SKYE’S LINKS 10/31/24
This will be almost a single-subject set of Links this week with the election on Tuesday. First though, we get to enjoy the moment when the penny finally begins to drop on the Mainstream Media. Their arrogance is only exceeded by their comic lack of self-awareness. Then we’ve got some concerning info about the ETTF (the DOJ’s Election Threats Task Force) which has been kept pretty quiet, and some actual fraud detected in Georgia (and elsewhere) by expert techs. Also, we’ll consider possible responses should POTUS win in spite of the cheating.
Finally, we’ll have some fun with President Trump as the Dems step all over themselves trying to scream the electorate down. Happy Halloween, folks.
GRANDMA AND GRANDPA NEED NOT FIGHT IN THE CAUCASUS
This is “Tatik-Papik” (Grandmother-Grandfather), a stone monument built in Soviet days as homage to the mountain people of the Transcaucasus Highlands of Armenia and Azerbaijan. After both became independent with the fall of the USSR, Armenia seized the Azeri part, known as Nagorno Karabagh. Since late September, war has broken out anew, with Turkey supporting the Azeris and Russia supporting the Armenians.
The dispute could be settled easily with a “land swap.” There is an exclave of Azerbaijan called Nakhchivan (see The Land of Noah, Glimpse #3) separated by a sparsely inhabited corridor of Armenia called the Mehgri Strip running to the border with Iran. It could be swapped for the Armenian-populated portion of Karabagh. Result: Azerbaijan and Nakhchivan are united and whole, Armenia and Armenian Karabagh are united and whole.
Should be win-win achievable given recent peace agreements achieved by our genius POTUS between Serbia and Kosovo, plus between Israel and the UAE, Bahrain, and Sudan don’t you think? (Glimpses of Our Breathtaking World #71 photo ©Jack Wheeler)
LITERALLY HITLER? A HISTORIAN EXAMINES DEMOCRAT ACCUSATIONS AGAINST TRUMP AND THE GOP
Ever since Trump first ran for president, a central theme among Democrats and the media has been that Trump is literally Hitler, and his supporters – namely, Republicans – are literally Nazis.
This has gone viral in the 2024 campaign featuring the New Republic’s infamous cover showing Trump as Hitler, published only a week before the first assassination attempt against Trump in July.
As a historian who has done considerable writing and research into the history of the Third Reich, I think it’s time for someone who actually knows something about Hitler and Nazis to provide an assessment of these charges.
I studied in Germany and for more than three decades I have spent many weeks in the German archives poring over documents of the Third Reich so I could write many books and academic articles on the Wehrmacht.
The historians of the Bundeswehr’s History Office (authors of outstanding scholarship on the Third Reich) thought enough of my scholarship to commission me to author a chapter on Nazi war crimes in a book on 20th-century war crimes.
I will focus on the two months of February 1933 to late March 1933 during which the democratic Weimar system was destroyed and replaced by a one-party Nazi totalitarian state.
In January 1933, the German electorate was hopelessly split.
FOCUSED PREPARATIONS FOR A CRISIS
One might conclude that with the colossal amount of “stuff” that Americans buy, not to mention millions and millions of firearms, that they would be thoroughly prepared for a crisis.
Yet, in the after-action reviews, time after time it is shown that many simply are not.
In my opinion, this happens chiefly due to poor planning. To maximize your preparedness, there are several simple steps that you need to take.
1. Honestly assess your risks and responses.
An excellent way to do this is to make a list of things that might happen—with an emphasis on the most likely, together with your ability to do something about it.No one can prepare for a nuclear warhead using their residence as the hypocenter. Likewise, an invasion by North Korean paratroopers is possible, but quite unlikely.
Much more likely are earthquakes, hurricanes, tornadoes, floods, or a home invasion. With this in mind, ask what your goals will be if the crisis occurs, bearing in mind your ability to react.
2. Make a list of things you must have in a crisis.
THE LIQUID RAINBOW – WORLD’S MOST BEAUTIFUL RIVER
This is Caño Cristales, a river flowing through an ancient tableland in a remote roadless region deep in the forests of Colombia. Known as The Liquid Rainbow, geologists consider it the world’s most beautiful river.
The colors are due to endemic riverweeds that grow only here, clinging to the rocks of the riverbed, and the crystal clarity of the water. It is not easy to get to – fly a light plane to an airstrip, take a boat upriver for miles, then walk a few miles more. But then you get to explore one of the most beautiful sights nature has to offer – replete with dozens of small fun waterfalls, surrounded by an uninhabited forest teeming with tropical birds.
No wonder National Geographic calls Caño Cristales “the River of the Garden of Eden.” Yet it is only one of the many extraordinary experiences in this huge country – for Colombia is larger than Texas and California combined. Wheeler Expeditions will be conducting an exploration of Hidden Colombia soon. Hope you can be with us. (Glimpses of Our Breathtaking World #22 photo ©Jack Wheeler)
IRAN, ISRAEL, AND THE SURGICAL STRIKE
Who do we blame for the terrible destruction of drug addiction?
The user, yes.
The pusher, certainly.
But most of all, the drug cartels -- these massive, secretive, corrupt foreign organizations that manufacture the product and run an illegal distribution operation, employing and training the pushers, waving enough cash around that it attracts a seemingly endless array of applicants to become pushers in their Cadillac-and-gold-chains black market business.
In all our efforts to bring our national drug problem under control, our efforts have been tragically unsuccessful in attacking those cartels.
Without destroying the cartels themselves, it’s an impossible battle, because new pushers arise to replace every pusher who’s imprisoned or killed.
Other kinds of crime work the same way, especially at the national and international level.
And the world got a lesson in how to respond this weekend in the Middle East.
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Israel finally hit Iran in a long-awaited retaliation, on Saturday morning, October 26.
SAMARITAN’S PURSE EXPOSED: HOW FRANKLIN GRAHAM SPONSORS BORDER INVASION
Regarding the border invasion of America, there are waves of people passing through Mexico from even as far as South America, requiring that they traverse the treacherous Darien Gap, but their journey is not without substantial patronage from the US government, United Nations, and sinister NGOs.
While it is expected that Catholics, Jews, and other mainline Christian agencies would contribute to America’s invasion, it is most unfortunate that evangelical Christian organizations are doing so too.
At the north end of the conveyor belt, the SBC’s Send Relief sponsors several projects in coordination with the Baptist River Ministry along with the progressive Cooperative Baptist Fellowship.
At the beginning of the immigration conveyor belt would be Samaritan’s Purse, the Christian charity helmed by Franklin Graham.
TASMANIA’S MOUTH OF HELL
On the south coast of Australia’s island state of Tasmania, there is a huge sea cave the aboriginal Tasmanians called The Mouth of Hell for the shrieking and moaning the waves and wind made emitting from it. Boatsmen prefer to enter it to this day protected by a cross on their fishing boat’s bow.
The wild beauty and mystery of Tasmania is absolutely extraordinary. At 35,000 square miles, it is the size of Maine with a population of less than half a million. Towns like Hobart and Launceston are charming, but the magic is in the uninhabited wilderness that makes up much of the island as a hiker’s paradise. That and a momentous coastline almost beyond belief.
If you’re ever in Oz, especially Melbourne, don’t miss the chance to explore Tasmania. (Glimpses of Our Breathtaking World #150 Photo ©Jack Wheeler)
TRUMP AND MILLENNIALS
[This Monday’s Archive was originally published on June 23, 2017. The prediction then that President Trump as 45 can change Generation Snowflake into the Next Great Generation we see emerging now, along with Zers. Oct. 25: Young Voters Say Trump Winning Them Over With Honesty and Charisma. This will come into full fruition by Trump as 47 Enjoy the generational analysis.]
TTP, June 23, 2017
From where do we get the term and concept of “Millennials” as the current generation of young people in America today?
From a 1991 book that explains American cultural history as a repeating cycle of four generational types: Generations: The History of America’s Future, 1584 to 2069 by historians William Strauss and Neil Howe.
Straus & Howe posit that these four – Idealist, Reactive, Civic, and Adaptive – have distinguishing mind-sets, with strengths and weaknesses that emerge at different times in the generational life-cycle of childhood, young adulthood, mid-life, and old age.
- Idealist, motivated by abstract goals and principles;
- Reactive, motivated by a cynical practicality;
- Civic, motivated by a community spirit and can-do optimism;
- Adaptive, motivated by the desire for compromise and consensus.
HALF-FULL REPORT 10/25/24
The Tide is Turning
Bill Gates faces scrutiny over his involvement with the COVID-19 vaccines, with allegations of significant scientific fraud leading to injuries and deaths. A European court is considering the first case, and governments' immunity may be void if fraud is proven.
Meanwhile, Kamala Harris' week has been challenging as Trump gains significant momentum, potentially putting the White House, Senate, and House of Representatives within his reach. This could be payback time for the "woke" manipulation and insincerity that has plagued society, as more people awaken to the flaws in this ideology, evident in the widespread mockery of the CDC's recent actions following Trump's authentic appearance at a real McDonald's. Trump's authenticity resonates strongly in the era of decentralized media.
China has conducted its largest live-fire drill in history, attempting to deter the U.S. Navy and assert dominance. They claim to be capable of retaking Taiwan by force within two years, with the exercises coinciding with the BRICS summit. Xi Jinping is likely offering attractive deals to smaller countries attending the summit. In response, the U.S. is reactivating World War Two-era Pacific Island bases to counter China's saber-rattling. However, the U.S. fleet faces maintenance and repair challenges due to deindustrialization, but it appears that the military is addressing these issues.
North Korea deployed riflemen to Russia. We saw this story before, during both world wars, as Russian soldiers deserted en masse and foreign troops were required to press the Russian military onward. Who better to shoot a Russian conscript in the back than a North Korean?
The bad guys made a lot of noise, but increasingly the world is moving onward and upward as the old narratives fail. The Trump Train is on the tracks, and the good guys are gaining momentum.