NEGOTIABLE AFFECTION IN SKAGWAY
When gold was discovered in the Klondike of Canada’s Yukon in 1896, the fastest way to get there was a tiny hamlet at the end of a long inlet of Alaska’s Inland Passage coast called Skagway. By 1898, Skagway was a lawless Wild West boom town flooded with prospectors who needed entertainment and release from the arduous travails of gold searching – and ladies who would provide it for a price.
The Brass Pic (as in a miner’s pic & shovel) was one of many Houses of Negotiable Affection in Skagway that flourished until the gold panned out in 1900. It’s preserved as a museum today in fond memory of those days of commercially consensual delight. Skagway is a terrific place to experience, drawing over a million visitors a year. Come here to see what draws them. (Glimpses of Our Breathtaking World #198 photo ©Jack Wheeler)
TRUMPISM IS GOING GLOBAL
Buckle your seatbelts because President-elect Donald Trump has ignited a worldwide revolt against the arrogance of global elites.
We are entering a brand-new era of rebellion -- man against the self-serving, out-of-touch political machines that ignore the will of the governed.
Everywhere. Look around. The world is a mess. Entrenched political leaders and parties are being tumultuously evicted in Europe, South America, the Middle East and Asia. Syria is this week’s massively disastrous mess.
Britain, France, Germany, South Korea, Japan, Mexico, Canada – all and more are in political chaos. By contrast, way ahead of the pack is Argentina, where the "shock capitalist" President Javier Milei won election a year ago and is an overnight international hero for his chainsaw approach to shrinking big government.
Now is the hour of the entire world's discontent. Why are the dominoes of government tumbling so suddenly?
One word: Trump.
BLACK LIVES MATTER LOSES ITS MOJO
Result of BLM’s Hawk Newsome calling for “Black Vigilantes” against Daniel Penny
On Monday (12/09), Daniel Penny was found Not Guilty of criminally negligent homicide in the choking death of Jordan Neely.
In May of 2023, Neely boarded a New York City subway train and began to threaten other passengers. Penny and a few others subdued Neely until police arrived. Neely ultimately died, and Penny was charged with second-degree manslaughter in addition to criminally negligent homicide. For most Americans, Penny was seen as a hero, a good Samaritan jumping in to help his fellow citizens in a dangerous situation.
Of course, like clockwork, Black Lives Matter (BLM) activists, a.k.a. agitators, showed up outside the courthouse, declaring the incident a racial one and demanding "justice." BLM leader Walter “Hawk” Newsome called for “black vigilantes” to enact revenge.
But something is different now. The BLM activists jumped up and down and yelled and screamed about being oppressed and had the prerequisite number of people standing behind them nodding their heads, but you could still hear their voices. Hundreds of other protesters had not drowned them out. Has BLM lost their 2020 black magic?
HEAVEN IN THE CARIBBEAN
Quick – name the only country in the world named after a woman. It’s the island nation in the Caribbean of St. Lucia, named after the patron saint of virgins, 4th century Saint Lucia.
The charm, beauty, and serenity of St. Lucia are unequaled in the Caribbean. Here you can have your own private retreat overlooking the twin peaks of The Pitons. The St. Lucian people take great pride in the immaculate spotlessness of their island and in their matchless reputation for personal warmth and hospitality.
While an English-speaking country and member of the British Commonwealth, there is a French tradition here as well, reflected in the fine cuisine and wines in restaurants. Yet I became fond of the local Piton beer as well. St. Lucia is the easiest island in the Caribbean to fall in love with – so it is no wonder that couples come from all over the world to get married or honeymoon here.
If you want to spend a few days of bliss away from all the cares of the world, you can’t do better than this place of heaven in the Caribbean. (Glimpses of Our Breathtaking World #190 photo ©Jack Wheeler)
PUTIN’S REGIME MAY BE CLOSER TO A SOVIET COLLAPSE THAN WE THINK
Vladimir Putin’s loss of a key regional ally in Bashar al-Assad has weakened Moscow at a crucial moment.
For while the war in Ukraine reges on the battlefield, Russia is losing the economic conflict. The Kremlin’s oil export revenues are too low to sustain a high-intensity war and nobody will lend Vladimir Putin a kopeck.
Putin’s strategic victory in Ukraine was far from inevitable a fortnight ago and it is less inevitable now after the Assad regime collapsed like a house of cards, shattering Putin’s credibility in the Middle East and the Sahel. He could do nothing to save his sole state ally in the Arab world.
“The limits of Russian military power have been revealed,” said Tim Ash, a regional expert at Bluebay Asset Management. “Putin now goes into Ukraine peace talks with Trump from a position of weakness,” said Mr. Ash.
And as bad as that military weakness is, Putin’s economic weakness is far worse. Following are examples of just how weak that is.
WHAT IS THE DRIVING FORCE OF A GREAT RELATIONSHIP?
An acquaintance the other day asked me what I do, and I told her that I’m a Marriage and Family Counselor, as well as a Life Coach. Then she asked an interesting question: “Is compromise the key to a happy marriage?”
At first I was tempted to say yes. Compromise is certainly one part of two different people sharing a life together. We can’t do everything we want whenever we want it; we have to find ways of adapting to each other’s needs and inclinations.
But thinking about it a little more closely, I instead said an emphatic, “No.” Compromise is not really the key.
Compromise is kind of like when one person wants a room painted yellow, the other wants it painted blue, and we compromise and get green – but neither of us may even like green. Compromise is sometimes win/win, sometimes not. There are certainly times when we compromise, but it isn’t the driving force of a great relationship.
So what is?
TRULLI
At the top of Italy’s boot heel, there’s an ancient village named Alberobello that’s become a World Heritage Site.
This is because the villagers have preserved a prehistoric building technique with the conical roofs of their homes built up of corbelled limestone slabs with no mortar. The homes are collectively called trulli (true-lee) as each home individually is a called a trullo (true-low). Some trulli are centuries old albeit regularly rebuilt in the traditional way and maintained immaculately.
It’s a fascinating look into unique millennia-old living. Yet it is only one example of this little-visited part of far southern Italy that’s worth exploring. There’s so much more to Italy than Rome, Florence, Venice and such tourist magnets, as worthwhile visiting them may be. You’ll learn that very quickly when you start exploring Italy’s remoter regions.
(Glimpses of Our Breathtaking World #255 photo ©Jack Wheeler)
THE KURDISH CARD IN TURKEY
[This Monday’s Archive was originally published on April 3, 2007. The map you see are the regions of four countries where the great majority of people there are Kurds: Syrian Kurdistan in yellow, Iraqi Kurdistan in green, Iranian Kurdistan in blue, and Turkish Kurdistan in rose red. With the fall of the Assad dictatorship in Syria this week that was engineered by the dictator of Turkey, Recep Erdogan, the map above becomes enormously relevant.
After taking Damascus,, Erdogan’s next target is the genocidal takeover of Syrian Kurdistan. Yet his enormous Achilles Heel are the 20 million Kurds in his own country. The Kurdish card is ready to be played to stop Erdogan. Will Trump play it?]
TTP. April 3, 2007
The current media freak-out in the US is about the silly mouth of radio buffoon Don Imus. Multiply the frenzy by, say, 100 times, and it might give you an idea of the media hysteria right now in Turkey about the serious mouth of Massoud Barzani, President of the Kurdistan Regional Government in Iraq.
Sick and tired of Turkish threats to his government, Barzani, in an interview on Dubai-based Al-Arabiya satellite television, unloaded on Turkey: "If Ankara allows itself to interfere in our affairs, we will then interfere for the 30 million Kurds in Turkey."
The interview was broadcast while I was in Erbil (Hawler), capital of Iraqi Kurdistan last Saturday (4/7), and the Kurds there were in a state of ecstatic glee over Barzani's daring to identify Turkey's deepest fear. It's hard for us here in America to grasp what sort of rhetorical nuclear bomb Barzani dropped with these words.
FLASHBACK FRIDAY – TRANS-SAHARA EXPEDITION
January 2003. Our campsite at dawn in the center of the Sahara called the Téneré in Niger. We found hand stone axes here 8,000 years old when the Sahara was green. Crossing the world’s greatest desert is a true expedition, one of the most astounding adventures to be had on earth, geographically, culturally, and historically. Unfortunately, it is too dangerous with lawless and ideological banditry today. I can hardly wait to do it once more when it is safe again. (Glimpses of Our Breathtaking World #70 photo ©Jack Wheeler)
HUNTER ASKS IF HE CAN GET HIS BAGGIE OF COCAINE BACK FROM THE WHITE HOUSE NOW
WASHINGTON, D.C. — After news broke that he had received a full presidential pardon from his father for any crimes committed in the last decade, Hunter Biden immediately asked officials from the U.S. Secret Service if he could get his baggie of cocaine back from the White House.
The cocaine, which was discovered over a year ago in a cubby outside the entrance to the West Wing, had gone unclaimed with authorities closing their investigation without learning the identity of its owner. With his pardon now in effect, Biden quickly claimed it and requested its return.
"Yeah, it's totally mine, thanks," Biden was reportedly heard saying in a phone call with the Secret Service. "I had to stash it one day when a tour group was coming through while I was about to do some lines. Such a buzzkill. Anyway, now that I don't have to answer for anything illegal I've done, I'd appreciate it if you gave me back my blow. I plan on hitting some celebration pretty hard tonight if you know what I mean. I mean I'm going to get absolutely wasted and I need my coke."
A spokesman for the Secret Service confirmed Biden made the request. "We figured it was his, but now we know for sure," said Agent Sean Kellar. "Unfortunately, the pardon Mr. Biden received from his father now precludes us from taking any action against him for possessing the illegal substance. It's probably better that the cocaine goes back to its rightful owner rather than going to waste in some evidence locker anyway."
At publishing time, Hunter Biden had reportedly also asked for a hard copy of his presidential pardon that he could roll up into a tube to snort the returned cocaine.
- Babylon Bee