Podcasts about Torm

Flere regnskaber vælter ind torsdag formiddag, men særligt ét kan - måske - give indsigt i, hvordan verden er ved at udvikle sig. Friske tal fra AP Møller - Mærsk er nemlig et godt målepunkt for, hvor godt eller skidt det står til med forsyningskæder og lysten til at handle på tværs af globale grænser. Millionærklubben ser på sagen, samler op på onsdagens centralbankmøde i USA og tjekker derudover også tal fra Zealand Pharma, Novonesis og Torm med chefanalytiker Lau Svenssen i studiet og aktiestrateg Michelle Nørgaard på telefonen. Vært: Bodil Johanne GantzelSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Can You Segway?Book 3 in 18 parts, By FinalStand. Listen to the ► Podcast at Explicit Novels.So exactly who was going to be sympathetic to their plight, who we cared about?Beyond my fevered dream of making a difference there was a pinch of reality. See, the Cabindans and the people of Zaire were both ethnic Bakongo and the Bakongo of Zaire had also once had their own, independent (until 1914) kingdom which was now part of Angola. The Bakongo were major factions in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) -(formerly for a short time known as the nation of Zaire, from here on out to be referred to as the DRC and in the running for the most fucked up place on the planet Earth, more on that later)- and Congo (the nation) yet a minority in Angola. Having an independent nation united along ethnic and linguistic lines made sense and could expect support from their confederates across international boundaries.The Liberation Air ForceThe Earth & Sky operated under one constant dilemma ~ when would Temujin make his return? Since they didn't know and it was their job to be prepared for the eventuality if it happened tomorrow, or a century down the line, they 'stockpiled', and 'stockpiled' and 'stockpiled'.That was why they maintained large horse herds and preserved the ancient arts of Asian bowyers, armoring and weapons-craft. That was why they created secret armories, and sulfur and saltpeter sites when musketry and cannons became the new ways of warfare. They secured sources of phosphates and petroleum when they became the new thing, and so on.All of this boiled over to me being shown yet again I worked with clever, creative and under-handed people. The Khanate came up with a plan for a 'Union' Air Force {Union? More on that later} within 24 hours, and it barely touched any of their existing resources. How did they accomplish this miracle? They had stockpiled and maintained earlier generation aircraft because they didn't know when Temujin would make his re-appearance.They'd also trained pilots and ground crews for those aircraft. As you might imagine, those people grew old just as their equipment did. In time, they went into the Earth & Sky's Inactive Reserves ~ the rank & file over the age of 45. You never were 'too old' to serve in some capacity though most combat-support related work ended at 67.When Temujin made his return and the E&S transformed into the Khanate, those people went to work bringing their lovingly cared for, aging equipment up to combat-alert readiness. If the frontline units were decimated, they would have to serve, despite the grim odds of their survival. It was the terrible acceptance the Chinese would simply possess so much more war-making material than they did.Well, the Khanate kicked the PRC's ass in a titanic ass-whooping no one (else) had seen coming, or would soon forget. Factory production and replacement of worn machines was in stride to have the Khanate's Air Force ready for the next round of warfare when the Cease-fire ended and the Reunification War resumed.Always a lower priority, the Khanate military leadership was considering deactivating dozens of these reserve unit when suddenly the (Mongolian) Ikh khaany khairt akh dáé (me) had this hare-brained scheme about helping rebels in Africa, West Africa, along the Gulf of Guinea coast/Atlantic Ocean, far, far away, and it couldn't look like the Khanate was directly involved.They barely knew where Angola was. They had to look up Cabinda to figure out precisely where that was. They brought in some of their 'reservist' air staff to this briefing and one of them, a woman (roughly a third of the E&S 'fighting'/non-frontline forces were female), knew what was going on. Why?She had studied the combat records and performance of the types of aircraft she'd have to utilize... back in the 1980's and 90's and Angola had been a war zone rife with Soviet (aka Khanate) material back then. Since she was both on the ball, bright and knew the score, the War Council put her in overall command. She knew what was expected of her and off she went, new staff in hand. She was 64 years old, yet as ready and willing to serve as any 20 year old believer in the Cause.Subtlety, scarcity and audacity were the watchwords of the day. The Khanate couldn't afford any of their front-line aircraft for this 'expedition'. They really couldn't afford any of their second-rate stuff either. Fortunately, they had some updated third-rate war-fighting gear still capable of putting up an impressive show in combat ~ providing they weren't going up against a top tier opponents.For the 'volunteers' of the Union Air Force, this could very likely to be a one-way trip. They all needed crash courses (not a word any air force loves, I know) in Portuguese though hastily provided iPhones with 'apps' to act as translators were deemed to be an adequate stop-gap measure. Besides, they were advised to avoid getting captured at all cost. The E&S couldn't afford the exposure. Given the opportunity ~ this assignment really was going above and beyond ~ not one of these forty-six to sixty-seven year olds backed out.No, they rolled out fifty of their antiquated aircraft, designs dating back to the 1950's through the mid-70's, and prepared them for the over 10,000 km journey to where they were 'needed most'. 118 pilots would go (72 active plus 46 replacements) along with 400 ground crew and an equally aged air defense battalion (so their air bases didn't get blown up). Security would be provided by 'outsiders' ~ allies already on the ground and whatever rebels could be scrounged up. After the initial insertion, the Indian Air Force would fly in supplies at night into the Cabinda City and Soyo Airports.The composition,14 Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-21 jet fighters ~ though she entered service in 1959, these planes' electronics were late 20th century and she was a renowned dogfighter. 12 were the Mig-21-97 modernized variant and the other two were Mig-21 UM two-seater trainer variants which could double as reconnaissance fighters if needed.14 Sukhoi Su-22 jet fighter-bombers ~ the original design, called the Su-17, came out in 1970, the first 12 were variants with the 22M4 upgrade were an early-80's package. The other 2 were Su-22U two-seat trainers which, like their Mig-21 comrades, doubled as reconnaissance fighters. The Su-22M4's would be doing the majority of the ground attack missions for the Cabindans, though they could defend themselves in aerial combat if necessary.6 Sukhoi Su-24M2 supersonic attack aircraft ~ the first model rolled off the production lines in the Soviet Union back in 1974. By far the heaviest planes in the Cabindan Air Force, the Su-24M2's would act as their 'bomber force' as well as anti-ship deterrence.8 Mil Mi-24 VM combat helicopters ~ introduced in 1972 was still a lethal combat machine today. Unlike the NATO helicopter force, the Mi-24's did double duty as both attack helicopter and assault transports at the same time.4 Mil Mi-8 utility helicopters, first produced in 1967. Three would act as troop/cargo transports (Mi-8 TP) while the fourth was configured as a mobile hospital (the MI-17 1VA).4 Antonov An-26 turboprop aircraft, two to be used as tactical transports to bring in supplies by day and two specializing in electronic intelligence aka listening to what the enemy was up to. Though it entered production in 1969, many still remained flying today.2 Antonov An-71M AEW&C twin-jet engine aircraft. These were an old, abandoned Soviet design the Earth & Sky had continued working on primarily because the current (1970's) Russian Airborne Early Warning and Control bird had been both huge and rather ineffective ~ it couldn't easily identify low-flying planes in the ground clutter so it was mainly only good at sea. Since the E&S planned to mostly fight over the land,They kept working on the An-71 which was basically 1977's popular An-72 with some pertinent design modifications (placing the engines below the wings instead of above them as on the -72 being a big one). To solve their radar problem, they stole some from the Swedish tech firm Ericsson, which hadn't been foreseen to be a problem before now.See, the Russians in the post-Soviet era created a decent AEW&C craft the E&S gladly stole and copied the shit out of for their front line units and it was working quite nicely ~ the Beriev A-50, and wow, were the boys in the Kremlin pissed off about that these days. Whoops, or was that woot?Now, the Khanate was shipping two An-71's down to Cabinda and somewhere along the line someone just might get a 'feel' for the style of radar and jamming the Cabindans were using aka the Swedish stuff in those An-71's. The Erieye radar system could pick out individual planes at 280 miles. The over-all system could track 60 targets and plot out 10 intercepts simultaneously. NATO, they were not, but in sub-Saharan Africa, there were none better.Anyway, so why was any of this important?Why the old folks with their ancient machines? As revealed, since the Earth & Sky had no idea when Temüjin would return, they were constantly squirreling away equipment. World War 2 gave them unequaled access to Soviet military technology and training.Afterwards, under Josef Stalin's direction, thousands of Russian and German engineers and scientists were exiled to Kazakhstan, Turkmenistan, Tajikistan, and Kyrgyzstan who were then snatched up (reportedly died in the gulags/trying to escape) and the E&S began building mirror factories modeled on the 'then current' Soviet production lines.So, by the early 1950's, the E&S was building, flying and maintaining Soviet-style Antonov, Beriev, Ilyushin, Myasishchev, Mikoyan-Gurevich, Sukhoi, Tupolev and Yakovlev airplanes. First in small numbers because their pool of pilots and specialists was so small.The E&S remedied this by creating both their own 'private' flight academies and technical schools. They protected their activities with the judicious use of bribes (they were remarkably successful with their economic endeavors on both side of the Iron Curtain) and murders (including the use of the Ghost Tigers).By 1960, the proto-Khanate had an air force. Through the next two decades they refined and altered their doctrine ~ moving away from the Soviet doctrine to a more pure combined-arms approach (the Soviets divided their air power into four separate arms ~ ADD (Long Range Aviation), FA (Front Aviation), MTA (Military Transport Aviation) and the V-PVO (Soviet Air Defenses ~ which controlled air interceptors).).It wasn't until the collapse of the Soviet Union and the independence of the various former SSR's that the E&S program really began to hit its stride. Still, while Russia faltered, China's PLAAF (Peoples' Liberation Army Air Force) began to take off. Since the Chinese could produce so much more, the E&S felt it had to keep those older planes and crews up to combat readiness. The younger field crews and pilots flew the newer models as they rolled off the secret production lines.Then the Unification War appeared suddenly, the E&S-turned Khanate Air Force skunked their PLAAF rivals due to two factors, a surprise attack on a strategic level and the fatal poisoning of their pilots and ground crews before they even got into the fight. For those Chinese craft not destroyed on the ground, the effects of Anthrax eroded their fighting edge. Comparable technology gave the Khanate their critical victory and Air Supremacy over the most important battlefields.What did this meant for those out-of-date air crews and pilots who had been training to a razor's edge for a month now? Their assignment had been to face down the Russians if they invaded. They would take their planes up into the fight even though this most likely would mean their deaths, but they had to try.When Operation Fun House put Russia in a position where she wasn't likely to jump on the Khanate, this mission's importance faded. The Russian Air Force was far more stretched than the Khanate's between her agitations in the Baltic and her commitments in the Manchurian, Ukrainian, Chechen and Georgian theaters.With more new planes rolling off the production lines, these reservist units began dropping down the fuel priority list, which meant lowering their flight times thus readiness. Only my hare-brained scheme had short-circuited their timely retirement. Had I realized I was getting people's grandparents killed, I would have probably made the same call anyway. We needed them.The KanateThe Khanate's #1 air superiority dogfighter was the Mig-35F. The #2 was the Mig-29. No one was openly discussing the Khanate's super-stealthy "Su-50", if that was what it was, because its existence 'might' suggest the Khanate also stole technology from the Indian defense industry, along with their laundry list of thefts from South Korea, Japan, Taiwan, the PRC, Russia and half of NATO.Her top multi-role fighters were the Su-47, Su-35S and Su-30SM. The Su-30 'Flanker-C/MK2/MKI were their 2nd team with plenty of 3rd team Su-27M's still flying combat missions as well.Strike fighters? There weren't enough Su-34's to go around yet, so the Su-25MS remained the Khanate's dedicated Close Air Assault model.Medium transport aircraft? The An-32RE and An-38. They had small, large and gargantuan transports as well.Bombers? The rather ancient jet-powered Tu-160M2's and Tu-22M2's as well as the even older yet still worthwhile turboprops ~ from 1956's ~ the Tu-95M S16.Helicopters? While they still flew updated variants of the Mil Mi-8/17 as military transports, the more optimized Kamov Ka-52 and Mil Mi-28 had replaced them in the assault role.Bizarrely, the Khanate had overrun several Chinese production lines of the aircraft frames and components ~ enough to complete fairly modern PLAAF (Peoples Liberation Army Air Force) FC-1 and J-10 (both are small multi-role fighter remarkably similar to the US F-16 with the FC-1 being the more advanced model, using shared Chinese-Pakistani technology and was designed for export,).They did have nearly two dozen to send, but they didn't have the pilots and ground crews trained to work with them, plus the FC-1 cost roughly $32 million which wasn't fundage any legitimate Cabindan rebels could get their hands on, much less $768 million (and that would just be for the planes, not the weeks' worth of fuel, parts and munitions necessary for what was forthcoming).Meanwhile, except for the An-26, which you could get for under $700,000 and the An-71, which were only rendered valuable via 'black market tech', none of the turboprop and jet aircraft the Khanate was sending were what any sane military would normally want. The helicopters were expensive ~ the 'new' models Mi-24's cost $32 million while the Mi-17's set you back $17 million. The one's heading to Cabinda didn't look 'new'.The Opposition:In contrast, the Angolan Air Force appeared far larger and more modern. Appearances can be deceptive, and they were. Sure, the models of Russian and Soviet-made aircraft they had in their inventory had the higher numbers ~ the Su-25, -27 and -30 ~ plus they had Mig-21bis's, Mig-23's and Su-22's, but things like training and up-keep didn't appear to be priorities for the Angolans.When you took into account the rampant corruption infecting all levels of Angolan government, the conscript nature of their military, the weakness of their technical educational system, the complexity of any modern combat aircraft and the reality that poor sods forced into being Air Force ground crewmen hardly made the most inspired technicians, or most diligent care-takers of their 'valuable' stockpiles (which their officers all too often sold on the black market anyway), things didn't just look bleak for the Angolan Air Force, they were a tsunami of cumulative factors heading them for an epic disaster.It wasn't only their enemies who derided their Air Force's lack of readiness. Their allies constantly scolded them about it too. Instead of trying to fix their current inventory, the Angolans kept shopping around for new stuff. Since 'new'-new aircraft was beyond what they wanted to spend (aka put too much of a dent in the money they were siphoning off to their private off-shore accounts), they bought 'used' gear from former Soviet states ~ Belarus, Russia and Ukraine ~ who sold them stuff they had left abandoned in revetments (open to the elements to slowly rot) on the cheap.To add to the insanity, the Angolans failed to keep up their maintenance agreements so their newly fixed high-tech machines often either couldn't fly, or flew without critical systems, like radar, avionics and even radios. Maybe that wasn't for the worst because after spending millions on these occasionally-mobile paperweights, the Angolans bought the least technologically advanced missile, gun and rocket systems they could get to put on these flying misfortunes.On the spread sheets, Angola had 18 Su-30K's, 18 Su-27, 12 Su-25's, 14 Su-22's, 22 Mig-23's, 23 Mig-21bis's and 6 Embraer EMB 314 Super Tucano (a turboprop aircraft tailor-made for counter-insurgency operations), 105 helicopters with some combative ability and 21 planes with some airlift capacity. That equated to 81 either air superiority, or multi-role jet fighters versus the 12 Union Air Force (actually the Bakongo Uni o de Cabinda e Zaire, For as Armadas de Liberta  o, For a Area ~ Liberation Armed Forces, Air Force (BUCZ-FAL-FA) Mig-21-97's.It would seem lopsided except for the thousands of hours of flight experience the 'Unionists' enjoyed over their Angolan rivals. You also needed to take into account the long training and fanatic dedication of their ground crews to their pilots and their craft. Then you needed to take into account every Unionist aircraft, while an older airframe design, had updated (usually to the year 2000) technology lovingly cared for, as if the survival of their People demanded it.A second and even more critical factor was the element of surprise. At least the PRC and the PLAAF had contingencies for attacks from their neighbors in the forefront of their strategic planning. The Angolans? The only country with ANY air force in the vicinity was the Republic of South Africa (RSA) and they had ceased being a threat with the end of Apartheid and the rise of majority Black rule in that country nearly two decades earlier.In the pre-dawn hours of 'Union Independence Day', the FAL-FA was going to smash every Angolan Air base and air defense facility within 375 miles of Cabinda (the city). Every three hours after that, they would be hitting another target within their designated 'Exclusion Zone'. Yes, this 'Exclusion Zone' included a 'tiny' bit of DRC (Democratic Republic of Congo) territory. The DRC didn't have an air force to challenge them though, so,Inside this 'Exclusion Zone', anything moving by sea, river, road, rail, or air without Unionist governmental approval was subject to attack, which would require neutral parties to acknowledge some semblance of a free and independent B U C Z. Worse for Angola, this 'Zone' included Angola's capital and its largest port, Luanda, plus four more of their ten largest urban centers. This could be an economic, military and humanitarian catastrophe if mishandled.The Angolan Army did not have significant anti-aircraft assets. Why would they? Remember, no one around them had much of an air force to worry about. The FAL-FA in turn could hit military convoys with TV-guided munitions 'beyond line of sight', rendering what they did have useless. It got worse for the Army after dark. The FAL-FA could and would fly at night whereas the average Angolan formation had Zip-Zero-Nadda night fighting capacity.Then geography added its own mountain of woes. As far as Cabinda was concerned, there was no direct land line to their border from Angola. Their coastal road only went as far as the port of Soyo where the Congo River hit the South Atlantic Ocean. Across that massive gap was the DRC where the road was not picked back up. Far up the coast was the DRC town of Muanda (with an airport) and though they did have a road which went north, it did not continue to the Cabindan border.Nope. To get at Cabinda from the south meant a long, torturous travel through northeastern Angola, into the heart of the DRC then entailed hooking west to some point 'close' to the Cabindan frontier before finally hoofing it overland through partially cleared farmland and jungle. Mind you, the DRC didn't have a native air force capable of protecting the Angolans in their territory so,In fact the only 'road' to Cabinda came from the Republic of Congo (Congo) to the north and even that was a twisted route along some really bad, swampy terrain. This had been the pathway of conquest the Angolans took 39 years earlier. The difference being the tiny bands of pro-independence Cabindan guerillas back then couldn't hold a candle to the Amazons fighting to free Cabinda this time around in numbers, zeal, training and up-to-date equipment.Next option ~ to come by sea. They would face a few, stiff problems, such as the FAL-FA having ship-killer missiles, the Angolan Navy not being able to defend them and the Unionists having no compunction to not strike Pointe-Noire in the 'not so neutral' Republic of the Congo if they somehow began unloading Angolan troops. It seemed the Republic of the Congo didn't have much of an Air Force either.Before you think the FAL-FA was biting off more than they could chew, Cabinda, the province, was shaped somewhat like the US State of Delaware, was half the size of Connecticut (Cabinda was 2,810 sq. mi. to Conn.'s 5,543 sq. mi.) and only the western 20% was relatively open countryside where the Angolan Army's only advantage ~ they possessed armed fighting vehicles while the 'Unionists' did not (at this stage of planning) ~ could hopefully come into play.Centered at their capital, Cabinda (City), jets could reach any point along their border within eight minutes. Helicopters could make it in fifteen. To be safe, some of the FAL-FA would base at the town of Belize which was in the northern upcountry and much tougher to get at with the added advantage the Angolans wouldn't be expecting the FAL-FA to be using the abandoned airfield there, at least initially.Where they afraid attacking Angolan troops in the DRC would invite war with the DRC? Sure, but letting the Angolans reach the border unscathed was worse. Besides, the DRC was in such a mess it needed 23,000 UN Peacekeepers within her borders just to keep the country from falling apart. Barring outside, read European, intervention, did "Democratically-elected since 2001" President (for Life) Joseph Kabila want the FAL-FA to start dropping bombs on his capital, Kinshasa, which was well within reach of all their aircraft?Congo (the country), to the north, wasn't being propped up by the UN, or anything else except ill intentions. In reality, it hardly had much of a military at all. Its officer corps was chosen for political reliability, not merit, or capability. Their technology was old Cold War stuff with little effort to update anything and, if you suspected corruption might be a problem across all spectrums of life, you would 'probably' be right about that too.If you suspected the current President had been in charge for a while, you would be correct again (1979-1992 then 2001- and the 'whoops' was when he accidently let his country experiment with democracy which led to two civil wars). If you suspected he was a life-long Communist (along with the Presidents of the DRC and Angola), you'd be right about that as well. Somehow their shared Marxist-Leninist-Communist ideology hadn't quite translated over to alleviating the grinding poverty in any of those countries despite their vast mineral wealth,At this point in the region's history, little Cabinda had everything to gain by striving for independence and the vast majority of 'warriors' who could possibly be sent against her had terribly little to gain fighting and dying trying to stop them from achieving her goal. After all, their lives weren't going to get any better and with the Amazons ability ~ nay willingness ~ to commit battlefield atrocities, those leaders were going to find it hard going to keep sending their men off to die.And then, it got even worse.See, what I had pointed out was there were two oil refineries in Angola, and neither was in Cabinda. Cabinda would need a refinery to start making good on their oil wealth ~ aka economically bribe off the Western economies already shaken over the Khanate's first round of aggressions.But wait! There was an oil refinery just across the Congo River from Cabinda ~ which meant it was attached to mainland Angola. That had to be a passel of impossible news, right?Nope. As I said earlier, it seemed the people of northern Angola were the same racial group as the Cabindans AND majority Catholic while the ruling clique wasn't part of their ethnic confederacy plus the farther south and east into Angola you went, the less Catholic it became.But it got better. This province was historically its own little independent kingdom (called the Kingdom of Kongo) to boot! It had been abolished by Portugal back in 1914.The 'good' news didn't end there. Now, it wasn't as if the leadership of Angola was spreading the wealth around to the People much anyway, but these northerners had been particularly left out of this Marxist version of 'Trickle Down' economics.How bad was this? This northwestern province ~ called Zaire ~ didn't have any railroads, or paved roads, linking it to the rest of the freaking country. The 'coastal road' entered the province, but about a third of the way up ran into this river, which they'd failed to bridge (you had to use a single track bridge farther to the northeast, if you can believe it). It wasn't even a big river. It was still an obstacle though.How did the Angolan government and military planned to get around? Why by air and sea, of course. Well, actually by air. Angola didn't have much of a merchant marine, or Navy, to make sealift a serious consideration. Within hours of the 'Union Declaration of Independence' anything flying anywhere north of the Luanda, the capital of Angola, would essentially be asking to be blown out of the sky.Along the border between Zaire province and the rest of Angola were precisely two chokepoints. By 'chokepoints', I meant places where a squad (10 trained, modernly-equipped troopers) could either see everything for miles & miles over pretty much empty space along a river valley and the only bridge separating Zaire province from the south, or overlook a ravine which the only road had to pass through because of otherwise bad-ass, broken terrain.Two.Zaire Province had roughly the same population as Cabinda ~ 600,000. Unlike Cabinda, which consisted of Cabinda City plus a few tiny towns and rugged jungles, Zaire had two cities ~ Soyo, with her seventy thousand souls plus the refinery at the mouth of the Congo River, and M'banza-Kongo, the historical capital of the Kingdom of Kongo, spiritual center of the Bakongo People (who included the Cabindans) and set up in the highlands strategically very reminiscent of Điện Biàn Phủ.Of Zaire's provincial towns, the only other strategic one was N'Zeto with her crappy Atlantic port facility and 2,230 meter grass airport. The town was the northern terminus of the National Road 100 ~ the Coastal Road. It terminated because of the Mebridege River. There wasn't a bridge at N'Zeto though there was a small one several miles upstream. N'Zeto was also where the road from provinces east of Zaire ended up, so you had to have N'Zeto ~ and that tiny bridge ~ to move troops overland anywhere else in Zaire Province.So you would think it would be easy for the Angolan Army to defend then, except of how the Amazons planned to operate. They would infiltrate the area first then 'rise up in rebellion'. Their problem was the scope of the operation had magnified in risk of exposure, duration and forces necessary for success.The serious issue before Saint Marie and the Host in Africa were the first two. They could actually move Amazons from Brazil and North America to bolster their numbers for the upcoming offensive. Even in the short-short term, equipment wouldn't be a serious problem. What the Amazons dreaded was being left in a protracted slugfest with the Angolan Army which the Condottieri could jump in on. The Amazons exceedingly preferred to strike first then vanish.There was reason to believe a tiny number could have stayed behind in Cabinda to help the locals prepare their military until they could defend themselves. They would need more than a hundred Amazons if Cabinda wanted to incorporate Zaire. The answer was to call back their newfound buddy, the Great Khan. While he didn't have much else he could spare (the Khanate was ramping up for their invasion of the Middle East after all, the Kurds needed the help), he had other allies he could call on.India couldn't help initially since they were supposed to supply the 'Peace-keepers' once a cease-fire had been arranged. That left Temujin with his solid ally, Vietnam, and his far shakier allies, the Republic of China and Japan.First off ~ Japan could not help, which meant they couldn't supply troops who might very well end up dead, or far worse, captured.. What they did have was a surplus of older equipment the ROC troops were familiar with, so while the ROC was gearing up for their own invasion of mainland China in February, they were willing to help the Chinese kill Angolans, off the books, of course.The ROC was sending fifteen hundred troops the Khanate's way to help in this West African adventure with the understanding they'd be coming home by year's end. With Vietnam adding over eight hundred of her own Special Forces, the Amazons had the tiny 'allied' army they could leave shielding Cabinda/Zaire once the first round of blood-letting was over.To be 'fair', the Republic of China and Vietnam asked for 'volunteers'. It wasn't like either country was going to declare war on Angola directly. Nearly a thousand members of Vietnam's elite 126th Regiment of the 5th Brigade (Đặc cáng bộ) took early retirement then misplaced their equipment as they went to update their visas and inoculations before heading out for the DRC (some would be slipping over the DRC/Cabindan border).On Taiwan, it was the men and women of the 602nd Air Cavalry Brigade, 871st Special Operations Group and 101st Amphibious Reconnaissance Battalion who felt the sudden desire to 'seek enlightenment elsewhere, preferably on another continent'.They too were off to the Democratic Republic of Congo, man that country was a mess and their border security wasn't worth writing home about, that's for damn sure, via multiple Southeast Asian nations. Besides, they were being issued fraudulently visas which showed them to be from the People's Republic of China, not the ROC/Taiwan. If they were captured, they were to pretend to "be working for a Communist Revolution inside Angola and thus to be setting all of Africa on fire!" aka be Mainland Chinese.There, in the DRC, these Chinese stumbled across, some Japanese. These folks hadn't retired. No. They were on an extended assignment for the UN's mission in, the DRC. OH! And look! They'd brought tons of surplus, outdated Japanese Self Defense Forces' equipment with them, and there just so happened to be some Taiwanese who had experience in using such equipment (both used US-style gear).And here was Colonel Yoshihiro Isami of the Chūō Sokuō Shūdan (Japan's Central Readiness Force) wondering why he and his hastily assembled team had just unloaded,18 Fuji/Bell AH-1S Cobra Attack helicopters,6 Kawasaki OH-6D Loach Scout helicopters,12 Fuji-Bell 204-B-2 Hiyodori Utility helicopters,6 Kawasaki/Boeing CH-47JA Chinook Transport helicopters and4 Mitsubishi M U-2L-1 Photo Reconnaissance Aircraft.Yep! 46 more aircraft for the FAL-FA!Oh, and if this wasn't 'bad enough', the Chinese hadn't come alone. They'd brought some old aircraft from their homes to aid in the upcoming struggle. Once more, these things were relics of the Cold War yet both capable fighting machines and, given the sorry state of the opposition, definitely quite deadly. A dozen F-5E Tiger 2000 configured primarily for air superiority plus two RF-5E Tigergazer for reconnaissance, pilots plus ground crews, of course.Thus, on the eve of battle, the FAL-FA had become a true threat. Sure, all of its planes (and half of its pilots) were pretty old, but they were combat-tested and in numbers and experience no other Sub-Saharan African nation could match.The Liberation Ground Forces:But wait, there was still the niggling little problem of what all those fellas were going to fight with once they were on the ground. Assault/Battle rifles, carbines, rifles, pistols, PDW, SMGs as bullets, grenades and RPG's were all terrifyingly easy to obtain. The coast of West Africa was hardly the Port of London as far as customs security went. They were going to need some bigger toys and their host nations were going to need all their native hardware for their upcoming battles at home.And it wasn't like you could advertise for used IFV (Infantry Fighting Vehicles), APCs (armored personnel carriers) and tanks on e-Bay, Amazon.com, or Twitter. If something modern US, or NATO, was captured rolling around the beautiful Angolan countryside, shooting up hostile Angolans, all kinds of head would roll in all kinds of countries, unless the country,A) had an Executive Branch and Judiciary who wouldn't ask (or be answering) too many uncomfortable questions,B) wasn't all that vulnerable to international pressure,C) really needed the money and,D) didn't give a fuck their toys would soon be seen on BBC/CNN/Al Jazeera blowing the ever-living crap out of a ton of Africans aka doing what they were advertised to do and doing it very well in the hands of capable professionals.And politics was kind enough to hand the freedom-loving people of Cabinda & Zaire a winner, and it wasn't even from strangers, or at least people all that strange to their part of the Globe. If you would have no idea who to look for, you wouldn't be alone.That was the magic of the choice. See, the last three decades had seen the entire Globe take a colossal dump on them as a Nation and a People. They were highly unpopular for all sorts of things, such as Crimes Against Humanity and 'no', we were not talking about the Khanate.We would be talking about Република Србија / Republika Srbija aka Serbia aka the former Yugoslavia who had watched all their satellite minions (Slovenia, Croatia, Bosnia & Herzegovina, Montenegro, Kosovo and Macedonia) slip away. Despite being reduced to a tiny fraction of their former selves thus fighting two incredibly brutal and bloody World Wars for nothing, Serbia insisted on maintaining a robust armaments industry.Mind you, they didn't make the very best stuff on the planet. That didn't stop them from trying though. Of equal importance was their geographic location and the above mentioned desire for some hard currency without asking too many questions. The geography was simple, you could move even heavy gear unnoticed from central Serbia to the Montenegrin port of Bar by rail and load them up on freighters and off to the Congo you went.The Serbians produced an APC called the BVP M-80A's which weren't blowing anyone's minds away when they started rolling off the production lines back in 1982, plus some over-eager types on the Serbian Army's payroll sweetened the deal by offering 'the rebels' some BVP M-80 KC's and a KB as well.Then they slathered on the sugary-sweet Maple syrup by upgrading a few of the M-80A's to BVP M-98A's. Why would they be so generous? The KC's and KB were the Command & Control variants, so that made sense (C = company & B = battalion commander). The -98A had never been tested in the field before and they were kind of curious how the new turrets (which was the major difference) would behave. 'Our' procurement agents didn't quibble. We needed the gear.Besides, these Slavic entrepreneurs gave them an inside track on some 'disarmed/mothballed' Czech (introduced in 1963) armored mobile ambulances and Polish BWP-1 (first rolled out in 1966) APC's which were either in, or could be quickly configured into, the support variants those ground-fighters would need. The 'disarmed' part was 'fixable', thanks to both the Serbians and Finland. The 'missing' basic weaponry was something the Serbians could replace with virtually identical equipment.It just kept getting better. Unknown to me at the time, the Finnish firm, Patria Hágglunds, had sold twenty-two of their 'most excellent' AMOS turrets ~ they are a twin 120 mm mortar system ~ then the deal fell through. Whoops! Should have guarded that warehouse better. Those bitches were on a cargo plane bound for Albania inside of six hours.The ammunition for them was rather unique. Thankfully, it was uniquely sold by the Swiss, who had no trouble selling it to Serbia, thank you very much! Twenty-two BWP-1's became mobile artillery for the Unionist freedom fighters, though I understood the ship ride with the Serbian and Chinese technicians was loads of fun as they struggled to figured out how to attach those state-of-the-art death-dealing turrets to those ancient contraptions.To compensate, the Serbians added (aka as long as our money was good) two Nora B-52 155 mm 52-calibre mobile artillery pieces and one battery of Orkan CER MLRS (Multiple Launch Rocket System) for long-range artillery, two batteries of their Oganj 2000 ER MRLS for medium range carnage and six batteries of their M-94 MRLS for 'close support' as well. More field-testing new gear for the "freedom fighters" We also managed to 'purchase' ten M-84AS Main Battle tanks plus an M-84A1 armor recovery vehicle. It should have been twelve tanks, but two had 'loading issues'.Not to be deterred, our busy little procurement-beavers discovered four tanks no one was using, in neighboring Croatia. Why wasn't anyone immediately keen on their placement? They were two sets of prototypes, Croatia's improvements on the M-84; the M-95 Degman which was a 'failed redesign' and the M-84D, which was a vast up-grade for the M-84 line which had been sidelined by the 2008 Global economic collapse, after which the project stagnated.It seemed they were all in working order because late one night 'my people' exited a Croatian Army base with them, never to be seen again, until two weeks later when an intrepid news crew caught the distinctive form of the M-95 sending some sweet 125 mm loving the Angolan Army's way. Whoops yet again! At least they hit what they were aiming at and destroyed what they hit, right?By then, millions of other people would be going 'what the fuck?' right along with them as Cabinda's camouflage- and mask-wearing rebel army was laying the smack-down on the Angolans. That was okay; over a million 'free Cabindan Unionists' were in the same boat. Over a thousand Asians with their mostly-female militant translators were right there to prop up their 'Unionist Allies', but then they were the ones with the tanks, armored vehicles, planes and guns, so they were less worried than most.To pilot these tanks, APC, IFV and man this artillery, they had to go back to the Khanate. Sure enough, they had some old tankers used to crewing the T-72 from which the M-84's and -95 Degman were derived. They'd also need drivers for those BVP M-80A's and Polish BWP-1's and OT-64 SKOT's... who were, again, derived from old Soviet tech (just much better). The Serbian artillery was similar enough to Soviet stuff, but with enough new tech to make it 'more fun' for the reservists to 'figure out' how to use.More volunteers for the Liberation Armed Forces! More Apple sales, great apps and voice modulation software so that the vehicle commanders would be heard communicating in Portuguese if someone was eavesdropping. As a final offering the Turkish Navy spontaneously developed some plans to test their long range capabilities by going to, the South Atlantic.On the final leg they would have six frigates and two submarines, enough to give any navy in the region, which wasn't Brazil, something to think about. This was a show of force, not an actual threat though. If anyone called their bluff, the Khanate-Turkish forces would have to pull back. These were not assets my Brother, the Great Khan, could afford to gamble and lose.If someone didn't call that bluff, he was also sending two smaller, older corvettes and three even smaller, but newer, fast attack boats, a "gift" to the Unionists ASAP. The frigates would then race home, they had 'other' issues to deal with while the submarines would hang around for a bit. The naval gift was necessitated by the reality the Unionists would have to press their claim to their off-shore riches and that required a naval force Angola couldn't hope to counter.As things were developing, it was reckoned since a build-up of such momentous land and air power couldn't be disguised, it had to happen in a matter of days ~ four was decided to be the minimum amount of time. More than that and the government of the Democratic Republic might start asking far too many questions our hefty bribes and dubious paperwork couldn't cover. Less than that would leave the task forces launching operations with too little a chance of success.Our biggest advantage was audacity. The buildup would happen 100 km up the Congo River from Soyo, the primary target of the Southern Invasion, in the DRC's second largest port city, Boma. Though across the river was Angolan territory, there was nothing there. The city of roughly 160,000 would provide adequate cover for the initial stage of the invasion.There they grouped their vehicles & Khanate drivers with Amazon and Vietnamese combat teams. The Japanese were doing the same for their 'Chinese' counterparts for their helicopter-borne forces. Getting all their equipment in working order in the short time left was critical as was creating some level of unit dynamic. Things were chaotic. No one was happy. They were all going in anyway.What had gone wrong?While most children her age were texting their schoolmates, or tackling their homework, Aya Ruger ~ the alias of Nasusara Assiyaiá hamai ~ was getting briefings of her global, secret empire worth hundreds of billions and those of her equally nefarious compatriots. She received a very abbreviated version of what the Regents received, delivered by a member of Shawnee Arinniti's staff.When Aya hopped off her chair unexpectedly, everyone tensed. Her bodyguards' hands went to their sidearms and Lorraine (her sister by blood), also in the room on this occasion, stood and prepared to tackle her 'former' sibling to the ground if the situation escalated into an assassination attempt. No such attack was generated, so the security ratcheted down and the attendant returned her focus to her Queen. Aya paced four steps, turned and retraced her way then repeated the action three more times."How many people live in the combined areas?" she asked."The combined areas? Of Cabinda and Zaire?""Yes.""I," the woman referenced her material, "roughly 1.1 million.""What is the yearly value of the offshore oil and natural gas production?""Forty-nine billion, eighty hundred and sixty-seven million by our best estimates at this time,""How many live in Soyo City proper?""Roughly 70,000.""We take Soyo," she spoke in a small yet deliberate voice. "We take and hold Soyo as an independent city-state within the Cabindan-Zaire Union. From the maps it appears Soyo is a series of islands. It has a port and airport. It has an open border to an ocean with weaker neighbors all around.""What of the, Zairians?""Bakongo. As a people they are called the Bakongo," Aya looked up at the briefer. "We relocate those who need to work in Soyo into a new city, built at our expense, beyond the southernmost water barrier. The rest we pay to relocate elsewhere in Zaire, or Cabinda."By the looks of those around her, Aya realized she needed to further explain her decisions."This is more than some concrete home base for our People," she began patiently. "In the same way it gives our enemies a clearly delineated target to attack us, it is a statement to our allies we won't cut and run if things go truly bad.""In the same way it will provide us with diplomatic recognition beyond what tenuous handouts we are getting from Cáel Wakko Ishara's efforts through JIKIT. Also, it is a reminder we are not like the other Secret Societies in one fundamental way, we are not a business concern, or a religion. We are a People and people deserve some sort of homeland. We have gone for so long without.""But Soyo?" the aide protested. "We have no ties to it, and it backs up to, nothing.""Northern Turkey and southern Slovakia mean nothing to us now as well," Aya debated. "No place on Earth is any more precious than another. As for backing up to nothing, no. You are incorrect. It backs into a promise from our allies in the Earth & Sky that if we need support, they know where to park their planes and ships."Aya was surrounded with unhappy, disbelieving looks."The Great Khan is my mamētu meáeda," she reminded them, "and I have every reason to believe he completely grasps the concept's benefits and obligations."The looks confirmed 'but he's a man' to the tiny Queen."Aya, are you sure about this?" Lorraine was the first to break decorum."Absolutely. Do you know what he sent me when he was informed of my, ascension to the Queendom?""No," Lorraine admitted."We must go horse-riding sometime soon, Daughter of Cáel, Queen of the Amazons."More uncertain and unconvinced looks."He didn't congratulate me, or send any gifts. He could have and you would think he would have, but he didn't. He knew the hearts of me & my Atta and we weren't in the celebratory mood. No. The Great Khan sent one sentence which offered solace and quiet, atop a horse on a windswept bit of steppe."Nothing.Sigh. "I know this sounds Cáel-ish," Aya admitted, "but I strongly believe this is what we should do. We are giving the Cabindans and Bakongo in Zaire independence and the promise of a much better life than what they now face. We will be putting thousands of our sisters' lives on the line to accomplish this feat and well over two hundred million dollars.""What about governance of the city ~ Soyo?" the aide forged ahead."Amazon law," Aya didn't hesitate. "We will make allowances for the security forces of visiting dignitaries and specific allied personnel, but otherwise it will be one massive Amazon urban freehold.""I cannot imagine the Golden Mare, or the Regents, will be pleased," the attendant bowed her head."It is a matter of interconnectivity," Aya walked up and touched the woman's cheek with the back of her small hand. "We could liberate then abandon Cabinda with the hope a small band could help them keep their independence. Except we need the refinery at Soyo so the people of Cabinda can truly support that liberty.""So, we must keep Soyo and to keep Soyo, we must keep Zaire province. There is no other lesser border which makes strategic sense ~ a river, highlands, a massive river, an ocean ~ those are sustainable frontiers. You can't simply keep Soyo and not expect the enemy to strike and destroy that refinery, thus we must take Zaire province.""But the Bakongo of Zaire cannot defend themselves and will not be able to do so for at least a year, if not longer. That means we must do so, and for doing so, they will give us Soyo and we will be honest stewards of their oil wealth. We cannot expect any other power to defend this new Union and if we don't have a land stake we will be portrayed as mercenaries and expelled by hostile international forces.""So, for this project to have any chance of success, we must stay, fight and have an acknowledged presence, and if you can think of an alternative, please let me know," she exhaled."What if the Cabindans and Bakongo resist?""It is 'us', or the Angolans and they know how horrible the Angolans can be. Didn't you say the average person their lives on just $2 a day?""Yes.""We can do better than that," Aya insisted."How?" the aide persisted. "I mean, 'how in a way which will be quickly evident and meaningful?'""Oh," Aya's tiny brow furrowed. Her nose twitched as she rummaged through the vast storehouse of her brain."Get me in touch with William A. Miller, Director of the U.S. Diplomatic Security Service. He should be able to help me navigate the pathways toward getting aid and advisors into those two provinces ASAP.""I'll let Katrina know," the attendant made the notation on her pad."No. Contact him directly," Aya intervened. "We established a, rapport when we met. I think he might responded positively to a chance to mentor me in foreign relations.""Really?" Lorraine's brows arched."Yes," Aya chirped."Are you sure, Nasusara?" the attendant stared. She used 'Nasusara' whenever she thought Aya had a 'horrible' idea instead of a merely a 'bad' one."Yes. He owes me. Last time we met I didn't shoot him.""Didn't?" the woman twitched."Yes. I drew down on him with my captured Chinese QSW-06. I didn't want to kill him, but I felt I was about to have to kill Deputy National Security Advisor Blinken and he was the only other person in the room both armed and capable of stopping me.""Why is he still alive?""Cáel Ishara saw through my distraction and then took my gun from me, asked for it actually," she shyly confessed."Would you have shot him?" the aide inquired."What do you think?" Aya smiled.And Then:So, given t

Graduation Day.  Book 3 in 18 parts, By FinalStand. Listen to the ► Podcast at Explicit Novels."You know nothing of what you speak of, Ishara, yet you now feel free to insult us," she simmered."Don't know, don't care. It was all before my time. I care about the 'here-and-now' as well as what we do in the future. What I am asking you is what concrete item or 'thing' can be provided to House Zorja to put this blood feud behind you. Name it and House Ishara will endeavor to procure it for you.""We are not merchants," Jana's eyes narrowed."No. I didn't imply you were. If you want new sandals for everyone in your House, I'll find you new sandals. If you want 100,000 acres of ranchland, I'll find you the land. Name it," I persisted."Our prestige cannot be bought," she 'explained'."No, but a blood feud with House Ishara can be avoided by making a request of us in the same way as expressing your desire to harm my daughter can be expressed by denying my offer," I hardened. "And 'fuck you very much' if you think I won't use every son, daughter, mother, aunt, and uncle of Ishara when I come gunning for House Zorja too.""You wouldn't dare bring outsiders into this," Klavdiya interjected."Why not? The offices of Ishara handed House Zorja the coup of the century ~ the capture of the People's Liberation Army Navy nuclear carrier. A member of House Zorja commanded that task, yet they did so by leading forces marshalled by House Ishara, outsider forces. You may wish to keep playing by old rules concerning who is and isn't part of a House, but I am not so constrained, sisters.""So Klavdiya, if House Meenakshi pursues its blood feud with House Zorja, House Ishara will gleefully join them in the pummeling. And we have Isharans in the 9 Clans, the Khanate and the Illuminati who will gladly help us out in slapping them around like the old-fashion curmudgeons they are showing themselves to be, or, House Zorja may request a gift from House Ishara and we will happily clear accounts between them and House Meenakshi in the name of our daughter, Parvati. Their choice.""You are still on the mats," Elsa reminded me. Sikia coiled protectively next to us."And you said something about a lesson being long overdue," Pamela smirked, "Kitten.""Cáel Ishara," Shawnee said in a soft voice, "perhaps it is germane to the argument: the fault of the blood feud rests with House Zorja, not House Meenakshi."I fell on my back, carrying Tad fi with me. She gasped out in surprise while remaining closely cuddled with me. Her right hand never left my lips."Why does no one tell me this shit?" I moaned."You are hard," Tad fi announced. "Are you ready to have more sex?" She was sounding upbeat about our prospects. She was also ignorant of our surroundings being deaf and blind to the mortal realm."Gossamer Wing," I created a pet name for the augur, "we are lying on the sparring mats of a large combat arena in the central Full-blooded training center for Havenstone with roughly 500 sisters in attendance (the audience had grown). While I am enticed by your scent, words, proximity and sweet memories of what we've shared, I'm probably going to be badly beaten up really soon for a terrific diplomatic snafu.""But then we can have sex?""Yeah. I'm totally up for having sex with you after they release me from Medical," I assured her. I looked around her to a very unhappy Mahdi."Can you find it in your heart to forgive House Zorja? Anything I can,""Yes," she abruptly cut me off.What the fuck?"At this time, my hatred of House Ishara, and you in particular, make any grievance I have with House Zorja pale in comparison. You have bewitched my only daughter. She bares your child, and it will be a wonderful child if the soiled augur you've stuck your cock in is to be believed," she ground out bitterly. "I want to go home. I want to find enemies to kill. And when I do, Cáel Ishara, know each and every one of them will carry your face in my mind."She turned to Jana. "Do you agree that we both hate Ishara enough to put aside our current differences?"Jana studied Mahdi, me, then Mahdi again and agreed. She stood. Mahdi stood. They clasped arms like Amazons, then hugged like sisters."Agreed. He is much worse."My thoughts on the matter. Woot! I was having sex! Oh, and I was making Aya happy by ending a blood feud."My admiration of you continues to increase," Krasimira looked at me. "This diplomacy stuff is harder than it looks yet you pull it off so effortlessly.""Yay me!" I muttered."Keeper, are we done?" Sikia asked Krasimira."I believe so," the older Amazon rose to her feet. Sikia was far faster in rising."Mahdi of Meenakshi, you have insulted me and my augur. Defend yourself," she snarled. If Tad fi hadn't been immediately present, Mahdi wouldn't have even warranted a warning no doubt."Had you done your job," Mahdi flowed into her fighting stance, "you both wouldn't be pregnant.""Whoa now," I struggled to rise while keeping Tad fi close and my body between her and the Meenakshi/Zorja side of the mat. "Sikia, I can't let you fight. You're pregnant too.""Don't be stupid, Cáel Ishara," Sikia retreated off the mat, so she could shed her jacket and footwear. "Amazons have fought pregnant for thousands of years.""Hold on now," NYPD Sgt. Larisa Kutuzov said in English as she moved forward. I was a millisecond too late. Larisa's foot touched down on the mat and Marlene Zorja popped her one, a hand chop to the larynx. The senior cop stumbled forward."Mom!" shouted Nikita. Marlene followed up with a leg sweep, putting Larisa face first on the mats, then a fist strike to the back of the head, knocking her out. Neat and tidy in less than two seconds.Nikita was about to charge in when Chaz stopped her."Footwear," he advised in the tone of voice I had learned to associate with him and imminent violence. The moment he stopped her, he was quickly removing his own socks and shoes. Virginia and Pamela were doing the same. I was allowed freedom of movement because I was holding Tad fi. Krasimira exited because of her unique status. The rest were already barefoot."Gale, could you please stay with Tad fi," I tried to hand her off."No," Gale looked me over. "I will fight." No hint on whose side she would be fighting on. Krasimira came to my rescue."I'll take her.""Tad fi," I told the augur, "I have to go get beaten up now, but I promise I will be back for you directly.""This is not your fight," Krasimira said. "The words and deeds are Sikia's.""A, she carries my child and B, the deeds being called into question are my fault.""You told me once they were the Will of Ishara," Krasimira mused."We are one in the same," I gave a lopsided grin."Be careful," Tad fi pleaded. "Your future is a chaotic jumble, I cannot see,""Eh, I've been very bad. We'll talk about it later. Gotta go," I headed onto the mats.Pamela was giving the ground rules to the 'normals': No 'fair warnings'. No 'fair play'. No 'time outs'. You fought until unconscious, or you surrendered."This is going to suck," Virginia assessed our odds. Two Amazons had removed Larisa from the mats and were tending to her. Nikita was kneeling by her side until she heard Virginia, then came our way.Besides Sikia, we had Pamela, Chaz, Virginia, myself and Nikita. Oneida stepping up was nice. She wasn't a great combatant, but we dearly needed the help. Gale joining us was, unsettling. Amazons don't play fair, so this could be a ruse.Against us were all three Zorja and both Meenakshi ~ I imagined Rhada felt she had something to prove to her mother. They'd picked up ten other Amazons and Rhonwenn Nemain. Klavdiya joined them to counterbalance her baby sister. Eight to seventeen ~ ouch."Damn," a familiar voice from my first days on the job spoke up from behind me, "we almost missed this." I didn't dare look over my shoulder. Desiree stepped between Chaz and Virginia. Rachel came up on my left and Tiger Lily on my right. At the tail end of our line was Mona, Meridian, Brielle and Wiesława. Fifteen to seventeen was looking much better, especially considering Desiree had brought five Security Detail warriors with her, all of whom were moving to further bolster our numbers."Rachel," Elsa looked to her underling, "you have no idea why you are fighting.""It is for Cáel. So it must be for a better tomorrow," Rachel laughed."Very well," Elsa smirked."You!" Mahdi pointed at me, and we both charged. It was a jumbled nightmare of clashing bodies, war cries and flashes of movement all around. Our side had two main advantages -While Chaz was by no means the best hand-to-hand combatant present, he knew the basic Amazon style and most Amazons didn't know his. Added to his overall height and bulk advantages, he bought us time.Of greater importance, Rachel, Tiger Lily and Mona had extensive training working as a team, which none of the opponents had.Elsa was the most dangerous individual on the mat. Pamela was the second most dangerous, so Elsa grabbed a couple of partners and ganged up on her to drive her off the mats. Chaz went next, out-Elsa'ed and beaten unconscious. The issue was, it took her too long to accomplish those two feats. By the time she rounded on me, Rachel and Tiger Lily, our half of the field had wiped out theirs. It was six of us (me, Rachel, Tiger Lily, Gale, Wiesława and Desiree) versus four of them (Elsa, Marlene, Klavdiya and Rhonwenn).Still, I was facing Elsa, so a judicious bit of treachery was required."Gale," I huffed and puffed, "please retire. I don't want you to fight your sister.""What?" Gale snapped. She'd taken a beating, yet remained feisty."No, fighting her sister is okay with me," Desiree scowled. "We are still facing fucking Elsa.""All the other women you have mated with have failed. I remain," Gale trumpeted."Oh, you are right," I half-turned. "All the reason you are more precious to me.""Really?""Of course," I deepened my introspective appreciation of her."Oh," and Klavdiya punched Rhonwenn. That was an 'oh, Cáel Ishara must actually care for my baby sister and not be just a Playa' on Klavdiya's part. Yeah. I'm a horrible fucking person at times.Rachel, Tiger Lily and I rushed Elsa. Marlene pivoted to ward against Klavdiya while Gale and Wiesława stormed in against her. Desiree helped Klavdiya finish drubbing Rhonwenn before they combined to force Marlene off the mats. Elsa chose to go down swinging in a dogpile of bodies. I took an ear-ringing blow to the head which allowed Rachel to apply a chokehold and it was lights out for the Head of SD.After some water bottles went around and those concussed returned to wakefulness, the resolution of the brawl was decided. Mahdi apologized to Sikia. It was short, terse and sparing of any empathy, yet was within the bounds of Amazon etiquette. She departed with Rhada, which left me to pick up the pieces, starting with Nikita's mom."Oh," the older woman moaned then, "Ms. Fredrickson? What are you doing here?""Avenging you, Mother," Nikita fluffed up the truth. "She, Cáel and the others cleaned house on the woman who jumped you and her allies.""Desk Sergeant," Desiree gave a curt nod."This isn't over," Larisa winced as she moved to a sitting position."Mrs. Kutuzov, it is over," I headed off a colossal waste of time. "This is my daily life and part of your daughter's life with JIKIT. You will find scant witnesses and no tape recordings of these events. This craziness is just another day in the life here at Havenstone. You stepped on the mat and thus became fair game to any physical confrontation an opponent cared to mete out. Consider this sovereign soil of an independent nation-state.""We," she looked around. "You kicked their asses?""Definitely," Pamela gave a feral snarl."This is plain nuts," she shook her head, winced in cranial pain, then put her aching head in her hands."One of the reasons we've put our dating in hiatus," Nikita comforted her mother while looking at me, and smiling affectionately.Ah, for fuck sakes! I was engaged to someone else and having a dozen kids by ten different women. How could I still possibly be considered viable dating material? Oh yeah, martial valor, laughing at death, I hung out with truly exceptional cool people and I would always be in need of saving, a plus for a crusader like Nikita.I had so many allies to tend to, but only one who seemed to be making an exit. I swooped down on Tad fi long enough to place her fingers to my lips."I'll be right back, friend of a friend in need," and off I went. I caught Tavi of House Stolgos just outside the door. She wasn't avoiding me. She'd been observing Chaz and he had been otherwise occupied.My British companion had played a pivotal role in the combat and taken his beating like a man. He'd been rendered unconscious. So had many others, so no stigma was attached to his loss. Post-battle, he had chosen to sit on his haunches, knees up, talking to several of the Amazons, both kneeling and standing. A few had been bystanders and a few others foes.He stayed on his ass to reduce his height advantage. Letting Amazons make eye contact while not having to look up at you created definite benefits. His good natured approach to his role in the fight and pummeling earned him positive vibes as well. He made it clear the tussle to him was not macho-personal. He was my 'brother / sister / sibling' spiritually-speaking via Pamela adopting us both as her 'grandsons', so my fights were his fights. Sikia had my (Cáel's) child, so that bond extended to her as well ~ family.Pamela and I had schooled him on Amazon psychology and those lessons were now paying serious dividends. 'The Male' hadn't wanted to fight them ~ 'Amazons are tough' he'd confessed, he knew this because he worked with several every day on JIKIT~ but family was on the line, so he fought. Mahdi had apologized, so the matter was settled. The other Amazons he'd fought? They had fought for their reasons and he was okay with not questioning them about it.Why? He was conscious of his conspicuous status as a 'guest', knew he was in no way an Amazon, and was not privy to what motivated them. He didn't want to be an Amazon. He had his own, much younger, martial tradition he was proud of, yet was eager to learn from the vastly greater Amazon war lore because 'winners' didn't have a gender-bias and no other tradition could compete with the Amazons' 3,000 years.Under normal circumstances, the women around him wouldn't have given credence to his praise. He was a male after all. Through the tiny tear I'd created in their insulating social fabric, Chaz was building upon his own exploits. In the after-battle analysis, the Amazons reflected on the realization Elsa had concentrated on him as her number two objective, second only to Pamela who scared everyone who knew anything about her. That bolstered Chaz's appeal.For the Amazons who thought a male would get all pouty and cry over being beaten up by a girl/girls, Chaz was breaking the mold. He wasn't angry. He was amused. The fight had been a learning experience and he'd felt honored to watch, no matter how briefly, a warrior of Elsa's caliber fight. He'd explained 'I', Cáel Wakko Ishara, considered Elsa one of the top 5 combatants I'd ever seen, which included Ajax the Unconquered. The others were Sakuniyas, reborn Amazon and former Queen of Assyria, Saint Marie, the Golden Mare, and Pamela, the Cliff-walker.More happy Amazons because the list's only non-Amazon was a dead Hero from the Trojan Wars and it was well known I 'got around' (aka dealt with violent outsiders.) Chaz was telling the truth, almost. The 'fifth' person on the list was Alal, but explaining him would be difficult, so Chaz edited him for this particular audience. Good man.In the hallway, "Tavi, a moment," I called out. She slowed down, took a few more steps allowing me to catch up."Yes Ishara?" she gave me her best neutral look. Yep. She was jealous."I beg two favors from you," I quickly went down to one knee in her path. That caught her off guard and left her in the awkward position of me being terribly close and staring up at her."I, I will listen," she muttered."I would like to know if you are pregnant," I asked very softly. Yes, she was, but she didn't want to tell me. She contemplated pushing past me. It would be very easy. "I know I am stepping beyond the boundaries between warriors. Please. My destiny has brought you two together. I am at fault here." 'Fault' was the key word."If I have a son, he will be given to the Queen," Tavi's face was stern and unforgiving. "He will live.""That's not what he's worried about," I shook my head. "He wants to be a father to your daughter, Tavi. He wants to introduce you to his mother and grandmothers, maybe his sisters too, if that can be arranged.""Huh?""He is not like me, Tavi. There is no other in his life, but you.""I, I will not leave my House for him," she protested angrily."He would never ask you. That doesn't mean he doesn't want to remain at your side for years to come. He can be a father to your child and not be a part of House Stolgos in the same way you can be a mother to your child and not be a part of Clan Tomorrow.""Oh," she furrowed her brow. "How would this possibly work?""I have an 'in' with the Queen," I winked. "I'll work out something.""He knows I will never stop being an Amazon," she elucidated intensely."Absolutely. He is an intelligence operative after all. He's figured a few things out for himself.""Why doesn't he tell me these things?""Tavi, he threw his body on top of me to shield me from a bomb blast, so he's undoubtedly brave, but telling you what is in his heart is scary for him. As his brother, I see behind his silence,""Oh, what should I do?" she was vexed."Go back in there, demand to speak with him and tell him the truth," I stood up."The truth?""That you are going to have a little StolgosTomorrow-ite running around sometime next year," I exuded confidential friendliness."Cáel Ishara," she tilted her head slightly, "you don't know much about infants, do you?""Nope," I pseudo-confessed. I actually did know something about newborns. I'd studied up so I could make a move on a cute girl whose free time was eaten up by babysitting, so I 'helped out'. Oink."They aren't 'running around'," she turned to head back into the gym, "until the ninth month at the earliest. Normally, running doesn't happen until the eighteenth month.""My fiancée has a three-year old, so she should be able to help me through some of the hardest parts," I babbled along. Tavi didn't give a crap.In we went. Tavi stormed straight toward the bevy of Amazon babes concentrating on 'her' Chaz."Color Sergeant Tomorrow," she abruptly interrupted. "A moment of your time.""Ladies," Chaz uncoiled himself from the surrounding women. The Amazons were either mildly put off, they thought they were about to get laid, or pissed off, they were sure they were about to get laid, and Tavi was stomping on their happy."Yes, Ms. Gentry," Chaz linked his hands behind his back in a 'rest easy' stance. 'Gentry' was the fake last name Tavi used in the outside world. She motioned toward the windows with her head. Off they went. I couldn't hear what was being said, but my lip reading skills were up to the task.T: (I am pregnant)C: (I love you)T: (Oh) ~ stunned. Go Chaz!C: (Well, I don't imagine the Amazons have a marriage ceremony and an Anglican service would be inappropriate, so perhaps we could research a Scythian ritual which could make both families happy) ~ delivered in the patented smooth Chaz style.T: (Marriage? To you?)C: (I will not submit to being anyone's slave nor would I ever ask you to submit to me. Outside of that, will you be my partner and my partner alone until the cliffs separate us?)T: (Amazons are not monogamous)C: (I am)T: (I will, I mean, can I think about this?)C: (I am not going anywhere, Tavi){Pause}T: (Did you put Ishara, Cáel Ishara up to this?)C: (Yes)T: (Why?)C: (I imagine he explained what I am feeling better than I could)T: (Oh, do you want me to meet your mother and grandmothers?)C: (Absolutely)T: (Okay)C: (Okay ~ you would like to meet my Mother and Grandmothers?)T: (No, yes, I mean, yes I would like to meet them and I am okay with you being with no other woman until the cliffs separate us, and I will do the same, no other males)C: (If I pick you up, hug you and kiss you, will your sisters freak out?)T: (I don't know)So Chaz swept Tavi up until her head was higher than his (a feat, considering their 8" height differential) and kissed her deeply. Mumbled words followed. Tavi wrapped her legs around Chaz's waist and out they went. Around me were angry murmurings of the 'did that Amazon just run off with our man' variety. Not my problem. I had plenty of different Amazons wanting my attention. Hallelujah!{8:00 pmDon't try this at home.I covered my face with a pillow and pressed down hard. I'd already tried breathing exercises, meditation and even contemplated more cranial trauma before thinking up this particular crazy idea. It took some mental effort and accessing some of my Alal-'pain sorting' skills to accomplish, but in the end, I felt myself 'let go'.I sat up."Hello," Tad fi beamed."Hey," I took a deep breath. Since we were talking, I must have passed out. Her eyes wandered over the room."Is this the world as you see it?" she wondered. Oh yeah, I had to be creating the environment for her to enjoy.Sikia was kneeling on the bed a foot away, her gaze moving between the two of us. The 'grayness' of her form suggested she was wholly in reality and not in the 'Ishara-space' the goddess had shown me and I was now sharing with my augur."This is how you see me?" she examined her fingers, her wrists, then some long locks of her hair."You are more beautiful," I answered. The impact of my words crossing over drew her eyes back to me. It was the magic of hearing for the normally deaf girl. I concentrated, peeled back some fantasy and attached a realistic form to Sikia. Tad fi followed my gaze."Your hair," she addressed her guardian, "It is lighter than I imagined."Sikia said something I couldn't understand, muffled as it was by my dreaming."I cannot hear you, but I see you through his eyes," the augur carried on her conversation. They touched. It had to be somewhat bizarre for Sikia. As she reached for Tad fi's hand, her friend intercepted the extended member. Their fingers intertwined before completing the journey to the guardian's lips."Don't cry, no, we couldn't have, no, we shouldn't have knocked him out sooner. I don't think he was aware of this discipline when we first met. Were you, Cáel?""No. Perhaps if I had understood more about the consequences of seeing ghosts, I might have," I tapered off. "Now that we know. I can try this more often.""Your health?" Tad fi worried."I might be immortal," I confessed. I was confessing because I was desperately seeking a way to share some of my genetic quirkiness with her ~ some strength to carry her through this pregnancy and spare her life, Dot Ishara be damned."And you would seek a way to spare me," she graced me with her gentle presence. Lying in the 'spirit' world was a whole lot tougher than in the flesh."Yeah. I've got some arcane lore rattling around in my head, plus I have a few outside sources I can ask for help. I'm not giving up on you.""I have foreseen my death.""Well, un-foresee it," I scolded her. "Dot Ishara told me we see what might happen, though nothing is guaranteed. So even your death isn't an absolute. Since it hasn't happened, I see no reason to let it happen. You are going to live to hold our daughter. If not, my immortality is worthless.""You can never save everyone. Sometimes you must let a few go to save the rest," she advised."If I find someone I'm not attached to, I'll let them go. I promise. Until then, I'm, ugh, I'm fading, and I'm keeping you.""We shall see," she murmured. I fell back into my body and into wakefulness."Now we have sex," Tad fi announced in a melodic voice."He is ready to perform," Sikia agreed. She was fondling my balls with one hand while her breath played across my rod. I sat up to see the augur climbing up the bed between my thighs. She kissed my glans, licked across its top, then kissed it again."I've got it from here," she told Sikia."What?" Sikia was confused. Tad fi's lips began to engulf my sceptre."Sikia, come here," I gently pulled on her arm. She was conflicted yet up some came.We started out with tender kisses on the lips. I kept drawing her toward me. My lips and tongue migrated down her chin and throat to her breasts. When she thought my target was her breasts, she was all onboard. That was a mere stop-off point on my journey, though I played around for a while.At the same time, I had to use subtle movements with my hips and clenches with my gluts to school Tad fi on her fellatio. Thankfully, I was doubly-blessed. This wasn't my first time schooling two girls at once and Tad fi could determine more from such minimal reactions due to her heightened sense of my muscle contractions through her touch than any other woman I'd ever met.When I began running my tongue in large lashes underneath her breasts, I confused Sikia once more. She was resistant as my hands on her hips pulled her higher so that my lips and teeth could tease her taut stomach while I twirled my tongue in her belly button. She giggled.I had been slowly wiggling down the bed, backing Tad fi up, so when it came time to mount Sikia on my face, I had the headboard room. I kept her muscular thighs securely in hand because the moment I had her happy, I pushed her up. She looked down, seeking guidance and I motioned her to turn around. She did the eye-ball math, realized she'd be facing her augur, and hastily obeyed. Of course, her movement on the bed alerted Tad fi through mattress vibrations.Sikia was sitting on my face, leaning down so she could run her hands through Tad fi's hair and along her face and lips (and my phallus). I kept my hands pressed between our bodies. My right made the sojourn to my pubic area to play around and give them both something else to suck on, my fingers. My left loitered around between Sikia's breasts and her clitoris when my lips were otherwise occupied.I could cup her clit with my tongue in a U-shape, rubbing it along my taste buds. Most of my time was taken up with my tongue broad lashing her vulva or tightly-twisted and delving into her cunt and my nose pushing against her brown hole. I could tilt myself up so I could make tongue-intrusions into her back passage as well. The first time, she squealed.Before she could decide if she wanted to make me stop (she did, virtually all first timers always default to asking their partner to stop, so you have to distract them), Tad fi wanted to know what had brought her reaction on. Then came Sikia's troubled revelation of what I was doing, how the augur shouldn't suffer through it, despite the increasing pleasure she was receiving, only to finally be unable to supply the answer as to why Tad fi shouldn't experience it too.Sikia shot me a treasured look of bewilderment. I'd brought her to orgasm with my tongue alone. I was a guy after all."Switch?" I suggested. Tad fi was still administering one of the slowest, most considerate blowjobs I'd ever experienced. She wasn't rushing toward anything. Sure, she was unschooled, but was devoting her incredible sensitivities to my pleasure and taking pleasure in her ability to bring me to such excitement."Change places?" she mused. "Okay." Tad fi's lips slid off me with one final, loud 'pop', then she used her spider-like fingers to climb up my body while Sikia traveled south. She lavished butterfly kisses on my face ~ childish, yet so very appropriate between us ~ and I mirrored the gesture.With some reluctance, she mounted me, facing Sikia. My tongue flicking across her clit on its first exploration brought out a joyous gasp. It only got better from there.The Long Slide Into Domestic Life:"Twins?" Hana snuggled into my arms. We were at her place, naked in bed together after a late late-night unscheduled meeting with some VIPs. Despite the late/early hour, she was alert, tense even. It had been a mentally stimulating late night encounter which had brought me to her bed."Yes. That is what Tad fi predicted," I inserted between raining kisses down on her forehead. Hana liked non-distracting attention when she was in this kind of mood. She was exhausting herself mentally as she was building up to being amorous."Ana-Călina and  rp d?" she worked over the names on her tongue. "They have a special meaning?""Only if you are Hungarian and Romanian," I teased her. She elbowed me slightly. " rp d was the semi-mystical pagan warlord who led the Ten Tribes who became known as the Hungarians ~ the Magyar peoples ~ into the Carpathian Basin, present day Hungary. Ana-Călina was born a Byzantine princess of the storied House of Basarab; she married Radu Negru, thus becoming the first Princess of a free Wallachia ~ the foundation for a free Romania. She was also the great-grandmother of Dracula.""So they are famous names with regional historical significance, did they live long, happy lives?"" Árpád, no one knows for sure. His kids were quarrelsome, but they did manage to found a dynasty at the start of the second millennia which ruled for three centuries.""Ana-Călina, yeah. I think so," I continued. "She lived into her seventies and her eldest son left his country stronger, richer and safer than when he received it. She did out live her husband by over fifty years, and got to see her youngest grandson bury most of his rivals, the kids from her husband's first marriage.""Ah, what?" Hana rose up until we were eye to eye. Since she was naked, her boobs swayed slightly as she did so. My eye flickered. "Eyes forward, Mister," she playfully barked. "What happened to all her other grandsons?""Wallachia in the 15th century was a tad rough and tumble," I evaded."They killed one another?""Mostly they were killed by conspiracies amongst their boyars, nobles of the time.""Why does, Tad fi want to dredge up these names again?" she kept eye contact."Not a clue," I pleaded."But you think it is important?""No. I think you are important. Screw Fate. It can name its own kids. We can chose whatever names make you happy, except 'Up'. Up's been taken.""You've named another of your offspring 'Up'? That's cruel, or does that mean something in another language I'm unaware of?" she shifted her shoulders so her boobs wobbled again. Of course, I broke eye contact. I hadn't had sex in hours and her boobies were right there, damn it!"Actually, Pamela and I named this secret agent in Hungary that, just to fuck with his head," I divulged."Oh. Pamela. I should have known," she slowly smiled. "You are being very well behaved," she added. Woot! She noticed I wasn't throwing her down and pawing her delectable flesh. "One more thing before the nookie.""Name them. Their dead," I pledged."Not necessary," her sigh turned into a giggle. "If I'm going to be having twins, I'm going to be rather big come late March. We need an earlier wedding date."Oh, fuck me!"What do you have in mind?" I tried to keep the creeping dread out of my voice."New Year's Day?" she suggested. I did a quick calculation. That was annihilating 78 days out of what remained of my bachelor life. In 114 days my life would cease having any meaning whatsoever. I'd be a Mr. to someone's Mrs. The end"Sure, I can arrange to be killed before then," stumbled out of my mouth."What was that?" Hana pouted."Nothing Dear. Cosmic psychic intersection with an Al -demon; don't know what came over me," I fibbed."Man up," Hana bit my nose. "Our marriage won't be that bad if we both work at it. It isn't like I'm demanding celibacy from you." Then she mouthed 'yet'."Wait. Did you mean celibacy, as in no fun at all, or monogamy, as in only 'happy time' with you?" I desperately sought clarification."Oh," she pursed her lips. "I meant monogamy. I didn't mean to scare you.""Oh, thank goodness," I sighed."Here," her gaze turned tender. "Let me make it up to you." Hana placed one hand on my shoulder and rose up my body until my face was gently nestled in her bosom. Then she wiggled back and forth, basically because I'm a big baby and easy to please. I was alternating which nipple I was kissing in no time."Mmm," she murmured. "I've missed you." Her other hand's fingernails coasted down my abdomen and found 'Mr. Happy' had risen to attention. Okay, he'd been hopping up and down on my groin since she'd said we were 'going to bed' 30 minutes ago. Hana decided wrap up my shaft with her hand, then applied a few tender strokes. I reciprocated by cupping her left tit in one hand, forming a mound with her areola at the center, and began to twirl from the outside inward to her hardened nipple with just the tip of my tongue.It was 4 a.m. Why was I taking it slow when I had my final work review with Katrina in three hours? Hana deserved this and more. Why was Hana doing it? She was her own boss, plus her life was careening wildly outside of anything she'd imagined before she'd first laid eyes on me. Half of the financial empire she shared with her father was suddenly in the hands of a military dictatorship, her beloved father was dealing with the murder of her hated step-brother and she was marrying a Prince in a European cathedral which required someone high in the Vatican's approval process to use.Yeah, her life had gone nuts. Worse, she loved me. And I wasn't the kind of man she ever thought she'd love. She'd thought she'd never love anyone again after her life with her asshole of an ex-husband and their bitter, contentious divorce. I was barely someone she could classify, and Hana was a terribly ordered and organized person. Saying my life was messy was being generous. I was some mysterious warrior-diplomat-playboy-aristocrat who hung out with people more bizarre than me.Hana picked up her tempo. I switched breasts. Her motor was really starting to hum. Any other night, I could have moved straight to revving her up to an orgasm. I had the time to make it two without any problems. A good one and Hana would be happy and drift off to sleep. Instead, I intuited she wanted more, so we developed our own game of cat and mouse with her climax, and its suspension, being our ultimate goal.My left hand danced down the back of her ribcage like playing keys on a piano. It was a light, teasing gesture. Her hair the color of tarnished gold cascaded down as she began placing her own kisses upon my crown. Each move by one partner evoked a response by the other. Hana ran my glans over her glistening labia, getting it nice and slick. I worked down her waist, cupped her ass, and then glided over her thigh to the back of her knee where I started tickling her. She snickered."You are distracting me," she murmured. I wasn't. I knew these things."I like to get the feel of every inch of your flesh," I responded. More mirthful noises from her. Slowly, her gooey vestibule rubbed against and over the top, until I felt myself entering. There, she hesitated. I propelled my hips an inch up, twisted right then left before falling back down, a micro-fuck."Ah," she emoted her approval. "My turn." Hana's knees spread to the side, making a memorable sound on the silk sheets as she impaled herself. This time she rolled her hips forward, back, then did a slow 360 with me  inside her, letting the slow progress over her spark memories for her to savor. "I never believed sex could be like this," Hana hiccupped."How so?" I knew the answer, but wanted her to put her chaotic passions to words. It would make her happier."Experimenting, silly. Stopping in the middle and doing, this," she reversed her hip rotations this time. "I never imagined a lover having such patience, or,""Yourself as being so openly sexually adventurous?" I finished."Yeah," she huffed. "I really, really owe your college professor, plus you and all your diligence, for this," at the last moment, she encountered the gateway to her G-spot. I knew precisely where that gem was. Previously, Hana had gained a vague idea where it was from the perspective of masturbation and our prior lovemaking. Now I had let Hana rediscover that joy with my cock as her tool to utilize as she wished."You realize pregnant women want even more sex," she hummed. She was vigorously working my cock now. Hana had bridged a huge gap, sexually. Normally, a woman of Hana's quality tried to please her man first with the hope her orgasm would soon follow. I was different. My greatest sexual gratification came from her ecstasy. She was confident in that now. By bringing herself to climax, she was making me excited for what would come next."That's okay," I propped myself up on one elbow now that Hana was riding me cowgirl-style. "I dig big chicks." The open-palm slap to the chest was a given."Hercege, you, you are horrible," she growled around a feral smile. The lip-biting, tongue-sucking kiss was equally vicious, primal and leading Hana to the end of her tether. Not only was Hana's sexual trust in me/us expanding, she was putting extra effort into her physical workout regime too. She might still have a ways to go to compete with an Amazon, but it was still going to be a great night."Hercegn , I am nothing but a twisted shadow of masculine lust whose every contour is cast by your muliebrous glow," I teased. Her eyes twinkled. Yes, definitely still going to be a great night."Okay," Hana yawned, "I give up. What does 'muliebrous' mean?" She'd been holding on to that for an hour and a half. It was five-thirty and I was dressing in my biking clothes before heading into work."From the Latin 'muliebri' which means 'womanly'," I answered. Her sleepy eyes drank in both my response and my physique. I had discovered another thing Hana liked and that was to expand her academic/linguistic frontiers. She was enchanted with the idea that I liked to engage her mind along with her body, sparking on all cylinders.She'd crawled over to my side of the bed, her head resting on my pillow, soaking up my scent as she watched me. I knelt down, kissed her on her ear, cheek and finally the side of her lips. Hana was beat."Have a good day and be careful," she mumbled. Her eyes closed. Her chest rose with one last, waking breath before her sleep rhythms took her."Ditto," I whispered. I snuck into  Annela's room and planted a kiss on her head as well. The craziness of my life had a way of cascading over to the ones I loved. Loved? Oh boy,7:00 am Monday, September 8th, Graduation Day!Brielle and her buddy were humming along as the elevator doors closed. Once more, my 'hellish' schedule demanded I change in the elevator. I'd gone to gun practice with my bike clothes on, so I absolutely had to change into business attire in the magic box, in front of them.Juanita adjusting my tie was a less than subtle attempt to strangle me. I was about to be late to my final 'start of day' meeting as an intern in Executive Services, so her chastisement would have to wait. Who would have thunk it? Juanita would have to wait outside for this ceremony. Paula raced with me to be the last one in, only to have Daphne grace us with the 'news':"The meeting won't start for another fifteen minutes," she grinned. "Katrina is bringing up the 'new hires' for the fall program."I finger-flicked my head. The 84 days as an intern was merely the 'training wheels' period. To really be a member of ES was at least a two year training process. The Amazons around me had started their training for this gig when they were fifteen and were eighteen and nineteen now, their ID's said they were older for legal purposes.In theory, my four years in college was counted as 'preliminary' training and provided things such as acclimation to outsider culture ~ aka 'acting normal'. Logically, I would train under someone like Desiree or Buffy for a year before being a full-fledged member of the service."How many this time?" I asked Daphne since she seemed to be in the know."Twenty," she grinned. "We are getting two."I noticed there was still only my tiny desk in Katrina's office. That meant the new guys would be out in the office pool with everyone else. Probably for the best. The ladies were now used to having a male around, so would be careful in what they did and didn't say. I yawned."Tired," Fabiola smirked."Oh yeah," I stifled another yawn. "Met an emissary from the Pope." Fabiola glowered. "No. Seriously. I met an emissary from Holy See. I let Hana know I wanted to get married in a highly improbable place, a ruined cathedral, so she contacted the Catholic Church and one of their guys wanted to meet with me.""That had to be fun," Tigger grinned. "What does the Cult of the Nazarene think of you and the Goddess Ishara?""We actually discussed polytheism and the place of an omnipotent, omnipresent being in the scope of things," I placed my hands behind my back and rocked back and forth. "It was quite interesting. The guy knew his shit."By that, I meant he was probably with the Pope's Secret Service as well as a Brainiac with a PhD in something. He'd promised to be in touch as soon as he heard back from his superiors. He had this hot chick with him who I suspected was a nun. And if his driver wasn't ex-military, it was because he was still in the service. On the plus side, Hana had been beaming when we left, which assured me the meeting had gone well, so we had sex from 4 AM until 5:30, thus my current fatigued state."Are you going to abandon your faith?" Fabiola taunted me."I don't have faith, Fabiola of Minerva. Faith would imply I don't know there are supernatural entities screwing with our lives. I know they do exist, I've met a few. To satisfy your disingenuous curiosity, we discussed the nature of the Weave and it being the possible manifestation of God's Will.""How did that go?" Paula appeared interested."He strongly suggested I should 'revisit my Catholic roots' soon. By that, I think he meant I'm supposed to start attending church regularly," I shrugged. "The Pope is sending an envoy to the Great Khan too, so odds are good I'm getting married," I pronounced the last bit as the doom-laden prediction it was."Oh, yes," Fabiola reached passed Paula and smacked me in the chest with the back of her hand. "That is for insinuating you and I had intercourse to my Mother and the Council.""Was that chastising me for lying, or for not making it so?" I winked."Ah, no!" she pouted. "Stop lying about me."I looked down at my phone."We've got twelve minutes," I double-pumped my eyebrows. "Want to go to Katrina's bathroom?""What! No!" Fabiola

Saknur, sorg, skomm og skuldarkenslur vóru settar á pall í Norðurlandahúsinum í Februar, tá Whiteout: ein dansisýning um sorg, vitjaði í Føroyum. Endamálið við sýningini er at seta orð á sjálvmorð, sum vit skulu tora at tosa um, sigur koreografurin, Sarah Aviaja Hammeken, sum hevur fingið íblástur úr sínum egna lívi. Í dag spyrja vit, hvussu føroyska heilsuverkið megnar at lofta teimum, ið stríðast. Vit spyrja eisini, hví tað kann sýnast so trupult at tosa um tey, ið fara fyri egnari hond. Og so fara vit við til sýningina, Whiteout, sum viðgerð kenslurnar hjá teimum, ið eftir sita.   Við í sendingini: Sarah Aviaja Hammeken, Nuka Eidesgaard, Gunnhild Persson, Elsa Patursson, Kathrina Lindenskov Holm og Tormóður Stóra.  Gjørt sendingina: Hallur av Rana og Birgit Carina Eliasen, sum eisini var redaktørur. Tøkningur: Kári Annand Berg. 

Aktie-, rente- og valutamarkeder reagerer prompte på udmeldinger fra den amerikanske administration, men hvad er stemningen i råvaremarkederne? Millionærklubben tjekker nogle af de vigtigste aktiver i kategorien og undersøger, hvilke scenarier der synes mest realistiske fremover sammen med VP Tom Bundgaard fra Expana Markets. I studiet ser Jyske Banks seniorstrateg, Michelle Nørgaard, på markedsstemningen, og Lau Svenssen, chefanalytiker hos Svenssen & Tudborg, gransker dagens aktuelle regnskab fra Torm.Vært: Bodil Johanne GantzelSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Send us a textWelcome to this week's Safe Dividend Investing's podcast. You may want to go to the printed transcript, provided with this podcast, to review the 5 outstanding US stocks and 5 outstanding Canadian stocks identified this week. It is interesting to see these 10 stocks strengths and weaknesses revealed by 9 data elements.The first 190 Safe Dividend Investing podcasts answered hundreds of  questions from my podcast listeners and readers of my publications. Not wanting to repeat  material that has already been covered, the weekly podcasts now deal with identifying each week 10 dividend stocks whose recent exceptional share price growth may make them worth considering as possible portfolio acquisitions.Visit www.informus.ca for information on my six investment guide books and stock scoring software.IANimacd@informus.caIan Duncan MacDonaldAuthor, Artist, Commercial Risk Consultant,President of Informus Inc 2 Vista Humber Drive Toronto, Ontario Canada, M9P 3R7 Toronto Telephone - 416-245-4994 New York Telephone - 929-800-2397 imacd@informus.ca

Millionærklubben slår dørene op til året sidste udsendelse med teknisk analytiker Lars Persson og investor Helge Larsen i studiet. Hør, hvad de har lært af 2024 og få deres bedste bud på interessante investeringstemaer i 2025. Du kan høre mere om blandt andre Novo Nordisk, Zealand Pharma, Genmab og Torm. Vært: Bodil Johanne Gantzel.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

NEWSManchester is red 00:04:302024, how was it? 00:08:55QC2 Pick'em 00:13:31Fantasy update 00:16:442024 QUIZ 00:21:20REVIEWS:Dynamite and Collision! 00:51:37Saturday Night's Main Event 01:16:03MOVIESStar Wars 5, 6, 1, 2 01:21:02Die Hard 01:34:40Die Hard 2 01:37:16TVDoctor Who 1987 - 1988 01:41:10GAMESGame Awards 01:43:18Zelda: OOS 01:50:42

These children of showbiz legends are ensuring that their fathers' memories and legacies live on. We speak with James Tormé and Melissa Tormé-March about their Velvet Fog of a dad, Mel Tormé, as we approach the 80th anniversary of his incomparable contribution to the holiday music canon, 'The Christmas Song'. Then Joel Brokaw joins us. His new book 'Driving Marilyn: The Life and Times of Legendary Hollywood Agent Norman Brokaw' chronicles the history of William Morris star-maker, Norman Brokaw, known to Joel as Dad.Melissa and James share their enthusiasm for Oy! To the World Christmas with a Twist, a new musical playing this month at North Hollywood's El Portal Theatre, which features their father's music alongside a hit list of Christmas classics composed by Jewish-American songwriters. James and Melissa take us back to the sweltering July day in 1945 when their Dad and Bob Wells attempted to beat the heat with wintery lyrics and remained sweaty but created magic by conjuring “Chestnuts roasting on an open fire…”They rushed the song over to Nat King Cole who was in at a few bars and proudly led a parade of 80,064 recorded covers, including James' own version! The Torme kids share their Torme Christmas memories which include their dad and contraband Christmas movies!Then Joel shares his family's history as a Ukrainian vaudeville acrobatic act that segued into the agency business when his Uncle, Johnny Hyde became VP of William Morris, discovered Marilyn Monroe and took on his young nephew, Norman to drive and accompany Marilyn to events.Starting in the mailroom, Norman worked his way up to CEO.  We hear about his working relationships with Marilyn Monroe, Kim Novak, Colonel Tom Parker, Dick Van Dyke, Gerald Ford, Mark Spitz, Barry Gordy and so many other greats.Joel talks about his complicated history with a father whose clients received his primary caregiving. Joel grew up with TV stars spending weekends by his pool, monopolizing his Dad's attention.But what were the qualities that made Norman so affective as a talent mentor? We learn the magic ingredients and hear how Norman took the new fangled TV department and made history with Loretta Young, Barbara Stanwyck, Dick Van Dyke and Andy Griffith.  Joel also talks about Norman's relationship with Bill Cosby and how his father's dementia buffered him from the horrors of Cosby's crimes. And, finally, what was the fate of Norman's sacred, secret keeping Rolodex?Plus, this week Weezy recommends Nutcrackers on Hulu and Fritz is all about Thelma, now in theaters and on streaming platforms.Path Points of Interest:Oy! To The WorldJames Tormé James Tormé on YouTubeJames Tormé  on XThe Christmas Song by James Tormé James Tormé at Kookaburra on 12/21Joel BrokawDriving Marilyn by Joel BrokawNorman Brokaw on WikiNutcrackers on HuluThelma - Streaming in Most Places  

Der er udsigt til et godt aktieår i 2025. Det mener dagens gæst i Millionærklubben, den erfarne erhvervsmand og investor Jens Løgstrup. I dagens program hører vi mere om hans syn på markederne, og hvor der er de bedste muligheder for afkast. Du kan blandt andet høre mere om selskaberne Torm, DFDS og ChemoMetec. Med i panelet er også aktiechef i HC Andersen Capital, Michael Friis Jørgensen, der også er fast porteføljeforvalter her i klubben.  Vært: Adam GeilSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Der er ikke længere nogen tvivl: Donald Trump er USAs 47. præsident. Det er et sceanarie, vi længe har forholdt os til hypotetisk. Men hvad sker der, når hypoteserne rammer virkeligheden, og Trump får nøglerne til Det Hvide Hus. Det spørger Millionærklubben om denne torsdag, hvor der også er landet et par regnskaber fra Zealand Pharma, Genmab, GN Store Nord og Torm. Dem vender vi i sidste halvdel af udsendelsen. Dagens panel er Ulrik Bie, økonomisk redaktør på Berlingske, Michelle Nørgaard, senioraktiestrateg i Jyske Bank samt Millionærklubbens egen Lau Svenssen. Vært: Signe TerpSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Torm plc is one of the largest US-listed product tanker firms, with a $3.1B market capitalization. 

Frank and Torm discuss a creatively profitable contest for Unknown Armies held on a weekend long, long ago or recently. Enjoy as our two hero critics battle philosophically and make references past each other. Check out the entries here: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1g1RzxcmTUeq6QVxUr8zHw6AH6HGbLpmQgMp9BTbOues/edit?usp=sharing

Mogg prays and The Cadet bees....yes...bees....Bickle Jr gets in shit and Mad Maven wants nothing to do with his recuperation. the city of Oneidbur looms as the church of Torm welcomes everyone.

Endelig kom der flow i ketchupflasken og de danske regnskaber flyder i en lind strøm ud til investorerne - i dag med friske tal fra bl.a. Torm, FLSchmidt og Ørsted. Teknisk analytiker Lars Persson fra Aktierådet og seniorstrateg Michelle Nørgaard fra Jyske Bank tager det hele under kærlig behandling og debatterer, om selskaberne leverer varen. Med på telefonen en aktuel kommentar til dagens fulde regnskab fra finansdirektøren i FLSchmidt, Roland M. Andersen.  Vært: Bodil Johanne Gantzel.  Producer: Kasper RiisingSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Kui aeda räsivad tugevad tuuled, rahehood või kuumalained, siis kuidas talitada, et kaitsta taimi?

Veðrið, trygd í psykiatriini, nýggj útvarpssending, Suðuroyggjar og Grøni háskúlin Gestir hesaferð: Tormóður Stórá, John Randall, Gutti Winther og Gudmundur Joensen

sonkaevés kaláccsalperec receptházi pékeskedésfriss tormawasabi készítés titkaotthoni hálózat anomáliákKell-e gigabit?ősi megoldás: jack csatlakozóSkoda okosságokbácsi és az fps20 éves a Gmailnicknév választásTwitterünk - Kotyogós podcast officialAntenna twitterenGergő twitteren Írhatsz nekünk e-mailt: kotyogospodcast@gmail.comHa meghívnál minket egy kávéra és ezzel hozzá szeretnél férni a specialty tartalmunkhoz megjelenés pillanatában:Patreon támogatásHa beszélgetni akartok velünk és hallgatótársaitokkal akkor Telegramon is megtehetitek ha a "t pont me per kotyogos"-ra mentek.

Möödunud märtsis külastas RSR välisreisi raames Prahat. Reis kestis neli päeva ning selle ajaga sai külastatud Prahas erinevaid kohti, alates Karli ülikoolist lõpetades kohalike pubidega. Oma muljeid reisist jagavad kuulajaga Anna Gerda, Annabel, Anastasia, Harald, Ruth ja Thomas ning värvi saatele lisavad taaskord otsereportaažid Prahast koha pealt. Saate lõikasid kokku Torm ja Saskia

SAMEDI 10 FÉVRIER 2024Guillaume Quenard - Domaine Andre et Michel Quenard (Savoie)Créé sous sa forme actuelle en 1976, le Domaine André et Michel Quenard se situe sur le fameux coteau de Torméry. Connu pour sa topographie extrême, les vignes du domaine sont plantées à partir de 300 mètres d'altitude et s'élèvent jusqu'à 400 mètres. Le domaine a fait le choix d'opter pour une viticulture exigeante et respectueuse de la nature permettant ainsi d'obtenir des vins révélant l'authenticité du terroir.David Cobbold - Les modifications des couleurs des vins en France depuis 1950Chronique animée par David Cobbold, co-fondateur de l'Académie des Vins et Spiritueux

Steve March-Tormé and Michael Murphy of STEEM return to the show to get us ready for the holiday season. For Kids From 1 To 92 is a special concert being performed in five states that includes Christmas music from a wide variety of genres. You'll hear holiday classics done in an array of styles from jazz to rock to you name it! It was Steve's dad who wrote "The Christmas Song" from which the title of this concert event was taken, so you can be sure he'll be sharing this special musical heirloom at each show. So sit back and get the details about this special tour that we hope you'll catch in the coming weeks!For Kids From 1 To 92 website. Get the tour schedule and purchase tickets here."I Remember Christmastime" written and performed by Steve March-Tormé℗ 2021 Steve March-Tormé. Used with permission of Steve March-Tormé.Support the showSupport the show: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/intothemusic E-mail us at intothemusic@newprojectx.com YouTube Facebook Instagram INTO THE MUSIC is a production of Project X Productions, Appleton, WI.Producer: Rob MarnochaRecording, engineering, and post production: Rob MarnochaOpening theme: "Aerostar" by Los Straitjackets* (℗2013 Yep Roc Records)Closing theme: "Close to Champaign" by Los Straitjackets* (℗1999 Yep Roc Records)*Used with permission of Eddie AngelThis podcast copyright ©2024 by Project X Productions. All rights reserved.

Bill Aimutis, director of the North Carolina Food Innovation Lab, brought a couple of decades' experience in global innovation with Cargill to his position, so when he speaks on the best way to launch and grow an alt-meat (or any other kind of food) business, people listen. Aimutis shared his thoughts with Alt-Meat on how best to thrive in the rough economic waters now surrounding the alt-proteins business.

La guerra civil castigo con dureza muchas zonas de Teruel y el trauma de lo vivido sigue presente en la memoria de los turolenses y las cicatrices del paisaje. Alfonso Casas Ologaray publica con Prames “Lugares de la guerra”, un detallado inventario de los restos de la guerra en la provincia. El libro es como una enorme enciclopedia, que habla de los italianos en Fonfría, de los túneles del entorno de Más de las Matas, de las fortificaciones de Cerro Gordo, el campamento de maquis en Tormón o la resistencia final en Javalambre. Un libro abrumador que es un recorrido minucioso por las heridas que la guerra civil dejo en la geografía de la provincia de Teruel.El historiador y profesor José Serafín Aldecoa, presenta su nuevo proyecto, un análisis exhaustivo de las mujeres turolenses que fueron sometidas a consejos y de guerra y ajusticiadas entre el año 36 y 1945. No ha sido un trabajo fácil, puesto que en muchas ocasiones, no hay referencia documental alguna sobre estas mujeres que fueron detenidas y sometidas a tribunales militares. La pena, para muchas, fue una importantísima multa, que condicionó durante décadas, la vida de sus familias.

Stuudios Priit Hõbemägi, Ainar Ruussaar ja Viktoria Ladõnskaja-Kubits. Kas Venemaa lõhkus Eesti ja Soome vahelise gaasiühenduse? Automaks täidab riigikassat ja tühjendab meie taskuid. Riigikogulaste üüratud kuluhüvitised - kui kaua veel?!? Kalle Grünthali imeline, kahe kütusega auto. Koolid ja lasteasutused said pommiähvarduse. Kas reaktsioon oli adekvaatne? Kaja Kallas sai Aafrikast tüngakõne. Ameeriklased annavad 50 miljonit Danske panga raha Eestile hea koostöö eest. Reformi toetus langeb. Torm tekitas Eestimaal palju kahju ja peavalu.

Mikael Skov is Co-Founder and CEO of Hafnia. Mikael has more than 33 years of experience in the shipping industry. Prior to establishing Hafnia Tankers, Mikael held various positions over his 25-year career at Torm, of which the last two years he served as CEO. Mikael is a board member of Clipper Group Ltd. and was an industry representative of the Danish Maritime Strategy Team established by the Ministry of Industry, Business and Financial Affairs.Follow Mikael Skov and HafniaMikael's LinkedIn: rb.gy/86lysHafnia: https://hafniabw.com/Books Recommended: https://www.amazon.com/World-Sale-Javier-Blas/dp/0190078952https://www.amazon.com/Red-Notice-Bill-Browder-audiobook/dp/B00T567KIAPartnership, recruitment & Ad enquiries?For business and partnerships enquiries email christopher@bynorthernnorway.com or use the contact form at www.christophervonheim.comFollow Vonheim on X / Twitter and YouTube:YouTube: Christopher VonheimX / Twitter: @chrisvonheimDisclaimerAll opinions expressed by Christopher Vonheim or his guests on this show are only their opinions and do not reflect the opinions of Vonheim. You should not treat any opinion expressed by Christopher Vonheim as a specific reason to invest or follow a particular strategy, but only as an expression of his opinion. This Show is for informational purposes only. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

When Elton John released his second album, Tumbleweed Connection, in the latter part of 1970, he took a huge gamble on his sophomore effort. Heavily influenced and inspired by The Band's classic debut, Music From Big Pink, and featuring no hit singles, it has come to be hailed as a near perfect album and one of Elton's finest. Steve March-Tormé and Michael Murphy are now bringing the entire album to the stage in the form of Tumbleweed Re-Connection for two nights featuring a stellar band in one of Wisconsin's finest auditoriums. Each show will be like getting a two-for-one concert because they will also be featuring a set of 1970's biggest songs. Listen here to get the inside scoop and all the show information.TICKET AND SHOW INFORMATION: https://thelmaarts.org/pages/events"Love Song" performed by Michael Murphy and Steve March-Torméwritten by Lesley Duncan℗ 1970 The Record Company Ltd. This performance used with permission of Michael Murphy and Steve March-Tormé.Support the showSupport the show: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/intothemusic E-mail us at intothemusic@newprojectx.com YouTube Facebook Instagram INTO THE MUSIC is a production of Project X Productions, Appleton, WI.Producer: Rob MarnochaRecording, engineering, and post production: Rob MarnochaOpening theme: "Aerostar" by Los Straitjackets* (℗2013 Yep Roc Records)Closing theme: "Close to Champaign" by Los Straitjackets* (℗1999 Yep Roc Records)*Used with permission of Eddie AngelThis podcast copyright ©2024 by Project X Productions. All rights reserved.

Mikael Skov is Co-Founder and CEO of Hafnia. Mikael has more than 33 years of experience in the shipping industry. Prior to establishing Hafnia Tankers, Mikael held various positions over his 25-year career at Torm, of which the last two years he served as CEO. Mikael is a board member of Clipper Group Ltd. and was an industry representative of the Danish Maritime Strategy Team established by the Ministry of Industry, Business and Financial Affairs.00:00 - Norway00:30 - Why is Denmark great at shipping?01:40 - Mikael's time at TORM, and key lessons04:25 - Why start Hafnia Tankers?08:22 - Don't lose money on your first deal10:40 - Why did Hafnia become a huge success?13:50 - Flexible versus scale in shipping15:00 - How does the tanker market work?22:00 - How long will the rates be strong?24:25 - The biggest moat you can get in shipping29:10 - What's the Hafnia culture?32:40 - Founder versus CEO role35:15 - How to transition shipping to green solutions?41:20 - Biggest stories in shipping (China, Taiwan, New Trade Routes)43:30 - Mikael's book tips (Red Notice by Bill Browder and The World For Sale by Javier Blas)45:00 - Career and life adviceFollow Mikael Skov and HafniaMikael's LinkedIn: rb.gy/86lysHafnia: https://hafniabw.com/Books Recommended: https://www.amazon.com/World-Sale-Javier-Blas/dp/0190078952https://www.amazon.com/Red-Notice-Bill-Browder-audiobook/dp/B00T567KIAPartnership, recruitment & Ad enquiries?For business and partnerships enquiries email christopher@bynorthernnorway.com or use the contact form at www.christophervonheim.comFollow Vonheim on X / Twitter and YouTube:YouTube: Christopher VonheimX / Twitter: @chrisvonheimDisclaimerAll opinions expressed by Christopher Vonheim or his guests on this show are only their opinions and do not reflect the opinions of Vonheim. You should not treat any opinion expressed by Christopher Vonheim as a specific reason to invest or follow a particular strategy, but only as an expression of his opinion. This Show is for informational purposes only. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Steve March-Tormé returns to shoot the breeze about baseball, future projects, and upcoming concerts, and more in this fun episode! Steve joins a small cohort of guests who've made return appearances, and it's a delight to host him! Son of legendary singer-songwriter Mel Tormé and the stepson of well-known actor/comedian Hal March, is a talented entertainer in his own right.  Since the late 1970s, he has been a successful singer, entertainer, recording artist, TV & radio host and has toured extensively worldwide to an ever-growing fan base.To learn more about Steve, or to catch him at a concert or festival, click here!Fun fact: This is the 99th episode, but it was recorded out of order! The 100th episode was recorded earlier chronologically, and will be released, of course, after this one! Support the showSo grateful for all the listeners! Check the links below from charities, subscriptions, merch, reading list, and more. Love the show?You can now support the show with a subscription! Click here for all the details.**Want to write a review? Click here for details.**Donate to AhHa!Broadway here!Donate Dachshund Rescue of Houston hereBlog https://tstakaishi.wixsite.com/musicInsta @creative_peacemeal_podcastFB @creativepeacemealpodBonfire Merch https://www.bonfire.com/store/creative-peacemeal/Redbubble Merch CPPodcast.redbubble.comCreative Peacemeal READING list hereInterested in Corrie Legge's content planner? Click here to order!

Wann waren Sie eigentlich zuletzt mitten in der Nacht draußen, in der Natur? Mitten zwischen Bäumen, Glühwürmchen und Sternenhimmel? Im niederösterreichischen Naturpark Ötscher-Tormäuer gibt es von Frühling bis Herbst Nachtwanderungen durch die Finsternis. Biologin Katja Weirer will den Teilnehmenden in punkto Natur dabei vor allem eines vermitteln: ein Gefühl. Ohne künstliche Lichtquellen geht es vorbei an Waldkauzen, Rehen und Gebirgsflüssen. radio klassik Stephansdom-Redakteurin Marlene Groihofer hat sich für die radio klassik-Kulturausflüge auf die nächtliche Tour "Geräusche in der Dunkelheit" mitnehmen lassen. 

Tras la caída de Torm, el comando formado por Roldi, Kai, Jepardo y Benita abandonan la Ciudadela para salir en busca de Morkon y Taina. De nuevo con tiempo suficiente para llegar lo suficientemente lejos, volverán a enfrentarse juntos a los peligros del bosque. Interpretado por Diego Villalba, Alonso Velasco, David Sainz, Sofía Privitera, Antonio Velázquez, Gema Abad, Adrián Pino, Edu Bulnes, Fernando Moreno, Ale Cacua y Antonio Dechent. Guion - David Sainz, Manuel Noguera Grabación y postproducción - Alonso Velasco Banda Sonora - Jesús Calderón Ilustración - José Antonio Pérez

Take two! It's the rematch of the century! Mairi must fend off Demogorgon as he tries to push his way into Hell from a portal in the Abyss while The Red Rider, who it turns out is someone very close to Mairi, experiences a vision from Torm. The last time Mairi and the Prince of Demons went head-to-head-to-head with Demogorgon she was crushed to death and wound up in Barovia. With no Raven Queen to bail her out this time, she better survive so she can…stay in Hell?This episode was inspired in part by Baldur's Gate: Descent into Avernus1PDnD 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“Armageddon” and “Hall of the Metal King"  by Alexander Nakarada (www.serpentsoundstudios.com)Licensed under Creative Commons BY Attribution 4.0 License

Vi lanserte nylig handel i over 3000 amerikanske aksjer og ETF-er til alle kunder i vår stadig voksende handels- og analyseplattform. I tillegg til unik tilgang til før- og etterbørshandel, gunstige valutaløsninger og avanserte aksjehandelsløsninger, dekker våre analytikere også en rekke USA-noterte aksjer, og spesielt innen shipping. Hør våre shippinganalytikere Eirik Haavaldsen og August Klemp dra gjennom shippingaksjene vi dekker og de ulike undersegmentene sammen med aksjemegler Sebastian Baartvedt.De USA-noterte aksjene vi dekker inkluderer Cool Company, DHT, Dorian LPG, Equinor, Euronav, Flex LNG, Freyr, Frontline, Golar LNG, Golden Ocean, International Seaways, Noble Corp., Scorpio Tankers, SFL Corp., Star Bulk Carriers, Teekay Tankers, TORM, Transocean og Valaris. Les mer om:- Handel i før- og etterbørshandelen på Wall Street: https://www.paretosec.no/aktuelt/handle-i-foer-og-etterboers-usa- Våre løsninger for valutaveksling og det store sparepotensialet: https://www.paretosec.no/aktuelt/valutaveksling-saa-mye-kan-du-spare- Hvordan konvertere aksjer mellom Oslo Børs og USA: https://www.paretosec.no/aktuelt/konvertering-av-aksjer- Lanseringen av USA-handel: https://www.paretosec.no/aktuelt/nyhet-handle-paa-usa-boersene-via-alle-vaare-handelsplattformerDisclaimer:Pareto Securities' podkaster inneholder ikke profesjonell rådgivning, og skal ikke betraktes som investeringsrådgivning. Handel i verdipapirer medfører til enhver tid risiko, og historisk avkastning er ingen garanti for fremtidig avkastning. Pareto Securities er verken rettslig eller økonomisk ansvarlig for direkte eller indirekte tap, eller andre kostnader som måtte påløpe ved bruk av informasjon i denne podkasten.Se våre nettsider https://paretosec.com/our-firm/compliance/ for mer informasjon og full disclaimer. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

"Mehed ei nuta" peateemad 18. aprillil: - Kas rallimaailmal on Craig Breeni traagilisest avariist midagi õppida? - Millised on Ott Tänaku võiduvõimalused Horvaatia rallil? - Kodune korvpalli play-off: mis ja kes on üllatanud, kus näeme intriigi? - Korvpalli Euroliiga lõpplahendus: miks pääses Žalgiris edasi, aga Baskonia jäi play-off'i ukse taha? - Areng liigub õiges suunas? Eneli Jefimova vormistas Eesti rekordiga esimese eestlasena Pariisi olümpiapileti. - Torm veeklaasis? Koalitsioonileping ajas Eesti spordiringkonnad muretsema. Ka koalitsioonilepingu spordipunktide analüüs on halastamatu - kolme valitsuspartei valimisprogrammidest pole lepingusse jõudnud sisuliselt midagi.

Im Tor sind Frauen und Männer gleich - denkt man. Manuel Gitschat ist da anderer Meinung. Als professioneller Coach bietet er Torwarttraining ausschließlich für Mädchen und Frauen an. Darüber hinaus beschäftigt er sich auch mit der Torwartkleidung und - handschuhen der Frauen. Denn auch da sieht er Unterschiede. Ein interessantes Gespräch über Torfrauen und Tormännern.

Im Tor sind Frauen und Männer gleich - denkt man. Manuel Gitschat ist da anderer Meinung. Als professioneller Coach bietet er Torwarttraining ausschließlich für Mädchen und Frauen an. Darüber hinaus beschäftigt er sich auch mit der Torwartkleidung und - handschuhen der Frauen. Denn auch da sieht er Unterschiede. Ein interessantes Gespräch über Torfrauen und Tormännern.

Jacob Meldgaard, CEO of Torm Plc (TRMD), joined J Mintzmyer on Value Investor's Edge Live on January 10, 2023, to discuss the product tanker markets, upcoming catalysts, company strategy, and capital allocation plans. Torm is a major US-listed product tanker company with a fully-delivered fleet of 78 vessels.

Amerikanske inflationstal lige på pletten, og en centralbank i Japan, der rører på sig og sender japanske aktier i dørken. Millionærklubben ser på dagens aktuelle markeder, samler op på ugen i finans og svarer på lytterspørgsmål med Lau Svenssen og Lars Persson i studiet. Vært: Bodil Johanne Gantzel.  Du kan også høre mere om Novo Nordisk, Norden, Torm, Teva, Green Hydrogen Systems, FLS, Gomspace, Ørsted, DSV, Astrazeneca, Lufthansa, Adidas, Ambu, NEL, Chr. Hansen og Novozymes.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Bodil Johanne Gantzel tager hul på sidste dag i børsugen sammen med klubbens to porteføljeforvaltere, Lau Svenssen og Lars Persson, der også svarer på spørgsmål fra lytterne.  Du kan høre mere om blandt andre A.P. Møller - Mærsk, Eolus Vind, Torm, Trifork, Salzgitter, Loomis og Aurubis. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Steve March Tormé, son of legendary singer-songwriter Mel Tormé and the stepson of well-known actor/comedian Hal March, is a talented entertainer in his own right.  Since the late 1970s, he has been a successful singer, entertainer, recording artist, TV & radio host and has toured extensively worldwide to an ever-growing fan base.In this episode, he talks about carving his own path in the music business, his radio show, what's coming for the 2022 holiday season and beyond, and more in this fun and entertaining interview. To find out more, and book tickets on his tour, visit https://www.stevemarchtorme.com/ Donate Dachshund Rescue of Houston hereBlog https://tstakaishi.wixsite.com/musicInsta @creative_peacemeal_podcastFB @creativepeacemealpodMerch CPPodcast.redbubble.com

Året går på hæld, og det kan betyde drama på aktiemarkedet i den kommende tid. Gevinster skal sikres, tab begrænses og skatten skal optimeres. Samtidig er der tradition for, at store professionelle investorer drosler ned på de store omlægninger.  Den cocktail kan betyde større udsving. I Millionærklubben ser vi nærmere på mulighederne og risiciene for private investorer. Gæster: Lars Erik Skovgaard, senior investeringsstrateg i Danske Bank samt vores alle sammens Lau Svenssen. Du kan også høre om Norden, Torm, BMW og Tesla Vært: Simon Richard NielsenSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Endnu en dag med fuld blus på det finansielle drama. Millionærklubben fra Euroinvestor sætter fokus på de helt aktuelle bevægelser med fokus på bitcoin, der styrtdykker samtidig med at guld og sølv begynder at rykke.  Mens dramaet spidser til på globalt plan skal vi også forbi en række interessant regnskaber fra ikke mindst ALK, Torm og Matas.  Vi har en telefon igennem til CEO Carsten Hellmann fra ALK. Vi får også besøg af Saxo Banks råvarestrateg Ole Sloth Hansen samt vores alle sammens Lau Svenssen. Vært: Simon Richard NielsenSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In this episode, two adventures are taking place simultaneously. In the main adventure, the Gorgeous Phoenix Brigade has a chat with the mysterious inhabitant of the "solar insidiator", and let's just say the dude is down with Torm. In the secondary adventure, Brad and Deon battle audio issues. Deon rolls a natural 20, but Brad isn't so fortunate... Will Brad survive?! For all things Rated RPG, check our website: RatedRPGPodcast.com

Can our heroes free Ulder Ravengard from the Helm of Torm's Sight?

Can our heroes free Ulder Ravengard from the Helm of Torm's Sight?

Danske rederier slår den ene rekord i indtjeningen efter den anden. I dag har både Torm og Norden bekræftet den helt vilde tendens. Men shippingbranche er notorisk kendt for at konkurrere sig selv ihjel - så hvor længe varer aktiefesten denne gang?Vi får en snak med CEO Jan Rindom fra Norden om de flotte resultater. Med i studiet har vi Euroinvestors egen kommentator og ekspert Lau Svenssen og special guest star i dag er Nina Movin fra Otto Mønsteds Fond. Vært: Simon Richard NielsenSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Millionærklubben tager fat på en ny børsuge, hvor den danske regnskabssæson fortsætter på fuld drøn med blandt andet Carlsberg, Pandora, Demant, Jyske Bank og Torm. Per Hansen, investeringsøkonom hos Nordnet, og klubbens egen forvalter, Lau Svenssen, peger på de vigtigste regnskaber og gør status over de bedste aktier indtil nu. Vært: Sara SjølinSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Deep Purple Podcast Show Notes Episode #167 Gillan - Future Shock June 27, 2022 Subscribe at Apple Podcasts, Stitcher, Google Podcasts, Overcast, Pocket Casts, Anchor.fm, Breaker, PodBean, RadioPublic, Amazon Music, or search in your favorite podcatcher! How To Support Our Show: Leave us a 5-Star Review on Apple Podcasts Buy Merch at Our Etsy Store! Become a Patron on Patreon Donate on Paypal (Donate one time or click “make this a monthly donation” box) Donate to $DPPOD Using Cash App Brendan Ashbrook - Logo Designer Welcome Our Newest Patron(s): John Miceli - Joining at the $1 tier! Thanks to Our Executive Level Patrons: Deep Dive Podcast Network: Personnel: Bass – John McCoy Drums – Mick Underwood Guitar – Bernie Tormé Keyboards – Colin Towns Vocals – Ian Gillan Technical: Engineer – Paul 'Chas' Watkins* Lacquer Cut By – Joël (Dork) Michiels* Management – Phil Banfield Mixed By – John McCoy Mixed By – Paul 'Chas' Watkins* Album Art & Booklet Review Illustration – Alan Daniels (2) Illustration – Angus McKie Painting [Cover] – Alan Daniels (2) Photography By [Main Photos] – Gavin Cochrane Liner Notes and Magazine Quotes Other Releases: Thanks to Our Core Level Patrons: Album Tracks: Side One: Future Shock (Gillan, McCoy, Tormé) Night Ride Out of Phoenix (Gillan, Towns) (The Ballad Of) The Lucitania Express (Gillan, McCoy, Tormé) No Laughing in Heaven (Gillan, McCoy, Tormé, Towns, Underwood) Sacre Bleu (Gillan, McCoy, Tormé) New Orleans (Frank Guida, Joseph Royster)r Side Two: Bite the Bullet (Gillan, Towns) If I Sing Softly (Gillan, McCoy, Tormé) Don't Want the Truth (Gillan, McCoy, Tormé) For Your Dreams (Gillan, Towns) Thanks To Our Foundation Level Patrons: Reception and Charts: For Further Information: http://www.deeppurplepodcast.com Listener Mail/Comments Comments about the show? Things you'd like us to cover? We'd love to hear from you. Send us an email at info@deeppurplepodcast.com or @ us on Twitter, Facebook, or Instagram.

In 2002, I wrote and hosted a series of documentaries called “Upfront” – about singers who made their names upfront with the big-bands. Here, I present the hippest of all singers Mel Tormé making his name with the most intellectual of bandleaders, Artie Shaw. Uber-talented Tormé was an actor, author, pianist, guitarist, arranger, songwriter (“The Christmas Song”), and drummer! He was singing with his vocal group, The Mel-Tones, when Shaw, the most successful bandleader in America wanted to expand his sound. This is the story of what can happen when two supreme talents collaborate - both a meeting of minds and a butting of heads! The music was as sublime as their infamous arguments! The show features interviews with, Mel Tormé himself, Ginny Mancini (of the Mel-Tones), and writer Will Friedwald. MEL TORMÉ & ARTIE SHAW – A Meeting of Minds! #RadioRichard #ArtieShaw, #MelTormé #GinnyMancini, #WillFriedwald, #RichardNiles, #jazz, #jazzsinging #jazzvocalists #jazzclarinet #bigband #harmonygroups #TheMelTones  #vocalarranging #LanaTurner #TheVelvetFog Get Richard's book here! The Invisible Artist Watch this episode in video HERE Please Like, Share, and Subscribe to our YouTube channel:

The adventurers brave a deadly crossing of Torm's Blade Bridge.

The adventurers brave a deadly crossing of Torm's Blade Bridge.