THE MAGIC OF MADEIRA
The island of Madeira in the Atlantic some 320 miles west of Morocco was first discovered, uninhabited, by Portuguese explorers in 1418. It has been a part of Portugal ever since. In the 1600s it became renowned for its Madeira wine, with English wine makers settling there and exporting it to England and the American colonies. The English consul Charles Murray built a beautiful estate, “Quinta do Prazer”, Pleasure Estate, high above the capital of Funchal, which by the late 1800s was converted into the Monte Palace hotel.
100 years later, Portuguese entrepreneurs developed the property into one of the most spectacular tropical gardens in the world, with lakes, waterfalls, and exotic tropical plants turning it into a fantasy wonderland. You can spend hours wandering around relaxing and luxuriating in this peaceful paradise. It’s just one of the magically beautiful places and truly relaxing, energizing experiences we have on Madeira and the Azores. Join your fellow TTPers when we plan our next Atlantic Paradises exploration to enjoy them. Life goes by so quickly, Carpe diem! (Glimpses of Our Breathtaking World #243 photo ©Jack Wheeler)
TRUMP’S TEAM IS BEHAVING LIKE RECKLESS REDNECKS
The Brits are having a field day ridiculing and condemning what’s becoming known as Signalgate. It’s not just the ridiculous security lapse but the childishly ignorant banter primarily between Vance and Hegseth:
Below is the take of former British Defense Secretary Ben Wallace, originally published in this morning’s (3/26) London Telegraph.]
ISLAM IN THE UNITED STATES: AN EPIC FUTURE?
The religious future of the United States is no doubt important to consider, as when a majority of any religion are present in a country, the religious outlook certainly influences how the country is led and how the laws are made and interpreted.
When a given religion is organized and currently planning large specific communities for their faith and practice, we should take even more notice of them.
We have seen a surge of this activity with Islam in a place that one rarely associates with it.
The state of Texas.
Let’s take a closer look at this; and the implications if it continues.
There are, right now, developers and Islamic religious figures attempting to build specific communities for Moslems in Texas. One of the better-known ones is a place known as Epic City.
It is designed from the ground up as an Islamic small town, complete with specialized types of housing, a commercial area, and a large mosque in the center of it.
This development is not just a plan, though. It is happening right now near the town of Josephine, Texas outside of Dallas/Fort Worth.
LOOKING INTO A BABY LEOPARD’S EYES
There are not many places in Africa where you can do this, where a leopard mother has no fear of your getting this close to her cub. The best place in all Africa is a region of Zambia called South Luangwa, where iconic African wildlife is in vast profusion yet uninhabited by people. And where you can stay in a safari lodge so luxurious it’s hard to believe you’re way out deep in the African bush.
I’ve been traveling to Africa for 50 years now – since 1971 – and have been to every country on the continent, so I know how unique a South Luangwa safari is. If you have a dream of experiencing an African safari once in your life, you might consider here. I can hardly wait to come here again. Care to join me, to look into a baby leopard’s eyes yourself? (Glimpses of Our Breathtaking World #117 Photo ©Jack Wheeler)
THE AGONY OF JOHN ROBERTS
Pity poor John Roberts. No, he’s not corrupt or compromised.
He is simply a man who has found himself at a pivotal time and place in a position of great responsibility for which he is utterly unsuited.
He’s not a dumb man. He is, in fact, a very smart man – Hugh Hewitt knew him personally in the Reagan administration and testifies to that. I have no doubt it’s true.
I know many smart people who have similar flaws. As objectively intelligent as John Roberts is, he is unwise, and he is endangering the institution he wants to preserve because he does not understand human nature or the times he finds himself in.
Frankly, I’ll take wisdom over raw intellect any day of the week.
If he had the capacity to lead that he so manifestly lacks, John Roberts could save his institution with decisive and bold action. But that’s not who he is.
Understand what John Roberts wants. He is an institutionalist who has always wanted to protect the judiciary branch.
He wants it to be a fully co-equal branch that is respected by all. But the very actions he has chosen to take – or not to take – in response to the current crisis of out-of-control subordinate courts are guaranteeing that it will fall.
TRUMP VOWS TO CATCH UP TO CHINA’S GROWING NAVAL FLEET
The United States' military isn't often outnumbered by a foreign nation's military power, nut it is when it comes to a naval fleet.
Under the leadership of President Xi Jinping, China has spent 12 years investing in an ambitious military shipbuilding program.
That communist country now has a navy with one-third more combat ships than the U.S.
It's much more than a status thing. A large navy can project a country's power virtually anywhere in the world.
We heard about that in recent days when President Donald Trump ordered the destruction of much of the Houthis' military capabilities in Yemen.
That would be by U.S. naval forces in the region.
Armed by Iran, the world's largest exporter of terrorism, the Houthis have crippled much of the world's maritime trade through the Middle East, forcing ships to travel all around Africa at much greater cost in money and time instead of using the Suez Canal.
Last weekend, President Trump issued a lengthy statement that said, in part:
“Today, I have ordered the United States Military to launch decisive and powerful Military action against the Houthi terrorists in Yemen. They have waged an unrelenting campaign of piracy, violence, and terrorism against American, and other, ships, aircraft, and drones.Joe Biden's response was pathetically weak, so the unrestrained Houthis just kept going. It has been over a year since a U.S. flagged commercial ship safely sailed through the Suez Canal, the Red Sea, or the Gulf of Aden.”
THE INSPIRATION OF AMERICA
Next to the entrance of The Red House, the Parliament of Trinidad and Tobago in the capital of Port of Spain, there is this marble inscription. It is clear that it is inspired by our 1776 Declaration of Independence and America’s founding principles. Trinidad’s population is 99% either Indian (from India), African, or a mix of the two. 64% are Christian, 21% Hindu, 6% Moslem, others undeclared – and all have these principles as a common bond between them.
Here in the Caribbean’s Trinidad is such a clear example of how America’s founding moral principles are such an inspiration to all humanity, of all cultures, creeds, and ethnicities. They are universal, America’s heritage as a gift to the world. This is the heritage of all Americans – something we need to hold on to and hold dear as we persevere during this current period of our country’s cultural, moral, and political lunacy. (Glimpses of Our Breathtaking World #152, photo ©Jack Wheeler)
THE TYRANNY OF CHINA’S HISTORY
[This Monday’s archive was originally published on December 1, 2004 – While the news is fixated on Europe and the Middle East these days, China is always the threat looming in the background. The old saying comes to mind: The more things change, the more they stay the same. This is peculiarly true for China.]
Chinese, written and spoken, is my candidate for the weirdest major language on earth. At the Monterey Institute, where US diplomats are taught foreign languages, it takes on average 600 hours of instruction to be fluent in a European language such as French or German, 1200 for Arabic - and 2400 in Chinese. (This means, of course, that for China and the world to communicate, Chinese must speak English, as the world will never speak Chinese).
Beyond the technical difficulties lie far deeper problems, resulting in a grossly myopic view of China’s history and future. The one buried most deeply is the way Chinese grammar reverses time: the past, in Chinese, is in front of or before you, while the future is behind you. Chinese culture is oriented towards the past, reading Chinese history through a distorted lens, and stubbornly attempting to apply illusory lessons to the present.
This is precisely what China’s military and government leaders are doing with their strategy towards America.
FLASHBACK FRIDAY – WITH THE ANTI-COMMUNIST GUERILLAS IN CAMBODIA
July, 1984. The KPNLF – Khmer People’s National Liberation Front – was the Anti-Communist guerrilla movement fighting the Soviet-backed Vietnamese Communists in Cambodia. When I was first there in 1961, Cambodia was then a land of serenity, with a gentle and tranquil people who were at peace with themselves and the world. Now it was a land of indescribable Communist horror.
It was such a privilege to be with these brave men willing to wage war against that horror and bring freedom to their country. I told their tale in Turning Back the Terror, the February 1985 cover story for Reason magazine. (Glimpses of Our Breathtaking World #20 photo ©Jack Wheeler)
THE ROOT CAUSE
