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SKYE’S LINKS 06/15/23

Unpacking the Corruption


The DOJ appears to protest too much. The war against Trump is taking on an air of panic and desperation never before seen in American politics. Evidence shows that Joe Biden and his family members accepted bribes from the Russian FSB agent running Burisma.

Biden threatened Burisma and its Russian security service handlers with extortion demands, and the Russians likely could not believe their good fortune. They bought Joe Biden and his policy towards oil and gas fracking for relatively small sums. It is not yet known how extensive Biden's influence peddling is, but it must be comprehensive.

Why else would half of the United States government be so afraid of a president from outside the club? "Me think they doth protest too much”

Credibility and authenticity are increasingly valuable in this brave new world of artificial intelligence software  The DeSantis campaign made a serious blunder by creating and releasing images of Trump embracing Fauci  The error impacted future DeSantis's appeals to integrity; he scored higher than the other candidates before the mistake.

COVID-19 destroyed faith in government and created a long tail of political liability  The emphasis on the LGBT show is artificial and propped up by the government. It appears that the LGBT show is not moving the narrative away from COVID-19 as fast as desired, and businesses are becoming worried about brand destruction.

The J6 show has lost severe traction with the public as the government plan to instigate a riot within the Capital is being made  public. Capital police, FBI, Park police, and others drove the crowd into the Capital Building. The plan was to trap protestors within the building, where some could be shot and  killed. The resulting panic would cause extensive property destruction and serve as a Reichstag Fire, justifying national emergency powers.

The plan failed because partisans in government do not understand the difference between conservatives and liberals. The conservatives herded into the Capital did not become the Antifa-like mob as planned. We have serious problems within the government that must be resolved before America enters its next long-term growth cycle.

They will be resolved.

The mystery of why corporations such as Disney accept brand destruction and stay the woke course can be explained by the relationship between inflation and debt destruction. While suitable for the debtor, inflation is hard on the lender.

History contains examples where banks failed, and central banks began to loan funds directly to businesses. Nazi Germany retooled during the Depression and financed the war through direct lending. The criteria to receive funding was political, as in accepting national socialist dogma, and not based on actual financial performance. The analogy between Nazi doctrine then and Wokism today is uncomfortably close but explains why large companies are attempting to become too woke to fail.

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DRAKE AND THE SULTAN

The Spice Islands
The Spice Islands

[This Monday’s Archive was originally published on July 15, 2016.  It’s one of TTP’s Histories in a Nutshell, and I thought you’d enjoy it simply as fascinating and informative history, just to take a break from all the current lunacy we are all enduring.]

TTP, July 15, 2016 – all photos ©Jack Wheeler

Ternate, Spice Islands of the Moluccas, present day Indonesia.  I am here in the place that started the Western exploration of the world.

It was the goal of Columbus in 1492 to get here – which of course he never did with the American continents getting in the way.  Vasco da Gama decided to try the other way around Africa – which he did, reaching the southwest coast of India in 1498.

By 1512, Vasco’s fellow Portuguese made it all the way – to the fabled Spice Islands, the only source on earth for nutmeg, mace, and cloves.  Since the Middle Ages, they were esteemed by Europeans for their medicinal and culinary properties.

As such, they were fantastically expensive, especially because the Arabs had a monopoly on the overland trade routes.  Breaking the monopoly with sea routes meant unbelievable profits.  So the Portuguese cashed in.  A pocketful of nutmeg seed pods could buy you a home.  Imagine what an entire shipload was worth.

Ferdinand Magellan convinced Portugal’s rival, Spain led by Charles V, that he could break the Portuguese spice monopoly by sailing west – for by now (1518) everyone knew there was an ocean on the other side of the Americas but no one had crossed it.  Magellan did it, but was killed in the Philippines in 1521 before he got here.

So the Portuguese got to keep the Spice Islands, where they built their first fort – called Kastela – here on Ternate in 1522.  The Spanish found there were almost unimaginable amounts of gold and silver for the taking in their new colonies along the west coast of South America and forgot about the Pacific Ocean.

Fifty years later, history was about to shift.

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JOE BIDEN SELLS OUT AMERICA

jame-comer-on-foxFor the past year, the House Oversight Committee, where I serve as chairman, has been investigating the Biden family’s influence peddling schemes that generated millions of dollars for the Biden family. We are following the facts. We need to know whether these deals threaten national security and if President Joe Biden is compromised.

The Oversight Committee has already obtained thousands of pages of financial records related to the Biden family and has traced millions of dollars from China and Romania to the Biden family and their associates. Americans are asking: What is the Biden family business? They don’t sell anything, they don’t have lucrative assets generating income, yet they receive millions from around the globe. What are they selling? Influence and access.

President Biden has repeatedly lied to the American people about his family’s business dealings. Now, Americans are left wondering if Joe Biden was involved with them.

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THREE WAYS THE INDICTMENT OF DONALD TRUMP HURTS AMERICA

Former President Donald Trump has been indicted for illegally storing and hiding classified documents. As conservative radio host Steve Gruber describes it, the “bananafication” of our republic continues apace.

There are three reasons every American — even those of us not supporting Trump’s 2024 campaign — should find this further assault on the former president repugnant.

All three are glaring demonstrations of how corrupt the Biden Deep State is on a gargantuan scale.  Let’s discuss them.

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WHY DOES THE IRS HAVE GUNS?

sen-joni-ernstU.S. Senator Joni Ernst (R-IA) is again taking action against (literally) weaponized bureaucracy by leading the charge in the upper chamber to ensure the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) is not using tax dollars from hardworking Americans to arm its employees — and going beyond just that to disarm the taxman and move the IRS' investigation division over to the Justice Department.

According to an Open the Books report released last month, the IRS has spent more than $35 million since 2006 on firearms, ammunition, and tactical gear for its glorified and federally empowered accountant force, with some $10 million of that taxpayer-funded armament coming since just 2020.

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WHY CORPORATIONS ARE DOUBLING DOWN ON WOKE EVEN AS THEY LOSE BILLIONS

 “Inclusive Capitalism” – the globalist buzzword for fascist control over all our lives

It’s been a bloodbath for the majority of companies that go overtly woke in the new era of American consumer rebellion, and the establishment is not happy. Corporations like Disney, Anheuser-Busch and Target are plunging in profits and losing billions in market cap after pledging fealty to the trans agenda.

In particular, the public is setting out to make examples of institutions that support trans indoctrination of children. Simply put, a line in the sand has been crossed. With conservative boycotts far more effective than leftist boycotts ever were, the movement makes evident that the political left is a paper tiger and that conservatives and independents have the real majority power in the US.

So why are corporations actually willing to destroy the very brands they spent so much time and money developing all in the name of political idolatry.  It seems like pure madness, but what if they know something we don’t? What if they are riding out an engineered economic crisis so that they can be rewarded later with “too woke to fail” riches?

Here’s how they’re planning it.

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FLASHBACK FRIDAY – RETRACING HANNIBAL OVER THE ALPS WITH ELEPHANTS

retracing-hannibal

September 1979 – my Hannibal Expedition took two elephants over the same pass Hannibal used in 218 BC across the Alps to attack Rome. There is only one pass that fits the contemporary descriptions of both Greek historian Polybius and Roman historian Livy: The Col du Clapier on what is now the French-Italian border.

Unrecognized as Hannibal’s Pass in 1979, it is still a roadless trail today crossed only on foot or mountain bike. But since our expedition, there are now signs proclaiming it La Route d’Hannibal, and even a life-size statue of an elephant at the French village of Bramans where the track over the pass begins.

The photo you see is us climbing high above Bramans (I’m the one in front with the red backpack). It took us five days to carefully guide our elephants (from an Italian circus) over Clapier and down to the Italian village of Susa. First time in 2,197 years and never repeated 41 years since.

Hannibal’s crossing the Alps with elephants is one of the most epic events of world history. To retrace it yourself with elephants is to make that famous history a part of your life in the most uniquely powerful way. (Glimpses of Our Breathtaking World #15 photo ©Jack Wheeler)

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THE UNKNOWN RIVIERA

In the Mediterranean, experienced travelers know the French Riviera from St. Tropez to Menton, and the Italian Riviera from Ventimiglia to Cinque Terre. There is one Riviera in the Med they may not know – Albania’s. The Med has many beautiful coastlines, and just about all of them have been “discovered” by jet-setters to backpackers. Not yet, however, for Albania from Saranda in the south across from Greece’s Corfu to Vlora across from the tip of Italy’s Boot Heel.

Here you find an abundance of gorgeous coves and pocket beaches tucked away with hardly a soul there. The one pictured above isn’t even named on a map – there’s just a tiny wharf for local fishermen. Yes, the Albanian Riviera is getting discovered, with boutique hotels and nightclubs sprouting up here and there. But as for now, it’s still the Unknown Riviera, gorgeous with so much untouched. You might want to experience it before it’s overrun. (Glimpses of Our Breathtaking World #82 photo ©Jack Wheeler)

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MONGOL NOMADS ARE OBLIVIOUS TO US

mongol-nomadsThese Mongol nomads in the vast grasslands of central Mongolia milking their goats have a way of life unchanged for centuries. All of our concerns, worries and fears that plague us are totally irrelevant to them. They don’t know about them and wouldn’t care if they did.

Spending time with people such as these gives you an invaluably broader perspective of life on our planet. Our concerns, the issues that dominate our headline news, suddenly seem more parochial and far less important. An evening drinking kumiss (Mongol beer, fermented mare’s milk) in their yurts, telling stories, laughing at jokes – you realize how easy it is to relate to them through the core humanity we all have in our souls.

Exploring Mongolia in this way is a priceless adventure. (Glimpses of Our Breathtaking World #9 photo ©Jack Wheeler)

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FISHING AT DAWN IN HA LONG BAY

ha-long-bay Ha Long Bay near Haiphong, Vietman – meaning Descending Dragon – is a World Heritage Site as one of our planet’s great scenic wonders, with thousands of limestone karst rock pinnacles, towers, and islets. The most beautiful time is dawn, peaceful and serene, with small fishing boats of local villagers out for the morning catch. A few days aboard a comfortable junk cruising Ha Long will do wonders for you. (Glimpses of Our Breathtaking World #160 ©photo Jack Wheeler)

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SURREALISTIC ART IN NATURE

antelope-canyon1We’re now well over 100 Glimpses of Our Breathtaking World since we instituted this daily feature on TTP last July. So to refresh your memory of them, we’ll be sprinkling a recycle of them from now on in the series.

Our very first was Surrealistic Art in Nature, which you’ll find unsurpassed in Antelope Canyon, a slot canyon near Page, Arizona.  No artist could paint something more surrealistic than what nature has created here.  It’s a photographer’s fantasy land – enhanced by a Navajo Indian guide who knows all the best lighting and perspectives.

You can explore the world to experience the greatest wonders of nature, but they are also to be found here in the American West. (Glimpses of Our Breathtaking World #1 Photo ©Jack Wheeler)

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BIDEN VOWS TO ELIMINATE ALL JUNK FEES EXCEPT THE ‘10% FOR THE BIG GUY’

junk-fees-gone-minus-mineWASHINGTON, D.C. — As part of his administration's top priority, President Joe Biden has vowed to eliminate all junk fees, though he clarified that his customary "10% for the Big Guy" fee will remain in place for all bribes and kickbacks.

"Listen here, folks," Biden slurred as the announcement was made, "We're going to get rid of all these junk fees! The biggest problem facing the American people every day is being gouged by hotel and resort junk fees. I'm telling these places charging junk fees — stop it!"

When asked by a reporter if the reduction of fees includes waiving the "10% for the Big Guy" fee, Biden was quick to clarify. "Absolutely not," he said. "My fee will stay in effect for all illegal transactions. Weakening national security and doing favors for foreign interests comes at a price, and that includes 10% for the Big Guy. Nargonnindargit!"

Questions have arisen about whether there are more important issues facing the nation than junk fees. "I'm having trouble buying groceries for my family," said frustrated citizen Phil Brooks. "Going on a vacation or staying in a hotel isn't even an option at this point. What do I care about junk fees?"

The administration remains committed to making this the centerpiece of its platform. "The President knows all Americans are focused on junk fees," said White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre, who is a woman of color who is also a lesbian. "He will not stop until junk fees are a thing of the past, no matter how many other horrible things happen in the country."

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HALF-FULL REPORT 06/09/23

right-or-wrongChanging Metaethics


Trump was indicted over boxes of files again this week. The announcement came at just the right moment to tilt the media narrative away from an FBI informant notifying Congress of two $5 Million bribes paid to Joe and Hunter Biden.

The bribes were quid pro quo in exchange for firing a Ukrainian prosecutor and securing $1 Billion in foreign aid to Ukraine.

Trump supporters already knew this happened, as Trump was impeached for discrediting this truth.

The plot thickens as a deal was struck between the House of Representatives and the FBI; the FBI would deliver the bribery documentation in exchange for the House dropping contempt of Congress charges against Christopher Wray.

Ukraine launched its counteroffensive and immediately ran into a significant problem. Russia blew up the dam over which much of the counterattack would roll across. Humanitarian damage is terrible.

It seems that the world is experiencing a crisis of metaethics.

Metaethics, or the branch of philosophy concerned with the rightness of decisions, became utterly inconsistent this week. It seems that the great powers are pulling metaethics in different directions. Objectivists seek truth and reason, while Relativists descend into the schizophrenia of tribal affiliations. Semantics must decide whether truth comes from Divine Command, the desk of Vlad Putin…, or the source code contained within an A.I. system.

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SKYE’S LINKS 06/08/23

On Monday (6/05), several Russian TV channels and radio stations broadcast a message from what seemed like President Vladimir Putin. In the address, Putin was heard declaring martial law and ordering citizens living in the border areas near Ukraine to evacuate and seek safety deeper inside Russia.  It sure looked and sounded like Putin – and it’s true that whole towns have been evacuated in the past week or so.

Yet it’s been declared an AI fake.  Most Russians don’t know what to believe with many panic-stricken.  The lesson to us is that AI-created video fraud spread by skilled hackers is just beginning:

‘Deepfake' Putin Declares Martial Law Orders Evacuation After Russian TV and Radio Broadcasters Hacked

There’s good news, inspiring news, heads-up watch out news, weird news – and even weirder news (yes, flying saucers are real, and I explain the physics of why).  I suggest making a first pass scroll through the images to see what catches your eye, and go from there.  Welcome to a full plate of Skye’s Links!

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NO APOLOGY, NO FUTURE

Map by the Lansing Institute
Map by the Lansing Institute

[This Monday’s Archive, “No Apology, No Future,” was originally published on April 28, 2005.  18 years ago, a prediction that Russia would disintegrate as did the Soviet Union was almost unheard of.  Now it seems ubiquitous. Google Russia + collapse, +dissolution, or +decolonize will result in millions of hits.  The List of active separatist movements in Russia in Wikipedia advocating secession from Moscow will astound you. Russia is accelerating into centrifugal chaos, which won’t take TTPers by surprise, as they were forewarned many years ago.]

Budapest, Hungary, October 1997. I was in Budapest speaking to a conference of international business leaders. Another speaker was a Moscow television news commentator well-known in Russia, Boris Notkin.

He informed his audience about how humiliated Russians felt, losing their Empire and the Cold War, not winning many medals in the Olympics, and having their Mir space station go belly-up. He warned of a dangerous anti-Americanism emerging among Russians, who resentfully blamed America for their problems.

A gray-haired gentleman with a Central European accent stood up and asked Boris a question:

“In addition to their feelings of humiliation and resentment, do Russians have any feelings of remorse for inflicting Communism upon so many countries? After their defeat in World War II, the Germans apologized to the world for being Nazis and for the horrible atrocities Nazism committed. After their defeat in the Cold War, will the Russians ever apologize to the world for being Communists and the equally horrible atrocities Soviet Communism committed?”

Boris looked straight at the man and coldly answered, “No. Russians feel no remorse. They will not apologize.”

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