A VIEW OF MOUNT EVEREST YOU HAVE NEVER SEEN BEFORE
Photo taken at an altitude of 22,000 feet (6,700 meters) in a AS 350 B3 ultra-high altitude Eurocopter on our Himalaya Helicopter Expedition. We are looking into the Western Cwm (valley), West Shoulder of Everest in the left forefront, entire Southwest Face of Everest summit (29,029 ft-8,848m) to base on the left, Lhotse (4th highest on earth at 27,949ft-8,516m) straight ahead, the flank of Nuptse on the right.
The climbing route is from Base Camp to Camp I past the top of the Khumbu Ice Fall (bottom of photo), up the Cwm to Camp II at the foot of the Lhotse wall, scale via fixed ropes to Camp III perched on the wall, then up to the notch between Everest and Lhotse (on the horizon in the photo) that is the South Col and Camp IV. The summit is reached from there via the Southeast Ridge on the other side of the photo.
We’ll be here again in late April-early May next year. (Glimpses of Our Breathtaking World #91 Photo ©Jack Wheeler)
SOWING DOUBT, REAPING SUBMISSION
FLASHBACK FRIDAY: THE TOMB OF CYRUS THE GREAT
In the vast valley of Pasargadae there stands this simple tomb with nothing around it for miles and miles. It has been like this for many centuries, for it entombs the founder of Persia, Cyrus the Great (600-530BC). Revered as the liberator of the Jews from their Babylonian captivity in 539 BC, hailed by Herodotus for his humanity and wisdom, this small structure symbolizes the humility of an extraordinary man. Yet the tomb is a structure of engineering genius, the oldest built on principles of base-isolation withstanding the countless earthquakes Persia has suffered for the last 2500 years.
I was first here in 1973 when Persia (renamed Iran in 1933) flourished under the Shah. Here I am in 2014, when everyone I met expressed admiration for America and their contempt for the mullah tyranny they endured. I hope to return once more when the Land of Cyrus will be free again. (Glimpses of Our Breathtaking World #146 Photo ©Jack Wheeler)
HALF-FULL REPORT 07/30/21
“Pasta, Vino, and Liberty!” That’s the motto of the HFR’s favorite restaurant, Basilico’s Pasta e Vino in Huntington Beach, Orange County, California.
Owner Tony Roman put up the sign over the weekend, to which the LA Times responded with a snarky hit piece on Monday (7/26). Tony fired right back on Facebook:
"Los Angeles Times prints an article about us, and again here come the haters, and with it, the harassing nonstop phone calls, threats, and hundreds of one-star reviews. And guess what? We at Basilico's Pasta e Vino wear it all as a badge of honor!
Attention: tiny tyrants, wannabe little dictators, pro-lockdown/pro-mask/pro-mandatory vaccine mini-Gestapo American traitors and snitches, and yes especially 'Gavin Pelosi' and 'Stronzo Fauci' ... We feel blessed to go into battle against all of you in defense of American liberty and freedom, so bring it on!"
Go, Big Tony! Is he the hands-down HFR Hero of the Week or what?
SKYE’S LINKS 07/29/21
North America 140,000 years ago – and tomorrow?
Baby, it’s going to be cold outside! I have studied the peer reviewed papers on this subject (the dual dynamo theory of the sun), and the match between theory and measurements is amazingly good, going back a couple of million years. Unlike CO2-based climate models, this theory fits the Maunder and Dalton minima cold periods superbly.
The Sun is the 800 pound gorilla in the climate room, not CO2 - which is why Earth was warmer in 2500 BC than it is now. (It sure wasn't all those gasoline powered chariots in Ur...)
Climate Scientist Warns ‘Next 20-30 Years Will Be Cold’
And the Chinese Communist Party has weaponized climate change in their war on everybody else:
https://www.americaoutloud.com/chinese-communist-party-influence-in-our-universities-must-stop
THE INCONVENIENT TRUTH OF MASKS AND SOCIAL ISOLATION
There’s no better way to destroy a country than to turn its citizens into faceless nameless automatons fearful of doing or saying the wrong thing. Dress them all the same, take away their individuality.
It worked for Mao and Stalin and Pol Pot and legions of dictators since the beginning of time. They knew that if you could condition people to depend upon the state and state-run media for the approved party line, if you could convince them to believe only state-approved ideas, they would be putty in your hands.
Now, after decades of trying, the Democrats have figured out how to this to millions of Americans.
BURMA’S SACRED GOLDEN ROCK
Some three hours’ drive east of Rangoon brings you to Mount Kyaiktiyo, at the top of which (3,600ft) is a gigantic granite boulder covered in gold leaf perched on the edge about to fall off. But it never does, held in place, legend says, by a strand of the Buddha’s hair put underneath it 2,500 years ago. Ever since, the Golden Rock has been a sacred pilgrimage site for the Burmese people and Buddhists around the world.
There are very few people here other than pilgrims, who devoutly pray, circumambulate the rock, and reverently place small strips of gold leaf upon it. It’s a marvelous experience to be among them. I’ll be here again in January of ’22 – you might consider joining me. (Glimpses of Our Breathtaking World #112 photo ©Jack Wheeler)
MASKED MADNESS
In response to such fascist insanity as this: Biden Admin May Be Considering Universal Mask Mandate, Even For Vaccinated, here is a selection of pertinent observations for your enjoyment. Feel free to add your own on the Forum – and to send any of the 10 below to your friends. Have fun joining the Maskless Rebellion!
NO MORE FAUCIS: WE NEED TERM LIMITS FOR BUREAUCRATS
Term limits for politicians has been a popular idea with conservatives, libertarians and even some liberals and progressives (though fewer these days) for some time.
But more important, I would argue, are term limits for the government bureaucracy. At least politicians can be voted out. Unelected bureaucrats go on and on and on and, in many ways, end up running our lives.
All the while, the bureaucracy, aka the Deep State, has been reaching new heights (or lows), in essence taking over the country, as for example, with Dr. Anthony Fauci.
THE LEG ROWERS OF INLE LAKE
The men of the Intha people living on Inle Lake in Burma have a unique way to fish. Using their large conical nets, they row by standing on one leg on the prow of their canoe, and paddle with their other leg. They feed their families this way. Burma (Myanmar) is one of the most picturesque, historical, and serene places on earth. We’ll be there again next February. (Glimpses of Our Breathtaking World #27 photo ©Jack Wheeler)