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THE DANCING FOREST ON THE CURONIAN SPIT

Dr. Jack Wheeler January 6, 2025

The Curonian Spit is a 60 mile-long and skinny stretch of sand separating the 625 square-mile Curonian Lagoon from the Baltic Sea. It is jointly shared by Lithuania and Kaliningrad. The trees of one section of the pine forests covering the spit are weirdly twisted and distorted by some unknown force of nature. Their bizarre undulations have earned it the sobriquet, “The Dancing Forest.” It’s one of the as-yet unexplained mysteries of life on our planet, and a wondrous one to see. (Glimpses of Our Breathtaking World #200 photo ©Jack Wheeler)

NOTORIOUS GROOMING GANG VOTES TO NOT INVESTIGATE ITSELF

ToThePoint January 10, 2025

LONDON — Public outrage over the scandal related to allegations of ongoing abuse of children intensified in the United Kingdom this week as a nationwide grooming gang voted not to investigate itself.

Despite widespread concern over the situation and nearly unanimous calls for a national inquiry into the accusations from a growing number of whistleblowers, the grooming gang held an official meeting and voted against doing so.

"We will not be looking into the allegations against us at this time," said one member of the grooming gang. "We have heard the disturbing reports from many people who claim to have been affected by our actions over the years, but we have decided it's just not worth investigating ourselves regarding any wrongdoing. Cheers."

Though the gang has come under increasing fire with more victims coming forward, its members remained firmly against investigating their criminal conduct. "I'm afraid we're still not convinced," said another grooming gang member. "If we were to look into these things we're accused of perpetrating, we may be forced to hold ourselves accountable, and that's not something we wish to do. While we do acknowledge the seriousness of the situation, we are not willing to subject ourselves to further scrutiny."

Victims and their advocates were reportedly preparing to take the scandal to the courts before learning that members of the same gang also occupied powerful positions on all levels of the justice system.

At publishing time, the grooming gang announced that it would be launching a full investigation into anyone who questioned their decision not to launch an investigation into themselves. Elon Musk is their #1 Suspect.

HALF-FULL REPORT 01/03/25

Dr. Jack Wheeler January 3, 2025

Note who proudly posted this act of RINO political sabotage: Republicans Against Trump. Anyone who thinks this schmuck is some kind of super-patriot is seriously misguided.

The really crazy thing is that Massie is doing this just out of spite, for no one else is challenging Johnson for Speaker and all he’ll say is he wants “someone else.”

I am writing this early this morning, with the 119^th convening at Noon. As we await what happens, let’s recall how we got into this ridiculous mess to begin with. We learned how 4 weeks ago in HFR 12/06/24.

********

It’s now mid-afternoon and you know the news. It was touch and go, with the first ballot seemed to be two votes short (216), but then Johnson had a closed-off talk with the holdouts, Keith Self (TX) and Ralph Norman (SC) – no one paid attention to Massie – with a report that Johnson got them on the phone with El Donaldo.

That’s what it took, for them to change their votes to Johnson, giving him 218 for the first ballot win. So, big win for the good guys – with Massie the House Pariah.

There’s an awful lot more packed into this HFR – so get ready and dive right in our first HFR of 2025!

FREEDOM AND PEACE IN CHINA

Dr. Jack Wheeler December 30, 2024

[This Monday’s Archive was originally posted on December 22, 2005. Nineteen years ago. It is more apropos than ever, given the current headline (12/29/24): Pentagon Report: China Directs Largest Military Build-Up Since 1930s Nazi Germany. The only possible reason for this is to be a fascist threat to China’s neighbors and to us. This speech I gave in Taiwan proposes a solution to that threat that T47 might consider.]

TTP, December 22, 2005

[This is the text of a speech I delivered at Chung Hsing University in Taichung, Taiwan, December 22, 2005.]

I flew here today from Singapore. As we were flying over the South China Sea, I looked down and saw these beautiful islands – jewels of green and turquoise and white in an ocean of blue. They looked like paradise – but these, I recognized, were the Spratly Islands, claimed by China, even though they are much closer to the Philippines.

In fact, if you had an official PRC government map of China, you would see that China claims, besides Taiwan of course, the entire South China Sea as its territory, from the coasts of the Philippines and Vietnam all the way to Indonesia. 80% by value of the world’s shipping goes through the South China Sea.

The countries of Asia cannot afford to let China seize this vital waterway and build military bases in the Paracel and Spratly Islands. China has no legitimate claim on the entire South China Sea whatever – yet China is risking war with its neighbors because of this totally absurd claim.

Then the plane this morning reached the southern coast of Taiwan, and we flew along the entire length of the island to reach Taipei. As I looked down at the farmlands, the factories, the homes, villages, towns, and cities of Taiwan passing beneath me, I could not help thinking: the Communist rulers of China want to destroy all this, ruin these people’s lives, enslave them to their rule – and for what?

Because all these people want is to be left alone.

There is no possible way the 22 million people of Taiwan are a threat to the 1.3 billion people of China, any more there is no possible way China legally owns the entire South China Sea – yet China is willing to risk war merely because the people of Taiwan do not want their lives controlled and enslaved by the rulers of Beijing.

This threat of war, the gigantic threat of China to Taiwan and all of China’s neighbors, has got to come to an end. And tonight we are going to talk about how to do it.

THE NEXT AMERICAN CENTURY IS NOW

Douglas Carswell December 31, 2024

Remember when Japan was predicted to overtake America? Back in the 1980s, Japan was the coming country. One “expert”, Herman Kahn predicted that Japan would surpass America as the world’s largest economy by 2000.

Today? Japan’s economy is a quarter the size of America’s. Today, of course, we’re told that the great ascending power is not Japan, but China.

By 2021, China’s GDP was almost 80 percent that of the US and the experts were telling us China would overtake America within a couple of decades. But look at what has happened since. China’s economy has peaked as a percentage of US output.

As recently as 2008, Europe’s economy was about the same size as the United States’. Today, America’s economy is twice the size of Europe’s. Home Depot, a single US company, eclipses all the new businesses created in the European Union since 1974.

So why are Japan, China and Europe all in their different ways underperforming America? Because each are, in their different ways, reverting back to a type of political economic tradition far less successful than America’s.

And with that tradition being revitalized by the new Trump Presidency, we should be on the cusp of an extraordinary period of progress and innovation in America.

PRESIDENT TRUMP! FORGET CANADA! WE BRITISH WANT TO BE YOUR 51ST STATE!

Poppy Coburn January 1, 2025

“The Briton... should cheerfully acquiesce in the decree of Destiny, and stand in betimes with the conquering American.” So said William Thomas Stead (1849-1912), the prominent Victorian newspaperman and strident reformer.

Stead looked at Britain’s colonial apotheosis with apprehension, understanding that the growth of new great powers meant “we can never again be the first.” This feared future has since come to be. Governing the world is, for us, yesterday’s dream.

The divergence between our two nations will only become more obvious as Britain flounders under Starmerism while America faces a rebirth under Trump’s Make America Great Again agenda. In short, we’d be lucky to be granted a deal like Trump’s (semi-) humorous offer to absorb Canada into the American Union as the 51st state.

JIMMY CARTER WAS NOT A GOOD MAN

Daniel Greenfield December 31, 2024

MAGA CNN commentator Scott Jennings rails against President Carter, saying he had "a huge ego" and was a poor ex-president, despite him doing so much for the less fortunate, and he hated pomp and circumstance.
This is why nobody takes CNN seriously.pic.twitter.com/UHQdSGqCdM

— Really American ?? (@ReallyAmerican1) December 31, 2024

Upon the announcement Sunday (12/29) of Jimmy Carter’s death at age 100, a reporter asked outgoing president Joe Biden what incoming president Donald Trump could learn from Carter’s legacy. Biden had the indecency to say “Decency.”

Biden once set his sights high by trying to compare himself to FDR and JFK, now has to settle for being the second Carter.

On his way out the door, the media continues to insist that Biden is a good man. And that Carter, despite presiding over one of the worst administrations in history, was a good man.

Biden and Carter had many things in common, record unpopularity, crooked brothers, empowering Islamic terrorists, but decency was never one of them.

Joe Biden was not a good man. Neither was Jimmy Carter. Here are just a few of the reasons why.

REPUBLICANS HAVE THE SLIMMEST HOUSE MAJORITY SINCE 1931 — WHAT IT MEANS

Mike Shedlock January 2, 2025

Tomorrow, January 3, a new Congress is sworn in. Immediately after, the House must elect of Speaker.

If no one quickly wins the gavel, certification of President-elect Trump’s victory on January 6 could be delayed. Rules then would make Senator Chuck Grassley the president. With no yet President, Vice-President nor Speaker of the House, presidential succession as specified in the Constitution designates the president of the Senate, which would be Grassley.

That is possible, but highly unlikely in practice, explained below. To be sworn on tomorrow are 219 Republicans and 215 Democrats (with one vacancy). Current and Trump-endorsed Mike Johnson must have a majority of 218.

However, at least one Republican is a confirmed no for Johnson. A second no would do Johnson in. The Wall Street Journal reports How Mike Johnson Could Lose the House Speaker Vote.

PUTIN CANNOT SURVIVE ANOTHER YEAR LIKE 2024

Richard Kemp January 2, 2025

Black Swan over the Kremlin in 2025 — Black Swan over the Kremlin in 2025

As 2025 begins, pessimism about Ukraine’s fate hangs in the air and the stench of appeasement on the wind. I find myself mystified as to why, for it should be clear that the conflict has so far been an ignominious failure for President Vladimir Putin.

Unable to achieve the objective of subjugating his far smaller neighbor, he has instead inflicted enormous suffering on his own country and devastated its economy while undermining Russian prestige and strategic influence around the world.

Let us count the ways on how what was planned as a three-day “special operation” has turned into a three-year nightmare for Russia’s dictator.

CAN CHINA EVER WEED OUT CORRUPTION IN ITS MILITARY?

Bonnie Girard January 1, 2025

Try as he might, it is clear that Xi Jinping cannot rid his military of the insidious corruption that defines its workings much more than the count of warships and nuclear warheads ever can.

Another spate of Chinese military corruption cases serves as a reminder that a decades-long practice and culture of corruption continues to flourish within and among the ranks and relationships of the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA).

Recent headlines of two more Chinese generals who are being investigated by Chinese Communist Party disciplinary authorities only repeat reports regularly found over the years in Chinese media about malfeasance in the military.

Promotions come with a price tag. Even basic enlistment requires bribes. Luxury properties both in China as well as internationally are owned by the relatives of the highest-ranking PLA officers. Procurement – always risky but fertile ground for illicit dealing – is rife with backhanders, inflated contract bidding, and other forms of bribery.

FLASHBACK FRIDAY – “THIS IS YOUR LIFE”

Dr. Jack Wheeler January 3, 2025

June 15, 1961. It was quite a shock to me when I was the surprise guest on Ralph Edwards’ famous television show. My “Life” at age 17? How could that be? The show’s producers were intrigued by a recent Life Magazine story of my swimming the Hellespont as did Leander in Greek mythology (December 12, 1960 issue) that also had photos of me on top of the Matterhorn and with a Jivaro headhunter.

Without my knowing, they flew my guide for the Hellespont swim, Huseyin Uluarslan, from Turkey to LA, the same for my guide on the Matterhorn, Alfons Franzen, from Switzerland, to be on the show. Most amazing of all, they got the Chief Prefect of Police for Ecuador, Jaime Duran, to pick up Tangamashi (the Jivaro who adopted me) and his brother Naita by helicopter from their Amazon encampment, then fly them from Quito to LA.

I was dumbfounded. So there we are in the photo, left to right: Ralph Edwards, Jaime Duran, Tangamashi, Naita, a very young yours truly, and Ralph Ferguson, son of medical researcher Dr. Wilburn Ferguson who translated for Tangamashi. Quite a moment for a 17 year-old boy – and no doubt for Tangamashi! (Glimpses of Our Breathtaking World #10)

THE SCHOOL OF ATHENS

Dr. Jack Wheeler January 2, 2025

The School of Athens by Raphael (1483-1520) is one of the greatest artistic masterpieces of the Renaissance. Here you see the two principal figures, Plato on the left and Aristotle on the right. It is a classic example of the picture worth a thousand words.

Plato is pointing to the heavens and his imaginary world of Forms that didn’t actually exist, while Aristotle has his outstretched hand towards the earth – cautioning Plato to pay attention to Reality. For only in the real world can Plato’s ideals of Truth, Justice, and Virtue actually exist, expressed in concrete human action.

Raphael’s masterpiece was commissioned by Pope Julius II for a room in the Apostolic Palace of the Vatican – just as Julius commissioned Michelangelo to paint the ceiling of the Apostolic Palace’s Sistine Chapel at the same time! Raphael from 1509-1511, Michelangelo from 1508-1512.

While the Apostolic Palace is the official residence of the Pope, the part of it containing these masterpieces can be open to the public. It is one thing to see a photo of them, and quite another to contemplate them in person. Only then can you be appropriately overwhelmed by the superhuman genius it took to create them. (Glimpses of Our Breathtaking World #257 photo ©Jack Wheeler)

CLIMBING JACOB’S LADDER ON THE ISLAND OF SAINTS

Dr. Jack Wheeler January 1, 2025

Jamestown on Saint Helena in the South Atlantic is two blocks wide and a mile long in a narrow deep ravine. One of the world’s longest straight staircases, Jacob’s Ladder, was an original way to get out – 699 steps each 11 inches high – and it’s a workout.

People who live here call themselves “Saints” and pronounce their island “sent-uhl-LEEN-ah.” It’s famous of course for where the Brits exiled Napoleon after Waterloo. His residence and gardens on a high promontory, Longwood House, is preserved with original furnishings and his death bed. Dying in 1821, he was buried in a beautiful peaceful glen nearby (in 1840 he was reinterred at Les Invalides in Paris).

After climbing the Ladder and visiting Longwood, you’d want to refresh yourself at one of Jamestown’s pubs, where local Saints will be happy to hoist a pint with you. And don’t pass up a visit to the Saint Helena Distillery, the world’s remotest distillery, to learn how Head Distiller Paul Hickling makes his memorable Prickly Pear Whiskey, White Lion Spiced Rum, and Jamestown Gin – all in unique stepping stone bottles in honor of Jacob’s Ladder. (Glimpses of Our Breathtaking World #46 Photo ©Jack Wheeler)

WHERE ALEXANDER HAMILTON WAS BORN

Dr. Jack Wheeler December 31, 2024

On January 11, 1755, Alexander Hamilton was born in this home on the island of Nevis, part of the British Leeward Islands Colony in the Caribbean. It was his mother Rachel’s home inherited from her father – she and Alexander’s father, James Hamilton from Scotland, were never married. It was a scandal back then to be “born out of wedlock,” over which young Alexander triumphed.

His birthplace is hallowed as a museum with displays and photos describing his extraordinary path from a penniless orphan (James abandoned him, then Rachel died) to being one of America’s principal Founding Fathers. It leaves quite an impact on you, being in the very place where the history described actually began.

Nevis (nee-viss) is an especially beautiful Caribbean island yet less visited than it’s well-known neighbor, St. Kitts. Together, they form the sovereign nation of St. Kitts & Nevis. If it’s ever your good fortune to get to St. Kitts – make sure to take the short ferry ride over to Nevis. It has a history, beauty and charm all its own. (Glimpses of Our Breathtaking World #283 photo ©Jack Wheeler)

THE EUROPE THAT’S STILL THERE

Dr. Jack Wheeler December 30, 2024

It’s found here – the fishing port of the ancient village of Sesimbra in Portugal. 3,000 years ago it was called Sempsibriga – high place or briga of the Sempsi Celts. So much of Europe is gone now, steamrollered by modernity. Not here, where Portuguese fishermen sail out in their tiny boats for their daily catch as they have for countless generations. The best fish you’ve ever had is in Sesimbra’s local restaurants – wow, is the swordfish good.

While Portugal is a First World country with all the modernity you could ask for, it is unique not only for the charm of its history and post-card picturesqueness, but the sweetness of its people. They are simply nice in a way that’s so captivating. Their traditional family values are part of their nature. The country resonates with peacefulness, an at ease serenity. It’s the Europe that’s still there.

You can be captivated yourself by joining our WX Exploration of Portugal with your fellow TTPers next May. (Glimpses of Our Breathtaking World #284, Photo ©Jack Wheeler)

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