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THE TYRANNY OF CHINA’S HISTORY

warring-states-period[Welcome to this Monday’s edition of TTP Archives, to reprise a TTP article of years ago and to ask what you think how it applies to today on the Forum.  ‘The Tyranny of China’s History’ was originally published on December 1, 2004.  It’s now almost 20 years later, and sure enough, Chicom is still stuck in the past – not just of two decades ago, but twenty two centuries ago.  Yes, it’s that goofy, spooky and crazy dangerously so.  As always, the TTP is anxious to know what you think about this, especially this week’s TTP archive.  See you on the Forum.]

TTP, December 1, 2004

Chinese, written and spoken, is my candidate for the weirdest major language on earth.

At the Monterey Institute, where US diplomats are taught foreign languages, it takes on average 600 hours of instruction to be fluent in a European language such as French or German, 1200 for Arabic – and 2400 in Chinese.

(This means, of course, that for China and the world to communicate, Chinese must speak English, as the world will never speak Chinese).

Beyond the technical difficulties lie far deeper problems, resulting in a grossly myopic view of China’s history and future. The one buried most deeply is the way Chinese grammar reverses time: the past, in Chinese, is in front of or before you, while the future is behind you.

Chinese culture is oriented towards the past, reading Chinese history through a distorted lens, and stubbornly attempting to apply illusory lessons to the present.

This is precisely what China’s military and government leaders are doing with their strategy towards America today.

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THE ABSURDITIES OF OUR AGE

age-absurdities[This is absolutely one of VDH’s superbly best, a 100% must-read]

The sign of a civilization in headlong decline is its embrace of absurdities. Unfortunately for the United States, we are witnessing an epidemic of nihilist nonsense. Here are a few examples. We’ll start with Reparations, and continue through Inequality before the Law, Woke Nullification of Federal Law, Rogue Federal Agencies, and Printing Money.

This can’t go on and yet it does. The longer it does, the more catastrophic will be the end.

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TRUMP SHOULD WAGE NUCLEAR LAWFARE ON THE CORPORATE MEDIA

trump-smirksFormer President Donald Trump has the unique ability to launch a lawfare offensive against the media that could be so effective it would force a media transformation, an essential step to turning the country around.

Trump can prove the media knowingly engaged in spreading lies about collusion between Russia and his 2016 presidential campaign and so much more. It seems malice would be awfully easy to prove as the evidence is in clear view. It would also be easy to show that all of the slander and libel caused material damage to Trump companies.

I tweeted about this last week as one of my most fervent dreams. And to my delight, a few days later, Trump Media and Technology Group, which owns Truth Social, filed a $3.78 billion lawsuit against the Washington Post in a Florida state court in Sarasota County, where Truth Social is based.

This is a pathway Trump companies can pursue whether he were to become president again or not. Trump is in the unique position to upend the media in a way that might radically reform how it functions in America.

Will it work? Put me in the camp of let’s find out.

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THE GREAT UNDERESTIMATION OF DESANTIS STARTS TO UNRAVEL

desantis_wokewarThis past weekend, Governor Ron DeSantis (R-Fla.) reminded voters, and a skeptical press that has spent an inordinate amount of time writing his political obituary before he even launched his candidacy, that he not only possesses the promise and nimbleness needed to be a candidate for president but that he also has the staff and network needed to pull off just the right move to strike a blow against his rival, former President Donald Trump.

People underestimate DeSantis only at their own peril.

DeSantis and Trump were scheduled on Saturday (5/20) to be in Iowa, the state with the first-in-the-country contest for 2024, but Trump’s team canceled the event after the threat of a tornado warning. DeSantis took full advantage of his absence with an impromptu stop in the same area Trump was supposed to be, thus casting shade on the former president, who has spent months maligning DeSantis’s character.

“My better half and I have been able to be all over Iowa today, but before we went back to Florida, we wanted to come by and say hi to the people of Des Moines,” DeSantis said to a cheering and surprised crowd at the barbecue as he and his wife Casey stood on a picnic table outside. “So thank you all for coming out. It’s a beautiful night. It’s been a great day for us.”

DeSantis’ unscheduled stop speaks to the scope of the organization he already has in Iowa and its competency. Several Iowa Republicans said they were surprised that when Trump decided to cancel the rally, he didn’t try to do something else, even if it were on a smaller scale.

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WAGNER CHIEF WARNS OF SECOND RUSSIAN REVOLUTION OVER UKRAINE WAR FAILURES

one-tank-parade
Putin watches single tank drive down Red Square in scaled-back Victory Day Parade

Wagner chief Yevgeny Prigozhin has warned of the potential of another Russian revolution akin to that of 1917 unless the strategy of the war in Ukraine is drastically altered.

Russia’s top mercenary leader said in a post on Telegram that the number of casualties suffered by common people in the war in Ukraine while elites in Moscow “shook their arses” could lead to widespread unrest and that the imposition of martial law could be required to prevent a full-blown revolution.

“We are in such a condition that we could effing lose Russia – that is the main problem… We need to impose martial law,” Prigozhin said according to a translation by the Reuters news agency.

“First the soldiers will stand up, and after that – their loved ones will rise up,” he continued. “There are already tens of thousands of them – relatives of those killed. And there will probably be hundreds of thousands – we cannot avoid that.”

“This divide can end as in 1917 with a revolution,” the Wagner boss warned, referencing the communist overthrow of the Romanov royal family by the communist uprising led by Vladimir Lenin a century ago.

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FLASHBACK FRIDAY MEMORIAL DAY SKYDIVE

©Jack WheelerMy skydiving buddy Chris Wentzel and I made this flag jump on Memorial Day years ago to pay tribute to those in our military who gave their lives for America. I’m on the right, Chris on the left. The jump was performed at the Skydive Perris drop zone in Perris, California. It’s only fitting I post this on TTP in honor of those whom we memorialize in gratitude on this Memorial Day weekend. (Glimpses of Our Breathtaking World #207 photo ©Jack Wheeler)

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THE ROCK PALACE OF YEMEN

rock-palaceDar al-Hajar, the Rock Palace, was built by Yemen’s ruler, Imam Yahya Muhammad Hamiddin (1869-1948), atop a rock pinnacle as his summer residence. It lies in a valley about 10 miles outside Yemen’s capital of Sana’a. While an iconic example of Yemeni architecture, it’s impossible to visit now with civil war raging in the country. Someday we’ll be able to safely return to Yemen again. (Glimpses of Our Breathtaking World #143 Photo ©Jack Wheeler)

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THE CAMEL MEAT MARKET IN THE FEZ BAZAAR

camel-meat-marketSometimes you run across something that no matter how it grosses you out, you have to take a picture of it. The thousand year-old medina or walled city of Fez is a World Heritage Site as the spiritual and cultural capital of Morocco. Uniquely epitomizing this is the stall of the camel butcher in the medina’s vast bazaar. To garner the attention of ladies shopping for their family’s dinner, he proudly displays the head of the camel whose fresh meat is on sale. Traveling in Morocco is always an adventure. (Glimpses of Our Breathtaking World #188 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 NAGAS OF LUANG PRABANG

nagas-of-luang-prabangNagas are multi-headed dragons who rise up to protect the former royal capital of Laos, Luang Prabang. The city along the Mekong River has been the center of Lao culture since the 600s. The Kingdom of Laos, “Land of a Million Elephants,” had to struggle for centuries to avoid being absorbed by the empires of Siam and Khmer (Cambodia). It was the French who wrested Laos from Siam (Thailand) in the 1890s, giving it independence in 1953.

For centuries, devout Buddhists have been building beautifully ornate shrines and temples called Wats here in Luang Prabang. Every day at dawn, hundreds of red-robed monks living in the Wats parade through the city streets for donations. Since the Pathet Lao seizure of power in 1975, moving the capital to Vientiane, Luang Prabang is free of politics, preserved as a religious haven and treasure house of Laotian culture.

A few days here is not to be missed. As you enjoy a glass of good French wine at a riverbank café watching the sunset over the Mekong, give thanks to the Nagas who are still protecting this sanctuary city. (Glimpses of Our Breathtaking World #24, photo ©Jack Wheeler)

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HALF-FULL REPORT 05/19/23

conquest-of-ceutaPorto, PortugalPrince Henry the Navigator (1394-1460) is famous for launching for launching Europe’s Age of Discovery. Here in this city where he was born, he is revered for more than that.  He is immortalized in this gigantic painting of over a thousand azulejo tiles at the city’s São Bento train station for, at age 21, his conquest of Ceuta in Morocco.

Ceuta on the African side of the Strait of Gibraltar was a Moslem pirate haven notorious for conducting slave raids on the Portuguese coast to enslave Christians in the name of Allah.  Here Henry is shown in victory over the Moslem slavers who are surrendering their swords and bowing in submission to him.

Portugal remains proud and confidant of its history as tragically America is no longer.  Today, America has been overrun by a ruling fascist elite intent on enslaving us.  Today, Americans are in desperate need of a Prince Henry or a large number of them to rid our country of their menace. Who might that be?

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SKYE’S LINKS 05/18/23

colorful-flowers-windmillGovernment Falsehoods and AI Malinvestments.

We Have Been Here Before.


Today's Skye's Links continues our discussion of energy and the terrible malinvestments made to save the planet. The technology cannot work as promised because of undeniable physical science, material resource, and financial constraints.

Various smooth-talkers are demanding the United States nationalize and then triple the capacity of the electrical power grid to fit intermittent solar and wind's 24-hour needs. It won't work because it cannot work, while the balance of the grid becomes less reliable by the day.

Remember the efforts to ban natural gas appliances? At the root, the plan is to deny the escape hatch created by home emergency generators fueled by natural gas, creating a Cloward-Piven energy crisis.

Immigration is now entirely out of control, and Texas Governor Abbot has his own Cloward-Piven strategy to move migrants to blue cities. While New York and Chicago have received a tiny fraction of the immigrants flooding Texas, the blue city systems are so brittle that they fail from a feather. Politics in New York and Chicago cannot withstand substituting the new preferred minority for the old minority, and things are getting hot.

It was not just the CDC and NIH that lied outright about Covid, but the FBI, DOJ, and the rest of the government knowingly pushed the false Trump Collusion narrative. They did this to expand institutional power at the Constitution's and the nation's expense. The Durham report is 300 pages of shame and dishonor. It names the names, including Obama and John Brennan, as masterminds working to elect Hillary and Xiden. And, of course, their massive supporting casts.

AI technology is very good with language but less with math, science, and idea generation. The core technology predicts words likely to follow a query using trained databases. ChatGBT can use, in theory, up to 32,000 keywords at once to refine its work product. Google taps out after eight keywords. But whatever is asked, it relies on the user having a correct premise to define a problem. So far, it is excellent with standardized tests such as the LSAT, but it must search for existing information to generate solutions. This characteristic makes errors self-reinforcing and a potential investment advice disaster.

Money flows into AI ventures faster than any investments in history, yet armies of poorly educated minimum-wage workers are training the programs. Their worldview and politics are being baked into the cake.

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THE TEXICAN STANDOFF

MATAMOROS, Mexico — For two red-hot weeks, this Mexican city across from Brownsville, Texas was the hottest spot for the massive flood of illegal immigration on the southern border.

But no more, thanks to a very unique, forceful and controversial Texas intervention of Gov. Abbott’s that looks to become a long-term influence on national immigration policy.  When DHS’ Mayorkas suggested the Texas operation was illegal and under review by the Department of Justice, Abbott doubled down.

This is an extraordinary story unfolding before our eyes. Here is my eyewitness report.

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DO WE GET TO HANG ALL THE LIARS NOW?

hanging-liarsFederal prosecutors last week announced the indictment of U.S. Representative George Santos (R-N.Y.) on a host of charges, including misuse of federal campaign funds and wire fraud, almost all of them resulting from his pathological lies.

Certainly, Santos deserved the attention of prosecutors for lying on federal documents and affidavits that may have helped him win a congressional seat as well as personal lucre.

Are federal and states prosecutors now setting a new moral and legal standard by criminalizing Santos’ lies? If true, congratulations—it is long overdue.

Now can we please extend the long arm of the law to reach far beyond a bit player like Santos?

Why not reboot with the really big liars? Their lies far more undermined the integrity of our key agencies and indeed our national security.  Let’s start with Obama’s CIA Director John Brennan, and work our way through a long list to The Big Guy, the greatest prevaricator of all.

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