THE WORLD’S MOST SACRED MOUNTAIN
This is the North Face of Mount Kailas (6,638 m/21,778 ft) in a remote region of far western Tibet inhabited only by Changpa nomads. For 22% of all people on Earth – 1.2 billion Hindus, 510 million Buddhists and many millions of others – it is the spiritual Center of the Universe, the Navel of All Creation.
Kailas and surrounding glaciers are considered the source of four of Asia’s great rivers radiating out from it: the Indus, Tsangpo-Bhramaputra, Sutlej, and Karnali-Ganges. As a sacred mountain it has never been climbed.
For thousands of years, people from all Asia have made the arduous pilgrimage to Kailas to perform the sacred act of circumambulating around the mountain – most clockwise, counterclockwise for others such as the Changpa adhering to the ancient Bön Tibetan religion.
It is not easy. Huffing over the high point of the pilgrimage route with TTPer Big John Perrot, our altimeter said we were as high as Kilimanjaro, over 19,000 feet. The highlight, however, is being among so many pilgrims from so many diverse cultures. This is one of our world’s thrilling adventures, and such a privilege to participate in. (Glimpses of Our Breathtaking World #38 Photo ©Jack Wheeler)
AMERICA THE BEAUTIFUL
TTP, July 22, 2016
[This Monday's Archive was originally published on July 22, 2016. Back then, patriots were worried that Hillary would win, continuing Obama’s eight year effort to culturally destroy America. It was written to provide inspiration that America the Beautiful would prevail. And sure enough, Hillary lost and Trump won. Now we are facing the same disaster because the Dems stole the presidency from Trump 45 and intend to do the same preventing a Trump 47. We must have faith that Providence will make sure America the Beautiful prevails yet again.]
This is the Grand Prismatic Spring at Yellowstone. It’s not in some exotic remote place in the world, but right here in America.
You don’t get this view of it from the walkway along side. I was able to take it from a helicopter. Such a view helps you realize how beautifully spectacular America is. It’s that view I’d like to give you now, away from being flat on the ground surrounded by all the garbage of the latest newspaper headlines.
I’ve been asked by a friend whose kids have been raised in Europe to show them the American West, about which they know next to nothing. Their view of the US has been limited to places like downtown Manhattan and Palm Beach. My friend wanted them to experience the staggering grandeur of the West, its extraordinary history – plus the thrilling patriotism and cheerful friendliness of the people who live there.
The kids had the time of their lives, with an appreciation and love for America they’ll never forget. I’d like to share what we saw with you. It will refocus on what America really is – as beautiful, as glorious, as historical, with as decent a people, as any country that has ever existed in human history.
We have every right to be proud of our country, to be proud to be Americans. Let’s experience this together. Enjoy.
THE STRESS OF BEING PRESIDENT
…AS EXPLAINED TO 96 MILLION PEOPLE
FLASHBACK FRIDAY: RIDING A YAK AT RANGDUM
Rangdum Gompa, Zanskar, August 1993. Ever ridden a yak? Brandon did when was 10 at the Rangdum Tibetan Monastery or Gompa atop a small hill at 13,225 feet high in an extremely remote region of the Himalayas in India called Zanskar. It was part of our Indian Tibet expedition which will be repeating soon – and this time Brandon will be leading the expedition. I’ll just be along for the ride. (Glimpses of Our Breathtaking World #161 photo ©Jack Wheeler)
HALF-FULL REPORT 09/27/24
You may recall that two years earlier (01/03/20), President Trump ordered the successful elimination of Iran’s chief terrorist Qasem Soleimani via a MQ-9 Reaper drone decapitation strike. Khamenei’s video has resurfaced in the media this week (cf. the New York Post on Wednesday 9/25) for its uncanny similarity to the second attempt on Trump’s life by Ryan Routh on the West Palm Beach golf course.
No wonder that after Trump was informed of Khamenei’s video he reacted:
Yet there is something even more uncannily unnerving regarding threats to Trump than Khamenei’s years ago.
PENA PALACE
Built as the summer residence of the Portuguese Royal family almost 200 years ago, Pena Palace stands atop the pinnacle of the Sintra mountains with stunning views of the Atlantic Ocean far below.
Today a museum showpiece and World Heritage Site, it is one of the most spectacular castles in all Europe. I was here with your fellow TTPers completing another marvelous exploration of the wondrous land of Portugal last May.
Rebel and I are thinking of having a New Years’ Celebration here in Portugal to bring in 2025 with great food, great wine, and great fun. What do you think? Let me know on the Forum. (Glimpses of Our Breathtaking World #231 photo ©Jack Wheeler)
SKYE’S LINKS 09/26/24
“You shall know the truth and the truth shall set you free.” Indeed. The truth really will out. It’s busting out all over, in fact – truth about J6 and lies by Pelosi and Milley, Miller, and McCarthy, truth about just how FUBAR the Secret Service is (at least when Trump is the one being protected), truth (in their own words) about how the ‘Crats view the Constitution, truth about what Capitalism is NOT as well as truth about what Marx's Labor Theory of Value IS. Then we’ll see some real (though not real good) truth about the economy, and end with some wonderful truth about Climate that may just make your day!
THE CARRICK-A-REDE ROPE BRIDGE
One of the most dramatic sights along the Antrim Coast of Northern Ireland is the Carrick-a-Rede Rope Bridge. Originally built in the 1660s by salmon fishermen to get to their nets on the tiny islet of Carrick, it spans 70 feet across and 100 feet above the ocean waters surging below. It’s still used by the fishermen to this day. And while it’s been sturdily reinforced since it was a simple rope bridge, it’s still an invigorating experience to negotiate – especially in the wind and rain when I was there. Don’t pass it up if you’re ever in Northern Ireland. (Glimpses of Our Breathtaking World #232 photo ©Jack Wheeler)
TRUMP SUPPORTERS APPARENTLY ATTACKED AT RALLY WITH CLANDESTINE WEAPON
[TTP: This is a developing story, so it is short in both words and data. But we want you to be aware of what has occurred and to tell others. Perhaps more eyes will see the perpetrators and stop this vile action.]
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At least 20 Trump supporters may have been attacked covertly by chemicals or a high-power laser at a Trump rally in Tucson on September 12.
Some victims suffered severe burns. Many were temporarily blinded, with symptoms lasting until today.
Others may have been affected but have yet to be identified. The fact that all those known to have been affected were sitting on the stage immediately adjacent to President Trump is important in understanding the significance of what happened.
The victims were all part of a “Latinos for Trump” group on the stage. President Trump shook hands with them as he walked to the podium.
But what they believed was their good fortune soon turned into a nightmare when severe symptoms began to strike 30 minutes after the rally.
Experts believe the symptoms resulted either from a chemical agent or, more likely, from a high-powered infrared laser attack.
Thus, while chemicals were initially blamed, physicians and retired military experts experienced in chemical-biological-nuclear-directed energy warfare now believe it was an attack by an unseen infrared laser.
DUSK OR DAWN?
There is a feeling among some that the November 2024 election is special. It is useful to consider why.
American presidential activities have become increasingly important since the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989, ushering in a period of U.S. dominance that is occasionally referred to as The End of History.
The Reagan victory marked a moment when the key battlefield in the struggle to determine the future of humanity shifted from the superpower competition between East and West to the simple control of the institutions of the West, following the collapse of the USSR.
Gone was Che Guevara and Mao's strategy of surrounding the global cities from the Third World countryside. Back was Gramsci's plan to infiltrate Western institutions and culture from within.
If the enemy walls were impregnable from without, they were vulnerable from within. The left accepted the West would be conquered by coup. To this task they set forth with might and main.
But something happened that Gramsci did not expect. As the march through the institutions progressed, the "progressives" -- so confident of their intellectual superiority -- did not sweep all before them.
Rather they found the resistance stiffening unexpectedly. Unlikely coalitions rooted in the "Working Class" and even among formerly left-wing sympathizers began to multiply.
The surprise setbacks of 2016, Trump and Brexit, grew rather than declined, as one might expect of the last-gasp resistance in the inevitable tide of history.
Today the Reagan castle the progressives captured by coup is in shambles. They are in possession of a ruin. The Global World has not only shattered but is breaking out in war. The only answer to inflation is price control. Worse, the political opposition to progressive ideas has become assertive and even respectable. Things have come to a head; that is what makes November 2024 so special.