Yearly Archives: 2023
SCANDERBEG
In the city of Lezhë overlooking the Adriatic Sea, there is a memorial to Albania’s national hero, Scanderbeg (1405-1468). Born Giorgi Kastrioti in this city of northern Albania, he earned the title of “Lord Alexander” – Scanderbeg in Albanian – for his military genius in leading his Christian army against the Moslem armies of the Ottoman Empire. For 25 years (1443-1468), his 10,000 Christian Knights consistently inflicted defeat after defeat upon always much larger Moslem forces.
His victory in the Battle of Albulena in 1457, where he destroyed an Ottoman army of 70,000, killing 15,000 and taking 15,000 prisoners, so astounded all of Christendom that Pope Calixtus III appointed him Captain-General of the Holy See, and gave him the title of Athleta Christi, Champion of Christ.
By the 1500s with Scanderbeg but a memory, the Ottomans conquered Albania and Islamized it for almost 400 years. With the rise of Albanian nationalism in the late 19th century, Scanderbeg’s memory was revived. Today he is revered by Albanians who only ostensibly remain Islamic yet idolize a Christian King who devoted his life to defeating their country’s Moslem oppressors. (Glimpses of Our Breathtaking World #247 photo ©Jack Wheeler)
SKYE’S LINKS 11/16/23
Good news! This is a real step in the right direction!! A strong bipartisan bill protecting the 4th Amendment rights of Americans is coming out of Congress. This bill goes far beyond reforming Section 702, it prohibits any government agency from buying information on Americans from a data broker without a search warrant signed by a judge based on sworn probable cayuse.
It gets even better! It prohibits government from demanding business records (such as your phone and bank records) with a mere administrative demand or subpoena; a real search warrant will be required. The bill also contains audit provisions and penalties for violations. The Xiden administration has said that they will veto it, even without having read it:
Biden White House Shoots Down Massive Bipartisan Surveillance Reform Bill They Have Not Read Yet
This edition of Skye’s Links is chock full of good, even wonderful news, plus cautionary and useful news as well. And we end with what Trump’s plans are for a second term – now we know! So come on in…
THE GOP IS A FAKE OPPOSITION PARTY WITH NO VISION FOR THE COUNTRY
When Louisiana’s Mike Johnson was pulled from obscurity and elected House speaker last month, many conservatives were cautiously optimistic that the man with the self-professed biblical “worldview” and somewhat solid voting record would be the fighter they’ve needed to halt Democrats’ Marxist takeover of society.
Unfortunately, it didn’t take long to discover that Johnson is just as weak-kneed as his Republican predecessors.
On Tuesday afternoon, Johnson and House Republicans surrendered to Democrats yet again on a major government spending fight. Rather than stand strong and fight for conservative priorities, Johnson agreed to another continuing resolution, or CR, to keep the federal government funded through the beginning of next year.
Unsurprisingly, the proposal does nothing to address key issues plaguing the nation, such as the Biden-manufactured crisis at the U.S. southern border, and maintains already-high spending levels.
ARE KREMLIN OFFICIALS DOING DRESS REHEARSALS FOR PUTIN’S FUNERAL?
A Funeral Speech for Putin?
A trickle of whispers has become a firehose of rumors as Kremlin watchers spot multiple signs that Putin may have died, or that he may do so very soon.
“Let me comment like this: Something very strange is going on in the Kremlin,” says distinguished Russia expert Anders Aslund in describing Putin’s alleged death.
Russian President Vladimir Putin’s health has been a contentious point of speculation as his public appearances routinely trigger rumors of cancer, Parkinsons, bathing in deer antler blood, or simply having a steroids habit developed from his obsession with body-building.
Unlike earlier times, the recent rumors about the 71-year-old having died, something which the Kremlin denies, comes in tandem with several other signs that some Russia-watchers believe may be a configuration in the tea leaves indicating a political change is afoot in Moscow.
BIRTHPLACE OF A GODDESS
This is the Rock of Aphrodite – where Greek mythology says the Goddess of Love was born fully formed from the sea-foam surging around it – and makes Cyprus the Island of Love. It is south of Paphos on the island’s west coast.
Adjacent is the Temple Sanctuary of Aphrodite, where pilgrims came from every Greek city and kingdom for 2,000 years to worship her. The ancient Greeks prayed to Aphrodite more than any of their other gods, for she was the apotheosis of love, desire, and fertility or having children. Which explains why today couples travel from all over the world to get married here.
Folks have been living in Cyprus for a really long time. So long that they were the first people in the world to domesticate cats over 9,000 years ago. A Neolithic village has been unearthed called Choirokoitia that’s surprisingly sophisticated for being 8,000 years old. In Roman times, after Jesus rose Lazarus from the dead, he went to Cyprus -- there is a beautiful church, the Agios Lazaros, built over his tomb.
The Painted Churches of Troodos are adorned with magnificent medieval art. The ruins of a Crusaders’ fortress inspired the fairy tale castle of Walt Disney’s Snow White. I hope Cyprus’ inspirational history will inspire you to explore it someday. (Glimpses of Our Breathtaking World #101 photo ©Jack Wheeler)
THE DAMAGE OF THE WHITE PRIVILEGE SLANDER INDUSTRY
One of the key reasons leftwing anti-Semites have been so effective at galvanizing campus hatred of Israel, and by association of Jews in general, is their careful effort to brand themselves DEI victims whiles tarring Jews with the empty white supremacy slur.
Accordingly, Jews and Israel now supposedly enjoy toxic white privilege. They are libeled as veritable white supremacists illegitimately in the Middle East to colonize “Palestine,” and as European imperialists picking up the mantle of the earlier 19th century British and French—as if a prior 400 years of Ottoman imperialism in the Middle East never occurred.
As now-privileged white victimizers, contemporary Jews are not seen as victims of the Holocaust, explaining the comfortable alliance between Islamist Holocaust deniers and the DEI crowd.
It was no accident that a racist BLM on news of the October 7 massacres quickly issued posters glorifying Hamas hang-gliding murderers.
Jews are now collateral damage from the damning of an entire group of people, namely white Americans and Europeans.
WHAT REPUBLICANS DON’T UNDERSTAND ABOUT HOW BIDEN REALLY WINS ELECTIONS
Do polls matter when Dems continue to win anyway?
In the aftermath of another disappointing election night for Republicans, questions need to be asked about supposedly non-partisan get-out-the-vote (GOTV) operations Democrats are using to ensure their low-propensity voters – and only their low-propensity voters – get to the polls.
On March 7, 2021, Executive Order on Promoting Access to Voting, President Biden instructed every federal agency to submit a plan to leverage their agency’s personnel and assets to help turn out the vote.
For example, agencies might use internal data to identify aid recipients who are not registered to vote, then use agency personnel to get them registered and ensure their ballot is cast and counted.
Anyone who criticizes GOTV efforts gets accused of wanting to suppress voting. But it’s not voting to which we should object – it’s the exclusive collection of ballots from Democratic voting blocks. Especially since federal employees are explicitly prohibited by law from participating in political activities.
THE WORLD’S MOST UNUSUAL GRAVES
East of Borneo in Indonesia is a large starfish-shaped Island called Sulawesi, where in the south-central mountains the Toraja people have created one of the most exotic cultures on earth. They bury their dead in caves carved out of vertical cliffs, with balconies at the entrances lined with clothed wooden effigies called a Tau Tau as guardians for the departed.
The Toraja live in villages composed of family long houses with enormous peaked roofs of wood and thatch, decorated with exquisite painted art and scores of buffalo horns. While Indonesia is predominantly Moslem, the Toraja are a blend of Christian-animist. They are a gentle, peaceful people, marvelously welcoming and friendly. It is a priceless privilege to spend time with them, as I was able to during the summer of 2016. (Glimpses of Our Breathtaking World #49 Photo ©Jack Wheeler)
A LOO WITH A VIEW
While exploring the Roman ruins of Sabratha on the Mediterranean coast of Libya in 2014, I came upon the men’s bathroom in the Gymnasium. “Now here’s a loo with a view!” I exclaimed, and noticed it was designed to have water flowing through the trough below the series of toilets.
Founded as a trading post by the Phoenicians in the 6th century BC, it was settled and rebuilt by the Romans some 500 years later, flourishing for centuries as a main supplier of olive oil for the Empire. Monumental temples and theatres were constructed, along with sumptuous villas adorned with gorgeous mosaic floors. All of this has been excavated for the visitor to explore as a preserved UNESCO World Heritage Site.
It’s a shame Libya has collapsed into chaos now, for Sabratha and nearby Leptis Magna are among the most magnificent Roman ruins anywhere. One day the chaos will be over. (Glimpses of Our Breathtaking World #246 photo ©Jack Wheeler)
THE SELF-HATING DISHONESTY OF THE MEDIA
[This month’s Archive was first published om May 9, 2012. Just like a leopard never changes its spots, the media never changes its self-hating dishonesty, transforming their self-loathing into a hatred for America.]
TTP May 9, 2012
The most destructive, dishonest, and criminally hypocritical people in America today are not Democrat politicians, black race hustlers, Ivy League Marxist professors, or crony/shyster capitalists.
They are the publishers, editors, journalists, and commentators of the Liberal Media: Associated Press-New York Times-WaPo-ABC-NBC-CBS-CNN-MSNBC et al.
We’ll abbreviate Big Liberal Media to simply "BM" – appropriately enough for their product is the same as what those initials usually stand for.
One of the more astounding things about BM is that its slavish boot-licking of American Commiecrats is indistinguishable from that of Pravda’s or Izvestiya’s over Soviet rulers during the Cold War – yet with no gun at their heads nor threat of the Gulag. Why? Here’s the explanation.
I REFUSE
FLASHBACK FRIDAY – THE MAN-EATER OF DALAT
Dalat, South Viet Nam, 1961. I was 17 years old. A friend of my father’s, Herb Klein, came by our house. He was a prominent businessman whose passion was big-game hunting. He had just returned from the mountain jungle highlands of South Viet Nam and regaled us with stories of the Montagnard tribespeople who were plagued by tigers with a taste for human flesh. He told me that after climbing the Matterhorn, living with Amazon headhunters, and swimming the Hellespont, hunting a man-eating tiger should be my next adventure.
“You’d be saving so many lives, Jack,” he told me. “There’s one I heard about from the Co Ho Montagnards that’s killed and eaten almost 20 of them in the forests outside the town of Dalat. I know who can guide you, he was mine, his name is Ngo Van Chi.”
Somehow, I talked my parents into letting me do this. I had saved up the money from giving tennis and judo lessons. So there I was, in pitch dark in a “mirador” of branches and leaves, holding a .300 Weatherby with a flashlight wired to the barrel, waiting for this man-eating tiger to come for the rotting water buffalo we set out as bait. Chi and I heard the tiger, I put the rifle barrel out, Chi clicked on the flashlight, I saw these two enormous red eyes, and fired.
And there he is, the Man-Eater of Dalat, who would never kill another human being ever again. (Glimpses of Our Breathtaking World #175 photo ©Jack Wheeler)
HALF-FULL REPORT 11/10/23
The famous Grateful Dead song is apropos today, having just returned from ten full weeks of non-stop travel with my life partner Rebel, through all fives Stans of Central Asia – Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan – racing to Lisbon for prostate cancer radiation therapy, all the way to Bali to meet and adore our new grandson Theo, sojourns to Christmas and Cocos-Keeling Islands in the Indian Ocean, then leading my 9th Himalaya Helicopter Expedition to all eight of the highest mountains in the Himalayas including Everest.
Got back home just in time to celebrate turning 80. Now that’s a long strange trip! Further, being 80 makes me reflect on what a long magically strange trip my entire life has been. I’m in such awe of it I can scarcely believe it happened but it really did.
And then with a heavy sigh, GD’s song makes me reflect also what a long nightmarishly strange trip America has been on, especially since it had the bottomless naïveté to elect a man who wanted God to damn America, simply because he had half-black skin – twice! – and the bottomless cowardice to allow his puppet to steal the presidency in broad daylight.
So now I’m home to patch my bones and gear up to keep on truckin’ – as America must do to save itself from its self-inflicted wounds before they become fully lethal. For as Miracle Max (Billy Crystal) explains in The Princess Bride, there is a very big difference between mostly dead and all dead:
SKYE’S LINKS 11/09/23
The Fall of the Wall, Berlin, November 9, 1989
Today (11/09) is World Freedom Day! A celebration of what Wikipedia calls “a pivotal event in world history,” commemorated by the President issuing on this day, as in years before, A Proclamation on World Freedom Day, 2023.
It has special significance for TTPers, as TTP’s founder Jack Wheeler, as the creator of the Reagan Doctrine, played such an instrumental role in bringing the Fall of the Berlin Wall and the subsequent collapse of the Soviet Union about. (November 9th also has quite personal significance to Jack, for it’s his birthday. He’s 80 years old today!)
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Jack’s Reagan Doctrine and Ronald Reagan’s Strategic Defense Initiative drove the USSR over the economic cliff onto the ash heap of history. Today, our Deep States Federalies (America’s equivalent of Hobbes’ Leviathan), with enthusiastic help from China and Russia, are returning the favor with unsustainable debt and deficits. The current situation cannot go on forever, and so we can be sure that it won't.
Dr. Robert Malone is wise in ways that go beyond medicine and biology. Here he discusses the big picture and the inescapable problems that we must solve to rebuild a free society. Please consider this a must-read:
THE PERITO MORENO GLACIER
One of the most spectacular glaciers on earth, the Perito Moreno spills off the gigantic Southern Patagonia Ice Field constantly calving into Lago Argentino at the bottom of South America. It is almost 100 square miles of ice some 600 feet thick, and is an embarrassment to climate alarmists because it’s growing, not retreating. Every day, huge chunks of ice on the glacier’s front (which you see in the photo) break off or “calve” into the lake, equal to the glacier’s forward advance of two meters or over six feet a day.
Thunderous cracks and booms accompany the plunge of the calved sections with huge splashes of water. You never know when or where they’ll occur along the mile wide front, but when they do, everyone watching exclaims and applauds. We were lucky to have perfectly gorgeous weather. You can take a boat along the front, view it from several boardwalks for marvelous vantage points, or even hike on it with crampons with an ice-trekking guide. Being here is one of Patagonia’s most thrilling experiences.
(Glimpses of Our Breathtaking World #253 photo ©Jack Wheeler)
THE PRESIDENT OF ISRAEL’S OPEN LETTER TO US UNIVERSITIES
American University and College Presidents,
As President of Israel, I have spent the past month traveling among devastated Israeli communities, more than 1,400 grieving families, and the relatives of more than 240 hostages. I've been trying to comfort survivors of the largest massacre of Jews since the Holocaust, a sadistic atrocity that included rape and torture.
And while doing so, I hear of Jewish students harassed at Harvard University. A Jewish student assaulted at Tulane, Jewish students locked in a library at the Cooper Union as a mob shouts outside, signs accusing Israel of genocide, swastikas painted on dorm-room doors, hateful and intimidating demonstrations - too many examples to list.
All of this is happening not on the fringes of society but in the very temples of scholarship, in halls meant to be beacons of humanism, progress and rigorous inquiry. And it is happening not in Europe a century ago, but in the United States in 2023.
Debate is welcome on any topic, including Israel's actions. But the events on campus are not debate but a defilement of the university and its principles.
How can anyone endorsing, excusing, or glorifying the Hama atrocities have a place in any college, or in the civilized world?
THE FOURTEEN FACTS ABOUT US AID TO UKRAINE
Since Russia invaded Ukraine for the second time in eight years, Russian troops have ravaged Ukraine’s cities, raped its women, and stolen its children. Russian missiles and Iranian drones strike Ukrainian cities daily, often hitting civilian targets. Russia is the aggressor. Ukraine is the victim.
For Americans who believe in respect for national borders, the primacy of national sovereignty, and the right to self-defense, support for Ukraine is natural. Ukrainians are not asking for, nor do they want, US troops to help them fight Russia. All they ask for is the resources required to give them a fighting chance.
Meanwhile, Russia is among America’s top geopolitical adversaries. As former Secretary of State and Hudson Distinguished Fellow Mike Pompeo said last week, a Russian victory “would be felt well beyond Ukraine’s borders, including by strengthening a Russia-China-Iran alliance that aims to weaken the US and our allies across the globe.”
As Congress debates additional support for Ukraine, detractors will spread false and misleading information. It is important to understand the facts. Here are fourteen to be aware of.
THE LAND OF NOAH
We all know the story of Noah and the Ark told in Genesis (chapters 6-9). But do you know where Noah’s grave is? You’re looking at it. There is a tradition thousands of years old that he died and is buried here in the Land of Noah – Nakhchivan.
Known to the ancient Greeks and Romans as “Nakhsuana,” today Nakhchivan is an isolated enclave of Azerbaijan, cut off from the rest of the country by a strip of Armenia reaching Iran. You never heard of it because it’s unknown with a strange name – but the name literally means the Land of Noah. “Noah” is the Anglicization of Hebrew Noakh, or “Nakh” (“van” means “land,” “chi” means “of”).
Noah’s tomb has been built, destroyed, rebuilt, and destroyed again repeatedly over the millennia. It’s now been built yet again on the original site. Looming near is Haça Dag, the Notched Mountain – where Noah’s Ark they say ran aground as the Flood waters receded, carving a notch on the summit before coming to rest on Mount Ararat about 50 miles to the north (in present-day Turkey).
The people here are wonderfully friendly. I was always told “welcome” everywhere. I was even spontaneously invited to a wedding party in a remote village. You’ll find it easy to make friends here too. (Glimpses of Our Breathtaking World #3, photo ©Jack Wheeler)
THE NASHVILLE SCHOOL SHOOTER’S MANIFESTO REVEALS THE LEFT’S FAVORITE MESSAGE
On March 27, 2023, a woman named Audrey Hale entered The Covenant School in Nashville, Tennessee, and slaughtered three nine-year-old children and three adults. It was only because police were nearby that she was stopped.
The woman, who claimed to be a so-called “trans man,” left behind a manifesto. However, while police departments and media outlets are usually quick to release statements from mass murderers, government officials in this Democrat-run city refused to do so in this case.
Steve Crowder, though, obtained the first three pages of the manifesto, which he released today. In addition to showing an obsessive level of preparation (this was no spur-of-the-moment killing), the manifesto shows that the killer was motivated by one of the left’s favorite mantras: “white privilege.”
So know we know why the woke establishment made this enormous effort to hide the manifesto.
HOW TO DEFEAT HAMAS FAST, CHEAP, AND EASY
There are 300 miles of Hamas tunnels underneath Gaza
As the war rages on, Gaza is getting destroyed, people are getting killed on both sides, and a resolution of the conflict seems as elusive as ever. On the contrary, the war is escalating and spreading to other theaters. The main problem is the Hamas tunnels.
The massive spiderweb of 300 miles of tunnels boast an impressive level of engineering, constructed from reinforced concrete, divided into separate self-contained sections by steel doors, and reaching depths up to 100 feet. The tunnels are also equipped with modern ventilation systems powered by generators.
They were built under buildings, hospitals, schools, and other civilian projects. The terrorists currently hold more than 200 hostages somewhere in their tunnel maze. With the tunnels, time is on Hamas’s side.
So, what is to be done? This:
THE DONGBA SPIRIT OF NATURE
Originally nomads from the Tibetan Plateau, the Nashi people settled in the fertile Himalayan foothills of Yunnan over 2,000 years ago. From the ancient Tibetan religion of Bön, they developed a unique religion of nature-worship called Dongba. The progenitors of humanity and nature were two half-brothers, two mothers with the same father. Nature is controlled by a human-snake chimera called Shv – a statue of whom you see here.
The Nashi are a peaceful gentle people whose ideal is living in accordance with nature. They dress very colorfully, women have equal respect with men, they write with the world’s only still-functioning pictographic script, and are proud of preserving their culture for millennia. It is an enchanting experience to be among them. (Glimpses of Our Breathtaking World #163 photo ©Jack Wheeler)
A KHAN, AN EMIR, A SULTAN!
Is this the all-powerful potentate of a remote exotic Khanate, Emirate, or Sultanate hidden in the deep recesses of an unknown corner of Asia? Wielding his mighty sword ready to bestow a knighthood on those who please him or decapitate those who don’t?
Could be – he looks ready to do either, doesn’t he?
Or is it me, dressed up as a Khan, an Emir, a conquering Sultan, just for fun? Your call.
Whatever you decide, this photo was taken in the fabulously exotic ancient Silk Road Oasis of Bukhara in the heart of Central Asia not long ago. And to have this same photo of yourself, come with me when I plan my next Central Asia expedition soon. You’ll have one of the great adventures of your life if you do. (Glimpses of Our Breathtaking World #184 photo ©Jack Wheeler)
ARABS AND AZTECS
[This Monday’s Archive was originally published on April 29, 2004. Think of the current orgy of Jew-hatred calling for their mass slaughter on the streets of American and other Western cities by Arab Palestinians today as you read this.]
TTP. April 29, 2004
Cortez and his Spanish soldiers who conquered the Aztecs are known to history as “Conquistadors.” That label of “Conquerors” was applied to them by their contemporaries — but it originated a generation earlier. It was first used to describe the Spaniards who liberated their own country from Islam.
Arab invaders had swept across Spain in the early 700s, and it took centuries for the Spanish to kick them out. Cortez was not yet 10 years old when they were finally ejected from their last stronghold in Grenada in 1492. When Cortez first looked upon the pyramid temples of the Aztec gods, he called them mezquitas — mosques.
Cortez saw himself as a liberator — just as his fathers had liberated Spain from the Islamic yoke, so he would liberate “New Spain” from the Aztec yoke. Yet he had little idea of how deep were the political-religious parallels between the Arabs and the Aztecs.
NO RESTRAINT
FLASHBACK FRIDAY – QARI BABA
Afghanistan, 1984. Yes, that’s me with the legendary Qari Baba, Commander of the Harakat Mujahaddin waging a war of liberation against the Red Army of the Soviet Union – and my dear friend. I told him he looked like a combination of Genghiz Khan and Buddha, and he couldn’t stop laughing. We had so many extraordinary experiences together – like blowing up the Soviet High Command of Bala Hissar in Ghazni.
After the war was won with the final Soviet retreat in February, 1989, Qari Baba became the Governor of Ghazi Province. Then Pakistani Intelligence (ISI) created the Taliban to seize control of the country. Qari Baba had to take up arms anew against them. In March of 2006, he was assassinated by a Taliban hit team on orders from the ISI. I will never ever forget him. (Glimpses of Our Breathtaking World #111 photo ©Jack Wheeler)
HALF-FULL REPORT 11/03/23
The Other Shoe Falls
So many changes are occurring with the war on multiple fronts, the near revolution in the House of Representatives, and the frantic attempts by legacy media to push the latest narratives as loudly as possible. The legacy media opposed the revolution on Capital Hill, but was on the wrong side of freedom.
The younger generations do not listen to legacy media. They don’t own televisions; if they do, they only watch major sporting events. Virtually none watched the Texas Rangers defeat the Arizona Diamondbacks to win the World Series. Legacy narratives don’t reach Generation Z.
Gen Z is plugged into the alternative media. The Alt Media is decentralized and operates in real-time, updated every five seconds. The only filters are used to screen out porn, especially child porn. Everything else is there, and it is up to the user to block and mute undesirable content.
This online world without censorship is fascinating to watch. Gen Z wants to recreate something like the 1950s, where people get a job with earning power and can settle down and settle in. Millions are expressing this sentiment along with their desire to blend in. They want to be like the 1950s man in the gray flannel suit.
From first entering school, they were told that their skin was evil and oppressive, and so they tattooed themselves. They are no longer white. They are Tat Brothers and Sisters, and there is logic in this.
Gen Z is responding to the war in Israel as a collective, and they expect the worst from the government.
This matter of Gen Z, America's future soldiers, needs to be on the radar as current events are accelerating the arrival of the climax of the Fourth Turning.
SKYE’S LINKS 11/02/23
Freedom Versus the State
The struggle for freedom never ends. Every day, the rights of man must fight against the unjust and oppressive power of government.
The news from the House of Representatives is excellent as Speaker Johnson is setting to work to right assaults against the 1A, 2A, and 4A. Bills long stuck in committee that restrain the Executive and its security apparatus from stomping on freedom.
The Covid virus frightened about half the population into demanding martial law and suspending civil rights. They wanted to imprison, bankrupt, and starve those who recognized the sham for what it was. The Deep State discovered how to create the conditions, whereas the left begged to be placed in chains.
Now, the movement is against conservatives. The war in Israel threatens to move one or two million radical Islamists to the United States and Europe, placing them into states and towns that still maintain the American culture. The purpose will be to fan a fire in conservatives for the government to prevent cultural dissolution.
A few terrorist bombings, some school shootings, and some babies decapitated in hospitals, accompanied by the new narrative of war and the military draft, might cause voters to demand that migrants be drafted into the military first. The prospect of soft Generation Z kids and their sisters marching off to war will be too much for too many.
Once this happens, once the military is filled with soldiers hostile to American culture and American freedom, the military will be turned inward against conservative Americans.
The Republic will become the Empire.
The new narrative is targeting conservatives, and we have it within our power to stand firm and reject the fear-mongering. The left has already succumbed as one liberal group of Ivy League students attempts to cancel – and harm – another group of liberal students.
For three years now, TTP has been documenting the transition among the left that is turning into 1930s-style antisemitism and economic collapse. Only today, the brown shirts are worn by university faculty.
The dollar is in serious trouble, and the Fed might be losing control. The Executive Branch of government has gone rogue. But the many bills tabled by former Speaker McCarthy necessary to restore the economy and freedom are now in play.
The dawn is rising,
Come on over to Skye’s Links. A lot is happening.
THE BEAUTY OF BANGLADESH
Most people consider Bangladesh a basket case country – all crowded overpopulated poverty constantly flooding etc. Yet I found it to be extraordinarily beautiful. The Shuvalong Falls here is just one example. It’s in the Chittagong Hills near the border with Burma. You’ll find Hindu shrines, massive mountain top Buddhist temples, small Moslem mosques, and a Christian church in almost every village
The charming main town of Rangamati is bustling with friendly energy. A boat ride on serene Kaptai Lake is soul-soothing. Everyone has a smile for you. It’s a place of captivating serendipity. A wonderful experience you might want for yourself. (Glimpses of Our Breathtaking World #154, photo ©Jack Wheeler)
GRANDMA AND GRANDPA NEED NOT FIGHT IN THE CAUCASUS
This is “Tatik-Papik” (Grandmother-Grandfather), a stone monument built in Soviet days as homage to the mountain people of the Transcaucasus Highlands of Armenia and Azerbaijan. After both became independent with the fall of the USSR, Armenia seized the Azeri part, known as Nagorno Karabagh. Since late September, war has broken out anew, with Turkey supporting the Azeris and Russia supporting the Armenians.
The dispute could be settled easily with a “land swap.” There is an exclave of Azerbaijan called Nakhchivan (see The Land of Noah, Glimpse #3) separated by a sparsely inhabited corridor of Armenia called the Mehgri Strip running to the border with Iran. It could be swapped for the Armenian-populated portion of Karabagh. Result: Azerbaijan and Nakhchivan are united and whole, Armenia and Armenian Karabagh are united and whole.
Should be win-win achievable given recent peace agreements achieved by our genius POTUS between Serbia and Kosovo, plus between Israel and the UAE, Bahrain, and Sudan don’t you think? (Glimpses of Our Breathtaking World #71 photo ©Jack Wheeler)
DEMS FORESEE DISASTER IF WE CUT BACK ON SPENDING
Joe Biden and the Democrats seem to be wanting a government shutdown, as they say they can’t live with any of the cuts advocated for in a few appropriation bills in the House, and Biden “vows” to veto. From Newsmax:
Compared to 2023 levels, the bills in question would cut Department of Transportation funding by $7 billion, HUD funding by $1.2 billion, and EPA funding by nearly $4 billion.
‘House Republicans had an opportunity to engage in a productive, bipartisan appropriations process, but instead are wasting time with partisan bills that cut domestic spending to levels well below the (Fiscal Responsibility Act) agreement and endanger critical services for the American people,’ the White House said. ‘These levels would result in deep cuts to clean energy programs and other programs that work to combat climate change, essential nutrition services, law enforcement, consumer safety, education, and healthcare.’
During the COVID era, both parties spent massive amounts of money for “emergency spending.” This implied that these supplemental appropriations would disappear after the “crisis” ended… Yet it’s been over two years, and those dollars still flow.JOE IS BLOWING UP THE WORLD WE LIVE IN
“It does not take a majority to prevail but rather an irate, tireless minority, keen on setting brushfires of freedom in the minds of men.”
—Samuel Adams
On day one of the Biden administration, he canceled the Keystone Pipeline, putting thousands of skilled workers out of work. Over the ensuing months, he canceled oil leases, stopped fracking, and drained our strategic oil reserve. All this was surely intentional; he means to starve the American people of energy, making what is available more expensive by the day. Like Obama, he means to transform America, and not in a good way.
The most catastrophic stunt Biden pulled was the tragically ill conceived withdrawal from Afghanistan. He left billions in state-of-the-art military equipment to the Taliban along with the Bagram Air Base, which sits close to China. Thirteen young American patriots were killed by the sheer ineptitude of their leaders. This tragic maneuver telegraphed Biden’s, and thus America’s, weakness to every leader in the world. Russia thought taking Ukraine’s Russian-speaking border regions would be a cakewalk. Our careless warmongers in the Biden administration thought Zelensky would easily defeat Russia with billions of U.S. dollars. The military complex wanted that war. All of that went awry. Here we are a year and a half later; Ukraine has lost half a million people and is still begging for billions more in aid. None of this would have happened if Trump had been in office.
THE LIQUID RAINBOW – WORLD’S MOST BEAUTIFUL RIVER
This is Caño Cristales, a river flowing through an ancient tableland in a remote roadless region deep in the forests of Colombia. Known as The Liquid Rainbow, geologists consider it the world’s most beautiful river.
The colors are due to endemic riverweeds that grow only here, clinging to the rocks of the riverbed, and the crystal clarity of the water. It is not easy to get to – fly a light plane to an airstrip, take a boat upriver for miles, then walk a few miles more. But then you get to explore one of the most beautiful sights nature has to offer – replete with dozens of small fun waterfalls, surrounded by an uninhabited forest teeming with tropical birds.
No wonder National Geographic calls Caño Cristales “the River of the Garden of Eden.” Yet it is only one of the many extraordinary experiences in this huge country – for Colombia is larger than Texas and California combined. Wheeler Expeditions will be conducting an exploration of Hidden Colombia soon. Hope you can be with us. (Glimpses of Our Breathtaking World #22 photo ©Jack Wheeler)
SICK SCHOOLS – AND THE CURE
The sheer madness that has gripped many elite universities since October 7 and the butchery, rape, torture, and mutilation of some 1,000 Israeli civilians by Hamas murderers have shocked the public at large.
Campus craziness is, of course, nothing new. But quite novel for campuses was the sudden jettisoning of prior campus pretenses. Universities have brazenly dropped their careful two-faced gymnastics to reveal at last–unapologetically, proudly, and defiantly–the moral decay that now characterizes American higher education.
Recent news stories have exposed this rot to the world, and will have grave repercussions for higher education in the next few years.
HAMAS CHIEF OFFERS UP BLOOD OF GAZA’S PEOPLE FOR MOTIVATION
So is this a man, or a maggot?
He "needs..."
What a needy [expletive deleted].
Normal nations ... and men ... will fight and sacrifice themselves for their women and children. That's the textbook definition of masculinity. That's what Israel is doing as it seeks to defend itself against the monstrous terrorists who laid waste to the land and tortured and murdered 1,400 innocent women, children, elders and many others.
Now this creep wants to sacrifice his fiefdom's women and children, presumably because he can't motivate his minions to fight for his repellent cause otherwise.
MARX AND MOHAMMED
[This week’s Archive was first published on September 1, 2005. The current wave of genocidal fanaticism of Hamas and Mullah Iran, together with their Islamic and woke-left supporters in the US shows all too clearly the relevance of this analysis written 18 years ago. Today, however, the burden for being responsible for the death knell of Jihadism has shifted from Iraqis in 2005 to Palestinians.]
TTP, September 1, 2005
I was recently asked what might be the common ground between the Radical Left and Radical Islam. Let’s expand on that and discuss with you the extraordinary extent to which Marx and Mohammed are ideological brothers.
In fact, they are much more than that. Marx and Mohammed are metaphysical brothers. They share the same view on the nature of reality. Their fundamental bond is a denial of the Law of Non-Contradiction.
Far more than a rule of logic, this is a basic statement of the way reality works. Contradictions exist only between thoughts, not in the world. This is also known as “common sense.” Both Marx and Mohammed disagree.
Thus both Marx and Mohammed are advocates of apocalyptic totalitarianism.
TASMANIA’S MOUTH OF HELL
On the south coast of Australia’s island state of Tasmania, there is a huge sea cave the aboriginal Tasmanians called The Mouth of Hell for the shrieking and moaning the waves and wind made emitting from it. Boatsmen prefer to enter it to this day protected by a cross on their fishing boat’s bow.
The wild beauty and mystery of Tasmania is absolutely extraordinary. At 35,000 square miles, it is the size of Maine with a population of less than half a million. Towns like Hobart and Launceston are charming, but the magic is in the uninhabited wilderness that makes up much of the island as a hiker’s paradise. That and a momentous coastline almost beyond belief.
If you’re ever in Oz, especially Melbourne, don’t miss the chance to explore Tasmania. (Glimpses of Our Breathtaking World #150 Photo ©Jack Wheeler)
THE WOW! WEAPON
FLASHBACK FRIDAY: AMAZON INITIATION
August, 2002. In the remotest Amazon jungle of Brazil, along a tributary of the Upper Xingu River, live the Xicrin-Kayapo people. They live traditionally as they have for centuries, isolated in their forests from the world. Here the young boys, painted and adorned, apprehensively await their initiation ceremonies into becoming young men. They are to be tested to show they have what it takes for the village to be proud of them.
In some of their eyes, there is confidence. In others less so. This is an ancient Rite of Passage, an enthralling experience to witness. (Glimpses of Our Breathtaking World #229 photo ©Jack Wheeler)
HALF-FULL REPORT 10/27/23
MAGA is in the House
Holy Bananas, Batman!
Many conceptualizations of the world and how it works fell during October. Reality is settling in.
The leaders of both parties in the House of Representatives felt so smug in their belief that the people's will could be ignored forever, three weeks of backstabbing and double-dealing failed to return Kevin McCarthy and the Uniparty to the speakership.
Instead, out of nowhere, a Northern Louisiana MAGA Republican assumed control. No! No! No! The RINOs cried out, but the deed was done.
The war between Hamas and Israel is growing hotter at the same time that the Israel-Saudi economic treaty collapsed. The war has profound global financial implications. Empires are on the line.
Russia has stopped firing cruise missiles. Are they out? Their precision strike capability is falling just as their former pals in Armenia are under threat once again by Azerbaijan. This time, however, Iran and Turkey might become directly involved.
And what of all the hostile migrants flooding Western nations? They were supposed to become homosexual-loving, Democrat-voting, dues-paying union members. Instead, they are bringing Jihad to Main Street.
Big labor is showing its muscle, and the economy feels a pinch. However, the re-industrialization of America will be a non-union, deskilled economic miracle. Who needs 1,000 workers in an engine plant when the government is hell-bent on eliminating internal combustion engines? The media says the unions are about to break the auto industry; The opposite is about to happen.
Come on over to this week's HFR. Everything is changing.
SKYE’S LINKS 10/26/23
Loss of Confidence
A loss of confidence is blowing through the land. Universities, as the Great Rush Limbaugh used to say, produce skulls filled with mush. The academia's response to the Hamas attack on Israel portrays the conflict as the oppressors vs. the oppressed instead of right vs. wrong, murder and rape vs. peace. Do universities add value to society or drain resources? This is a serious question.
The SCOTUS gave the big okey-dokey to unlimited government censorship and propaganda within the United States. Citizens are returning the favor by disbelieving just about every government narrative online.
TTP is technically part of the dark web because our content is not searchable by Google. TTP is "dark" to the censors. This is good.
The lawfare against Trump continues. Overall, Trump still defeats his enemies, but the globalists intend to destroy him. We look at the Levant Bronze Age and several globalist empires' end-states in relation to modern times. Hint: History rhymes, and a Dark Age follows.
Economic conditions continue to deteriorate even though official government GDP figures say otherwise. The number of transactions is collapsing, yet the inflation-fueled aggregate price of transactions is increasing. So far, in 2023, 13 large pulp and paper plants have closed and announced closure in the USA and Canada because the corrugated box industry is in a severe recession. The large mills will be gone forever, as will their forest stewardship. There will be more forest fires. The big issue is the tremendous decline in e-commerce. Collapsing Amazon orders are reflected in the collapsing corrugated box market.
Come on over to Skye's links. We cover culture, politics, war, and economics this week.