Podcasts about world wars

Bookwaves/Artwaves is produced and hosted by Richard Wolinsky. Links to assorted local theater & book venues   David Thomson, Film Critic and Historian David Thomson, film critic and historian, discusses his book, “The Fatal Alliance: A Century of War on Film” with host Richard Wolinsky. Author of over forty books, most of which deal with film and film history, David Thomson here discusses how movies have influenced how our society sees and understands war. In the interview, he talks about how war films rarely focus on the reasons why individual wars are fought, the soldier mentality, the two World Wars on film, fascism and resistance on film, along with such films as Black Hawk Down, The Deer Hunter and A Man Escapes. Recorded a year ago, he also discusses fascism in the United States, and the nature of resistance. Special thanks to AJ Fox and Susan Oxtoby of Pacific Film Archive, where the interview was recorded. Photo of David Thomson: Richard Wolinsky. Complete Interview.   Review of “Eddie Izzard Hamlet” at ACT Strand Theatre through April 20, 2025.   Review of “The Heart Sellers” at TheatreWorks Mountain View Center for the Performing Arts through April 27, 2025.   Book Interview/Events and Theatre Links Note: Shows may unexpectedly close early or be postponed due to actors' positive COVID tests. Check the venue for closures, ticket refunds, and vaccination and mask requirements before arrival. Dates are in-theater performances unless otherwise noted. Some venues operate Tuesday – Sunday; others Wednesday or Thursday through Sunday. All times Pacific Time. Closing dates are sometimes extended. Book Stores Bay Area Book Festival  See website for highlights from the 10th Annual Bay Area Book Festival, June 1-2, 2024. Book Passage.  Monthly Calendar. Mix of on-line and in-store events. Books Inc.  Mix of on-line and in-store events. The Booksmith.  Monthly Event Calendar. BookShop West Portal. Monthly Event Calendar. Center for Literary Arts, San Jose. See website for Book Club guests in upcoming months. Green Apple Books. Events calendar. Kepler's Books  On-line Refresh the Page program listings. Live Theater Companies Actors Ensemble of Berkeley.  Summers at John Hinkel Park: Cymbeline opens July 4; The Taming of the Shrew opens August 16. See website for readings and events. Actor's Reading Collective (ARC).   See website for upcoming productions. African American Art & Culture Complex. See website for calendar. Afro-Solo Theatre Company.See website for calendar. American Conservatory Theatre Eddie Izzard Hamlet, April 1-20 Strand. Two Trains Running by August Wilson, April 15 -May 4, and The Comedy of Errors, April 22 – May 3 with The Acting Company, in repertory, Toni Rembe Theater. Aurora Theatre  Crumbs from the Table of Joy by Lynn Nottage, April 26-May 25, 2025 Awesome Theatre Company. See website for information. Berkeley Rep. Here There Are Blueberries by Moises Kaufman and Amanda Gronich, April 5 – May 11, Roda Theatre. Berkeley Shakespeare Company Julius Caesar, June 13-21, Live Oak Theater, Berkeley. y. See website for upcoming events and productions. Boxcar Theatre. The Illusionist with Kevin Blake, live at the Palace Theatre, through April 27. Brava Theatre Center: See calendar for current and upcoming productions. BroadwaySF: Six, April 8-20, Curran; Mamma Mia! April 30 – May 11, Orpheum. See website for complete listings for the Orpheum, Golden Gate and Curran Theaters. Broadway San Jose:  Six. April 22-27. See website for other events. Center Rep: The Roommate by Jen Silverman, March 30 – April 20. Lesher Center. Central Stage. See website for upcoming productions, 5221 Central Avenue, Richmond Central Works  The Last Goat by Gary Graves, June 28 – July 27. Cinnabar Theatre. Bright Star, June 13-29, Sonoma State. Club Fugazi. Dear San Francisco ongoing. Check website for Music Mondays listings. Contra Costa Civic Theatre Fiddler on the Roof June 7 – 22. See website for other events. 42nd Street Moon. See website for upcoming productions. Golden Thread  AZAD (The Rabbit and the Wolf) by Sona Tatoyan in collaboration with Jared Mezzocchi, April 11 – May 3. See website for other events. Hillbarn Theatre: Writing Fragments Home by Jeffrey Lo, April 17 – May 4. Lorraine Hansberry Theatre. Come Thru: A Celebration of Black Artistry, Story Telling and Community, May 5-18, Magic Theatre, Fort Mason. See website for specific workshops and events. Los Altos Stage Company. Cyrano by Edmund Rostand, April 10 – May 4. Lower Bottom Playaz  See website for upcoming productions. Magic Theatre. the boiling by Sunui Chang  April 3 -20, 2025. See website for additional events. Marin Shakespeare Company: See website for calendar. Mission Cultural Center for Latino Arts Upcoming Events Page. New Conservatory Theatre Center (NCTC) Simple Mexican Pleasures by Eric Reyes Loo, April 18 – May 11. New Performance Traditions.  See website for upcoming schedule Oakland Theater Project.  I Am My Own Wife by Doug Wright, March 21 – April 13, Odd Salon: Upcoming events in San Francisco & New York, and streaming. Palace of Fine Arts Theater.  See website for event listings. Pear Theater. Henry V by William Shakespeare, April 18 – May 11. See website for staged readings and other events. Playful People Productions. Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, April 10-19. Presidio Theatre. See website for complete schedule of events and performances. Ray of Light: Next to Normal. May 30 – June 21. Ross Valley Players: The Book of Will  by Lauren Gunderson, May 9 – June 8. See website for New Works Sunday night readings and other events. San Francisco Playhouse. Fat Ham by James Ijames, March 20 – April 19. SFBATCO.  See website for upcoming streaming and in- theater shows. San Jose Stage Company: The Underpants by Steve Martin, April 3 -27. Shotgun Players.  Art by Yazmina Reza, through April 12. South Bay Musical Theatre: Titanic, a concert presentation, April 12-13. Brigadoon, May 17-June 7, Stagebridge: See website for events and productions. Storytime every 4th Saturday. The Breath Project. Streaming archive. The Marsh: Calendar listings for Berkeley, San Francisco and Marshstream. Theatre Lunatico  Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare, April 26 – May 18. LaVal's Subterranean Theatre. Theatre Rhino  Gumiho by Nina Ki, April 17 – May 11.Streaming: Essential Services Project, conceived and performed by John Fisher, all weekly performances now available on demand. TheatreWorks Silicon Valley. The Heart-Sellers by Lloyd Suh, April 2-27. Word for Word.  See website for upcoming productions. Misc. Listings: BAM/PFA: On View calendar for Berkeley Art Museum/Pacific Film Archive. Berkeley Symphony: See website for listings. Chamber Music San Francisco: Calendar, 2025 Season. Dance Mission Theatre. On stage events calendar. Fort Mason Center. Events calendar. Crushing, live monologue show, Feb. 27-28. Oregon Shakespeare Festival: Calendar listings and upcoming shows. San Francisco Gay Men's Chorus. See schedule for upcoming SFGMC performances. San Francisco Opera. Calendar listings. San Francisco Symphony. Calendar listings. Filmed Live Musicals: Searchable database of all filmed live musicals, podcast, blog. If you'd like to add your bookstore or theater venue to this list, please write Richard@kpfa.org                                   .   . The post David Thomson: A Century of War on Film appeared first on KPFA.

Admiral Vernon Eugene Clark is a retired four-star admiral who served as Chief of Naval Operations (CNO) for the United States Navy. He retired on July 22, 2005, after five years in the role—making him the second-longest serving CNO in history, after Arleigh Burke. During his distinguished military career, Admiral Clark received numerous awards, including four Defense Distinguished Service Medals, three Navy Distinguished Service Medals, and three Legions of Merit. Following his retirement, he was further recognized with the Eisenhower Award from the Business Executives of North America, the Distinguished Sea Service Award from the Naval Order of the United States, and the Distinguished Service Medal from the Military Order of the World Wars. He holds an undergraduate degree from Evangel College in Springfield, Missouri, and an MBA from the University of Arkansas. He has also received honorary doctorates from the University of Toledo, Old Dominion University, Northwest University, and Palm Beach Atlantic University. Today, Admiral Clark continues to share the leadership insights gained throughout his Navy career. He reflects on major challenges—such as the Navy's high attrition rates when he became Chief—and the steps he took to address them. He unpacks what “alignment” means in a leadership context and why it became one of his top priorities. He also discusses the importance of vision in leadership, and how that principle shaped his actions in the aftermath of 9/11. “It's been said before that I bring a little bit of passion to the game.” - Admiral Vern Clark “Alignment is really about communication.” - Admiral Vern Clark “More is caught than taught.” -  Admiral Vern Clark This Week on The Wow Factor: The five principles on which Admiral Vern founded his leadership The importance of culture in a large organization The importance of getting buy-in from the sailors and how Admiral Vern brought his Master Chiefs on board with his plans Admiral Vern's goals of equipping and empowering the whole team How Admiral Vern and his team solved the problem of attrition Where Admiral Vern was when the tragic events of 9/11 occurred and his immediate response to deploy loaded aircraft carriers and destroyers to strategic positions  When Admiral Vern first met President Bush at his inauguration and the promise he made him The story of Admiral Vern's relationship with Donald Rumsfeld, Secretary of Defense The importance of listening as a leader Why Admiral Vern feels that the Lord was watching over him throughout his career Admiral Vern Clark's Word of Wisdom: Having a strategic communications plan that moves you forward as a team or organization is vital. Connect with Admiral Vern Clark:  Any questions for Admiral Clark can be sent to Brad Connect with The Wow Factor:  WOW Factor Website  Brad Formsma on LinkedIn   Brad Formsma on Instagram   Brad Formsma on Facebook   X (formerly Twitter)  

If your house didn't flood this week, then your 401k is probably down 40%. I saw a six-year-old who looked about 65 years old. And, I don't want to get sentimental. Enjoy.New episodes are released every Tuesday. If you want to interact with the show, we have a voice mailbox. Call 818-336-1146 and leave feedback, or just complain, and maybe I'll use it in a future broadcast.https://www.icancomplain.comTEXT THE RAINWATER HOTLINE

Larry Ostola speaks with David A. Borys about his book, Punching Above Our Weight: The Canadian Military at War Since 1867. Punching Above Our Weight offers a comprehensive history of the Canadian military, covering 150 years of evolution from a small, poorly equipped militia to a modern, effective force. It highlights key events such as the Red River Resistance, the Boer War, both World Wars, and peacekeeping missions, including the long Afghan conflict. Borys examines crucial battles like Amiens and Operation Medusa, and important figures such as Louis Riel and Arthur Currie. The book also delves into significant moments, including Canada's declaration of war and the 1990s peacekeeping crises. It addresses challenges faced by the military, such as resource struggles, cultural shifts, and scandals, while offering a fresh perspective on Canada's role in international conflicts. David A. Borys is a Canadian military historian and faculty member at Langara College in Vancouver. He has been seen on such history programs as APTN's Nations at War and National Geographic's Hitler's Last Stand, and is the host of the popular history podcast Curious Canadian History. He lives in Vancouver. Image Credit: Dundurn Press If you like our work, please consider supporting it: bit.ly/support_WTY. Your support contributes to the Champlain Society's mission of opening new windows to directly explore and experience Canada's past.

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

Commandant Dame Helen Gwynne-Vaughan (1879-1967) was an acclaimed botanist who studied and published papers and textbooks on the reproduction of fungi. She also had a military career in both World Wars, and was appointed the first Chief Controller of the Auxiliary Territorial Service. For Further Reading: Fungi and the forces: The pioneering life of Helen Gwynne-Vaughan Helen Gwynne-Vaughan: An extraordinary botanist whose problems of identity still confront female scientists today This month, we’re talking about cultivators — women who nurtured, cross-pollinated, experimented, or went to great lengths to better understand and protect the natural world. History classes can get a bad rap, and sometimes for good reason. When we were students, we couldn’t help wondering... where were all the ladies at? Why were so many incredible stories missing from the typical curriculum? Enter, Womanica. On this Wonder Media Network podcast we explore the lives of inspiring women in history you may not know about, but definitely should. Every weekday, listeners explore the trials, tragedies, and triumphs of groundbreaking women throughout history who have dramatically shaped the world around us. In each 5 minute episode, we’ll dive into the story behind one woman listeners may or may not know–but definitely should. These diverse women from across space and time are grouped into easily accessible and engaging monthly themes like Educators, Villains, Indigenous Storytellers, Activists, and many more. Womanica is hosted by WMN co-founder and award-winning journalist Jenny Kaplan. The bite-sized episodes pack painstakingly researched content into fun, entertaining, and addictive daily adventures. Womanica was created by Liz Kaplan and Jenny Kaplan, executive produced by Jenny Kaplan, and produced by Grace Lynch, Maddy Foley, Brittany Martinez, Edie Allard, Carmen Borca-Carrillo, Taylor Williamson, Sara Schleede, Paloma Moreno Jimenez, Luci Jones, Abbey Delk, Adrien Behn, Alyia Yates, Vanessa Handy, Melia Agudelo, and Joia Putnoi. Special thanks to Shira Atkins. Original theme music composed by Miles Moran. Follow Wonder Media Network: Website Instagram Twitter See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

  Admiral Vernon Eugene Clark is a retired four-star admiral who served as the Chief of Naval Operations (CNO) of the United States Navy. He retired on July 22, 2005, making his tenure of five years the second-longest serving CNO behind Arleigh Burke. Admiral Clark has received numerous military decorations for his service, including four awards of the Defense Distinguished Service Medal, three Navy Distinguished Medals, and three awards of the Legion of Merit. Since his retirement, he has been honored with the Eisenhower Award from the Business Executives of North America, the Distinguished Sea Service Award from the Naval Order of the United States, and the Distinguished Service Medal of the Military Order of the World Wars.  Admiral Vern Clark earned his undergraduate degree from Evangel College in Springfield, Missouri, and later completed an MBA at the University of Arkansas. He has also been awarded honorary doctorates from the University of Toledo, Old Dominion University, Northwest University, and Palm Beach Atlantic University.  This week on The Wow Factor podcast, Admiral Vern Clark shares key lessons from his distinguished career in the U.S. Navy. He discusses his commitment to covenant leadership—what it means and how he aimed to live it out in practice. Admiral Clark also breaks down the five priorities he focused on as Chief of Naval Operations: manpower, current readiness, future readiness, quality of service, and alignment—and explains how those priorities shaped his decisions and leadership approach.  “I was raised in a home where we constantly heard about God's plan for our life - and that really framed my background in a very important way..” - Admiral Vern Clark  “Our actions are screaming so loud, they can't hear a word we say, so if we're not living it and walking it, it doesn't matter what all the words are.” -  Admiral Vern Clark  Leadership is a position of servanthood. First, we say—or do we say this last—we can go through anything because Jesus goes before us. - Admiral Vern Clark  This Week on The Wow Factor:  Admiral Vern's experience of growing up the son of a Pastor in the central section of the USA   His early experiences of leadership, including on a kids baseball team  The experience of gaining an MBA at the University of Arkansas against the backdrop of the Vietnam war  How he came to find his life's path as a Commissioned Officer in the US Navy and why he was convinced he would be staying in for only three years only  What convinced Admiral Vern to rejoin the Navy and the career that followed  Why he believes that leadership is a two-way relationship  Resources that Admiral Vern has used in his commitment to being a lifelong learner  The questions that the term ‘heart of covenant' bring up   How Admiral Vern's strong faith has helped him in his role as a leader  Admiral Vern Clark's Word of Wisdom:  Having a strategic communications plan that moves you forward as a team or organization is vital.  Connect with Admiral Vern Clark:   Any questions for Admiral Clark can be sent to Brad  Connect with The Wow Factor:   WOW Factor Website   Brad Formsma on LinkedIn    Brad Formsma on Instagram    Brad Formsma on Facebook    X (formerly Twitter)     

Dr. Jonathan Abel, joined by Dr. Bill Nance, talk with Dr. Scott Moseman about strategic military intelligence between its birth in the US and the end of World War II. They begin by detailing what intelligence is and how it operates on each level of war. They explain how it came about in the Army and Navy. They explore how it went through a fallow period in the early twentieth century. They examine how it worked in the World Wars, especially the Second Conflict. “History is only a confused heap of facts.” – Philip Dormer Stanhope, Earl of Chesterfield Host: Dr. Jonathan Abel, CGSC DMHDMH Podcast Team: Drs. Jonathan Abel, Mark Gerges, and Bill NanceArtwork: Daniel O. NealMusic: SSG Noah Taylor, West Point Band

In Leaders Getting Coffee episode 38, our guest is the Executive Director of the New Zealand Initiative, Dr Oliver Hartwich. Oliver Hartwich was born in West Germany and talks of growing up in the 1980’s in a country shaped by the two World Wars that had until that point defined it. As Europe reshapes its defence strategies in response to the Ukraine crisis, his surprisingly frank conversation about his youth offers a stark reminder of the long-term impacts of war. But it is as an economist, specialising in thinking about government strategy, that he has made his career. That career has seen him working in the House of Lords and in think tanks in the UK, Australia, and ultimately, for the last twelve years, in his adopted home in New Zealand. During the Leaders Getting Coffee podcast Dr Hartwich speaks to Bruce Cotterill about the state of New Zealand, a country which he says has so much going in its favour, and yet continuously fails to live up to its potential. Using the extensive research base of the NZ Initiative as his base, he discusses the state of our housing market and explains in a simple and no-nonsense manner the reasons why such a small country at the end of the world has some of the world’s highest house process. And while on the local themes, his insights regarding our education system, excessive centralisation, infrastructure and the opportunity for direct foreign investment are as refreshing as they are direct. Dr Hartwich has made quite a name for himself as an international columnist, and his comments about the current state of the USA, Europe and the UK are so insightful that they should be regarded as compulsory listening for the millions who are relatively uninformed on matters of international geopolitics.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In this sobering assessment of the moral and spiritual state of the nation, Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones diagnoses the root causes of societal decay in Britain and the West. In this sermon, preached in 1971 to the British Evangelical Council, he argues that the problems go far deeper than mere disobedience or "sleeping sickness," as in the 18th century. Rather, he asserts that a moral "poison" has entered the very bloodstream of society, leading to a denial of God, moral law, and the supernatural. Tracing factors like Victorianism, the novelists, the World Wars, and the trivializing influence of the media, Dr. Lloyd-Jones shows how foundations have been steadily eroded. He emphasizes that the church alone truly understands the gravity of the predicament and its only remedy. The church's role is indirect but vital in determining the state of the nation. Dr. Lloyd-Jones cautions against superficial analysis and insists the root issue is theological - the abandonment of God and His moral law. Citing historians and thinkers, he argues the "morality gap" is greater than ever as man's rebellion reaches its climax. Yet he concludes that the church, armed with the gospel, remains the only hope to speak to the culture and see God's transforming work. Please note that the end of this sermon is missing from the original recording.

In this sobering assessment of the moral and spiritual state of the nation, Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones diagnoses the root causes of societal decay in Britain and the West. In this sermon, preached in 1971 to the British Evangelical Council, he argues that the problems go far deeper than mere disobedience or "sleeping sickness," as in the 18th century. Rather, he asserts that a moral "poison" has entered the very bloodstream of society, leading to a denial of God, moral law, and the supernatural. Tracing factors like Victorianism, the novelists, the World Wars, and the trivializing influence of the media, Dr. Lloyd-Jones shows how foundations have been steadily eroded. He emphasizes that the church alone truly understands the gravity of the predicament and its only remedy. The church's role is indirect but vital in determining the state of the nation. Dr. Lloyd-Jones cautions against superficial analysis and insists the root issue is theological - the abandonment of God and His moral law. Citing historians and thinkers, he argues the "morality gap" is greater than ever as man's rebellion reaches its climax. Yet he concludes that the church, armed with the gospel, remains the only hope to speak to the culture and see God's transforming work. Please note that the end of this sermon is missing from the original recording. To support this ministry financially, visit: https://www.oneplace.com/donate/603/29

Access this entire 87-minute episode (and additional monthly bonus shows) by becoming a Junk Filter patron for only $5.00 (US) a month! Over 30% of episodes are exclusively available to patrons of the show. ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ https://www.patreon.com/posts/207-john-ford-124925337The writer and film programmer Chris Cassingham returns to the podcast from Milwaukee to discuss one of John Ford's greatest films, 1955's The Long Gray Line, Ford's only film shot in the CinemaScope format.Starring Tyrone Power in one of his final films before his unexpected death at age 44, The Long Gray Line tells the true story of Marty Maher, a young Irish immigrant who arrived to the West Point military academy in the late 1800s and lived and worked there for 50 years, moving up from the kitchen to become a non-commissioned officer and athletic instructor and a beloved figure to generations of cadets. The film spans this half-century and the narrative evolves from a wacky comedy to a stark and tragic tale of loss, as Maher and his wife Mary (Maureen O'Hara) continue to age as the continuum of young cadets come and go, some to die in combat through the two World Wars. We talk about Ford's innovations in the use of the then-new technology of CinemaScope, with his camera favouring the Z-axis (the depth of the widescreen image) to visually depict the theme of the film, life's vanishing points, with a protagonist who slowly realizes the lack of control he has over his own life, a film certainly influential on Scorsese's The Irishman, with Ford offering at once a tribute to West Point and a questioning of the futility of Maher's task, a lifetime spent training young men to die for their country. Follow Chris Cassingham on Twitter and Bluesky and subscribe to his new substack Dark Optimism.The Long Gray Line is currently available to watch for free (with ads) and in CinemaScope on YouTube and Tubi. Trailer for The Long Gray Line (John Ford, 1955)

In a letter to President Donald Trump and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, a group of lawmakers is urging the Defense Department to 'immediately reverse policies' that they say attempt to erase records of troops' historic accomplishments. The four lawmakers signed onto the letter are veterans who serve on the Senate Armed Services Committee. The lawmakers said content about record-breaking combat flight hours by female aviators, medal recipients within segregated combat units during the World Wars and historical contributions of Native American servicemembers is being removed indiscriminately. Chief Pentagon Spokesman Sean Parnell said Thursday that “history is not DEI,” and that when content is “mistakenly or maliciously” removed, the department continues to work quickly to restore it. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

In Section 3, I discuss some of the prominent movements and themes occurring in between two World Wars, particularly the Great Migration characterized by the movement of millions of blacks from the rural agricultural south to the urban industrial north as well as highlighting some important proponents of the Harlem Renaissance like Zora Neale Hurston, Countee Cullen, Langston Hughes (the Shakespeare of Harlem), Paul Laurence Dunbar (who inspired the movement after passing away in 1906) and others. The Harlem Renaissance influenced the Great Migration just as the Great Migration influenced the Harlem Renaissance. Not only was there a growth in a black intelligentsia or bourgeoisie, there also was an increase in the black urban worker described in past podcasts. Denied not only political protections and equality but also entry into certain occupations, housing, credit, and capital, there would be immense organization for rights. The Declaration of Rights of the UNIA, established in Harlem, would be spearheaded by perhaps the greatest black organizer in American history Marcus Garvey, who sought not only economic advancement for blacks, but support and self help through his organization for African Americans and the black diaspora around the world. Garvey, heavily influenced by Booker T. Washington yet being way more expansive in his demands for education and political opportunity, would be skeptical of the NAACP and W.E.B Du Bois limited political actualization. However, some community organizers would take it a step further than Garvey, demanding not only a radical redistribution of wealth but world revolution. In part 2 of the Great Migration, Harlem Renaissance, and World War 1915-1954, we will see an increased proclivity, prevalence, and sympathy towards communist ideology, influenced by the 1917 Russian Revolution. Not only would blacks recognize race exploitation as tied to wider class exploitation, but in doing so they would seek solidarity with other working class whites in the fight against what Cyril V. Briggs would term "Private Capitalism."Is such an ideology conducive to accommodating a liberal integrationist perspective of the future Civil Rights movement? In some ways yes and in some ways no. Without a doubt, this period saw not only a bursting of literary creativity and a fundamental critique of white oppression and caste democracy, it would also provide the seeds for marxist theories advocated by future leaders and intellectuals like Fred Hampton, Dr. Angela Davis, and Dr. Cornell West. The failures of the economic system, as evidenced by the Great Depression, only heightened a sentiment towards more radical and alternative economic perspectives. Is the problem corruption, capitalism, or political inequality? This would be a question that many people of this period from 1915-1954 would engage with as American after the Great Depression and World War II would enter an era of immense prosperity. However, within two decades it would be short lived.Next video and podcast coming out Friday February 21:Section 3- From Plantation to Ghetto: The Great Migration, Harlem Renaissance, and World War, 1915-1954 Part 2 of 2Monday February 24 will come out:Section 4- We Shall Overcome: The Second Reconstruction, 1954-1975 Part 1 of 2Tuesday February 25 will come out:Section 4- We Shall Overcome: The Second Reconstruction, 1954-1975 Part 2 of 2Friday February 28 will come out (either in 1 or 2 parts):Section 5- The Future in the Present: Contemporary African-American Thought, 1975 to the Present

This week we look at how the international crisis is impacting France. Is President Emmanuel Macron a war monger and making the most of it all to boost his flagging popularity as his critics say, or is he the right man at the right time to lead France and Europe through increasingly stormy waters. And we look at the battle for French public opinion between Macron and the country's increasingly influential pro-Russian media baron.We also find out about a move to allow rural French villages to open up new bars and cafes. Will they restore a vital social life to isolated hamlets or simply encourage alcohol abuse among locals.We also explore how France helps its youngsters become culture vultures and why it's perhaps no surprise that bombs left over from the World Wars are still causing travel chaos decades on, not to mention injuries and even deaths.And we find out why many Americans in France are angry right now and the reasons why many more of their compatriots are making the move across the Atlantic. Host Ben McPartland is joined this week by the team at The Local France Editor Emma Pearson, journalist Gen Mansfield and politics expert John Lichfield.Extra reading:OPINION: Macron is no warmonger, whatever France's pro-Putin billionaire saysFrance moves to bring back village bars in bid to boost rural social livesOPINION: Does rural France actually need ‘saving'?What is France's ‘culture pass' and how is it changing in 2025?How France is still littered with unexploded bombs from the World Wars‘Trump was final straw': Why Americans are moving to France‘The US doesn't care about us': Americans in France protest planned consulate closures Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Continuing the mission of The Fire & Water Network show Who's Who – The Definitive Podcast of the DC Universe where it left off in 1992, DC Secret Files host Diabolu Frank will be joined by rotating guests as they look at individual characters and concepts from the publication history of DC Comics, home of Superman, Batman, and Wonder Woman. This will be done chiefly through the company's Secret Files & Origins special publications, which featured 1-2 page brief encyclopedia entries coupled with art featuring a given subject. We'll talk about the property, the featured art, and also take a quick look at short stories that were paired with the entries. While the core focus will be on “modern age” tales from after the universe-shaking 1985 event maxi-series Crisis on Infinite Earths until the end of that continuity in 2011, the first year of shows will feature looks at the initial 50 years of DC, going back to prehistory, Ancient Egypt, the Wild West, the World Wars, and as far beyond as the 30th Century.Directions and art spotlights for each monthly episode can be found on the Rolled Spine Podcasts blog. The show will launch on April 2, 2025, as part of the multimedia crossover JSApril – Celebrating 85 years of the world's first and greatest superhero team! Back in 1940, eight sensational heroes united to create the world's very first superhero team – the Justice Society of America! This April, we're gathering podcasters and bloggers from around the globe for a month-long celebration! Follow the crossover action on social media with the hashtag #JSApril and follow DC Secret Files Podcast via #DCSFP

Send us a textJoin Professor Jeffrey Sachs and historian, Professor Ricahrd Overy for an insightful conversation on one of humanity's most unsettling questions: Why do we wage war? In his book, Why War? Overy takes us on a journey across time, from the ancient battlefields of the Roman Empire to the devastation of the World Wars and the conflicts shaping our present.Together, they examine what drives organized violence? Is it hardwired into human nature, or does it stem from competition for resources, power, and security? Drawing on psychology, history, and political strategy, Overy dissects the deep-rooted forces behind war— confronting the stark realities of conflict and examining whether war is an inescapable part of our past—or an unavoidable part of our future. This episode doesn't shy away from the hard truths—there are no easy answers, and Overy delivers no false hope.The Book Club with Jeffrey Sachs is brought to you by the SDG Academy, the flagship education initiative of the UN Sustainable Development Solutions Network. Learn more and get involved at bookclubwithjeffreysachs.org.Footnotes:Why Do Humans Make War?StatecraftYugoslav WarsAristotelianismBarbarian Proxy WarPeloponnesian WarsThucydidesJihad Israeli - Palestinian ConflictNuremberg TrialsHermann GoeringDemagogue of AthensBritain Mercantile StateNew ImperialismHobbes Social ContractMunich AgreementOperation PaperclipStalin's Rise to Power⭐️ Thank you for listening!➡️ Sign up for the newsletter: https://bit.ly/subscribeBCJS➡️ Website: bookclubwithjeffreysachs.org

We defeated the Monarchy, the Confederacy, Jim Crow, and the Axis Powers of two World Wars. In the new global alignment it's now up to we the people of The United States and Europe to win our generation's greatest challenge.   www.charlesbursell.com

The two World Wars, the Korean Conflict, Vietnam, the Persian Gulf War...these are some of the 20th Centuries greatest conflicts, yet they pale in comparison to the Emu War, a skirmish that erupted in the state of Western Australia in 1932, pegging farmers and soldiers of the Australian Army against an indigenous species of flightless bird--the emu. Feathers will fly in this informative (and sometimes amusing) episode!

Big Ben is arguably one of the most iconic clocks in the world. Known for its distinctive chime, the great bell after which the clock is named, first rang out across London in 1859. Other than a brief time when the clock stopped in 1976, not even two World Wars have silenced the chime that tells the U.K. the correct time. However, in 2017 the legendary sound of Big Ben was silenced and a massive renovation of Westminster Tower took place. For five years, every part of the huge clock (excluding the massive bell) was disassembled and taken to workshops in the North West of England where it was restored by Keith Scobie Youngs and his team of clock experts at the Cumbria Clock Company. In this fascinating podcast, Collectability's Tania Edwards learns what it was like to restore such an important clock and what makes other turret clocks, mostly found in church and public buildings, so unique and interesting in the world of horology. Shop for your favorite watches at the Collectability Shop: https://collectability.com/shop/Learn more about Collectability on our website: https://collectability.com Follow us on Instagram for regular updates: https://www.instagram.com/collectabilityllc/Listen, like and subscribe to the podcast on your favorite platform: https://linktr.ee/Collectability

Send us a text“Enjoy this episode? Please share it with at least ONE friend who you think needs to hear it!”Biblical historian, Christian contrarian researcher, and author of The Genesis 6 Conspiracy, Gary Wayne reveals the shocking truth behind secret societies, ancient bloodlines, and their hidden influence on human history in episode 191 of Far Out with Faust.From the Nephilim and the Watchers of Genesis 6 to the Freemasons, Jesuits, and the Priory of Sion, Gary exposes the elite families who claim divine rights to rule the world. He unpacks the House of Windsor's bloodline, King Charles III's connection to Vlad the Impaler, and how powerful dynasties—including the Romanovs and Tsars—are still fighting for control today. Are we living in the final stages of an ancient New World Order prophecy? And what do UFOs, fallen angels, and interdimensional beings have to do with it?Topics include:•The Genesis 6 Conspiracy — the hidden war between humanity and the fallen ones•How royal bloodlines trace their lineage to gods, giants, and Nephilim•The House of Windsor, King Charles III, and their occult connections•The Romanov dynasty, Vladimir Putin, and the battle of bloodlines•The Jesuits, Freemasons, and Priory of Sion — who really runs the world?•World Wars as elite-engineered conflicts to reshape global power•Why modern institutions suppress ancient knowledge and forbidden texts•UFOs, fallen angels, and interdimensional entities—is there a connection?•The Book of Enoch and other lost scriptures that rewrite history•Atlantis, the New World Order, and the origins of global control•The real meaning behind Lord of the Rings and the myth of the Ringlords•The missing years of Jesus—was he trained in secret schools?•Could biblical prophecy explain current global events?•The occult, alchemy, and the suppressed sciences of the ancient world…and much more!

Let's talk about love! Andrew Carroll, Director of The Center for American Letters, returns with some of the most romantic words ever written, by service members fighting wars around the world. This collection of over 200K letters spans the Revolutionary War to World Wars all the way up to modern emails from our current generation. We begin with the beautiful words for a loving wife, composed on a battlefield in Virginia, during the American Civil War. Carroll continues with an intriguing love letter that was really part of a secret intelligence mission during WWII. And we hear the bitter side of love, in a response to a “Dear John” letter from a Korean War soldier. Carroll also shows how some love letters can even bring total strangers together, as we hear about a love story that began with pen pals. And we take a whimsical look at the medical conditions associated with true love, from a pioneering African American doctor during the World War II era. So don't wait, grab a pen and some paper and write to the one you love, because love letters are not just for Valentine's Day anymore.  Check out The Center for American War Letters at Chapman University here: https://www.chapman.edu/research/institutes-and-centers/cawl/index.aspx   Connect with Navy vet and CBS Eye on Veterans Host, Phil Briggs phil@connectingvets.com Follow on X @philbriggsVet @EyeonVeterans @connectingvets   Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Learn exactly how many U.S States are surrounded by Lake Erie's Waters'. Discover which U.S. City is the largest on Lake Erie. Determine if Lake Erie was carved out by glacier ice along with discovering its maximum depth level. Determine if Erie became the last Great Lake to be explored by Europeans. Get introduced to Thomas Talbot. Learn which Lake Erie Lighthouse became the first ever in the world to get powered by natural gas. Get an insight behind what comprises natural gas. Find out what steps were conducted to ensure natural gas functioned including how long it remained in use per this particular lighthouse. Determine if any follies occurred as well as the overall status behind lighthouses' state from 1872 until early 21st Century. Explore what Congress did for the village of Buffalo, New York come year 1805. Discover how Buffalo Main Lighthouse played role of rescue station. Learn about various improvements which came into place before and after Civil War involving Buffalo Main Lighthouse. Understand why Buffalo Lighthouse Association has worked tirelessly behind restoring to maintaining the tower. Learn firsthand if there was an Indian Tribe called the Erie. Determine whereabouts in Ohio is considered to be located midway between Cleveland and Ashtabula. Find out when Ohio got admitted into the Union. Get an in depth analysis behind Fairport Lighthouse's significance from commercial, political, & personal standpoint. Learn how both World Wars impacted further funding for Fairport Harbor Lighthouse including a personal stance taken by townspeople in saving old structure. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

South Side Impresarios: How Race Women Transformed Chicago's Classical Music Scene by Samantha Ege (University of Illinois Press, 2014) is a collective biography of a group of Black women living in Chicago who were at the center of the support, promotion, and circulation of classical music by Black composers—often specifically Black women composers—in the years between the World Wars. Women like Nora Holt, Maud Roberts George, Estella Conway Bonds, and her daughter Margaret Bonds founded and led institutions, raised money, wrote music criticism, composed music, played in and arranged concerts, opened their homes to salons and their wallets to support concerts and even individuals. This “behind the scenes” book, shows how these Race Women made Chicago's South Side into a center of Black classical music making. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/african-american-studies

South Side Impresarios: How Race Women Transformed Chicago's Classical Music Scene by Samantha Ege (University of Illinois Press, 2014) is a collective biography of a group of Black women living in Chicago who were at the center of the support, promotion, and circulation of classical music by Black composers—often specifically Black women composers—in the years between the World Wars. Women like Nora Holt, Maud Roberts George, Estella Conway Bonds, and her daughter Margaret Bonds founded and led institutions, raised money, wrote music criticism, composed music, played in and arranged concerts, opened their homes to salons and their wallets to support concerts and even individuals. This “behind the scenes” book, shows how these Race Women made Chicago's South Side into a center of Black classical music making. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/new-books-network

South Side Impresarios: How Race Women Transformed Chicago's Classical Music Scene by Samantha Ege (University of Illinois Press, 2014) is a collective biography of a group of Black women living in Chicago who were at the center of the support, promotion, and circulation of classical music by Black composers—often specifically Black women composers—in the years between the World Wars. Women like Nora Holt, Maud Roberts George, Estella Conway Bonds, and her daughter Margaret Bonds founded and led institutions, raised money, wrote music criticism, composed music, played in and arranged concerts, opened their homes to salons and their wallets to support concerts and even individuals. This “behind the scenes” book, shows how these Race Women made Chicago's South Side into a center of Black classical music making. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/history

South Side Impresarios: How Race Women Transformed Chicago's Classical Music Scene by Samantha Ege (University of Illinois Press, 2014) is a collective biography of a group of Black women living in Chicago who were at the center of the support, promotion, and circulation of classical music by Black composers—often specifically Black women composers—in the years between the World Wars. Women like Nora Holt, Maud Roberts George, Estella Conway Bonds, and her daughter Margaret Bonds founded and led institutions, raised money, wrote music criticism, composed music, played in and arranged concerts, opened their homes to salons and their wallets to support concerts and even individuals. This “behind the scenes” book, shows how these Race Women made Chicago's South Side into a center of Black classical music making. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/performing-arts

South Side Impresarios: How Race Women Transformed Chicago's Classical Music Scene by Samantha Ege (University of Illinois Press, 2014) is a collective biography of a group of Black women living in Chicago who were at the center of the support, promotion, and circulation of classical music by Black composers—often specifically Black women composers—in the years between the World Wars. Women like Nora Holt, Maud Roberts George, Estella Conway Bonds, and her daughter Margaret Bonds founded and led institutions, raised money, wrote music criticism, composed music, played in and arranged concerts, opened their homes to salons and their wallets to support concerts and even individuals. This “behind the scenes” book, shows how these Race Women made Chicago's South Side into a center of Black classical music making. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/american-studies

South Side Impresarios: How Race Women Transformed Chicago's Classical Music Scene by Samantha Ege (University of Illinois Press, 2014) is a collective biography of a group of Black women living in Chicago who were at the center of the support, promotion, and circulation of classical music by Black composers—often specifically Black women composers—in the years between the World Wars. Women like Nora Holt, Maud Roberts George, Estella Conway Bonds, and her daughter Margaret Bonds founded and led institutions, raised money, wrote music criticism, composed music, played in and arranged concerts, opened their homes to salons and their wallets to support concerts and even individuals. This “behind the scenes” book, shows how these Race Women made Chicago's South Side into a center of Black classical music making. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/music

When you think of World War 2, France is usually not one of the first countries you think about. That's partly because they spent a good majority of the war under occupation. Moreso the newly formed Vichy Government agreed to an armistice with the Germans putting them under occupation. There was one man who didn't surrender. That man became Free France, Charles De Gaulle. The veteran of World Wars 1 and 2 called upon himself to lead a country under occupation. De Gaulle was known for having a very high opinion of himself and his country. When no one else stepped up for France, De Gaulle stood up for France. During World War 1, World War 2, reconstruction of Europe, a potential French Civil War, and a student revolt, Charles stepped up. No matter how big of a pain De Gaulle was to the rest of the Allied leadership, he was crucial to the fight against the Germans. His love for France knew no bounds. Whether on the field of battle or the battle within the government. Join us as we get Historically High on Charles De GaulleSupport the show

This Day in Legal History: George Washington Unanimously ElectedOn February 4, 1789, George Washington was unanimously elected as the first President of the United States by the Electoral College, setting a precedent for democratic governance under the newly ratified Constitution. His election marked the formal beginning of the executive branch, shaping the legal and political framework of the young nation. On the same date in 1801, John Marshall was sworn in as Chief Justice of the United States. Marshall's tenure, spanning 34 years, would profoundly influence American law, particularly through landmark decisions like Marbury v. Madison, which established judicial review. His leadership solidified the Supreme Court as a coequal branch of government. Decades later, on February 4, 1945, the Yalta Conference began, with President Franklin D. Roosevelt, British Prime Minister Winston Churchill, and Soviet leader Joseph Stalin meeting to discuss Europe's post-World War II reorganization. The conference had lasting legal implications, shaping international law, the formation of the United Nations, and the division of Germany. More recently, on this day in 1997, a civil jury found O.J. Simpson liable for the wrongful deaths of Nicole Brown Simpson and Ron Goldman, a stark contrast to his earlier criminal trial acquittal. This verdict highlighted the differing burdens of proof in civil versus criminal law. Each of these events reflects the evolving nature of law and governance, from the founding of the presidency to the expansion of judicial power and international legal agreements.President Donald Trump has announced plans to invoke the Alien Enemies Act of 1798 as part of his strategy to deport millions of undocumented immigrants. The law, originally passed during rising tensions with France, gives the president broad authority to detain, deport, or impose restrictions on foreign nationals deemed a threat during wartime. It can be activated when the U.S. is at war or facing an “invasion or predatory incursion” by a foreign government. Trump has directed his administration to assess whether drug cartels operating in the U.S. qualify as an invasion, which could serve as the legal basis for invoking the act.Historically, the Alien Enemies Act has been used in wartime, including during the War of 1812 and both World Wars. President Woodrow Wilson imposed restrictions on foreign nationals, and President Franklin Roosevelt used the law to justify the internment of Japanese, German, and Italian Americans during World War II. The Supreme Court has upheld the law's constitutionality, even allowing deportations after wartime, as seen in the 1948 case of a former Nazi, Kurt Ludecke. However, courts have been reluctant to define “invasion” broadly, previously ruling that large numbers of migrants crossing the border do not meet the founders' definition of an armed threat.Democratic lawmakers have recently pushed to repeal the act, citing its historical use in violating civil rights. If Trump proceeds with his plan, legal challenges will likely arise over whether cartel activity constitutes an invasion and whether the law can be used outside of traditional wartime contexts.What is the Alien Enemies Act of 1798 that Trump wants to use in deportations? | ReutersA Trump-appointed federal prosecutor, Edward Martin, has warned that anyone obstructing Elon Musk's government efficiency initiative could face criminal charges. In a letter posted on X, Martin assured Musk that his office would take legal action against anyone threatening or hindering the work of the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE). Musk responded with a public thank-you.The warning follows reports that career government officials tried to block DOGE employees from accessing sensitive information. At the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), two top security officials were removed after preventing DOGE representatives from entering secure areas. Similarly, a Treasury Department official reportedly resisted efforts by DOGE to access financial systems.Martin revealed that his office had been working with DOGE but did not provide specifics. He also encouraged Musk to report any “questionable conduct” for potential legal action. The Trump administration has been expanding its control over the Justice Department, recently launching an investigation into a sheriff's office for releasing an undocumented immigrant in defiance of federal orders. Martin, who previously dropped all Jan. 6-related cases, has been outspoken in support of Trump, a departure from the typical neutrality of U.S. attorneys.US prosecutor warns of legal risk for anyone hindering Musk's efficiency effort | ReutersLawyers representing plaintiffs in a $2.8 billion antitrust settlement with Blue Cross Blue Shield have asked a federal judge in Alabama to approve over $754 million in legal fees and expenses. The legal team, led by Joe Whatley and Edith Kallas, is requesting $657.1 million in fees—equal to 23.47% of the settlement fund—along with at least $97 million in expenses. They argue this percentage is consistent with a similar $2.7 billion Blue Cross settlement in 2020, which awarded lawyers a comparable fee.The case, which has been in litigation for over a decade, accuses Blue Cross of dividing the country into exclusive territories to avoid competition, which allegedly drove up insurance costs and lowered reimbursements. Blue Cross has denied any wrongdoing. The lawyers claim they have worked 373,000 hours and spent $100 million on expert witnesses and other expenses.A previous $2.7 billion settlement involving Blue Cross, which addressed overcharging claims, was upheld by the U.S. Supreme Court last year and resulted in $667 million in legal fees. The current settlement agreement permits lawyers to request up to 25% of the total fund for legal fees, leaving the judge to decide whether the request is reasonable.Lawyers seek $754 million in new Blue Cross antitrust settlement | ReutersA U.S. judge has extended a pause on the Trump administration's plan to freeze federal loans, grants, and financial aid after advocacy groups challenged the policy in court. Judge Loren AliKhan warned that cutting off funding would be "catastrophic" for organizations serving the public interest. The extension follows an earlier short-term pause, which was set to expire Monday.The funding freeze originated from a White House budget office memo directing agencies to halt funding in line with Trump's executive orders on immigration, climate change, and diversity. The memo was later withdrawn, but some grant recipients reported ongoing difficulties accessing funds.A Rhode Island judge issued a separate restraining order last week in response to a lawsuit from 22 Democratic attorneys general and Washington, D.C. Despite these rulings, a Trump administration lawyer argued that the president has the right to direct agencies under his executive authority. The legal battle over whether the funding freeze can move forward remains unresolved.US judge extends pause on Trump's plan to freeze federal grants, loans | Reuters This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.minimumcomp.com/subscribe

Join Bob Johnston and his wife Lynn on Being Catholic as they delve into the significant societal paradigms from the early 20th century to present-day 2025. This episode explores the end of an era marked by Donald Trump's election, seen as a pivotal moment in American politics and ideology. Bob outlines how the period from 1914 to 2025 symbolizes a transition away from the open society consensus, often purported to battle authoritarianism, fascism, and racism, yet paradoxically fostering division and fear. Lynn shares heartfelt thoughts about contemporary tragic events, reminding listeners of the power of prayer and the fragility of life. The discussion highlights pivotal historical shifts, from the aftermath of World Wars to the present, and reflects on the portrayal of figures like Trump and the cultural hegemony overshadowing genuine societal issues like economic disparity and community fragmentation. Tune in to gain insights on how historical narratives, fear of authoritarianism, and political landscapes have shaped our civilization – challenging us to reconsider antiquated labels and fostering a dialogue that embraces national unity while acknowledging past follies. Bob and Lynn invite you to reflect on the past century and pray for a more discerning and harmonious future.

Should you drink Champagne from a white wine glass or a flute? What is the ideal temperature range for serving Champagne? What might surprise you about the technical side of Champagne production? In this episode of the Unreserved Wine Talk podcast, I'm chatting with Christopher S. Ruhland, author of Press for Champagne: A Guide to Enjoying the World's Greatest Sparkling Wine. You can find the wines we discussed at https://www.nataliemaclean.com/winepicks   Giveaway Three of you are going to win a copy of his terrific book, Press for Champagne. To qualify, all you have to do is email me at natalie@nataliemaclean.com and let me know that you've posted a review of the podcast. I'll choose three people randomly from those who contact me. Good luck!   Highlights Why does Chris prefer using a white wine glass instead of the traditional elongated flute for Champagne? What's the problem with clear glass bottles for Champagne? What is the ideal temperature range for serving Champagne? Which point in history does Chris consider to be the most pivotal moment in the development of Champagne as we know it today? What might surprise you about the technical side of Champagne production? Which notable contributions have women made in Champagne history? What was the significance of the Champagne riots in 1911? How did the Champagne region recover after the World Wars, and what were the lasting effects on the industry? How does chalky soil contribute to the hallmark qualities of Champagne? What's the difference between the oxidative and reductive styles of Champagne? Why don't we hear more about reserve wines? What was it like to drink decades-old Champagne, and how are the bubbles affected by aging? What is dosage, and what is its role in Champagne production? How can you plan the best trip to make the most of the Champagne region?   Key Takeaways I'm all for the white wine glass for Champagne, Chris says, but I don't like flutes because you can't smell the wine. They're too thin to sense the aromas from the wine. I use tulip-shaped glasses and if you go to the Champagne region, you'll see these in use all over the place. Chris says that temperature affects the texture of the wine and the bubbles. You wouldn't want it colder than it gets in your refrigerator. The point is to start at a cold temperature. Chris says most people are surprised at how much work it takes to make a bottle of Champagne. It is very much a human-made product in that it requires a lot of separate steps done by hand.   About Christopher S. Ruhland Christopher S. Ruhland trained and worked as a lawyer for thirty years before becoming a mediator. He holds the Diploma in Wines & Spirits from the Wine & Spirit Education Trust and he has passed the French Wine Scholar, Bordeaux Master-Level, and Rhône Master-Level examinations given by the Wine Scholar Guild, all with Highest Honors. He is the author of the award-winning Press for Champagne: A Guide to Enjoying the World's Greatest Sparkling Wine and gives presentations about Champagne and teaches wine courses.       To learn more, visit https://www.nataliemaclean.com/318.

From its important but underrecognized role in the World Wars of the 20th century to its key advocacy for the UN system, humanitarian aid, peacekeeping, and international treaties, Canada has been a major player in the global ordering sweepstakes.     So what does Canada do when the world's largest trading relationship (Canada's with the United States) no longer necessarily connects it to a trustworthy nation? Can Canada step up and present itself as an independent leader of the free world and a ‘coordinator-in-chief' for other Ordering nations? Will hosting the G7 give Canada some stealth mega ordering mojo?    To discuss that and more, Jason is joined by Marci Surkes, Surkes served as Executive Director of Policy and Cabinet Affairs in the office of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. This turned out to be a very timely conversation as Canadian PM Justin Trudeau visited President-Elect Trump in Mar-a-Lago in late November and noted that Trump's proposed 25% tariffs would decimate the Canadian economy. In response Trump suggested that Canada was ‘ripping off America' to the tune of a 100 billion USD a year and that if Canada wanted tariff free trade it could become the 51st state. This sparked many viral memes.    Amidst this bizarre and yet terrifying backdrop, Jason and Marci explore the upcoming 2025 Canadian election, which may actually play out as a referendum on Trudeau's handling of the Trump presidency. They also discuss leadership challenges to Trudeau within the Liberal Party and the fraught relationship between Canada and India and the pivotal role Canada could play in Global Ordering as it takes on the presidency of the G7 in 2025.     Plus: could there be a budding bromance between Starmer and Trudeau? And as Marci and Jason Order the Disorder, they explore the need for more gender equality across politics and why medium powers like Canada can play a pivotal role on issues like security guarantees and NATO.    Producer: George McDonagh  Executive Producer: Neil Fearn    Subscribe to our Substack: https://natoandtheged.substack.com/    Show Notes Links    Listen to an explainer on why Canadian politics has ground to a halt: https://podcasts.apple.com/ca/podcast/stalemate-why-the-house-of-commons-has-ground-to-a-halt/id1621425319?i=1000677888744  Listen to Marci's appearance on a panel discussing what Trump means for Canada: https://paulwells.substack.com/p/the-panel-what-trump-means-for-canada?utm_source=post-email-title&publication_id=804175&post_id=151283084&utm_campaign=email-post-title&isFreemail=true&r=1ruvru&triedRedirect=true&utm_medium=email  Listen to our Ben Ansell episode about other elections: https://pod.link/1706818264/episode/50e9a35e0737bb9d0ddf29460a199c37   Read profile of Melanie Joly: https://www.nytimes.com/2024/12/04/world/canada/melanie-joly-foreign-affairs-profile.html   Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

In this very special episode, we interview Thérèse Casadesus Rawson, daughter of the renowned French pianists Robert and Gaby Casadesus. The occasion is the publication of Gaby Casadesus' book My Musical Notes: A Journey in Classical Piano between the World Wars and Beyond, now available in English. We discuss the book, as well as Thérèse's parents' careers, lives, and enduring legacy.Together, we travel around the globe, delve into the lives of some of the most celebrated musicians of the twentieth century, and even touch on encounters with other famous figures, including Albert Einstein. Join us for a musical journey unlike any other.TimecodesIntroduction02:45 - Pianists Careers and Love07:18 - The 1920's & 30s16:57 - Einstein, the War & the USA30:59 - Post War Life in France and the USA38:22 - The Tragedies of 197245:32 - The Couple's Legacy50:10 - ConclusionLinks:Get the book My Musical Notes: A Journey in Classical Piano between the World Wars and Beyond My Musical Notes by Gaby Casadesus. Available at Barnes & Nobles, Indigo and Amazon (unaffiliated links).The Casadesus Family's Website: https://casadesus.comThe Fontainebleau Schools for Music and Fine Arts: https://fontainebleauschools.orgRobert Casadesus' page on Apple Music Classical: https://classical.music.apple.com/ca/artist/robert-casadesus-1899?l=fr-CAGaby Casadesus' page on Apple Music Classical: https://classical.music.apple.com/ca/artist/gaby-casadesus-1901?l=fr-CACasadesus: First Family Of The Piano (DVD): https://www.vaimusic.com/product/4276.htmlRobert Casadesus Website: https://www.robertcasadesus.com/en/long-biography/Danses Méditerranéennes and Dolly: https://music.apple.com/ca/album/casadesus-3-danses-m%C3%A9diterran%C3%A9ennes-chabrier-3-valses/1452594800Music: Marche pour la cérémonie des Turcs, composed by Jean-Baptiste Lully, arranged and performed by Jérôme Arfouche.Artwork: Robert and Gaby Casadesus, photo by Axel Chambily-CasadesusSupport the showReach out, support the show and give me feedback! Contact me or follow the podcast on social media Leave a 5-star review on Apple Podcasts or on Spotify Become a patron on Patreon to support the show Buy me a Coffee

The holiday season is supposed to be a time of celebration and rest. But for those who have a narcissist in their lives it can be a particularly difficult time of the year. On In The Market with Janet Parshall this week we once again turned to one of our favorite therapist who answered more of our listeners questions about this deadly personality type and how to deal with it at this particular time of the year. For those who lived through the World Wars and the Cold War the idea that America, the bastion of freedom could turn toward the acceptance of Marxism as a viable social system, would be unthinkable. But our guest explained the long-laid plans to undermine democracy in America and Europe and how our schools of higher education played a decisive role in this change. Our guest explained what exactly Marxism is and is not, the role of the oppressed and the oppressor and what the true antidote to Marxist acceptance truly is. Iran continues to make news as the war in the Middle East rages on. We spoke to that man God has led to be His voice to that nation about the increased acceptance of the gospel message by the people of Iran and what the government of that country is blaming the recent uprising in Syria on Israel & the United States. We gave you the rare opportunity to hear about the importance of the Dead Sea Scrolls from is responsible for their current public display in the nation’s capital. Then we cleared away all the rhetoric of that we are hearing daily about the vital need to accept renewable energy over traditional forms to reveal the hidden truths behind this push and why acceptance of this push will eventually fail. Once again, we invite you to draw close to your radio as our favorite husband and wife team continue their weekly classes teaching us all how to live our lives examining all the claims we hear in the daily marketplace of ideas under the magnifying glass of God’s holy word.Become a Parshall Partner: http://moodyradio.org/donateto/inthemarket/partnersSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Send us a textImagine finding strength in silence and wisdom in the unspoken stories of the past. This episode brings you a heartfelt conversation with the extraordinary Mom McGowan, a 91-year-old hero from the silent generation whose resilience during the toughest of times offers us lessons in perseverance. Mom takes us through her life journey, illustrating how the greatest generation weathered the storms of the Depression and World Wars with a stoic determination that often left emotions unexpressed yet carved a path of silent strength and wisdom for future generations.Our conversation unfolds further into the complexities of childhood separation and the coping strategies that emerge from such experiences. Through intimate personal stories, we explore the emotional challenges of growing up in a large family, experiencing separation, and how these molded a life dedicated to helping others facing similar adversities. These narratives remind us of the crucial role empathy and understanding play in overcoming emotional suppression, helping us connect with those around us on a deeper level. Together, we uncover the resilience required to navigate life's changes and the transformative power of support, communication, and love.Finally, we delve into the journey of healing past trauma through faith, communication, and the conscious choice to build bridges over walls. Mom McGowan's insights, coupled with personal anecdotes, highlight the impact of love, faith, and openness in breaking generational patterns of emotional repression. This episode serves as a testament to the enduring power of love and faith, offering hope and understanding for those navigating their challenges. Join us for an inspiring exploration of enduring lessons passed down through generations and the profound impact they have on our lives today."Goodness of God" used by permission, Musicbed.com"Goodness of God (Live)" by Bethel Music (4:56)Individual Youtube Creator / PodcasterClients No client or brand/company workDistributionsStandard Coverage - Web / Social Media (Up to 1 million subscribers), Podcast (Up to 10k monthlydownloads)Monetization IncludedLicense Date December 3, 2024You ARE:SEEN KNOWN HEARD LOVED VALUED

"Trouble in the Suez...." Billy Joel sang about it in We Didn't Start the Fire and until researching this episode I had no idea what trouble he was talking about. The Suez Canal is a man-made waterway connecting the Red Sea (that little stretch of sea nestled between Africa and the Middle East) and the Mediterranean Sea. Basically it connects the Indian Ocean to the Med eliminating that lengthy and dangerous trip around the south of Africa. Well I'm sure you can imagine the kind of money you could make charging ships for taking your shortcut. Located in Egypt, designed by a Frenchman, funded by the Ottomans, and coveted by the British. The construction of the canal was on another level. and if that wasn't enough it played a big role in both World Wars, and even an armed conflict most don't know about...we're looking at you Britiain and France and Israel. The Suez isn't a one trick pony either, it's grown with the times and is still an important aspect of world trade today. Historically High is sponsored by Flintt's Mouth Watering Mints, purveyors of delicious, drymouth destroying little miracles. Get yours with 15% off by using code HISTORICALLYHIGHER at www.Flintts.com Support the show

Victor Davis Hanson. The Second World Wars. How the First Global Conflict was Fought and Won

In this exclusive podcast, we sit down with Sunil Ullak to uncover some of the most intriguing and lesser-known stories of Nepal. From the mysterious Pokhara UFO crash and the UFO sightings in Nepal to the Khampa Movement conspiracy, Sunil shares his detailed research on these events that have puzzled historians and enthusiasts alike. Did a Nepali farmer discover UFO parts, and could these be linked to a global UFO conspiracy? We dive deep into these questions and more. The discussion also touches upon Nepal's historical evolution, including the Rana regime stories, the role of advanced technology during the Khampa Revolution, and secret spy programs during World Wars. Sunil highlights the importance of ropeway transportation in Nepal and how it could significantly impact the country's economy by reducing costs. Additionally, we explore the looming Pokhara earthquake threat, with insights into why this region is considered earthquake-prone. This episode also uncovers fascinating anecdotes about Nepal's progress, such as the story of the first cyber cafe in Pokhara and the man who built a bridge by himself. Through Sunil's passion for photography, we reflect on Nepal's cultural change and how photographs document its journey. Join us for a deep dive into the hidden history of Nepal, UFO discoveries, and developmental insights that shape the nation. Don't miss this one-of-a-kind exploration of Nepal's past, present, and future! GET CONNECTED WITH Sunil Ullak: Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/share/1EiqqYmebL/?mibextid=LQQJ4d Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/sunil_u?igsh=MWpwMHVqNmViN2hkdw==  

The Second World Wars with Victor Davis Hanson- Air. 

The Second World Wars with Victor Davis Hanson. Water. 

In this IWM History Festival Special Episode Jackson spoke to historian and author Helen Fry all about her work into Women In Intelligence and they discussed the role that women played in gathering intelligence across the first and second World Wars!To keep up to date with Helen head to her website or her XGrab a copy of Helen's books hereTo learn more about about the IWM History Festival head to their websiteIf you want to get in touch with History with Jackson email: jackson@historywithjackson.co.ukPlease support us on our Patreon!To catch up on everything to do with History with Jackson head to www.HistorywithJackson.co.ukFollow us on Facebook at @HistorywithJacksonFollow us on Instagram at @HistorywithJacksonFollow us on X/Twitter at @HistorywJacksonFollow us on TikTok at @HistorywithJackson Get bonus content on Patreon Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

(2:00) Remember the CDC's "Quarantine" Concentration Camps?A look back at the plans for  military-uniformed enforcers of medical martial law — under TrumpWill Trump take his TrumpShot off the vaccine schedule FOR KIDS?  Hope springs eternal for MAGABritish doctor asking vaccine question flagged for "hate speech" - STILL.  How is science "hate"?Autism explosion can't be hidden by government & media — so they misdirect, claiming it's caused by…automobiles!The story of a teen fighting for his life with "bird flu" falls apart under scrutiny(43:39) LIVE comments (51:28) Mom handcuffed and jailed because her 11 yr old walk less than a mile alone in small town of just over 300 — yet FIVE people are part of this NANNY STATE persecution and it's not over yet (1:00:37) Public (aka, Pubic) SchoolsSchools spent BILLIONS fighting parents says study as they blame "conflict" on parents, community, school boards — anyone BUT teachers & administratorsTHIS is who could teach YOUR kids — teacher says she refuses to have kids while Trump is presidentVoddie Baucham warns America is ALREADY under God's judgment, get ready for persecution(1:31:58) LIVE comments & questions (1:43:33) Personnel IS Policy and Trump's Policy is Shaping Up for WarYou thought Pompeo, Bolton, and Nikki Haley were bad?  There's plenty more where they came from and the Trump administration is filling upWill Trump be another "Peace President" like Woodrow Wilson & FDR who got us into two World Wars?  Will Trump get us into a third?WATCH Hegseth, Waltz, Ratcliffe on War and Israel FirstMiriam Adelson's $100M bought an entire White House full of Zionists who put political Israel ahead of America's interestsWhat will Musk's $130M buy?  Will the world's richest man become the first TRILLIONAIRE?The cynical DOGE joke of putting the "King of Crony Capitalism" in charge of "Government Efficiency" — or is that "Exploitation"(2:04:48) LIVE comments (2:06:42) Is THIS how Kristi Noem got her appointment as top cop at DHS? (2:10:42) What is "1789 Capital" and how does it bring CFR, Trump Jr, and Tucker Carlson together? (2:13:59) Will Soros' man Scott Bessent be Treasury Secretary? The guy who masterminded "Breaking the Bank of England"?  Listen to MAGA media twist itself into pretzels trying to tell you Soros' guy is a "good" thing (2:20:15) Fed Reserve's Powell Says He WILL NOT LEAVE Even if Trump Says Go — Here's what COULD be doneIs an "Independent Fed" in the Constitution or even in the Fed Reserve Act?Trump wants a bigger say in economic manipulation.  Is there a precedent for that?What could be done by Congress and/or President?(2:25:48) Bitcoin and GoldBitcoin is going straight up like a rocket.  Will it go to $150k without a correction?The world's oldest and most stable asset, gold, is ON SALE.  It's Black Friday come early(2:46:41) Letters, comments (2:50:24) Is Biden's Open Border Chaos and Trump Biometric Police/Surveillance State a ONE/TWO Hegelian Set Up?If you would like to support the show and our family please consider subscribing monthly here: SubscribeStar https://www.subscribestar.com/the-david-knight-show Or you can send a donation throughMail: David Knight POB 994 Kodak, TN 37764Zelle: @DavidKnightShow@protonmail.comCash App at: $davidknightshowBTC to: bc1qkuec29hkuye4xse9unh7nptvu3y9qmv24vanh7 Money should have intrinsic value AND transactional privacy: Go to DavidKnight.gold for great deals on physical gold/silver For 10% off Gerald Celente's prescient Trends Journal, go to TrendsJournal.com and enter the code KNIGHTBecome a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/the-david-knight-show--2653468/support.

(2:00) Remember the CDC's "Quarantine" Concentration Camps?A look back at the plans for  military-uniformed enforcers of medical martial law — under TrumpWill Trump take his TrumpShot off the vaccine schedule FOR KIDS?  Hope springs eternal for MAGABritish doctor asking vaccine question flagged for "hate speech" - STILL.  How is science "hate"?Autism explosion can't be hidden by government & media — so they misdirect, claiming it's caused by…automobiles!The story of a teen fighting for his life with "bird flu" falls apart under scrutiny(43:39) LIVE comments (51:28) Mom handcuffed and jailed because her 11 yr old walk less than a mile alone in small town of just over 300 — yet FIVE people are part of this NANNY STATE persecution and it's not over yet (1:00:37) Public (aka, Pubic) SchoolsSchools spent BILLIONS fighting parents says study as they blame "conflict" on parents, community, school boards — anyone BUT teachers & administratorsTHIS is who could teach YOUR kids — teacher says she refuses to have kids while Trump is presidentVoddie Baucham warns America is ALREADY under God's judgment, get ready for persecution(1:31:58) LIVE comments & questions (1:43:33) Personnel IS Policy and Trump's Policy is Shaping Up for WarYou thought Pompeo, Bolton, and Nikki Haley were bad?  There's plenty more where they came from and the Trump administration is filling upWill Trump be another "Peace President" like Woodrow Wilson & FDR who got us into two World Wars?  Will Trump get us into a third?WATCH Hegseth, Waltz, Ratcliffe on War and Israel FirstMiriam Adelson's $100M bought an entire White House full of Zionists who put political Israel ahead of America's interestsWhat will Musk's $130M buy?  Will the world's richest man become the first TRILLIONAIRE?The cynical DOGE joke of putting the "King of Crony Capitalism" in charge of "Government Efficiency" — or is that "Exploitation"(2:04:48) LIVE comments (2:06:42) Is THIS how Kristi Noem got her appointment as top cop at DHS? (2:10:42) What is "1789 Capital" and how does it bring CFR, Trump Jr, and Tucker Carlson together? (2:13:59) Will Soros' man Scott Bessent be Treasury Secretary? The guy who masterminded "Breaking the Bank of England"?  Listen to MAGA media twist itself into pretzels trying to tell you Soros' guy is a "good" thing (2:20:15) Fed Reserve's Powell Says He WILL NOT LEAVE Even if Trump Says Go — Here's what COULD be doneIs an "Independent Fed" in the Constitution or even in the Fed Reserve Act?Trump wants a bigger say in economic manipulation.  Is there a precedent for that?What could be done by Congress and/or President?(2:25:48) Bitcoin and GoldBitcoin is going straight up like a rocket.  Will it go to $150k without a correction?The world's oldest and most stable asset, gold, is ON SALE.  It's Black Friday come early(2:46:41) Letters, comments (2:50:24) Is Biden's Open Border Chaos and Trump Biometric Police/Surveillance State a ONE/TWO Hegelian Set Up?If you would like to support the show and our family please consider subscribing monthly here: SubscribeStar https://www.subscribestar.com/the-david-knight-show Or you can send a donation throughMail: David Knight POB 994 Kodak, TN 37764Zelle: @DavidKnightShow@protonmail.comCash App at: $davidknightshowBTC to: bc1qkuec29hkuye4xse9unh7nptvu3y9qmv24vanh7 Money should have intrinsic value AND transactional privacy: Go to DavidKnight.gold for great deals on physical gold/silver For 10% off Gerald Celente's prescient Trends Journal, go to TrendsJournal.com and enter the code KNIGHTBecome a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/the-real-david-knight-show--5282736/support.

Matt Crawford speaks with Therese Casadesus Rawson about her book, My Musical Notes: A Journey in Classical Piano between the World Wars and Beyond. This is actually her mother's book which she has translated and rereleased on the 25th anniversary of her mother Gaby Casadesus' passing.  Chronicling nearly a century of music, Gaby Casadesus' My Musical Notes, recounts the French pianist's remarkable career as half of one of the most extraordinary husband and wife teams in twentieth century classical music, with her husband Robert Casadesus. Told in a lively conversational tone, she evokes the delicate balance between touring and family life, maintaining her own solo career and traveling the world while raising three children. Her decades-long teaching imparted the stylistic legacy of Debussy, Fauré and Ravel, a personal friend to both Robert and Gaby, to generations of young pianists. In this memoir, we experience the bustling Paris of the 1920s and 30s as well as numerous adventures touring North and South America, Europe, the Middle East, and Asia while championing French piano repertoire as the internationally recognized duo Robert and Gaby Casadesus. She also details her encounters and collaborations with the greatest names of 20th century classical music: Fauré, Ravel, Stravinsky, Poulenc, Bruno Walter, Toscanini, Szell, Boulez, Bernstein as well as other celebrities of the era such as Albert Einstein, with whom she played Mozart, Elsa Schiaparelli, Joan Miró and more.

For many years, commemorations of the two World Wars excluded the memorialisation of soldiers from the British Empire. But campaigners have gradually turned the spotlight on their experiences. In the First and Second World War, approximately 3.8 million soldiers from the Indian subcontinent served in the British Army. Indian and British troops often formed friendships that lasted beyond the wars, bonded in their camaraderie and bravery. Yet there was a ceiling for Indian soldiers, they would never go on to receive top jobs or become commanders. And despite comradery on the front, the top generals saw Indians as lesser. During the evacuation of Dunkirk, the British were given the order to “cut loose your Indians and your mules”. This horrified leaders in Delhi and despite Nehru's passionate antifascism, the Congress began small acts of civil disobedience in protest of India being placed in a war that it didn't sign up to. Listen as William and Anita are joined by Yasmin Khan to discuss the Raj at War, and how World War Two became a catalyst for the end of British rule in India… Twitter: @Empirepoduk Email: empirepoduk@gmail.com Goalhangerpodcasts.com Assistant Producer: Anouska Lewis Producer: Callum Hill Exec Producer: Neil Fearn Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Today, in our second episode on the Liturgical Movement we focus on origins of the movement and we examine how it went awry. We also focus on the inter-war period and see how it corrupted the liturgy and the indirect of modernism had a detrimental effect on the war we worship. We still have not recovered from it today. See all the episodes, and download resources: https://sspxpodcast.com/mass We'd love your feedback on this series! podcast@sspx.org – – – – – – View this episode on YouTube: https://youtu.be/QLrS2iL-AfU – – – – – – – The Society of Saint Pius X offers this series and all of its content free of charge. If you are able to offer a one time or a small monthly recurring donation, it will assist us greatly in continuing to provide these videos for the good of the Church and Catholic Tradition. Please Support this Apostolate with 1-time or Monthly Donation >> – – – – – – – Explore more: Subscribe to this Podcast to receive this and all our audio episodes Subscribe to the SSPX YouTube channel for video versions of our podcast series and Sermons FSSPX News Website: https://fsspx.news Visit the US District website: https://sspx.org/ – – – – – What is the SSPX Podcast? The SSPX Podcast is produced by Angelus Press, which has as its mission the fortification of traditional Catholics so that they can defend the Faith, and reaching out to those who have not yet found Tradition.  – – – – – – What is the SSPX? The main goal of the Society of Saint Pius X is to preserve the Catholic Faith in its fullness and purity, to teach its truths, and to diffuse its virtues, especially through the Roman Catholic priesthood. Authentic spiritual life, the sacraments, and the traditional liturgy are its primary means of bringing this life of grace to souls. Although the traditional Latin Mass is the most visible and public expression of the work of the Society, we are committed to defending Catholic Tradition in its entirety: all of Catholic doctrine and morals as the Church has always defended them. What people need is the Catholic Faith, without compromise, with all the truth and beauty which accompanies it. https://sspx.org

Story #1: World Wars have been set off by assassin's bullets. We are living in a tinder box, and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton continues to feed the fire after the second assassination attempt of former President Donald Trump. Story #2: Checking in on the 'Friends Of The Will Cain Show' fantasy football league. And how is the "Will versus the Experts" challenger going. Story #3: A conversation with Tony Robbins and Mo Ramchandani on their new movie exposing sex-trafficking in America, "City of Dreams" Tell Will what you thought about this podcast by emailing WillCainShow@fox.com Subscribe to The Will Cain Show on YouTube here: Watch The Will Cain Show! Follow Will on Twitter: @WillCain Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

A soldier goes off to war. Damaged in combat, he returns home, forever changed. Master sculptor Sabin Howard captures this tragic and powerful journey in bronze, for the new World War I Memorial that will be unveiled in Washington, D.C. on September 13, 2024. Howard talks about his craft with EconTalk's Russ Roberts as they discuss Howard's hatred of war, his love for humanity, and what makes art great.