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THE SANDS OF IWO JIMA

sands-of-iwo-jimaThis is the black sand beach the US Marines stormed on February 19, 1945, beginning the legendary Battle of Iwo Jima.  Overlooking the beach is Mount Suribachi, where four days later Joe Rosenthal took his iconic photo of six Marines planting the US flag on its summit.

You can come here once a year at a commemoration jointly held by the US and Japanese militaries.  Guests of honor are the few Marine veterans of the battle still alive. I attended on the 70th Anniversary of the battle in 2015.  To be here on these sands and on the summit of Suribachi, where the memorial lauds them – “On Iwo Jima, uncommon valor was a common virtue” – with these heroic men is an indescribable privilege. (Glimpses of Our Breathtaking World #23, photo ©Jack Wheeler)

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FLASHBACK FRIDAY THE BAMIAN BUDDHA

bamian-buddhaBamian, Afghanistan 1973.  I spent some time in the Bamian Valley north of Kabul 50 years ago.  What you see is the largest of the Bamian Buddhas carved into to sandstone cliffs in 600 AD by a Central Asian people who revered Buddha and called themselves Ebodai.  It stands 180 feet tall. The Bamian Valley was a Buddhist pilgrimage site, with thousands of monks in monasteries and temples from roughly 100 AD until 800 AD, the time of the Moslem conquest of Afghanistan.

It was left untouched until the Moslem Emperor of India, Aurangzeb (son of Shah Jehan, builder of the Taj Mahal), blew off the statue’s legs with artillery in 1700.  Then in 1890, the Moslem Afghan King of Afghanistan, Abdur Rahman Khan, ordered the Buddha’s face above the nose sliced off. The same Islamic practice of literal de-facing conducted upon ancient Egyptian statues including the Sphinx.

It was in 2001 that the Afghan Taliban blew up the entire statue you see here along with others as anti-Islamic “idols.”  I consider myself immensely fortunate to witness this extraordinary work of historic art while it still existed.

(Glimpses of Our Breathtaking World #260 photo ©Jack Wheeler)

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HALF-FULL REPORT 02/16/24

MSNBC legal analyst Caroline Polisi on Fani Willis’ testimony at her eligibility hearing yesterday (2/15):

“This is epic. This is monumental. If things are going in the direction we think Fani Willis lied to the court, it’s game over for her. She will be disqualified. If they had a relationship prior to when they represented truth to the court, it’s a huge deal. I can’t overstate.”
In addition to her lying, she was impossibly obnoxious and had a temper tantrum.  Oh, and she wore her dress on backward:

backward-dress-fani

Now, today (2/16): 'Train Wreck' Fani Willis Avoids 2nd Day On Stand, Will Not Testify For Second Day On 'Improper' Affair With Nathan Wade.

The Spectator puts it best: Fani Willis Self-Immolates In Georgia Court.  Fatty Fani is toast, and so is her persecution of PDJT.

This HFR has just begun. Here we go!

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THE BLUE CITY OF CHEFCHAOUEN

blue-city-of-chefchaouenMy wife Rebel and I love this uniquely picturesque ancient Berber village in Morocco where everything is painted in shades of blue. Suffused in soothing blue, there’s no more relaxed place than just about anywhere. Everyone is welcome from the wealthy staying in sumptuous boutique hotels to backpackers in hostels. There are no “tourist spots,” for every café and bar is where the locals go themselves. (It’s pronounced shef-shah-win, by the way.)

Berbers – “Amazigh” (Unconquered) in their language, are the original people of Morocco having lived there for over 12,000 years. They are directly related to the reindeer-herding Lapps of Lapland in northern Scandinavia (they share the same mitochondrial DNA haplogroup U5b1b). Both are descended from the same stock of Cro-Magnon Ice Age hunters in Western Europe that split in two 15,000 years ago – one moving far north, the other south crossing the Gibraltar Strait to Africa.

One more reason why Morocco is so magical. Would you like to experience the Magic of Morocco with us next year? (Glimpses of Our Breathtaking World #21 photo ©Jack Wheeler)

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SKYE’S LINKS 02/15/24

confused-biden-says-neumanI didn't make this stuff up. Really! The Special Consul investigating Xiden for illegal retention of classified documents has found clear evidence that he is guilty - but has decided not to prosecute because of Xiden's deteriorated mental state.  Note that most of these willful acts occurred many years ago when Xiden did not have the excuse of senility:

Special Counsel Finds Joe Biden ‘Willfully Retained' Classified Docs -- but Is Too Mentally Feeble to Prosecute

zuck_soulseeker

Censorship – Zuck's Facebook and its minions are at it for 2024:

Zuck Wants You Distracted: Instagram, Threads to Stop Recommending Political Content

More fun to follow!

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THE FLATTEST PLACE ON EARTH

salar-de-uyuni-768x578_edtThe Salar de Uyuni, 12,000 feet high in the Altiplano of Bolivia, is a 4,000 square mile expanse of salt so flat it is used to calibrate the altimeters of NASA observation satellites of the earth. After a rain, it becomes the world’s largest mirror, 80 miles across. The incredible reflective surface extends to the horizon in every direction – it is both hallucinatingly disorienting and makes for amazing mirror-to-horizon photos (especially at sunrise/sunset).

The brine underneath the salt crust contains 70% of the world’s lithium – critical to our battery-fueled global economy – produced in evaporation pools that are a kaleidoscope of colors.

You can stay here in relative luxury at one of the world’s most unique hotels – the Palacio de Sal, built entirely of salt: walls, floors, ceilings, furniture, sculptures. Being here is one of South America’s more astounding experiences. Let me know if you want a Wheeler Expedition to take you there! (Glimpses of Our Breathtaking World #39 Photo ©Jack Wheeler)

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UNTIL THE BORDER’S IN ORDER

deuces-wildJack asked me to weigh in on the immigration situation that we are currently facing, to include what advice I would give President Trump in his second term for addressing it all.  First and foremost, I would tell him that it took us a long time to get into this mess and it will take at least as long to get out of it.

We need a multi-pronged approach on both the Federal level and with the states.  Some will happily cooperate and others will have to be dragged kicking and screaming.  But more on that in a minute.

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RUSSIAN ECONOMY FEELS THE BITE OF ATTRITION

russ-economy-crashingRussia’s economy benefited from increased military expenditures, but industrial production is stagnating as growth limits. Heavy prioritization of the defense industry is causing contractions in other sectors like consumer goods production.

The Russian energy sector suffers from declining revenues, delayed projects, and challenges in the global market due to sanctions. Sanctions loopholes are being closed, complicating Russian efforts to circumvent restrictions and maintain its economic model.

Ukraine’s victory against Russia hinges on economic ties and integration with Europe, which possesses superior industrial, technological, and scientific capabilities.

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OBAMA POISED TO PULL THE PLUG ON BIDEN?

bangbiden_oSpecial counsel Robert Hur did a great service to America last week in two ways that fundamentally and irreversibly transform the Presidential race. As a result, just like in Hillary Clinton’s ‘3 a.m. phone call’ television ad in the 2008 contest, the iPhone is buzzing in Barack Obama’s Martha’s Vineyard compound, and he had better answer it.

The last Democrat president has been warning Biden and party leaders for months -- privately and publicly through former aides like David Axelrod -- that he faces an uphill fight to win a second term.

Now that Hur’s report has detonated like a shaped charge in Biden’s political bunker, Obama is the only man on the planet who can talk Jill and Joe Biden out of standing for re-election.

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