Podcasts about Yazidis

Tadifi's legendBook 3 in 18 parts, By FinalStand. Listen to the ► Podcast at Explicit Novels.Meanwhile, Elsa was quietly amused. It wasn't like I could request the SD to force my House Guard to not do something they had been told to do by someone in my hierarchy. That would lead to chaos, and it was unfair to Juanita."Fine," I decided. "Get us three some water. Elsa and I will be practicing."Now Juanita was stuck. I wasn't asking her to leave the room, just leave me alone. I was technically her leader, respect notwithstanding."It is good to see you have not become drunk with power," Elsa smirked once Juanita had left on her errand."Your mockery is unappreciated," I glared back. I was only kidding. "I haven't seen you around recently. It is good to see you.""It is good to see you too," Elsa said in a voice far softer and compassionate than I would have preferred. After all, she had me drugged, beaten, then beaten me up again in the not so distant past.Of course, I had also sexed her up, bringing her to orgasm with my fingers alone. We had also exchanged a burning French kiss in Katrina's office that Buffy was aware of. Then there was the Buffy-Elsa personal feud and the Elsa-Rhada family feud. Balancing that was Elsa's super-hot body and intriguing personality. Sex with her promised to be memorable, more memorable than normal."What have you been up to? I'd like to say I've been behaving myself, but I don't want to advance our relationship by lying (right now, about this).""You are largely responsible for what I've been up to the past two weeks," she stepped back. She tossed her spear aside and entered her fighting stance. How nice of her to warn me, and get rid of her weapon. How erotically odd of her to give me the illusion of a chance."I deny everything," I rocked back. She was blindingly fast. The fact that I was able to block most of the blow was a testament to how much I had learned in the past two and a half months."Watashi wa nihongo o hanashimasu', 'Wǒ shuō pǔtōnghu ', 'Wǒ shuō guǎngdōng hu ' and 'Aku isa basa jawa'," she lectured me as she maneuvered me into a corner with a series of kicks and feints. She spoke Japanese, Mandarin, Cantonese and Javanese. That was nice to know."Wait," then she kicked me off the mat."Amazons don't have a 'time out'," she smiled. I cautiously worked my way back onto the practice area."What part did you play?" I readied myself. This time, I went on the offensive. I used my greater strength and reach to compensate (rather poorly) for her superior reflexes."Someone had to ride herd on those disparate forces. My status was respected by the Amazons, I had experience dealing with outsiders, plus your person Addison nominated me, and Katrina suggested that you and I were close. That was enough for the Khanate. Your embassy and earlier aid to the Seven Families brought the 9 Clans along.""And you stole the carrier?""It was an once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to humiliate the Seven Pillars," she grinned. "Riding in a nuclear submarine was interesting, right up there with running around, spray painting translations next to all the markings onboard the captured vessel. Herding regular civilians wasn't nearly as much fun.""In the annals of the SD, that is going to be a victory hard to surpass," I got out right before my legs were swept out from under me. Before I could roll over, she landed on top of me. She didn't go for a pin. Elsa simply sat there, straddling my hips and looking down at me. We were both breathing heavily."I owe you for that," she patted me on my bare chest."Is that a good thing, or a bad thing?""I'll let you figure that out during the Great Hunt," she gave a sliver of a smile."Not you too," I groaned."Who else are you worried about?""You and twenty-nine other Amazons. By name, Rachel. She's pretty upbeat about her chances and believes she has a score to settle.""Rachel will be a tough one," Elsa acknowledged."Comfortable?" Juanita muttered."Yes, I am," Elsa grinned her way. "Thank you for asking." Juanita gave me a look that suggested I do something like protest, or actually try to fight her off."Why are you being nice to me?" I wondered."I've learned to appreciate your numerous qualities," Elsa enlightened me. "I am also honest enough to admit I was completely wrong about you. You make a good Amazon." That was huge praise indeed and more importantly, it was to a public audience. I was double fortunate that no one was close enough to see Elsa's camel toe resting against my lightly covered hard-on."Thank you. Is there anything I can do for you?""Aren't you engaged to someone?" Juanita reminded me. What she was really saying was 'don't you know you belong to the maidens of House Ishara?' Trust me, I know these things. Had she meant Hana, she would have said Hana."She has the patience of Job," I reasoned. "Oh, Elsa, Job is a figure in the Old Testament of the Bible." I doubted she knew."Oh. Is he a bloody-handed butcher, raging misogynist, or one of those pacifistic wimps?""He's a nice guy who gets swallowed by a whale.""That's Jonah," Juanita corrected me. "Job is the one who was tested by God. Job accepted God taking away all his family, wealth and health, only to be rewarded for his loyalty to God with more than he ever had before.""Wimp.""I would never turn away from Ishara," Juanita rumbled."Zorja would never feel the need to test my loyalty so," Elsa riposted."Oh look," I thrust my hips up. "I seem to need a shower." Elsa's expression was of superiority and lust combined into a lethal cocktail of my demise."Let's go. You can wash my back," she said as she rose over me. She even offered me a hand up. That was unexpected and accepted warily."Is there some battle wound that makes you incapable of bathing yourself?" Juanita got feisty. Holy Hell, she was my Caribbean Buffy-twin."None," Elsa smugly commented. "I like the feel of his hands on my body. He possesses non-threatening masculinity wed with sisterly solidarity. It is a unique experience that you seem woefully unaware of.""Yippee!" I whispered."You really are a man-whore," Juanita declared under her breath."Check," I gave her a thumbs-up. Sadly, Elsa gave me enough respect to walk at my side, not in front of me (so I could have been mesmerized by her buttocks.) As I was stripping down in the locker room, I noticed Juanita hovering close by. "Are you going to follow me into the shower?""Yes.""Why? I am not going to be in danger in the middle of Havenstone.""I'll be the judge of that," she insisted."You do realize I've had sex with an audience before, don't you?""I've been warned about that and know proper counter-measures.""What? What kind of measures?" I was now naked and, towel in hand, was making my way to the communal showers."Charlie horses, trips, stun-gun if applicable," she informed me with relish."You are threatening to damage my prestige," I enlightened her."Cáel, I was chosen for more than my martial skills. I was selected because I will not wilt before your childish ways.""Are you a lesbian?""No. Why would a woman have to be a lesbian to withstand your wiles?""You'll figure it out eventually," I chuckled. Actually, knowing what a playboy-cad I was turned out to be a counter-intuitive edge for me. Expecting me to be a letch just meant I totally ignored the woman. Then the doubt would set in. 'Why wasn't I hitting on her?' she would think. She'd go through the phase of her not being good enough for me to knowing that wasn't the case, definitely, and would come at me to prove herself right. Wham-bam, another one in the can. Oink.Step One: reduce the amount of time talking to her as a fellow human traveler of life. From here on out, I would address her by her name when I wanted something and otherwise treat her like furniture ~ furniture I was comfortable with. In this case, I treated her like a towel rack. She promptly dropped it. That was okay, I was planning to get dressed wet anyway.I rinsed off my hair quickly as Elsa settled underneath the showerhead beside me. As soon as I finished, she handled me a bottle of (scentless) body soap. It was probably one of those the jaguar will smell me coming ten miles away excuses Amazons used to avoid being girlie. I got my hands all sudsy and began working on her shoulders and neck from behind.Wordlessly, Elsa followed my physical directions, allowing me to wash her arms before working my way down her back in languid, amorous circles. Around the 10th thoracic vertebrae, Elsa gave me a deep, cleansing exhalation. I dug my fingers into her taut back muscles, racking them down to her buttocks, deftly ran them along the sides of her glutes and finished up caressing them along the line between her thighs and ass.I worked her buttocks apart, worked my fingers along her perineum, tickling the back of her labia then up, across her anus and back to her tailbone and the small of her back. A crazy idea came to me: maybe I could talk her into a tramp stamp; something like If you are reading this, know I'll kill you next. That would be so Elsa.I lathered her ass up for another half-minute before working my way down to her thighs, starting with the hip joints and then coaxing of her parted lips. I knelt down so that I was resting on the balls of my feet. Elsa obliged me by parting her legs, standing on her toes with her feet over a foot apart, then placing her hands against the shower stall while arching her back so that her hips were thrust back."Oh, come on," Juanita protested. "What kind of bath is this?""Did you hear something?" Elsa looked down at me."Nope. I was focusing all of my attention on you," I smiled up at her. I was really liking the way her muscles were stressed through her exertions. I couldn't seem to pay enough attention to her robust calves. I didn't pass up the opportunity to plant gentle kisses on each cheek either.Elsa's ankles and feet happened all too fast and the pretense of a bath was complete. She looked at me while she soaped up her breasts then let the water cascade all over her body."Thank you, Cáel," she gave me a regal nod of her damp head, turned and left. "Train harder for the Hunt. You are going to need every edge you can get.""I'm stalking oysters over the weekend. They are cunning and stealthy adversaries," I replied sagely. Elsa snorted, then started toweling off as she left, going toward her own locker. I walked past my soaked towel on the floor without a single glance. Juanita stalked behind me, clearly with a lot on her mind she was now waiting for the proper moment to share. I got dressed."Not going to dry off?" she grumbled."I never use towels," I lied. "I like the rain-washed feel." By ignoring her act of defiance, I really steamed her. I wasn't done. As we headed toward the elevator, I opened up with my next jibe. Buffy really shouldn't challenge me so. I'm a past-master of dealing with clingy, bossy women."Regretting you made that bet?" I mused while we waited."What bet?" she simmered."The bet where you assured Buffy and whomever else was in the room that you wouldn't break down and physically harm me ~ punishing me for my wicked ways?""What? How did," she groused then, "You are playing me.""Yep.""You really are full of yourself," she seared me with her gaze."No, but I know what I'm good at and I'm good at frustrating women. I've been working at it for the past four years and I've got over 200 women who would agree that I'm very good at doing it.""Why are you doing this to me? I'm on your side," she turned all pouty and hurtful."Because if I don't, I'll go mad, Juanita," I enlightened her. "You want to protect me, right?""Yes," she sensed a verbal trap. The elevator opened and we stepped in."See, I don't want to be protected," I started."That's,""Let me finish, please," I stopped her. She gave me the visual 'go-ahead'. "I don't want to live a life where I need to be protected. I don't want to worry that women I hang out with could be cornered by some unsavory types at an eatery because those women happen to know and like me.""I admire what you are doing, I really do. This is not the life I wanted, though. This is not what I wanted to be doing four months after leaving college. I wanted to be some corporate worm, barely scraping by on my work reviews and being, as you said, 'a man-whore'.""You don't have that luxury," she pointed out."Am I not doing my job?" I countered."I guess you are," she grudgingly admitted."Yet you feel you have the right to critique my personal life and how I approach it," I related. "I'm not beating you up by playing the I am Ishara bullshit. I certainly don't expect anyone to be grateful to me for the opportunity to be in a House. I don't because I believe that every member of House Ishara has already proven they belong here before I ever meet them. I believe in you. Sometimes I would appreciate it if my sisters would give me the same respect."She looked away because my harpoon had struck home."Unlike the rest of you, I inherited my place in this madhouse. Unlike every other Amazon here, I am only a part of House Ishara because I am the choice of a thousand ancestors to be our leader. Notice that no one asked me if I wanted to do this. And I don't think I ask too much of you because frankly, there are times when I feel unworthy to be in your company.""You are still Ishara and I must still be your guardian," she held her ground. I glared at her. She glared back. I coughed. She kept glaring."What's my name?""Oh," she shrugged. "Cáel Wakko Ishara.""That may sound silly you to, but I have chosen the designations for myself, my First Ancestor and the Goddess for a good reason."We rode in silence. When we got to the ground floor, we made our way to our bikes and got ready to head home."What is the reason?""To never take ourselves too seriously. The worst thing I can think to befall my House is we become as humorless as the rest of the bitches around here. 'Laugh at Death' should be our motto.""Isn't that a bit childish?""Of course it is," I groaned. "You clearly haven't been paying attention to a damn thing I've been saying. I swear I'm thinking about bringing back 'National Clown Nose Day'.""We had a 'National Clown Nose Day'?" she pedaled to keep up."God help me," I muttered.(Where is my Serge?)"You are not going to let me go through my door first?" I sighed in exasperation. Juanita insisted that she go through every door first, because today was so very different than yesterday, when I had Pamela, perhaps I protest too much."You have a gun," a somewhat familiar voice said from inside my/Timothy's apartment. Oh, fuck. Ya know, because Juanita was as pretty as she was lethal, which is to say 'too much for the given company'."Don't make any sudden moves unless you want to see it," Juanita cautioned her."Oh, it's okay," Odette intervened. "This is Anais Saint-Armour. She's a Mountie.""Oh, she's on the List too," Juanita grumbled. "What has he done wrong this time?""Why don't you tell me who you are first?" Anais growled at Juanita while I pushed my way into the room."I don't like your attitude," Juanita glared."Anais, this is Juanita Leya Antonio Garza; she's my latest bodyguard. Juanita, this is Anais, a good friend of mine who helped save my life in Hungary when the 'terrorists' were closing in," I somewhat exaggerated,, she had helped me catch up with the rest of the team when Pamela and I got sidetracked."Why did he chose you?" Anais fumed. Did I mention she's insanely jealous with an aching need to know why I was marrying anyone else, but her."What list?" Odette proved to be on the ball."He didn't chose me. I volunteered for the spot.""Buffy made an anti-girlfriend list. Elsa is on it too," I mumbled."I bet you did," Anais (responding to Juanita)."It is not like that," I moved to interpose myself between my Mountie and my non-mounted (for now) guardian. "I'm on the board of directors for Havenstone now and,""How did that happen?" Anais turned 'The Force' on me. (That's Canadian for the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, really) "You insisted (reference back in the days we were seeing one another) you were impoverished.""I inherited it from my Father,""He's poor too. I ran a background check when we first started dating," Anais kept up the pressure."My Mother?""She's dead.""Okay, it was my Father through a convoluted meandering of genetics," I went back to attempting the truth (shame on me)."Which is it?" she glowered."My Father, but it's too complicated to get into now," I tried to touch her. She recoiled. She was still pissed with me."He's telling the truth this time," Odette rose to my defense."Why didn't you tell me this when you were in Hungary? For that matter, if you are rich, why didn't you use those resources to get yourself out of trouble instead of involving me?" She really was a great cop."I had to make a call to someone I trusted and who couldn't be traced back to me, or Havenstone, or the Irish Embassy," I fibbed."What have you gotten yourself into?" Anais thawed somewhat."I believe I promised you dinner," I reminded her."You did.""Where are we going?" Juanita stressed our lack of privacy."'We' aren't going anywhere. Ms. Anais Saint-Armour and I are going to a restaurant of her choosing. Don't worry about it. She carries a gun.""I'm not carrying a gun," Anais torpedoed my plan."Where are we going?" Juanita repeated herself. I had to switch mental gears quickly to take in the new looks I was getting from Anais. I shouldn't have ignored those cues."I can't get around my personal security service," I sighed. Why did I give in? Anais was all about gathering evidence and then drawing conclusions from the facts in available.I had been involved in some significant bad-assery in Europe that was way beyond anything she would have associated with the old me. Terrorist cells duking it out with me (and others) in a Budapest metro station? A rustic inn being reduced to ashes after a suspected firefight? Bomb threats? A full-scale military operation in Romania?I had been kidnapped with a resultant massive manhunt for me then returned under highly mysterious circumstances. There had been a young girl with me, we were close for reasons not really gone into and I had saved her despite all forms of parenthood had been anathema to me.I was a man who others deemed necessary to protect, thus a man making secretive phone calls, getting snippets of information and being involved in the deaths of way too many people to be the old, playboy me. Who had I become?I therefore might be a man who 'needed' to marry a billionairess due to some unspeakable political reasons, not out of any romantic/sexual desire of my own. Anais knew that I was a commitment-phobe, not a gold-digger. That meant she could be involved with me without it really being cheating. I needed her help, I had reached out to her when I was in crisis and she was in the people-helping business, right?There was clearly more evidence out there for her to discover and she had the good fortune to be able to have me in a spot where I could be interrogated."Where do you want to go?" I disengaged and went to my room. The door was only partially shut as I changed."Eleven Madison West," I was told."Oh," Odette cooed, "that place is expensive.""I know," Anais remarked."Why did you pick it?" Odette inquired."To remind Cáel that meals can be very expensive." That was my 'date' reminded me that I'd cheated with her over the course of a home-cooked meal, cooked not-by-her in someone else's home. I wondered how Maya was doing.Eleven Madison West meant I pulled out one of my Havenstone suits. They were tailored after all and I suspected that getting into this place at this time of night was going to take some charisma and finagling. Dressing as causal-me wouldn't do. When I stepped out, jaws dropped ~ I do look good all gussied up. Odette dispelled the shock by jumping into my arms."You look hot," she squealed. "Too bad I'm not going out with you.""You might want to remember that," Anais griped."We need to stop by Havenstone so I can attempt to dress up for this affair," Juanita stated."How about we call in a replacement? Give you the night off?" I suggested."Who?""Chaz?""You want that British SSR non-commissioned officer to be your personal bodyguard for tonight? You've got balls," Juanita coughed. I took out my phone and got ready to give him a call."Hey, Anais, why didn't you call me to tell me you were coming over?" I carefully avoided the word 'warned' as she would take that the wrong way."I don't have your personal phone number. I called your home phone and got the answering service, last night and again this morning," she narrowed her eyes."Odette, did Timothy get lucky last night?" I looked past the Mountie."No. A good friend of his rolled his motorcycle and he went to the hospital to help him out," Odette shook her head. Poor Timothy. My roomie/fuck-buddy misinterpreted Anais's pique. "Timothy is gay, not a sexual enabler.""Huh?" Juanita wondered."Wingman," I translated. "Sometimes the three of us go to gay clubs where I act as his wingman,""And they feed me to lesbians," Odette sounded enthusiastic. Thanks to me she was hardly a same-sex virgin."If there are three people living here and two bedrooms, who sleeps on the sofa?" Anais skewered Odette with her eyes."If Cáel has company and isn't sharing, I sleep with Timothy," Odette refused to wilt, or cut me some slack with Anais."Isn't sharing?" those ocular death orbs flicked my way."Hmm, if we are going to Elven Madison West, I had better make that call," I evaded. I rang Chaz."Nyilas," he answered. "How are you doing this evening?""I'm good. I have an ex-girlfriend from out of town visiting, she wants to go to a swanky place and Juanita isn't dressed for the detail so,""You want me to double date?""No, I need a bodyguard.""You are assuming I have something appropriate to wear.""You are British!" I protested. "Even your chicks have tuxedos.""Very well. Will this be a personal protection detail, or close support?""Aahhh,""Close support," said Anais."Personal Protection," countered Juanita."The one most likely to save me from being stabbed with a steak knife," I muttered."I am not going to physically attack you," Anais simmered. Yeah, right, I had heard that one before, and not just from her."Personal Protection it is," Chaz informed me."Oh, and she's a Mountie.""Is she armed?""No," I thanked the goddesses."Does she want to be?""Huh? Are you going to arm her?" I panicked."No. You have a NYPD liaison. Give Officer Kutuzov a call and make a formal request. If she is a law enforcement officer in good standing, it shouldn't be a problem.""Oh, I can do that?, I'm not sure that's the best idea," I prevaricated."Man up, Nyilas," he chided me. "You should work on making it so women don't want to shoot you instead of thinking of ways to disarm them.""Spoken like a man who wisely prefers the company of other men," I grumbled."Good use of the word 'wisely'. Next question: what are we using as a means of conveyance?""Umm,""I have my motorcycle," Anais was less than helpful."If you weren't one of the bravest human beings I'd ever met, I would determine at this moment that you are a dolt. Call Havenstone and arrange for one of those Mercedes Armored GL550s. Bring your license. I drive on the correct side of the road and I'm not keen on having a distraught paramour driving into a storefront at 80 kph.""Man, I like the way you speak," I joked."I took advantage of a proper English education.""I was joking with you.""I know.""Can I date your sister?" I didn't know if he had a sister, but he'd hinted there were multiple Tomorrow's out there. Anais' mood didn't improve."Yes. I like you. You are a good bloke.""Does your sister know how to kill people?""Yes. I'd say she's relatively proficient with a variety of small arms and hand-to-hand techniques," he enlightened me."Just checking.""Cáel, every woman you are interested knows how to kill people, or how to have people killed," Chaz reminded me."What about Odette? She's neither well connected nor lethal.""Odette is indeed an enigma. She counters that by being well liked by people who are capable of killing others who hurt her, except where you are concerned. You live a treasured life.""Have you made dinner reservations? If you need me for a black tie event it has to be, what is the American for it, swanky.""That's more of a Cael/Pamela thing," I corrected him. "American's say 'high class', expensive, or 'hot spot'.""Thanks for the update. Make those calls.""O-kay. Will do. I'll meet you at Havenstone in thirty minutes. Does that work for you?""Yes. Make those calls. I'll see you at, 7:52 pm, EDT. Mark.""Huh?""Goodbye Cáel," and he hung up."Who is this 'Chaz' character?" Anais questioned me."He is Color Sergeant Charles Tomorrow of the British Army's Special Reconnaissance Regiment, he's a badass and he's delicious," Odette answered for me."How do you know him, either of you?" came next."He was with," Odette began blabbing 'National Security' stuff."Odette, don't. Anais, he is member of the Joint International Khanate Interim Taskforce along with me. Odette helps out in an auxiliary role," I answered."Cáel, how did you end up doing this kind of work?" she was perplexed. "You were devoid of anything approaching civic responsibility when we were last together. Quite frankly, I didn't think you cared for anyone but yourself.""Hey now," Odette got feisty. She was my friend after all."We can talk about that over dinner?" I suggested. She didn't like that answer, so I lied. "I grew up," which was what she wanted to hear. I was spared any more interrogation at the moment by the necessity of making those three phone calls. Nikita liked hearing from me again, though she was less pleased that it was official business. She did agree to contact the appropriate agency for me, despite me making it for a different female law enforcement agent.I'd wised up about Havenstone. I called Executive services to have the car delivered to my door step. I cautioned the operative that, in my neighborhood, they might be stopped on suspicion of purchasing guns, drugs, and/or a good time. I would have the car in fifteen minutes and agreed to take the delivery driver back to work afterwards. I'd have done it even if I wasn't meeting Chaz.At Eleven Madison West, I got a snooty 'exactly who do you think you are?' followed by 'you will be placed on the waiting list, a spot may open up around 9:50'. Was I going to inform Chaz and Anais of this? Of course not. I planned to beg like a big dog, suggest that while I was a nameless face, I actually knew people, a person, and we'd see how far that got me.While waiting for the S U V to arrive and on the drive back to Havenstone, this is pretty much what followed:"Do you know who was behind your father's murder yet?""Yes, but I can't talk about it.""Was that the reason people are trying to kill you?""Yes. That and other reasons.""What other reasons?""Things I can't talk about.""Why can't you talk about it?""Secret society stuff ~ decoder rings, secret handshakes, writing in cyphers, holding clandestine meetings in public places after dark, and various other things world governments don't want me talking about.""Are you pulling my leg?" I wished I was running my hands over her legs. This wasn't the time for that revelation."No. Most of what I am telling you is the truth.""Were you in a shootout at the Chicago Medical Examiner's morgue?""Yes. I was unarmed at the time.""Was your life in danger?""It depends on what you mean by 'danger'. My allies had guns and were expert shots. I was shot at, but they missed me, so I not sure how much my life was at risk.""Can you please be serious?""I'm trying. You scare me.""You don't need to be afraid of me. I only want to help." That was mostly true. She was a diligent, hard-working incorruptible public servant,well, as long as you overlooked her charging me with bestiality when she was truly pissed with me."I'm not afraid of you hurting me. I'm afraid for you. You are an excellent peace officer and I'm worried that you will learn too much. Then your life will be as screwed up as mine.""I can take care of myself.""The reality that you are going out with me unarmed speaks volumes about what you don't know, Anais.""Don't think this line of questioning is over, Cáel.""Don't worry. I know you are not done.""Very well. How is your aunt?" The crab-fisherwoman, not the Irish menagerie."Happy as a clam, working a real job and living life on her own terms.""Where did you go wrong?" That was a loaded question. I had to tread carefully."A girl humiliated me in high school. I decided to take control of my life and somehow, despite my best intentions to be an unreliable lothario, I've ended up with people closer to me than family,and this constant need for physical protection.""Why are you engaged?" Finally, the real reason she was here. Had she come by to pick up her accoutrements, she would have been gone by the time I came home. She wanted answers, answers that allowed her to be in charge of our relationship again. It was the double-barreled impact of exceptional sex and wondering why she wasn't 'the one'.(Me) "Are you seeing somebody?""You didn't answer my question.""I've answered plenty of your questions. Answer mine.""No. Men expect too much from a career woman." Translation: 'I'm a bitch that, regardless of my dynamite looks and raunchy sex drive, repels men because I'm a compulsive control freak with abysmal trust issues.'"You do put your career first." Translation: 'I've totally forgotten that you are a compulsive control freak with abysmal trust issues.' It was what she wanted to hear."Your turn.""Put on your tin-foil hat. I did it to save lives in Central Asia when the anthrax strikes were going on. I have this friend over there that people listen to.""Who? The Great Khan?"I didn't respond which wasn't the answer she was expecting."How?" as in how could I possibly be good friends with the master of arguably the third or fourth most powerful nation on the face of the Earth"That's one of those things I can't talk about.""Do you love her?""I don't know. I'm lousy at relationships. I get along with her daughter. Her father wants to bury me alive in the Nevada desert. The rest of the family seems to be coming around to the idea that I might be one of them.""That isn't a 'yes'.""No, it isn't.""Do you think you can ever love someone?" If you need translated, sigh, okay, 'why don't you love me?'"Do you mean 'when am I going to stop stumbling from botched relationship to botched relationship and make something constructive of my personal life?'""Yes.""Did I mention that I've discovered I have a grandfather?""No. That isn't answering my question.""It is in a way. Did I mention that Mom had ten sisters I wasn't aware of? I had an uncle, but he died in my arms.""No. My condolences on your uncle. What does this have to do with you becoming more of an adult and becoming accountable for your life?""Did I mention I have an adopted grandmother who is my spiritual twin?""No.""Don't worry about my uncle. He died trying to kill me. My aunts murdered him, though I can never prove it.""Oh.""My grandfather? He was the one who sent those terrorists to kill me. It was his litmus test to see if I was worthy of being in his family. I passed.""Are you serious?""Yes. My spiritual grandma? She's a retired professional assassin. Daily I interact with a half-dozen people who have killed multiple human beings in their lifetimes. You want to know why I'm not behaving responsibly? I am acting responsibly. I'm trying to not get the decent civilians around me killed."She took awhile digesting that. By that time, we had returned to Havenstone and picked up Chaz. I made introductions."So, are you really with the SRR?" she asked him."Yes.""Why are you with Cáel?""My mandate contains multiple answers. Suffice it to say, since my RAF contemporary will not be returning from the UK until tomorrow, I am presently chief liaison officer for Her Majesty's government with JIKIT.""Why are you coming along as Cáel's bodyguard? Don't you have something better to do with your Friday evenings?" Subtle and polite, Anais ain't. Why was I putting up with her? She was a sexual tornado who would try anything once. She was a real prize."First question: Cáel is a friend, his life is in perpetual danger and I consider it my duty to keep him alive. He would do the same for me. Second question: the nature of my present assignment doesn't leave much room for any meaningful romantic associations.""Hmm," I contemplated what wasn't being said. "Chaz, you are nailing one of my security chicks, aren't you?""Yes.""Which one?""A man of character doesn't brag about such things."Chaz was getting some Amazon nookie. I had to find a way to tell him how dangerous that was. She might decide he's make good father material, not a good thing where Amazons were concerned."Are all of his security personnel women?" Anais pressed."Miss Saint-Amour, Havenstone is a corporation that employs over ten thousand people. There are precisely five men currently on their payroll. All their security personnel are woman. Cáel has very limited, if any, input on the matter.""Are you sure about that?""Yes, Miss Saint-Amour. Who would trust a man of Cáel's dubious experience with his own security?" Chaz pointed out."Oh." She hadn't thought of that."Can you tell me why you think his life is in danger?""He is far more likely to be kidnapped than murdered. He possess certain sensitive data that powerful entities would like to access, thus I am his bodyguard tonight. Considering the quality of the women who normally guard him, I consider it an honor.""To guard Cáel, on a date?""He was kidnapped visiting a child at a playground. Yes, we believe his life is in constant peril. The training and experience of his security service is top flight and it has been a pleasure to serve among them.""Were you with him in Budapest and Romania?""The metro station?""Yes.""Yes.""Romania?""Do you mean the counterterrorism action south of Miercurea Ciuc?""Yes.""Yes."Wow, these two were lousy communicators. I could imagine Chaz propositioning one of my Amazons.Chaz: 'You have a superior feminine physique which I find appealing. Want to fuck?'Amazon: 'You look like you have the prerequisite stamina and battle scars to be part of the New Directive. Sure.'"Were you involved in the actual combat? The SRR is normally an intelligence gathering unit.""I was gathering battlefield intelligence, Miss. That required my close proximity to armed and actively hostile enemy aliens (as in they were in Romania illegally, not that they were all supernatural beings). My involvement resulted in two KIA's and one WIA.""Damn Chaz, you rock.""I am a professional.""How many did Pamela gak?""One KIA.""Just one? Whoa, that's so unlike her.""She kept trying to bracket the cell leader (aka Ajax). He had the Devil's Own Luck.""Cáel, why are you making light of all those deaths?" Anais chastised me. "How many terrorists did you wound, or kill?""I wounded one guy.""That is disingenuous," Chaz chided me. "You orchestrated the operation, showed tactical expertise in seizing the most critical terrain feature and engineered the death of the terrorist leader.""My Cáel did that? When I knew him, he was adverse to violence," Anais shook her head."Considering the considerable number of people he's killed, he's still adverse to physical confrontation where his own life is involved. But God help you if you threaten someone he is close to, though. He's the man who can get things done when the team is in a pinch.""Cáel, what happened to you?" she didn't sound upset at all."I learned to care for people beyond my immediate interest, you know, actual long-term relationships," with the unspoken 'as opposed to women I'm currently having sex with'."It took you long enough," she snipped. Reference her being a compulsive control freak with abysmal trust issues.The interrogation was put on hold while we entered the restaurant and,"Mr. Nyilas?" the maytre dee greeted me."Yes.""We will get you a table right away," he nodded obsequiously. What the hell was up with that? Where was my two hour wait time? Oh yeah, I was a minor, fifteen seconds of fame celebrity."Will Ms. Sulkanen be joining you this evening?""No. She had to oversee a packaged Erythrosine-monosaccharides explosion in Boca Raton. Flaming plastic pink flamingo bits were raining down everywhere. I imagine it is taking an Everest-sized load of hush money to keep this out of the media," I replied. I was so eerily sincere, he bought it and a look of horror snuck over his face. I had become the public face of corporate malfeasance."Your table (gulp) is ready, Sir," he began to sweat. He took us to our table for four then beat a hasty retreat. Undoubtedly his civic-mindedness would have him calling up TMZ within a minute. After all, it was unlikely he owned any plastic pink flamingos, or invested in their construction. Once he was gone, Chaz let a thin smile break through his hard-earned military unfazed-ability."What exactly are packaged Erythrosine-monosaccharides?" he inquired."Packaged is self-explanatory. Erythrosine is pink food coloring and monosaccharides are,""Sugar," Anais frowned."Exploding pixie sticks, I have nieces and nephews. You are a genius at misdirection, Mr. Nyilas," he nodded."Thank you, Color Sergeant Tomorrow. It is nice to be appreciated for my bizarre and useless preoccupation," I grinned."You practice lying?" Anais' view of me dimmed."Miss, he excels at extraneous, outrageous utterances. No harm is intended.""Things like I was helping her find her contact lenses?" That had been my excuse when caught coming out of Maya's apartment. Sadly, Anais is highly perceptive and knew the lady didn't wear contacts. The copious female aroma wafting off me certainly hadn't helped."That's unfair," I countered. "Back then, I was a college nitwit suffering from undiagnosed nymphomania. I'd like to think I'm getting better."" tes-vous mieux?" she retorted in French."Je suis assez intelligent pour aller vers vous lorsque des vies  taient sur la ligne." That's right, Anais. When my life and the lives of others were on the line, she was the first one I thought to call. Letting a woman know that you admire her profession, professionalism and reliability never hurts."Are you really a nymphomaniac?" she returned to English. French is the language of sex, as is any derivative of Sanskrit, Farsi and Portuguese. Reference the multitude of Indians, the hotness of Persian women and the outpouring of lust that is Brazil."I had a magnetoencephalography recently. The neuroscientists didn't know what to make of my brain patterns. I appear to be somewhat unique in my madness."She didn't believe me. I didn't blame her. No one really likes hearing a truth they don't want to accept."Here," I leaned forward and pointed to the tiny divot in my forehead. "I was stabbed with a needle in the skull. That is why they looked at me, not because of my sexual malfunction."She touched it to makes sure. We were interrupted by the waiter stopping by to see if we were ready to order yet."We will have three of the most expensive appetizers, dinners, deserts and wines," Anais preempted us. Ugh. I was either a millionaire by the wonders of Havenstone accounting, or broke. I foolishly never looked into such things, never having had much money before. I needed a distraction."Hey Chaz, nice suit," was what came to mind. It was a swell masterpiece of the tailoring arts I hadn't expect from a ground-pounder from a family of ground-pounders serving Queen and Country for generations."Thank you. Pamela picked it out for me, suspecting an event such as this would transpire. She told me you paid for it," Chaz answered."I did?""I made the reasonable deduction that she forged your signature on whatever medium was used for payment," he shrugged, "in the same way she exhibits a criminal tendency toward every other aspect of her life.""What does Pamela look like?" Anais glowered."She's his grandmother," Chaz responded politely. "They make quite the pair. Normally we don't let them alone in the same room. Bad things happen.""Bad things?""Things like that scenic hostel being reduced to ruin," he enlightened her."This is the supposed assassin?""Retired assassin," Chaz corrected her. "So far she's only, what is the term you two use?" he looked at me."Sending a Get-Well card to their next of kin? Pumping up the volume? Making a critical attitude adjustment? Retroactively revoking their lease on life? We have a few.""Yes, those. Pamela has assured the team director that she no longer accepts assignments of a murderous nature. These days she only practices her skills on those we determine are a threat to the greater endeavor," he explained."She murders people? You all murder people?" Anais furrowed her brow. "Cáel, do you engage in these activities?""What? Who? Me? No!" I waved off any conspiratorial associations. "The vast majority of people I've killed was totally by accident.""How do you accidently kill people?" she pierced my soul with her voice."Okay, I let them kill themselves because warning them would have resulted in me and some friends meeting very immediate violent ends," I pleaded."Miss Saint-Amour, I've talked to trustworthy people who were on the scene when this happened. It was a paramilitary action with the lives of children on the line. Cáel acted to save the lives of innocents," Chaz defended me. That is what Anais wanted to believe; that I was basically a decent human being. I was a pig, but a courageous one. I had confronted her after my infidelity, on the other side of the US/Canadian border where her jurisdiction didn't apply.I knew my revelations were hideously hard to believe. In my favor, I had been in dangerous places doing dangerous things. The Metro firefight had been captured on the place's security system (which had been leaked to the public thus leading to some delusional admirers into thinking I would make a great new King of Hungary even though they hadn't had a monarch since 1918 nor was I from the right (Hapsburg) family. In case this whole Havenstone thing came crashing down in flames, I needed to keep my options open).There had been a bomb threat at Mindszent which I had reputable sources call in (and where I had admittedly hung out with a few of the women who saved me from an earlier disaster) and Miercurea Ciuc had made the international news. Well over 100 people had died and some of the terrorists were still at large. The Romanian government declared I had been 'instrumental' in the confrontation without saying what 'instrumental' meant.I was heroically vague, more mature than where we left off and clearly incited pussy-twitching memories. We'd once fucked so continuously hard and long one weekend that neither one of us could stand until an hour after we stopped. Anais was well worth the pain I was contemplating. Sex with her wasn't the pain I was worried about. It was dodging all her calls afterwards. Once again reference her being a compulsive control freak with abysmal trust issues.Oh, how did I know she was reveling in our past coital moments? She hadn't walked out on me yet. She hadn't walked out when she found Odette in my domicile, when she met Juanita, or when she found out that I worked with highly experienced killers as part of my new daily routine.Normally Anais was smarter than this and had a career in law enforcement to contemplate. Lastly, she hadn't asked to be armed, despite getting permission from the NYPD. Had she decided to get a gun, Anais was sure in her hormonally-cascading mindset she would have shot me by now. I incite all kinds of passion in women. It is a curse.The rest of dinner was unremarkable. Anais continued to interrogate Chaz who proved that he was both skilled in counter-interrogation techniques and not willing to spill anymore secrets about what anyone at JIKIT did. However he had provided her with every logical reason to beat feet back across the Canadian border and she hadn't taken the hints about what a disaster sleeping with me could be.We drove Anais back to her motel, then Chaz and I headed home in silence. Despite his earlier declarations, he knew how to drive the 'right' way all along. As he was letting me out in front of my building, he gave me this pleasant warning."I'm not going to lecture you about not going back there, or avoiding the crazy ones. You already know better and are going back by her place anyway. I do advise that whatever you do, don't let her restrict your movements in any way. She's likely to make you pay double for your past indiscretions and take payment out on your cock. Good luck, Mate.""Wait," I stopped him. "Can you help me hotwire her bike? I can use that as an excuse to darken her doorway.""Dolt," he muttered. He helped me anyway because that's what really good friends do ~ assisting you in your self-destruction so we could joke about it later. At least that was what I hoped was going on. Chaz being a closet sadist was an unsettling idea. I didn't get to immediately pursue my plan because,(We work for you, don't we?)At 9 am, the President of the United States of America, after a late night briefing and a good night's sleep, decided that for the sake of world peace he had to intervene in Southeast Asia ~ Thailand to be specific, though he had some vague notion that a summit of regional leaders was in the offing and the US needed to establish some sort of game plan instead of looking impotent and disinterested.Based on carefully selected bits of information supplied to him by us (JIKIT), he ordered two carrier taskforces to move to the Gulf of Thailand to enforce an anticipated UN arms embargo and 'No-Fly Zone'. It would take four days (September 3rd) for Carrier Strike Group Nine (built around the USS Ronald Reagan) and the 11th Marine Expeditionary Unit (2,200 souls) to take up a position in the South China Sea close to the Gulf of Thailand. By fortuitous circumstance, 500 Marines and sailors were already deployed to Malaysia on a joint training mission with the Malaysian Marines.The second one, the USS Carl Vinson's Carrier Strike Group One wouldn't arrive until the 9th, six days later. What the US government wanted to know was what the Khanate and Vietnam would do in those long, lonely six days. The Khanate had as many modern, up-to-date combat aircraft on Woody Island as the Reagan could send up. The Vietnamese could add another 48 planes worth worrying about.There was the added complication that Thailand hadn't asked for help yet. His experts (us again) were suggesting that he was about to wake up one morning and find Khanate tanks rolling down the streets of Bangkok, which

In Northern Iraq, Yazidi women and girls who have been the victims of brutal sexual enslavement and lost swathes of their family and community to genocide at the hands of IS, are finding an unusual way to heal - boxing. Since 2014, when ISIS began targeting Yazidis because of their religious identity, those who survived the genocide have been confined to internally displaced persons camps in the Kurdish region of Iraq. Here conditions are difficult and the women and girls still struggle to process all that has happened to them. So, in 2018, in the face of limited mental health support, Taban Shoresh and her team took a radical approach by offering boxing training to help the women and girls channel their emotions and anger.

In this second part of a 3-episode exploration of The Satanic Rituals, hear a closer examination of the book's extensive introductions, plus the infamous Black Mass, "Masonic" ceremony mysteries tracing back to the Knight's Templar, the Islamic-condemning rituals of the Yazidis, and the ritualized Seventh Satanic Statement, "Das Tierdrama". https://satansplain.locals.com/support  00:00 - Intro 01:35 - The Satanic Rituals: Introduction 03:50 - The Satanic Rituals: Concerning the Rituals 07:08 - Concerning the Rituals (continued) 11:03 - The Black Mass (and what it really is) 17:40 - So why is it there? 23:50 - Ceremony of the Stifling Air (Knight's Templar, Freemasonry) 26:11 - Pilgrims of the Age of Fire (The Statement of Shaitan) 32:07 - German Lore: Das Tierdrama (The Seventh Satanic Statement)

*) UN condemns Israeli attacks on Gaza hospitals, demands safe zones The UN has strongly condemned Israeli attacks on Gaza hospitals, demanding they remain "off limits." UN deputy spokesman Farhan Haq says over twelve-thousand-people require urgent medical evacuation, adding that the impact of Israel's evacuation orders have affected over eighty-percent of Gaza. Haq called for media freedoms to be upheld and urged the removal of barriers against journalists. *) Suicides rise among Israeli soldiers amid Gaza war Twenty-eight soldiers have committed suicide since the start of the Gaza war in October twenty-twenty-three, surpassing last year's toll, according to the Israeli military. A total of eight-hundred-ninety-one soldiers have died and five-thousand-five-hundred-sixty-nine injured during the conflict, with three-hundred-sixty-three deaths in twenty-twenty-four alone. In response, the army has bolstered mental health support, including a twenty-four-seven helpline and expanded staff. *) 'Security service' blocks South Korea officials from arresting Yoon South Korean investigators seeking to arrest impeached President Yoon Suk-yeol are being confronted by "security service" members at his residence after an earlier stand-off with a military unit. Corruption Investigation Office investigators and police officials entered his residence earlier on Friday in an attempt to execute their warrant to detain Yoon. Investigators began executing a warrant for Yoon arrest over his failed martial law bid, the first time the country has ever sought to arrest a sitting leader. Yoon's legal team slammed the warrant as "illegal," pledging to fight back. *) US probes Tesla truck explosion outside Trump Hotel Las Vegas authorities are investigating an explosion involving a Tesla Cybertruck outside the Trump Hotel. Initial findings suggest the driver, suspected to be Matthew Livelsberger, may have died by suicide before the vehicle exploded. Livelsberger served in the Army since two-thousand-six and was deployed to Afghanistan twice and served in other countries like Ukraine and Georgia. Meanwhile, the FBI has stated there is no definitive link between this incident and a separate vehicular attack that occurred in New Orleans on New Year's Day. *) Türkiye to protect all 'aggrieved groups' in Syria Türkiye remains committed to protecting all "aggrieved groups" in Syria, Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan has said. Addressing a joint press conference in Ankara, Fidan declared Türkiye's role as a guardian for minorities, including Nusayris, Alevis, Yazidis, and Christians. Underlining Türkiye's support for over three-million Syrian refugees since two-thousand-eleven, Fidan stressed efforts to ensure their safety and promote Syria's future peace. He also called for international backing in Syria's reconstruction and reaffirmed Türkiye's readiness to aid in securing the country's borders and handling Daesh detainees.

Dix ans après le génocide perpétré contre les Yazidis par le groupe État islamique dans la région du Sinjar, en Irak, des dizaines de milliers de survivants déplacés rentrent chez eux. Mais leur retour est douloureux, car les exactions ont laissé des blessures indélébiles. Reportage de Marie-Charlotte Roupie.

Ten years after the genocide perpetrated against the Yazidis by the Islamic State group in Iraq's Sinjar region, tens of thousands of displaced survivors are returning home. But their homecoming is bittersweet, as the atrocities have left indelible wounds. FRANCE 24's Marie-Charlotte Roupie reports.

December 11th 2024 Yuriy recounts his extraordinary encounter with Syrian dictator Bashar al-Assad during a journalistic assignment in the early days of the Syrian war. He provides a vivid portrayal of Assad's unexpected demeanor and reflects on the dictator's troubled background and eventual downfall. You can email Yuriy, ask him questions or simply send him a message of support: fightingtherussianbeast@gmail.com    You can help Yuriy and his family by donating to his GoFundMe: https://www.gofundme.com/f/help-yuriys-family   Yuriy's Podbean Patron sign-up to give once or regularly: https://patron.podbean.com/yuriy   Buy Yuriy a coffee here: https://bmc.link/yuriymat  Subscribe to his substack: https://yuriymatsarsky.substack.com/  ----more---- TRANSCRIPT: (Apple Podcasts & Podbean app users can enjoy accurate closed captions)   It is December 11,  Friends, I apologize for my long silence- it's just what with the onset of winter, I fell ill and it was incredibly difficult for me to write or even speak. Besides, I had almost no free time. But now is right moment to tell you a story I've been meaning to share.  I've already mentioned it, but working as a journalist gave me the opportunity to visit places I had only dreamed of: the fort in Gaza, where Napoleon stayed during his Egyptian campaign; the Temple City of Lalish in Iraq, sacred to all Yazidis. As a journalist, I also got to meet my favorite musician, the legendary Chicago Bluesman, Lurrie Bell, and many other fascinating people. And I also happened to meet the Syrian dictator, Bashar al-Assad. As it turned out, meeting with him was not all that difficult. It was 2012, the war in Syria was just beginning, and he was as open to the press as possible. At that time, I was working in the Middle East and decided to take a chance by sending a West for an interview to the Syrian Ministry of Information- and they approved it.  There were a few unexpected challenges though. For instance, I did not own a suit and had to borrow one from a foreign colleague. A government official I coordinated the interview with, lent me a tie, and even the shoes werent mine. I borrowed those too, so I showed up entirely dressed in our people's clothes. The only time I looked worse was when I unexpectedly found myself transported from the trenches directly to the office of Kyrgyzstan president. I was wearing dirty cargo pants with knee pads and t-shirt featuring a frog smoking a massive joint. If you are interested, I'll tell you that story separately some day, but for now, back to al-Assad. We met at his residence in Damascus. I was escorted there under the watchful eye of local intelligence agents after a thorough search. The residence, which I assume is one of many, was built in a European style. You know, a small mansion like the ones you'd find in Berlin or Vienna. Al-Assad himself, opened the door. He spoke English fluently- much better than I do. But that was not, what struck me most.  What truly surprised me, that this bloody tyrant, a man who mercilessly ordered the killing and torture of unarmed people was, a total hen pecked man. Along with us in the residence was his media consultant, Luna al-Shibl, whom I already knew as the person who had approved my interview request. Everyone around referred to her exclusively as 'Madame Luna.'  As we talked, she wandered around the room, sat at Assad's computer, and gave him advice in Arabic. At times it seemed as though he was waiting for her instructions. He did not look very confident overall. When he spoke slogans -ranting about global terrorism, how he was the sole defender against it and similar nonsense- he seemed to come alive. He probably even believed his own propaganda. But when the conversation shifted to other topics, he wilted and his already small chin seemed to disappear entirely.  He struck me as a confused man who did not belong in his position. Don't get me wrong- I'm not defending him in any way. Not at all. He's a criminal who has killed countless people and nearly destroyed his own country, and at the same time, he was insecure and it was obvious that his parents did not care much for him. It was his brother, Basil, who was supposed to become president. Basil was chosen by his father, president Hafez al-Assad, as the sole successor to the throne. But Basil died in a car accident , and Hafez began molding Bashar into the new dictator.  I think his extreme cruelty partly stems from his need to prove to everyone that he was worthy of the seat he was placed in, that he was a genuine Middle Eastern despot who did not care about human lives. And the end of his reign as a dictator is fitting. I congratulate with Syrian people on the downfall of a horrific dictatorship. And I remind you, if you like what I'm doing, you can support me and my family. All the details are in the episode description. Thank you.

Ten years after the Islamic State launched a bloody assault on Iraq's Yazidi religious minority, hundreds remain missing. On this weekend episode, our Iraq Bureau Chief Timour Azhari travels through the regions destroyed by ISIS, and speaks with the Yazidis still trying to find their missing loved ones, and bring them home. Sign up for the Reuters Econ World newsletter here. Listen to the Reuters Econ World podcast here. Visit the Thomson Reuters Privacy Statement for information on our privacy and data protection practices. You may also visit megaphone.fm/adchoices to opt out of targeted advertising. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Ten years ago, in 2014, militants belonging to the Islamic State group in Iraq killed and captured thousands of Yazidi people in what would later be called a genocide. It's understood that hundreds of women are still missing, and are being held as sex and domestic slaves across the Middle East. One was recently found in Gaza. Since then there have only been a handful of court cases - mostly in European courts - but survivors are still fighting for justice. Caroline Hawley, a BBC diplomatic correspondent, talks us through the detail. We also hear from Nobel Peace Prize winner Nadia Murad who, at 21, was abducted into sexual slavery when IS militants surrounded her Yazidi community in the Sinjar region. Since her miraculous escape she has been advocating for survivors of genocide and sexual violence through her organisation Nadia's Initiative. Trigger warning: the material in this episode can be disturbing and quite hard to hear. If you are sensitive to content about physical and sexual violence, or if you believe that you might find the discussion to be triggering, this episode may not be right for you.Instagram: @bbcwhatintheworld WhatsApp: +44 0330 12 33 22 6 Email: whatintheworld@bbc.co.uk Presenter: Hannah Gelbart Producers: Mora Morrison and Hayley Clarke Editor: Verity Wilde

#IRAQ: #KURDISTAN: The Yazidis persevere in Sinjar, Kurdistan, Europe and the USA.  Bill Devlin wodowsandorphans.info  fearofpersecution.org https://www.msn.com/en-ae/news/middleeast/ten-years-after-isis-massacre-kocho-s-yazidis-remember-and-rebuild/ar-AA1oQxoe 1932 Mesopotamia

Ten years ago, the self-proclaimed Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) launched a campaign of mass atrocities to achieve the religious and ethnic cleansing of religious minority groups in Iraq and Syria. In 2016, the U.S. State Department determined ISIS's atrocities against Yazidis, Christians, and Shi'a Muslims constituted crimes against humanity and genocide. Ten years on, survivors face multiple threats to their religious freedom, security, and existence within their homelands.Today, Ambassador David Saperstein, former U.S. Ambassador-at-Large for International Religious Freedom, and the Hon. Frank Wolf, former U.S. Representative (R-VA 10th) and former Commissioner at the United States Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF), join USCIRF Senior Policy Analyst Susan Bishai. They share their firsthand insight into the United States' response to ISIS's genocide and crimes against humanity, as well as offer recommendations for the U.S. to support religious freedom for the surviving communities, ten years on.Listen to USCIRF's first podcast in this series commemorating the tenth anniversary of ISIS's genocide. Read USCIRF's 2024 Annual Report Chapter on Iraq and view USCIRF's Hearing on Religious Minorities & Governance in Iraq.With Contributions from:Susan Bishai, Senior Policy Analyst, USCIRFVeronica McCarthy, Public Affairs Associate, USCIRF

Ten years have passed since the I-S-group attacked Sinjar in northern Iraq, killing and enslaving thousands of Yazidis. But many survivors, including those in Australia's Yazidi community, are still waiting for justice for what happened to them. The scale of atrocities perpetrated against the Yazidi community by the Islamic State group include mass executions, forced conversions, abduction, enslavement and systematic sexual violence. Those are acts which bodies such as a commission mandated by the United Nations Human Rights Council have called a genocide. And a warning, some people may find this story distressing.

Ten years ago, the self-proclaimed Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) launched a campaign of mass atrocities to achieve the religious and ethnic cleansing of Yazidis, Assyrian-Chaldean-Syriac Christians, Shi'a and Sunni Muslim Turkmens, Shabaks, and other religious minorities in Iraq and Syria. In 2016, the U.S. State Department determined ISIS's atrocities against Yazidis, Christians, and Shi'a Muslims constituted crimes against humanity and genocide. In 2019, an international coalition defeated ISIS's last territorial hold in Iraq and Syria. However, ten years on, survivors face multiple threats to their religious freedom, security, and existence within their homelands. Jamileh Naso, President, Canadian Yazidi Association; Nadia Cavner, Philanthropist and Advocate for Assyrians; and Dr. Ali Akram Albayati, Co-Founder, Turkmen Rescue Foundation join USCIRF Senior Policy Analyst Susan Bishai to discuss religious minorities' ongoing struggles to rebuild in the region.Read USCIRF's 2024 Annual Report Chapter on Iraq and view USCIRF's Hearing on Religious Minorities & Governance in Iraq.With Contributions from:Susan Bishai, Senior Policy Analyst, USCIRFVeronica McCarthy, Public Affairs Associate, USCIRF

Ten years have passed since IS attacked Sinjar in northern Iraq, killing and enslaving thousands of Yazidis. Many survivors are still in the dark about what became of their loved ones. - Deh sal di ser êrîşa Daişê ya li ser Şingalê re derbas bûn û bi hezaran Êzîdî kuştin û kole kirin. Gelek kesên ku rizgar bûyî hîn nizanin çî bi serê hezkiriyên wan e ku wuda bûyî nizanin. Nîhad Berekat wê roja dijwar a ku jiyana wê û gelek Êzidiyan guhert bi bîr tîne. Rojeke ku nayê ji bîr kirin Daîş 28 kes ji malbata wê di 03/08/2014 de girtin.

When Islamic State (IS) militants took control of Syria and Iraq in June 2014, the entire Yazidi population in Sinjar were immediately in grave danger. The Sunni Muslims of IS believed Yazidis were infidels and should either convert to Islam or be killed. On 3 August 2014, 5,000 Yazidis were killed on the first day of the genocide. For those who survived that night, the only escape route was to climb Mount Sinjar in the blistering heat, with no shelter or food, and pray to be rescued. Mirza Dinnayi convinced Iraq's president to supply three helicopters and began evacuating 50,000 Yazidis, who were stranded on top of the mountain in a race against time. Mirza shares his experience with Sarah Ehrlich. A 2 Degrees West production for BBC World Service.(Photo: Yazidi people escape the Sinjar mountains in August 2014. Credit: Emrah Yorulmaz/Anadolu Agency/Getty Images)

In Iran - the only reformist candidate in presidential elections will face a run-off, at the end of next week, with an ultra-conservative rival. Also on the programme, 10 years after Islamic State declared their “Caliphate”, Yazidis are still struggling to recover from genocide; and, Amnesty International says armed criminals may have been introduced into protests in Kenya to inflame the situation.(Photo: An Iranian woman casts her vote in a polling station during the presidential election, in Tehran, Iran, 28 June 2024. Iran holds presidential elections on 28 June, following the death of late Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi in a helicopter crash on 19 May 2024.STRINGER/EPA-EFE/REX/Shutterstock)

Almost 10 years after the Islamic State group launched its conquest of the Mount Sinjar region in Iraq as part of its takeover of the country, a new film tells the stories of the Yazidi people, who suffered a genocide under the extremists' rule. Several thousand Yazidis were killed or captured, while half a million others fled. The film "Sinjar, the Birth of Phantoms" talks to survivors about how their lives have been turned upside down, and how they still fear violence could return. Its director Alexe Liebert told how she hopes the film will ensure their voices are heard.

Ursula von der Leyen says the result comes with great responsibility for the parties on the political centre. The reactions in France following a surprise parliamentary election. Plus analysis on why voters have backed far right parties in such large numbers. Also: the BBC speaks to the widow of the IS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi about the persecution of Yazidis in Iraq, and the South African photographer who's won international acclaim for challenging discrimination.

This weekend on America's Roundtable, co-hosts Natasha Srdoc and Joel Anand Samy will be joined by Chris Mitchell, CBN News Middle East Bureau Chief and author of compelling books including "ISIS, Iran and Israel: What You Need to Know about the Current Mideast Crisis and the Coming Mideast War." (https://www.amazon.com/ISIS-Iran-Israel-Current-Mideast/dp/0986223336) Chris Mitchell covered the historic decision by President Trump to move the US Embassy to Jerusalem, and saw the opening of Saudi Arabia to the world. In 2011, CBN News began the award-winning program, Jerusalem Dateline, hosted by Chris Mitchell and translated into multiple languages. Chris Mitchell first began reporting on the Middle East in the mid-1990s. Chris repeatedly traveled there to report on the religious and political issues facing Israel and the surrounding Arab states. Chris moved to Jerusalem in August 2000 to establish the CBN News Bureau. During the ensuing years, Chris and the staff have been able to cover firsthand how Jerusalem and the Middle East comprise the epicenter for world-shaking events. In 2005, CBN News covered the wrenching Israeli pullout from the Gaza Strip as thousands of Israelis were evicted. The following year, CBN Founder Pat Robertson joined Chris Mitchell and the crew on the front lines of the 2006 second Lebanon war. When the Arab Spring erupted in 2011, CBN News sped to Tahrir Square in Cairo where thousands gathered to protest the government of Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak. Through Chris Mitchell's leadership, CBN News covered the rise of ISIS and its reign of terror, from the bombed-out city of Sinjar to the mass grave of Yazidis. The CBN News team saw the ruins of the Islamic State after its demise in the city of Mosul. The television news crew spent time with the Kurdish Peshmerga, the brave men and women spearheading the battle against ISIS and they met face-to-face with persecuted Christians and told the world about the awful rise of Christian persecution throughout the Middle East. A native of the Boston area, Chris earned a B.A. in History at the University of New Hampshire in 1975. In 1987, he graduated with honors from Regent University, earning an M.A. in Communication. Book | "ISIS, Iran and Israel: What You Need to Know about the Current Mideast Crisis and the Coming Mideast War." (https://www.amazon.com/ISIS-Iran-Israel-Current-Mideast/dp/0986223336) americasrt.com (https://americasrt.com/) https://ileaderssummit.org/ | https://jerusalemleaderssummit.com/ America's Roundtable on Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/americas-roundtable/id1518878472 Twitter: @ChrisCBNNews @ileaderssummit @AmericasRT @NatashaSrdoc @JoelAnandUSA @supertalk America's Roundtable is co-hosted by Natasha Srdoc and Joel Anand Samy, co-founders of International Leaders Summit and the Jerusalem Leaders Summit. America's Roundtable (https://americasrt.com/) radio program - a strategic initiative of International Leaders Summit, focuses on America's economy, healthcare reform, rule of law, security and trade, and its strategic partnership with rule of law nations around the world. The radio program features high-ranking US administration officials, cabinet members, members of Congress, state government officials, distinguished diplomats, business and media leaders and influential thinkers from around the world. Tune into America's Roundtable Radio program from Washington, DC via live streaming on Saturday mornings via 65 radio stations at 7:30 A.M. (ET) on Lanser Broadcasting Corporation covering the Michigan and the Midwest market, and at 7:30 A.M. (CT) on SuperTalk Mississippi — SuperTalk.FM reaching listeners in every county within the State of Mississippi, and neighboring states in the South including Alabama, Arkansas, Louisiana and Tennessee. Listen to America's Roundtable on digital platforms including Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon, Google and other key online platforms. Listen live, Saturdays at 7:30 A.M. (CT) on SuperTalk | https://www.supertalk.fm

The following full uncut conversation is from our recent episode "Israel, Hamas & Universal Human Rights: Former UN Official Craig Mokhiber Describes Path Forward."  It is available here as a podcast thanks to generous contributions from listeners like you. Thank you.  Support the podcast by becoming a member => LauraFlanders.org/donateDescription: The Universal Declaration of Human Rights was adopted by the United Nations 75 years ago this December, as was the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide. But that same year also saw the institutionalization of apartheid in South Africa, and the Palestine War or Nakba which displaced hundreds of thousands of Palestinian Arabs in the course of creating the state of Israel. What does it mean to commemorate this anniversary in a time of genocide and gross violation of human rights — particularly in the ongoing conflict between Israel and Hamas? Until recently, Craig Mokhiber was the director in the New York Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR), where he had served since 1992. A specialist in international human rights law, policy, and methodology, he worked through genocides against Tutsis in Rwanda, Muslims in Bosnia, Yazidis in Iraq, and Rohingya in Myanmar. In his resignation letter, sent October 28th this year, he wrote, “Once again, we are seeing a genocide unfolding before our eyes, and the organization that we serve appears powerless to stop it.” Both Israel and Hamas have now been accused of committing gross violations of human rights in their current conflict, including acts of genocide. But what exactly is genocide? And what is the responsibility of the world to stop it? In this timely episode, Laura and Mokhiber explore the promise of the Universal Declaration and ask how we can honor this historic achievement while also acknowledging the hypocrisies of 1948 — and now. What can be learned from the South African experience that might offer a way forward for peace with justice for Israelis and Palestinians? All that and a commentary from Laura on what it takes for us to recognize one another's humanity.Guest:  Craig Mokhiber: Human Rights Lawyer, Former Senior United Nations OfficialFull Episode Notes are located HERE.  They include related episodes, articles, and more.

The Yazidi community in Australia is celebrating the end of a three day fast. The Three Day Fast in December is one all Yazidis are expected to observe. Fasting occurs from dawn until sunset, and the nights are given to feasting, merry making and some prayer. As for the "Eda Rojiya Ezi" or Feast of “Ezi or the Almighty”, it falls on Friday after three days of fasting. We spoke to a few members of the Yazidi community in Wagga Wagga, Khatoun, Parwin and Ibrahim regarding this special occasion. - Civaka Êzîdî li Australya pîrozbahiya cenjina Ezî dike pishtî rojî-girtina sê rojan. Em derbarê vê roja pîroz bi Ibrahîm Helîqî, Xatûn Temar û Perwîn ê re axifîn û me ji wan pirsî ew çawa pîrozbahiya vê rojê li Australiya pîroz dikin…

The Yazidi community in Australia is celebrating the end of a three day fast. The Three Day Fast in December is one all Yazidis are expected to observe. Fasting occurs from dawn until sunset, and the nights are given to feasting, merry making and some prayer. As for the "Eda Rojiya Ezi" or Feast of “Ezi or the Almighty”, it falls on Friday after three days of fasting. We spoke to a few members of the Yazidi community in Wagga Wagga, Khatoun, Parwin and Ibrahim regarding this special occasion. - Civaka Êzîdî li Australya pîrozbahiya cenjina Ezî dike pishtî rojî-girtina sê rojan. Em derbarê vê roja pîroz bi Ibrahîm Helîqî, Xatûn Temar û Perwîn ê re axifîn û me ji wan pirsî ew çawa pîrozbahiya vê rojê li Australiya pîroz dikin…

This show is made possible by you! Help us meet our year-end goal to raise $25,000, the cost of producing an episode. Please make a year-end donation => https://LauraFlanders.org/donate Take Our Survey: Vote for your favorite LF Show episodes HEREDescription: The Universal Declaration of Human Rights was adopted by the United Nations 75 years ago this December, as was the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide. But that same year also saw the institutionalization of apartheid in South Africa, and the Palestine War or Nakba which displaced hundreds of thousands of Palestinian Arabs in the course of creating the state of Israel. What does it mean to commemorate this anniversary in a time of genocide and gross violation of human rights — particularly in the ongoing conflict between Israel and Hamas? Until recently, Craig Mokhiber was the director in the New York Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR), where he had served since 1992. A specialist in international human rights law, policy, and methodology, he worked through genocides against Tutsis in Rwanda, Muslims in Bosnia, Yazidis in Iraq, and Rohingya in Myanmar. In his resignation letter, sent October 28th this year, he wrote, “Once again, we are seeing a genocide unfolding before our eyes, and the organization that we serve appears powerless to stop it.” Both Israel and Hamas have now been accused of committing gross violations of human rights in their current conflict, including acts of genocide. But what exactly is genocide? And what is the responsibility of the world to stop it? In this timely episode, Laura and Mokhiber explore the promise of the Universal Declaration and ask how we can honor this historic achievement while also acknowledging the hypocrisies of 1948 — and now. What can be learned from the South African experience that might offer a way forward for peace with justice for Israelis and Palestinians? All that and a commentary from Laura on what it takes for us to recognize one another's humanity.“Israel is responsible for its own crimes. That responsibility does not extend to Jewish people around the world and certainly not to those who are standing up to say that this is not in their name.” - Craig Mokhiber“We want to see justice for victims and accountability for perpetrators, but we want it to be done peacefully. And what are the peaceful means? We have legal action, we have political action, we have mass mobilizations, we have divestments, we have boycotts.” - Craig MokhiberGuest:  Craig Mokhiber: Human Rights Lawyer, Former Senior United Nations Official Full Episode Notes are located HERE.  They include related episodes, articles, and more.Music In the Middle:  Funk 4 Peace by Fort Knox Five from their album Radio Free DC courtesy of Fort Know Recordings.  Additional music included- "Steppin," by Podington Bear. 

At the end of World War Two, the victorious Allies decided to try top Nazi officials as war criminals. A tribunal was convened in Nuremberg. Some of them were hanged. Others were given jail sentences. Today, Nuremberg is largely forgotten. The clear evidence of that was the March 2003 U.S. invasion of Iraq, an unambiguous war crime committed by war criminals, not just George W. Bush but Cheney, Wolfowitz, Rice, et al. Those responsible for the Iraq War have never answered for the chaos, massive bloodshed and dislocation that followed not just in Iraq, but in neighboring Syria as well. The rise of ISIS, the massacre of Yazidis and sectarian violence can be directly traced to what Bush and his cohorts did. Will he and the others involved be held to account? Hardly; the former president has taken up painting in his retirement.

Facts & Spins for August 02, 2023 Top Stories: A poll shows Trump is leading his GOP rivals, Xi replaces the leaders of China's elite nuclear force, The US and the Taliban wrap up their first formal talks in 2 years, Another drone attack strikes Moscow, A former Australian childcare worker is charged with abusing 91 children, The UK acknowledges that IS attacks on Yazidis constitute genocide, The White House recommends curbing the FBI's surveillance powers, Myanmar's Aung San Suu Kyi is pardoned on some charges, A new Illinois law allows foreigners to become cops, and UNESCO recommends adding Venice to its endangered list. Sources: https://www.improvethenews.org/   Brief Listener Survey: https://www.improvethenews.org/pod

Kate Adie introduces stories from Iraqi Kurdistan's Yazidi community, the streets of Marseille, the former USSR and the Caribbean island of Nevis. From 2011 to 2017, the Yazidi minority in Iraq lived in terror, as the community was targeted by Islamic State's fighters for especially brutal repression. There were fears of genocide - that the whole community might be wiped out. That didn't happen - but as Rachel Wright has seen, Yazidis who survived captivity and slavery under IS are still finding life extremely tough today, trying to eke out a living in tented cities of refugees. After the mass civil disorder across France, there's passionate debate over the root causes of the revolt on the streets, and what the rioters really wanted. Jenny Hill reports from Marseille on what she heard from residents of the city's vast and decaying Frais Vallon housing project. Ibrat Safo reveals a personal story of childhood in the former USSR - and making contact again with the woman who helped to raise him. His family were Uzbek, while his nanny was of Uzbek and Ukrainian descent. They grew up together speaking Russian in a provincial Soviet town. So when Russia invaded Ukraine in 2022, he felt an urgent need to track her down, and find out where life has taken her. And Rob Crossan reveals why the Caribbean island of Nevis hasn't turned much of a profit from its connection with one of America's Founding Fathers - the celebrated Alexander Hamilton. Producer: Polly Hope Editor: Richard Fenton-Smith Production Co-Ordinator: Gemma Ashman

In 2014, militants of the Islamic State group set out to destroy the ancient, minority Yazidi community of northern Iraq. Thousands were murdered, thousands of Yazidi women and children were enslaved and brutalised. Since the defeat of IS in 2017, the traumatized community has tried to recover. And yet, as Rachel Wright reports, more than 100,000 Yazidis remain stuck in camps, unable to return to their homes. Photo: Bahar, a Yazidi survivor, holds a picture of her missing husband and son. She and her family were captured by Islamic State in 2014. (BBC) Presenter: Rachel Wright Producer: Alex Last Sound Mix: Neva Missirian Production Coordinator: Helena Warwick-Cross Series Editor: Penny Murphy

A special report on the plight of the Yazidis, the ancient Iraqi community persecuted by Islamic State which is still facing problems in Iraq. Also in the programme: UN issues stark wanring over Myanmar; and Prigozhin is in Russia, according to Belarus' president. (Picture: Displaced people from the minority Yazidi sect, fleeing violence from forces loyal to the Islamic State in Sinjar town, August 11th 2014. Credit: REUTERS/Rodi Said)

Today on the Be Bold for Jesus Podcast, we are interviewing Bob Pruitt, Senior Counsel and Corporate Affairs Director of Alliance Defending Freedom.Be encouraged, inspired and empowered to Be Bold for Jesus through this interview! Prior to ADF, Bob operated a business and commercial law practice in Texas. Pruitt also served as President, General Counsel and Board member for CalTex, a national manufacturer in the automotive aftermarket sector. Before CalTex, he was Senior Counsel for Gulf States Toyota, Inc., an independent distributor of Toyota vehicles. Pruitt began his legal career as a civil litigator in Houston, where he was a shareholder of a litigation firm. Pruitt graduated from Baylor University with a Bachelor of Business Administration in Management and Marketing and earned his Juris Doctor from South Texas College of Law Houston, where he was a member of two national championship moot court teams.Pruitt is a member of the State Bar of Texas and is admitted to practice in all federal courts in Texas. He is also commissioned as a Colson Fellow. Alliance Defending Freedom:We were launched in 1994 by leaders in the Christian community. While many of our clients are Christians, we've also defended the rights of Jews, Muslims, Mormons, Jehovah's Witnesses, and people of no faith. Religious freedom is for everyone. In our campus free speech work, we've represented students of varied religious faiths as well as libertarian, conservative, pro-life, pro-conservationist, and others. And outside the United States, ADF International has worked to stop genocide against Christians, Yazidis, Shia Muslims, and other religious minorities.https://adflegal.org/#Christianpodcast #Christian #Christianity #Jesus #God #boldfaith #faith #believer #uplifitingpodcast #encouraging #uplifiting #inspiring #unashamedpodcast #unashamed #beboldforjesus #bebold4jesus

We talk with the representatives of two Yazidi organizations about the plight of the Yazidis, a religious minority targeted for genocide by the Islamic State (ISIS) in 2014. Natia Navrouzov from Yazda and Pari Ibrahim from the Free Yezidi Foundation discuss the efforts to bring accountability since 2014.Support here the Free Yezidi Foundation and Yazda. Further reading: the UN report that concluded ISIS had committed genocide against the Yazidi people.This episode is supported by Indiana University's Presidential Arts and Humanities Program, the Tobias Center, the African Studies Program, the Center for the Study of the Middle East, and the Huh Jum Ok Human Rights Foundation.Sound editing by Emily Leisz Carr, mixing by Seth Olansky, music "Souffle Nocturne" by Ben Cohen.Production by Shilla Kim and Clémence Pinaud.

Growing up in religious homes, Tom Holland and Anthony have always been fascinated by ancient religious stories and civilizations like Greek mythology, the Roman Empire, and Hebrew Scriptures. They often found these tales to be more enthralling and powerful than the Christian stories they were raised on, and they often perceived Christianity as drab and dreary compared to the vibrant imagery of Greece and Rome. Join them as they reflect on their experiences and discuss the impact of these ancient stories on their lives.The symbolism and relevance of crucifixion in modern times is also something they explore in this conversation, especially in light of the ISIS crucifixions targeting Christians and Yazidis. Tom shares his harrowing experience traveling to Sinjar, a war zone that had just been recaptured by the Kurds, revealing the existential abyss it opened for him when faced with the atrocities committed there. Listen in as they discuss the power of the crucifixion symbol and its impact on their understanding of the Christian story.Lastly, Tom and Anthony dive into the role of Christianity in paving the way for the acknowledgment of equal dignity between the sexes. They examine the deep biological reasons why men have been in control for so long and how Christianity helped create a sense of dignity for both men and women. Tracing the development of Christian teachings on marriage, they also explore the Church's role in creating the ideal of romantic love and the demanding standards it imposes on men. Don't miss their engaging discussion on how the church has influenced gender equality throughout history.********************************************************Avoiding Babylon was started during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic. During these difficult and dark days, when most of us were isolated from family, friends, our parishes, and even the Sacraments themselves, this channel was started as a statement of standing against the tyrannical mandates that many of us were living under. Since those early days, this channel has morphed into an amazing community of friends…no…more than friends…Christian brothers and sisters…who have grown in joy and charity.Avoiding Babylon does not criticize the hierarchy or institutional Church, especially Pope Francis. We recognize there is an unprecedented crisis in the Church, but we feel that there are other shows that address these issues that are more qualified than us. Instead, we try to remind ourselves and those who enjoy the channel that being Catholic is a joyful and exciting experience. We seek true Catholic fraternity and eutrapelia with other Catholics who, like us, are doing their best to live out their vocation with the help of God's Grace. Above all, we try to bring humor and joy to the craziness of this fallen world, for as Hillaire Belloc has famously said:“Wherever the Catholic sun doth shine,There's always laughter and good red wine.At least I've always found it so.Benedicamus Domino!”https://www.avoidingbabylon.comLocals Community:  https://avoidingbabylon.locals.comStore:  https://avoiding-babylon.sellfy.store/RSS Feed for Podcast Apps: https://feeds.buzzsprout.com/1987412.rssSpiritusTV:  https://spiritustv.com/@avoidingbabylonRumble: https://rumble.com/c/c-1626455Odysee:  https://odysee.com/@AvoidingBabylon Support the showCheck out our new store!

On May 16, Iraq's Sinjar province saw deadly violence. The positions of a Yazidi armed group affiliated with the PKK, the Kurdistan Workers' Party, were targeted by drone strikes attributed to Turkey. Security tensions are complicating the return to the province of Yazidis in exile, after a genocide perpetrated against them by the Islamic State group in 2014. In Sinjar and in refugee camps in northern Iraq, the Yazidi population warns of the absence of a clear governing authority to ensure their safety and bring public services back to the province. Our correspondent reports.

On Thursday April 27, as a result of tensions in the Sinjar region against the return of a number of Arab families to the region, false allegations circulated that Yazidis had attacked a mosque in Sinjar. Yezidis around the world condemn these allegations and say that Yezidis respect all religions and will not do such an act. Salam Qaro speaks to us about the latest situation in Sinjar and about resettling Yezidis in Australia. - Roja Pêncşemî 27ê Nîsanê, di encama aloziyên li devera Şingalê li hember vegera hejmarek ji malbatên Ereb bo deverê, tohmetên derew belav bûn ku Êzîdiyan êrişî mizgefteke Şingalê kirine. Êzdiyên cîhanê van îdiayan şermezar dikin û dibêjin ku Êzdî hurmeta hemû olan digrin û tiştê wusa nakin. Em bi Selam Qero re derbarê rewşa li Şingalê û bi cîhkirina Êzîdiyan li Australya diaxafin.

The Islamic State has largely fallen out of the western press with the weird exception of ISIS brides. And when we talk about the Islamic State, western press often ignores its broader crimes. The plight of the Yazidi, specifically, is largely ignored by press and NGOs.The plight of the so-called “ISIS bride,” however, is very much in fasion. But I wanted that photo and that testimony to lead off this post. Today's episode is mostly about the women of the Islamic State, but the Yazidis are a crucial part of that story and we shouldn't forget them.When Islamic State still had a caliphate that galvanized Western militaries, young men and women from around the world left their homes to join up. Their reasons were varied but their passion seems unwavering. Now the Islamic State is fractured and the Caliphate is in ruin but many of the fighters and so-called ISIS brides remain. Now, some of them want to go home, and Western media has looked at them with a shockingly sympathetic eye.Today's show is a long interview with journalist Norma Costello, who has spent time in al-Hol where many of the women of the Islamic State now live. She's written about them in UnHerd.Around the beginning of the pandemic, family and friends of Isis members began to gently craft a new narrative about their women. They had never supported the caliphate. They were innocents forced to travel there by men. They were, in their own way, victims. These grown women had been “trafficked” into Isis territory. Ignore the fact that many of them bought their own tickets.After we're done talking about the Islamic State, Norma and I switch gears and get onto a very Angry Planet topic: Irish tankies and their strained relationship with Russia and its war in Ukraine.Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/warcollege. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

On Thursday February 28th, 2019, the Hermetic Hour with host Poke Runyon will review and discuss "The Eighth Tower" by the late UFO investigator John A. Keel (1930-2009). He was most noted as author of "The Mothman Prophecies" (1975) and film (2002). Keel was more interested in monster sightings, like the mothman and big-foot than he was in UFOs but he believed that the two phenomenon were related and emanated from the same source. He was an ardent successor to Charles Fort "The Book of the Dammed" (1919) which was a collection of fantastic anomalies such as UFO sightings, monster sightings and other fantastic events such as rains of frogs and ghost ship sightings. Mostly newspaper clippings collected from the beginning of the industrial age to the First World War. Like Charles Fort, Keel was a journalist who continued the collection from the 1920s, through the UFO era. The Eighth Tower is a Fortean book but with an agenda that Fort was very cryptic about. What do all these strange things mean mean? Fort concluded that "We" humankind, "Are property." Keel expands on that. After continuing Fort's bizarre collection he brings in Carl Jung's Collective Unconscious, the world soul, universal mind and the Seven Demonic Towers of the Yazidis and postulates an Eight Tower that is a sort of empyrean Godforce over the rest. This is not an easy book to get through but it will take you down the rabbit hole, so join us for some Fortean adventuring.

Earthquake humanitarian update: UN agenciesConstruction begins on Yazidi genocide memorial: IOMCambodia: OHCHR chief condemns closure of last independent newspaperTop rights experts say Israel should be held accountable for destroyed homes

In Episode 156 of the CounterVortex podcast, Bill Weinberg discusses Peter Lamborn Wilson's last book, Peacock Angel: The Esoteric Tradition of the Yezidis. One of the persecuted minorities of Iraq, the Yezidis are related to the indigenous Gnostics of the Middle East such as the Mandeans. But Wilson interprets the "esoteric" tradition of the Yezidis as an antinomian form of Adawiyya sufism with roots in pre-Islamic "paganism." Melek Taus, the Peacock Angel, the divine being revered by the Yezidis as Lord of This World, is foremost among a pantheon that ultimately traces back to the Indo-European gods. Wilson conceives this as a conscious resistance to authoritarianism, orthodoxy and monotheism—which has won the Yezidis harsh persecution over the centuries. They were targeted for genocide along with the Armenians by Ottoman authorities in World War I—and more recently at the hands of ISIS. They are still fighting for cultural survival and facing the threat of extinction today. Weinberg elaborates on the paradox of militant mysticism and what it means for the contemporary world, with examples of "heretical" Gnostic sects from the Balkan labyrinth. Listen on SoundCloud or via Patreon. https://www.patreon.com/countervortex Production by Chris Rywalt We ask listeners to donate just $1 per weekly podcast via Patreon -- or $2 for our new special offer! We now have 50 subscribers. If you appreciate our work, please become Number 51!

Poet, journalist, and novelist Dunya Mikhail joins hosts V.V. Ganeshananthan and Whitney Terrell to talk about the Yazidis, who are indigenous to Kurdistan and have been targeted by ISIS because of their religious beliefs. After ISIS slaughtered thousands of Yazidi men in northern Iraq in 2014—an event deemed an act of genocide by the U.N.—they kidnapped thousands of Yazidi women and children who were bought, sold, and traded as sexual slaves among ISIS fighters. Mikhail, who is Iraqi-American, previously wrote about the women in the National Book Award-nominated nonfiction book The Beekeeper. She discusses that book and its relationship to her new novel, The Bird Tattoo, which draws on some of the same histories.  To hear the full episode, subscribe through iTunes, Google Play, Stitcher, Spotify, or your favorite podcast app (include the forward slashes when searching). You can also listen by streaming from the player below. Check out video versions of our interviews on the Fiction/Non/Fiction Instagram account, the Fiction/Non/Fiction YouTube Channel, and our show website: https://www.fnfpodcast.net/ This podcast is produced by Anne Kniggendorf. Selected Readings: Dunya Mikhail The Bird Tattoo In Her Feminine Sign The Beekeeper The Iraqi Nights Diary of a Wave Outside the Sea The War Works Hard  Others: The Security Is Better, Seriously (by Whitney Terrell, Slate, 2011) This poet put the Yazidi women's suffering and strength into words (PBS NewsHour) ISIS Forced Them Into Sexual Slavery. Finally, They've Reunited With Their Children. (New York Times) Dunya Mikhail Finds Freedom in Fiction (Publishers Weekly) Dunya Mikhail: 'The War Works Hard' (NPR) UNESCO-Sharjah Prize for Arab Culture awarded to poet Dunya Mikhail and actress Helen Al-Janabi (UNESCO) Who are the Yazidis and why is Isis hunting them? (The Guardian) Iraqi doctor provides care and comfort to Yazidi survivors (UNCHR) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Since 2014, when ISIS launched its genocidal campaign against the Yazidis—a minority ethno-religious group within the Kurdish-majority areas of Iraq, Syria, Iran and Turkey, as well as in Armenia–hundreds of thousands of Yazidis have been displaced from their native home in the Sinjar region of Iraq.The U.S. government remains deeply invested in helping stabilize the Sinjar region and making it a viable home again for the displaced Yazidis. As USCIRF has consistently reported, Sinjar is not yet a hospitable environment for the Yazidi people. The United States and wider international community have a role to play in encouraging all stakeholders—including Yazidis and authorities in both the Kurdistan Regional Government and the Iraqi federal government—to help this vulnerable religious minority to safely return to Sinjar.Co-Founder and Managing Director of The Zovighian Partnership, Lynn Zovighian, joins us today to discuss the challenges the Yazidi community and the Sinjar region continue to face as new stages of the genocide unfold.With Contributions from:Susan Bishai, Policy Analyst, USCIRFVeronica McCarthy, Public Affairs Associate, USCIRF

On Thursday April 19th, 2018, the Hermetic Hour with host Poke Runyon will review a book titled LeMulgeton, Goetia and the Stellar Tradition by Leo Holmes (2013) a Brazilian author who has examined the 72 Spirits of the Goetia in relation to the earliest Zodiacal and fixed-star arrangement that we have, the Mul.Apin of the Babylonians, hence his title “Le Mul ge ton.” Holmes has also included references to the Egyptians, the Magi, the Yazidis, the Tarot, Lovecraft and Kenneth Grant. He has a complete sequence of sigils for the Behemian stars. Which is a valuable asset to any magician's handbook. He agrees with us that Bael and Ashtaroth are Ba'al and Astarte and advances his zodiacal circle from the Age of Taurus to the age of Aries, as we have in our Master Mandala and he has also declared that Zagan (number 61) is the Canaanite God Dagon, which we will certainly consider. This is a small quarto book in limited edition published by The Fall of Man Press. Our copy, provided by Frater Damuzi, is number 260 of 300, so if you Goetic magicians want the book you should order it soon. 

Rami Khalid Taalo is from Sinjar, he is 21 years old. He now lives in Sharya a district of the Dohuk Governorate in Kurdistan Region, Iraq. He is very passionate about photography, his passion is since 2012. Rami takes photographs of refugees and displaced people to show the world that the Yazidis are still living in difficult circumstances eight years after IS's attack on Sinjar. Rami's dream is to one day own a good camera to take professional photos and he believes that dream will come true when he comes to Australia. Rami and his family are waiting to be resettled in Australia. - Rami Xalid Te'lo ji Şengalê ye, ew 21 saliye. Piştî fermana 3/8/2014 ew niha li Şariya dijî. Ew gelekî ji wênekêşiyê hez dike, ku wî ji sala 2012 de ev meraqa heye. Ramî wêneyên penaber û awareyan dikişîne da ku nîşanî hemû cîhanê bike ku Êzîdî piştî heyşt salan ji dema fermanê cî girtî hîn jî di rewşeke dijwar de dijîn. Xewina Rami ku rojekê kamêreyeke wî ya baş hebe da ku wêneyên profisyonal bigire û ew bawer dike dê ew xewina dema werin Australya bi cîh bibe.

Oito anos depois do autoproclamado Estado Islâmico ou Daesh ter encurralalo o povo Yazidi nas montanhas de Sinjar, no curdistão iraquiano, depois de milhares de vítimas – sobretudo mulheres e crianças — terem sido vendidas, torturadas, violadas, aos poucos, a Justiça internacional dá resposta a estes crimes: duas pessoas que integravam o Daesh já foram acusadas e condenadas por genocídio do povo Yazidi.  Na semana em que se assinalou o Dia Internacional de Homenagem às Vítimas dos Atos de Violência Baseada na Religião ou Crença (a 22 de agosto), republicamos a reportagem, dividida em duas partes, que a jornalista Marta Vidal fez no Médio Oriente, em 2019. Em 2020, este trabalho recebeu uma menção honrosa no 22º Prémio AMI – Jornalismo Contra a Indiferença.A versão original desta peça tem sons em inglês. No nosso site, em www.fumaca.pt podes ler a transcrição integral de todo o áudio, traduzido para português. Podes também encontrar uma versão áudio, dobrada para português, ou no nosso site ou no canal Extras Fumaça na tua aplicação de podcasts. Ajuda-nos a ser a primeira redação profissional de jornalismo em Portugal totalmente financiado pelas pessoas: https://fumaca.pt/contribuir/?utm_source=podcast+appSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Adiba Qasim has shown extraordinary courage and resilience. She narrowly escaped when her village was stormed by Islamic State militants who killed and enslaved thousands of Yazidis. This is her story.      “We were surrounded by the Islamic State. And we had no weapons even to fight. We had nothing. We were left alone.”   Returning to northern Iraq in 2015, Adiba threw herself into humanitarian work, aiding survivors who had been enslaved by the militants. In this special bitesize episode she reflects on the horrors she witnessed, on battling survivors' guilt, and on her motivation to help others.

Professor Jan Ilhan Kizilhan is a psychologist who specialises in treating victims of sexual violence in times of war such as Yazidis. He runs a project in Dohuk in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq where he trains psychologists to support survivors. In 2015, he helped 1,100 Yazidis, including Nobel laureate Nadia Murad, move to Germany for psychological assistance. Professor Kizilhan says that survivors of the Yazidi genocide, especially women, need huge assistance mentally and psychologically. - Profesor Jan Ilhan Kizilhan pisporê derûnî û dermankirina mexdûrên ku tundûtujiya zayendî ya di dema şer de li wan bûye de ye. Herweha karmendên Neteweyên Yekbûyî di warê derûniyê de perwerde dike. Ew projeyekê li Dihokê li Herêma Kurdistana dimeşîne û tê de psîkolojan fêr dike ji bo piştgiriya rizgarbûyên ji destê DAIŞ bike. Di sala 2015 de, wî alîkariya 1,100 êzîdiyan kir, ku di nav wan de xwediya xelata Nobelê Nadia Murad bû, ji bo alîkariya derûnî biçin Almanyayê. Profesor Kizilhan dibêje, kesên ku ji jenosîda Êzidiyan rizgar bûne, bi taybetî jin ji aliyê derûnî ve pêwîstiya wan bi gelek alîkariyan heye. Ger hûn yan kesekî ku hûn nas dikin piştgirî yan agahdarî li ser depresiyon û rewşa derûnî, telefone Beyond Blue 24/7 li ser 1300 22 4636 yan Lifeline li ser 13 11 14 bikin.

In Episode 127 of the CounterVortex podcast, Bill Weinberg notes that the Kurdish-controlled Syrian city of Kobani, which became a global icon of resistance to ISIS in 2014, is now under threat of Turkish aggression. The Syrian Kurds were betrayed in 2019, when their autoomous zone of Rojava was greatly reduced by Turkey's first thrust into their territory. Erdogan is now threatening to extinguish it altogether, and incorporate all of Rojava into his "security zone." There is growing speculation that the US could "green light" this aggression in exchange for Turkey dropping its objections to Sweden and Finland joining NATO. Meanwhile, the Yazidis of northern Iraq, who were subjected to genocide at the hands of ISIS in 2014, now face extermination of their hard-won autonomous zone of Ezidikhan at the hands of Baghdad's military—acting under pressure from Turkey. Great Power meddling in Syrian and Iraqi Kurdistan alike is pitting the peoples of the region against each other, portending a disastrous Arab-Kurdish ethnic war. How can activists in the West help break this trajectory? Listen on SoundCloud or via Patreon. https://www.patreon.com/countervortex Production by Chris Rywalt We ask listeners to donate just $1 per weekly podcast via Patreon -- or $2 for our new special offer! We now have 41 subscribers. If you appreciate our work, please become Number 42!

Photo:  “Our operation was carried out in response to the recent aggression on the outskirts of Kirkuk and Dohuk,” the statement by the new Ahrar Sinjar (Free People of Sinjar) group said. “These drones hit the intended targets with high accuracy, as a result of which the occupiers suffered material and human losses" Here:  A Yazidi chief in Bashiqa, Iraq - picture by Albert Kahn (1910s) #Iraq: Yazidis in war.  Michael Knights is the Jill and Jay Bernstein Fellow at The Washington Institute.   Malcolm Hoenlein @Conf_of_pres @mhoenlein1   https://www.washingtoninstitute.org/policy-analysis/ahrar-sinjar-fasail-employment-yazidi-community https://www.jpost.com/middle-east/article-707361 Michael Knights is the Jill and Jay Bernstein Fellow at The Washington Institute, specializing in the military and security affairs of Iraq, Iran, and the Gulf states. He is a co-founder of the Militia Spotlight platform, which offers in-depth analysis of developments related to the Iranian-backed militias in Iraq and Syria.

When ISIS swept into Mosul in June 2014, the organisation immediately began a campaign to wipe out the most important part of the northern Iraqi city's unique heritage - its a multi-sectarian culture. Mosul was home to ancient and modern Christian communities, Yazidis, Shia and Sunni Muslims, and at one time, Jews. Throughout the period of ISIS occupation Omar Mohammad, a history lecturer at Mosul University, risked his life daily to get news of the city out to the world via the internet. His Mosul Eye blog became essential reading. Now living in exile in Europe, Omar de Mosul, as he is known, is reconstructing the history ISIS tried and failed to wipe out, including the history of the city's Jewish community. Presenter Michael Goldfarb spends time with Omar as he collects oral histories from the remaining Jews who were born and grew up in the city. Most Jews left the city in the early 1950s in the upheaval following the establishment of Israel. He also speaks with Rabbi Carlos Huerta, retired US army chaplain, who spent the first year after the US overthrew Saddam Hussein in Mosul with the 101st Airborne. He had no idea about the rich Jewish history of the place and spent much of his time investigating it. Presenter: Michael Goldfarb Producer: Julia Hayball (Photo: The dilapidated Sasson Synagogue in Iraq's northern city of Mosul destroyed by Jihadists. Credit: by Zaid aL-Obeidi/AFP/Getty Images) A Certain Height production for BBC World Service

Many of the religious communities that call Iraq home have suffered from conflict and displacement in recent decades. The civil war in Iraq in the 2000s led large numbers of Christians and other small religious groups to flee the country. Between 2014 and 2019, many religious communities in the north suffered horrifying atrocities under ISIS—including what the United States in 2016 formally declared as a genocide against Yazidis, Christians, and Shi'a Muslims.Today we are joined by USCIRF Chair Nadine Maenza and Jeremy Barker, Senior Program Officer and Director of the Middle East Action Team for the Religious Freedom Institute. Our discussion focuses on the current state of religious freedom in Iraq; in particular, for Iraq's beleaguered religious minority communities. 

Airdate May 16, 2021: Fareed speaks to CNN's Nic Robertson in Israel about what it's like on the ground. Then former U.S. special envoy to Israel and Palestine, Martin Indyk, and modern Arab studies Professor Rashid Khalidi discuss how the combatants got here and where the conflict will go next. Then international human rights lawyer Amal Clooney and Nobel Peace Prize winner Nadia Murad join Fareed for an exclusive interview. After the U.N. this week said ISIS committed genocide against the Yazidis, Clooney and Murad say it's time to get justice against ISIS in U.S. and international courts.  GUESTS: Martin Indyk, Rashid Khalidi, Amal Clooney, Nadia Murad To learn more about how CNN protects listener privacy, visit cnn.com/privacy

As Jerusalem is gripped once again by violent unrest, Palestinian politician Mustafa Barghouti and head of the Israel Green Party Stav Shaffir join Christiane Amanpour to discuss the "sad and risky combination of tensions" threatening the region. Then Karim Khan, head of the U.N. Investigative Team on Daesh Crimes, unpacks the new report showing that genocide was committed by ISIS against the Yazidis in 2014. Turning to the U.S. food industry, our Hari Sreenivasan talks to Pulitzer prize-winning journalist Michael Moss about his new book "Hooked" and the addictive dangers of processed food.To learn more about how CNN protects listener privacy, visit cnn.com/privacy