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MONGOLS FROM BYZANTIUM

Dr. Jack Wheeler June 8, 2026

Image by Grok

[This Monday's Archive was originally in TTP on June 9, 2007, 19 years ago to (almost) the day.It closes in hopes that by reading it, George Bush’s successor would understand the reality of Putin’s Russia. Obviously Obama never did. Today, we must hope that Donald Trump does.]

TTP, June 9, 2007

Here's one key in unlocking the mystery of Putin and Russia continuing to pick fights with the West instead of accepting the invitation to join it in a post Cold War world.

Pope John Paul II traveled to dozens of countries around the world, yet never Russia. After the collapse of the Soviet Union, the Vatican made numerous attempts to persuade the revived Russian Orthodox Church to invite him. The attempts were always rebuffed.

Yes, you have a gangster-KGB elite running the country and the economy. Yeltsin's biggest mistake was not breaking the KGB's power when he had the chance in the early/mid 90s. So it took over with a KGB colonel (Putin) in charge.

That's how we have the richest mafiacracy in history, with Putin The World's Richest and Most Dangerous Gangster having amassed a personal fortune in excess of $20 billion.

Yet the KGB-ification of the Russian government doesn't fully explain the more fundamental cultural disparity between Russia and the West. That lies in the Russians being Mongols from Byzantium.

HADZA – THE LAST OF THE FIRST

Dr. Jack Wheeler June 10, 2026

Humanity – Homo sapiens – began evolving from our Homo ergaster hominid ancestors in East Africa around a quarter-million years ago. In all that time since, only one group of us is directly descended from those first of us, still living in East Africa, practicing the original nomadic hunter-gather lifestyle of countless millennia, their DNA unrelated to any other people on earth, their language unrelated to any other.

They are the Hadza. It is with good reason anthropologists call them “the last of the first” – for there are less than a thousand of them left as cattle-herding and farming tribes continually encroach on the hunting grounds they need to survive.

The Hadza men hunt with bow and arrows, the Hadza women gather roots, tubers, fruits and berries. They have no villages. Living together in bands of 20-30, they encamp in small shelters of boughs and leaves wherever the men have killed an animal like an eland (their favorite), warthog or some baboons, make a fire (the ancient hand-twisted stick method) and feast on it until it’s time to move and hunt again.

They wear animal skins, supplemented with clothes they trade for with nearby tribes like the Datoga. They love to sing and dance around the campfire. They smile easily and laugh freely. The only metal I saw them have was Datoga-made arrowheads and knives traded for, and a couple of pots for cooking. It’s hard to imagine a more utterly basic and simple existence. Yet they live a far happier, purposeful, and satisfied life than a great, great many of our species elsewhere.

The Hadza live around Lake Eyasi on the floor of the Great Rift Valley at the base of the Serengeti Plateau in Tanzania. It’s in the deep South Serengeti where our Wheeler-Windsor Safaris are during the late Birthing Season of February-March before the Great Migration begins. You witness the most extraordinary wildlife spectacle on earth. Can you imagine seeing 200-300,000 wildebeest stretching across the Serengeti as far as the eye can see?

No picture does that justice, so you focus on the individual, like this mommy cheetah watching her cub’s reflection in a small pool.

Here is where humankind began amidst this primordial scene. And the Hadza have been here since that very beginning. It is such a privilege and honor to be with and learn from them. It is having life-memorable experiences like this that we aspire to give those who go on safari with us. (Glimpses of Our Breathtaking World #288, photo ©Jack Wheeler)

THE STANDARD OIL OF NUCLEAR

Stephen McBride June 9, 2026

Rockefeller built the world's greatest fortune not by drilling for oil but by turning crude into fuel. Standard Nuclear means to do likewise, with a fuel so advanced it can't even release radiation.

A single uranium pellet the size of a gummy bear contains as much energy as 140 barrels of oil. It’s the cleanest, safest energy source known to man.

No one who knows what they’re talking about disputes this.

So why don’t we have nuclear-powered everything?

In short: We buried a miracle in paperwork. Since the 1970s, building a new reactor has effectively been illegal in America. It required $30 billion and 15+ years in regulatory hell.

I bring good news. In my many travels, I’ve met the world’s best nuclear entrepreneurs (yes, that’s actually a real thing now). I’ve now known many of these guys for a while and have become friends with them. This was the first time they’ve ever said the following to me (and they all agreed):

“Regulation is finally becoming a solved problem.”

One founder said his microreactor (a small nuclear reactor, or “SMR”) could be up and running next year.

So let’s talk about the “problems” remaining with nuclear. What do we do with the waste? And how do we get fuel? We’ll meet the entrepreneurs coming to the rescue on both.

NEWSOM BROKE HIS PROMISE ABOUT FIRE MANAGEMENT

Christopher F. Rufo, Shawn Regan, and Kenneth Schrupp June 10, 2026

Last year, in the aftermath of Los Angeles’s devastating wildfires, California Governor Gavin Newsom promised to speed up “critical” wildfire-prevention projects.

Newsom issued an emergency proclamation to “cut bureaucratic red tape” and “fast-track critical projects,” including brush clearance, forest thinning, prescribed burning, and other forms of fuels reduction.

“These are the forest management projects we need to protect our communities most vulnerable to wildfire,” Newsom said last spring. “[W]e’re going to get them done.”

We filed a public records request to discover whether Newsom is keeping his word. As of last month, the Newsom administration had fast-tracked fuels-reduction work on roughly 87,000 acres of land. But internal records we obtained from state fire authorities indicate that state-approved organizations had completed projects totaling about 781 acres—less than 1 percent.

These numbers are disastrous. The governor’s office insisted that these projects, which are part of the state’s larger wildfire-prevention efforts, were “critical” and would help “protect communities from catastrophic wildfire.” The documents we obtained, which concern the fast-tracked projects, reveal that the Newsom administration has failed to protect the state.

What has put so much of California at risk to burn? In part, the state’s environmental rules.

JUNGLE JUSTICE: THE TRIBAL DISMANTLING OF WESTERN LAW

David DeMay June 11, 2026

In 1991, I had the unique opportunity to host three foreign exchange students from the United Arab Emirates at my home in South Florida.

It was a fascinating window into a culture fundamentally different from our own.

Having previously served as a Peace Corps Volunteer and Instructor of Biology at the University of Liberia (1972–1975), I was intensely curious about the social frameworks that shaped different civilizations.

In West Africa, the traditional system of dispute settlement known as the palaver bears a distant resemblance to a filibuster. Both sides talk, negotiate, and marshal support. The larger and more influential the factions involved, the more likely the matter ultimately rises to a chief or clan elder for resolution.

One evening, discovery came through a casual conversation. One of the students mentioned he had three mothers. Fascinated by the logistics of a polygamous household, I asked what it was like growing up with so many siblings and mothers under one roof.

His answer was strikingly direct.

“It is simple. There is strength in numbers.”

He explained that in the traditional world from which his culture emerged, the group with the greatest numbers usually prevailed in conflict. Maintaining a large family was not merely family planning. It was protection, influence, and survival.

At the time, I viewed his answer as a remarkable piece of sociological insight—a window into an ancient, clan-based worldview. Thirty-five years later, I have come to see it differently.

THE ISLAMIC ETHNIC CLEANSING OF THE JEWS

Matt Field June 10, 2026

A famous photo of Yemenite Jews traveling by foot to Israel in 1949.

The German ambassador to Egypt works out of a house that used to belong to a Jewish family. So does the Swiss ambassador. So does the American one. The homes were confiscated in 1956, when the Egyptian government declared, in a proclamation read aloud from the minarets of Cairo and Alexandria, that all Jews were Zionists and enemies of the state.

The families were given one suitcase. They signed documents “donating” everything else to the government. Then they left. The houses are still there; the families are not.

This is where the argument about Israel begins — not in Europe, but here.

There is a story told about Israel with remarkable confidence in universities, at the United Nations, in the opinion sections of newspapers that should know better. The story goes like this: European Jews, traumatized by European persecution, arrived in a land populated by indigenous Arabs and established, by force, a settler state. European guilt. European migration. European power. Colonialism wearing a Star of David.

The story requires you to ignore the majority of Israelis.

HAVING THE BEST OF BOTH WORLDS

Joel Wade June 9, 2026

[TTP: We’re changing things up here a little bit and moving Dr. Joel’s time slot (day slot?) from Thursdays to Tuesdays. This will keep a “news” slot in each day, and inject his particular wisdom into your week earlier to save you grief rather than later to rescue you from it! So, here is the follow up on Introvert benefits that he promised you in his last article.]

People who are extraverts - people who are more sociable, who like to be out, talk, and interact with other people, and who gladly put themselves out into new situations - tend to be happier than people who are not.

That's great for those who, by temperament, happen to be extroverts. But what if we are not naturally extraverted? We can still improve our overall happiness by doing extraverted things.

The delightful truth is that, from simply taking more extraverted actions, our overall happiness grows about the same as if we were naturally extraverted.

If you tend to be an introvert, if your natural comfort is to be more solitary, shy, or quietly inward, there are significant strengths to this that I’ll discuss in a moment. But you can get some of the benefits of an extravert, as well, by practicing certain skills; then you can have the best of both worlds.

FEED YOUR BRAIN – PART 3

Interview with Durk Pearson and Sandy Shaw June 11, 2026

Dedicated to the memory of Skye who was Durk Pearson

[TTP: This is Part 3 of a series begun on May 28^th and picks up right where Part 2 left off. If you haven’t read Parts I and 2, yet, please do Here (1) and Here (2). This is a transcribed interview with Will Block that was recorded just three months before Skye (Durk Pearson) passed away. Long-time TTPers will recognize Skye’s distinctive voice as he explains how to feed our brains!

EDITED: Links to recordings with Durk about Mind™ and Lift™ were left out of Parts 1 and 2, so we are including them here. Sorry for the omission! ]

WILL: What about dopamine?

DURK: Dopamine is closely related to noradrenaline; dopamine is involved in memory and motor coordination and it’s also involved importantly in reward. Whenever you do something that makes you feel good about doing it, that is due to release of dopamine. In fact, the reason that opiates are rewarding is that they cause the release of dopamine in part of your brain.

You might think, then, that everything that is going to give increased amounts of dopamine is going to be potentially addictive. The answer to this is, “No, it isn’t,” and for a very simple reason. The dopamine can be made from tyrosine and phenylalanine, so when you take our phenylalanine plus cofactors you’re able to make more dopamine, too.

And why isn’t this addictive?

FLASHBACK FRIDAY – THE SHRINE OF SHAH-I-ZENDA

Dr. Jack Wheeler June 12, 2026

The Shrine of Shah-i-Zenda left an indelible memory upon me when I was first here on my first exploration of Central Asia in 1963. It is one of the many medieval wonders of the ancient Silk Road Oasis of fabled Samarkand. Preserved through the centuries, it is still here in all its glory. Come with me this September to experience it and so much else, like the Pearls of Shing, the Mountains of Heaven, and camping with Kirghiz nomads, in the mysterious and magical heart of Central Asia.

(Glimpses of Our Breathtaking World #201 photo ©Jack Wheeler)

THE CHURCH OF SAINT JOSEPH OF ARIMETHEA IN IRAN

Dr. Jack Wheeler June 11, 2026

In the early 1600s, some 150,000 Armenians fled persecution from the Ottoman Empire to settle in Isfahan, Persia under the protection of Shah Abbas. There they created an extraordinary trading network that stretched from Amsterdam to Manila, becoming prosperous in the process. This enabled them to build extraordinary Armenian Apostolic Church cathedrals – Armenian Christianity being one of the oldest Christian denominations originating in the 1^st century AD.

Here you see the Armenian Apostolic Church in Isfahan, built in 1606 and dedicated to Saint Joseph of Arimathea, the disciple who took Jesus’ body off the Cross. The Armenian Quarter of Isfahan remains populated by thousands of Armenian Christians today who may freely practice their faith, albeit strictly within the confines of their neighborhood and never beyond. Nonetheless, it comes as a shock to see this in present-day Mullah Iran. (Glimpses of Our Breathtaking World #262 photo ©Jack Wheeler)

THE MONSTER OF SEFAR

Dr. Jack Wheeler June 9, 2026

Charlatans like Erich von Daniken convinced many gullible readers of his books this “monster” was of an alien in a space suit. Real archaeologists know it’s of an ancient tribal shaman, to be found among the greatest profusion of prehistoric rock art on earth over 10,000 years old in a remote plateau of the Algerian Sahara called the Tassili n’Ajjer.

There are no roads – you must climb up here with pack mules carrying your supplies. No one lives up here, it’s uninhabited. You’ll be among spectacularly gigantic rock formations with over 300 huge natural rock arches, so geologically unique it seems unworldly. In the center of Tassili n’Ajjer known as the Tadrart is a vastly deep gorge, like a knife sliced open the mountain. Clamber down to the bottom and you will discover a forest of 2,000 year-old Saharan cypress trees – yes, a forest in the Sahara, remnants of when the Sahara was green millennia ago.

My son Jackson and I explored here in 2003. Perhaps it’s time to be here again. (Glimpses of Our Breathtaking World #28 photo ©Jack Wheeler)

193

Dr. Jack Wheeler June 8, 2026

Azeitao, Portugal. Ereyesterday, Saturday, I was privileged to be among 103 “UN Grandmasters” who have been to every single country in the world – all 193 Member States on the UN. There are other states of course, whose membership is blocked by another: Taiwan by Chicom China, Kosovo by Serbia, Somaliland by Somalia. Most of us like me have been to those as well.

We are a rare group, about 180 in all out of 8 billion. You can imagine how cool it was for Rebel and me to among them with all our stories and experiences to share. Everyone has such an enthusiasm and joy for being alive and exploring our planet. We can’t wait for our next gathering! (Glimpses of Our Breathtaking World #316 photo ©Jack Wheeler)

TRUMP SETS NEW WORLD RECORD BY WINNING WAR WITH IRAN 27 TIMES IN ONE YEAR

Babylon Bee June 12, 2026

WASHINGTON, D.C. — President Donald Trump set a new world record this week by winning the same war with Iran for the 27th time this year, shattering the previous record of one.

According to White House officials, Trump first won the war with Iran in February. However, the war started again the following week, but was quickly won, and Trump has continued winning the war multiple times since.

"No one thought we could win the war so many times," Trump told reporters. "We won it very strongly. Then we won it again bigly, and then we won it even more. Frankly, nobody has ever won the same war this many times. It's incredible, many people are saying historic, what we're accomplishing."

Guinness World Records awarded Trump with a special plaque commemorating the prestigious record for winning the most wars against the same country in a single calendar year.

"It's an honor. What can I tell you? It's a great honor," Trump told reporters as he humbly accepted the long-sought-after award. "I've been gunning for this one a long time, and it finally paid off, let me tell you. Lots of people were talking about it. They said, ‘You can't do it. No one will fight America enough.' But they weren't thinking about Iran. Iran really made this possible. The great people of Iran. I love them, but I had to keep bombing them so I could lock down this record. It's a beautiful record, and I don't think anyone will ever beat it."

News outlets struggled to keep up with the pace of developments, as the war keeps being won in more efficient fashion. "The United States has achieved total victory over Iran today, signaling — wait, I'm being told the United States has just begun a war with Iran," said news correspondent Jay Beverly. "The nations are trading strikes with no sign of any offramp, deadlocked in... wope, I'm being told the United States has just won the war. Again."

Sources from the Department of War announced they had started saving time by permanently installing a giant banner reading "MISSION ACCOMPLISHED" on wheels that can be rolled out whenever needed.

At publishing time, Trump had won the war with Iran three more times.

~ Babylon Bee reporting.

HALF-FULL REPORT 06/05/26

Mike Ryan June 5, 2026

From Ballots to Lasers: A World Repriced

California’s June 2 primary signals a political system that is still structurally Democratic, but no longer politically static. Under the top-two system, the governor’s race is shaping into a competitive November contest, with Republican Steve Hilton and Democrat Xavier Becerra effectively tied at the top. Down-ballot races, including Los Angeles mayor, show similar disruption, where incumbents remain strong but outsider or nontraditional candidates are increasingly able to break through. The underlying trend is not a partisan realignment, but a modest rightward shift driven by cost-of-living pressure, governance fatigue, and voter responsiveness to competence framing.

Overlaying the political movement is a structural change in campaigning itself. The 2026 cycle marks a turning point in the use of artificial intelligence as a production and distribution engine for political messaging. Campaigns and affiliated networks are now generating high-volume, low-cost, highly adaptive content at a fraction of the cost of traditional advertising infrastructure.

This compresses what used to be a capital-intensive system into a lean, software-driven process. The effect is to speed up narrative cycles and weaken institutional gatekeeping.

At the same time, the broader geopolitical and technological environment is moving through parallel stress tests. In the Middle East, negotiations continue under the shadow of intermittent conflict, with the Strait of Hormuz, nuclear constraints, and sanctions relief forming the core bargaining space, while Lebanon remains a volatile secondary front tied to Hezbollah’s role as an Iranian proxy.

In warfare more broadly, directed-energy systems and autonomous drones are beginning to reshape the cost structure of military power, favoring defenders who can destroy cheap systems without expending expensive interceptors.

In space, the New Glenn launch failure introduces schedule and infrastructure setbacks for NASA’s Artemis program, increasing reliance on alternative providers and tightening the margin for lunar logistics.

Across domains, the unifying pattern is the same. The old order is being taken down by AI-driven competitors. China sees the threat.

Come on over to this week’s HFR and see how the world is being repriced.

THE TOLERATION OF EVIL

Dr. Jack Wheeler June 1, 2026

[The following article is an abbreviation of a report I wrote for the Freedom Research Foundation, issued on March 25, 2002. Its relevance today is underscored by the Israeli Government voting to expel Yasser Arafat from Israel and Israeli Vice-Premier Ehud Olmert calling for Arafat's outright assassination.]

TTP March 25, 2002

It is impossible for the ordinary human mind to fully grasp the evil of Joseph Stalin. He purposefully engineered the starving to death of over ten million people in Ukraine. In terms of mass murder, Stalin's Ukrainian Holocaust was an even greater crime than Hitler's Jewish Holocaust.

Millions more were hauled off to be enslaved and die in the Gulag, or tortured and shot for the slightest suspicion of anything Stalin was suspicious of. Many of his closest deputies were ordered to put their parents, wives, or children to death to prove their loyalty.

Yet this tyranny, this monstrous evil, is not a mystery. Evil exists, deeply embedded in certain human souls. That isn't mysterious; it is a basic fact of human society. The true mystery is why and how such is evil is tolerated. Stalin tyrannized the Soviet Union for thirty years. In all those years, there is not one single known attempt on his life. Not one.

Which then, is the greater depravity: Stalin killing people, or no one killing him? The former, of course. Evil itself is the greater evil -- but toleration of it is the greater mystery.

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