Podcasts about Shi

An Arcata grocery store manager was criticized after a video showed him forcibly detaining a teenage girl who was allegedly shoplifting, Eureka investigators believe a woman stabbed herself before falsely accusing her estranged husband of attempted murder, less-forceful theft intervention against adolescents and the LGBTQ community are individually supported by two planned protests, a Cal Poly Humboldt student and a dog were hit by a truck and killed while walking along an Arcata sidewalk, majorly improved drought conditions, a 13-year-old Hoopa girl committed suicide after claiming she was sexually abused, Eureka officials voted to support the California Senate effort to decriminalize certain psychedelics, the locally-inspired horror ‘Trim Season' may come out in 2023, with cannabis woes the San Francisco Chronicle says SoHum's economy is ‘on life support' but some have hope, low prices have shrouded the opening of commercial crab season, The California Poppies eye their upcoming album "The Holy Rainbow," event picks, and more. Humboldt Last Week is Humboldt County's news podcast in collaboration with Primal Decor (tattoos and piercings), STIL (headshop), Belle Starr Clothing, North Coast Co-op, Bongo Boy Studio, Photography by Shi, North Coast Journal, RHBB, and KJNY. Subscribe via Apple, Spotify, or wherever else you get podcasts. Humboldt Last Week (new/alt/indie) Radio (with no commercials) humboldtlastweek.com/radio Also available via RadioKing app. Contact: myles@humboldtlastweek.com humboldtlastweek.com

Wrapping up our three-part introduction to Lorna Dane... as she discovers the truth (for now) about her parentage!  Also, Cyclops dons dollar store Shi'ar armor... for no discernible reason!  Seriously... there's NO reason why he'd done it! Plus: the usual silliness of our seemingly-endless backup strip, the utterly insane Mutant Mailbox, and blustery Bullpen Bulletins! -- Twitter: @acecomics / Instagram: @90sxmen weirdcomicshistory@gmail.com chrisandreggie.podbean.com chrisisoninfiniteearths.com facebook.com/groups/90sxmen

Show Notes: Could you use a little more energy in your life? Then you're going to love this week's episode of the Infinite Energy Podcast! Because of their seemingly boundless energy, Kay & Shi often get asked how they stay in the zone. This week the sisters are talking about Mind-Body energy as they share all their best crazy simple and actionable tips for how to infuse your mind, body, and spirit with all the energy you need to create a life you love. Be sure to join us each week for the sisters' heartfelt insights on how to feed your mind, serve your soul, and maximize your success! Recorded Live from Angel Fenix Productions Studios: AngelFenix.com Show Sponsors: The Neuroencoding Institute - Neuroencoding.com Squeeze In - SqueezeIn.com  Resource Links: KayAndShi.com Instagram.com/KayAndShi AngelFenix.com ***License to use music contained in this program was issued by ASCAP (License #: 400009234) and BMI (License #: 60993608) for use by Fenix Media, Sparks, NV.

In this second part in our series about Shia Islam, we explore the esoteric Isma'ilis, their history and Neoplatonist-influenced theology.Thanks to Dr. Khalil Andani for the help. Check out his channel here:https://www.youtube.com/@KhalilAndaniSources/Recomended Reading:Amir-Moezzi, Mohammad Ali (1994). "The Divine Guide in Early Shi'ism: The Sources of Esotericism in Islam". Translated by David Streight. State University of New York Press.Amir-Moezzi, Mohammad Ali (2011). "The Spirituality of Shi'i Islam: Beliefs and Practices". I.B. Tauris.Andani, Khalil (Forthcoming). "The Moden Resurrection of Nizari Ismaili Islam: The Reforms of the Aga Khans". In "The Oxford Handbook of Islamic Reform" (ed. Emad Hamdeh & Natana Delong-Bas). Forthcoming. Badakhchani, S. Jalal (Edited and Translated by) (2005). "The Paradise of Submission: A Medieval Treatise on Ismaili Thought". A New Persian Edition and English Translation of Tusi's Rawda-yi Taslim". The Institute of Isma'ili Studies. I.B. Tauris.Daftary, Farhad (2007). "The Isma'ilis: Their history and doctrines". Cambridge University Press.Haider, Najam (2014). "Shi'i Islam: An Introduction". Cambridge University Press.Ormsby, Eric (Translated by) (2012). "Between Reason and Revelation: Twin wisdoms reconciled". An annotated English translation of Nasir-i Khusraw's Kitab-i Jami al-hikmatayn. The Institute of Isma'ili Studies. I.B. Tauris.Virani, Shafique N. (2020). "Hierohistory in Qadi l-Nu'man's Foundation of Symbolic Interpretation (Asas al-Taw'il): the Birth of Jesus". In "Studies in Islamic Historiography (Edited by Sami G. Massoud). Brill.A good source for Isma'ilism is also Isma'ili Gnosis: https://ismailignosis.com/#Islam #ismaili #esoteric Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Reports indicate a houseless woman was killed accidentally in the recycling process after taking refuge in a Eureka dumpster, a Ferndale pride event was canceled at its original venue in fear of an extremist response, earthquakes and major storms have spawned woes, ‘Spiderman' actor Tobey Maguire was spotted on the North Coast, a notorious short-time Humboldt County resident is the subject of Netflix's ‘The Hatchet Wielding Hitchhiker,' an accused Eureka double-murderer and evader could be going to prison for life without parole, a young man was sentenced after a violent Eureka attack following the Fourth of July fireworks in Eureka, the County of Humboldt thanked the inspectors who saved a days-stuck Rio Dell earthquake victim, popular newsman Dave Silverbrand — who interviewed a US president and starred in ‘Outbreak' — passed away, burgers and more are once again available at Fortuna's historic Bob's Footlongs, Jack in the Box is eyeing another Eureka location in the Target parking lot, and event suggestions. Humboldt Last Week is Humboldt County's news podcast in collaboration with Primal Decor (tattoos and piercings), STIL (headshop), Belle Starr Clothing, North Coast Co-op, Bongo Boy Studio, Photography by Shi, North Coast Journal, RHBB, and KJNY. Subscribe via Apple, Spotify, or wherever else you get podcasts. Humboldt Last Week (new/alt/indie) Radio (with no commercials) humboldtlastweek.com/radio Also available via RadioKing app. Contact: myles@humboldtlastweek.com humboldtlastweek.com

Saudi Arabia is a country that is known for its rich culture and history, as well as its modern developments and economic prosperity. But while the country has made economic and social progress in recent decades, it's also important to recognize that every country has its own set of issues and challenges. I've started launching episodes about my visit to Saudi Arabia, and in the first one that came out on Tuesday, it may have sounded like there's nothing bad about this country. And even though I loved my visit and met some of the friendliest people I've ever met, there are still challenges. In this episode, I will share what I think is both good and bad about this country. THE GOOD ABOUT SAUDI ARABIA Let's dive in and start with some of the things that are good about Saudi Arabia: GOOD: Culture and history Saudi Arabia is home to a number of historical and cultural sites that are of great importance to the country and the region. The city of Mecca is the holiest site in Islam and the birthplace of the Prophet Muhammad. It is also home to the Kaaba, a sacred stone building that is the focus of the annual hajj pilgrimage. Medina, another city in Saudi Arabia, is also considered a holy city and is the burial place of the Prophet Muhammad. These cities are of great significance to Muslims around the world and are a source of pride for the country. GOOD: Economy Saudi Arabia is a major player in the global economy, with a GDP of over $800 billion. The country is rich in natural resources, particularly oil, which accounts for a significant portion of its wealth. The government has also invested heavily in modernizing and diversifying the economy, with initiatives aimed at boosting tourism, technology, and other sectors. As a result, Saudi Arabia has a high standard of living and a strong infrastructure. GOOD: Education Education is a priority in Saudi Arabia, with the government investing heavily in the education sector. The country has a number of top-ranked universities, including King Abdullah University of Science and Technology and King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals, which are known for their research and innovation. The government also provides free education to all citizens, from primary school through to university. GOOD: Healthcare Saudi Arabia has a well-developed healthcare system, with a number of hospitals and clinics located throughout the country. The government invests heavily in the healthcare sector, providing free medical care to all citizens. The country is also home to a number of renowned medical facilities, such as the King Faisal Specialist Hospital and Research Centre, which is known for its advanced medical technology and expertise. GOOD: Infrastructure Saudi Arabia has a modern infrastructure, with a well-developed transportation system and a number of major cities connected by highways and airports. The country has also invested heavily in its telecommunications infrastructure, with high levels of Internet and mobile phone penetration. These investments have contributed to the country's economic development and have made it easier for people to live, work, and travel within the country. GOOD: Natural beauty Despite its desert climate, Saudi Arabia is home to a number of beautiful natural landscapes. The country has a number of parks and nature reserves, including the Asir National Park, which is home to a number of endangered species. The country's coastlines, including the Red Sea and the Arabian Gulf, are also popular destinations for tourists and offer a range of activities such as diving, fishing, and water sports. GOOD: Modern developments In recent years, Saudi Arabia has undergone a number of modern developments, including the construction of new cities, such as King Abdullah Economic City and NEOM, which are designed to be centres of innovation and economic growth. The country has also invested heavily in its tourism sector, with initiatives aimed at promoting the country as a destination for both religious and recreational tourism. THE BAD ABOUT SAUDI ARABIA There are also a number of issues that have been the subject of criticism and concern. Let's have a look at some of the things that might not be good about Saudi Arabia. BAD: Treatment of women One issue that has received significant attention is the treatment of women in Saudi Arabia. The country has a strict system of gender segregation, and women are subject to a number of legal restrictions and limitations on their freedom of movement and expression. For example, women in Saudi Arabia are required to have a male guardian who has the authority to make decisions on their behalf and control their movements.  However, in August 2020, the Saudi Arabian government announced that they would be revoking the laws that required women to have a male guardian's permission to travel, marry, or even leave prison. Additionally, the law that required women to wear an abaya (a loose-fitting black cloak) in public was also repealed. These changes were part of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman's Vision 2030 plan to modernise and liberalize the country. However, these laws have not yet been fully implemented, and some restrictions on women's freedom of movement and other rights continue to exist. BAD: Lack of political freedoms Another issue that has been the subject of criticism is the lack of political freedom in Saudi Arabia. The country is an absolute monarchy, and political parties are not allowed. There is also no independent judiciary, and human rights groups have reported cases of arbitrary detention, torture, and other human rights abuses by the authorities. BAD: Treatment of migrant workers There have also been concerns about the treatment of migrant workers in Saudi Arabia. Many migrant workers, particularly those from South and Southeast Asia, work in low-paying, hazardous jobs and are subject to abuse and exploitation by their employers. Migrant workers are also often denied access to basic rights and protections, such as the right to form unions or to seek legal recourse for workplace abuses. BAD: Treatment of minority groups Human rights groups have also raised concerns about the treatment of minority groups in Saudi Arabia, including the Shi'a minority in the Eastern Province and the Bidun, a stateless minority group. These groups have faced discrimination and marginalization and have been denied access to education and employment opportunities. BAD: Lack of freedom of expression Another issue that has been a source of concern is the lack of freedom of expression in Saudi Arabia. The government tightly controls the media and censors the internet, and individuals who express dissenting views or criticize the government can face arrest and imprisonment. BAD: Environmental concerns There have also been concerns about the environmental impact of Saudi Arabia's economic development. The country is a major producer of oil, and the extraction and refining of oil has contributed to environmental degradation, including air and water pollution. Additionally, the country's rapid population growth and urbanization have put a strain on natural resources, such as water, and have contributed to environmental problems such as desertification. BAD: Tense relationship with other countries It is also worth noting that Saudi Arabia has a complex and often tense relationship with other countries in the region. The country has been involved in a number of conflicts and disputes, including the ongoing conflict in Yemen, and has been accused of supporting extremist groups and interfering in the internal affairs of other countries. Conclusion Overall, while Saudi Arabia has made significant progress in recent decades, and they have big things happening in their 2030 plan that I talked about in the episode a few days ago. Saudi Arabia is a country with a rich culture and history, a strong economy, and a well-developed infrastructure. It is home to a number of historical and cultural sites, top-ranked universities, and renowned medical facilities. The country is also home to a number of beautiful natural landscapes. But there are still a number of issues that have been the subject of criticism and concern. Treatment of women, lack of political freedoms, treatment of migrant workers and minority groups, and lack of freedom of expression. Its modern developments and initiatives to boost tourism have helped I feel it's important for Saudi Arabia to address the problematic issues and work towards a more just and equitable society if they really want to make it a dynamic and attractive place to live and visit. These are my own opinions, based on my experiences visiting the country and the research I've done. You might disagree – and if you do, please let me know. Either on The Radio Vagabond on Facebook or by sending me a message via theradiovagabond.com/contact.  My name is Palle Bo. And I gotta keep moving. See you.

Blake Murphy and Shi Davidi open with the Auston Matthews injury situation as he's  a game time decision for this evening against the Red Wings.  Ross Tucker calls in from Buffalo (30:24) to rank the best NFL stadiums this weekend for food and gives a surprise answer for his #1 pick. He also discusses why the Bills are set up for a letdown but not a loss to the Dolphins, why Kyle Shanahan is likely the best coach in the NFL and who he likes this weekend. Finally, fresh off joining the Blue Jays this week, Blake and Shi speak to Brandon Belt (55:12) about the move to Toronto, the World Series experience, his health and why he sees the Jays as a great fit for him. The views and opinions expressed in this podcast are those of the hosts and guests and do not necessarily reflect the position of Rogers Sports & Media or any affiliates.

Saudi Arabia is a country that is known for its rich culture and history, as well as its modern developments and economic prosperity. But while the country has made economic and social progress in recent decades, it's also important to recognize that every country has its own set of issues and challenges. I've started launching episodes about my visit to Saudi Arabia, and in the first one that came out on Tuesday, it may have sounded like there's nothing bad about this country. And even though I loved my visit and met some of the friendliest people I've ever met, there are still challenges. In this episode, I will share what I think is both good and bad about this country. THE GOOD ABOUT SAUDI ARABIA Let's dive in and start with some of the things that are good about Saudi Arabia: GOOD: Culture and history Saudi Arabia is home to a number of historical and cultural sites that are of great importance to the country and the region. The city of Mecca is the holiest site in Islam and the birthplace of the Prophet Muhammad. It is also home to the Kaaba, a sacred stone building that is the focus of the annual hajj pilgrimage. Medina, another city in Saudi Arabia, is also considered a holy city and is the burial place of the Prophet Muhammad. These cities are of great significance to Muslims around the world and are a source of pride for the country. GOOD: Economy Saudi Arabia is a major player in the global economy, with a GDP of over $800 billion. The country is rich in natural resources, particularly oil, which accounts for a significant portion of its wealth. The government has also invested heavily in modernizing and diversifying the economy, with initiatives aimed at boosting tourism, technology, and other sectors. As a result, Saudi Arabia has a high standard of living and a strong infrastructure. GOOD: Education Education is a priority in Saudi Arabia, with the government investing heavily in the education sector. The country has a number of top-ranked universities, including King Abdullah University of Science and Technology and King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals, which are known for their research and innovation. The government also provides free education to all citizens, from primary school through to university. GOOD: Health care Saudi Arabia has a well-developed health care system, with a number of hospitals and clinics located throughout the country. The government invests heavily in the health care sector, providing free medical care to all citizens. The country is also home to a number of renowned medical facilities, such as the King Faisal Specialist Hospital and Research Centre, which is known for its advanced medical technology and expertise. GOOD: Infrastructure Saudi Arabia has a modern infrastructure, with a well-developed transportation system and a number of major cities connected by highways and airports. The country has also invested heavily in its telecommunications infrastructure, with high levels of Internet and mobile phone penetration. These investments have contributed to the country's economic development and have made it easier for people to live, work, and travel within the country. GOOD: Natural beauty Despite its desert climate, Saudi Arabia is home to a number of beautiful natural landscapes. The country has a number of parks and nature reserves, including the Asir National Park, which is home to a number of endangered species. The country's coastlines, including the Red Sea and the Arabian Gulf, are also popular destinations for tourists and offer a range of activities such as diving, fishing, and water sports. GOOD: Modern developments In recent years, Saudi Arabia has undergone a number of modern developments, including the construction of new cities, such as King Abdullah Economic City and NEOM, which are designed to be the centre of innovation and economic growth. The country has also invested heavily in its tourism sector, with initiatives aimed at promoting the country as a destination for both religious and recreational tourism. THE BAD ABOUT SAUDI ARABIA There are also a number of issues that have been the subject of criticism and concern. Let's have a look at some of the things that might not be good about Saudi Arabia. BAD: Treatment of women One issue that has received significant attention is the treatment of women in Saudi Arabia. The country has a strict system of gender segregation, and women are subject to a number of legal restrictions and limitations on their freedom of movement and expression. For example, women in Saudi Arabia are required to have a male guardian who has the authority to make decisions on their behalf and control their movements.  However, in August 2020, the Saudi Arabian government announced that they would be revoking the laws that required women to have a male guardian's permission to travel, marry, or even leave prison. Additionally, the law that required women to wear an abaya (a loose-fitting black cloak) in public was also repealed. These changes were part of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman's Vision 2030 plan to modernise and liberalize the country. However, these laws have not yet been fully implemented, and some restrictions on women's freedom of movement and other rights continue to exist. BAD: Lack of political freedoms Another issue that has been the subject of criticism is the lack of political freedom in Saudi Arabia. The country is an absolute monarchy, and political parties are not allowed. There is also no independent judiciary, and human rights groups have reported cases of arbitrary detention, torture, and other human rights abuses by the authorities. BAD: Treatment of migrant workers There have also been concerns about the treatment of migrant workers in Saudi Arabia. Many migrant workers, particularly those from South and Southeast Asia, work in low-paying, hazardous jobs and are subject to abuse and exploitation by their employers. Migrant workers are also often denied access to basic rights and protections, such as the right to form unions or to seek legal recourse for workplace abuses. BAD: Treatment of minority groups Human rights groups have also raised concerns about the treatment of minority groups in Saudi Arabia, including the Shi'a minority in the Eastern Province and the Bidun, a stateless minority group. These groups have faced discrimination and marginalization and have been denied access to education and employment opportunities. BAD: Lack of freedom of expression Another issue that has been a source of concern is the lack of freedom of expression in Saudi Arabia. The government tightly controls the media and censors the internet, and individuals who express dissenting views or criticize the government can face arrest and imprisonment. BAD: Environmental concerns There have also been concerns about the environmental impact of Saudi Arabia's economic development. The country is a major producer of oil, and the extraction and refining of oil has contributed to environmental degradation, including air and water pollution. Additionally, the country's rapid population growth and urbanization have put a strain on natural resources, such as water, and have contributed to environmental problems such as desertification. BAD: Tense relationship with other countries It is also worth noting that Saudi Arabia has a complex and often tense relationship with other countries in the region. The country has been involved in a number of conflicts and disputes, including the ongoing conflict in Yemen. It has been accused of supporting extremist groups and interfering in the internal affairs of other countries. Conclusion Overall, while Saudi Arabia has made significant progress in recent decades, and they have big things happening in their 2030 plan that I talked about in the episode a few days ago. Saudi Arabia is a country with a rich culture and history, a strong economy, and a well-developed infrastructure. It is home to a number of historical and cultural sites, top-ranked universities, and renowned medical facilities. The country is also home to a number of beautiful natural landscapes. But there are still a number of issues that have been the subject of criticism and concern. Treatment of women, lack of political freedoms, treatment of migrant workers and minority groups, and lack of freedom of expression. Its modern developments and initiatives to boost tourism have helped I feel it's important for Saudi Arabia to address the problematic issues and work towards a more just and equitable society if they really want to make it a dynamic and attractive place to live and visit. These are my own opinions, based on my experiences visiting the country and the research I've done. You might disagree – and if you do, please let me know. Either on The Radio Vagabond on Facebook or by sending me a message via theradiovagabond.com/contact.  My name is Palle Bo. And I gotta keep moving. See you.

Show Notes: As their all-new Infinite Energy Podcast with Kay & Shi show debuts this week, Kay & Shi are taking you on a journey through what infinite energy means in their lives and businesses. Listen as the sisterpreneurs explain the power of infinite energy and how YOU can activate it to use in any area of your life to harness what you want. Be sure to join us each week for the sisters' heartfelt insights on how to feed your mind, serve your soul, and maximize your success! Recorded Live from Angel Fenix Productions Studios: AngelFenix.com Show Sponsors: The Neuroencoding Institute - Neuroencoding.com Squeeze In - SqueezeIn.com  Resource Links: KayAndShi.com Instagram.com/KayAndShi AngelFenix.com ***License to use music contained in this program was issued by ASCAP (License #: 400009234) and BMI (License #: 60993608) for use by Fenix Media, Sparks, NV.

In this episode, Wes sits down with the founder and CEO of Pierce Education Services, Fred Pierce, to talk about his journey in student housing.  For Fred, that journey began at his alma mater, San Diego State University, when he helped the university figure out a way to acquire and redevelop tracts of land surrounding the campus.  His career is a testimony to how building relationships and providing value to those relationships will open up doors that may have never been possible for other developers.  For those audience members who want a better understanding of real estate development and acquisition, you'll want to take notes.   If you have questions or comments for SHI, email us at contact@StudentHousingInsight.com Make sure you register for our monthly webinar, ShopTalk, by going to www.ShopTalk.info 

Ben Ennis and Shi Davidi are joined by Blue Jays manager John Schneider (00:48) to talk about the Blue Jays' offseason so far, his first full offseason as manager, the added emphasis on run prevention, his thoughts on the Daulton Varsho trade and what's still left to do to fill out the roster. Later, they are joined by WGR Bills' reporter Sal Capaccio (27:29) to get the vibe of the Bills before their pivotal contest against the Patriots on Sunday, the solution for the playoff proposed by the NFL and just how important Sean McDermott has been in this situation and all season. Ben and Shi close out the week with a discussion about some of the Blue Jays' choices going into spring training, how this Carlos Correa situation has unreavelled and Last Call presented by Bet Rivers!The views and opinions expressed in this podcast are those of the hosts and guests and do not necessarily reflect the position of Rogers Sports & Media or any affiliates.

Ben Ennis is joined by guest host and President of the BBWA Shi Davidi to deliver the good news coming out of Buffalo with Damar Hamlin, and what it could mean for Buffalo heading into a pivotal Week 18. They are joined by the Athletic's Chad Jennings to help understand the Rafael Devers contract from the Red Sox's perspective, and why he got the payday while Xander Bogaerts and Mookie Betts did not (31:15). Later, Ross Tucker from the Ross Tucker Podcast joins the guys to talk about the relationship between players and trainers in the NFL and what that level of trust means between the two, and debates the best solution for the NFL can reconcile the schedule conflict (49:07). Finally, Ben and Shi break down yesterday's World Junior Championship semifinal between Canada and the US, and look ahead at the Gold Medal and the Leafs vs. Kraken games tonight in Last Call presented by Bet Rivers! The views and opinions expressed in this podcast are those of the hosts and guests and do not necessarily reflect the position of Rogers Sports & Media or any affiliates.

Top stories from 2022, a 6.4 magnitude earthquake served much of Humboldt County an abrupt awakening and a spectrum of woes, an accused double-murderer was captured following several Eureka shootings, a man was rescued near Shelter Cover after a large tree landed on his vehicle, Guy Fieri and Food Network cranked out a Ferndale episode for Dec. 30, commercial crab season received a greenlight following delays, Arcata is moving forward with its ‘earth flag' measure while seeking clarification on its legality, North Coast U.S. rep Huffman sent a bill to Biden on behalf of Karuk land, a Del Norte dog found in Humboldt County was reunited with his family, local musician Singer Lisa Marie received Adele and Amy Winehouse comparisons on TV, NBC's ‘Today Show' reminded their national audience of ex-NFL star Ricky Williams' local cannabis-appreciation experience, Eureka cops said their gun buyback was a success, and local event suggestions. Humboldt Last Week is Humboldt County's news podcast in collaboration with Primal Decor (tattoos and piercings), STIL (headshop), Belle Starr Clothing, North Coast Co-op, Bongo Boy Studio, Photography by Shi, North Coast Journal, RHBB, and KJNY. Subscribe via Apple, Spotify, or wherever else you get podcasts. Humboldt Last Week (new/alt/indie) Radio (with no commercials) humboldtlastweek.com/radio Also available via RadioKing app. Contact: myles@humboldtlastweek.com humboldtlastweek.com

A woman who bilked investors in a Southern California hotel and condominium project out of at least $26 million was sentenced to 20 years in federal prison. Ruixue “Serena” Shi, 38, of Arcadia was sentenced after a judge refused to allow her to withdraw her plea last year to wire fraud. “There has been no acceptance of responsibility; there has been a denial of responsibility,” U.S. District Judge R. Gary Klausner said, according to a press release from the U.S. Department of Justice. Prosecutors said that from late 2015 to mid-2018, Shi was the general manager of a real estate company based in China that had a Los Angeles office. She solicited investments, mainly from Chinese investors, in a 207-unit luxury complex to be built in the city of Coachella, in the desert southeast of Los Angeles. In reality, Shi spent much of the money on luxury cars, travel, clothing, dining and shopping, prosecutors said. That included $800,000 at a “full-service styling agency" in Beverly Hills, prosecutors said. “While her victims suffered financial ruin and psychological torment, (Shi) was living large off their investments,” prosecutors said in a sentencing document. In court statements, more than two dozen victims submitted statements. “Several discussed their reliance on Shi's false promises that their investments would assist them in securing visas to immigrate to the United States. One victim even wrote that, after losing his retirement savings to Shi's scheme, he ‘even contemplated suicide,'” the Department of Justice statement said. In addition to prison time, Shi was ordered to pay $35.8 million in restitution. This article was provided by The Associated Press.

Last time we spoke tension was brewing within the Taiping capital between the the heavenly king and his subordinate kings. The Foreigners were debating who would win the civil war for China and who would be the best bet for trade. The new Yung-Ying armies, such as the Xiang army of Zeng Guofan began to encircle Nanjing in an effort to strangle the Taiping. Within the Taiping capital, conflict finally broke out and Yang Xiuqing was murdered by his comrade King Wei Changhui. When Shi Dakai found out he demanded blood, leading to Wei Changhui's death and almost his own, but he fled Nanjing, taking a large army with him to campaign in exile. Now Hong Xiuquan fell into a depression and fell into seclusion, who would lead the movement now that the great taiping kings were all gone? #28 This episode is The Taiping Rebellion part 5: Out with the old kings, in with the new   Welcome to the Fall and Rise of China Podcast, I am your dutiful host Craig Watson. But, before we start I want to also remind you this podcast is only made possible through the efforts of Kings and Generals over at Youtube. Perhaps you want to learn more about the history of Asia? Kings and Generals have an assortment of episodes on history of asia and much more  so go give them a look over on Youtube. So please subscribe to Kings and Generals over at Youtube and to continue helping us produce this content please check out www.patreon.com/kingsandgenerals. If you are still hungry for some more history related content, over on my channel, the Pacific War Channel where I cover the history of China and Japan from the 19th century until the end of the Pacific War.   With Shi Dakai's departure, Hong was put in quite a pickle, as one of his commanders, General Li said “morale declined and there was no unified policy. Each went his own way. The Sovereign did not place complete confidence in anyone. He had been frightened by the East, North and Flank Kings and dared not trust other ministers, but placed all his trust in members of his own clan”. Thus the Taiping fortune had turned dramatically, the period of swift campaigns and sweeping victories had ended. They would not be able to exploit the blitzkrieg like momentum they once held. Now the Qing provincial armies would organize and begin the process of wrestling back control over vital and strategic territories in the upper Yangtze valley. Hong Xiuquan was alone in Nanjing with none of his original comrades to pick up the much needed leadership roles. As bad as Yang XIuqing had been, he was at least effective as an organizer and strategist.    On the other side of the coin, the Qing were unable to take advantage of all the Taiping upheaval. Their main besieging camps around Nanjing were smashed in 1856 and they faced two other large threats. The first ws another rebellion taking place in northern CHina, that of the Nian rebellion. The Nian rebellion was severing lines of communications from north to south making it extremely difficult to coordinate against the Taiping. The second was of course the second Opium war which threatened the eastern coast and cut off contact with the sea, effectively leaving local regional commanders in the south and center of China to have to formulate their own strategies against the Taiping. The financial records show at this time Emperor Xianfengs treasuries were significantly reduced. The Qing court had begun suspending orders for silk and porcelain and these sort of goods were necessary to showcase imperial glory. Alongside this, weddings and funeral stipends for Manchu Banner troops were canceled, golden bells, buddhist statues and other items made of gold, silver and such were melted down to make coins. The Qing court forced officials to reduce staff, canceled repairs to palace buildings and by 1857 some Imperial Banner families had reached starvation levels of just a few pounds of relief grain per month. The Emperor was allowing his Banner troops to use their own banks and rice stores in an attempt to shield military personnel from the effects of inflation. Despite the economic hard times, and enemies left right and center, the Qing armies could have crushed the Taiping altogether during this turbulent time, had it not been for the Qing leaders insistence on the policy of having veteran Taiping troops executed if captured without exception. There was really little incentive to stop serving the Taiping.   Now Hong Xiuquan did not stop at just placing his two brothers in high positions. There was Hong's sister, his wife Lai and his children, the 8 sons of his eldest brother, 2 from his second eldest brother. Hong also had 8 daughters from various consorts, many of whom were married. Hong also had a dozen or so cousins, the Hong family had roots in Guangdong and Guangxi and many had made the trek from Thistle mountain to Nanjing. Now that Yang was dead, Hong was able to do things with less scrutiny, thus he began to extend his family as he saw fit. Hong's palace was run entirely by women under his general supervision. Allegedly 2000 women worked for him divided into 3 categories, female ministers and bureaucrats, maids and attendants and the women of his immediate family. That last group included consorts of which according to his son Tiangui, Hong Xiuquan had 88 consorts in Nanjing. Tiangui was around 9 years old in 1857 is told he is too old to remain in the palace and is forced to live in an outer palace and given 4 wives. He is forbidden from seeing his mother or sisters, bound by stern rules set forth by his father. Hong Xiuquan dictated at four, his sons are no longer allowed close contact with their older sisters; at seven, they can no longer sleep in their mothers' or other consorts' beds; they must also stay ten feet or more away from their sisters, and learn to bathe themselves; by nine they should not even see their grandmothers. Their sisters' separation from their brothers is similar: after five, they must never be touched by their brothers, and after nine they stay entirely with the women and are not meant to see even their younger brothers any more. In 1857, a year after the assasination ordeal, Hong Xiuquan issued the only official publication of the time known as “poems by the heavenly father”. They show us how Hong Xiuquan concerned himself with maintaining order and harmony among his hundreds of concubines and maids in his giant harem. He then explained “heavenly principles” admonishing his women to please their master and to follow his ordained rules. The mixture of fantastic ideas and fanatical beliefs in these writing to his women showcase the decline of the heavenly king. He was so concerned with having his own personal religious experience, that to ascent to heaven, rather than focus on the Taiping revolution. Whatever governmental structure existed was handled by Hong Xiuquans family rather than him, most at the hands of Hong Rengfa/Rengfu. Later on when one of the leading Taiping commanders, General Li Xiucheng is captured by Zeng Guofan he tells him “In Nanjing there was no one at court to carry on the government, the morale of the soldiers and people was broken and troubled. The military leaders were greatly displeased with the Hong brothers as both men were deficient in talent and had no plans”.   Yet the Hong clan did not seem to have anyone who could pull everything together. Hong Renfa and Renfu were said to be “deficient in talent and military tactics. THey were obstinately bent on carrying out their own views, and were obsessed with the notion that Heaven would support them in everything”. Shi Dakai was the last real hope for the revolution and when he left he also took with a significant part of the military and some of the best commanders. When the Qing court received news of Shi Dakai's departure they instructed Zeng Guofan to invite Shi Dakai into the fold. Shi Dakai refused to surrender to the Qing and instead marched his army through Jiangxi, Zhejiang, Fujian and then westward into Hunan. From Hunan he tried to gain entry to Sichuan. Shi Dakai had thus conducted a ceaseless and exhausting campaign across 15 different provinces over a distance of more than 6000 miles, seeking first a permanent base, and then it became more of a game of survival. Countless troops got sick, died or deserted. By June, Shi Dakai found himself cornered, helpless and exhausted, so he simply walked into the encampment of the commanding Qing general pursuing him and gave himself up. He hoped by forfeiting his life he could have 2000 other Taiping veterans be pardoned. He prepared for all of this by having having his 5 wives commit suicide and his drowned, to save them from the inevitable shame and agony they would have faced at the hands of the Qing troops. He was interrogated for over 6 months by Luo Bingzhang who had directed the defenses at Changsha which killed the west king. Shi Dakai was executed slowly via dismemberment and his 2000 of his most loyal followers who had been held under guard at a local temple were slaughtered. Though Shi Dakai had assumed new titles and gave many to his commanders, he never promulgated any new political programs, nor did he have any grand purpose for his military campaign, and thus he was more of a military adventurer rather than a revolutionary leader in the end.   Shi's forces would remain a threat to the Qing and Zeng Guofan's Hunan forces. Shi had permitted many of his men to leave for home and the Taiping who went back to Guangxi province would survive to the end of the rebellion, slaughtering many more Qing. Shi also continuously recruiting as he marched his forces, in 1858 Shi's forces were said to be several hundred thousand strong before Zeng Guofans armies decimated them. Shi Dakai's force was quite the diversionary campaign, forcing Zeng Guofan to dispatch many of his best commanders to deal with him, but he was never distracted from his main target, the Taiping stronghold of Nanjing. Initially when the Qing ordered Zeng Guofan to march into Sichuan to stop Shi's invasion of the provin, he refused the follow the Qing strategy. He argued with the Qing court stating the difference between the rebels who occupied and developed strategic areas for economic bases, ie: the main Taiping force in the lower Yangtze versus what he called the “roaming bandits” who never settled down. Those roamers were Shi Dakai and the Nian rebels. The real threat he insisted was the Taiping in Nanjing and Anhwei and they must be dealt with first. The Qing government…well they had no real way to coerce Zeng Guofan at this point and just followed his advice.    Meanwhile in Nanjing, Hong Xiuquan's choice to appoint his own kin as officials was backfiring. He had made this appointment in the hopes of re-establishing a working organization. However the proliferation of titles contributed to disorganization and chaos. He had appointed Meng De'en as chief of staff. Meng had been a member of the administrative staff and Taiping documents indicate he was an official responsible for providing women for the heavenly king's harem but had no experience in military matters. And despite his nominal role in the central administration and his new military authority he really held no real influence over either the courts or the armies. Alongside this Hong's brothers were using their positions to amass wealth and live lives of luxury. So the field commanders became the only ones making actually military decisions. The attitudes of these commanders towards the new appoints in Nanjing can be seen strongly be the remarks of Li Xiucheng who again as a prisoner under Zeng Guofan wrote “there was no one at court to carry on the government, the morale of the soldiers and people was broken and troubled”. From his perspective, the military leaders were very dissatisfied with the Hong brothers and distrustful of Meng who in his words “was a great favorite of the heavenly king and had not been outside the capital. He alongside his second in command Li Kaifang were both men without ability and moreover kept in hand by the Hong brothers”.   Its easy to see the Taiping were in a major crisis and Li Xiucheng wrote one passage that shows us that it could have very well fallen to pieces by 1858. “The feeling of the people has undergone a great change. Government affairs were in disorder, and each man was pursuing his own course. The sovereign had become mistrustful of others. The affairs between the kings had so alarmed him that he was distrustful of ministers of other surnames and put his confidence in his own family and relations. There was a unanimous desire at this time to separate. However, they did not dare to separate on their own, since they had heard that whenever the Qing generals and soldiers capture Guangxi men they decapitated them, not sparing a single one. Hence they banded closely together instead of dispersing. Had the Qing dynasty been willing at this early date to spare Guangxi men, a breakup would have taken place long ago”. A very revealing passage to be sure. The inability of the Hong brothers and Meng De'en to manage military campaigns forced Hong Xiuquan to give the military leaders a free hand and he even created new titles and positions for them within the Taiping hierarchy. The first two important men to emerge in 1856 were Chen Yucheng and Li Xiucheng who received the titles of second chief commandant and deputy commandant. Left to their own by the useless Taiping court, they were forced to make their own strategic decisions and coordinate based on their need for self preservation.    The military situation for the Taiping was critical. Control over the Yangtze had been lost to Zeng Guofan's Xiang army and with it came the loss of transportation for military supplies and provisions. In december of 1856, Wuhan had been recovered by the Qing which threatened Taiping control over the south Yangtze areas. The 2 Taiping commander thus came together in January of 1857 at a conference in Anqing to figure out how to coordinate a campaign. This led to a joint strategy to strengthen the Taiping military position in the Yangtze area. Now neither commander had played a large role in the Taiping campaigns prior to taking Nanjing. Chen Yucheng was too young to take an active role during the march from Guangxi to Nanjing. At Nanjing he was appointed to the rank of corps superintendent in charge of provisions for the Taiping left fourth army, to be blunt it was a desk job. By 1854 he petitioned for combat duty and got his wish in june that year to occupy Wuchang. He distinguished himself as the 38th commander then the 13 senior secretary commanding the Taiping rear 13th army and front 4th army of river troops. His military achievements and personal bravery earned him fame amongst the Taiping, and he also became well known to the Qing who targeted him as an important Taiping commander.   Li Xiucheng was a fellow villager of Chen Yucheng. He did fight during the march from Guangxi to Nanjing, but was not promoted to important military positions until later on. At Nanjing he became an assistant to another Taiping leader, Hu I-Kuang before receiving an appointment by Yang Xuiqing as a new corps general and later corps superintendents leading troops in 1853. Before the power struggle, Li had been sent with other Taiping officers to Chenchiang in Guangxi. After the power struggle Li was in command at Tongcheng in Anhwei and found himself in quite a struggle. He had a small force of less than 3000 men in a city isolated by Qing forces, he was surrounded, by his own account by over 10,000 Qing troops in over a 100 camps. To break out of this terrible position, Li cooperated with Chen Yucheng and collaborated with a Nian rebel force.    I have not spoken too much about the Nian, but at this time the area of northern Anhwei along the borders of Henan, Shandong and Jiangsu were under their control. They had started as groups of local corps formed during all the disarray of the 1840's and 1850's. They rose up to defend their villages against local bandits and raids from neighboring forces. By the mid 1850's these groups banded together into a regional force held together by a secret society affiliation and by support from some local gentry clans. They held a formidable cavalry force and used a system of defense in depth, allowing them to perform campaigns into neighboring areas. They were anti-Qing and thus rebels, making it easy for them to cooperate with the Taiping when possible. Honestly I am contemplating writing an episode on the Nian rebellion and on many of the other lesser known rebellions of the 19th century, but my god there are many and its easy to become sidetracked. Who knows maybe at some point I will have to make a patreon to produce exclusive content, wink wink, anyone who might be interested in such things let me know, comment on my private channel, the pacific war channel or catch me in the KNG discord perhaps, really want to hear from you guys and gals what you want to hear more about.   There does not seem to be significant coordination between the Nian and Taiping prior to this, and perhaps that can be explained by a simple difference in goals of the two movements. The Nian were a local rebel group that had little program nor major political purpose beyond control and exploitation of the area their forces dominated. They did not hold the ambition to establish a new dynasty, let alone some sort of proto-marxist revolution like the Taiping sought. The Taiping for their part had little interest in local bandit or rebel groups who were unwilling to submit to the Taiping faith. At the start of the Taiping rebellion in Guangxi province they had already alienated many secret society and bandit groups who were quasi interested in the Taiping cause. Yang Xiuqing in Nanjing did little to change this policy. But after the breakdown of centralized command in Nanjing, men like Li Xuicheng who held purely military interests to heart saw joint action with groups like the Nian.   Thus the first significant joint action between the Taiping and Nian came about in early 1856 when the Nian leader Li Chaozhou from southern Huai area joined up with Li Xiucheng to perform a campaign in Chenchiang. When Li's position was in crisis at Tongcheng he quickly tried to establish contact with Li Chaozhou the southern Nian leader, but also the northern Nian leader Zhang Luoxing. Zhang pledged collaboration with the Taiping forces under Li Xiucheng, claiming the Nian forces under his control to be a million strong. This forced the Qing in northern Anhwei to go on the defensive easing the pressure upon Li Xiuchang. The military alliance also raised Li Xiuchangs status amongst the Taiping, earning him a promotion in rank. The joint military campaign led to a number of cities in the Huai area to be taken between 1857 and 1859. But this cooperation remained purley on a military basis and would not last. It never extended beyond the Huai area and even within the area it was quite nominal in scale as a result of the Nian not having any real political structure. The Nian were more of a federation of autonomous communal units and the incapability with the Taiping ideology made any further integration impossible. The southern Nian leaders such as Li Chaozhou who had been the chief collaborators with Li Xiucheng could not be trusted for very long. They were not Guangxi men like Li Xiucheng, and thus could surrender to the Qing and keep their heads, which they eventually did. The cities they were defending were handed over much to Li Xiuchengs despair.    Li ascribed their surrender to be a result of undisciplined troops stating “Li Chaozhous troops were a disorderly lot; they were constantly troubling the people and plundering any city that was taken, and when this could not be effected they vented their rage on the peoples themselves. Li chastised the assistant generals of the districts until he was ashamed to meet me and finally sent his submission to the Qing”. Li was also dissatisfied with the northern Nian leader Zhang Luoxing who according to him “His men were only interested in promotions but not in serving when called”. Li was angered by the lack of cooperation or to be more blunt the fact the Nian's disobeyed Taiping directions as to why the Taiping campaigns failed. However the push to perform joint actions led to Taiping victories in the central Yangtze area which most definitely helped their cause.   For one thing the joint actions led the Nian to hit Qing supply lines which further contributed to a major victory over the Qing at Tongcheng on february 24th of 1857. After this victory the Taiping leaders pursued the retreating Qing forces northwards alongside their Nian allies. But then many Nian forces attempted a western campaign and lost ground in Hubei. There were 2 major thrusts made in April and september of 1857 and then april and may of 1858, but both were frustrated by the Xiang army and other Qing forces. The Nian began a general retreat back into northern Anhwei which was their economic base. Meanwhile Li Xiucheng acquired a base closer to Nanjing establishing supply lines and from then on took on a key role defending the Nanjing region.    Though the Taiping/Nian joint operations slowed the advance of the Xiang army in Hunan, Zeng Guofan's strategic plan still proved itself and his forces slowly but surely advanced in the Yangtze area. In may of 1858 contingents of the Xiang army recovered the city of JiuJiang which was the last remaining Taiping strategic base in the center of the Yangtze area. It was a vital base that provided them with resources from the provinces of Jiangxi and Hunan as well as a major recruitment point. From Jiujiang, Zeng Guofans army could prepare to march into Anhwei. Zeng Guofan also sought to advance forces into the upper Yangtze area to strangle the Taiping, while other Qing forces rebuilt the camps that were surrounding Nanjing in 1856. The northern and southern blockading camps were rebuilt in 1857 under the command of the Manchu generals He Chun and Zhang Guoliang. By the end of 1857 their forces were marching upon the city of Chenchiang which the Taiping had been holding since 1853.   To face the new threat, a Taiping military conference was held and alongside Li Xiucheng and Chen Yucheng a number of other Taiping generals gained prominence. Two of the most important were Yang Fuqing and Li Shixian. Yang was actually a cousin of Yang Xiuqing who escaped the slaughter by being in Jiangxi province performing a military campaign. Li Shixian wsa a cousin of Li Xiucheng and fought under him, until 1858 when he assumed his own command campaigning in southern Anhwei. The Taiping government depended on the loyalty of these key generals rather than any efforts made by Meng De'en and other useless Taiping administrators within Nanjing. In August of 1858 when the Qing began to strangle Nanjing, Hong Xiuquan gave the military commanders new titles and assignments. Now ever since the Yong'an campaign way back when, the Taiping military was more or less divided as such: the forward army, rear army, central army and left army. Chen Yucheng was appointed chief general of the forward army, which originally had been Feng Yunshans title; Li Xiucheng became chief general of the rear army; Yang Fuqing became the chief general of the center army, but was forced to share this position with Meng De'en who somehow was going to command men from Nanjing; and last Li Shixian was made chief general of the left army previously held by Shi Dakai.   At the conference Li Xiucheng called for unified action, here is some of what he said in his own words “I then wrote to the garrison generals of the different places, calling on all officers of the Heavenly dynasty to hold a council of war on an appointed day at Ts'ung-yang near Anqing. The generals and officers of the various places responded to my call…we each took an oath that we would support each other and agreed to join forces in the conflict before us”. The result of the conference led Chen Yucheng to march upon Shuch'eng, luzhou, chuzhou, then to link up with Li Xiucheng at the Anhwei-Jiangsu border to hit the Qing forces at Wuxi and Pukou dealing a complete defeat to the northern Qing camp trying to strangle Nanjing. The Taiping broke the northern half of the Qing blockading forces ending a large threat to Nanjing.   However these forces the Taiping defeated at the northern blockade were regular Qing forces. Fresh from that victory the Taiping now had to face the Xiang army who were marching into Anhwei. These forces were being led by Li Xubin who was accompanied by Zeng Guofans brother, Zeng Guohua. Their Xiang army was threatening the entire Taiping position in Anhwei and to face it Chen Yucheng rushed his army over to its defense, followed by Li Xiucheng. A major battle occurred on November 15th of 1858, resulting in the complete annihilation of the Xiang force and the deaths of Li Xubin and Zeng Guohua. Thus the Taiping control over Anhwei remained firm and Zeng Guofan suffered a terrible setback. Chen Yucheng and Li Xiucheng quickly recaptured all the lost territories in Anhwei and parted ways. Chen Yucheng chose to establish a base in the northern and western parts of Anhwei around Anqing, while Li Xiucheng took the eastern section closer to Nanjing.    Because Li Xiucheng was closer to Nanjing he was able to assert more control and began to introduce some order to the chaotic Taiping capital. According to his own account Li Xiucheng requested of the heavenly king ‘to select men according to talent, enact laws for the relief of the people, promulgate strict decrees, renovate court discipline, enforce rewards and punishments, treat the people with compassion, reduce taxes in grain and money”. Apparently the only response he got was a demotion, though he was soon promoted right back. A demotion really did nothing to affect any of the field generals actual power as they were basically the only ones doing anything. Later in 1858 when Nanjing was yet again under siege, Li Xiucheng went to Nanjing where he claimed he succeeded in re-establishing order and control. He convinced the heavenly king that to save Tianjin, they must collect forces outside for its relief. Each of the leaders continued thus to hold their own areas of supply, until messengers from Nanjing showed up demanding their armies come help break another blockade against Nanjing at the cities of Chianpu and Pukou.    Now during the years of 1856 to 1859, the Taiping were firmly on the defensive. Their military actions were almost always done by commanders working amongst themselves without any regard for the Nanjing government. These commanders thought in military terms and were no longer really concerned with the Taiping ideology, thus their revolutionary purpose was dying. This also resulted in each commander becoming shortsighted and their focus shifted simply to their own respective regions. They only coordinated with each other during times of immediate threat and had proven themselves capable of defeating not just the regular Qing forces, but that of Zeng Guofan. No attempt was made by the Taiping leaders to regain the initiative and the disintegration of central control was crumbling Nanjing. Transporting supplies to Nanjing had become an issue as Zeng Guofan began attacking riverways, especially along the Yangtze. Earlier, Tianjin enjoyed dominion over the Yangtze river and supplies poured in from 50-100 miles away inland. Yet by 1856 the Yangtze and other lakes were severed from Tianjin, and this resulted in a large loss for communication and the supply network. Even though the Taiping held numerous important cities on the banks of the Yangtze, the waterway itself was denied to them.   The general decline of the Taiping became quite apparent to foreign observers, between the years of 1857 and 1859 only one significant foreign mission would journey up the Yangtze and it was led by Lord Elgin. Yes if you remember from our Second Opium War series, Elgin tried to go up the Yangtze to navigate the commercial prospects of the region and to investigate the political situation. Elgin departed from the new treaty port of Hankou which was in the hands of the Qing and the furthest up the Yangtze river. Elgin wanted to test if the Chinese authorities would respect the status of the British flag under the new treaty of Tianjin, but it was also a chance to investigate the Taiping. Elgin had only heard rumors in SHanghai about the rebels and he wanted to gauge them first hand. As Elgin wrote to the foreign secretary “As we have seen fit to affect neutrality between the Emperor of China and the rebels. We could not, of course, without absurdity, require him to give us rights and protection in places actually occupied by a Power which we treat with the same respect as his own.” When Elgin could see from the bridge of his ship, the Furious and a few inland excursions, it looked like the civil war was more devastating than any rumors in SHanghai led one to believe. He reported this about the state of the city of Zhenjiang “I never before saw such a scene of desolation. heaps of ruins, intersected by a few straggling streets.“[We] might have imagined ourselves in Pompeii. We walked along deserted streets, between roofless houses, and walls overgrown with rank, tangled weeds; heaps of rubbish blocked up the thoroughfares, but they obstructed nobody.In order to save repetition I may here observe, once for all, that with certain differences of degree, this was the condition of every city which I visited on my voyage up and down the Yang-tze.”   Elgins first direct contact with the Taiping came in the form of a cannonball that roared over the deck of his ship as they passed by Nanjing on November 20th. Elgin did not expect hostilities and thought they would merely pass by unmolested. In response he sent a few gunships back downriver to hammer the rebel forts. The Taiping then sent messengers offering an apology for firing upon Elgins ships and asked for aid in fighting the Qing dynasty. A month later on Christmas day of 1858, as Elgins fleet was passing the city of Anqing on their way back to Shanghai he received a letter from Hong Xiuquan inviting him to join the Taiping in their divine mission to destroy the Manchu. “The Father and the Elder Brother led me to rule the Heavenly Kingdom, to sweep away and exterminate the devilish spirits, bestowing on me great honor. Foreign younger brothers of the western ocean, listen to my words. Join us in doing service to the Father and Elder Brother and extinguishing the stinking reptiles.” There were many attempts at communication and trade. Many individual Taiping commanders sent letters expressing hope to procure foreign rifles and cannons, but the British continuously stated they were abiding by a neutrality stance. Many of the Taiping tried to appeal to the British on the basis of their shared religion. “are both sons of the Heavenly Father, God, and are both younger brothers of the Heavenly Elder Brother, Jesus. Our feelings towards each other are like those of brothers, and our friendship is as intimate as that of two brothers of the same parentage.” The shared christianity between the two remained a sticky situation. There were many in Britain who pointed out the need to help the Christians in China. At a time when Britain and France were at war with the Qing, it seemed like there was quite a rationale for simply allying with the Taiping. But there were two major obstacles in the way, the first being the principle of neutrality. If they helped the Taiping, they may lose any relations they had left with the Qing. The second issue was that it was hard to understand if the Taiping were really christian or not. Multiple missionaries tried to investigate this matter and they were not convinced. It also did not help that the Heavenly King began sending the foreigners a manifesto demanding their come pay their respects to him as god's son.   The foreigners in the end would have little sympathy for the Taiping cause and it would actually lead to them contributing to the Qing side of the war in the end. The rationale for this was to secure the treaties they signed with the Qing and quite honestly, the Taiping did not look like they were going to win the war by the late 1850s. But were the Taiping defeated? Many would argue this is not the case, they could have reorganized and revamped their revolutionary purpose, and in 1859 a man arrived to Nanjing to do just that.   I would like to take this time to remind you all that this podcast is only made possible through the efforts of Kings and Generals over at Youtube. Please go subscribe to Kings and Generals over at Youtube and to continue helping us produce this content please check out www.patreon.com/kingsandgenerals. If you are still hungry after that, give my personal channel a look over at The Pacific War Channel at Youtube, it would mean a lot to me.  The Taiping found new leadership figures in Li Xiucheng and Chen Yucheng. The Nian rebels proved valuable allies initially, but in the end it simply was not working out. The Taiping desperately needed foreign support but were burning those bridges.   

Hey there Vibe tribe. It has been a long time since your faves have blessed you all, but we're back & better than before.  Please enjoy this long overdue Special with your favorite put you on girls Tay & Shi. Get your pens & paper & some hot CoCoa as we give you our ultimate Christmas play list.  Merry Christmas & Happy New Year. 

Last time we spoke the Heavenly King established his new capital Tianjing, the heavenly kingdom. Dramatic reforms were made, soldiers were recruited and armies were made to perform grand campaigns. The Taiping performed the Northern expedition, but instead of throwing the kitchen sink and potentially taking the dragon throne, it failed. The western expedition proved more fruitful and soon large swathes of territory fell to the Taiping enlarging their new empire. Yet not all was well in the heavenly kingdom, Yang Xiuqing, the mouth of the heavenly father began to abuse the heavenly king and draw the god worshipers under his thumb. Alongside this Zeng Guofan was created a brand new type of army that could challenge the Taiping and quell China of their rebellion once and for all.   #27 This episode is The Taiping Rebellion part 4: Murder amongst the Taiping Kings   Welcome to the Fall and Rise of China Podcast, I am your dutiful host Craig Watson. But, before we start I want to also remind you this podcast is only made possible through the efforts of Kings and Generals over at Youtube. Perhaps you want to learn more about the history of Asia? Kings and Generals have an assortment of episodes on history of asia and much more  so go give them a look over on Youtube. So please subscribe to Kings and Generals over at Youtube and to continue helping us produce this content please check out www.patreon.com/kingsandgenerals. If you are still hungry for some more history related content, over on my channel, the Pacific War Channel where I cover the history of China and Japan from the 19th century until the end of the Pacific War.   While the Taiping at Nanjing were beginning to lose their political and military initiative to the Qing and Yung-ying forces, they were also losing something vitally important outside of China, western support. Western forces definitely would play a crucial role in the Taiping Qing war and western attitudes would shift dramatically from pro Taiping to anti Taiping. The first major rumblings about the Taiping came to westerners when they captured Nanjing. Overall the impression of the Taiping was quite favorable, reports indicated they were a well disciplined group of Christian character. There were many westerners who thought the Taiping might be a better alternative than the Manchu whose attitudes towards western missionaries and economic activities were aggravating. Western dissatisfaction with the Qing government really came down to their unwillingness to abide by the treaty of Nanjing in full. Thus as you can imagine quite a few missions were sent by Westerners to the new Taiping capital in Nanjing to evaluate the situation.   The first official mission that went to Nanjing was sent by the British. Sir George Bonham accompanied by Captain Fishbourne and T.T Meadows sailed to Nanjing aboard the Hermes. Bonham was egged into the mission by influential British merchants in Shanghai who were worried by the disruption in commerce. Most of the information on the Taiping that came to westerners was during the Yongan occupation and the information was quite vague and contradictory. Issachar Roberts who knew Hong Xiuquan wrote to local newspapers describing the man “ “He is a man of ordinary appearance, about five feet four or five inches high; well built, round faced, regular featured, rather handsome, about middle age, and gentlemanly in his manners.  he is trying to be something in the capacity of a prophet and appears to be struggling for religious liberty.” What the British really wanted to know, was about the trading interests and investments in SHanghai which amounted to around 25 million pounds sterling at the time. The foreigners in Shanghai wanted to know if the Taiping would offer greater chances for stability and trade expansion than their QIng counterpart. While enroute they ran into the Taiping leader named Lo Ta-kang in Chen-chiang in april of 1853. The man told him the Taiping were friendly to foreigners and would not interfere with any commercial relations. Yet when Bonham reached Nanjing he quickly found that the Taiping government like the Qing, regarded foreign governments as subordinates to their rule. While the Qing believed their mandate was that of heaven, likewise the Taiping assumed their heavenly king held an equal position within the globe. Yang Xiuqing sent a formal letter to the British and here is some of what it said and I am strongly paraphrases as its a very long letter. “Now that you distant English “have not deemed myriads of miles too far to come” and acknowledge our sovereignty; not only are the soldiers and officers of our Celestial dynasty delighted and gratified thereby, but even in high heaven itself Our Celestial Father and Elder Brother will also admire this manifestation of your fidelity and truth. We therefore issue this special decree, permitting you, the English Chief, to lead your brethren out or in, backwards or forwards, in full accordance with your own will or wish, whether to aid us in exterminating our impish foes, or to carry on your commercial operations as usual; and it is our earnest hope that you will, with us, earn the merit of diligently serving our royal master, and, with us, recompense the goodness of the Father of Spirits. Wherefore we promulgate this new decree of (our Sovereign) Taiping for the information of you English, so that all the human race may learn to worship Our Heavenly Father and Celestial Elder Brother, and that all may know that, wherever our royal master is, there men unite in congratulating him on having obtained the decree to rule”   The implication was that the British were subordinates to the Taiping. Bonham rejected the document stating it was incredibly difficult to understand and that if the Taiping “presume to injure, in any manner, the persons or property of British subjects, immediate steps will be taken to resent the injury in the same manner as similar injuries were resented ten years ago, resulting in the capture of Chinkiang, Nanking, and the neighbouring cities.” So needless to say Bonham's mind was made up.    The French likewise would send a mission to Nanjing, concerned by news of maltreatment and killings of Catholic chinese by the Taiping. In December of 1853 the French minister Anton de Bourboulon made an official visit to Nanjing aboard the steamship Cassini. The Cassini found itself boarded by many Taiping emissaries, dressed in red and yellow robes with their long hair flowing freely. The French are eventually brought ashore and they find somethings that impress them, such as the severed heads of opium smokers; printing presses hard at work and examinations taking place based on religious texts. When the French are brought to an audience hall to meet with Taiping officials they are startled by the contrast between the rundown streets and palace. They see the officials wearing rich robes with fanciful gold. They call the frenchmen friends and brothers. Qin Rigang, a close confidant to Hong Xiuquan meets them, but he is placed on a single seat higher above the ones given to the french, something they note as a slight. Bourboulon enquires if the Taiping will guarantee the well being of Chinese catholics, reminding the man of Frances neutrality towards the civil war. In the end the French talked about the treaties they have with Emperor Xianfeng, and upon hearing the emperors name spoken the Taiping become livid. The Taiping say this to them “if the French revere the Qing ruler Xianfeng so much, they must be his friends; if they are Xianfeng's friends, they must see the Taiping as rebels; if they see the Taiping as rebels, then they are the Taiping's enemies; and so, in conclusion, “the better to help your friend you have come to spy on us, and to acquaint yourselves with the strengths and weaknesses of our position.” The Taiping follow this up with days of silence as the French sat aboard Cassini until a new message was brought on december 13th. The message “ordered” the French to visit the palace of the North King so they could receive his verbal instructions. De Bourboulon rejected this and simply left accepting the mission as a failure. De Bourboulon comes back with this to say about the Taiping “What stands out most for me from all that I have seen is the strength of this revolutionary movement, which promises nothing less than to accomplish a complete transformation, at once religious, social and political in this immense Empire, by tradition a land of custom and immobility. Whatever doubts may exist about its ultimate success, whatever obstacles the indifference of the masses and the resources of the Tartar dynasty may yet oppose to the rebellion's triumph, it is clear to me that this revolt is one of formidable character and proportions; that it is led by men who, be they fanatical or ambitious, have faith in the success of their venture, and who, besides their audacity, have in their favour ideas, a strength of organisation, tactics, in short a moral force which gives them great superiority over their adversaries. . .” In May of 1854 the US sent commissioner Robert McLand, Captain Buchanan and E.C Bridgman to Nanjing aboard the Susquehanna and later in June the British sent representative Sir John Bowring to Nanjing. The American attempts at speaking with the Taiping does not go well, for one thing the Taiping dont recognize the US flag and fire upon their ships at first, pretty much ruining potential talks. Then the Taiping follow it up by sending similar letters they had sent the British and French indicating their stance on foreigners.  An american missionary, Dr. Charles Taylor also went to Chen-chiang in June of 1853 and spoke to Lo Ta-Kang whom told him the Taiping would favor commercial relations with the foreigners once they toppled the Manchu.   After these visits the British paper, North China Herald wrote about the Taiping attitudes towards foreigners and their treaties and it sort of summarizes the feelings of western nations towards them. “That whatever mingling of Christianity there might be among the leaders of the great insurrectionary movement and their followers they would be found veritably Chinese in their relations with foreigners; and that whenever the time came for seriously engaging in negotiations, we should encounter precisely the same difficulties we have always before experienced with the government and officials of the Tartar dynasty. In regard to the Taiping respecting existing treaties, most assuredly they will not, except on compulsion, or unless they willingly descend from their high position. Their ‘second son' of the most high God, and his royal associates, they and they alone are to be the dispensers of all authority and all instruction”.    Thus the years between 1854-1856 marked a decisive turning point for the fate of the Taiping on multiple fronts. The northern expedition against Beijing was a failure; the western expedition only met nominal success, but was turned back putting them on a defensive footing. Now those like Zeng Guofan were creating private armies that were proving effective against them and were turning Chinese society against the Taiping based on traditional order. The chance at receiving support from the west was largely being missed. The Taipings main political and military leader Yang Xiuqing had been a brilliant organizer and strategist. He attempted to assume the role of ideological leader as well, but the way in which he did so was not very effective. Humiliating the Heavenly King and degrading his fellow kings and princes aroused a fear and hostility that would eventually cause a violent power struggle.   The Taiping capital was slowly being surrounded by two Yung-Ying army encampments that had been established by Qing government forces near Nanjing. These were a northern and southern encampment; with one at Chiang-nan and the other in Chiang-pei. The Taiping supply began to be threatened, leading a large number of non-combatants in september of 1854 to leave Nanjing searching for food. Then in march of 1855 to deal with the growing desertions, Yang Xiuqing reversed the policy of separating men and women, permitting marriages among the Taiping. The pressure of the Nanjing blockade by the northern and southern encampments forced Yang Xiuqing to withdraw many of his forces from the battle against Zeng Guofans forces to break the blockade. Thus the Taiping commander Qin Rigang was ordered to turn back from his battles against the Xiang army and to hit the northern encampment at Chiang-nan. Qin Rigang ended up defeating their forces while Shi Dakai who had also been recalled from his offensives in Jiangxi to attack the southern encampment at Chiang-pei in June of 1856. The battles were an overwhelming Taiping victory, the southern camp routed with its commander, the Taipings infamous rival Xiang Rong becoming wounded and he would die of the wounds several days later. Honestly this guy Xiang Rong from basically day one, chased the Taiping all the way to Nanjing and never stopped fighting. The poor guy just kept getting smashed.    Now back within Nanjing, the leadership system of the Taiping had been over complex and quite ambiguous from the start. The loose structure, sort of a quasi collective leadership left the door open to power struggle. There were two main principals to the leadership system: 1) the leadership was sanctioned by a divine mandate. Hong Xiuquan had received the Taiping mission as he claimed, from heaven under orders from God the father to fight the demons to establish the heavenly kingdom on earth. Yang Xiuqing claimed to derive his own authority from the fact that he had suffered for mankind and that God the father spoke through him in the form of the holy ghost. Before his death Xiao Chaogui claimed to represent the voice of Jesus Christ, thus now there were only 2 claimants to hold divine authority. There was no clear defined relationship between the 2 claimants, the Heavenly King was himself the son of God, a younger brother to Jesus Christ while Yang Xiuqing was nothing of that kind, he was just the instrument for gods voice. Yang Xiuqing could only maintain this role however under his trances when he needed to exceed the authority of Hong Xiuquan. 2) was the system of brotherhood amongst the Taiping. The Taiping held a concept that all of them were brothers and sisters, but they made a distinction amongst those followers who had been around at the very beginning versus newcomers. Put simply, those who shared the dangers of the rebellion reaped the rewards.    At first Hong Xiuquan held a special and exalted position, but it seems pressure from Yang Xiuqing and a few others eventually forced him to give up that concentrated holiness, and now the Taiping drew a distinction between God the father and Jesus christ who alone were holy, and Hong was just a sovereign head of the movement of brothers. Every leadership brother had associated staff. And Even though Hong Xiuquan and his staff were the sovereign and in theory handled all things at the highest level, in practice it was actually Yang Xiuqing and his staff that became the real central bureaucracy who were making the decisions and channeling them through Hong Xiuquan and his staff. The administrative structure abided by the brotherhood system and its equality amongst the top leaders. Yang Xiuqing just kept using his trance voice ability to undermine and interfere with the personal life of Hong Xiuquan. Once Xiang Rong and his blockade forces were defeated, it seems Yang Xiuqing saw the opportunity to finally seize control of Tianjing.   Yang Xiuqing went into one of his classic stances and summoned Hong Xiuquan to his palace. Yang said to Hong "You and the East King are both my sons. The East King has made significant contributions, so why is he still being hailed as *'Long Live for Nine Thousand Years' instead of 'Long Live for Ten Thousand Years'?" Hong Xiuquan replied, "The East King has indeed made significant contributions by conquering an empire, so he should be hailed as 'Long Live for Ten Thousand Years'." Yang Xiuqing then went into another trance and said "Should the East King's son be hailed as 'Long Live for Ten Thousand Years'?" Hong Xiuquan replied, "Since the East King is hailed as 'Long Live for Ten Thousand Years', his son and his descendants should also be hailed as 'Long Live for Ten Thousand Years' as well." To all of this Yang went into another stance and proclaimed "I'm returning to heaven."   Obviously Hong Xiuquan opposed the challenged to his role, but there was also opposition from the two remaining kings, the North king Wei Changhui and the flank king Shi Dakai. They had gradually been forced to submit to the directions of Yang and no longer played any real part in policy making. There were a ton of personal attacks as well. Once Yang had Wei flogged after one of his subordinates offended him. Another time a relative of Wei had a property dispute with one of Yang's relatives pissing off Yang and he called upon Wei to decide the punishment for Wei's relative together. Wei's reply apparently was that his own relative should be torn into five parts, wow. Another time Shi Dakai's father in law, Huang Yukun offended Yang and received 300 flogs, had his title removed and was demoted. The major issue for these 2 was unlike Yang they never claimed any divine inspiration, they had no trances or voices to fall upon. All they could really do to challenge Yang was straight up old violence, ie: assasination. Thus a conspiracy against Yang was brewing. It also seems by 1856, Yang Xiuqing was becoming unpopular with the Taiping forces. He was ruthless and mistreated officers of the other kings or anyone who did not kowtow to him. There was an air of fear and disrespect. His harem was allegedly the largest of any of the Taiping leaders and in the words of one Taiping government informant “people laugh behind his back”.   Now before Yang Xiuqing pulled his maneuver to receive the Ten Thousand Years title, he dispatched Wei Changhui, Shi Dakai and Qin Rigang to 3 separate provinces. Hong rightfully saw Yang's requests as blatant treasons and he sent word alerting the 3 generals to return at once. Qin Rigang was the first to arrive followed by Wei Changhui by September 1st of 1856 alongside 3000 troops. The 2 men met with Hong Xiuquan and they decided to act before Shi Dakai arrived and before Yang Xiuqing can rally more than 6000 troops in the city who were believed to be loyal to him. On september 2nd, Wei and Qin led the troops to storm Yangs residence where they slaughtered every member of his family and followers, male and female, and of any rank or age. Yang was cut down trying to flee and his severed head was hung on a pole in the street. It is unknown whether Hong Xiuquan gave the order to kill Yang or Wei Changhui just went ahead with it. There is one version of the tale that indicates Hong Xiuquan ordered Wei only to kill Yang and to leave the others unmolested. Regardless of the versions, Wei Changhui was pinned for being the decision maker.    Hong Xiuquan in an angry edict denounces the slaying of Yangs family and followers and the bloodbath and looting that occurred. He has Wei and Qin arrested and forces them to kneel with chains around their necks in front of his palace gate. Hong's female servants then issue a huge proclamation written in vermillion ink on a large piece of yellow silk 7-8 feet long. The edict sentence the 2 men to a savage punishment of 500 blows, the same punishment dealt to traitors during the Thistle mountain days. All of Yang's surviving followers are invited to witness the beatings, which are administered inside the walls of Hong's enormous palace. It is said Yang's surviving followers make their way through the crowd, get to the gate where they leave their arms and enter the palace ground to get a closer look. Once all of them enter, the doors and gates are shut, the beatings stop and Yangs followers are all trapped. Amongst those who witnessed this event were some western mercenaries believe it or not, one Irishman had this to tell    Next morning at daylight the doors and windows of these prisons were opened, and several powder bags thrown in on the prisoners, while the entrance was strongly guarded. In one house the soldiers entered with little resistance and massacred the whole, but in the other the prisoners fought with the bricks from the walls and partitions, most desperately for upwards of six hours before they were got under. In addition to musketry, a two pounder discharged grape at them.—These poor devils then stripped themselves, and many were seen to fall from sheer exhaustion. At last [Wei and Qin] called upon their men to draw their right arms from their sleeves, so as to distinguish them from No. 2's men; they then rushed in and massacred the remainder— We shortly after entered, and, good heavens! such a scene, the dead bodies were in some places five and six deep; some had hung themselves and others were severely scorched from the explosions of the powder bags thrown in.—These bodies were removed from this to a field and remained uncovered.—After this every master of a house in the city had to give an account of how many men, women and children were residing under his roof, to every one of whom was given a small chop [seal imprint] which they wore on their breast, and if they found any of No. 2's men they were to secure them—For several weeks these people were brought to the execution ground in parcels of fives, tens, hundreds, and thousands, who were all beheaded. All the women and children also, any one who had eaten of No. 2's rice suffered.   Wei and Qin are apparently unsatisfied and continue killing people for over 3 months, with estimates being in the thousands, including 500 of Yang's former palace women and female retainers. Now at the time of the assasination, Shi Dakai was fighting a campaign in Hubei and had far more to travel than Wei or Qin to reach Nanjing. He was far up the Yangtze river, near Wuchang and despite leaving immediately upon hearing the news only managed to get to Nanjing by early October. He was informing on the way of the slaughter and was revolted and furious. Shi met with Wei whom he blamed for the killing and warned him that such actions could only lead to a Qing victory over their cause. Wei was furious in turn and suggested that perhaps Shi was in league with Yang Xiuqing, or perhaps a traitor to the Qing. Sources vary, but some claim Wei sought to make a sweep of it all before Shi even made it to Nanjing, electing to assassinate him. Afterall Shi Dakai's army was still in the field. Regardless, Shi Dakai was warned by mutual friends that he too might be assassinated and upon finding gates closed against him, Shi secretly broke out of the city the same day he had returned to it.  Late within that night both Wei and Qin surrounded Shi's palace, the same way they had done to Yang's, they forced their way past some of his guards but Shi has already given them the slip. One source claims Shi cleverly escaped by being lowered over the city wall in a basket. Wei and Qin thus turned their attention on his poor wife and children whom they murdered.   Shi Dakai moved upriver west of Nanjing, rallying troops loyal to him alongside all those who were dissatisfied with the current Taiping leadership clique. It should be noted many of these dissatisfied forces were in fact Triad organizations. Shi Dakai proved to be the most popular of the Taiping commanders and consolidated close to 100,000 men. With such a huge force he returned by river back to Nanjing sending word to Hong Xiuquan that only the heads of Wei and Qin could satisfy his revenge. Alerted to the danger, Wei dispatched General Qin to block Shi's march and ends up blowing up the hallowed porcelain tower to deny Shi's artillery a commanding height to fire shells into the city. Some sources claim Wei simultaneously had plans to imprison Hong Xiuquan, but before this could unfold Hong Xiuquan assembled his loyal and elite bodyguard killing Wei Changhui and sends his head to Shi. Likewise Hong Xiuquan uses a clever ploy to lure General Qin back into the city and has him killed. Thus Shi Dakai and his army march into Nanjing, not as slaughterers, but as heroes, welcomed by Hong Xiuquan with open arms.   All of this became known as the Tianjing incident, and perhaps surprisingly, the deceased Yang Xiuqing is given amnesty and acquitted of his crimes against the Taiping throne. Yangs death is literally marked as “the east king ascends to heaven”, Hong never fails to publicly revere him. In proclamations for the remaining years of the Taiping rebellion, Yang's role as the voice of god is remembered, and one of Yang's brothers who miraculously survived the slaughter is honored as a noble. All of Yang's sons die, but Hong gives his second son, Tianyou to the east king posthumously as an adopted son, keeping Yang's family line alive. This means that Jesus too can have his line maintained on earth as well as in heaven. Hong likewise names his eldest son, Tiangui, the Taiping heir apparent to be Jesus's adopted son.    Now the slaughter in the Nanjing removed 3 Taiping leaders and a large number of their followers. Only Hong Xiuquan, his family and Shi Dakai remain of the original Taiping leaders. Hong Xiuquan turns to his two eldest brothers, Hong Renfa and Hong Renda to fill some of the power vacuum. With Shi Dakai being the only survivor of the 5 kings, he begins promoting these brothers to make up for the lack of kings. Renfa becomes the Peace King and Renda becomes the blessings king, also known as the An Prince and Fu Prince. As for Shi Dakai, to make sure this did not look like some sort of slight against him, Hong raises his title from flank king to righteous king. Shi Dakai refuses the honor putting Hong in a surprising quandary. Thus Hong offers to add to his flank king title instead making it “lightning of the holy spirit” which matched the once held title of Yang. This compromise seems to have done nothing, Shi Dakai resents the power given to Hong's family members, whom he believes are morons. Likewise the Hong brothers resent Shi Dakai's status and do everything they can to undercut his power. Thus for nearly half a year in 1857, Shi Dakai rules most of the Nanjing region, and it is a sad and lonely existence. His family is dead, it is reported he lives in complete seclusion, not receiving oral messages, but only those in writing. He answers written messages during the night and has his staff bring them out in the morning. When he came back to the capital rumors spread in Nanjing that the people actually wanted Shi Dakai to rule the government, but it was Hong Xiuquan unpleased with him who employed his brothers to thwart this. The people at the Taiping court were displeased with Hong Xiuquan for this because the 2 brothers were neither talented, not well versed in heavenly doctrines. According to one General Li Xiucheng all of these variables, but most in particular the 2 brothers “suspicions and obstructions forced Shi Dakai to leave Nanjing, a defection that left no one in charge at court”.   And so Shi Dakai left Nanjing in the summer of 1857, peacefully with his most loyal troops by his side. Whatever his animosity towards the two Hong brothers may have been, he did not put it in clear words, and he seems to have remained loyal to Hong Xiuquan. He posted a manifesto throughout the cities he passes giving his reason for leaving as his desire to continue with the western expedition. This is part of the manifesto “Last year, amidst the disaster and turbulence, I hurried in anguish back to the Capital. Confident that my unwavering loyalty Would be clearly understood by my Holy Ruler. However, things were not quite so, And imperial edicts were issued one after another. Dark suspicions abounded on all sides, How can my own brush record them all? Because of this, I am determined to exert my utmost, To lead a military campaign and reemphasize my sincerity. I shall endeavor to reward those who walk with God, In order to repay the Sovereign's grace and goodness”.   I would like to take this time to remind you all that this podcast is only made possible through the efforts of Kings and Generals over at Youtube. Please go subscribe to Kings and Generals over at Youtube and to continue helping us produce this content please check out www.patreon.com/kingsandgenerals. If you are still hungry after that, give my personal channel a look over at The Pacific War Channel at Youtube, it would mean a lot to me.  Yang Xiuqing and Wei Changhui were killed, Shi Dakai left Nanjing in exile taking a large army of Taiping with him. Nanjing has lost its kings, Hong Xiuquan falls into a depression and isolates himself, who will really lead the movement now?

This year will be remembered as one of the worst for human rights in Tajikistan. Authorities imprisoned activists, journalists, bloggers, lawyers, and members of the Shi'ite Pamiri community in the country's eastern Gorno-Badakhshan Autonomous Oblast. Mary Lawlor, the UN's special rapporteur for human rights defenders, visited Tajikistan from November 28 to December 9. On this week's Majlis, she joins host Bruce Pannier to discuss her concerns about the situation there.

Near-Future-Krimi im Alpenstaat. Alles wird besser! Mögen die Temperaturen auch steigen, die Gletscher deswegen schmelzen - die Mordrate im Land ist dafür inzwischen: Zero. All das dank künstlicher Intelligenz und implantierter Chips, die die Schweizer vor jeder Gefahr warnen und retten. Die Polizei gibt es nicht mehr, dafür hat das SHI (das Swiss Health Institute) das Ruder übernommen. Alles wird besser? Aber nur, wenn man diesem Kontrollstaat entkommt, behaupten einige. Nämlich all jene, die sich nicht von einer KI überwachen lassen wollen und stattdessen lieber im Bergdorf Freinau ihre klimaneutrale Gegengesellschaft aufbauen. Sie sind «Outlogger»: Aussteiger, Querdenker, Refugees. Unter ihnen ist auch Laura Martini, ehemalige Kriminalkommissarin und jetzige Betreiberin der Pension «Lauras Lodge». Doch dann kommt es im Outlog zu einem tragischen Unfall. Ausgerechnet der berüchtigtste Investigativ-Journalist des Landes stirbt eines dummen Todes. Was wollte er in Freinau? Und an welcher brisanten Aufdeckung arbeitete er gerade? Als dann auch noch zufällig Lauras alter Chef und jetziger Boss des SHI in ihrem analogen Bergdörfchen auftaucht, steht für die Ex-Kommissarin eines fest: In der Schweiz gibt es 2056 sehr wohl noch Morde Mit: Karin Pfammatter (Laura), Thomas Sarbacher (Luzi), Andri Schenardi (Albedo), Martin Ostermeier (Ösi), Julian A. Schneider (Emil), Kaspar Weiss (Santosh), Marie Löcker (Regine), Urs Jucker (Jack), Alexander M. Schmidt (Sam), Leonardo Nigro (Vito), Sabrina Amali (Kiki), Carina Braunschmidt (Frau Müller), Michael von Burg (Herr Müller) Musik: Jean Szymczak und Martin Engler - Kontrabass und Piano: Ralph Hufenus - Schlagzeug und Orgel: Matthias Trippner - Dramaturgie: Susanne Janson - Tontechnik: Tom Willen - Regie: Mark Ginzler - Produktion: SRF für den ARD Radio Tatort 2022 - Dauer: 54'

Cal Poly Humboldt rugby won a national title, the film commission is considering a local Star Wars festival, a failed hitman was sentenced to 43 years in prison, 54 locals are no longer homeless after The Grove opened in the Valley West area of Arcata, a professor says Arcata's “earth flag” measure is legal, Cal Poly Humboldt export Alex Cappa received praise from his Cincinnati Bengals before playing his former team, Cal Poly Humboldt basketball is a hoot, a record-breaking drug dealer pleaded guilty, Eureka export Mike Patton made international music news for trying to destroy a drone while on stage, pro MMA fighter Cass Bell is back to coaching Arcata High wrestling after his Bellator win, event suggestions, and more. Humboldt Last Week is Humboldt County's news podcast in collaboration with Primal Decor (tattoos and piercings), STIL (headshop), Belle Starr Clothing, North Coast Co-op, Bongo Boy Studio, Photography by Shi, North Coast Journal, RHBB, and KJNY. Subscribe via Apple, Spotify, or wherever else you get podcasts. Humboldt Last Week (new/alt/indie) Radio(with no commercials): humboldtlastweek.com/radio (also available via RadioKing app) Contact: myles@humboldtlastweek.com humboldtlastweek.com

Show Notes: On today's minisode on Identity Week Kay & Shi explore the growing pains that can come as your habits, behaviors, and personality change along with your identity and what to do about them! To listen to this week's full-length topic episode or any of the supporting minisodes, go to: AF.AngelFenix.com/KS Recorded Live from Angel Fenix Productions Studios: AngelFenix.com Show Sponsors: The Neuroencoding Institute - Neuroencoding.com Squeeze In - SqueezeIn.com  Resource Links: KayAndShi.com Instagram.com/KayAndShi AngelFenix.com ***License to use music contained in this program was issued by ASCAP (License #: 400009234) and BMI (License #: 60993608) for use by Fenix Media, Sparks, NV.

新一集「說德好文化」(„Auf gut Deutsch!“) 大家分享一個「很台灣」的文化！⁡ ⁡ 是台灣人日常生活中很重要的一部分，也很常是你會介紹外國朋友去的地方喔！ ⁡ 沒錯！這集我們要聊的就是「夜市」！ ⁡ 它在台灣有著非常久的歷史，究竟是如何發展出來，以及有哪些特色呢？ 除了我們最熟悉的小吃美食之外，夜市裡還賣些什麼？ ⁡ 這集就讓我們來聊一下「夜市文化」吧！ 來學習怎麼用德語介紹～ ------- 【台灣夜市文化】 Das Wort „Yeshi“ besteht aus zwei Wörtern. „Ye“ bedeutet „die Nacht“ und „Shi“ ist „der Markt“. Damit ist hauptsächlich ein Markt gemeint, der wortwörtlich nachts Geschäfte macht. Einerseits werden hier verschiedene Arten von Artikeln wie Lebensmittel, Kleidung und alltägliche Gebrauchsgegenstände verkauft, andererseits werden hier auch kirmesartige Spielbuden für die Unterhaltung angeboten. 「夜市」，主要就是在晚上做買賣的市集，販售各種類型的物品，像是飲食、服飾、雜貨、遊戲等等，和生活息息相關的事物 ⁡ In tropischen und subtropischen Ländern sind „Nachtmärkte“ oft wichtige Touristenattraktionen. In Hongkong, Taiwan und weiteren südostasiatischen Ländern gehören sie zu den wichtigen Merkmalen der örtlichen Kulturen. 「夜市」經常是熱帶、亞熱帶國家的重要觀光景點；在香港、臺灣、東南亞等地方，也是平民生活文化的重要代表之一 ⁡ 接著，我們可以再來了解一下夜市是怎麼形成的？ ⁡ Der Nachtmarkt entstand als Erweiterung der früheren Tempelmärkte in Taiwan, die einst Imbissstände vor den Gottestempeln in Keelung oder Hsinchu waren. Beide Märkte haben bereits eine mehr als 170-jährige Geschichte. 它是台灣早期廟會與市集型態的延伸，比如基隆廟口市集及新竹城隍廟前的小吃，至今都已有超過170年的歷史。⁡ ⁡ (—-還有更多內容喔！記得到網站裡看-—) ⁡ ↓↓↓ Web→https://deutschpipapo.com/ IG→ www.instagram.com/deutschpipapo/ ⁡ ↓↓↓ 加入FB社團跟我們分享你想知道的主題！ ［德語學習分享空間｜德語劈啪聊]→bit.ly/3azFj7T

Show Notes: Today on Identity Week, Kay & Shi tell roller rink anecdotes to illustrate how making the choice to embrace an identity can help you become someone who tries new things! To listen to this week's full-length topic episode or any of the supporting minisodes, go to: AF.AngelFenix.com/KS Recorded Live from Angel Fenix Productions Studios: AngelFenix.com Show Sponsors: The Neuroencoding Institute - Neuroencoding.com Squeeze In - SqueezeIn.com  Resource Links: KayAndShi.com Instagram.com/KayAndShi AngelFenix.com ***License to use music contained in this program was issued by ASCAP (License #: 400009234) and BMI (License #: 60993608) for use by Fenix Media, Sparks, NV.

Show Notes: In today's minisode, Kay & Shi explain how you can change your identity to support who you aspire to be! To listen to this week's full-length topic episode or any of the supporting minisodes, go to: AF.AngelFenix.com/KS Recorded Live from Angel Fenix Productions Studios: AngelFenix.com Show Sponsors: The Neuroencoding Institute - Neuroencoding.com Squeeze In - SqueezeIn.com  Resource Links: KayAndShi.com Instagram.com/KayAndShi AngelFenix.com ***License to use music contained in this program was issued by ASCAP (License #: 400009234) and BMI (License #: 60993608) for use by Fenix Media, Sparks, NV.

Near-Future-Krimi im Alpenstaat. Alles wird besser! Mag die Temperatur auch steigen, die Gletscher deswegen schmelzen - die Mordrate im Land ist dafür inzwischen: Zero. All das dank künstlicher Intelligenz und implantierter Chips, die die Schweizer vor jeder Gefahr warnen und retten. Die Polizei gibt es nicht mehr, dafür hat das SHI (das Swiss Health Institute) das Ruder übernommen. Alles wird besser? Aber nur, wenn man diesem Kontrollstaat entkommt, behaupten hingegen einige andere. Nämlich all jene, die sich nicht von einer KI überwachen lassen wollen und stattdessen lieber im Bergdorf Freinau ihre klimaneutrale Gegengesellschaft aufbauen. Sie sind sogenannte Outlogger: Aussteiger, Querdenker, Refugees. Unter ihnen ist auch Laura Martini, ehemalige Kriminalkommissarin und jetzige Betreiberin der Pension 'Lauras Lodge‘. Doch dann kommt es im Outlog zu einem tragischen Unfall. Ausgerechnet der berüchtigtste investigative Journalist des Landes stirbt eines dummen Todes. Was wollte er in Freinau? Und an welcher brisanten Aufdeckung arbeitete er gerade? Als dann auch noch zufällig Lauras alter Chef und jetziger Boss des SHI in ihrem analogen Bergdörfchen auftaucht, steht für die Ex-Kommissarin eines fest: in der Schweiz gibt es sehr wohl noch Morde...| Mit Karin Pfammatter, Thomas Sarbacher, Andri Schenardi, Martin Ostermeier, Julian A. Schneider u.a. | Komposition: Jean Szymczak/Martin Engler | Regie: Mark Ginzler |SRF 2022

Things get cosmic as we discuss GLADIATOR! Doc has no shortage of confidence when it comes to dealing with this Strontian - are you not entertained? Intro Extra Life reminder Background (3:50) Gladiator of the Imperial Guard created by Chris Claremont and Dave Cockrum in The X-Men #107 (Oct 1977) Introduced as a member of the Imperial Guard of the Shi'ar Empire, serving under Emperor D'Ken, brother of the exiled Lilandra Kallark is a Strontian, and the race is incredibly strong, but only when devoted to a principle - Kallark and other Strontians were vying for a spot in the guard, when they were ordered to return to Strontia and kill their elders - only Kallark obeyed without question, learning that it was a test of loyalty set up by the elders to protect the homeworld He encountered several heroes along his journey, as he continued to serve whoever was in charge of the Shi'ar Empire - D'Ken, Lilandra, Deathbird, and Vulcan Kallark defends the Empire against Vulcan and his assault, but when Vulcan leads a coup and takes over, Kallark is honor-bound to serve, although he has fleeting thoughts of doubt On Vulcan's orders, Kallark and the guard attack the wedding of Crystal and Ronan, intended to unite the Kree and Inhumans, though he sides with Lilandra to prevent her execution, he is unable to prevent a later assassination He accepts the position of Emperor of the Shi'ar to prevent further bloodshed and war, but appoints two advisors to help him handle most of the logistics of running the empire Joins the Annihilators to give himself an outlet for fighting, but refuses a leadership role Joins the Galactic Council, where he decides that Earth must be destroyed to save the universe from incursions, but when it was restored, no memory remained of the destruction Put a time-displaced Jean Grey on trial for her “future” crimes as Phoenix After Xandra is discovered, Kallark hands over the throne of the Shi'ar empire to her and returns to his role as head of the Guard Issues - More than you think you know (11:10) The waxing and waning of his self-esteem and focus. It's a function of the Strontian species that their physical abilities are all directly tied to their confidence level and their belief in themselves and their purpose. When Gladiator believes he can do so, he is powerful enough to knock planets out of their orbit, burn Galactus with his heat vision, and is said to have once ripped a black hole in half. Which I really hope was just an idle boast, because there's just...so many things wrong with that sentence. When he doubts himself, he becomes weak enough to get smacked around by Cannonball. A slavish devotion to his sense of duty. Gladiator takes his oath of loyalty to the Shi'ar throne and his position as Praetor of the Imperial Guard VERY seriously. He begins his career of imperial service when the Emperor orders him and the rest of the cadets being evaluated with him to kill the Council of Elders of his home planet as a test of loyalty. Most of the rest of the cadets refuse the order and rebel. Gladiator obeys it without question. He's had to serve a string of emperors and empresses who were objectively very bad people, from T'Korr to D'Ken to Deathbird to Vulcan. He hates the things he's ordered to do most of the time, but is a loyal servant of the throne through and through, purposefully keeping his focus single-mindedly on his duty in order to keep his powers at their maximum level and best perform his duties. The only time he ever wavers is when he's ordered to execute Lilandra, which is a pretty high bar, all things considered. (18:38) Lack of faith in his ability to lead anything that's not the Guard. When Vulcan and Deathbird are dispatched after War of Kings, Gladiator really doesn't want to take charge of what's left of the empire, and would rather anyone else be leader besides him. When he's with the Annihilators, he has no interest in any kind of a leadership role despite arguably being the team's most powerful member. When Professor X and Lilandra both die and someone has the bright idea to hatch a child from an egg made out of their combined genetic material, Gladiator's first response is, oh, thank God you're here! YOU'RE the empress now! This is probably tied into the confidence-based nature of his powers, but even with all of his experience serving at the highest echelons of an interstellar empire that boasts over one million member states, he really seems allergic to the idea of being in charge of anything that's not in his comfort zone of the Praetorian Guard. (25:46) Break (34:32) Plugs for ODPH, Freudian Sips, and Cullen Bunn Treatment (36:07) In-universe - Get him out of his element Out of universe - Compare to high-level athlete with the yips (39:14) Skit (48:31) Hello Kallark, I'm Dr. Issues. -Thank you for taking the time to see me, doctor.  So, what can I do for you? -Forgive me my manners, but, we should at least shake hands before discussing more…personal items. Ok, sure -*yell*Ow! You have quite the grip for a human. Said…no one ever. Are you ok? I wasn't even trying to -*abruptly* I'm fine. Everythings fine. Not everything, but my hand is fine. *whispering to himself* Have I truly fallen so far? What was that? -Nothing. I…I need to see you because I have some questions that only a man of mental science can answer. Mental sci…that's unique. Anyhoo, go ahead. -Even though I am eons old, I pride myself on my…stamina. *hushed tone* do you understand what I'm saying? This is embarrassing. Well, you might need a different specialist, then. Do you have a primary care provider? -The Shi'ar Empire has spared no expense to test me from crown to sole, and yet, they find nothing…but…I haven't given them all of my…details. Go on…*sigh* look, I'm a professional. This is all confidential. If this goes where I think it's going, I may have ways to assist you. Continue -*deep breath* I am a proud member of the Imperial Guard. The proudest…member…if you will. I train my body constantly to serve in as many capacities as I can. And yet, I must admit…I may have cheated…oh the shame! I'm not casting judgment. You cheated with whom? -No, no, I do not blame anyone besides myself, by my own hand. Well, your hands may desensitize you if you aren't using variation in technique. -You do sound like you know about this topic quite well, and without hesitation. Alright then! I'll admit, I've resorted to using some natural remedies. Supplements if you will. Oh really? Well, on Earth many of those products do more harm than good. -I have learned the…umm..hard way…that this is true throughout the galaxy. Sure, for a brief time I felt like I could tackle a whole army and have my way with them in any test of…accomplishment. But that feeling faded. Now I feel…weaker than any Strontian has any right to feel. I may look the same, but I can tell I lack…girth. Is this making sense? Yes, and I definitely can help you. There is plenty of literature on my planet that shows some men have this type of adverse reaction to treatments for anxiety or depression. -Really? So they can't get up what they used to? I could lift planets out of their natural orbit, you know. Um…not the visual I would have wanted, but my point is, it's treatable. I don't know what the alien equivalent is, but here, it's called sildenafil. There are some options, and I want to go over the risks and benefits of - *interrupting* I have no fear of risks! Just tell me the benefits, please. Well, as you may have guessed, you'll be able to function in that area again. It increases blood flow, but the typical formulation is only used as needed to avoid staying that way permanently. -What? As needed? But I am always needed. The guard never ceases their duties. How am I supposed to maintain a steady workload if I rely on this temporary aide?  Well first you need to try a low-*interrupting* And what time of day do I take this…sildenafil? On the days you use it…and ONLY on that day, you can take it up to 4 hours before any stimulation, but it's best 30 minutes before -And what about my diet? Don't eat, you need an empty stomach, but you can drink water, it's good to stay hydrated, anyway. -And what if I need to increase my…output. How many of these can I take? Just one a day, but -And will this also affect my breathing if I am too vigorous? Actually, for pulmonary hyperten -And what about if I am injured? If this affects my blood, will I suffer mortal wounds easier?  I wouldn't recommend -Plus I don't…recover…as well as I used to. If I take anything else, will it affect those things as well? I thought you didn't care about side -How long do I take this, if I feel like my…body…is catching up to my…head? Sometimes I get a throbbing STOP! ***breathing heavily*** Look, stop with the innuendo, alright? You're talking about a sensitive topic, but you got through it. It's not easy to penetrate your defenses, but I've kept a stiff upper lip for too long. You're not going deep enough to get to the psychological basis of all of this. I can't last much longer. We need to start talking in plain language, or this whole encounter ends in a meaningless discharge. Do I make myself clear? -*shouts* SIR YES SIR! Good. Now, as I was trying to say before you unloaded all of your emotional content, erectile dysfunction is -*shocked* EXCUSE ME?!!! *pause* Come again? -WHAT are you on about? I've been pouring my soul out about my decline as a defender of the empire, and you want to talk about…sexual matters? What is wrong with you? I…I thought -You are a disgrace to your profession! And to think, I let myself believe that I needed your kind of help. I have tested the limits of EXISTENCE, and you have some sort of perverse motive to corrupt everything I stand for. How dare you! But the…and your cadence…your tone…the embarrass…*sigh* You know what? I'm willing to cut my losses. I apologize for the misunderstanding. I can refer you to another clinician, and we'll wipe the slate clean. Shake on it? -*pause* You drive a hard bargain. *crunching sound* OOOWWWW Where did that come from? -My grip…that's the grip I know that could choke out the Sun…YOU DID IT! I don't know how, but I'm back to…to ME? I can trust my…head…as well as my body…with my hands…I'm so excited I could just explode! Thank you! The Empire thanks you. THE UNIVERSE WILL SHOWER YOU WITH JOY *swooshing sound to indicate flying away* YESSSSSSS!  *sigh* I need a vacation. Ending (55:09) Recommended reading: War of Kings Next episodes: Raven, Aquaman Plugs for social Transcript References: Moira episode - Anthony (6:05) Crystal episode - Anthony (7:08) Transformers Movie - Anthony (8:05) Rogue & Gambit episodes - Anthony (10:10) Dan and Dave 30 for 30 Podcast - Doc (44:45) Apple Podcasts: here Google Play: here Stitcher: here TuneIn: here iHeartRadio: here Twitter Facebook TikTok  Patreon TeePublic Discord

Show Notes: We all have moments when life puts us to the test. In today's minisode on Identity Week, Kay & Shi talk about how your response when life squeezes you is deeply determined by your identity! To listen to this week's full-length topic episode or any of the supporting minisodes, go to: AF.AngelFenix.com/KS Recorded Live from Angel Fenix Productions Studios: AngelFenix.com Show Sponsors: The Neuroencoding Institute - Neuroencoding.com Squeeze In - SqueezeIn.com  Resource Links: KayAndShi.com Instagram.com/KayAndShi AngelFenix.com ***License to use music contained in this program was issued by ASCAP (License #: 400009234) and BMI (License #: 60993608) for use by Fenix Media, Sparks, NV.

Show Notes: Do you know your identity is the single most important factor in shaping your life? This week on The Kay & Shi Show the sisters are talking about identity and the important role it plays in determining what you will do, have, and achieve in life. Be sure to join us every day this week as Kay & Shi discuss how identity is formed and how you can change your identity to better support your goals.  To listen to this week's full-length topic episode or any of the supporting minisodes, go to: AF.AngelFenix.com/KS Recorded Live from Angel Fenix Productions Studios at Musician Rehearsal Center: AngelFenix.com | MusicianRehearsalCenter.com Show Sponsors: The Neuroencoding Institute - Neuroencoding.com Squeeze In - SqueezeIn.com  Resource Links: KayAndShi.com Instagram.com/KayAndShi AngelFenix.com ***License to use music contained in this program was issued by ASCAP (License #: 400009234) and BMI (License #: 60993608) for use by Fenix Media, Sparks, NV.

Show Notes: On today's minisode on Habits Week, Kay & Shi take five minutes to give you their top strategies for building good habits that last! To listen to this week's full-length topic episode or any of the supporting minisodes, go to: AF.AngelFenix.com/KS Recorded Live from Angel Fenix Productions Studios: AngelFenix.com Show Sponsors: The Neuroencoding Institute - Neuroencoding.com Squeeze In - SqueezeIn.com  Resource Links: KayAndShi.com Instagram.com/KayAndShi AngelFenix.com ***License to use music contained in this program was issued by ASCAP (License #: 400009234) and BMI (License #: 60993608) for use by Fenix Media, Sparks, NV.

Local lease sites for offshore wind went for over $331 million, a local Hawaiian-style food truck made Guy Fieri's Food Network show, Eureka cops echoed a father's claim that he accidentally shot his five-year-old daughter in the foot while cleaning his gun, Raul Rosas Jr. — the youngest fighter in UFC history — often trains in Humboldt County, a Catholic organization that includes Humboldt County filed for bankruptcy following sexual abuse lawsuits, claims reemerge that Loleta Union Elementary staff members have been discriminant toward Native Americans, Bob's Footlongs is bringing its chili dogs and burgers back in Fortuna, commercial crab season was delayed again, a new arts-and-crafts hotspot for Eureka, event suggestions, and more. Humboldt Last Week is Humboldt County's news podcast brought to you in collaboration with Primal Decor (tattoos and piercings), STIL (headshop), Belle Starr Clothing, North Coast Co-op, Bongo Boy Studio, Photography by Shi, North Coast Journal, RHBB, and KJNY. Subscribe via Apple, Spotify, or wherever else you get podcasts. Humboldt Last Week (new/alt/indie) Radio (with no commercials) humboldtlastweek.com/radio Also available via RadioKing app. Contact: myles@humboldtlastweek.com humboldtlastweek.com

Show Notes: Today on Habits Week, Kay & Shi show you how finding the root cause of a shared negative habit helped them change an unwanted behavior for the better! To listen to this week's full-length topic episode or any of the supporting minisodes, go to: AF.AngelFenix.com/KS Recorded Live from Angel Fenix Productions Studios: AngelFenix.com Show Sponsors: The Neuroencoding Institute - Neuroencoding.com Squeeze In - SqueezeIn.com  Resource Links: KayAndShi.com Instagram.com/KayAndShi AngelFenix.com ***License to use music contained in this program was issued by ASCAP (License #: 400009234) and BMI (License #: 60993608) for use by Fenix Media, Sparks, NV.

Show Notes: In today's minisode, Kay & Shi are getting vulnerable about a shared bad habit they eliminated after some intense soul searching! To listen to this week's full-length topic episode or any of the supporting minisodes, go to: AF.AngelFenix.com/KS Recorded Live from Angel Fenix Productions Studios: AngelFenix.com Show Sponsors: The Neuroencoding Institute - Neuroencoding.com Squeeze In - SqueezeIn.com  Resource Links: KayAndShi.com Instagram.com/KayAndShi AngelFenix.com ***License to use music contained in this program was issued by ASCAP (License #: 400009234) and BMI (License #: 60993608) for use by Fenix Media, Sparks, NV.

Intro Reminder of charity event on 12/18 Background (4:02) Moira MacTaggert created by Chris Claremont & Dave Cockrum in Uncanny X-Men #96 (Dec. 1975) Moira Kinross had been dating Joseph MacTaggert prior to meeting Charles Xavier, but left Joseph to become engaged to Charles Joseph managed to convince Charles to serve in the military in order to be “worthy” of Moira, and while he was gone, he worked his way back to her and forced her to break off the engagement After they were married, Joseph became abusive, and when Moira ran away, he tracked her down, beat her and raped her, leaving her in a coma for a week - the child would later become Proteus Studied genetics and founded a mutant research center on Muir Island, and reconnected with Charles, pushing him to form his school Moira ran a school of her own, training mutants who were outcasts - it was this group of students (including Cyclops' brother Vulcan) that Charles first sent in to rescue his captured team, but the children were all seemingly killed, and Charles wiped everyone's mind out of shame Showed up at Xavier's school claiming to be a “housekeeper” to help Charles keep an eye on the school, and she fell in love with Banshee Kept Proteus confined at Muir Island to protect the world, but he escaped, and she was forced to reveal the truth to the team and Joseph, who was unaware he had a son for 20 years Also helped David Haller cope with his unstable powers before bringing in Charles and helping him with his son Contracted the Legacy Virus, and seemingly died in an attack on Muir Island by Mystique and the Brotherhood House of X/Powers of X revealed a massive retcon - Moira had been a mutant all along, with the power of reincarnation and the ability to recall everything from her previous life - she used this information to attempt to alter history several times, both siding with and trying to fight against mutants An encounter with Mystique and Destiny in her 3rd life reveals that she will only get 10 or 11 lives She is responsible for bringing together Charles and Magneto, along with Apocalypse and several other mutants, to create the nation-state Krakoa as a haven for mutants, although she is operating behind the scenes - her previous death was retconned as that of a Shi'ar golem She, Charles, and Magneto establish resurrection protocols for all mutants on Krakoa, but Moira specifically wants to prevent Destiny or any other precognitive mutants from being resurrected, lest they discover her or her plans - when Mystique manages to have Destiny resurrected anyway, Moira has Emma Frost brought into the fold, only for Emma to reveal Moira's existence to everyone - Destiny & Mystique shoot Moira with Forge's mutant removal gun, turning her back into a baseline human, and exiling her from Krakoa Before she dies, she transfers her mind to an Omega Sentinel Was one of the protagonists of AXE Judgment Day, where she sells out Krakoa and mutants to the Eternals as revenge for kicking her out Issues - Theme is Groundhog Day Gone Wrong (13:28) Mad scientist archetype - experimenting on your own kind Manipulating the future (20:30) Imprisonment of your own son - later revealing his birth was purely for scientific purposes, but that wasn't canon at the time (28:02) Break (36:39) Plugs for Frigay the 13th, Hops Geek News, and Gail Simone Treatment (38:49) In-universe -  Out of universe - (43:34) Skit (50:42) DOC: Hello Dr. MacTaggert, I'm Dr. Issues. MOIRA: Going for the formal helps with the disassociation, I see. DOC: *pause* So, do you prefer Moira, or MOIRA: Don't be dense, Doc. It's beneath you. DOC: I was trying to be witty, but I guess I failed…or you didn't catch it because you're too engrossed in analyzing me. MOIRA: It's a habit. Not a bad one, really. When you've done this as many times as I have, you have to find ways to amuse yourself. DOC: Done what, exactly? MOIRA: All of this. The analysis, the prodding, the experimentation, incarceration, exploitation… *realizes there's a pattern here* isolation, incineration…  DOC: Well- MOIRA: Objectification… deviation…  DOC: Doctor MacTaggert- MOIRA: Oh, discrimination, can't forget that one…  DOC: Can we please move on? MOIRA: *inspired* Infantilization DOC: You've made your point. MOIRA: I wanted to see how long I could keep it up. DOC: Oh believe me, I would listen to you all day if I didn't have other things to do, because it's clear that I don't have a role in your world otherwise. Not my circus, not my monkeys…and NO, that's not a shot at any group of people, if you're going to try and exploit that comment. MOIRA: Oh, no one has a role in my world. Or at least no one has a role they're willing to play properly. That's been the trouble over these lives, if they'd just listen to me we could've had such an easy go of things. But no matter how many times I try, I cannot get people to listen. So don't take it personally doctor, there isn't a being on this planet - human or mutant - that is on my level. DOC: Of course not. You created your own level. Who wants to get on it? Well, that's a different story. You're not matching the incentives of others, so they're disinterested…antagonistic, even. Projective identification. MOIRA: Oh don't come at me with that nonsense. I've tried to match incentives. I've done the work in ways you can't even imagine. I've gone through torturous lifetimes that would make your soul weep. The end is always the same - death and pain for everyone. So I'm trying a new tactic, and I'm going to prevent the pain from even starting. But no, I have to deal with zealots like Erik who fight for the purity of it all, or hopeless optimists like Charles who believe in a harmony that will never exist, or warmongers like Apocalypse who revel in the pain. I created my own level because no one else actually wants to keep people from suffering. I came close… I had a utopia… and they hated me for it. So now I'm done cooperating, I'm done pretending to be nice Moira. I'll give them the world they don't know they want, and they can thank me later. Or not. Either way, they're getting it. DOC: Fatalism. Next? MOIRA: Oversimplification. Next? DOC: It's not my fault if you collapse all of your trauma into a term that any undergraduate could look up in seconds. I think your collective experience yields more wisdom than that. But you already know that, don't you? MOIRA: There are no words in English, Krakoan, or any other form of communication on this planet that could define what I have gone through.  DOC: Then stop using those languages. You get to make your own definitions. You're too smart to get yourself bogged down in existentialism. I get that. But you've cut too much meat off of the bone. That's a flavorless existence. MOIRA: Mixed metaphors,*tsk tsk tsk* you ought to be ashamed of yourself. DOC: Deflection. Good one. MOIRA: And what is your role in all of this? You play along with the “heroes”, deluding yourself into believing you're “helping” make things better, all in service of some greater good that does. Not. Exist. And all the while the world hurtles towards its inevitable extinction. You are… you are so out of your element it defies explanation.  DOC: Ad hominem attack. Nice. Almost threw in nihilism but not quite. MOIRA: Oh, now look who's DOC: *interrupting* condescension, albeit juvenile.  MOIRA: That's not really- DOC: *clearly not listening* But where are the emotional overtones? Where's rage? No, too intellectual for that…Bombast. That's the word. MOIRA: Are you daft? DOC: No no no, we already covered that. Ah, I wish I had one of my professors here, we'd keep going longer, but you're not helping MOIRA: This is outrageous. Stop it! DOC: *snaps finger* premeditated victimization! That's it! That's the new term you've created for yourself. You live your life solely for the purpose of your own martyrdom, like a bastardized phoenix! MOIRA: How dare you compare me to that… thing… I am not some wanton destroyer bent on chaos. I was bringing life and order and peace to an entire planet, I was ending millennia of conflict. I am a scalpel, and you think me a Neanderthalic club. This further proves how inadequate your conception of my plans and the world is. Even for someone who's lived a multitude of lives, I have wasted so much time speaking with you. DOC: Your choice, right? And to clarify my stance in your metaphor, I DO think you know how to hold a scalpel. I'm not accustomed to someone so willingly holding the belly of the blade in their palm and complain that the world doesn't appreciate the bloodshed. MOIRA: As any woman will tell you, birth requires bloodshed. I'm not shying away from it. It's simply an objective assessment of the situation. DOC: Oh, I agree it's objectification alright. I know that's not what you said, but I had to give my objective assessment of your objective assessment, you see. MOIRA: Hmm. I am no longer entertained by this game. We're done here. DOC: Sorry you consider this a game. After all, I thought you make the rules. MOIRA: I do. And one of the keys to prestidigitation is sleight of hand. *not to Doc* Orchis, that should have been enough time. You can take me out now. *pause* What do you mean you couldn't hack the system? DOC: Who are you- MOIRA: I don't care if Mystique couldn't get in, she didn't have your… our resources. Ugh. This entire mission is a failure. I will have your hide when I return. DOC: What- MOIRA: I will see you again, Doctor. In this lifetime. *teleportation sound* Ending (56:50) Recommended reading: Krakoan Age of X-Men, starting with HoX/PoX Next episodes: Gladiator, Raven, Aquaman Plugs for social Transcript References: Anthony Extra Life fundraiser Romesh Ranganathan comedy clip - Doc (33:30) Apple Podcasts: here Google Play: here Stitcher: here TuneIn: here iHeartRadio: here Twitter Facebook TikTok  Patreon TeePublic Discord

Show Notes: In today's minisode on Habits Week, Kay & Shi are offering a rapid-fire list of strategies and tips to help you build good habits! To listen to this week's full-length topic episode or any of the supporting minisodes, go to: AF.AngelFenix.com/KS Recorded Live from Angel Fenix Productions Studios: AngelFenix.com Show Sponsors: The Neuroencoding Institute - Neuroencoding.com Squeeze In - SqueezeIn.com  Resource Links: KayAndShi.com Instagram.com/KayAndShi AngelFenix.com ***License to use music contained in this program was issued by ASCAP (License #: 400009234) and BMI (License #: 60993608) for use by Fenix Media, Sparks, NV.

Show Notes: For better or worse, your life is to a large extent the sum of your habits. This week on The Kay & Shi Show the sisters are talking about how your habits can make or break you. Tune in as Kay & Shi share their insights on all things habit-related. Be sure to join us every day this week as Kay & Shi discuss how habits are formed, changed, and maintained.  To listen to this week's full-length topic episode or any of the supporting minisodes, go to: AF.AngelFenix.com/KS Recorded Live from Angel Fenix Productions Studios at Musician Rehearsal Center: AngelFenix.com | MusicianRehearsalCenter.com Show Sponsors: The Neuroencoding Institute - Neuroencoding.com Squeeze In - SqueezeIn.com  Resource Links: KayAndShi.com Instagram.com/KayAndShi AngelFenix.com ***License to use music contained in this program was issued by ASCAP (License #: 400009234) and BMI (License #: 60993608) for use by Fenix Media, Sparks, NV.

From a culinary arts student to a James Beard Fellow and a line cook at a well-respected establishment, Shi has been racking up experiences on her journey including streaming on Twitch, creating her own menu for her Beard Box (which she crushed), and working to start her own business. Host Derek Ting sits down with Shi to talk about her journey as a chef, her dive into content creation, and her ambitions for the future. Instagram: @harro.shi | Food Instagram: @hungry.shi

Civil unrest in Iran, sparked by the death of 22-year-old Masha Amini in police custody, has spread across the Iranian Republic. What began as a protest for women's rights has swelled, with demands for greater freedoms and even an overthrow of the state. The issue's dominated Iran's play at the Football World Cup in Qatar – as their team stood in silent protest while their anthem was played. Closer to home, here in Wales hundreds have gathered on the streets to protest under the slogan “Women, Life, Freedom.” In response the country's leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has blamed the West for inciting protests and there's been a fierce crackdown. This week Iran reported that there have been more than 300 deaths and thousands have been arrested as a result of the protests. But what does this really mean for people of faith? And how much do we know about the country and lives of the people who live there? While most Iranians are Shi'i Muslims, it is also home to a number of minority religious communities. To discuss the issues Azim Ahmed is joined by Roozbeh Najarnejad, an Iranian Christian who supports Christian communities in Iran through Elam Ministries. Maral Shams, a teacher from Wales who has been closely involved with the “Women, Life, Freedom” protests here in the UK. Padideh Sabeti, Director for the UK Office of Public Affairs for Bahá'í Community, the largest non-Muslim community in Iran, and Maziyar Ghiabi, the Director of the Centre for Persian and Iranian Studies at Exeter University.

In 874 CE, the eleventh Imam died, and the Imami community splintered. The institutions of the Imamate were maintained by the dead Imam's agents, who asserted they were in contact with a hidden twelfth Imam. This was the beginning of 'Twelver' Shiʿism.  In Agents of the Hidden Imam: Forging Twelver Shi‘ism, 850-950 CE (Cambridge UP, 2022), Edmund Hayes provides an innovative approach to exploring early Shiʿism, moving beyond doctrinal history to provide an analysis of the socio-political processes leading to the canonisation of the Occultation of the twelfth Imam. Hayes shows how these agents cemented their authority by reproducing the physical signs of the Imamate, including protocols of succession, letters and the alm taxes. Four of these agents were ultimately canonised as “envoys” but traces of earlier conceptions of authority remain embedded in the earliest reports. Hayes dissects the complex and contradictory Occultation narratives to show how, amidst the claims of numerous actors, the institutional positioning of the envoys allowed them to assert a quasi-Imamic authority in the absence of an Imam. Adam Bobeck is a PhD candidate in Cultural Anthropology at the University of Leipzig. His PhD is entitled “Object-Oriented Azadari: Shi'i Muslim Rituals and Ontology”. For more about his work, see www.adambobeck.com. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/new-books-network

In 874 CE, the eleventh Imam died, and the Imami community splintered. The institutions of the Imamate were maintained by the dead Imam's agents, who asserted they were in contact with a hidden twelfth Imam. This was the beginning of 'Twelver' Shiʿism.  In Agents of the Hidden Imam: Forging Twelver Shi‘ism, 850-950 CE (Cambridge UP, 2022), Edmund Hayes provides an innovative approach to exploring early Shiʿism, moving beyond doctrinal history to provide an analysis of the socio-political processes leading to the canonisation of the Occultation of the twelfth Imam. Hayes shows how these agents cemented their authority by reproducing the physical signs of the Imamate, including protocols of succession, letters and the alm taxes. Four of these agents were ultimately canonised as “envoys” but traces of earlier conceptions of authority remain embedded in the earliest reports. Hayes dissects the complex and contradictory Occultation narratives to show how, amidst the claims of numerous actors, the institutional positioning of the envoys allowed them to assert a quasi-Imamic authority in the absence of an Imam. Adam Bobeck is a PhD candidate in Cultural Anthropology at the University of Leipzig. His PhD is entitled “Object-Oriented Azadari: Shi'i Muslim Rituals and Ontology”. For more about his work, see www.adambobeck.com. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/biography

In 874 CE, the eleventh Imam died, and the Imami community splintered. The institutions of the Imamate were maintained by the dead Imam's agents, who asserted they were in contact with a hidden twelfth Imam. This was the beginning of 'Twelver' Shiʿism.  In Agents of the Hidden Imam: Forging Twelver Shi‘ism, 850-950 CE (Cambridge UP, 2022), Edmund Hayes provides an innovative approach to exploring early Shiʿism, moving beyond doctrinal history to provide an analysis of the socio-political processes leading to the canonisation of the Occultation of the twelfth Imam. Hayes shows how these agents cemented their authority by reproducing the physical signs of the Imamate, including protocols of succession, letters and the alm taxes. Four of these agents were ultimately canonised as “envoys” but traces of earlier conceptions of authority remain embedded in the earliest reports. Hayes dissects the complex and contradictory Occultation narratives to show how, amidst the claims of numerous actors, the institutional positioning of the envoys allowed them to assert a quasi-Imamic authority in the absence of an Imam. Adam Bobeck is a PhD candidate in Cultural Anthropology at the University of Leipzig. His PhD is entitled “Object-Oriented Azadari: Shi'i Muslim Rituals and Ontology”. For more about his work, see www.adambobeck.com. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/history