THE MATTERHORN OF THE HIMALAYAS
This is Ama Dablam – “Mother’s Necklace” in Sanskrit – famed by climbers and trekkers as the Matterhorn of the Himalayas. Standing 22,349 ft, the favored climbing route is the southwest ridge, which you’re looking at face on. It towers as sentinel above the Tengboche Monastery of Nyingma (Red Hat) Tibetan Buddhism, and the famous trek to Everest Base Camp (EBC).
We were at EBC this morning, and shortly later flew by Ama Dablam in our expedition AS350B3 helicopter at 20,000 ft. It is from this altitude you can see the summit of Everest. And yes, that’s Everest on the left of the photo. In the shadow is Everest’s southwest face, in the sun the east face, the southeast ridge between them is the climber’s route to the summit. Breathtaking only begins to hint of what it is like to experience such a sight. (Glimpses of Our Breathtaking World #202 photo ©Jack Wheeler)
KEEPING YOUR SANITY BY NOT SHAMING YOUR FRIENDS
For many years psychological research tended to use guilt and shame interchangeably, which made it hard to see the very different qualities of each. But we know a lot more about those differences now, and they are substantial.
Guilt is associated with accepting responsibility. Shame, on the other hand, compels us to avoid responsibility, and makes us worse people.
Shame is a more primitive emotion than guilt. Guilt is a more sophisticated emotion that involves more complex thinking and problem solving.
With guilt, we feel bad about something that we’ve done. With shame, we feel bad about who we are. So let’s get to the practical point if this…
THE BARBARY APES OF GIBRALTAR
These are the only wild monkeys in the entire continent of Europe. Originally from the Atlas Mountains of Morocco and named for Moroccan Berbers, they stowed away on various ships of Portuguese, Spanish, and Arabs centuries ago and made themselves at home on the Rock of Gibraltar.
Although locally called apes as they are tailless, they are a kind of monkey called a macaque. There are some 300 living on the Upper Rock today in five “troops.” Originally looked after by the British Army under an Officer of the Apes, their health and population is now managed by the Gibraltar Veterinary Clinic.
They stay contentedly up on the Rock and are rarely seen down in the town below. You can approach them and seem to love to pose for photos, but don’t get too close. These are wild critters and may bite if alarmed. With that caution, you’ll have no problem, and enjoy being around them. One more thing that makes a visit to the Rock of Gibraltar so fascinating. (Glimpses of Our Breathtaking World #245 photo ©Jack Wheeler)
FLASHBACK FRIDAY: WHAT DO YOU SEE HERE?
A young boy playing among rocks on a stream, yes. But where? I took this photo in a nature park in Pyongyang, North Korea.
Gives you a different perspective, doesn’t it? This young North Korean boy, how so innocently playing amidst beautiful streams and waterfalls, has no future except to grow up to be a human robot in subjection to a tyranny. He has no idea of the fate in store for him. That’s why, for me, this is one of the saddest pictures I have even taken.
Perhaps he will escape from his political prison, but the odds are gravely against him. Life does have its somber moments. (Glimpses of Our Breathtaking World #244 photo ©Jack Wheeler)
THE OVAL OFFICE VAMPIRE
HALF-FULL REPORT 12/02/22
What’s really unbelievable is they insist on force-feeding it down the throats of little children: Over 70 Per Cent of Children Aged 7-12 Now Afraid of Climate Change.
Which illustrates that the Number One Crime being committed across America today is Criminal Child Abuse. E.g.:
It’s for bulls-eye good reason that, on Monday (11/28), former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo specified who the most dangerous person in the world is:
SKYE’S LINKS 12/01/22
Narrative Control.
It's All They Have.
And They Will Fight to Keep It.
This week we look at a number of links that appear disconnected at first but, upon a deeper examination, reveal the struggle between the forces to create and control the single world narrative on everything, and the centripetal forces pulling it all apart.
Testimony to Congress has shown that our government was really just winging it during Covid. There was little science but a lot of bureaucratic turfism and careerism. The result was widespread economic destruction, personal losses that will never be recovered, and trauma to children that will last their lifetimes. Careerism among our elites is laid bare for all to see.
Elon Musk has bet his fortune that centralized narrative control is failing as institutions from Washington to Beijing to the corporate campus are found to be inauthentic and residing on a throne of lies.
The Fourth Turning might very well turn out to be a global struggle for authenticity.
Please join us at Skyes’s links, and share your insights.
THE MONTE PALACE GARDENS OF MADEIRA
The island of Madeira in the Atlantic some 320 miles west of Morocco was first discovered, uninhabited, by Portuguese explorers in 1418. It has been a part of Portugal ever since. In the 1600s it became renowned for its Madeira wine, with English wine makers settling there and exporting it to England and the American colonies. The English consul Charles Murray built a beautiful estate, "Quinta do Prazer", Pleasure Estate, high above the capital of Funchal, which by the late 1800s was converted into the Monte Palace hotel.
100 years later, Portuguese entrepreneurs developed the property into one of the most spectacular tropical gardens in the world, with lakes, waterfalls, and exotic tropical plants turning it into a fantasy wonderland. You can spend hours wandering around relaxing and luxuriating in this peaceful paradise. Which is just what we do whenever we are here. We’ll be here again early next summer. You should plan on being with us. (Glimpses of Our Breathtaking World #243 photo ©Jack Wheeler)
A KHAN, AN EMIR, A SULTAN!
Is this the all-powerful potentate of a remote exotic Khanate, Emirate, or Sultanate hidden in the deep recesses of an unknown corner of Asia? Wielding his mighty sword ready to bestow a knighthood on those who please him or decapitate those who don’t?
Could be – he looks ready to do either, doesn’t he?
Or is it me, dressed up as a Khan, an Emir, a conquering Sultan, just for fun? Your call.
Whatever you decide, this photo was taken in the fabulously exotic ancient Silk Road Oasis of Bukhara in the heart of Central Asia not long ago. And to have this same photo of yourself, come with me when I plan my next Central Asia expedition soon. You’ll have one of the great adventures of your life if you do. (Glimpses of Our Breathtaking World #184 photo ©Jack Wheeler)
BIDEN MUTE AS PROTESTS DEMAND FREEDOM AROUND THE WORLD
What does the United States stand for? With Joe Biden in the White House, absolutely nothing.
Apparently, we don’t stand for freedom. As brave citizens in China desperately protest that country’s heinous lockdowns and censorship, a spokesman for the Biden administration says that the White House is “going to watch this closely.”
We don’t stand with women’s rights. Violent and widespread protests in Iran over the killing of a young woman arrested for not wearing a hijab haveresulted in hundreds of deaths. All Joe can do is mumble about “standing in solidarity” with the protestors.
Yes, the Biden administration has stood up to Russia after Vladimir Putin’s unprovoked and despicable invasion of Ukraine. But, only to a point. Heaven forbid we actually declare an intention to help Ukraine win the war – a goal never once expressed by our president.