Hey guys, welcome to the View from the Front podcast. My name is Stan R. Mitchell, and I’m a prior Marine and journalist, who twice a week discusses military matters, while also adding in a little motivation, wisdom, and history. I do my best to cover our military: where’s it at, what they’re doing, where they might be going, and any conflicts and hotspots that could lead to military intervention.
Besides covering this news, I also try to share some motivation and wisdom with each episode, while also working as hard as I can to unite this country. Without question, I feel like our wide division and animosity toward those with whom we disagree is the greatest threat our country faces.
So, twice a week I do my best to bridge this great divide, while also reminding each of us that most of us are being played by divisive political and news figures, who are ripping apart this great country just so they can reach a higher office or gain more followers and ad dollars.
Most Americans are good, and we need to remember this. Always.
While we face great challenges as a country, America has stood together for more than 240 years, and it’s only by pulling our country closer together that we can pass on a better future for our kids.
We need to hold and cherish the beliefs that got us here today. Beliefs such as patience, kindness, and a strong belief that our best days lie before us. These are the beliefs that got us to this point. And they’re also the kind of optimistic beliefs that will get us to a brighter future.
And with that out of the way, let’s get started.
Source notes follow below, with subject heading in bold. (I again apologize for not being able to do full write-ups at this time. I hope you enjoy the podcast above.):
America’s throwaway spies; How the CIA failed Iranian informants in its secret war with Tehran
The Russian men fleeing mobilization, and leaving everything behind
summarize:
180,000 Russians have fled
To escape fighting in Ukraine, the 42-year-old Russian construction worker flew through two countries in four days, spending so much on tickets, so quickly, he lost track of it all. Finally, he ended up in Turkey, where it was safe. As he stopped to breathe Tuesday, on plastic seats in the airport arrival hall, he conceded he had no idea where to go next.
One person quoted, from the story above:
The government, he said, was enlisting men “en masse.” Neighbors and friends had been called up. “I had no choice. I can’t go to war and kill people in Ukraine. And if I stayed, there was no other option.” He and his wife decided he should leave on the day Putin announced the mobilization.
“In one day, I quit my job, took the money from the bank, took my wife and the baby to my parents. My entire life is breaking apart,” he said.
I don't think you can beat men like this, God bless them.
“A happy fighter is a dangerous fighter.” -- Mike Tyson.
What to know about Russia’s annexations
Russia is proposing to annex four provinces — Luhansk, Donetsk, Zaporizhzhia and Kherson — in the south and the east of Ukraine where intense fighting continues. Moscow hastily put the plan in motion after a humiliating battlefield defeat drove the Russian Army out of another province, Kharkiv, in early September and the Ukrainian advance appeared to be gathering force.
The Kremlin plans to declare the land where battles are raging in all four regions to be Russian territory and to assert that it is defending, not attacking, in the war in Ukraine.
Curtis Moore knows both worlds. He grew up in the small town of Bishop, Calif., and spent his summers packing mules in the Eastern Sierras. Later, he cowboyed at a nearby ranch before becoming a lawyer who deals with natural resource conflict resolution. He likes to cite Aldo Leopold, who wrote, “Is education possibly a process of trading awareness for things of lesser worth?”
News about China and Taiwan:
Motivation and wisdom:
I always like to end with this one:
And with that, thanks for joining us this week on The View from the Front.
If you can, consider at some point becoming a paid subscriber.
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As a reminder, please be kind and try your best to love your fellow Americans.
Let’s all work together to unite this country.
And also, please try to be a better person each and every day. Try to be kinder on social media and how you interact with others with whom you disagree.
Also, if you have a dream kicking around in the back of your mind? Go after it. If you have that friend or family member that you know you should reach out to? Reach out to them.
Finally, and this especially goes to all my awesome military folks listening out there, if you need help, reach out to someone. Please. Call that friend or family member. Do it for us all. We’ve already lost too many of the greatest folks that this country has produced to suicide. So I’m asking you to be brave once more, and show some vulnerability. Take a deep breath, breathe, and call a friend or family member or someone who can help.
I appreciate each and every one of you. Every tweet, every share, every email, etc. I can’t even tell you how much those mean to me, and I love each and every one of you all.
Please join me again in our next episode, and please stay safe until then.
Thanks again, everyone! You guys are the best. As always, don’t forget to check out my books. You can find all 11 of them on Amazon.
And with that, I’m out.
Subscribed
Semper Fidelis,
Stan R. Mitchell
P.S. Don’t forget to check out my books. I’ve written a CIA/Marine sniper series, a detective series, a private investigator series, an action-packed Western, a motivational/biography book about President Obama, and two realistic war novels: one about World War II and one about Afghanistan.
P.P.S. And here’s a short bio about me and what I’m trying to do with the newsletter.
Episode 9-30-22