afford to learn more things. Oh   Fred Dummar ** 56:39 yeah, for sure, both, both learning new things, learning why I might have done things wrong based on, you know, studies, you know, like, okay, you know, if you if you have this type of personality, you might do this wrong, or things I was doing right, but not exactly, knowing all of, You know all of the mechanisms that were going into why I was making that decision. But you know, when you look at the psychology behind it, and you look at organizational structure structures, you look at cultural artifacts within organizations, then you can start to you start to unwind why teams do what they do, why leaders are developed, the way they're developed, and why people make certain decisions. And, yeah, it's been fascinating, you know, and then also looking back, as you said, back at things that you did, decisions that you made, and what you know, what you could have done better as you as you look that, through that, and how you can help someone else, and that's also really helped me further, you know, synthesize down this way that I look at at leading people with with love and compassion and why it's so important to be that servant type of leader, you know, not just a transformational leader that's trying to transform an organization to move that, but then, you know, how do you serve and care for the care for the people that are that are going to be part of that transformation?   Michael Hingson ** 58:10 Yeah, because if you are just looking at it from the standpoint of being a transformational leader, I'm going to change this organization that that doesn't really work. And I think that the most important aspect is being a servant leader, is being a person who serves, because that also opens you up to learning along the way and learning how to serve better.   Fred Dummar ** 58:34 Yeah. And you know, as I learned in the many organizations that I was part of over, you know, my time in Special Forces is, you know, just because, you know, alluding, you know, we were discussing roles, and I was saying, you know, this officer's role to often, to plan and to lead, but that other people are the experts. And that's something you know. The sooner you embrace that fact, the faster, the faster you become effective, and the more effective you are when you realize that understanding the people and and caring and serving them, and then getting their their best performance and understanding what they know and what they can do, and where you need to put them to maximize their potential, then those things start to become the most important thing that you're doing, how you know, how people play against each other, who works well with who? How that works, how that betters the organization. Those are all, all all things that are fascinating, you know, to me, and things that kept me up at night, trying to figure out, you know, how to how to be more efficient, how to take better care of people, while, you know, getting, not only getting the best out of them, but them, realizing they were giving their best and being happy and proud of what they. Were doing   Michael Hingson ** 1:00:01 and getting the best out of you as well.   Fred Dummar ** 1:00:03 Yeah, yeah, that, yeah, bringing the best out of them is bringing the best out of me, right?   Michael Hingson ** 1:00:08 So you've gotten work also in the nonprofit sector. You're continuing to do that, yeah,   Fred Dummar ** 1:00:13 yeah, yeah. Now, after leaving this Special Forces Charitable Trust, I realized, you know, after I'd moved out to Idaho, where I live now that I wasn't as connected to the regiment as I'd been my first retired and I was still kind of in the North Carolina area or but after moving out here, you know, just felt like that. I probably there were other guys more recently retired, knew more of the things that needed to be done. So stepping down from that organization. And then, obviously, one of the other things that happened was, you know, the the rapid withdrawal of US troops from Afghanistan and the fall of Afghanistan, and I found myself with many other Afghan veterans, sort of, you know, both wondering, you know what it all meant, why? You know, and then, but then also what we can do. You know, not dwelling too long. I know, you know, poor me. You know what? You know. Why did I go? What did it mean? But more so, hey, you know, we had a bunch of people that we made promises to, a bunch of people that follow alongside America, some certainly, you know, in the interest of Afghanistan. But there were also many, many of the especially on the Afghan Special Operations sides, that were not always necessarily doing things at the behest of the Afghan government, but operating with US forces on things that the US wanted to do, but then, you know, we're sort of left hanging when during the withdrawal. So, you know, working alongside other veterans to try and get as many of those people out during the withdrawal and then. But so now I work with an operation or a organization called Operation recovery that is still following these families, following these cases, people that are either still in Afghanistan, some in hiding, some in other countries, illegally, but trying to help them resolve visa issues and either get to Canada or the United States or someplace in Europe, just someplace safe for them and their family, away from the from the Taliban. And so that's been it, and it's, it's hard work, you know, because the in work like that, we're trying to make government bureaucracies realize that they should be issuing visas or allowing people to move, it's not always a rapid process. So feels like, and, you know, and I'm not pointing fingers as if anyone should still, you know, be completely focused on Afghanistan. But you know, other things happen. You know, Ukraine, the war in Ukraine draws attention away. You know, the war in Israel. You know, hurricanes, storms, everything that's going on. You know, Assassination comes. You know, assassination attempts, you know, all of that stuff diverts people's you know, draws people attend. You know their attention to that. And I'm not sure many people, you know, they support the troops. And you know, you often hear them, you know, you know, thanking troops for their service. And the only response I can have to that, you know, for for for years, I struggled with how to respond to that. When someone would say, Thank you for your service, you know, just Okay, thank you. You know, I don't know, thanks for your support, but you know, I heard a good response, and I've been using it since, and it's like, America's worth it. So,   Michael Hingson ** 1:03:54 yeah, on top of everything else that you do, you've also been dabbling or going into real estate a little bit, yeah,   Fred Dummar ** 1:04:01 yeah. So that's, that's a lot of what I've been doing, you know, for because, you know, providing for your family, right? So, yeah, I started doing some investment real estate, and out here, got a partner, we did, worked on a couple of mobile home parts, larger projects. And I still, once a week, I still teach a clas

Do you find it hard to trust some people? Do you find it hard to trust…anyone? Our society is full to the brim of people who have been hurt, wounded, and devastated. It puts up a wall and we live behind it in silence and fear.After the fall of Saddam Hussein in Iraq, the people of that captive country were free for the first time to tell their stories. One woman said that she had been driven nearly insane by the dictator's torture chambers, but when he was gone, someone shared the love of Christ with her. And her mind and spirit were restored.She said that for the first time in her life, she could now trust. It opened her heart to beauty, friendship, and love. And most of all, she now loves her Savior with her whole, healed heart.Psalm 91:2 says, “He is my refuge and my fortress, my God, in whom I trust.”Your situation might not be as extreme as our Iraqi sister, but if you have trust issues, take them to Jesus and tell Him with your whole hurting heart that you need Him. He will meet you where you are!Let's pray.Lord, your love heals all kinds of pain. We thank you that your mercies endure forever. In Jesus' name, amen.Change your shirt, and you can change the world! Save 15% Off your entire purchase of faith-based apparel + gifts at Kerusso.com with code KDD15.

I don't think I've ever "teared up" during a President's State of the Union Address to Congress - until that unforgettable moment during President George W. Bush's State of the Union early in 2005. For me, it had absolutely nothing to do with politics. It was just an intensely human moment that almost transcended politics. At one point in his speech, he paid tribute to the Iraqi people for their courage in going to the polls in the face of incredible danger. Then, the President introduced a guest that was sitting in the gallery next to the First Lady - a woman who had been an Iraqi freedom activist for eleven years at that time - since Saddam Hussein had her father executed. She stood with her index finger in the air, still tinted with that identifying purple dye of someone who had voted. She was very moved by the standing ovation from everyone in that chamber. And then a few moments later, the President paid tribute to the soldiers who had died in Iraq and then to their grieving families. At that point, he introduced a couple seated behind the woman from Iraq - their Marine son had died in the Fallujah campaign. They stood as representatives of all those families who had lost a son or daughter in Iraq. And then that mother leaned over to the front row and embraced the martyr's daughter from Iraq. They remained there just crying together, buried in each other's arms as the elected national leadership of the United States stood to their feet in a long and thunderous ovation. That's when I lost it. I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "The Hug of a Holy God." What a picture! The one whose son died embracing one he died for. I think one reason I found that so moving is because I can see myself in that picture - embraced by the God whose Son died, and I'm the one that He died for, and so are you. The question is have you ever acknowledged the sacrifice that was made for you? Have you ever stepped into your Heavenly Father's waiting arms? He's got so much love He's been waiting to give you. He's got the love you may have spent a whole life looking for. God's welcoming embrace cost Him the most precious thing He had - His one and only Son. Listen to these beautiful words from 1 John 4, beginning with verse 9, our word for today from the Word of God. "This is how God showed His love among us: He sent His one and only Son into the world that we might live through Him." Why don't you put your name in that verse? "He sent His one and only Son that (there's your name) might live through Him. He loved (there's your name) and sent His Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins." Like that mother at the State of the Union Address, God's the One whose Son died. But God's Son chose to die, because it was the only way your sins could be paid for other than you paying for them forever in hell. The cross was for you. To ignore that sacrifice will cost you heaven. To depend on the good things you try to do for God instead of the amazing thing God did for you means you will pay the death penalty for your sin that Jesus already died to pay. And now the One whose Son died waits to embrace the one He died for. In fact, He's been waiting for you for a long time. Let today be the day you finally experience His awesome love for yourself. Tell Him you know you've broken His laws and you've run your life your way, and that you want to change. Tell Him you're pinning all your hopes for eternity on the Savior who died for you. What an unforgettable day this could be for you. I would love to help walk you through beginning that relationship. That's what our website is there for. Would you go there today? It's ANewStory.com. I want you to know when you go to bed tonight beyond any shadow of a doubt that you belong to Jesus Christ. God gave His very best for you. Don't walk away from His waiting arms. Not after the price that He paid to love you.

TO WATCH ALL FLYOVER CONTENT: www.flyover.liveTO WATCH ALL FLYOVER CONTENT: www.flyover.liveTO WATCH ALL OF THE PROPHETIC REPORTS - www.thepropheticreport.comTO WATCH ALL OF THE PROPHETIC REPORTS - www.thepropheticreport.comFor Printable Versions of the Declarations - text DECREES to 40509For Printable Versions of the Declarations - text DECREES to 40509(Message and data rates may apply. Terms/privacy: 40509-info.com)(Message and data rates may apply. Terms/privacy: 40509-info.com)FIRST INTERVIEW: Will America be Destroyed or Saved in 40 days? What Part do We Play to Influence the Outcome?FIRST INTERVIEW: Will America be Destroyed or Saved in 40 days? What Part do We Play to Influence the Outcome?https://rumble.com/v4qkwi3-special-prophetic-report-with-stacy-whited.html https://rumble.com/v4qkwi3-special-prophetic-report-with-stacy-whited.html Ginger ZieglerGinger ZieglerWEBSITE: https://gingerziegler.com/WEBSITE: https://gingerziegler.com/YOUTUBE: https://www.youtube.com/@GingerZiegler YOUTUBE: https://www.youtube.com/@GingerZiegler FACEBOOK: www.facebook.com/gingerzieglerehg FACEBOOK: www.facebook.com/gingerzieglerehg INSTAGRAM: www.instagram.com/gingerzieglerehg INSTAGRAM: www.instagram.com/gingerzieglerehg TWITTER: www.twitter.com/GingerZieglerTWITTER: www.twitter.com/GingerZieglerBOOK: https://a.co/d/8M84bls BOOK: https://a.co/d/8M84bls “When we start embracing God's grace, God comes with His abundance of power and ability and He begins to change us. He begins to change our way of thinking in a permanent way. God uses His power, His loving-kindness, to take the truth and set us free.” - Ginger Ziegler “When we start embracing God's grace, God comes with His abundance of power and ability and He begins to change us. He begins to change our way of thinking in a permanent way. God uses His power, His loving-kindness, to take the truth and set us free.” - Ginger Ziegler Ginger Ziegler is an accomplished author, teacher, mentor, grandmother, mother, and confidant. She is affectionately known as “Mom” to those who know her personally. In her 40+ years of ministry, she has established and pastored churches, Bible schools, ministry training schools, foreign missions, prison ministries and prayer groups all over the world. Additionally, she has preached in numerous churches in the U.S. and many foreign countries. She has also worked with many large ministries, establishing Biblically sound and healthy prayer groups, and leadership schools.Ginger Ziegler is an accomplished author, teacher, mentor, grandmotherSend us a message... we can't reply, but we read them all!Support the show► ReAwaken America- text the word FLYOVER to 918-851-0102 (Message and data rates may apply. Terms/privacy: 40509-info.com) ► Kirk Elliott PHD - http://FlyoverGold.com ► My Pillow - https://MyPillow.com/Flyover ► ALL LINKS: https://sociatap.com/FlyoverConservatives

Tonight at 8:30 pm CST, on the Flyover Conservatives show we are tackling the most important things going on RIGHT NOW from a Conservative Christian perspective!  Tonight at 8:30 pm CST, on the Flyover Conservatives show we are tackling the most important things going on RIGHT NOW from a Conservative Christian perspective!  TO WATCH ALL FLYOVER CONSERVATIVES SHOWS - https://flyover.live/show/flyoverTO WATCH ALL FLYOVER CONSERVATIVES SHOWS - https://flyover.live/show/flyoverTO WATCH ALL FLYOVER CONTENT: www.flyover.liveTO WATCH ALL FLYOVER CONTENT: www.flyover.liveTo Schedule A Time To Talk To Dr. Dr. Kirk Elliott Go To To Schedule A Time To Talk To Dr. Dr. Kirk Elliott Go To ▶ https://flyovergold.com▶ https://flyovergold.comOr Call 720-605-3900 Or Call 720-605-3900 TO WATCH ALL OF THE PROPHETIC REPORTS - www.thepropheticreport.comTO WATCH ALL OF THE PROPHETIC REPORTS - www.thepropheticreport.comFor Printable Versions of the Declarations - text DECREES to 40509For Printable Versions of the Declarations - text DECREES to 40509(Message and data rates may apply. Terms/privacy: 40509-info.com)(Message and data rates may apply. Terms/privacy: 40509-info.com)FIRST INTERVIEW: Will America be Destroyed or Saved in 40 days? What Part do We Play to Influence the Outcome?FIRST INTERVIEW: Will America be Destroyed or Saved in 40 days? What Part do We Play to Influence the Outcome?https://rumble.com/v4qkwi3-special-prophetic-report-with-stacy-whited.html https://rumble.com/v4qkwi3-special-prophetic-report-with-stacy-whited.html Ginger ZieglerGinger ZieglerWEBSITE: https://gingerziegler.com/WEBSITE: https://gingerziegler.com/YOUTUBE: https://www.youtube.com/@GingerZiegler YOUTUBE: https://www.youtube.com/@GingerZiegler FACEBOOK: www.facebook.com/gingerzieglerehg FACEBOOK: www.facebook.com/gingerzieglerehg INSTAGRAM: www.instagram.com/gingerzieglerehg INSTAGRAM: www.instagram.com/gingerzieglerehg TWITTER: www.twitter.com/GingerZieglerTWITTER: www.twitter.com/GingerZieglerBOOK: https://a.co/d/8M84bls BOOK: https://a.co/d/8M84bls “When we start embracing God's grace, God comes with His abundance of power and ability and He begins to change us. He begins to change our way of thinking in a permanent way. God uses His power, His loving-kindness, to take the truth and set us free.” - Ginger Ziegler “When we start embracing God's grSend us a message... we can't reply, but we read them all!Support the show► ReAwaken America- text the word FLYOVER to 918-851-0102 (Message and data rates may apply. Terms/privacy: 40509-info.com) ► Kirk Elliott PHD - http://FlyoverGold.com ► My Pillow - https://MyPillow.com/Flyover ► ALL LINKS: https://sociatap.com/FlyoverConservatives

Newt talks with Congressman Mark Green about his new book, "We Before Me: The Advantage of Putting Others Before Self," which emphasizes the importance of selflessness in healing the divisions within America. Green shares personal stories from his childhood, influenced by his father's perseverance despite a severe handicap, and how these values shaped his career in the military, healthcare, business, and politics. He reflects on his time at West Point, his service in the Army, including his role in capturing Saddam Hussein, and his transition to Congress. Green also talks about founding the Reagan-O'Neill Club to foster bipartisan relationships in the House and his efforts to address border security and immigration issues. Their conversation highlights Green's belief in the power of unity and selflessness to overcome national challenges.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

From the Navy SEALs, to Delta Force, Marines, and the French Foreign Legion—this Veteran's Day, we're honoring all America's warriors with five unforgettable stories from former Mike Drop guests. Every November 11th, America celebrates its service men and women, reflecting on the heroism of those who have selflessly served our great nation. For some this is a day of gratitude, and for others, a day of regret. Each veteran featured has a unique journey, from moments of courage and sacrifice to powerful experiences that helped shape them into the men they are today. USMC Veteran Ryan Rogers reflects on the times he was made to be a man of his word in Afghanistan, while Delta Force operator Tom Satterly recounts the intense Battle of Mogadishu—more commonly known as Black Hawk Down. Navy SEAL and French Foreign Legionnaire Taylor Cavanaugh opens up about his battle with addiction and redemption in France; Navy SEAL Zack Ferguson speaks on family, duty, and devastation; and the Sheriff of Baghdad, John 'Shrek' McPhee, shares remarkable solo missions, including his role in bringing down Saddam Hussein's sons.  It's been an honor sharing the stage with such remarkable men and having the opportunity to share their stories with our listeners. A sincere and heartfelt thank you to those who have served, and the family and citizens that support their efforts. Happy Veteran's Day. Subscribe to the Mike Drop Patreon Page to see Ad-Free Episodes Early + Bonus Content at https://www.patreon.com/mikedrop  ---------- Support Ryan Rogers -  Full Mike Drop Episode 172: https://youtu.be/wBEe7A6hlRQ Website: https://choicesnotchancespodcast.com YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCsqcmxKqaR4dIFFpaJxhtrQ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/choicesnotchancespodcast Support Tom Satterly - Full Mike Drop Episode 153: https://youtu.be/-wDcQqiOpqQ Website: https://www.tomsatterly.com Podcast: All Secure with Tom & Jen: https://allsecure.buzzsprout.com Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/tomsatterly Support Taylor Cavanaugh -  Full Mike Drop Episode 165: https://youtu.be/JhFOHZ9CbRo Website: https://www.taylorcavanaugh.com YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@tcavofficial Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/tcavofficial Support Zack Ferguson -  Full Mike Drop Episode 192: https://youtu.be/WVEPGjBgBPw Website: https://zackkferg.com YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@Zackkferg Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/zackkferg Support John McPhee -  Full Mike Drop Episode 195: https://youtu.be/NGmxiQXYXlc Website: https://sobtactical.com YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@sobtactical Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/sobtactical ---------- Sponsors:  Beam Take advantage of Beam's biggest sale of the year and get up to 40% off for a limited time when you go to https://www.shopbeam.com/MIKEDROP and use promo code MIKEDROP at checkout! ---------- SLNT Go SILENT Today at https://slnt.com/mikedrop to save 15% plus FREE SHIPPING on qualifying orders. Stay ahead of what's coming and help secure your privacy today at https://slnt.com/mikedrop!  ---------- TEAM DOG FOOD, TREATS & SUPPLEMENTS Be Your Dog's Hero: Veteran-owned by a former Navy SEAL and Special Operations K9 Trainer, Team Dog provides a complete diet of science-backed premium dog food, treats, and supplements to optimize your dog's health, forged from rigorous standards and real-world expertise. https://www.teamdog.shop  TEAM DOG ONLINE TRAINING Mike Ritland – a former Navy SEAL & Special Operations K9 trainer – shares his simple and effective dog training program to build trust and control with your dog. Based on Mike's bestselling book “Team Dog, Train the Navy SEAL Way”, join tens of thousands of families that successfully trained their way to a better dog.  https://www.teamdog.pet  SHOP ALL THE MIKE RITLAND BRANDS  Get all your Mike Ritland branded gear - Mike Drop | Trikos | Team Dog https://shop.mikeritland.com/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices