CHRISTIANITY IN KERALA
In 52 AD, St. Thomas the Apostle, one of Jesus’ 12 Disciples, sailed down the Red Sea and across the Arabian Sea to the Malabar Coast of Southwest India to preach the Gospel of Christ. He found a receptive audience among the peaceful fisherfolk in the villages along the coast – so receptive he established a series of churches that still exist today. Some remain small and humble, others like the one above rebuilt with soaring glass and stone.
There are many Christian denominations in the Indian state of Kerala, which has the entire Malabar Coast, from the original St. Thomas Syrian Christians to Catholic, Pentecostal, Charismatic and others. Of Kerala’s 34 million people, at least 20% are Christian. Kerala is a place of relaxing beauty and peaceful serenity. The best way to explore it is via a luxurious houseboat along the many canals or “backwaters” dotted with fishing villages and churches. You’ll be warmly welcomed. (Glimpses of Our Breathtaking World #155, photo ©Jack Wheeler)
THE CHAIRMAN OF JOINT CHIEFS AND THE SECRETARY OF DEFENSE MUST RESIGN
[Yesterday, August 30, 87 retired Generals and Admirals signed the Open Letter below stating their reasons why Chairman of Joint Chiefs (CJCS) Mark Milley and Secretary of Defense (SecDef) Lloyd Austin must resign.]
The retired Flag Officers signing this letter are calling for the resignation and retirement of the Secretary of Defense (SECDEF) and the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff (CJCS) based on negligence in performing their duties primarily involving events surrounding the disastrous withdrawal from Afghanistan.
The consequences of this disaster are enormous and will reverberate for decades beginning with the safety of Americans and Afghans who are unable to move safely to evacuation points; therefore, being de facto hostages of the Taliban at this time.
The death and torture of Afghans has already begun and will result in a human tragedy of major proportions. The loss of billions of dollars in advanced military equipment and supplies falling into the hands of our enemies is catastrophic. The damage to the reputation of the United States is indescribable.
PRETENDING COVID IS AN EMERGENCY IS KILLING AMERICA
The entire Western world – from New Zealand and Australia to all of Europe and North America – is living a massive COVID lie. That lie is strangling the life out of liberty, and it will destroy our American constitutional order if we do not end this horrifying charade.
But cut through it all and ask — how many Americans are dying? According to Johns Hopkins, the fatality rate of COVID in the United States is 1.7 percent, which means that 98.3 percent survive. That takes into account all deaths, including people who had underlying conditions and the elderly. Excluding those who are obviously high-risk, the survival rate is close to 100 percent.
If COVID ever were an emergency, it is no longer one now, and it has not been for a long time. There is no justification for the continued suspension of the American form of self-government that secures all our individual rights and liberties.
MAYA RUINS AND STAR WARS
This is Temple IV at the ancient Mayan capital of Tikal, now in northern Guatemala. It was from the top of Temple IV that the shot in the original 1977 Star Wars movie was filmed of the Millennium Falcon landing (at 44 seconds) near jungle temples (Temples II and III) at the Rebel Base on the moon of Yavin 4.
Built in 740 AD, at 230 feet it is the tallest pre-Columbian structure in all the Americas. While Tikal’s earliest buildings date to the 4th century BC, it was from 300 to 800 AD that Tikal flourished as one of the Mayan Empires most powerful kingdoms.
Then decline set in, with drought, deforestation, overpopulation, and constant warfare with rival kingdoms. With Tikal abandoned by the end of the 900s, it remained covered by rainforest jungle for over a thousand years. American archaeologists began excavations in the 1950s. Today with its major temples restored, Tikal is the most impressive example you can visit of Mayan civilization. (Glimpses of Our Breathtaking World #118 Photo ©Jack Wheeler)
KEEPING YOUR SANITY BY MASTERING YOUR EMOTIONS AND REACTIONS
Joel – TTPer and world champion water polo goalie
[TTP welcomes Dr. Joel Wade once again. Due to an overwhelm of clients, courses and speaking engagements, Joel was unable to continue his “The Virtue of Happiness” column for TTP. He was able, however, to make this contribution to TTP’s Keeping Your Sanity feature. Thank you, Joel!]
My fellow TTPers:
There’s plenty to be upset about with the current state of politics. But in order to gain perspective, we need to step outside of the closed loop of media generated narrative, so we can see clearly what we’re caught up in that keeps us both stressed and helpless.
After all, stepping outside media narratives is a primary purpose of our Oasis for Rational Conservatives, right?
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)
HALF-FULL REPORT 08/27/21
Biden’s “Defining Image” August 26, 2021
As this man bows his head in shameful realization of what he is responsible for, so should everyone in America who supported his being allowed to cheat his way into the White House.
The photo you see has gone wildly viral across the Internet as the “defining image” of his catastrophically failed Oval Office occupancy, as headlined by the Daily Mail late last night (8/26): Nowhere To Hide, Joe: President Adopts Fetal Position Pose As He Crumbles Under Questioning From Fox News Reporter Peter Doocy And Tries To Blame Trump For The Catastrophe In Afghanistan.
As President Trump said last night on Hannity, this “would not be happening” if he were in charge. That is, without Democrats committing election theft, without the Supreme Court allowing the theft, without VP Pence refusing to turn the electoral college back to state legislatures where the cheating was most blatant. All Biden supporters and Never Trumpers who celebrated these acts of treason bear responsibility for the mass slaughter at Kabul Airport yesterday. The very least they could do is to apologize to us.
FLASHBACK FRIDAY – THE LOST CITY OF KUELAP
10,000 feet high in the Amazon cloud forests of northern Peru is a mysterious lost city built by an unknown people many centuries before the Incas existed. Known as Kuelap by villagers in the lowlands below, the Incas called the people who built it Chachapoyas, “Cloud Warriors.” I led an expedition here in 1994, climbing high up into the Amazon Andes to come upon gigantic stone walls 60 feet high surrounding hundreds of stone structures. Here you see Rebel among them. We’ll be here again in a year or two in another exploration of Peru. (Glimpses of Our Breathtaking World #153, photo ©Jack Wheeler)
THE SURRENDERER-IN-CHIEF
A SULTAN’S ARABIA
Nakhal Castle, Oman. If you want to see an ultra-rich Arab sheikdom with exotically designed skyscrapers, you go to Qatar or Dubai. But if you want a more genuine Arabia of Sultan’s palaces, of forts and castles perched on rocky crags, of traditional villages tucked away in mountain fastnesses, of rock pools and grottoes gushing with spring water hidden in secret valleys, a place out of Arabian Nights rather than one of garish ostentatiousness – then you come here to the Sultanate of Oman.
Omanis are a polyglot people from all over Arabia, Persia, and India who’ve lived here for millennia, creating a cosmopolitan trading society that adheres to its traditional culture. There are fabulous hotels with great bars, concerts by the Omani Philharmonic Orchestra, and once outside the capital of Muscat, an Arabian wonderland so exotic it seems out of a movie. We’ll be here in the Spring of ’22. (Glimpses of Our Breathtaking World #119 Photo ©Jack Wheeler)