THE GREEK GODS OF SICILY
The Ancient Greeks began settling in the Mediterranean’s largest island around 750 BC. They called it Sikelia, after the Sikani and Sicel tribes that lived there. They flourished, building numerous cities, all with temples to their Olympian gods. The city of Akragas – now called Agrigento on the south coast – grew to a population of 200,000 by the 500s. It was here that the Greeks built the most outstanding examples of monumental Greek architecture that still exist today.
Along a ridge outside the city, they erected temples to Zeus, Hera, Heracles (Hercules) and many others. The one you see here the Romans called the Temple of Concordia (harmony), for by the time they showed up in the 200s, the Greek name was lost. In the foreground lies a remnant of a bronze statue to one of the Greek gods – perhaps Apollo. The glory that was Greece has been gone with winds of millennia. It can be a very emotional experience to be here.(Glimpses of Our Breathtaking World #248 photo ©Jack Wheeler)
WHY LEFTISTS AREN’T CAPABLE OF SURVIVING ECONOMIC COLLAPSE
In two years or less, our system, which is already dealing with a number of threats including high prices and supply chain instability, will not remain functional in the manner most people are accustomed. If we accept this inevitability, we must then ask a logical question:
Who is going to rebuild? Whoever inherits the mantle will either bring America back to freedom and prosperity, or plunge our society into perpetual tyranny. It all depends on who survives the crisis.
One thing that gives me some hope is the fact that leftists as a sub-group of our population are completely incapable of surviving a major economic crisis event.
This is not to say that I wish them all to die; I’m only pointing out the reality that most of them won’t make it because they are ill equipped to handle a calamity. Here are the reasons why a post-collapse world would probably be devoid of common leftists:
PUTIN ON THE WANE
Putin’s annual marathon end-of-the-year press conference has been canceled, as has the traditional “direct line” with carefully trained audiences, and his constitutionally prescribed annual address to the Federal Assembly has been postponed indefinitely (RTVi.com, December 15).
Speculation discussed by many watchers-in-exile is that Putin does not want to hear even slightly uncomfortable questions and cannot find a positive or reassuring theme for his typically pompous address (Svoboda, December 15).
This is primarily due to unfolding failure of his invasion of Ukraine, exemplified by such ridicule as:
LETHAL BEAUTY
Want to get this close to a leopard – and safely? Come with me on a safari in Africa and I’ll show you how. Yes, she’s lethal – to the animals she hunts, not you. Yes, you can make such lethal beauty an indelible part of your life.
We really do only live once on this Earth. You really do owe it to yourself to make the most of it. You really can’t take it with you. It really is time to live your dream, to fill your soul with life-memorable experiences. Life lasts but a snap of the finger.
So what adventures have you always dreamed of? Let me know and maybe you and I can make them become real together. I’m only an email away: [email protected]. (Glimpses of Our Breathtaking World #204 photo ©Jack Wheeler)
THE PILLARS OF HERCULES
On either side of the entrance to the Strait of Gibraltar there are two small mountains known since great antiquity as the Pillars of Hercules. The pillar on the northern, European side is the famous Rock of Gibraltar. That on the southern, African side is Mount Abyla, Phoenician for “lofty mountain.”
The legend for the Phoenicians, Greeks, and Romans was that Hercules pushed the two pillars apart to join the Mediterranean with the Atlantic. We think today of Hercules as a comic-book bodybuilder, while the truth is opposite. The entire ancient Mediterranean world very seriously worshipped him. For the Phoenicians, he was Melqart, King of the Earth. For the Greeks, he was Heracles, Divine Protector of Mankind. He was the same for the Romans, who pronounced his name as Hercules.
The Phoenician trading port of Abyla has a history of 3,000 years, from Phoenician to Carthaginian to Roman to Byzantine to Christian Visigoths to Islamic Berbers to Portuguese – and since 1668 to Spain, which continues to govern it today as the Spanish Autonomous City of Ceuta on the Mediterranean coast of Morocco.
Ceuta is a charming European city with beautiful beaches, open air cafés with great sangria, very relaxed and pleasant. It is here you find the statue of Hercules separating his Pillars commemorating the legend pictured above. Easy to get to with high-speed ferries from Algeciras near Gibraltar, Ceuta is definitely worth your while to experience. (Glimpses of Our Breathtaking World #137 Photo ©Jack Wheeler)
KEEPING YOUR SANITY BY FINDING THE BEST WITHIN US
Nevil Shute (1899-1960) was my mom’s favorite author. He mirrored her sense of optimism and perseverance, so for me they are a kind of time capsule, with an emotional quality and a spirit of life that I learned, in part, from her.
If you have never read him, you’re in for a treat. Not just because they’re great stories; I recommend them for the sense of life they convey.
Nevil Shute’s stories are about ordinary people doing extraordinary things.
Crises have the effect of forcing us to do things that we would otherwise not have done – for better or worse. We can have talents, strengths, and abilities that lie dormant unless and until we are challenged with an unavoidable problem to solve.
We all need this message in the troubling times all of us are facing today.
FLASHBACK FRIDAY: EXPLAINING THE WORLD WITH A SHRUNKEN HEAD
Back in 2007, I gave a talk to a small group of conservatives in Washington DC. It was recorded by C-Span. I hope you find it informative and entertaining. My talk lasted 26 minutes, the rest is Q&A, during which I was asked good questions. Enjoy!
WHITE HOUSE LIT UP WITH SYMBOL OF RELIGIOUS CULT
WASHINGTON, DC — The White House was lit up with the colors of a fanatical cult this week, officially signaling the Biden Administration's establishment of a new state-sponsored religion: Same-Sex and Tranny Worship. The move has received both widespread applause and serious concerns about the First Amendment implications.
Mainstream media sources hailed the move as a significant victory in the crusade for inclusivity and acceptance of all people, except for anyone who disagrees, in which case dissidents should be removed from society. Critics, however, questioned whether the adoption of an official national religion violates the First Amendment.
"Establishing a religion in no way violates the Constitution's mandate that the government not establish a religion," said White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre. "Any questions regarding this issue will be considered bigoted, racist, and other horrible things I can't think of right now."
At publishing time, the Biden administration was believed to be in discussions to require all churches in the country to follow suit and be lit up with the same colors in a show of solidarity with the new State Religion. Babylon Bee reporting.
HALF-FULL REPORT 12/16/22
Commie scumbag John Brennan, Obama’s CIA Director who was in charge of the Deep State/Twitter/Facebook et al war on Trump, Russia Hoax, Hunter Laptop suppression, and Dem theft of the 2020 presidency, ticked off the wrong guy.
Musk knows he has a lever that can move the world – that’s why he spent $44 billion buying it – and he plans to use it to kill off the Woke Mind-Virus.
There’s a lot of good news this week, like two silver linings right now. The first will make you smile, the second… a belly laugh.
There’s a Hurray! for two true American ladies you should know about this week. And one for the winner of this year’s Nobel Peace Prize. And another for a beauty queen turned deadly sniper known as her country’s Joan of Arc.
Here w go – lots to enjoy in this week’s HFR!
THE DEATH OF PAN
At the foot of Mount Hermon in northern Israel you find the Grotto of Pan, the Greek God of Nature, where pilgrims came from all over the ancient world to worship. Remnants of the huge Temple of Pan are here, together with the cave grotto where he lived when not at Olympus. The spring that gushes forth from the grotto is one of the sources of the Jordan River.
If Pan was ever disturbed, he would groan so loudly it would cause anyone who heard it to “panic” (panikos in Greek) – the origin of the term. Loudest of all was his last. The legend is that with the advent of Christianity replacing belief in the Olympian Gods, Pan died for lack of worshippers, emitting a death groan of agony from the mouth of the cave you see here so loud and terrifying it was heard throughout the Mediterranean. It’s a beautiful and peaceful place today. (Glimpses of Our Breathtaking World #51 photo ©Jack Wheeler)