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L i k e U s ! ! !

BRANDON WHEELER AT THE DOOR TO HELL

brandon-at-door-to-hellWe camped here overnight in May a year ago crossing Turkmenistan’s Kara Kum (Black Sand) Desert, and we’ll be here again in May next year.  The Darvaz Gas Crater – known to locals as “The Door to Hell” – has been burning nonstop since 1971, when Russian engineers set it on fire expecting it to burn off and it never has. This is a night -- and a sight -- you’ll never ever forget.  My son Brandon can vouch for that! (Glimpses of Our Breathtaking World #44 Photo ©Jack Wheeler)

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DARK HEDGES

dark-hedgesYou’ve seen this spooky place called King’s Road in HBO’s The Games of Thrones – but where is it and what is it really?  It’s in Country Antrim in Northern Ireland near the town of Armoy.  Originally it was the driveway to a mansion built in 1775 by James Stuart, descendant of King James I of England (1566-1625), who lined either side with beech trees.  Now almost 250 years old, their branches intertwine eerily, giving rise to its name of “Dark Hedges,” and legends of ghosts haunting it like the “Grey Lady.”

Northern Ireland has had its terrible Troubles as we all know, but that’s history now.  It’s a place of stunning scenery and natural wonders like the Devil’s Causeway and Marble Arch Caves, and those man-made in addition to Dark Hedges, such as Dunluce Castle and Carrick-a-Rede Rope Bridge.  Then there’s the Victorian opulence of the Crown Liquor Saloon in Belfast.  All in all, Northern Ireland is a marvelous place to visit. (Glimpses of Our Breathtaking World #43 photo ©Jack Wheeler)

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THE WORLD’S REMOTEST INHABITED ISLAND

worlds-remotest-islandThat would be Tristan da Cunha in the middle of the South Atlantic Ocean.  Some 260 Tristanians live here, all British citizens as the island is a UK Territory, in the island’s only community of Edinburgh-of-the-Seven-Seas.  There’s no way to fly here – you have to take a boat for at least a week from Cape Town (and then a week back).

Tristanians are among the world’s most special people.  Since the island was first settled in 1810, there has never been a single murder, abortion, or divorce among them.  They are at peace with themselves, unfailingly cheerful, hospitable, and contented.    If you are lucky enough to reach here, you may not want to ever leave. (Glimpses of Our Breathtaking World #42 Photo ©Jack Wheeler)

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THE SACRED LAKE OF PHOKSUNDO

phoksundoWest of the Himalayan giants of Annapurna and Dhaulagiri in Nepal lies a roadless high wilderness inhabited only by Tibetan nomads called Dolpa.  The region is named after them, Dolpo.  The Dolpa practice the ancient pre-Buddhist animist religion of Tibet called Bön.  They worship sites of nature they consider holy.  And holiest of all is the Sacred Lake of Phoksundo.

The Dolpa consider the blue of Phoksundo an act of magic by the gods.  Once you see it, you can only agree.  This picture is not photoshopped – it is real. We visit it in late October when it is ice free on our Himalaya Helicopter Expeditions. (Glimpses of Our Breathtaking World #41 Photo ©Jack Wheeler)

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HALF-FULL REPORT 09/11/20

Welcome to The 9/11 HFR!  As TTPer Edd says, “What better way to honor 9/11 than with MAGA? ISIS has been crushed, Soleimani and al-Muhandis greased, and not a peep since.”

Remember when the constant fear was of the next Islamofascist terror attack?  Seems like a long time ago, doesn’t it?  Sure seems like Donaldus Magnus has cooked that goose.  Maybe not for good, but it’s certainly something to celebrate today.

And so we open with a celebration of MAGA with Ricky Rebel – a Grammy-winning pop star glam rocker who’s a bisexual Trump supporter.  How about that to mess Leftie minds up?  The BLM-Antifatards in Beverly Hills simply forgot how to riot with this patriot rocker dancing in front of them.  The BH police were thoroughly confused but happy.

Here we go with another great HFR…

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NO FEAR OF THE EVIL EYE – Books That Changed My Life

Author at age 17 in the mirador ©Jack Wheeler
Author at age 17 in the mirador ©Jack Wheeler

Fourth installment: Chapter Four of Part I: Envy.  Your Forum comments are really appreciated!

BOOKS THAT CHANGED MY LIFE

I read a lot.  Ever so often, I come upon a book that is seminal for me – profoundly affecting my view of the world.

Reading Richard Halliburton’s The Complete Book of Marvels did that to me when I was 14.  Halliburton was a famous adventurer in the 1920s and 30s whom the world had long forgotten when I read a twenty year-old book of his in 1958.

I was a kid in Glendale who knew next to nothing about the rest of our planet.  Halliburton opened my eyes to see a world of endless wonders and magical experiences.  I still see the world in that way to this day.

That’s what motivated me to climb the Matterhorn at 14, live with the Jivaros and swim the Hellespont at 16, and how I found myself in a “mirador” – a small hunting blind of branches and leaves – in the jungles of South Viet Nam at 17 waiting for darkness in hopes that a man-eating tiger would show up.

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WHAT ISLAMISTS AND WOKEISTS HAVE IN COMMON

burning-us-flagNaive observers explain this summer’s protests in terms of African-Americans’ material disadvantages. Yet they aren’t the main driver of the protests, which appear to be led mainly by well-off white people.

Their ideology goes by many names: cancel culture, social justice, critical race theory, intersectionality. For simplicity, I call it all Wokeism.

I am not about to equate Wokeism and Islamism. There are many differences. But consider the resemblances.

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ANDY TIFA’S FEET ON FIRE

It's the video that's sweeping the conservative blogosphere.  The Antifa rioting moron in Portland whose legs were engulfed in flames of his own Molotov Cocktail.  Twitter wag Steve Inman calls him Andy Tifa.

Andy’s comrades tried ineffectually to extinguish the flames which the police efficiently put out.  There are other videos of Antifa people injuring themselves or each other, but this one has legs (burning legs, if you will).

There's a reason for its popularity: that short video encompasses everything wrong with Antifa, and it's okay to laugh because no one was seriously hurt in the making of that video.  Don’t know about Andy, though

From the beginning, there's been a duality about Antifa.

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THE UGLY PRIVILEGE OF RICH WHITE PROTESTERS

NYPD mug shots of rich kid domestic terrorists
NYPD mug shots of rich kid domestic terrorists

The so-called revolutionaries who were busted for rioting at a New Afrikan Black Panther Party rally took a break from their yacht club lives and modeling careers to be a part of the mayhem.

The seven “comrades” — including wealthy Upper East Sider Clara Kraebber — had their mugshots tweeted out by the NYPD early Wednesday (9/09), days after their arrests for smashing storefront windows in the Flatiron District.

They were cuffed during a protest organized by the Panthers and the Revolutionary Abolitionist Movement groups condemning the death of Daniel Prude, who was killed while in custody of the Rochester Police Department in March. Yes, six months ago.

All come from privileged backgrounds — leading one police source to call their actions “the height of hypocrisy.”

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DESPERATE DEMS’ DERAIL DONALD FAIL

desperate-dems-liesThe effort to stop President Trump is growing comical.

One always expects the media surprise leak of a purported hidden scandal as a presidential campaign winds down.  Remember the October 7, 2016 effort of the Washington Post to publish the hoarded 11-year-old “Access Hollywood” tape, just two days before Donald Trump’s second debate with Hillary Clinton?

We should expect lots of these “bombshells” and “walls are closing in” pseudo-derailments. Except Trump has been the most widely investigated, probed, attacked, and smeared president in history.

And so the scandal-field has pretty well been picked over. In Jussie Smollett fashion, the demand for scandals is outrunning the supply and time grows short.

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DEMOCRATS WALLOWING IN SLIME

lies-of-dems-on-trump-vetsIn terms of political ethics and tactics, the Democrats have hit rock bottom.

The Atlantic has worked hard to become a third-rate New Yorker in terms both of literary quality and the vitriol of its hatred for President Trump; the magazine has probably confirmed its position with the confection of the uncorroborated and totally implausible allegation that Trump disparaged American World War I veterans who died in France as “suckers” and “losers.”

It is indicative of the fact that the Democrats are much less overconfident than they were four years ago. In this latest incident, many people, including almost everyone who would have been present, have all denied that any such utterance had been made. It is inconceivable that this president would think or say anything of the kind.

But the odium of the incident is magnified by the fact that it was clearly staged in a tight sequence coordinated between the Biden campaign and its most rabid media partisans.

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TIME TO LOCKDOWN THE LOCKDOWNS

fearmongering-people-in-powerTake off the masks and remove the “social distancing” circles from the floors. Open the schools, liberate college campuses, fill the restaurants and the gyms and the churches and the salons. Enough.

In mid-March, Americans were asked to suspend their personal freedoms, business pursuits, and schooling for 15 days to “flatten the curve” of rising cases of the novel coronavirus. Americans, fearful of the unknown and willing to do what they imagined was the right thing to protect themselves and their family, acquiesced.

That was 175 days ago. What has happened since will be studied and debated for decades with one likely conclusion: Global lockdowns, particularly in the United States, were one of the costliest man-made disasters of all time.

The decision was rooted in unscientific hocus pocus that resulted in economic, educational, mental, physical, and emotional catastrophes on a scale that can never be fully quantified—not to mention the way stay-at-home orders fueled racial and civil unrest across America months before a national election.

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SKYE’S LINKS 091020

“He would mess with every single woman or teen, it was horrible”
“He would mess with every single woman or teen, it was horrible”

This is significant because someone may have retained a copy of that file or there may be other records; Biden appears to be eminently blackmailable. Now what happens if two or more different blackmailers have the goods on Biden and issue opposing incompatible demands?  If the 'Crat powers that be didn't have the goods on a candidate, I doubt whether they would be allowed to become a finalist, and that includes Harris.

Secret Service Admits To Destroying Records In Alleged Biden Breast-Grabbing Incident

How to construct a propaganda narrative:

"Infiltrated By Nazis..." - The Rise Of The New Normal 'Gleichschaltung'

Do as we say, not as we do:

San Francisco Gym Owners Irate After Learning City Government Gyms Are Open

There’s LOTS more!

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HFR UPDATE!! PRESIDENT TRUMP AND THE HFR HERO OF THE WEEK

Friday’s HFR (9/04) closed with Casey Petersen of Sandia Labs declared HFR Hero of the Week.

He had the courage to email all 16,000 Sandia employees a video he had made denouncing the Sandia Human Resources Department’s narrative of modern systemic racism and white privilege.

Early this morning (9/05) – thanks to TTPer Yasuhiko Kimura – we learned that after the HFR was posted yesterday evening, President Trump directed White House OMB Director Russell Vought to issue an order to all federal agencies – which includes Sandia – to “cease and desist from using taxpayer dollars to fund these divisive, un-American propaganda training sessions.”

That specifically includes “all contracts or other agency spending related to any training on ‘critical race theory,’ ‘white privilege,’ or any other training or propaganda effort that teaches or suggests either (1) that the United States is an inherently racist or evil country or (2) that any race or ethnicity is inherently racist or evil.”

The directive concludes: “The divisive, false, and demeaning propaganda of the critical race theory movement is contrary to all we stand for as Americans and should have no place in the Federal government.”

The full White House directive is here: https://www.whitehouse.gov/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/M-20-34.pdf.  Read it with celebration.

Late this morning, President Trump began issuing a full court press Tweet barrage attacking the anti-America racism of “critical race theory” and “white privilege” that Black Lives Matter and Antifa use to justify their existence.  There are at last count over 20 tweets, starting with:

trump-tweet-090520

You can enjoy reading them all here: @realDonaldTrump.

POTUS has launched a gut-punch, nads-kick, all-out offensive on the Marxist ideology that has completely taken over the Democrat Party, the Biden Campaign, and the entire “Mainstream Media.”  They all are going to lose their minds over finding themselves flat-on-their-backs defenseless.

And what catalyzed this now, at this moment?  An electrical engineer at a science lab in Albuquerque, New Mexico.  He had the brains and moxie to make an incredibly well-thought and argued video, then sent it out to his 16,000 co-workers: Pushing Back on the Narrative of Modern Systemic Racism & White Privilege.

When the President of the United States saw this and the positive response from Casey’s co-workers, he knew now was the time to strike.

What a lesson of the power of one unknown individual to help change the world for the better.  Casey Peterson, American Hero.  And thank you, President Trump.

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