Podcasts about sporadic

What happens when your strongest reps stop getting better? In this episode of Coach2Scale, Julie Fox, Global Director of Customer Success at Cin7, shares how she transformed "steady but stuck" team members into high-impact players. From busting the myth of one-size-fits-all sales training to implementing a radical feedback culture, Julie unpacks how coaching isn't just for underperformers. It's a strategic growth engine for the whole team. She explains how her approach to structured, personalized coaching drives not just rep development but cross-functional alignment and executive trust.Julie also dives into the frontline manager dilemma: they're overwhelmed, under-supported, and often promoted without the tools to coach effectively. She offers actionable frameworks for feedback that sticks, one-on-ones that matter, and why even your top performers still need direction. Whether you're a CRO trying to stabilize performance or a new manager navigating the leap from IC to leader, this episode delivers tactical guidance grounded in experience, not theory.Top Takeaways Generic sales training fails high-context teams. Off-the-shelf training doesn't stick when sales cycles are complex, technical, or regulated; coaching must be personalized to the rep's world.Radical candor beats performance reviews. Feedback should be frequent, specific, and kind, not saved for annual reviews or buried in vague praise.High performers plateau without stretch coaching. Even your best reps need friction to grow; without it, they stagnate and disengage quietly.Effective 1:1s start with knowing the rep as a person. Understanding motivations, feedback styles, and personal goals unlocks performance in ways dashboards never will.Coaching isn't a calendar event; it's a culture. Building feedback loops into day-to-day operations (like peer call reviews and structured office hours) creates sustained behavior change.Not all reps are ready for feedback in the same way. Great managers check in before delivering feedback to ensure the timing and delivery fit how each rep processes input.Manager consistency separates good teams from great ones. Sporadic coaching drives uneven results; systematized coaching practices help managers scale development across the team.First-line managers need coaching too. Most FLMs were promoted without being taught how to lead; equipping them is the fastest way to impact rep performance and retention.Team-first leaders earn executive trust. Julie's “Team Number One” mindset shows how customer success leaders can earn CRO alignment by focusing on business outcomes, not just function-specific wins.Customer centricity must be operationalized. Declaring CS as a priority isn't enough; Julie made it real by embedding it into cross-functional KPIs and role-specific accountability.

Imagine if parents didn't just receive updates — they became your biggest champions.Let me tell you a story. For years, schools have been playing an exhausting game of "communicate and hope." Newsletters flying into inboxes. Random app notifications. Sporadic event invites. Parents scrolling, sighing, deleting.But what if there was a different way? A way where parents lean IN instead of tune OUT?The fifth in the 5 Gears series, this episode explores the Parent Engagement Gear.What you'll learn:Engagement requires two-way communication, not just one-way updates.Your communication strategy should be a comprehensive system that ensures that every family feels connected to your school.Parent engagement is a skill that can be taught and learned.This isn't about more communication. It's about meaningful connection.This is for bold leaders ready to transform parent engagement.The best part? This doesn't require superhuman effort. Just a shift in approach.Download your 5 Gears Diagnostic here! It only takes 10 minutes and will show you exactly which gear you need to focus on to create momentum across your entire school. https://schoolsofexcellence.com/gearsquizMentioned in this episode:Profit & Growth CallBook your Profit & Growth Call today!Profit & Growth Call5 Gears DiagnosticTake the 5 Gears Diagnostic today!5 Gears Diagnostic

Sporadic podcasters Seonaid and Caroline discuss part 2 of The Dalek Master Plan more than a year after they discussed part 1... It goes without saying that this is not the recommended way to view this formidable 12 part story. You can hear more nonsense from Caroline on twitter at @box_floral or on instagram at @carolinehollyxPlease join in the conversation!@myadventurepod

Featuring perspectives from Dr Thomas E Hutson, Dr Rana R McKay, Dr Sumanta Kumar Pal and Dr Tian Zhang, moderated by Dr Pal, including the following topics: Introduction (0:00) Immunotherapeutic Strategies for Localized and Metastatic Clear Cell Renal Cell Carcinoma (RCC) — Dr Hutson (2:34) Optimal Management of Relapsed/Refractory RCC — Dr Zhang (32:49) Role of HIF-2α Inhibitors in the Treatment of Sporadic and von Hippel-Lindau-Associated RCC — Dr McKay (1:04:02) Current and Future Care of Patients with Non-Clear Cell RCC — Dr Pal (1:33:13) CME information and select publications

Most sales leaders focus on hitting their numbers, but few take the time to diagnose why their teams struggle in the first place. In this episode, Bob Tharp, a seasoned sales leader with 35+ years in complex solution sales, reveals the hidden obstacles that stall revenue growth and how CROs can fix them. From controlling the controllables to holding reps accountable without micromanaging, Bob shares a practical, no-nonsense approach to building a high-performing sales organization.Join host Matt Benelli as he and Bob dive into the biggest coaching mistakes sales leaders make, why most 1:1s fail to drive real improvement, and how AI-driven coaching can transform frontline managers into true performance multipliers. If you're tired of surface-level sales advice and want real strategies to improve your team's execution, this episode is a must-listen.Top Takeaways:Sales success starts with diagnosing the real issues, not just chasing numbers. Many organizations focus on revenue targets without addressing the root causes of underperformance, leading to recurring problems.Sales coaching must be holistic, considering both macro and micro factors. Effective coaching looks beyond individual rep performance to evaluate how company strategy, sales processes, and cross-functional alignment impact results.Control the controllables—great salespeople take ownership of their success. Reps can't always change their environment, but they can control their mindset, activity level, and how they adapt to challenges.Most managers struggle with accountability because they avoid tough conversations. Leaders often delay difficult discussions, leading to prolonged underperformance and a culture of low expectations.One-on-ones should focus on skill development, not just deal reviews. Many sales managers default to discussing pipeline, but the most impactful 1:1s prioritize coaching reps on behaviors that drive long-term success.Emotional intelligence is critical for coaching and leadership. Effective leaders read the room, de-escalate tense conversations, and guide reps to self-discovery rather than dictating solutions.AI-powered sales tools are valuable, but human coaching is irreplaceable. Platforms like Gong and SixSense provide insights, but without human judgment and structured coaching, they're just another dataset.Top performers create their own opportunities instead of relying on inbound demand. Great sales reps don't just wait for leads; they proactively diagnose customer pain points and create demand through consultative selling.Sales leaders must stop thinking like super reps and start thinking like business owners. Instead of jumping in to save deals, effective managers build systems that develop reps and create scalable, repeatable success.Consistency in coaching is the key to sustainable growth. Sporadic coaching sessions don't drive behavior change—regular, structured coaching ensures reps continuously improve and hit their targets.Ways to Tune In:Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/0Yb1wPzUxyrfR0Dx35ym1A Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/coach2scale-how-modern-leaders-build-a-coaching-culture/id1699901434 Google Podcasts: https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cHM6Ly9mZWVkcy50cmFuc2lzdG9yLmZtL2NvYWNoMnNjYWxlLWhvdy1tb2Rlcm4tbGVhZGVycy1idWlsZC1hLWNvYWNoaW5nLWN1bHR1cmU Amazon Music: https://music.amazon.com/podcasts/fd188af6-7c17-4b2e-a0b2-196ecd6fdf77 Podchaser: https://www.podchaser.com/podcasts/coach2scale-how-modern-leaders-5419703 YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@Coach2Scale CoachEm™ is the first Coaching Execution Platform that integrates deep learning technology to proactively analyze patterns, highlight the "why" behind the data with root causes, and identify the actions that will ultimately improve business results going forward.  These practical coaching recommendations for managers will help their teams drive more deals, bigger deals, faster deals, and loyal customers. Built with decades of go-to-market experience, world-renowned data scientists, and advanced causal AI/ML technology, CoachEm™ leverages your existing tech stack to increase rep productivity, increase retention, and replicate best practices across your team.Learn more at coachem.io

Thad Zilka, a veteran leader in sales and leadership, discusses the transformative power of coaching in sales performance. Drawing insightful parallels to the world of sports, Thad challenges the notion that star salespeople don't need guidance. Through sharing his own journey, he highlights the pivotal role of structured business plans and the consistent need for accountability to truly achieve greatness. His perspective provides a refreshing look at how even seasoned professionals can benefit from external coaching to elevate their skills from good to exceptional.We explore the intriguing role of AI in the field, balancing its impressive capabilities with the irreplaceable human touch. AI tools are revolutionizing data analysis and idea generation, yet Thad and Matt caution against losing the personal connections that are foundational to successful sales interactions. The conversation expands to the career trajectories of sales professionals and the often-misguided rush towards management roles, urging a mindful approach to career decisions and recognizing the true decision-makers in complex sales environments.Passion and persistence become the heart of our narrative as we dive into the vibrant world of gold investment and the lifelong dedication of being a Kiss fan. We share a mix of encounters and personal stories, from rock concerts to collecting memorabilia, all underscoring the power of perseverance in both life and business. The episode wraps up with reflections on influential leaders like Zig Ziglar and Ronald Reagan, emphasizing the essence of emotional intelligence and the noble art of sales. Join us for a considerable list of insights that promise to inspire, educate, and entertain.Top Takeaways:Even the best sales reps need coaching. Hiring great talent isn't enough—without continuous coaching, even experienced reps can reinforce bad habits.A strong business plan keeps reps accountable. Sales professionals should have a personal business plan with clear 30-, 60-, and 90-day goals that managers actively track.Tough conversations are necessary for growth. Great leaders don't avoid difficult discussions; they address performance issues head-on by asking direct questions and reading between the lines.Self-awareness and emotional intelligence (EQ) are essential. The best managers don't just listen—they watch for body language, energy shifts, and unspoken struggles to understand what's really going on.AI should enhance coaching, not replace it. AI can surface coaching insights, identify patterns, and save time, but human connection and emotional intelligence are irreplaceable.One-on-ones should focus on development, not just deals. Many managers fall into the trap of turning 1:1s into pipeline reviews instead of using them to build rep skills and long-term success.Not every great salesperson should become a manager. Many top reps feel pressured to move into leadership, but management requires a different skill set that isn't right for everyone.Sales leadership is about removing obstacles. The best managers clear roadblocks, eliminate bureaucracy and create an environment where their team can focus on selling.Coaching consistency separates good teams from great ones. Sporadic feedback doesn't drive lasting change—regular, structured coaching ensures continuous improvement and accountability.The role of sales managers is harder than ever. With more responsibilities and less time, FLMs need better tools and processes to coach effectively without getting overwhelmed.Ways to Tune In:Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/0Yb1wPzUxyrfR0Dx35ym1A Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/coach2scale-how-modern-leaders-build-a-coaching-culture/id1699901434 Google Podcasts: https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cHM6Ly9mZWVkcy50cmFuc2lzdG9yLmZtL2NvYWNoMnNjYWxlLWhvdy1tb2Rlcm4tbGVhZGVycy1idWlsZC1hLWNvYWNoaW5nLWN1bHR1cmU Amazon Music: https://music.amazon.com/podcasts/fd188af6-7c17-4b2e-a0b2-196ecd6fdf77 Podchaser: https://www.podchaser.com/podcasts/coach2scale-how-modern-leaders-5419703 YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@Coach2Scale CoachEm™ is the first Coaching Execution Platform that integrates deep learning technology to proactively analyze patterns, highlight the "why" behind the data with root causes, and identify the actions that will ultimately improve business results going forward.  These practical coaching recommendations for managers will help their teams drive more deals, bigger deals, faster deals, and loyal customers. Built with decades of go-to-market experience, world-renowned data scientists, and advanced causal AI/ML technology, CoachEm™ leverages your existing tech stack to increase rep productivity, increase retention, and replicate best practices across your team.Learn more at coachem.io

 While it is encouraging to take mission trips to multiple places, focusing more on fewer initiatives can be more effective. Moving missions from sporadic to strategic creates pipelines to engage the unreached.

 While it is encouraging to take mission trips to multiple places, focusing more on fewer initiatives can be more effective. Moving missions from sporadic to strategic creates pipelines to engage the unreached.

  The Ruckus Report Quick take: In this special coaching episode, a K-4 principal shares his honest struggles and breakthroughs in implementing project-based learning, revealing why communication and teacher buy-in are crucial for meaningful educational change. Meet Your Fellow Ruckus Maker Dan is a K-4 principal with an art education background, bringing a unique creative perspective to his leadership role. As a solo administrator in his building, he's passionate about transforming education through project-based learning while maintaining strong relationships with his staff. Breaking Down the Old Rules

Government officials in the Democratic Republic of Congo have announced that the army is now controlling most of the town of Goma in the country's eastern region. However, the M23 rebels are adamant that they are controlling the town. For an update on the situation in the DRC, Sakina Kamwendo spoke to a journalist in Goma in the Eastern DRC, Emmet Livingstone.

You can't buy wine in a grocery store or supermarket in New York. Sporadic efforts in the last 40 years to change state law to allow it have all failed. But a recent poll says New Yorkers are largely in favor of a change, and some momentum is building. On this episode of “The Eagle” Table Hopping's Steve Barnes talks to an upstate liquor store owner about the potential implications of allowing wine sales in grocery stores. Also on this episode, we'll talk about this year's Times Union Best of the Capital Region contest. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Fingers crossed for a more boring 2025

Sporadic and Consistent.We're back and talking through all things roster/preseason.No shows to campLucho on the outs, officiallyIs Kubo at Chipotle?Orellano says better late than neverAnd some important, yet honest thoughts at the end. @TheKingAdRock73 @NinoOne @sbucks67 @crackityFC @ComeOnYouFCC @fccincinnati @Zuhause513 @MLS #AllForCincy #FCCincy #YAL #WestEndBoys

In order to have consistent production, you must get to executing - to doing the work. Doing is producing. And if you want to get from not executing anywhere to executing everywhere, crossing that chasm in one leap will be the same sort of failure. If your execution sucks, start by executing on something you can handle. Build sustainable deliverables. The point is to start producing consistently, no matter how small. You can make small things bigger. You can't make big things out of nothing. You might be worried that small and consistent is slow. "This is going to take forever." You'd be wrong. It's actually the opposite. Consistent isn't slow. At least it doesn't have to be. Once you build consistency into your outputs, you'll be able to add to it. Keep piling, keeping improving, and soon your strides will be more than you wished to handle. Build habits of consistent production, instead of pursuing leaps of gains. Consistent production beats sporadic exceptionalism.

In order to have consistent production, you must get to executing - to doing the work. Doing is producing. And if you want to get from not executing anywhere to executing everywhere, crossing that chasm in one leap will be the same sort of failure. If your execution sucks, start by executing on something you can handle. Build sustainable deliverables. The point is to start producing consistently, no matter how small. You can make small things bigger. You can't make big things out of nothing. You might be worried that small and consistent is slow. "This is going to take forever." You'd be wrong. It's actually the opposite. Consistent isn't slow. At least it doesn't have to be. Once you build consistency into your outputs, you'll be able to add to it. Keep piling, keeping improving, and soon your strides will be more than you wished to handle. Build habits of consistent production, instead of pursuing leaps of gains. Consistent production beats sporadic exceptionalism.

As the year winds down, like you, no doubt, I am undoubtedly reflecting on 2024; the lessons I've learned and the thought patterns I'm intentionally leaving behind as I step into 2025. This episode is about the transformations that have shaped me this year and how I plan to embrace boldness, connection, and consistency in the new year.   What You'll Learn in This Episode: 1.Hesitant to Courageous: •Overcoming self-consciousness and embracing bold action. •How launching into public speaking helped me confront hesitation. •“Self-restraint is more interested in your appearance than your progress.” 2.Guarded to Connected: •The beauty of opening up to new friendships despite past betrayals. •Stories of the wonderful people God brought into my life. •“Removing fences caused by betrayal allowed blessings in the form of authentic relationships.” 3.Sporadic to Consistent: •The power of doing what's necessary, regardless of feelings or circumstances. •Why consistency isn't about waiting for evidence but trusting the process. •“Consistency means keeping every appointment with yourself, even when it's hard.”     ‘Self-restraint is more interested in your appearance than your progress.'   This year has been quite a ride! I am grateful to you, my listeners and support for tirelessly listening and feeding back your thoughts. I hope you can take at least one thing away, that God's faithfulness is unquestionable. He is resolute, does not waiver and is a solid rock.  Consider the thought patterns you want to replace as you reflect on your year. Remember that You have everything you need to be all God created you to be, and the evidence is in your desires. Step boldly into 2025 with courage, authenticity, and consistency. You've got this!   Links and Resources: • Visit our website: toksaruoture.com •Simon Sinek's clip on having friends to share good news with •HangOut Cafe with Pastor Funke Adeaga: Watch on YouTube  • Follow me on social media for more inspiration and updates: Instagram, LinkedIn YouTube • Ready to take bold steps toward your purpose? I offer 1:1 coaching and group coaching programmes to help you live from the inside out.   If you found this episode valuable, please leave a five-star review and share it with someone who needs it. Your feedback truly means the world to me, and I'd love to hear how this episode is impacting you, so hit me up on social media! Wishing you a fantastic start to a blessed 2025! Till next time, remember to live from the inside out. ✨      

“If they can't find you, they can't pay you.” For any business, visibility is essential. In this episode, May Yeo Silvers gets straight to the heart of why many entrepreneurs struggle with sales, breaking it down into three core reasons that often go unnoticed.     Are you making it easy for potential clients to discover your business? Sporadic social media posts or a static website aren't enough. May challenges listeners to think about whether their marketing is consistent, aligned with their personality, and actually reaching the right audience.     May also asks: Are you speaking to the people who truly need and value your services? Selling to the wrong crowd—or worse, failing to address your clients' core needs—could be why you're not closing deals.     This isn't about doing more; it's about doing it smarter. Drawing from her extensive experience in the events industry, May shares actionable insights and real-world examples, offering clarity and solutions for these common pitfalls. Ready to refine your approach and connect with your ideal clients? Tune in and take the first step!   Quotes • “You need consistent marketing, and it's important to find a marketing style that suits your personality. In my ‘Events4Anyone' Facebook group, I shared a tutorial on choosing a marketing strategy based on your resources—whether you have more time or money—and your personality type. Evaluating these factors helps you develop a consistent strategy to let people know you have something to sell. Remember, if they can't find you, they can't pay you.” (03:41 | May Yeo Silvers) • “If you're selling the product to the wrong people, they may not see the need for it right now. Without a strategy to entice them to buy now, they also might not see that what you're offering is something they actually want. Additionally, they may not be able to afford it, or your price could be too high. They might want your service and want it now, but if your pricing is wrong, that could be a barrier.” (05:39 | May Yeo Silvers) • “In order to upsell, you must first satisfy their core needs, then you upsell your other services that you can very confidently speak about.” (27:46 | May Yeo Silvers)   Links If knowing how to sell is your Achilles heel, check out our FREE private facebook group: Events4Anyone-A-Z guide to help you start and grow your events business. Inside the facebook group, there is an entire module called "Slaying Sales" where I have several free videos teaching you how to SLAY SALES! Here's the link to join the group.   If you want more hands on help where you ask questions and also learn from others who have walked the path before you, our LIVE SUPPORT community could be what you are looking for. Click on this link to find out what the community offers!   Connect with May at: may@events4anyone.com  Website: www.mayyeosilvers.com LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mayyeosilvers/ Facebook: www.facebook.com/mayyeosilvers IG: www.instagram.com/mayyeosilvers TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@mayyeosilversofficial FB private group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/events4anyone     Podcast production and show notes provided by HiveCast.fm

Last time we spoke about the battle of Ormoc Bay. Amid the fierce Battle of Leyte in November 1944, American and Japanese forces clashed across rugged terrains and stormy weather. A typhoon swept the island, halting supply lines, while Colonel Verbeck's forces launched a determined assault on Breakneck Ridge, advancing against Colonel Miyauchi's well-defended lines. Meanwhile, Japanese reinforcements suffered devastating losses from American air raids. Through relentless attacks and strategic maneuvers, the Americans gained ground, signalling the turning point toward Japanese retreat and Allied victory on Leyte. Meanwhile a Japanese convoy led by Rear-Admiral Sato suffered devastating losses to Allied submarines and air attacks while attempting to transport troops. Concurrently, Australian and American forces launched aggressive operations in New Guinea, and American B-29 Superfortresses, despite some challenges, intensified the bombing campaign against Japan. This episode is the Fall of Peleliu Welcome to the Pacific War Podcast Week by Week, I am your dutiful host Craig Watson. But, before we start I want to also remind you this podcast is only made possible through the efforts of Kings and Generals over at Youtube. Perhaps you want to learn more about world war two? Kings and Generals have an assortment of episodes on world war two and much more  so go give them a look over on Youtube. So please subscribe to Kings and Generals over at Youtube and to continue helping us produce this content please check out www.patreon.com/kingsandgenerals. If you are still hungry for some more history related content, over on my channel, the Pacific War Channel you can find a few videos all the way from the Opium Wars of the 1800's until the end of the Pacific War in 1945.  In our previous update, General Gill's 32nd Division had arrived to relieve the exhausted 24th Division and take charge of the main offensive down the Ormoc Valley. During this lull in the battle, General Kataoka took advantage of the pause to reposition his 1st Division and ordered Colonel Miyauchi's 57th Regiment to counterattack toward Breakneck Ridge. The counterattack had limited success, ultimately leaving the 57th Regiment significantly weakened. On November 16, Colonel John Hettinger's 128th Regiment moved in to relieve the 21st Regiment at Breakneck Ridge but was unable to capture Corkscrew Ridge following a fierce battle. Simultaneously, General Cunningham's 112th Cavalry was deployed to secure and patrol the Mount Minoro area, while Colonel Clifford's reinforced 1st Battalion advanced to Kilay Ridge behind Japanese lines, where it faced artillery fire and unsuccessfully attempted to link up with Colonel Chapman's 2nd Battalion roadblock on Highway 2. To the south, the 32nd Regiment moved toward Baybay to launch a second push toward Ormoc, initiating an advance north to the Damulaan-Caridad area on November 14. Meanwhile, General Yamagata's 26th Division, including Colonel Saito Jiro's 13th Independent Regiment, advanced in the same direction with plans to assault Burauen, setting up a confrontation with the American forces on Shoestring Ridge. By November 17, Hettinger's 1st Battalion had entrenched on the slopes of Corkscrew Ridge while the 3rd Battalion progressed roughly 1,000 yards down the highway, securing a ridge about 500 yards north of Limon. At the same time, Clifford's patrols finally made contact with Chapman's 2nd Battalion, but they struggled to establish a communication line due to the strong enemy presence between them. The following day, Clifford positioned machine guns for a firefight against the enemy on a ridge to the southeast. Throughout the night and into November 19, Japanese machine-gun fire targeted the perimeter, successfully disabling one gun and surrounding Clifford's southernmost outpost, eventually forcing the Americans to withdraw. Meanwhile, Hettinger's 1st Battalion launched another assault on Corkscrew Ridge on November 18, though it achieved only minor gains. Additionally, Colonel Kora Keijiro's 49th Regiment infiltrated the enemy's left flank, initiating a two-pronged advance toward Colasian and Capoocan, but this had limited impact on Gill's offensive. As a result, Hettinger's 1st Battalion continued its siege of Corkscrew Ridge until November 20, while the 3rd Battalion held positions on a ridge overlooking Limon. On November 20 and 21, Japanese forces also gained ground against Clifford's defenses on Kilay Ridge. At the same time, the 32nd Regiment had established a defensive stance on Shoestring Ridge, while the 13th Independent Regiment fortified the opposite ridge with trenches, machine-gun pits, and other installations, sending a reinforced battalion eastward toward Burauen. On November 22, the 11th Airborne Division arrived to relieve the 7th Division, which subsequently redeployed to the west coast. Gill resumed his offensive, sending Hettinger's 2nd and 3rd Battalions south while the 1st Battalion contained Corkscrew Ridge. The Americans fought their way to Limon, establishing defensive positions along a tributary of the Leyte River south of the town after repelling a fierce Japanese counterattack. Meanwhile, Japanese assaults intensified on Kilay Ridge, pushing back Clifford's troops, though they held firm. Fortunately, the Japanese did not press further on November 23, as Kataoka needed to reorganize his forces following the fall of Limon. To support the division's left flank along the Limon-Ormoc highway, he dispatched the 49th Regiment and his reserve battalion, coinciding with the arrival of the 1st Regiment to reinforce the heavily weakened 57th Regiment. However, the withdrawal of the 49th created a significant gap between the 1st and 102nd Divisions, which the 126th Regiment quickly exploited, advancing through the Hill 1525 area to strike at the enemy's rear. The 128th Regiment also took this time to realign and consolidate its positions, focusing the next three days on extensive patrols and placing harassing fire along an east-west ridge overlooking the highway about 1,000 yards south of Limon. Additionally, on November 24, the 112th Cavalry began advancing southwest from Mount Minoro toward the highway with a similar objective. With the occupation of Limon, the Battle of Breakneck Ridge concluded, costing the 24th and 32nd Divisions a total of 1,498 casualties, while the Japanese suffered an estimated 5,252 fatalities and had eight captured. The American victory was largely aided by the establishment of a roadblock south of Limon by Chapman's 2nd Battalion and the defense of Kilay Ridge in the Japanese rear by Clifford's battalion.  From November 12 to 23 the 2nd Battalion, 19th Regiment had defended the roadblock under extremely difficult conditions. The operations report of the 24th Division graphically summarizes the deeds for which the battalion received a presidential citation: “These bearded, mud caked soldiers came out of the mountains exhausted and hungry. Their feet were heavy, cheeks hollow, bodies emaciated, and eyes glazed. They had seen thirty-one comrades mortally wounded, watched fifty-five others lie suffering in muddy foxholes without adequate medical attention. Yet their morale had not changed. It was high when they went in and high when they came out. They were proud that they had rendered invaluable aid to the main forces fighting in Ormoc corridor, by disrupting the Japanese supply lines and preventing strong reinforcements from passing up the Ormoc road. They were proud that they had outfought the Emperor's toughest troops, troops that had been battle trained in Manchuria. They were certain they had killed at least 606 of the enemy and felt that their fire had accounted for many more. And they were proud that this had all been accomplished despite conditions of extreme hardship. 241 of the battalion's officers and enlisted men were hospitalized for skin disorders, foot ulcers, battle fatigue, and sheer exhaustion.” These units, facing constant fire and heavily outnumbered, prevented General Suzuki from reinforcing Limon. Abandoning a potential counteroffensive here, Suzuki redirected his primary efforts to the Burauen front for his Wa offensive. Despite Yamagata's preparations for combat, the effectiveness of the 26th Division depended heavily on acquiring more heavy weapons, ammunition, and equipment. Thus, a convoy with three transports and a submarine chaser departed Manila on November 23, carrying the essential supplies to Ormoc. As night fell over Shoestring Ridge, Saito finally launched his main offensive against the stretched defenses of the 32nd Regiment. Artillery, mortars, and machine guns provided cover for two companies advancing forward to capture sections of the ridge. The next morning, the 2nd Battalion of the 32nd Regiment reorganized its defensive positions, enabling the Americans to push back a Japanese force that had penetrated south of the Palanas River and east of Hill 918. Meanwhile, General Tominaga initiated a large-scale air offensive to support Operation TA's latest convoy, deploying sixty planes from the 2nd Air Division to strike the Leyte airfields, while thirty Navy aircraft targeted enemy shipping in Leyte Gulf. Over the next four days, daily air attacks were conducted in the Leyte area, and the 7th Air Division carried out coordinated strikes against enemy bases on Morotai. However, on November 24, the convoy's transports were sunk by an air attack off Masbate Island, just as another convoy consisting of three transports and one destroyer was dispatched to Ormoc. This convoy was similarly destroyed the next day off Marinduque Island by carrier aircraft, resulting in a complete operational failure. Back in Leyte, on the night of November 24, Saito's troops launched another ferocious assault on enemy positions, beginning with the heaviest artillery barrage the 32nd Regiment had yet encountered. The Americans quickly responded with their own supporting weapons, effectively repelling repeated Japanese attacks. Only Company K was pushed back, but American artillery, mortars, and machine guns prevented the Japanese from exploiting this breakthrough. After failing to penetrate the front lines, Saito's troops desperately attempted to neutralize the artillery supporting the 32nd Regiment before ultimately retreating, allowing the defenders to regroup. By nightfall, the Japanese employed the same tactics as in their previous assault but were ultimately pushed back after a fierce grenade battle and some close-quarters fighting. At the same time, Kataoka's newly deployed reserve battalion launched an attack on Kilay Ridge during the night. However, the weary defenders were able to fend off the assault, resulting in casualties for both sides. After reinforcing Shoestring Ridge, the 32nd Regiment faced another attack on the night of November 26.  At 2100 Colonel Saito renewed the assault against the American position, following the pattern set by the previous night actions. The Japanese first laid down mortar and machine gun fire, and then heavy-weapons fire of the 13th Infantry Regiment hit the right platoons of Company G, shifting to the east in about fifteen minutes. Immediately afterward, about a battalion of Japanese infantry attacked Company G, while twelve machine guns started to fire from a ridge 1,200 yards to the east. The Japanese moved into the fire of their own heavy weapons. The 32d Infantry, using all of its artillery batteries, mortars, machine guns, and rifles, started throwing lead against the enemy force as fast as its men could load and fire. The Japanese, employing an estimated fifty machine guns, continued to come on. "All hell broke loose" as the enemy shot off flares to guide their own artillery fire. The sharp declivity in front of the American lines did not allow for a close concentration of friendly artillery fire. Just as it appeared that the lines were to be overrun, some more enemy flares went up, and the Japanese withdrew, covered by heavy machine gun and mortar fire. Colonel Finn, taking advantage of this fortunate circumstance, hastily rearranged riflemen to fill gaps caused by casualties and replenished his ammunition supplies. The mortars of the regiment continued to fire into the draw. After a short lull Colonel Saito renewed the attack. There was no preparatory artillery fire, but the mortars and machine guns introduced the assault. The attack did not seem as determined as the previous one, though the number of troops was apparently about the same. The 32d Infantry again called down all types of fire upon the enemy. Elements of the 13th Infantry Regiment continued to advance, although "the carnage was terriffic," and attempted to pass through the American lines. A strong enemy group moved into a bamboo grove on a nose in front of the center platoon of G Company. From this position the enemy launched an attack which the company resisted with grenades and bayonets. As Colonel Finn later reported: "The battle continued to flare up and die down as the valiant soldiers fought like devils to hold our lines." The 81-mm. mortars from the mortar platoon of H Company fired 650 rounds in five minutes, and fire from the 60-mm. mortars was "practically automatic." After an hour's intense fighting, the enemy force withdrew. Unbeknownst to the Americans, however, the left and center platoons of Company G fell back in confusion during the fight, allowing the Japanese to infiltrate the American lines in the bamboo thicket previously occupied by the center platoon. The Japanese had not attacked the left flank of Company G. These troops heard the battle raging to the right and the sounds of the Japanese forming below them. A non-commissioned officer in charge of a listening post sent a man to get permission for his 3-man group to withdraw. After receiving permission he shouted the order from a distance of 50 yards. As the men from the listening post started back, they were joined by the left platoon and two squads from the center platoon. Within 45 minutes the two platoons, less one squad, plus the section of heavy machine guns, were moving south on the highway. "There was no thought in their minds that the withdrawal was not authorized." After proceeding down the road 250 yards they met the executive officer of Company H who ordered them back. It was too late, the damage was done. Though the left platoon was able to regain its position without trouble, the two squads from the center platoon found the enemy well dug-in in the bamboo thicket where the squads had been. It was later learned that there were about 200 hostile troops with 20 machine guns in the thicket. The Japanese were within the American lines and in a position from which they could fire on A Battery and the flanks of Companies E, L, I, and K. Although the surprised defenders managed to contain the infiltrators—who seemingly did not recognize the Americans' precarious situation, as they made no attempt to capitalize on it—the situation remained unstable until the 1st Battalion, 184th Regiment arrived on November 27 and regained the lost ground. At this point, all the assault elements of General Arnold's 7th Division had crossed to the eastern shore of the Camotes Sea, and reinforcements were en route. On November 28, the 184th Regiment relieved the exhausted defenders on Shoestring Ridge and successfully repelled a small Japanese attack that night. Meanwhile, Yamashita decided to shift most of his division toward Burauen to initiate Suzuki's planned offensive, leaving only a small detachment to prevent the Americans from reaching Albuera and cutting off the base of his attack. By the end of November, the 184th had successfully taken control of Shoestring Ridge and the Bloody Bamboo Thicket, although it was unable to advance further north due to the enemy's strong resistance. At the same time, Tominaga made an unsuccessful attempt to drop off a raiding unit over Burauen on November 26, marking the first use of a tactic that would be repeated in the coming weeks. On November 27, Admiral Okawachi launched another convoy carrying heavy equipment for the 26th Division, which successfully reached Ormoc Bay overnight. However, it was intercepted by PT boats the following day, resulting in the loss of one frigate and one subchaser during the encounter. The convoy faced further attacks from aircraft on November 29, which sank one transport before the remaining ships departed for Manila. On their return journey, the last two vessels were ultimately destroyed by air strikes. Back in Leyte, on November 29, Clifford's exhausted troops managed to fend off one final heavy assault before being relieved by Hettinger's 2nd Battalion. By the end of the month, the Americans had solidified their positions on Kilay and Shoestring Ridges and were prepared to advance their two offensives against Ormoc. However, we must now shift our focus from the Philippines to Peleliu, where Colonel Nakagawa's remaining 700 men continued to hold out against American assaults with their dwindling strength. At the beginning of November, Colonel Watson's 323rd Regiment had taken over the task of neutralizing the Umurbrogol Pocket, with Colonel Dark's 3rd Battalion on Walt Ridge and Mortimer Valley being the last unit remaining from the 321st Regiment. After a brief pause in combat at the end of October, operations became more active again on November 2. Watson's 2nd Battalion successfully attacked the Five Sisters from the southwest, while elements of the 1st Battalion advanced north along the ridges west of Death Valley, pursuing the remaining Japanese forces from South Pocket. Meanwhile, part of the 3rd Battalion moved slowly south through the ridges and rugged terrain at the northern end of China Wall. However, before Watson could continue his offensive, heavy rains began on November 4, escalating into a typhoon that persisted for four days. By November 12, no significant progress had been made by any unit, with slow patrols and sandbagging ongoing. The 81st Cavalry Reconnaissance Troop and elements of the 321st Regiment focused on securing additional offshore islets north of Peleliu. Attacks in the Umurbrogol resumed on November 13, with Watson's 1st Battalion advancing eastward from the ridges west of Death Valley, and his 2nd Battalion pushing north into the gorge and Wildcat Bowl, though little ground was gained in the following days. Despite this slow advancement, a key center of resistance was identified in the rough terrain west of central Death Valley. On November 16, oil was sent forward through a hose from fuel tanks set up in covered positions 300 yards distant and poured into a large cave which seemed to be the center of the new-found defenses. Ignited by white phosphorus hand grenades lobbed into the cave, the flaming oil produced such promising results in driving Japanese into the open or killing them, that the same method of conquest continued to be used by the 1st Battalion and in other parts of the pocket. Over the next five days, tanks and LVT-flamethrowers targeted enemy caves at the bases of China Wall and Five Brothers, effectively destroying or sealing all accessible enemy positions and leaving Nakagawa with only 150 men still capable of fighting. By November 21, infantry patrols could operate largely unimpeded throughout Wildcat Bowl and the southern section of Death Valley. The next day, the 323rd launched an assault on the China Wall, where the majority of Nakagawa's weary troops were entrenched, effectively compressing the enemy into a space measuring 125 yards wide by 285 yards long. Meanwhile, on November 23, Five Brothers Ridge was finally cleared. The following day, a second assault on the China Wall gained additional ground, leaving only 57 enemy troops alive. To enable tanks and LVT-flamethrowers to access the central hollow of China Wall, engineers began constructing a ramp up the east wall at the northern end of Wildcat Bowl. As the ramp ascended, Nakagawa realized his situation was hopeless.  On November 24th, Nakagawa burnt the regimental colors and performed harakiri.  He was posthumously promoted to lieutenant general for his valor displayed on Peleliu. His final message to General Inoue read  “Our sword is broken, and we have run out of spears.” The 57 remaining soldiers were divided into 17 small teams, instructed to hide during the day and raid American positions at night. With the enemy largely absent, American forces cautiously advanced into the area. On November 26, tanks and LVT-flamethrowers moved up the completed ramp to bombard caves and other defenses in the hollow center of China Wall. The next morning, as units from the north and south finally linked up, Watson declared that hostilities had come to an end. What General Rupertus had anticipated would last only four days had, in fact, extended to nearly two and a half months. The 323rd suffered significant losses during that battle, with approximately 118 soldiers killed and 420 wounded. The overall casualties for the Battle of Peleliu reached over 1,573 American deaths and 6,531 injuries. In contrast, the Japanese forces experienced a total of 10,695 men killed and 301 taken prisoner. Although the fighting was officially declared over and Peleliu secured, isolated groups and individual Japanese troops remained hidden in pockets and caves, primarily in the northern part of the island and the Umurbrogol mountains. For several months afterward, the units of the 81st Division assigned to garrison the island continued to root out stragglers and seal off caves. Many of these soldiers would survive in the mountains and swamps until the war's conclusion and beyond. In fact a Japanese lieutenant with 26 men of the 2nd Infantry soldiers and eight 45th Guard Force sailors held out in the caves in Peleliu until April 22nd of 1947 and surrendered after a Japanese admiral convinced them the war was over. The effort to reduce the Japanese pocket around Umurbrogol Mountain is often regarded as the most challenging battle faced by the U.S. military throughout the entire war. The 1st Marine Division suffered heavy losses and remained inactive until the invasion of Okinawa began on April 1, 1945. During their month on Peleliu, the 1st Marine Division incurred over 6,500 casualties, representing more than one-third of the division's strength. The 81st Infantry Division also experienced significant losses, with approximately 3,300 casualties during their time on the island. Postwar analyses indicated that U.S. forces required more than 1,500 rounds of ammunition to kill each Japanese defender. They expended a staggering 13.32 million rounds of .30-caliber ammunition, 1.52 million rounds of .45-caliber, 693,657 rounds of .50-caliber bullets, 118,262 hand grenades, and 150,000 mortar rounds.The battle sparked considerable controversy in the United States, as many believed that the high number of American casualties was unjustified for an island with minimal strategic importance. The Japanese defenders were incapable of hindering potential U.S. operations in the Philippines, and the airfield captured on Peleliu did not significantly influence subsequent military actions. Instead, the Ulithi Atoll in the Caroline Islands was utilized as a staging ground for the Okinawa invasion. The casualty rate from this battle surpassed that of any other amphibious operation in the Pacific War. Moreover, coverage of the battle was limited, as only six reporters were motivated to report from the shore, influenced by General Rupertus's prediction of a quick victory within three days. The battle also received less attention due to General MacArthur's return to the Philippines and the Allies' advance toward Germany in Europe. The battles for Angaur and Peleliu illustrated the typical patterns of Japanese island defense, yet few adjustments were made for the subsequent battles of Iwo Jima and Okinawa. Naval bombardment before the amphibious assault at Iwo Jima proved to be only marginally more effective than at Peleliu, while the preliminary shelling for Okinawa saw significant improvements. Underwater demolition teams, known as frogmen, conducted operations at Iwo Jima that confused the enemy by targeting both coasts, but this tactic later alerted Japanese defenders to the precise assault beaches during the Okinawa invasion. American ground forces gained valuable experience at Peleliu in assaulting heavily fortified positions similar to those they would encounter again at Okinawa. Admiral William Halsey Jr. recommended canceling the planned occupation of Yap Island in the Caroline Islands. He also suggested that the landings at Peleliu and Angaur be abandoned in favor of deploying their Marines and soldiers to Leyte Island; however, this recommendation was ultimately overruled by Admiral Nimitz. Turning our attention to China, we need to discuss the conclusion of the pivotal Operation Ichi-Go, as the 11th and 23rd Armies pressed on with their offensives against Guilin and Liuzhou. Back in August, following battles in Hunan and Guangdong, the 11th and 23rd Armies of the IJA initiated offensives toward Guilin and Liuzhou, respectively. The NRA troops defending the region were primarily remnants from the Battle of Hengyang, resulting in only 20,000 soldiers being present in Guilin on November 1 when the Japanese commenced their assault on the city. The Chinese government recognized that it could not hold Guilin but chose to prolong the battle for political reasons, sending food and supplies to those besieged. Most civilians had fled Guilin weeks earlier, leaving the city heavily scorched by fire. Defenses were reinforced with pillboxes, barbed wire, and Guangxi troops commanded by Muslim General Bai Chongxi. General Joseph Stilwell, who had a good relationship with Bai, made considerable efforts to supply American munitions to Bai's forces. Trenches were also dug throughout the hilly terrain. By early November, General Yokoyama's forces had effectively surrounded Guilin, with the 3rd and 13th Divisions ready to advance toward Liuzhou, while General Tanaka's units were also preparing to move north following the fall of Wuxuan. Consequently, most of Yokoyama's troops continued to tighten their grip on Guilin, where the determined defenders inflicted heavy casualties on the Japanese as they facilitated the withdrawal of American personnel. Additionally, the 13th Division advanced through Yongfu on November 6, the 3rd Division captured Luzhaizhen on November 8, and the 104th Division began its movement toward the area west of Liuzhou. On November 9, just as the 11th Army initiated its main assault on Guilin, General Okamura assigned the 3rd and 13th Divisions to the 23rd Army to enhance coordination for the attack on Liuzhou. Fortunately for them, the Chinese forces offered minimal resistance, leading to the city and its airfield falling the next day. Simultaneously, with the support of the 5th Air Army, Yokoyama successfully captured Guilin, achieving the primary goal of Operation Togo II.  To eliminate the retreating enemy forces, the 23rd Army continued its advance westward. On November 15, the 104th Division took Xincheng, while the 3rd Division captured Yizhou and the 13th Division moved towards Hechi, effectively cutting off the Chinese retreat and destroying the remaining enemy troops. The 3rd Division then advanced north, capturing Huanjian on November 27, while the 13th Division continued west, successfully taking Nandan on November 28 and Dushan on December 2. In response, Tanaka dispatched the 22nd Division and the 23rd Independent Mixed Brigade to capture Nanning, which fell by November 28. By early December, elements of the 22nd Division joined forces with the Indochinese garrison near Shangsi, marking the conclusion of Operation Ichi-Go. After ten days of fierce fighting, the Japanese forces captured Guilin and entered Liuzhou on the same day. Sporadic fighting persisted as Chinese forces retreated rapidly. By November 24, the Japanese had taken control of 75 counties in Guangxi, encompassing about two-thirds of the region. Reports indicate that they killed 215,000 civilians in reprisals and during crossfire, injuring over 431,000. After the fall of Guilin and Liuzhou, the majority of NRA troops lost their morale and retreated without ever confronting the enemy, leading to significant losses in both equipment and personnel. This event became one of the most devastating defeats of the entire Second Sino-Japanese War. Nevertheless, despite having destroyed the airbases in this area, the USAAF could still launch attacks on the Japanese mainland from their other bases. While the Japanese achieved some objectives of Operation Ichigo, it ultimately expanded the territory they needed to defend and significantly weakened their lines, creating a favorable scenario for future counterattacks by Chinese forces. After destroying enemy air bases and annihilating the main enemy forces in the Guilin-Liuzhen area, the 6th Area Army assigned the 22nd Division and the 22nd Independent Mixed Brigade to the 11th Army to secure strategic locations in the region, while the 23rd Army returned to Guangzhou and the Leizhou Peninsula. By the operation's end, Japanese losses were estimated at around 100,000 killed, 200,000 wounded, and significant material losses, including 1,938 small river vessels and 367 aircraft. In contrast, Chinese losses totaled approximately 310,000 killed, 410,000 wounded, and 80,000 captured, along with substantial war material losses, including 312 Allied aircraft, resulting in the deaths of 100 Americans. Additionally, the entire Japanese offensive resulted in the deaths of approximately 500,000 civilians. 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 fight on Leyte gruels on as the fight for Peleliu finally came to an end. The controversial battle of Peleliu would have major ramifications for American planners going forward. In China, absolute horror was continuing to be inflicted upon the Chinese people, leaving to the massacre of hundreds of thousands in a war that just never seemed like it would end.

Welcome back to America's #1 Daily Podcast,  featuring America's #1 Real Estate Coaches and Top EXP Realty Sponsors in the World, Tim and Julie Harris. Ready to become an EXP Realty Agent and join Tim and Julie Harris?  Visit: https://whylibertas.com/harris or text Tim directly at 512-758-0206. IMPORTANT: Join #1 Real Estate Coaches Tim and Julie Harris's Premier Coaching now for FREE. Included is a DAILY Coaching Session with a HARRIS Certified Coach. Proven and tested lead generation, systems, and scripts designed for this market. Instant FREE Access Now: YES, Enroll Me NOW In Premier Coaching https://premiercoaching.com Almost every real estate pro hits the call reluctance wall now and then. Rejection? Nerves? Or is it just that fear of getting it wrong? It's all part of the journey! But breaking through it is vital to seeing your real estate goals come to life. Here's your step-by-step guide to making calls like a pro with confidence and consistency. We'll cover four topics over two podcasts: commitment and Preparation, Mindset and Strategy, Efficiency and Effectiveness, and Organization and Growth. PART ONE Commitment and Prep: Setting Up for Success Commit to Overcoming Call Reluctance: The success you want? It starts with lead generation! Sporadic effort gives you sporadic results. Proactive lead generation equals predictable success, so make it priority #1. HUGE Announcement: You will love this! Looking for the full outline from today's presentation? Our DAILY Newsletter featured lead generation systems, real estate scripts, daily success plans and (YES) the notes or today's show. Best part? The newsletter is free! https://harrisrealestatedaily.com/

Why action is needed to avoid some countries being labelled as 'scam states'. Synopsis: Every third and fourth Friday of the month, The Straits Times' global contributor Nirmal Ghosh shines a light on Asian perspectives of global and Asian issues with expert guests. With their heavy security, territorial control and global reach, we look at South-east Asia's industrial-size scam compounds, where thousands are lured from low-employment countries to work as forced labour stealing billions of dollars from victims worldwide. They are a national security threat to the countries they are based in as well as to the countries they target.  The criminal organisations running these centres emanate mostly from China, and are physically located mainly in Laos, Cambodia, and Myanmar but across the region in other countries as well. Sporadic crackdowns of the type recently seen in Laos' Golden Triangle Special Economic Zone, are often choreographed ahead of time, enabling kingpins to evade them.  According to a report released in May by the US Institute of Peace (USIP), as at the end of 2023, scam centres operating out of Myanmar, Cambodia, and Laos had accounted for US$39 billion (S$50.1 billion) in stolen funds. Jason Tower, Myanmar country director at USIP, joins host Nirmal Ghosh in this episode of Asian Insider to talk about the many aspects of this criminal industry, from human trafficking to forced labour and cybercrime.  He suggests that Malaysia - as the next chair of Asean - has an opportunity to exercise leadership as 2025 will mark the 10th anniversary of the Kuala Lumpur Declaration on Combating Transnational Crime.  Highlights (click/tap above):  2:37 Victims from over 100 countries, with the average scam victim losing more or less all of their assets 5:17 Why Chinese police are becoming more proactive and responding to the situation 7:19 How scam compounds are extremely well-networked around the globe and can get advance information about an upcoming crackdown 11:22 The amounts brought in by these online scams can rival countries' formal GDPs 15:50 Role of sanctions in combating scams - such as one on Ly Yong Phat, a notorious business figure involved in online scam compounds 19:32  A global crisis that demands action now Follow Nirmal Ghosh on X: https://str.sg/JD7r Read Nirmal Ghosh's articles: https://str.sg/JbxG Register for Asian Insider newsletter: https://str.sg/stnewsletters Host: Nirmal Ghosh (nirmal@sph.com.sg) Produced and edited by: Studio+65 and Fa'izah Sani Executive producer: Ernest Luis Follow Asian Insider on Fridays here: Channel: https://str.sg/JWa7 Apple Podcasts: https://str.sg/JWa8 Spotify: https://str.sg/JWaX Feedback to: podcast@sph.com.sg --- Follow more ST podcast channels: All-in-one ST Podcasts channel: https://str.sg/wvz7   ST Podcast website: http://str.sg/stpodcasts   ST Podcasts YouTube: https://str.sg/4Vwsa  --- Get The Straits Times' app, which has a dedicated podcast player section: The App Store: https://str.sg/icyB   Google Play: https://str.sg/icyX   --- #STAsianInsiderSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Why action is needed to avoid some countries being labelled as 'scam states'. Synopsis: Every third and fourth Friday of the month, The Straits Times' global contributor Nirmal Ghosh shines a light on Asian perspectives of global and Asian issues with expert guests. With their heavy security, territorial control and global reach, we look at South-east Asia's industrial-size scam compounds, where thousands are lured from low-employment countries to work as forced labour stealing billions of dollars from victims worldwide. They are a national security threat to the countries they are based in as well as to the countries they target.  The criminal organisations running these centres emanate mostly from China, and are physically located mainly in Laos, Cambodia, and Myanmar but across the region in other countries as well. Sporadic crackdowns of the type recently seen in Laos' Golden Triangle Special Economic Zone, are often choreographed ahead of time, enabling kingpins to evade them.  According to a report released in May by the US Institute of Peace (USIP), as at the end of 2023, scam centres operating out of Myanmar, Cambodia, and Laos had accounted for US$39 billion (S$50.1 billion) in stolen funds. Jason Tower, Myanmar country director at USIP, joins host Nirmal Ghosh in this episode of Asian Insider to talk about the many aspects of this criminal industry, from human trafficking to forced labour and cybercrime.  He suggests that Malaysia - as the next chair of Asean - has an opportunity to exercise leadership as 2025 will mark the 10th anniversary of the Kuala Lumpur Declaration on Combating Transnational Crime.  Highlights (click/tap above):  2:37 Victims from over 100 countries, with the average scam victim losing more or less all of their assets 5:17 Why Chinese police are becoming more proactive and responding to the situation 7:19 How scam compounds are extremely well-networked around the globe and can get advance information about an upcoming crackdown 11:22 The amounts brought in by these online scams can rival countries' formal GDPs 15:50 Role of sanctions in combating scams - such as one on Ly Yong Phat, a notorious business figure involved in online scam compounds 19:32  A global crisis that demands action now Follow Nirmal Ghosh on X: https://str.sg/JD7r Read Nirmal Ghosh's articles: https://str.sg/JbxG Register for Asian Insider newsletter: https://str.sg/stnewsletters Host: Nirmal Ghosh (nirmal@sph.com.sg) Produced and edited by: Studio+65 and Fa'izah Sani Executive producer: Ernest Luis Follow Asian Insider on Fridays here: Channel: https://str.sg/JWa7 Apple Podcasts: https://str.sg/JWa8 Spotify: https://str.sg/JWaX Feedback to: podcast@sph.com.sg --- Follow more ST podcast channels: All-in-one ST Podcasts channel: https://str.sg/wvz7   ST Podcast website: http://str.sg/stpodcasts   ST Podcasts YouTube: https://str.sg/4Vwsa  --- Get The Straits Times' app, which has a dedicated podcast player section: The App Store: https://str.sg/icyB   Google Play: https://str.sg/icyX   --- #STAsianInsiderSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Dr. Al Grauer hosts. Dr. Albert D. Grauer ( @Nmcanopus ) is an observational asteroid hunting astronomer. Dr. Grauer retired from the University of Arkansas at Little Rock in 2006. travelersinthenight.org Today's 2 topics: - Using a small telescope or a set of binoculars you can see Europa for yourself as a small moving point of light circling the giant planet Jupiter. More than 400 years after Galileo Galilei discovered this seemingly small dead world the Hubble Space Telescope spotted geysers erupting from its south polar regions. Recently, over a 15 month period, the Hubble was able to observe 10 transits of Europa across the face of Jupiter. On three such occasions plumes were seen to be erupting from this small moon.   - A pair of comets visiting our neighborhood are discovered in a matter of 4 days.  One of the perks of being an asteroid hunter is having a comet named for you. To do this you must be the first to discover it as a moving point of light in the night sky and at the same time recognize that it is a comet by observing the coma and tail which are names for the clouds of gas and dust that surrounds it. After being on the lookout for a comet for sometime, my Catalina Sky Survey teammate Rose Matheny discovered two of them within a 4 day period of time. Both of them C/2016 T1 (Matheny) and C/2016 T2 (Matheny) are likely to be first time visitors to the inner solar system. These two comets have quite different paths which are both inclined at large angles to the paths of the planets about the Sun. In addition, both of them are traveling at very close to the escape velocity from our solar system and have uncertain orbital periods around the Sun which are likely to be thousands of times the age of the Universe.   We've added a new way to donate to 365 Days of Astronomy to support editing, hosting, and production costs.  Just visit: https://www.patreon.com/365DaysOfAstronomy and donate as much as you can! Share the podcast with your friends and send the Patreon link to them too!  Every bit helps! Thank you! ------------------------------------ Do go visit http://www.redbubble.com/people/CosmoQuestX/shop for cool Astronomy Cast and CosmoQuest t-shirts, coffee mugs and other awesomeness! http://cosmoquest.org/Donate This show is made possible through your donations.  Thank you! (Haven't donated? It's not too late! Just click!) ------------------------------------ The 365 Days of Astronomy Podcast is produced by the Planetary Science Institute. http://www.psi.edu Visit us on the web at 365DaysOfAstronomy.org or email us at info@365DaysOfAstronomy.org.

We'll be the first to admit it... the rumors are true, we do have a Patreon. Behind the paywall there is a shadow universe of exclusive audio segments, record reviews, polls, discussion, and one very special fake radio show. DBRP co-host Nate LeBlanc will occasionally reach into the record shelves to play some jams and talk about them a little. Today we pull back the curtain to bring the eclectic selections to the main pod feed. On this episode, we are focusing on features, sharing some songs with notable guest verses. In what was meant to be a clever twist, the show itself features guest appearances from the rest of the Dad Bod conglomerate. David Ma drops by to talk about the all time classic guest shots on Cuban Linx, while Demone Carter leads us on a reconsideration of a monster EPMD joint. If you like what you hear this week, please consider joining the Dad Bod Rap squad at patreon.com/dadbodrappod DBRP is produced by Demone Carter. Theme song by Dem One and Cutso. We are in cahoots with Stony Island Audio in a podcast network type of way.

On July 26, 2024, Boar's Head issued its recall of 7 million pounds of ready-to-eat meat and poultry products that might be contaminated with the potential harmful bacteria, listeria. Sporadic listeria outbreaks are nothing new; in June 2024, chicken-based products were recalled for the same concern in Canada. The US recall includes more than 70 products — including liverwurst, ham, beef salami and bologna. Listeriosis is reportable to the local health department of the county in which the patient resides. Listeria can be very serious for 3 groups of people: pregnant women, people older than 65, and people with weakened immune systems. Pregnant women are about 13 times more likely than the general population to get listeriosis. Maternal infection may manifest as a nonspecific, flu-like illness with fever but can result in severe fetal and neonatal infection, leading to fetal loss, preterm labor, neonatal sepsis, meningitis, and death. Yep, we've been here before. There have been episodic outbreaks of listeria monocytogenes in the past. In 2014, the ACOG released its medical guidelines for the management of presumptive exposure to listeria monocytogenes (reaffirmed in 2023). In this episode, due to the recent outbreak and listeria concerns, we will review the pathophysiology, diagnosis, and therapy of L. Monocytogenes in pregnancy.   

In this bonus episode, we bring you eight hours of soothing rainfall accompanied by occasional gentle thunder. Perfect for studying, working, or simply unwinding after a long day, this natural ambiance aids concentration and fosters a peaceful environment. Dive into the tranquil sounds and let nature's melody enhance your focus and serenity.Remember to take a moment for yourself and enjoy the calming effects of this serene soundscape. Whether you're deep in study or seeking a quiet moment to relax, these calming sounds can make a world of difference.Join us next time as we continue our journey towards peace and tranquility.DISCLAIMER:This episode may be ad-supported and you can support us financially by subscribing as little as $5 a month on our Patreon page or on Apple Podcast Subscriber-Only Audio.This subscription plan comes with an ad-free weekly podcast, plus a few more extras like exclusive Podcast promos and early access to certain episodes that are not published everywhere till the following week.Check our Patreon here: http://go.thehustle.studio/patreonor in Apple Podcasts app, just click here: http://go.thehustle.studio/subscribeThank you so much for your generosity!Connect with Us: https://www.facebook.com/hustlestudiosincEpisode is Brought to you by:Noota - The best transcription and AI Meeting Zoom Alternative!Sign Up here: https://noota.cello.so/MfzMQhRASVYAlso brought to you by:Moxie - The Moxie app is designed specifically for freelancers and small business owners. It provides a suite of tools to manage various aspects of your freelance business, including:Invoicing: Create professionally-done invoice templates and get paid faster.Client Relationship Management (CRM): Keep track of client information, agreements, and communication.Project Management: Organize tasks, files, and notes in one centralized place.Expenses: Manage your business expenses.Proposals and Contracts: Create and manage proposals and contracts.Time Tracking: Efficiently manage your time.Whether you're handling client projects, agreements, or invoices, Moxie aims to simplify your freelance workflow. You can use it on-the-go via the mobile app. Give it a try and see how it can streamline your business!

CW: Minor spoilers! Check the end of the description. We jump right into the action with our dual narrative! While Toz and Tor are busying preparing their seconds for their duel, a trip to the docks leads our Rabbit Day crew to a local tavern where Raina turns on the charm in search of answers. Follow our special guests Nate (@natescottjones) and Will (@will_byford) on Twitter! Music by Chloe Elliott: A New World Dawns (Main Theme) The Heath's Reveille (Tohsya's Theme) It Takes Them From The Shadows For Glory and Honour Stone by Stone Firelight Dance Artwork by Eiriol Evans. Sound Effects from Zapsplat. Support us by becoming a patron on Patreon. Check out the full original soundtrack here. Music from the main campaign can be found on music streaming platforms.Sign up to Ellie's mailing list here to keep updated on all their creative projects. Watch Chloe in Bowies in Spelljammer on The Role Play Factory. Listen to Am and Chloe on A Rendezvous with Destiny. You can find them on Twitter and Instagram @RWD_Pod. Asexuality and Aromantic Resources: The Asexual Visibility and Education Network The Aromantic-spectrum Union for Recognition, Education, and Advocacy Demisexuality Resource Centre Deck of Many Aces is unofficial Fan Content permitted under the Fan Content Policy. Not approved/endorsed by Wizards. Portions of the materials used are property of Wizards of the Coast. ©Wizards of the Coast LLC All the characters in this podcast are fictitious, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental.CW: water supply contamination. Sporadic mentions from 38:00 onward. Get bonus content on PatreonSupport this show http://supporter.acast.com/deck-of-many-aces. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Using a small telescope or a set of binoculars you can see Europa for yourself as a small moving point of light circling the giant planet Jupiter. More than 400 years after Galileo Galilei discovered this seemingly small dead world the Hubble Space Telescope spotted geysers erupting from its south polar regions. Recently, over a 15 month period, the Hubble was able to observe 10 transits of Europa across the face of Jupiter. On three such occasions plumes were seen to be erupting from this small moon.

Welcome to episode 23 of Zoology Ramblings! Sporadic and rambling as ever, Robi and I finally get round to recording another Zoology Ramblings episode. We fill you in on some life updates, including a very moving experience I had attending the Funeral for Nature in Bath. Robi shares some of his highlights from his recent trip to the Okavango Delta, including the legendary bat hawks!! We then delve into our species of the week, where I talk about the weird cow-stomached Hoatzin birds (thanks to Solomon for the suggestion) and Robi welcomes two newly described species (Pudu and an anaconda). We then get a tad political as we share our frustrations about the latest bovine tuberculosis consultation, which ignores science, puts badgers in the firing line and fails to put farmers and cattle first. Robi lightens the mood with an exciting update of a recent WildTrack workshop he attended, looking at how AI and footprint tracking are being used in conservation. To end this very long podcast, we bond over satellite tagging crocodiles (a niche moment that brought Robi and I together). Robi then gets to nerd out on Skywalker gibbons. As ever, thanks to Allie for the lovely piano interlude and thanks to you lovely listeners for sticking with us on our long rambles. We hope you enjoy our latest ramble, Emma and Robi To see what we're up to elsewhere check us out on: @emma_hodson_wildlife @robi_watkinson_wildlife

With burnout at an all-time high and becoming a global trend, you need more than the occasional wellness perk to tackle it.If well-being in your organization is a top priority for you, but you aren't sure how to move from yoga and happy hours to something more meaningful, then this episode is for you. I'm discussing how to create a holistic plan for well-being that fits seamlessly into your HR and talent development strategies with well-being expert Dave Allman.▶️ Well-Being at Work | Forget Sporadic Happy Hours. Get a Strategy Instead▶️ Key Points:03:44 Wellbeing@Work in Partnership with Gallup 08:22 Dave's well-being journey12:01 The meaning of well-being versus wellness16:56 Using Wellbeing@Work as an individual18:47 Using Wellbeing@Work as a nonprofitResources from this episode:Well-Being Episodes:▶️ Episode 67: A Well-Being Approach to Leadership Development▶️ Episode 38: Dealing with Corporate Burnout? One Easy Way to Manage Stress as a Nonprofit Leader with Jessie Pagliari▶️ Episode 30: Why Well-Being Is The Secret Sauce to Change Management with Mandy Sharp EizingerJoin the Nonprofit Learning and Development Collective: https://www.skillmastersmarket.com/nonprofit-learning-and-development-collectiveWas this episode helpful? If you're listening on Apple Podcasts or Spotify, follow and leave a review!

In this episode of SurgOnc Today®, Julie Hallet, MD, MSc, FRCSC, FSSO, from the University of Toronto and Vice-Chair of the SSO HPB disease site working group is joined by Stefano Partelli, MD, PhD, from Università Vita-Saluta San Raffaele and Els Nieveen van Dijkum, MD, PhD, from Amsterdam UMC. We will delve into the rationale behind the non-operative management of non-functional sporadic pancreatic neuroendocrine tumors (PNETs) as well as the design and results of two prospective studies, ASPEN and PANDORA. Show Notes: PANDORA: https://academic.oup.com/bjs/article/108/8/888/6202974 ASPEN (interim analysis): https://academic.oup.com/bjs/article/109/12/1186/6672718?login=false

Last time we spoke about Operation HA-GO, U-GO and some action brewing up on New Britain and Bougainville. Mutaguchi basically tricked his superiors at Tokyo into allowing him to attempt an invasion of India. Operations HA-GO and U-GO were simultaneously unleashed, the only problem was the allies were very ready to meet them. General Slim's men captured documents indicating the true nature of the operations and he acted accordingly. The new box defense systems were employed as the allies lured the Japanese into major traps thwarting their designs against Imphal. The Japanese were fighting tenaciously, but time and supplies would not be on their side. Over on New Britain the allies advanced and managed to seize Talasea. Meanwhile on Bougainville the Japanese were preparing a large counteroffensive, attempting to breach the American defensive perimeter. The operation had just kicked off last episode and today we will continue the story. This episode is the Bougainville Counteroffensive  Welcome to the Pacific War Podcast Week by Week, I am your dutiful host Craig Watson. But, before we start I want to also remind you this podcast is only made possible through the efforts of Kings and Generals over at Youtube. Perhaps you want to learn more about world war two? Kings and Generals have an assortment of episodes on world war two and much more  so go give them a look over on Youtube. So please subscribe to Kings and Generals over at Youtube and to continue helping us produce this content please check out www.patreon.com/kingsandgenerals. If you are still hungry for some more history related content, over on my channel, the Pacific War Channel you can find a few videos all the way from the Opium Wars of the 1800's until the end of the Pacific War in 1945.  The Marines departed Bougainville and were relieved by the Americal Division by the end of January 1944. Sporadic fighting emerged and through it Major General Griswold obtained intelligence indicating the Japanese would launch a major counter attack, most likely slated for early March. At the time Lt General Hyakutake was under extreme pressure to reduce the bombing against Rabaul. Rabaul as we know was smashed daily, suffering heavy losses. Admiral Koga had responded by taking away air units from Truk, but all this achieved was even more losses. Rabaul was neutralized, and Truk became vulnerable. The Americans had pummeled both so much, they were able to unleash a dramatic thrust into the central pacific aimed at the Gilberts, Marshalls and later the Carolines. Now it seems Hyakutake had been operating under some very bad intelligence, indicating to him the Americans were defending their perimeter with just a single division around the airfield. With the objective of destroying said airfield, Hyakutake did not know the actual number of defenders and would not enjoy movement by sea. The Americans had full control of the sea lanes, thus any IJN destroyers trying to move troops would run a risky gauntlet. By the first quarter of 1944, Rabaul had tossed meager attacks against the Americans, for example on January 23rd two bombers scored a direct hit over the living quarters of Brigadier General John Hodge and his senior staff officers.  What Hyakutake had to work with was 4300 men of the 45th regiment led by Colonel Isashi Magata. These men were considered the crack troops on Bougainville and they included artillery, mortar and engineering battalions. They were further supported by 4125 men of the 23rd regiment led by Major General Shun Iwara and 1350 men of the 13th regiment led by Colonel Toyo Horei Muda. All three units would be led by Major General Masatane Kanda. The 3 units made an arduous trek through the jungles to reach their jump off points by the evening of March 7th. Hyakutake then sent them a resounding message “time has come to manifest our knighthood with the pure brilliance of the sword. It is our duty to erase the mortification of our brothers at Guadalcanal. Attack! Assault! Destroy everything! Cut, slash, and mow them down. May the color of the red emblem of our arms be deepened with the blood of American rascals.” Major General Kanda also added his own message  “The cry of our victory at Torokina Bay shall resound to the shores of our beloved Nippon. We are invincible.” All of these troops received a large morale boost from such message, but on top of that there was something else incentivising them all. They had adequate food to last them until April 1st, they literally needed to overrun the Americans to steal their provisions. Such was the reality of the Japanese island hopping campaigns. Hyakutakes forces proved themselves far from invincible. Their artillery bombarded on the morning of the 8th, targeting the airfield at Piva Yoke. Their bombardment destroyed a bomber, 3 fighters, killed a single man, and forced a temporary evacuation of aircraft to New Georgia. It was now exactly the greatest of results. Artilleryman Stan Coleman vividly described the Japanese artillery attack “All of a sudden we heard a very different kind of ‘whoosh.' It was made by a shell at the end of its flight, not the beginning. It was ‘incoming mail.' All hell broke loose. In the rear some fuel dumps went up. Every American artillery piece in the perimeter went into action.” The American artillery counter-attack proved far more effective. The Japanese artillery units were forced to move positions constantly and then they were met by a new type of weapon.  As Coleman recalled “Four blue Marine Corsairs came in with rockets. Rockets were a new ground-support weapon and I had never seen them … The rockets in flight made a fearful display. There was a tremendous concussion when they struck their target.” That same night the Iwasa Unit attacked Hill 700 during a heavy downpour. Yet by 2:30am the first attacks were beaten off. It seems the experience persuaded the Japanese not to attempt another night attack on March 9th. Instead, they used occasional machine gun and mortar fire to disrupt the fitful sleep of the Americans. Then at 6:45am on the 10th, Iwasa launched another attack in coordination with Colonel Muda's assault against Hill 260. Iwasa's men clambered up the steep 70 degree slopes screaming maniacally. They would shout confused threats in English. A prolific slaughter occurred against one group of Japanese soldiers who seized out a pillbox and set up a machine gun post on the saddle of the hill. It was dearly bought. General Griswold had brought up more reinforcements for the 145th that same morning. Engineers put together a bangalore torpedo 72 feet long by connecting sticks of dynamite like a long pipe. The object was to climb the hill and then snake the charge down the opposite side into one of the pillboxes. Unfortunately the Japanese spotted them and fired a knee mortar, hitting the torpedo and killing the engineers. Another ruse was attempted shortly after noon with the object of getting the Japanese on the saddle to surrender. A public address system was set up with speakers aimed at Hill 700, and one of the division's Japanese interpreters spoke to the defenders. He informed them of the odds against their success and told them that they could not be reinforced. If they surrendered, it would be considered honorable. To die needlessly was foolish. For the short time he spoke all was quiet, but seconds after he had finished the Japanese directed a mortar barrage on the section of the hill from whence he was broadcasting. The day ended in victory for the riflemen of the 37th Division. At 11:15 an air strike by 26 planes and continuous artillery fire had devastated the Japanese. The day's assault cost the lives of some 500 or more Japanese soldiers.  Meanwhile further south, the 1st battalion, 13th regiment was knocked out by heavy artillery fire. Colonel Muda sent his 3rd battalion, 13th regiment to attack the southern positions of the 182nd regiment around Hill 260. Hill 260, a twin-peaked rise close to the west bank of the Torokina River approximately four miles north of its mouth, was covered with heavy vegetation. The hill itself measured only 850 yards along its north-south axis and at its widest a mere 450 yards, and it was shaped roughly like an hourglass, with the highest elevations to the north and south connected by a narrow saddle. The eastern slope of the hill was precipitous, steepest along the South Knob, where it was almost perpendicular. The South Knob, which was considered the most important part of Hill 260, had been occupied by men of 2nd battalion, 182th regiment since early January, and vigorous patrolling had also been carried on regularly along the saddle and on the unoccupied North Knob. The hill was about half a mile east of the 182nd's main line of resistance. Between Hill 260 and the main line of the Americal was a small stream named Eagle Creek, which provided a natural defensive barrier. There was but a single trail leading from the main perimeter to South Knob. A small bridge over the creek could take vehicular traffic. The last hundred yards to the top of South Knob was a steep stairway cut into the sides of the hill. Possession of this portion of the hill was important for both sides. The Americans had built a platform near the top of a 150-foot banyan tree from which forward observers could see any enemy-activity along the Torokina River or along the highlands to the northeast. Conversely, if the Japanese could seize the hill they could have good observation of the American-held Hills 608 and 309 and the area behind them. Under the cover of intense machine-gun and mortar fire, the Japanese managed to climb the steep slope of the South Knob and then burst in among the outnumbered Americans. The position was held by a reinforced platoon of Company G of the 182nd and a forward observer team of the 246th Field Artillery Battalion. The Americans were rapidly wiped out and dispersed as Muda's men established a defensive perimeter over the crest of South Knob. Hearing the dire news, General Griswold ordered General Hodge to hold Hill 260 at all costs, an order that surprised many of the Americal's staff since they had not expected to try to hold the hill in the face of a concerted Japanese attack. Companies E and F immediately advanced to occupy the North Knob and then attempted an encircling maneuver to counterattack the newly-established Japanese perimeter. Company E at 8:45 attacked South Knob from the southwest while Company F moved south. The company began its attack at 10:45 but halted after the troops had advanced a few yards into the cleared zone. The men took whatever cover was available and waited for flame throwers before trying to advance farther. At approximately 2:45 the commander, Lieutenant Colonel Dexter Lowry, ordered the attack resumed; Company E split and attempted an envelopment. The northern prong of the envelopment was halted but the infantrymen of the southern prong, using grenades and flame throwers, managed to gain a lodgment within earshot of the men of Company G who were still holding out in the pillbox.  Meanwhile, the 1st and 2nd Battalions, 145th Regiment had been reorganized and launched a counterattack against Hill 700 at 5:00. The Japanese unleashed intense mortar and artillery ied, but gradually were dislodge from the crest of the hill, leaving just 4 pillboxes remaining under their control. After the reestablishment of the original resistance line, Iwasa prepared his men to storm Pat's Nose during the night. The Japanese had lost heavily during these attacks, which also cost the 145th three dead and 121 wounded. During the night, after a failed bayonet charge, the Japanese would reinforce their position on Hill 260. They then struck at Company E early in the morning of March 11th and although this attack was beaten off, the American situation in the lodgment had become desperate. Thus, after another Japanese flanking attack, the defenders would have to pull back towards North Knob.  Company G was sent to relieve the beleaguered Company E but was halted by yet another Japanese flanking attack on Company E. General Hodge, fearful of reducing his main defense line, felt that he could send no more reserves to the hill and therefore decided to break off the action and pull Company G and what was left of Company E off South Knob. They retired, unimpeded by the Japanese, behind Eagle Creek. There they joined Company B and then proceeded to cut a new trail up to the crest of North Knob. At daybreak on 11 March, Iwasa launched another attack against the promontory called ‘Pat's Nose,' some 150 yards to the west of ‘Hill 700.' Flanking 37 mm guns cut the Japanese charge to shreds. Iwasa's rear echelons kept advancing over the dead bodies of those who had been leading the charge and eventually managed to break through the barbed wire, though they too were ultimately destroyed. After an hour of suicidal attack Iwasa's troops receded leaving some 84 dead behind them. The 37th Division's historian described this attack: "Brandishing their prized sabers, screeching 'Chusuto' (Damn them!), the Jap officers climbed up the slope and rushed forward in an admirable display of blind courage. The men screamed in reply 'Yaruzo' (Let's do it!) and then 'Yarimosu' (We will do it!). As they closed with the American doughboys, the leaders cried' San nen Kire!' (Cut a thousand men!). General Beightler, concerned over the inability of the 145th to reduce the Japanese positions on Hill 700, decided to send the 2nd Battalion, 148th Regiment to finally wipe out the enemy opposition. After a heavy mortar and artillery bombardment, two platoons of Company E advanced east from Pat's Nose trying to flank the saddle while a third attacked west from Hill 700. Thirteen men were killed before the momentum of the attack waned and the battalion dug in on the ground it had gained. Meanwhile, Companies F and B, now under the command of Brigadier-General William McCulloch, began a  two-pronged attempt to drive the Japanese off South Knob. Supported by flamethrowers units from the 132nd, men of Company B got across the saddle and onto the knob, but were ultimately pulled because of the enemy's numerical superiority. Meanwhile, Colonel Magata Isashi's 45th Regiment had limited its actions to heavy patrol activity while the Iwasa Unit was attacking Hill 700. The terrain fronting the 129th Regiment, which was holding the center of the 37th Division line, was much more favorable for the Japanese than that encountered by either the Iwasa or Muda forces. The land was relatively flat, although cut by many gullies. The 129th's line, defended by two battalions, extended over two miles, curving slightly from just east of the Numa Numa Trail southwest to the right flank of the 148th Regiment. The Japanese had easy access to the 37th's lines, first via the Numa Numa Trail and then following the lowlands and gullies adjacent to the creeks. Colonel John Frederick, the regimental commander of the 129th, had recognized the potential vulnerability of this position and had organized a defense in depth during the two months prior to the attack. The position was anchored by a large number of mutually supporting earthen and log pillboxes and protected by a double apron of barbed wire, in front of which antipersonnel mines had been laid. Machine-guns had been sited to provide interlocking fire and additional barbed wire had been placed to channel potential attackers into the main machine-gun fire lanes. The 129th's cannon company of 75-mm pack howitzers, and its mortar sections had been augmented by 37-mm and 40-mm anti-tank guns, which could fire canisters in flat-trajectory direct fire. Thus although Colonel Magata's men did not have to climb up steep cliffs to get at the American positions, they would find the 129th's defenses near impregnable to relatively lightly supported infantry attacks, no matter how fanatically delivered. While patrolling, some documents were taken from dead Japanese bodies detailing Magata's plan, so Colonel John Frederick's 129th Regiment was expecting his thrust. On the 11th, the contact between Japanese and American patrols increased, as did the amount of incoming mortar fire, so the American supporting artillery was directed to fire intermittently into the areas where the Japanese were located.Colonel Frederick at 4:00pm ordered all his outposts back into the main perimeter and division artillery fired a ten-minute concentration along the 2nd Battalion front. At dusk, a heavy firefight then broke out as the Japanese opened up with machine-guns and mortars on Company G's area. During the exchange of fire, which lasted until 7:20pm, men in the pillboxes did not fire their machine guns, since they did not want to reveal their positions. The firing died down to only a few exchanges during the night, generally directed at Japanese infiltrators, who were attempting to cut through the barbed wire. Finally, at dawn on the 12th, Magata sent his 1st and 3rd battalions in column to strike Company G. Although the attacking Japanese suffered very heavy casualties from machine-gun fire, they penetrated the first line of defense by sheer weight of numbers. Moving up the streambed running into the sector, they captured one pillbox after another until they held a total of seven. Frederick then sent his reserve 1st Battalion to support Company G, while also launching a counterattack that managed to contain the enemy expansion and that also retook two pillboxes by late afternoon. Meanwhile, Companies E and F of the 148th were converging against Iwasa's remaining strongpoints. Using grenades, rifles, and flamethrowers, they finally reduced the pillboxes one by one, leaving the Japanese in possession of only one pillbox by 1:00pm. An historian of the 145th Regiment described the fight for this last strongpoint: “On the second day, the last held enemy pillbox was subjected to everything an infantryman has at his command. Hand grenades by the dozen were thrown at the emplacement. Still there was responding fire. Flamethrowers scorched the hidden Nip into silence. The searching parties entered the charred remains of the emplacement only to hear the click of a Japanese grenade being detonated. In the far corner they made out the dim outline of a Jap, eyes bloodshot, mouth bleeding, face seared, clothing burned. His clenched fist held a grenade. Even as the men dove for cover outside the pillbox, the Jap threw the grenade at them as in a dying gesture.” Despite a heroic resistance, this was cleared in the afternoon at last, thus completely restoring the original 145th's line.  While this was going on, after a heavy artillery bombardment, McCulloch sent Companies B and F once again to storm the South Knob. Company B in a column of platoons with six flamethrowers attempted to storm the height from the northwest. The leading platoon was halted by machine gun fire from pillboxes dug in on the west slope. Once these were spotted a concentration of mortar and machine gun fire was directed against these Japanese positions, enabling the following platoon to reach the top of the knob. There, it was pinned down by heavy fire from machine guns sited east of the observation post banyan tree. American mortar fire, together with the work of the flamethrower operators, who were covered by BAR men of the 3rd Platoon, soon negated these positions. Although it appeared that the South Knob would soon be in American hands, ammunition for the attacking platoons was running low, there had been numerous casualties, there were no more reserves, and it was already late in the day.  Despite this, Hodge sent Company A of the 132nd Regiment to reinforce the gained position. Company A of the 132nd tried to scale the height from the southwest to join Company B of the 182nd on the crest. A burst of machine gun fire killed the company commander, however, and disorganized the attack so much that under the best of conditions the men could not reach the top before dark. Hodge then reluctantly recalled his forces and, sensing the futility of further attacks, he requested permission to pull off South Knob. Yet Griswold refused the request and a new attack was ordered for the next day using two companies of the 1st Battalion, 132nd Regiment. After another heavy artillery bombardment, Company A attacked southward along the narrow saddle while Company B attacked up the southwest slope. Surprisingly, the two companies of the 182nd that had led the attack the day before had not been kept in immediate reserve but had been pulled back within the perimeter. Therefore there were no reserve troops available to help exploit the minor gains made during the afternoon. As night fell, Major Raymond Daehler, the battalion commander, reluctantly pulled his men off the knob and retreated to safer ground. Despite repeated attacks from 12 -16th, Magata had made no headway and finally withdrew his forces. After Iwasa's retreat, the men of the 145th had the dubious honor of policing the slopes of Hill 700 and burying the corpses left behind. In an area roughly 50 yards square, corpses that could be identified were counted. This count included only those within the barbed wire lines in front of the pillboxes. As one observer noted, the carnage was a sight to turn even the most cast-iron stomach: “Enemy dead were strewn in piles of mutilated bodies, so badly dismembered in most cases that a physical count was impossible. Here and there was a leg or an arm or a blown-off hand, all to show for the vanished and vanquished enemy. At one point, Japanese bodies formed a human stairway over the barbed wire. Five enemy were piled one on top of the other, as each had successively approached the location to use a predecessor as a barricade and then fall on top of him as he in turn was killed. Farther out from the perimeter, where a little stream wound its way parallel to it, Japs killed by the concussion of thousands of mortar shells lay with their heads, ostrich fashion, stuck under the least protection they could find”. What was left of Iwasa's shattered command to the relative safety of the Blue Ridge, Approximately two miles east of the American perimeter. During the day, as the Japanese were retreating, American planes dropped 123 tons of bombs on the intermediate areas, and destroyers off shore lobbed their five-inch shells into the high ground to the north and east of the perimeter. Further east, Magata launched a night attack at 4:00am, managing to gain another pillbox, so Griswold would decide to reinforce Frederick with a tank platoon. General Griswold agreed to send the 1st Platoon of Company C, tank battalion, forward, with the stipulation that they be used only to augment the infantry as they took back the lost pillboxes. 4 tanks supported a midmorning assault, which successfully retook two pillboxes. Another tank-infantry attack began at 1:15pm but was halted since the tanks were low on fuel and ammunition. They were replaced by tanks of another platoon, which assisted the infantry of the 129th in destroying all the other pillboxes held by the Japanese and in restoring the front line roughly to the positions held before the Japanese attack of the previous day. Alongside this, Griswold ordered the reconnaissance troop forward to occupy the right sector of the threatened area, with the 131st Engineer Regiment taking over the extreme left. General Hodge requested to be reinforced with tanks; but as they could not cross Eagle Creek, McCulloch and him reluctantly decided to cease any further attempt to drive the Japanese off South Knob. He thought that the three-day action against the Muda Unit had obviously so weakened it that it no longer posed a danger to the perimeter proper. Thus, it could be contained and continually harassed by combat patrols and neutralization fire.  On the 14th, the fighting fell into just intermittent small-arms and mortar fire from the Japanese as Colonel Magata shifted some of his troops to more favorable positions and as he brought his reserve 2nd Battalion, 45th Regiment and 2nd Battalion, 13th Regiment to reinforce further attacks. Magata also received the 1st Battalion, 81st Regiment and the 3rd Battalion, 53rd Regiment from the north, tossing them into his new reserve. At 4:00am on 15th, the Japanese launched a heavy local attack against the right of Company F. By dawn, they had captured one pillbox and penetrated approximately 100 yards into the perimeter, where they were ultimately checked. A coordinated counterattack by Companies F and C in conjunction with a 36-plane strike against the Japanese positions, managed to retake the pillbox. Further tank-infantry attacks finally drove the entrenched Japanese out of the salient and successfully restored the line. Losses for the day were 10 dead and 53 wounded, while 190 Japanese were counted dead. The Japanese then repeated the attack the next morning at 4:00am on the high ground east of Cox Creek with a larger force of elements from three battalions. They penetrated approximately 75 yards before their momentum was halted. Then, Company B, supported by a platoon of tanks, counterattacked and restored the original line by midmorning. Finally, shortly after noon, the tanks moved beyond the wire and shelled the draws and ravines in front of Company F until their ammunition was exhausted. Once again the Japanese had paid heavily for no gain. 194 dead were counted and 1 prisoner taken, while the Americans only lost 2 dead and 63 wounded. Though the counter offensive is nowhere near done, that is all for this week as we now have to jump over to the CBI theater. General Merrill's Marauders had been given the task of cutting the Japanese supply line over the Kamaing road. At Merrill's disposal were the three battalions of GALAHAD, each in turn broken down into two combat teams. The teams bore the code names Red and White for the 1st Battalion; Blue and Green for the 2nd Battalion and Khaki and Orange for the 3rd Battalion. Each team included a rifle company, heavy weapons platoon, pioneer and demolition platoon, reconnaissance platoon, and medical detachment, with a combined strength of sixteen officers and 456 enlisted men. The marauders had been recruited from units in the south-west pacific and from Trinidad in the Caribbean. Many of the volunteers were notably seen as pure psychopaths. Their training in India was quite painful, a lot so for the military police nearby. 10 percent of the Marauders went AWOL, many of them amused themselves by shooting at catte, chickens and other birds, apparently even at the feet of locals to make them dance. One incident apparently had some of them aboard a train to Ledo firing out of the windows. They were seen as arrogant, psychopathic, gung-ho and they had many colorful catchphrases such as ‘My pack is on my back, my gun is oiled and loaded, and as I walk in the shadow of death I fear no sonofabitch.'  The baptism of the Marauders did not impress their commander who was obsessed with speed and efficiency. The Galahad unit had departed on February 24th and on receiving orders to move to his forward assembly area, Merrill sent his three intelligence and reconnaissance (I & R) platoons to check trails as far as the Tawang Hka, the first of the three considerable streams that crossed the line of march. At 6:00am on the 24th, the 5307th moved out, screened by the I & R platoons. Next day two of them clashed with Japanese patrols and the point of one platoon, Pvt. Robert W. Landis of Youngstown, Ohio, was killed. Luckily radio communication between the 2nd Battalion, 56th Regiment and the 18th Division's headquarters broke down at this time, so General Tanaka was unaware that a semi-detached American unit was operating off to his flank.  Stilwell fretted at the time it took them to cross the 130 miles over the Naga range to the battlefront. Part of the problem was that 5307th Composite was mule-based and had to bring 700 animals with them but none of them knew anything about muleteering. Whatever misgivings Stilwell had when he saw his reinforcements, he kept them to himself and addressed them simply and quietly, explaining that their new mission was to hit Walawbum. On the afternoon of the 28th, Merill received the new orders, calling for cutting the road on either side of Walawbum, the 2nd Battalion led by Colonel McGee to the west, the 3rd Battalion led by Colonel Beach to the south, and the 1st Battalion led by Colonel Osborne to patrol along the Nambyu Hka north of the Kamaing Road. Positions near Walawbum would be held until the 38th Division relieved the 5307th. Unfortunately the freak rains already experienced by Stilwell and his men continued, so that the Marauders' eight-day, 60-mile trek to Walawbum turned into something of a nightmare. On March 2nd, the Marauders crossed the Tanai Hka and arrived at their assembly area. With the last elements at hand, General Stillwell initiated his offensive. On the 3rd, Colonel Brown's tankers, with the support of a battalion from the 65th regiment advanced against Maingkwan. Facing light opposition, they managed to advance 5000 yards northeast of Maingkwan by 3pm when they were halted by heavy Japanese fire. Meanwhile, Merrill's marauders were clashing with Japanese at various places throughout the day. The 3rd Battalion had a sharp fight at Lagang Ga, killing 30 Japanese and seized the area needed for the building of a drop field. One of the battalion's two combat teams, Khaki, stayed at Lagang Ga to build and protect the dropping zone. Orange Combat Team kept on to the high ground east of Walawbum and dug in, its heavy weapons commanding the Kamaing Road. This saw them securing high ground east of Walawbum. The 22d Division, was also moving ahead, and so far was in step with the tanks and GALAHAD. On  the 3rd, the 64th Regiment was near Ngam Ga, east of the Kamaing Road. The 66th to the west was in contact with the third regiment, the 65th, as it emerged from the Taro Plain. Tanaka's intelligence indicated the Americans were at Walawbum. The Chinese 22nd and 38th divisions were advancing slowly, so he believed his rearguard could hold them back so he could take the bulk of his strength to attack the americans. On the 3rd, the 55th and 56th regiment began retreating in order to launch an enveloping maneuver against Merrill's marauders. The next day, Brown found the enemy gone and his men were able to advance 3 miles southeast, getting his tanks in line with Maingkwan. Over at Walawbum, Merrills 3rd battalion were resisting against ferocious attacks from the Japanese. The drop field at Lagang Ga was attacked at dawn on the 4th but the garrison held. Orange Combat Team opened the battle in its sector with mortar fire on Walawbum, drawing mortar and 75-mm. fire in return from the 56th Infantry Regiment, which had been Tanaka's left flank, as it assembled for attack. When it moved, the 56th tried to cross the river and work around the Americans' flanks, where it met booby traps and ambushes thoughtfully prepared for just such a contingency. Some Japanese did cross to the east, but this failed to affect the course of the action, and 75 dead Japanese were counted, as against one American dead and seven wounded. These latter were evacuated by air the same evening. The 2nd battalion managed to get across the Kamaing road west of Wesu Ga where they established a roadblock. Finding out about the roadblock, Tanaka dispatched his forces to clear them out. On the 5th the Japanese appeared to be forming for an attack, but mortar fire seemed to be successful in breaking up such attempts. To the south, Allied aircraft could be seen bombing and machine-gunning what Orange Combat Team took to be Japanese reinforcements. One indication that the Japanese were increasing their strength in the immediate area lay in their being able to force Orange Combat Team's I & R Platoon back across the river about noon. Simultaneously, the 66th regiment liberated the abandoned Maingkwan and began advancing south over the Kamaing road. Brown's reconnaissance had found a good trail running south from Tsamat Ga, and on the morning of the 5th the tanks moved out through the jungle. After the engineers had prepared a small stream for crossing, the tanks broke into a freshly evacuated Japanese bivouac area. Jungle vines looping across the trail from either side, and connecting masses of vegetation and trees, made effective obstacles as they slowed down the tanks by catching their turrets; not until late afternoon did the armor break out on the trail running east and west between Maingkwan and Wesu Ga. Almost immediately the tanks encountered what seemed to be a company of Japanese defending a small but marshy stream. The stream did not seem fordable, so Brown attacked by fire alone. Unknown to him, his tanks were firing on Tanaka's division headquarters, and now lay squarely between the 18th's headquarters and its 56th Regiment. This understandably threw Tanaka's plan into chaos, as his forces who were unsuccessfully attacking Merrills marauders were becoming encircled. Tanaka decided to swing his force around the American roadblock, using a Japanese built trail that the Americans did not know about.The bypass road over which the 18th was to withdraw had been built by the Japanese engineers some days before and quote “The Engineer Regiment commander, Colonel Fukayama, had considered the possibility of reversals in our position and, in order to facilitate the withdrawal of the division, he had previously cleared a secret jungle trail about 20 kilometers long leading from the vicinity of Lalawng Ga to Jambu Hkintang on his own initiative. This trail was used in the withdrawal of the main body of the division.” By nightfall, Merrill's 2nd battalion had pulled out to Wesu Ga and were trying to link up with the 3rd battalion south of Walawbum. On the 6th after heavy artillery bombardment, at 5:15pm an estimated two companies of Japanese in line of skirmishers, with heavy supporting fire, crossed the river. The American mortars continued their work; the automatic weapons held back until the Japanese were within fifty yards. Two heavy machine guns, which had a clear field of fire along the river bank, were especially effective. The Japanese failed, leaving many dead on the open ground east of the river and on the river banks. Orange Combat Team found its ammunition low, and so sent a request for more to Khaki Combat Team, which was about one hundred yards downstream. This was however just a diversionary attack, as most of the 18th division were escaping unmolested. Meanwhile elements of the 113th regiment were beginning to arrive to Lagang Ga and unfortunately an incident of friendly fire would occur. The remainder of the 38th Division and an American patrol met near Walawbum on March 7th. The recognition signal had been arranged as three bursts of three rounds each. This necessarily meant there would be firing when the Chinese and Americans met. When the tops of the American helmets, which looked not unlike the Japanese pot helmet when their brims were invisible, appeared through and over the brush, there was a brief exchange of fire in which three Chinese were wounded before identity was established. Such is the nature of coordinating multiple nations' armies during actions. General Sun and Merrill's marauders made a withdrawal beginning on the 7th in order to circle south and cut the Kamaing road again, this time even further south than before. Brown in the meantime had advanced to Ninghku Ga where he secured support from a battalion of the 64th regiment and launched a coordinated tank-infantry attack against Kumnyen. At around 3pm, the tanks and infantry assembled across the Kamaing road in two places, establishing a roadblock while the tanks moved out aggressively along the road to east and west. On the 8th, Brown's tanks then moved along the Kamaing Road and onto a trail that showed signs of heavy traffic. This allowed them to discover Tanaka's evacuation route, finally occupying Walawbum by the end of the day. Brown later recalled, "swarming with people from the 64th Infantry and the 113th Infantry who, to the tankers' great disgust, disputed the latter's claim to have taken Walawbum”. Though the 18th division had managed to escape Stilwells traps, the American-Chinese forces had still scored a well-earned victory. The road to Myitkyina was not open.  The cost for this first series of victories in the North Burma Campaign were 802 Chinese dead and 1479 wounded, plus 530 undifferentiated casualties from the fall of 1943 to March 18, 1944. But the temporary American-Chinese collaboration did not presage a wider Sino-American synergy, and the Marauders found operating with their allies a major problem. One issue was that of disease: the Americans caught dysentery in large numbers and attributed this to the insanitary habits of the Chinese, especially their refusal to boil their water, or to wash their hands after using the latrines. The American K-rations also proved unsatisfactory and unsuitable for jungle warfare, as the Chindits soon discovered. Yet that is all for burma as we now have to jump over to New Guinea. The advance and pursuit upon Madang resumed on March 12th as the 2/12th Battalion found Ward's Village unoccupied while the 57th/60th Battalion secured the abandoned Saipa 2. The 57th/60th Battalion advanced swiftly by night and finally concentrated at Yokopi two days later. On the 16th, Brigadier Hammer then received a rather ambiguous order. Chilton had redefined the division's role "in the light of the present situation". While the 18th Brigade was to watch the 15th Brigade's immediate left flank from the high ground between the lower Evapia and Mene Rivers, and the commando troop at Faita the far left flank, the 15th Brigade would garrison Kankiryo Saddle, keep contact with the enemy along the Bogadjim Road and patrol along the Kabenau River towards Astrolabe Bay to join the Americans. Finally, the 15th Brigade would "provide a firm base for patrolling, by employing at the discretion of the commander, a force not exceeding one battalion forward of Kankiryo up to and inclusive of Yokopi". The order was ambiguous as far as the local commanders were concerned, and managed to overcome the ban placed by higher authority on any advance across the Finisterres to the coast: Hammer could not go beyond Yokopi but, at the same time, he was to maintain contact with the enemy along the Bogadjim Road—and they were already farther back than Yokopi. At this point Hammer decided that the supply route from the Saddle to the 57th/60th had to be developed. While the battalion patrolled and the enemy positions were bombarded, Saipa, Yokopi and Daumoina were built into staging areas. In the meantime, patrols from the 2/2nd Commando Squadron were harrying the Japanese from the left flank, successfully establishing a new patrol base at Jappa by March 17th. From there, the Commandos patrolled towards Aminik, Oromuge and Mataloi, which they finally found abandoned. Further east, the 58th/59th Battalion patrolled from the Nangapo and Yangalum areas towards Arawum and Kul 2 as they searched for the Americans at the Kabenau and Kambara Rivers. An accidental meeting had already taken place between the patrols of the two Allies. An American reconnaissance patrol was being towed in a rubber boat by a PT boat with the object of landing at Male and seeing if the Japanese were at Bogadjim. Off Garagassi Point, the tow rope broke and the Americans rowed to shore in their rubber boat which they deflated and hid in the bush near Melamu. Moving inland for about a mile they turned west and nearing the Kaliko Track met Lieutenant Norrie's patrol of the 58th/59th Battalion and accompanied the Australians to Barum, where the Americans were given supplies and a guide; moving via Wenga, they reached Jamjam on the 18th and found no signs of the enemy. On this day at noon about 30 Japanese with three machine-guns and a mortar attacked Norrie's position at Barum. The situation would have been serious had it not been for Sergeant Matheson and his two men who had remained behind at Kaliko and managed to bear the first brunt of the attack and warn those at Barum. The Americans moved on the 20th to Yangalum and next day set out for Kul 2, along almost exactly the same route as that taken by Brewster, who had departed on March 20. Brewster reached Kul 2 on March 21, where he joined the Americans from Saidor and remained with them until the 26th. In this period he went to Saidor where he met General Gill, giving him information about the area east of the Kabenau River and learning of the American intentions and dispositions. Brewster then returned to Yangalum having carried out an important and lengthy linking patrol—35 miles each way. On the other side, General Adachi ordered his 51st division to continue withdrawing towards Wewak and for the 20th division towards Hansa. There he sought for them to reorganize and receive around 5000 replacements from Palau each. By the 9th, both divisions had reached Bogia and the 20th division had established a new defense of the Hansa area. By mid March the 51st reached Wewak and would be able to assemble at Hansa. On March 20th, the bulk of the 41st division was ordered to withdraw towards Hansa as well. As a result of the invasion of the Admiralty Islands, the 18th army and 4th air army were now cut off from Rabaul. Thus they were reassigned to the 2nd Area Army under the command of General Anami Korechika with his HQ at Ambon. They would be responsible for the defense of the eastern part of the Dutch East Indies and the western portion of New Guinea. General Teramoto would also have to move his command from Wewak to Hollandia.  Back at Yokopi, Hammer anticipated that the constant patrolling and bombardment had forced the Japanese to withdraw from their positions. On March 28th, patrols of the 57th/60th moved past Daumoina and effectively found the enemy gone. The reality, however, was that General Nakai and Colonel Matsumoto had been ordered to pull back and follow its parent unit towards Hansa. The remainder of the 41st Division were following suit over the next few days. Only a 5000-men detachment, deemed the Madang detachment formed around the 239th Regiment, under the command of General Shoge, was left behind to hold Madang and cover the Japanese withdrawal. Hammer ordered the 57th/60th to move forward with speed towards Yaula, yet the Australians would be stopped at the Kofebi River on March 30. In response, a company would be sent in an enveloping maneuver across the river, successfully getting through to Mabelebu although they would be unable to draw away the defenders. During the night, the surrounded company would then have to resist a number of enemy counterattacks, though these weren't really counterattacks but the Japanese trying to retreat towards Madang. The following day, with the enemy gone, the Australian patrols would rapidly set out north towards Yaula. Meanwhile, the 2/2nd Squadron's patrols, after securing Mataloi 1, were also advancing towards Yaula with speed. Finally, the commandos would successfully enter Yaula on April 4, with the 57th/60th's vanguard arriving soon after and then occupying Kwato by nightfall.  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 Bougainville counteroffensive proved the Japanese could still unleash brutal offensives and meet some success. However the level of success was not going to win the war let alone the fight over Bougainville. Within Burma the mixed national armies of the allies were finding some difficult working together, but they were gradually pushing the Japanese back.  

What are the pieces and parts that have to work together for a successful Social Media presence?  What should a ‘social media manager' do if you have one? Can you manage it all by yourself? We'll drill down on these answers! Welcome back to America's #1 Daily Podcast, featuring America's #1 Real Estate Coaches and Top EXP Realty Sponsors in the World, Tim and Julie Harris. Ready to become an EXP Realty Agent and join Tim and Julie Harris? https://whylibertas.com/harris or text Tim directly 512-758-0206 IMPORTANT: Join #1 Real Estate Coaches Tim and Julie Harris's Premier Coaching now for FREE. Included is a DAILY Coaching Session with a HARRIS Certified Coach. Proven and tested lead generation, systems, and scripts designed for this market. Instant FREE Access Now: YES, Enroll Me NOW In Premier Coaching https://members.timandjulieharris.com A) Communication is key.  This is what social media actually is…it's an additional way to communicate with your friends, center of influence, prospects, clients, and professional relationships.   You should be efficient and professional at communicating effectively with all of these categories.  If you hire someone else, you'll have to ensure they can do this for you, and do it in a way that's appropriate to who you are.  Typical things you must be good at to communicate effectively on social: *Identify current events which are interesting and impactful to your social followers.  Housing news, mortgage news, inventory trends, new construction.  Provide something of value consistently. *Understand all of your different tools and use them.  Video, pictures, GIFs, testimonials, etc. *Have an actual content strategy.  Sporadic updating on random topics is not a plan. Consistent, regular, and cohesive posting is more effective.   What are you trying to accomplish with your social media?  -Lead Generation -Community Engagement  -Expand your Center of Influence -Engage online to engage ‘IRL' (in real life). FREE Meet-Up In Your Area : Please RSVP now for the Tim and Julie Live Meetup near you – a FREE, fun, and casual event to kickstart your 2024 with motivation and focus! Gain invaluable insights, connect with industry leaders, and make 2024 YOUR BEST YEAR EVER. Secure your spot at https://app.getriver.io/tim-and-julie. Don't miss out on inspiration, expertise, and networking opportunities. Let's do this! B) How to get Un-Followed (according to Sprout Social research): 51% said ‘irrelevant content' 35% said ‘too many promotional posts' 34% said ‘too political' 29% said ‘ignored my posts, likes or comments' REAL ESTATE LEADS, LEADS and more LEADS: Question: What is Tim and Julie Harris's favorite PROBATE LEAD PROVIDER? Simple, https://alltheleads.com/harris C) Build a social media content calendar and stick to it. *Refer to our recent podcast, ‘Monday to Friday Social Media System'. -Market Update Mondays -Coming Soon Tuesdays -Wanted Wednesdays -Thrilled Client Thursdays -Upcoming Events Fridays (open houses, meet-ups, parties, charity events, etc) *Consider doing your own podcast, and/or Clubhouse or a similar platform regularly. D) Engage with your followers consistently. Learn about each media platform and how it operates.  On Twitter and Instagram, for example, learn how to use hashtags so you can get your content to reach further.  Hashtags reach people who are not just following you specifically but following a trend or a mutual interest.  E) Improve your communication skills both In Real life and on Social. *TED Talks is full of great talks on communication.  Some of our favorites: -“The Art of Paying Attention” by Wendy MacNaughton -“10 Ways to have a better conversation” by Celeste Headlee Don't convince yourself that social media is a lead-generation spoke.  It's for supporting your proactive lead generation, nurturing your relationships, and expanding your reach.

Today we're discussing the 7 top reasons that most real estate agents fail out of the business.  According to the National Association of Realtors, 87% of licensed Realtors FAIL out of the business in 5 years or less.  That means only 13% survive.  Why is this and how can you be part of the 13% not just surviving but thriving? Welcome back to America's #1 Daily Podcast, featuring America's #1 Real Estate Coaches and Top EXP Realty Sponsors in the World, Tim and Julie Harris. Ready to become an EXP Realty Agent and join Tim and Julie Harris? https://whylibertas.com/harris or text Tim directly 512-758-0206 IMPORTANT: Join #1 Real Estate Coaches Tim and Julie Harris's Premier Coaching now for FREE. Included is a DAILY Coaching Session with a HARRIS Certified Coach. Proven and tested lead generation, systems, and scripts designed for this market. Instant FREE Access Now: YES, Enroll Me NOW In Premier Coaching https://members.timandjulieharris.com Reason #1:     Absolutely no accountability of any kind.  Most agents were previously either in school (lots of accountability) or were W2 employees working at a 'normal' job (daily accountability).   Now you're in a 1099, independent contractor world.  Most agents become immediately TOO independent and can go months without knowing what to do, when, or how to do it.  Sporadic work equals sporadic income.  Discipline and consistency are your friends. Reason #2:     Confusion about where close-able, motivated buyer and seller leads actually come from.  This starts when new or newer agents have a couple of fairly easy deals right out of the gates, almost always friend or family deals.  That makes it easy to believe that all your deals will always come easily and always from people who already trust you.   Once that runs its course, agents wait too long to become proactive or start spending money they don't have on things that won't work or won't work quickly enough.  Close-able leads come from people who clearly need your help.  Refer to our podcast, Real Estate Agents 90-day Money Making Plan, and the countless other podcasts we have regarding proactive lead generation! Huge News! Tim and Julie Harris are providing 250 live mastermind meet-ups in 2024. Chances are there is an event near you. Best part? These events are free! Grab your spot now: https://app.getriver.io/tim-and-julie Remember that a higher percentage of your past clients and sphere either closed recently at a super low rate or refinanced themselves into a lower rate. The Covid years robbed future deals from the future.  Yes, be diligent with your database communication, but you can't count on as much business as you think, and you don't have time to wait. Reason #3:     Relying on luck, hopium, and speculation instead of sales skills.  Stop spending your hard-earned money on things that are not directly related to closed transactions.   Reason #4:     Not leading with profit.  Your product is profit.  Every day, you decide to run a not-for-profit organization or a for-profit.  Which one depends on the actions you're taking.  Refer to our podcast about your success schedule.  Reason #5:     Lazy lead follow-up, overly complicated communication methods.  If you're not using lead follow-up scripts, buyer and seller pre-qualification scripts, and furiously fast in your follow-up, you are on track to be part of the 87% who fail.  REAL ESTATE LEADS, LEADS and more LEADS: Question: What is Tim and Julie Harris's favorite PROBATE LEAD PROVIDER? Simple, https://alltheleads.com/harris Solution?  Follow a plan, get involved with Premier Coaching, and ask us more about eXp Realty. Don't be Real Estate RoadKill! Surround yourself with successful, Harris Certified Coaches and other Premier Coaching members.  Join today for free by visiting PremierCoaching.com It only takes a minute!

Lucas Cao is the President and CEO of Squid Industries, an American manufacturing company with a focus on the butterfly knife and trainer industry.In This Conversation We Discuss:[00:49] Intro[01:48] Getting interested with the idea of balisong[03:00] Becoming a collector & joining the community[03:57] Seeing the barriers for interested newcomers[04:44] Trying to make a balisong trainer[05:37] Discovering the popularity of balisong[06:30] Testing the waters and the success rate[07:37] Gaining traction bit by bit[09:03] Planning things ahead and investing on manpower[10:27] Running the business remotely[11:15] Purchasing their first manufacturing equipment[12:29] Continuing the business full time[13:09] Vertical integration and quality control[13:53] An unexpected success in hindsight[14:32] The meticulous process of picking a brand name[17:26] Investing on passion and in the community[18:34] The goal is to make the best product possible[20:05] Sporadic growth, full of highs and lows[21:26] A shift on the velocity of production[22:18] Leveraging the resources available to you[22:52] Episode sponsors[26:17] The challenge in manufacturing and prototyping[27:46] The importance of versatility[28:50] Maximizing influencer marketing[30:20] Standing out from the competition[30:54] Trying different avenues of advertising[31:39] Effectively conveying your idea to manufacturers[34:05] Talk to manufacturers with different processes[35:14] Where to find Squid Industries Co.Resources:Subscribe to Honest Ecommerce on YoutubeHigh performance and community-driven balisongs squidindustries.co/  Follow Lucas Cao linkedin.com/in/lucas-cao-6a3412b1/Schedule an intro call with one of our experts electriceye.io/connectTake your retail business to the next level today https://shopify.com/honestSign up for a one-dollar-per-month trial periodSchedule your free consultation with a Sendlane expert sendlane.com/honestIf you're enjoying the show, we'd love it if you left Honest Ecommerce a review on Apple Podcasts. It makes a huge impact on the success of the podcast, and we love reading every one of your reviews!

Last time we spoke about landings against Arawe, the continuation of the Bougainville campaign and some new action in the CBI theater. Despite a rubber boat disaster, the operation against Arawe went off successfully seeing another allied landing taking the Japanese by surprise. Now the Japanese would be forced yet again to launch a counter attack hoping to dislodge the allied forces from a new beachhead. Over on Bougainville the Marines performed some assaults against hills such as Hellzapoppin ridge to expand the perimeter enough so the Army boys would have an easier time of taking over. Over in the CBI theater, the onion man Wingate was given the task of expanding his chindits and the Americans wanted their very own chindit force. Stilwell decided the time was ripe to unleash a minor offensive in Burma and soon saw what looked like a weakened Japanese perimeter was in fact very strong. This episode is Drive on Sio Welcome to the Pacific War Podcast Week by Week, I am your dutiful host Craig Watson. But, before we start I want to also remind you this podcast is only made possible through the efforts of Kings and Generals over at Youtube. Perhaps you want to learn more about world war two? Kings and Generals have an assortment of episodes on world war two and much more  so go give them a look over on Youtube. So please subscribe to Kings and Generals over at Youtube and to continue helping us produce this content please check out www.patreon.com/kingsandgenerals. If you are still hungry for some more history related content, over on my channel, the Pacific War Channel you can find a few videos all the way from the Opium Wars of the 1800's until the end of the Pacific War in 1945.  Last time we saw General Cunningham's men successfully landing at Arawe where they hoped to build a new PT boat base. Troop A was supposed to land an hour before the main landing to cut the coastal road near Umtingalu village and Troop B would land at Pilelo island to cover the main passage to the harbor. Troop A was a disaster. Their 15 rubber boats were met with 25 mm dual purpose guns that sank 12 boats, killed 12 men and wounded another 70. Troop B was more successful landing on Pilelo and capturing the radio station before engaging in a fire fight. For the main landing at House FIreman Beach, there was little resistance. Sporadic machine gun fire was silenced by rockets as the men landed. The Japanese tossed some air strikes to hit further landings and convoys, but allied CAP managed to limit the damage.  A few days after the landing, the Komori Detachment reached the village of Didmop along the Pulie River where they paused to reorganize and rally the incoming survivors fleeing the landing area. The difficult terrain and river crossings prevented Komori and his men from assembling into offensive positions until December 25th. Meanwhile back on the 18th, the 1st battalion, 141st regiment began an advance from the Itni region aboard 7 barges. Unfortunately for them, two LCVP's bearing 19 men on patrol had been sent by Cunningham to Cape Peiho. The two forces ran into another and after an exchange of gunfire the US soldiers abandoned their LCVP's and retreated back along the Arawe coast. Another patrol traveling by LCVP was also fired upon by Japanese barges near Umtingalu that same day, but was able to return to Cape Merkus. On Christmas night, 100 men of the Komori detachment assaulted the main line of defense across the neck of the peninsula. The inexperienced American cavalrymen of the 112th managed to repel, albeit with some difficulty. The attack prompted General Cunningham to believe Komori was in charge of the lead element of a much larger force, most likely enroute from Gasmata. He therefore requested reinforcements and General Krueger responded by dispatching a company of the 158th infantry by PT Boats. Meanwhile the lack of results from the attack prompted Komori to defer further attacks until the arrival of Major Tobuse's battalion. On the 27th, allied intelligence indicated the Japanese had retaken Meselia and Umtingalu, prompting Cunningham to withdraw all outposts and patrols within the main line of defense. The 2nd battalion, 158th regiment were sent to reinforce the beachhead while Komori and Tobuse finally made contact with another. The first order of business to contain the growing American perimeter. Both commanders believed the Americans sought to repair the unserviceable Lupin Aerodrome. 700 yards from the US line the Japanese established a series of alternate positions taking advantage of the terrain and concealment making it difficult to spot. Cunningham would remark "This is not an organized position in the accepted sense of the word, it consists apparently of shallow trenches and deep fox holes… The ground is covered with a thick green mat about 12 to 18 inches in depth which makes observation absolutely impossible… Officers and men… report that they have not seen a single Japanese and that they are unable to locate machine guns firing on them from a distance of 10 to 20 yards.” From these positions the Japanese harassed the Americans using mortar and automatic weapons fire. Whenever the Americans tried to pinpoint where the fire was coming from the Japanese would simply switch positions to another. Within these parameters only limited skirmishing was carried out for the next few days.  On January 4th, Komori reported repulsing a strong American and two days later received his first citation from Emperor Hirohito for his heroic achievement. Meanwhile a much frustrated Cunningham began sending reports to Krueger he could not spot the enemy and was convinced continued attacks would simply result in further casualties. By January the 9th he reported 75 dead, 57 wounded and 14 missing. He requested Kreuger send him some tanks and on the 9th he received the 1st marine division's 1st tank battalion from Finschhafen. The 1st Tank Battalion had been left behind at Finschhafen because of transportation shortage and limited range for tank operations in the inhospitable terrain of the Cape Gloucester region. Eventually Rupertus would also release the rest of the tank company then in reserve at Cape Gloucester to help out. The Marine tanks and Army infantry quickly worked out the details of how they would go about combined operations. The morning of January 16th kicked off with a squadron of B-24's followed by another of B-25s bombing the Japanese positions. This was followed up by artillery and mortars and then two 5 tank platoons began their assault against a 500 yard front. Behind the tanks were infantry of the 158th and despite the swampy terrain and thick vegetation, the tank-infantry stormed forward. The Japanese resisted ferociously, grounding two tanks that had to be destroyed lest the Japanese seize them later. The Americans destroyed the enemy's positions, crushing numerous automatic weapons and a 75mm mountain gun. But the Americans had no orders to hold any positions, so they destroyed and pulled back to their perimeter for the night. The following morning the Americans resumed the attacks with flamethrowers eliminating small pockets of resistance still remaining. Komori still obsessed with defending Lupin aerodrome to the last man ordered a withdrawal, but not before radioing to the brigade HQ "fight till the glorious end to defend the airfield" which earned him a second Imperial citation on February 7. During these actions the Americans suffered 20 dead, 40 wounded and two tanks. For Komori's men they had 116 dead and 117 wounded. For the next 3 weeks the fighting would deteriorate into a matter of patrol skirmishes, with Komori triumphantly reported back to HQ how the airfield was still in Japanese hands. The reality however was the Japanese were heavily outnumbered and lost control of the air and sea. How many men Komori commanded remains difficult to figure out as no documents were captured after the operation. It appears unlikely there were more than 1000 under his command. Early in the operation the Japanese were supplied by airdrop, often during daylight in view of the Americans. Yet as the Americans tightened their grip over the sea and air more, Komori became increasingly dependent on the trickle of supplies coming over the tortuous trail from Iboki. Carrying and distributing these supplies imposed still more of a drain on his manpower, and he withdrew his headquarters to Didmop to give more attention to this phase, leaving direct defense of the airfield to Major Tobuse. Yet that is all for Arawe for today, because we need to travel back over to New Guinea. Wareo had fallen and now the Australians were advancing upon Fortification Point as General Katagiri's 20th division were retreating towards the northern coast. The 20th division would arrive at Zagaheme and Orarako on the 22nd and 25th respectively. With these movements occurring the Australians now felt the time was ripe to launch an offensive against Sio. On December 20th, General Wootten ordered the 20th brigade to advance through the 4th brigade's positions and begin a rapid pursuit towards Sio. The next day, Brigadier Windeyer had his men advance towards Wandokai while Wootten was reorganizing his forces to allow the coastal advance to continue. Meanwhile the 24th brigade took over the Gusika-Wario-Sattelberg area; the 4th brigade took over the Fortification Point-Masaweng River area; the 26th brigade advance down the coast and would be ferried to the mouth of the Masaweng to support Windeyer's advance. The Australians enjoyed the advantage of aerial support in the form of Bostons, Mitchells, Marauders, Airacobras and Thunderbolts who continuously hammered the Japanese with bombs and strafing runs. Alongside this allied PT boats harassed the Japanese barge fleet, between the 9th and 13th they would sink 23 barges along the coast, mostly south of Sio. Despite the air and sea support the overland advances were particularly rough on the men. From fortification point to Kapugara gorge the coastal track ran along a flat kunai ledge some hundred yards wide, between the sea on each side with sharp coral terraces. They had little cover along the line of the advance. There were also few natives inhabiting the area. The men of the 20th brigade were not in great condition when they began the pursuit. They were stricken with malaria and Colonel Simpson anticipated the enemy might hit their left flank so he dispatched two companies to travel parallel with the main coastal advance and those guys had some even rougher terrain to travel. There was little water to be had along the coast and the long kunai fields increased the heat exponentially. The men occupied Hubika on the 22nd without opposition. The allied engineers would find the gorge beyond Hubika would prevent any progress by the tanks, so the troops would have to proceed without their support. By nightfall the 2/13th battalion would advance another 3000 yards facing no opposition. They got around 1500 yards past Wandokai when suddenly mortar and artillery fire rained down upon them. This was Captain Yoshikawa's 1st battalion, 80th regiment who unleashed a bombardment for 2 hours upon the advancing Australians. Though it appeared like there was a major fight on their hands, it was only rearguard actions. Yoshikawa and his men were retreating towards Ago that night.  Christmas would see Windeyer receive the gift of further artillery reinforcements for his advance. The 62nd battery and 2/12th field regiment came over and on Boxing day Colonel Miyake would decide to abandon Ago and continue the retreat towards Kanomi. On the night of the 26th a company from a boat battalion of the 592nd EBSR, alongside an Australian radar detachment landed on Long Island. This was Operation Sanatogen, the mission was to set up a radar station and observation post on Long Island to help with the landing at Saidor and thwart Japanese barge movements. The Japanese had never placed a garrison on Long Island, but it was used as a staging point for barges moving between Rabaul and Wewak.  At 9am on the 27th, 18 Mitchells and 12 Bostons bombed and strafed the Walingai and Kanomi areas before Windeyers resumed his advance. The 2/13th advanced through Ago and occupied Walingai unopposed by the end of the day. The next day saw Australian patrols running into Japanese positions around Kanomi. At 11:15am a patrol of the 2/13th was fording a creek when they were fired upon. The patrol saw at least 14 Japanese retreating north around Blucher Point as they fired vicker guns and mortars upon them. During the afternoon the allied began a heavy artillery bombardment. The speed at which the Australians were advancing was providing results as the Japanese were forced to further withdraw towards Kalasa. Yet the Australians were stretching their logistical lines forcing Wootten to halt the forward units for 2 days. The two day delay allowed General Katagiri to get his men past Kalasa and reach Sio without any hindrance. On new years eve the 2/15th resumed their advance finding slight resistance around Nanda. At 5:30pm the 2/15th were fired upon by a few bands of Japanese and responded with artillery fire forcing them away. To avoid unnecessary casualties the Australians halted at the last creek before Nanda and resumed the march on new years day. The 2/15th then passed through Kwamkwam and captured Sialum Island during the afternoon of the 2nd. Sialum lies around half way between Fortification Point and Sio and it afforded the Australians a decent area to build a large supply dump on its sheltered. Yet the advance to Sio was not the only one going on, on New Guinea.   Since the battle of John's Koll and Trevor's Ridge, General Nakai's detachment were forced to withdraw farther back into the hills. The Nakai detachment were now clinging to Shaggy Ridge the Kankirei Saddle and the area between the Faria River, Madang and Bogadjim. At Kankirei, Nakai dispatched Captain Ohata Masahiko's 3rd Company of the 1st Battalion, 26th Field Artillery Regiment. General Nakai told Ohata that ‘the enemy is extremely sensitive to the use of artillery fire arms so that the artillerymen are expected to cooperate closely with the infantry men until the very end”.Ohata recalled “I realized what was expected from our commander, and he also said please take good care of your life. It took more than twenty years to train one artillery officer, but a gun is only material. We can replace the gun, but not an artilleryman.' There is a very reasonable explanation for Nakai's order. The IJA artillery field manual indicated their field guns were more valuable than artillerymen. In article 10 it said ‘The gun is the life of the Artillery. Therefore, the Artilleryman must live and die with the gun, and share the honor and shame together with the guns. One must continue to fight until the end'. Nakai at this time prohibited suicide and it seems was trying to save the lives of his artillerymen, lest they die for the sake of their guns. The main Japanese position was at Shaggy Ridge, a 4 mile long spur dotted by several rocky outcrops where the Japanese troops established numerous strong points. From the Pimple, a large rocky peak rising around half way along the crest of Shaggy ridge, the Japanese found it extremely sturdy to defend. The feature often saw a mist envelope it adding to its defensive capabilities.  As the Japanese clung to their heights, the Australians were busy developing their new main base at Dumpu. Airstrips, roads, bridge, culverts and numerous buildings were being worked on and with the recent acquisition of the Ramu valley they were also building a forward air base at Gusap. The only major offensive against Shaggy Ridge came in late October.  In accordance with Vasey's advice, Brigadier Dougherty prepared to attack the southernmost peak of Shaggy Ridge on the 20th. For three days from the 17th Dougherty's patrols crept as near as they could, and early on the 20th, Captain Whyte the F.O.O. of the 54th Battery, directed the fire of his guns on to the Japanese position.  At midday forward units reported that they were within five yards of a four-strand barbed-wire fence; the Japanese position on a kunai covered Pinnacle was about 30 yards away. Between the enemy position and his men, there was a steep gully about 100 feet deep with precipitous slopes on both flanks . The Japanese hand cut fire lanes through the kunai and were dug in and heavily bunkered from the cliff face. Through the clever use of artillery fire, the Australians tricked the Japanese into retiring temporarily to gain shelter. The artillerymen varied the rate of fire so it was never the same, while platoons stormed specific ridges, gaining ground without casualties.To defend his western flank, General Vasey dispatched  the 2/7th to Kesawai 1 and the 2/6th to Kesawai 2. Yet the role of the 7th division for the time being was really limited to patrol activities. On 23rd October a section of the 2/2nd Commando Squadron led by Lieutenant Doig crossed the Ramu and moved up the Urigina Track next day, seeking a way east to the Mataloi-Orgoruna area. Lt Doig entered this new territory on the 25th and by 9 a.m. trees across the track near Orgoruna suggested that the Japanese might be in possession. Between 25th and 31st October Captain Haydon's company of the 2/25th Battalion tried to reach the Japanese track between Paipa and Kankirei. After moving up the Evapia River and then through rugged unmapped country for 4 days the patrol leader was forced to return as he realized that it would be impossible for him to reach his objective without further rations. On the 29th the 2/7th Commando Squadron, an engineer, Captain Gossip of the 2/6th Field Company, and two others left to patrol a road from the Ramu Valley across the Finisterre Ranges towards the Japanese road. This patrol returned on 1st November reporting that there was no possibility of making a road from the Kesawai area towards the Japanese roadhead.  Lieutenant Maxwell of the 2/6th Commando Squadron, performed a three-day reconnaissance towards Yokopi , walked right into an enemy defensive position on the first day out, saw five Japanese looking at him from about 20 yards away, and retired before they could fire at him.  Sergeant Berrell of the Papuan Battalion led his section, three men from the 21st Brigade, and 50 native carriers on a 13 days' patrol into the ranges to patrol enemy movement in the Kankirei area. He returned on 11th November without having found a worthwhile observation post near Kankirei. On the 20th October MacAdie sent a patrol from the 2/2nd Squadron to Josephstaal to find out whether the Japanese were there, and whether a strip could be constructed. Accompanied by Sergeant-Major England of Angau, Lieutenant Green's small patrol of five troopers, 32 native carriers and five police boys left for Sepu where it remained until setting out on the main journey on 3rd November. The route chosen by Green and England did not follow the known native tracks as the Australians wished to avoid any contact with Japanese patrols. The journey would take nine days. Over at Atemble, where the Japanese were known to be in some strength, was bypassed and, although there were tracks of Japanese horsemen at Sambanga and reports from natives that the Japanese did occasionally patrol the area between Atemble and Josephstaal and Madang, there were no encounters. On 13th November Green arrived at Josephstaal, which was not occupied and which had only been visited occasionally by small enemy patrols in recent months. The patrol returned to base on 26th November.    On December 2nd a patrol of 42 men from the 2/33rd Battalion led by Lieutenant Scotts set out, urged on by Eather's hope that it would be able to blaze a track into the heart of the Japanese defenses at Kankirei from the west and get a prisoner. Moving up the Mene River Valley and across the 5500 Feature, Scott established a base on a steep ridge. The next day he moved down a spur to some native huts where the dense jungle was replaced by kunai and then crossed into another spur, where they established an observation post. Meanwhile a patrol from the 2/2nd Pioneer Battalion was attempting to observe the Kankirei Saddle area from the east. On the 7th Lieutenant White led out eight Pioneers, two Angau warrant-officers and 20 natives from Bob's Post following the Japanese Mule Track north to Toms' Post. Next day the patrol moved on along a well-surveyed track, and, about 1,500 yards beyond Toms' Post, saw a strong enemy position ahead on a high feature astride the track. On the 9th and the morning of the 10th White tried to work round to the north of the enemy position to carry out his original task, but dwindling rations, heavy rain, and rugged country forced his return to the track. Accompanied by two men White then advanced along the track but after 20 minutes he came under heavy fire. The three men ran back down the hill which they had been climbing but White was hit by machine-gun fire and fell. All of these patrol actions helped prevent the Japanese from penetrating south and figured out generally where the Japanese were in numbers. On November 9th Vasey relieved the 21st brigade at the front with the 25th brigade. Along with this the 2/6th commando squadron and a Papuan company were sent to reinforce the front while the 2/7th command squadron was withdrawn. And with that, after nearly 10 months since Lt Rooke and his platoon of the 2/7th battalion had arrived on the airstrip at Bena, the Bena Force ceased to exist. They had 12 deaths, 16 wounded and 5 men missing but claimed to have killed over 230 Japanese. They helped build the Garoka airfield; over 78 miles of motor transport road between Bena and Garoka, Sigoiya, Asaloka and Kainantu and produced maps of completely unknown areas In his final report MacAdie wrote: “The force fulfilled its task. Every enemy patrol which crossed the Ramu River was driven back with casualties, and very determined enemy attacks were repulsed with heavy casualties. In addition the enemy lost many men in ambushes on tracks north of the Ramu River... There is no doubt that the enemy regarded this force as a menace to his flank, and little doubt that the size of the force was grossly overestimated.” Now the 2/2nd Commando Squadron would assume the responsibility for the defense of the Bena-Garoka area. November would see the start of an intense hide and seek artillery duel. The Australian artillery was attempting to neutralize the Japanese 75mm guns. Captain Ohata's had placed two gun emplacements on the outskirts of Shaggy ridge in a position that protected the ridgeline in the front. The first emplacement were not entirely concealed and thus quickly became a target. Fortunately the guns survived as the Australian fire hit their shields mostly. Captain Ohata thought he could conceal their muzzle flashes by firing lower. The second gun emplacement was completely covered by shelter yet Ohata would remark ‘However the footsteps of the soldiers who were coming in from the behind the position were spotted by the search airplane. We were indeed astonished by their way of finding the gun position.' By the end of November General Nakai was preparing to hit Kesawai and counterattack towards Dumpu. In early December patrols from the 2/16th were probing Shaggy Ridge. Vasey intended to perform a diversion to attract the Japanese attention away from other pending operations in New Guinea and New Britain. An idea was floated around to have Brigadier Dougherty raid Kankirei, but that's it for New Guinea as major events were unfolding for the CBI theater. Over in Tokyo, on November 5th and 6th the Greater East Asia Conference was being held. Attendees included Hideki Tojo for Japan, Zhang Jinghui for Manchukuo, Wang Jingwei for the Republic of China based in Nanjing, Ba Maw for Burma, Subhas Chandra Bose for Free India, Jose P Laurel for the Philippines and Wan Waithayakon for Thailand. Notable exclusions would be that of Korea and Taiwan, whom the Japanese had annexed and did not want to give any political autonomy to. There was also Vietnam and Cambodia who were not invited so as to not offend the Vichy French government who was still claiming French Indochina to be under their rule. There was also Malaya and the Dutch East Indies, but Japan figured they would be simply annexing these regions as their natural resources were now the lifeblood of the empire. Of the attendee's, Suhas Chandra Bose was only present as an observer as India was still a British colony and the representative of Thailand under strict orders from Plaek Phibunsongkhram was to emphasize on every possible occasion that Thailand was not under Japanese domination, but in fact an allied nation. You might be asking why did Plaek Phibunsongkhram not attend such a grand event himself, well he actually feared if he were to leave Bangkok he would be ousted.  Hideki Tojo made a grand speech, greeting each of the participants and praising the spiritual essence of Asia in opposition to the materialistic civilization of the west. To give you a taste of this meeting here are some of the dialogue amongst participants. Tōjō Hideki stated in his speech: "It is an incontrovertible fact that the nations of Greater East Asia are bound in every respect by ties of an inseparable relationship". Ba Maw of Burma stated: "My Asian blood has always called out to other Asians… This is not the time to think with other minds, this is the time to think with our blood, and this thinking has brought me from Burma to Japan." Jose Laurel of the Philippines in his speech claimed that "the time has come for the Filipinos to disregard Anglo-Saxon civilization and its enervating influence… and to recapture their charm and original virtues as an Oriental people." Subhas Chandra Bose of India declared: "If our Allies were to go down, there will be no hope for India to be free for at least 100 years".   Overall the meeting was characterized by praise of solidarity and condemnation of western imperialism, but in terms of how Asia was going to come together and economic development and such, there really was no meat to any of it. Tojo simply kept reiterating how great Pan-Asianism was against the evils of the white devils. Yet for all the talk of asian unity, the Japanese governments actions were anything but that. The Japanese viewed themselves as racially superior to that of the other asian nations. They saw themselves as the Great Yamato Race and that they were destined to rule over the other asian peoples, similar to a father and son relationship. To actually go off the script so to say, I happen to have covered this topic extremely thoroughly in a 4 part series I did on my patreon about General Ishiwara Kanji. You see, Hideki Tojo's main military/political rival was Ishiwara Kanji, and all of the greater east asian stuff was literally stolen from Ishiwara.   Ishiwara, for those unfamiliar, is someone I believe had an unprecedented impact on global history. Ishiwara pretty much single handedly began WW2 I would argue. He was a very bizarre figure who came to the realization after WW1 that the entire world would be engulfed in what he called “the final war”. To prepare Japan against this apocalypse he believed Japan had to seize Manchuria for her resources, to empower the empire so it could face the United States. He also believed it was absolutely necessary to ally with China and that everything needed to be done to create a harmony between the two peoples. Ironically after Ishiwara caused the invasion of Manchuria, it all in his view got out of hand and he was tossed aside by people like Tojo. He spent the entire war openly criticizing Tojo and the policies of Japan while trying to create this Pan-Asian league, and Tojo simply copied what he was doing, gave it a different name and made sure to eliminate the elements about allying with China and stopping the war with her. Ishiwara is a fascinating figure and to be honest I was so happy with the 4 part series I told on my patreon I might be releasing it on my Youtube channel and on my personal podcast server soon.   Now back to the conference, in the words of Indian Historian Panjaj Mishara  “the Japanese had revealed how deep the roots of anti-Westernism went and how quickly Asians could seize power from their European tormentors”. Tokyo hoped that a major demonstration of Pan-Asianism would lead China to broker peace with Japan and thus join them in a war against the west. A major theme of the conference was that Chiang Kai-Shek was not a proper asian and that no Asian would ally themselves to the white devils. As you can imagine the speeches made by Tojo emphasized how evil Britain and the United states were, yet at the same time praised Nazi Germany. Here are parts of Tojo's speech.   “The need of upholding international justice and of guaranteeing world peace is habitually stressed by America and Britain. They mean thereby no more and no less than the preservation of a world order of their own, based upon division and conflict in Europe and upon the perpetuation of their colonial exploitation of Asia. They sought to realize their inordinate ambition in Asia through political aggression and economic exploitation; they brought on conflict among the various peoples; they tried to destroy their racial integrity under the fair name of education and culture. Thus, they have to this day threatened constantly the existence of the nations and people of Asia, disturbed their stability, and suppressed their natural and proper development. It is because of their notion to regard East Asia as a colony that they harp upon the principles of the open door and equal opportunity simply as a convenient means of pursuing their sinister designs of aggression. While constantly keeping their own territories closed to us, the peoples of Asia, thus denying us the equality of opportunities and impeding our trade, they sought solely their own prosperity. The Anglo-American ambition of world hegemony is indeed a scourge of mankind and the root of the world's evils.”   “As regards the situation in Europe, we are very glad that our ally, Germany, has still further solidified her national unity and, with conviction in modern times. As regards the situation in Europe, we are very glad that our ally, Germany, has still further solidified her national unity and, with conviction in sure victory, is advancing to crush the United States and Britain and to construct a new Europe. The War of Greater East Asia is truly a war to destroy evil and to make justice manifest. Ours is a righteous cause. Justice knows no enemy and we are fully convinced greater of our ultimate victory.”   Meanwhile the allies held the Sextant Conference in Cairo between November 22-26th. This conference established China's status as one of the four world powers, kind of a cheeky jab at Japan and a means to sway Chiang Kai-Shek from surrendering. At the conference plans were made for an offensive in Burma codenamed Operation Champion with sub operations Tarzan and Buccaneer. Lord Mountbatten presented  three plans of action. First Operation Tarzan called for 4 Indian divisions of the British 14th army group's 15th army  to concentrate their forces in Chittagong and cross the Maungdaw-Buthidaung line in mid-January. The next year they would capture the Burmese coast in order to defend Chittagong and occupy Sittwe on the Burmese coast. Then three divisions of the 4th Army, would assemble at Imphal and move east with the objective of destroying Japanese lines of communication and advancing to Arak and various parts of Sidon in northern Burma. In March, the Chindits long-range infiltration force would be parachuted into Burma, behind the Japanese lines while the Chinese Expeditionary Force (CEF) in India would cross the Ho Kang Valley and advance eastward into Myitkyina. The Chindit special forces would then support the Chinese forces and occupy Bhamo in April, while the Yunnan Army would begin operations on March 15 and advance to Lashio in April to join the British forces at Lashio and Bhamo. In the Bay of Bengal, a massive amphibious offensive would also be launched, with 3,000 British and American long-range infiltration troops participating.   Operation Musket would see the capture of Cape Sumatra and Operation Buccaneer was to be an amphibious operation to seize the Andaman Islands in order to cut off the Japanese supply lines. Chiang kai-shek expressed support for Tarzan, but once again insisted for it to be coupled with a massive naval operation in the Bay of Bengal. Though the British were reluctant to do this, US pressure eventually convinced them to land on the Andamans. The Chiefs of Staff then agreed to drive Japan out of Burma and reopen land links with China, with Stilwell conducting the ground attack in the north and Mountbatten commanding the amphibious landings in the south.    The American delegation told Chiang kai-shek that for the following six months, only 8900 tons of supplies could be flown to China via the Hump route each month, even though Chiang continuously pushed for 10000 tons. In the end, President Roosevelt promised to increase the airlift supply to China to 12000 tons, and also promised that B-29 Superfortress bombers would bomb Japan from Chinese bases. By the way if you are interested in the beginnings of the bombing campaigns against the Japanese home islands, please check out the podcast I did with Dave from the cold war channel over on my youtube channel. It is actually B-29's operating in India and China that kicked it all off, and its not often talked about.    Many of the resolutions and promises, would not be really implemented. Politically, many arrangements were also made for the postwar international situation. Roosevelt and Churchill supported the territorial claims of the Republic of China, such as returning Taiwan and Manchuria to the Republic of China and deciding to allow Korea to become independent "in due course". The Cairo Declaration, however, made no specific mention of the future of the Ryukyu Islands. China of course wanted them, but the US believed that the Ryukyu Islands could be left to Japan after the war if they were completely demilitarized. It was also agreed between China and the US that Lushun would be used as a public military port for the Americans after the war, and that Dalian would become a free port. Roosevelt also consulted Chiang kai-shek on the possibility of the abolition of the Japanese imperial system along with the emperor, Hirohito, but Chiang kai-shek mentioned that the cause of the war was the Japanese warlords, and that the issue could be left to the Japanese people to decide for themselves after the war. The Americans did not want France to return to Indochina and offered Chiang kai-shek control of French Indochina; but he publicly declined, as Chiang kai-shek strongly advocated the independence of Korea and wanted to assist in the independence of Vietnam. Roosevelt firmly supported Chiang kai-sheks efforts to end imperialism in East Asia. To end the conference off, on December 1, the Allies issued the Cairo Declaration, demanding Japan's unconditional surrender and the return of all occupied lands.    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. And so the drive to Sio was raging on, the Japanese were not being given a moment to breathe as they continued their withdrawal further north. Back over in Japan, Tojo was trying to win over China, but the allies were making sure to keep Chiang Kai-shek firmly in the fold in a 4d game of global chess.

Working toward your best year ever? Start with how to focus!Mark and Randy dig into the value of strategic focus—including lessons from archery and John Wooden! Go to leadeveryday.com/21 for the "21 Days to the Best Year Ever" course.Visit LeadEveryDay.com to sign up for the daily newsletter.

As you reflect on gratitude, colonialism, and cranberry sauce enjoy this Patreon Freeview of Nate Le Blanc's radio show Fly Sporadic. Our Patreon subscribers know that Nate drops these themed (or non themed) music mixes every so often. Just one the perks of membership when you join the Dad Bod Rap Pod Patreon. You can get Fly Sporadic, Demone's playlist series DEM'S GEM's, special podcast segments (like our Wu Tang post game), and much, much, much. Patreon.com/dadbodrappod ($5 a month is nothing to a boss) We are thankful for YALL!

Conor Orr and Albert Breer break down the Browns big comeback against the Ravens that creates a tight AFC North race, the increasingly grim Bill Belichick situation in New England, why the Chargers defense still can't it going, Zach Wilson's amazing throws nestled in with more of his bad play, and the rest of the week ten slateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

RR The Wire 2330Z October 23, 2023 PRECEDENCE: ROUTINE RRDTG: 233023Z OCT 23ICOD: 230023Z OCT 23CONTROLS: Public ReleaseQQQQBLUF: ALASKA AIRLINES EXPERIENCES ATTEMPTED HIJACKING. CONFLICT CONTINUES IN MIDDLE EAST.-----BEGIN TEARLINE------International Events-Middle East Front: Rocket and Drone attacks on US military bases in the Middle East increase in frequency following increased tensions in the region. In Israel, the main offensive thrust into Gaza has not yet begun. Sporadic rocket attacks continue from Gaza as Israeli forces conduct limited clearance operations in some districts on the Gaza border.Substantial advertising campaigns are observed to be spreading regarding Western support for Israel. Children's content on various media platforms has been specifically targeted by ads encouraging support for Israel.South Africa: Economic Freedom Fighter (EFF) leader Julius Malema increases hostile rhetoric, declaring EFF support to Palestine. AC: The situation in South Africa has been tense for many months following Malema's calls for the murder of white farmers, but rhetoric has increased in severity following the conflict in the Middle East. EFF rallies in support of Palestine continue to be held in Pretoria.-HomeFront-USA: Tyson Foods announces major investment in Protix, a company dedicated to insect production. Reports indicate Protix intends to build an insect processing facility in the US with the goal of providing insect-based materials intended for human consumption. It is not clear as to how much Tyson has invested in this company.Terrorism Update: Horizon Flight 2059 (flying for Alaska Airlines) experiences attempted hijacking after an authorized jumpseat passenger attempts to shut down the engines mid-flight. The assailant also deployed engine fire suppression systems in an apparent attempt to bring the aircraft down. The two pilots flying the aircraft subdued the hijacker and landed safely. Details are vague at best, but officials state that the hijacker was an off-duty pilot who was properly authorized to fly in the jumpseat, as is standard practice on most airlines.-Analyst Comments-The attempted hijacking of AS2059 is significant as the attack was undertaken by an approved person. Based on the publicly available details following the incident, this was likely a very deliberate hijacking attempt. As the attacker likely could not reach the yoke, the attacker knew that the highest chance for success lay with shutting down the engines, and pulling the fire suppression T-handles. Both of which are reachable by someone standing behind the pilots on the Embraer E-175. This action would have resulted in shutting off hydraulics, fuel flow, and a number of other systems essential for flight. The chance that this was accidental is near zero; both moving the throttle and activating fire suppression systems are impossible to do without considerable, deliberate effort. Had the on-duty crew not rapidly physically engaged the hijacker in a vigorous manner, this incident could have had a different outcome. Fortunately, both pilots were able to regain control of the aircraft, and safely divert to PDX.Very few details (such as the motive for the attack) are likely to emerge following this incident, due to national security concerns. As the attacker was an approved person who was properly vetted and authorized, there is likely very little that can be done to prevent this from happening again. Though due to the unique nature of the attack, this is likely an isolated incident.-----END TEARLINE-----Analyst: S2AEND REPORTNNNN

RR The Wire 2330Z October 21, 2023 PRECEDENCE: ROUTINE RRDTG: 233021Z OCT 23ICOD: 230021Z OCT 23CONTROLS: Public ReleaseQQQQBLUF: ISRAEL CONTINUES TO MANDATE EVAC OF NORTHERN GAZA.-----BEGIN TEARLINE------International Events-Middle East Front: Israeli forces continue to drop leaflets urging a total evacuation of northern Gaza. Leaflets indicate that Israel will likely consider any person north of Wadi Gaza to be a threat. Israeli officials express concern with what is likely to become the Northern Front upon the invasion of Gaza. Local reports indicate small convoys carrying humanitarian aid have crossed the Rafah border crossing, with the Red Crescent taking the lead in distribution of aid resources. How much aid has been distributed is not currently known.Saudi/Iranian relations deepen following talks to impose sanctions on Israel. Sporadic drone attacks continue to target US military bases throughout the Middle East.Europe: Pro-Palestine demonstrations continue to grow in size and severity. In London today, over 100,000 protestors rallied to show support for Palestine.-HomeFront-USA: POL markets tighten as uncertainty in the Middle East impacts crude prices. Perhaps more significantly, OPEC members continue to cut production by 1.3 million BPD. Border Crisis: The US reports a total of 2.47 million encounters for FY 2023, which is the highest number of illegals encountered since records began.-Analyst Comments-While the world awaits Israel's next move, the Arab world is making moves of their own. Saudi Arabia and Iran, two nations which have historically had an icy relationship have experienced a thawing of tensions. Though no confirmation can be obtained, reportedly the IRGC Quds Force commander, BG Ismail Qa'ani has arrived in western Syria to coordinate the various pro-Iranian militant groups staged on the Israeli border. Though the veracity of this reporting cannot be judged, this would be another sign of preparations being made with the expectation of this conflict rapidly expanding. From the nation-state level, down to individual tribes, it is possible that many Islamic groups are putting aside their differences for the time being in order to focus on a common enemy: Israel and the nations that support her. These factors will play a role in everything from economics to general street violence as groups align with their historic allies, and even forge new temporary alliances as well.-----END TEARLINE-----Analyst: S2AEND REPORTNNNN

South Fulton, Georgia sounds like a damn party.  Chicago's best morning radio show now has a podcast! Don't forget to rate, review, and subscribe wherever you listen to podcasts and remember that the conversation always lives on the Q101 Facebook page.  The Q101 Morning Crew is live every morning from 6a-10a on Q101.    Subscribe to our channel HERE: https://www.youtube.com/@Q101 Like Q101 on Facebook HERE: https://www.facebook.com/q101chicago Follow Q101 on Twitter HERE: https://twitter.com/Q101Chicago Follow Q101 on Instagram HERE: https://www.instagram.com/q101chicago/?hl=en Follow Q101 on TikTok HERE: https://www.tiktok.com/@q101chicago?lang=enSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

On the Wednesday podcast, I get to talk with members of the Organize 365­® community as they share the challenges, progress, missteps and triumphs along their organizing journey. You can see and hear transformation in action. I look forward to helping YOU learn the skill of organization, too! In this episode, I introduce you to Jacquie Denny, a Cincinnati native and Founder of Everything But The House. I remember calling Jacquie many years ago to have breakfast to talk about Organize 365®. Jacquie had discovered her own successful business through settling her father's estate and I was looking to pick her brain. She watched as the auctioneer sold her father's items for pennies on the dollar and thought there just had to be a better way. She also knew that children or loved ones settling an estate likely have full time jobs on top of trying to settle an estate, which is like a full time job of its own. She stumbled into solving a large need for people in her surrounding area by sharing her lived experiences to make others' lives easier. Now Jacquie finds herself becoming like a family member, almost like a therapist, to families as they navigate this difficult time. Jacquie was an empty nester for 18 months till Jacquie's dad got a cancer diagnosis. Caring for your parents is so much different than caring for your children. You don't know how long they will be with you. You may not realize all the appointments they now have, prescriptions that need to be picked up, unexpected lengthy tests they may need. You may even need to cook for them, possibly feed them, and assist in daily hygiene. Unfortunately over the course of 10 years, Jacquie and her husband said goodbye to all of their parents. Jacquie really shared a lot about what it takes to care for loved ones and the toll it takes on the caregiver. And in the end, all of the arrangements that need to be made during an emotional time. Nowadays it's common to not live in the same state as your parents or siblings. Often, parents have remarried and we find ourselves as executors of multiple estates. As their decline begins, it's a good time to discuss with siblings, or whomever will be helping with caregiving, what the expectations are based on convenience, what your job will allow, and proximity to the loved one.  Jacquie had been a stay at home mom when her father passed. After settling one estate after another, her family defaulted to her because she was a stay at home mom and had done it before. Settling an estate is an all consuming process! Jacquie's business filled this void. She started working her business on the weekends while her husband traveled for work. Little did she know that her business would explode when she went online, with the help of her business partner Brian in 2008. At the end of the day, one of the things that helps Jacquie with her families is organization! Things are going to change and be unpredictable, but with organization it's easier to pivot. Jacquie's hope is that all of us will use our experiences and hand down advice to our children on how to survive it better. Do as we learned, not as we did. Jacquie's advice is… The more organized you can be, the better off you'll be because things continually change. Utilize a lot of communication and patience to sustain sibling/other caregiver relationships. Don't assume your support system knows what you need in your caregiving role.  If your loved one is not in a facility, contribute how you can remotely with: Sporadic visits where you assume a lot of the daily responsibilities to give siblings or whomever a break. Do some deep cleaning or make freezer meals for when you head home. Help them run errands or pick up their kids (your nieces/nephews) from sports or activities. Cold hard cash to cover the meals, gas, prescriptions, personal care items of your loved one. Be creative on how you can lighten the load and show you care. EPISODE RESOURCES: The Sunday Basket® Sign Up for the Organize 365® Newsletter  I am grateful that you are reaching out to share your stories and progress with me and with the Organize 365® community. If you are ready to share your story with us, please apply at https://organize365.com/wednesday. Did you enjoy this episode? Please leave a rating and review in your favorite podcast app. Share this episode with a friend and be sure to tag Organize 365® when you share on social media!

Bryan Kohberger's, 'I like to drive at night' defense may seem weak to most. But he's not the only one who has offered an alibi that makes little to no sense. Here's a look at some of the other dumbest alibis in history.  The "Twinkie Defense" (Dan White, 1978) Description: The 1978 murders of San Francisco Mayor George Moscone and Supervisor Harvey Milk shook the nation. The man responsible, Dan White, was a former San Francisco Board of Supervisors member. At his trial, the defense attorney presented a unique argument suggesting that White's consumption of junk food, particularly Twinkies, was symptomatic of his severe depression. This was not to argue that the Twinkies caused his actions, but rather to highlight his compromised mental state. The media latched onto this defense aspect and dubbed it the "Twinkie defense," a name stuck in popular culture. While the defense itself might seem trivial or laughable, its implications were anything but. Using this argument of diminished capacity, White was convicted of voluntary manslaughter instead of first-degree murder. The public's reaction was strong, leading to the White Night riots in San Francisco. The case and its outcome had a lasting impact on legal discussions about responsibility, mental health, and how they're addressed in the courtroom. The "Dog Ate My Homework" Defense (Andrew Zieleniewski, 1993) Description: Andrew Zieleniewski's defense during his murder trial in the UK was reminiscent of an oft-used childhood excuse: that his dog had consumed his homework, and he was at home during the crime's occurrence, trying to retrieve it. This alibi might seem almost humorous in its simplicity, but its utilization in a serious criminal trial underscores the lengths to which individuals might go to establish innocence. Despite the peculiar nature of the excuse, it didn't hold up in court. The jury dismissed his claim, and Zieleniewski was convicted. The case serves as a testament to the intricate and sometimes bizarre narratives defendants might weave to escape justice. The "Television Hypnosis" Alibi (Simon MacMillan, 1990s) Description: Simon MacMillan, accused of theft, presented one of the most unusual alibis: he claimed he was under the spell of a TV hypnosis show during his crime. While not a murder case, it remains noteworthy for its audacity. MacMillan's defense hinged on the idea that television could induce a state of suggestibility so profound that one could commit crimes without being aware. In a world where concerns about media's influence have always been rife, MacMillan's defense pushed the boundaries of these fears. However, courts, grounded in scientific reasoning, didn't give credence to this narrative, further reinforcing the necessity for evidence-based defenses. The "Sleepwalking Killer" (Kenneth Parks, 1987) Description: Kenneth Parks' case is remarkable in legal annals. Parks had a well-documented history of sleep disorders. One fateful night, he drove 20 kilometers to his in-laws' home, assaulted both, and killed his mother-in-law. He then drove to a police station, and confessed, but with a twist: he claimed he had done all of this while sleepwalking. Medical experts supported his claims, pointing to a rare form of sleep disorder. The jury faced a moral and legal dilemma: can someone be held responsible for actions committed in a state they have no control over or recall of? Ultimately, Parks was acquitted, leading to global discussions about sleep disorders, legal responsibility, and where the two intersect. The "Werewolf Defense" (Bill Ramsey, 1980s) Description: Bill Ramsey's claims were perhaps more fitting for a horror movie script than a courtroom. During the 1980s in the UK, after a series of violent incidents, Ramsey proclaimed that he occasionally transformed into a werewolf, losing control during these episodes. Sporadic and unpredictable violent outbursts backed his claims, but no concrete evidence supported the supernatural aspect of his assertions. In 1989, after much public attention and media coverage, Ramsey underwent an exorcism, believed by some to rid him of his "werewolf spirit." While his claims were never used as a formal defense in court, they added a chapter to the annals of bizarre explanations for violent behavior. Each of these cases not only underscores the complexities of the human psyche and the lengths individuals might go to distance themselves from their actions but also challenges legal systems worldwide to consider and adapt to ever-evolving narratives of responsibility. Want to listen to ALL of our podcasts AD-FREE? Subscribe through APPLE PODCASTS, and try it for three days free: https://tinyurl.com/ycw626tj Follow Our Other Cases: https://www.truecrimetodaypod.com The latest on Catching the Long Island Serial Killer, Chad & Lori Daybell, The Murder of Ana Walshe, Alex Murdaugh, Bryan Kohberger, Lucy Letby, Kouri Richins, Justice for Harmony Montgomery, The Murder of Stephen Smith, The Murder of Madeline Kingsbury, and much more! Listen at https://www.truecrimetodaypod.com