MOSCOW ENGULFED BY ANXIETY OVER IMPENDING UKRAINE OFFENSIVE
Getting anxious, Vlad?
Combat operations in the Donbas trenches remain deadlocked, but their diminishing intensity does not signify an impasse in the course of the Russo-Ukrainian war, which continues to evolve on the ground.
Most likely, the Russian command has tried to stockpile long-range missiles for a new series of strikes, perhaps aimed at disrupting supply routes for the expected Ukrainian offensive, possibly by hitting key bridges on the Dnipro River (Topwar.ru, April 13).
The mounting anxiety in Russia about the much-anticipated Ukrainian offensive operation constitutes the most significant change in the political context of the war, and it goes in parallel with the realization that the long-promised Russian winter-spring offensive did in fact happen — and spectacularly failing to yield any gains at enormous costs (Topwar.ru, April 10).
THE SISTINE CHAPEL OF THE EAST
The Painted Monastery of Voronet was built by Romania’s national hero Stefan the Great in 1488. A UN World Heritage Site, Voronet lies in a remote Carpathian mountain valley in the northeast corner of Romania. The entire church is covered in brilliantly painted scenes of Christian reverence.
The frescoes, with the famous “Voronet blue” made of crushed lapis lazuli, have withstood over 500 winters of wind, snow, and rain. The extraordinary back panel of the Last Judgment is renowned as the East’s Sistine Chapel (as in Eastern or Orthodox Christianity). It’s one of Romania’s many wonders. (Glimpses of Our Breathtaking World #98 Photo ©Jack Wheeler)
THE CHRISTIAN KNIGHTS OF MALTA
They look real, don’t they? Ready to defend their Christian land with their lives. We are in the Palace Armory Museum of Malta, where you realize there is no nation on earth more proud of their Christian heritage. It was on Malta in 1565 that a few thousand Christian Knights led by 70 year-old Jean de Vallette defeated in utter humiliation a massive horde of Moslem Ottomans led by Suleiman the Magnificent.
In seeking to use Malta as his launchpad to conquer all of Christian Europe, Suleiman was bitter in defeat: “This cursed island is like a barrier interposed between us and our possessions,” believing that Allah ordained all Christian lands need be taken for Islam by the sword.
Vallette knew what he and his Knights faced: “It is the great battle of the Cross and the Koran which is now to be fought. A formidable army of infidels is at the point of invading our island.”
The incredibly heroic saga of the Knights’ victory is told in The Siege of Malta, on TTP since 2009. What’s critical to understand now is that, after 5½ centuries, the Maltese people are just as proud of their history and Christian heritage as ever. So here’s the question:
What would it mean for you to come to Malta and meet such people yourself? How uplifting and spiritually thrilling would it be for you to take a break from the mental illness of the Woke Anti-Christian culture you’re surrounded by, and immerse yourself in the absolute antithesis of it?
That’s the way you’ll feel by joining your fellow TTPers to experience The Magic of Malta with me in October. Trust me, you owe this to yourself. (Glimpses of Our Breathtaking World #264 photo ©Jack Wheeler)
THE MOSLEM MYTH OF JERUSALEM
Mohammed’s “Night Journey”
[This Monday’s TTP Archives feature was originally published on December 3, 2003. The TTP Team is looking forward to your thoughts on the Forum, especially despite the irrefutable facts therein, nothing has changed in the two decades since.]
It is a commonplace in a story or article about the Arab-Israeli conflict that mentions Jerusalem to repeat the Moslem mantra that “Jerusalem is the third holiest city in all Islam, next to Mecca and Medina.”
You’ve heard this innumerable times — but how come? Just why is Jerusalem so important to not just Jews and Christians but Moslems as well?
The reason is one single line in the Koran. If it can be shown by Islamic scholars that it has been misinterpreted, then Jerusalem ceases to be a holy city to Islam.
HALF-FULL REPORT 04/14/23
Another Animal Feeding Facility Explosion
Feedlot, Food Production, Agricultural Fires
Fires and explosions seem to be breaking out throughout the meat and protein production pipeline. These have been barn burners and not just small fires.The national media is silent, the government is quiet, and the food companies themselves are silent. Heck, even Bill Gates has remained silent.
This week we will look at the Obama-era technology forced upon large controlled animal feeding operations in the name of environmental justice by an incompetent EPA administrator.
Large feeding operations for chickens, hogs, and cows must install water pollution control technologies that produce explosive methane. Yet, the mandated technology lacks a process to dispose of the methane safely.
No air discharge permits are being written to flare off the explosive gas, thanks to an EPA that has repeatedly proven out of control.
Come on over to this week’s HFR, where we will talk about food plant fires. One thing is sure – nobody else is talking about this slow-rolling crisis.
FLASHBACK FRIDAY – BRANDON AT LAMAYURU
High in the Himalayas of India in the remote moonscape of Tibetan Ladakh is the gompa (Tibetan monastery) of Lamayuru. It is older than Tibetan Buddhism, for it was originally a gompa for the lama monks of Bön, the ancient animist religion of Tibet. I took my son Brandon here on an expedition through Tibetan India in 1993. Brandon had his 10th birthday here. Behind him is the enormous statue of blue-eyed Sakyamuni Buddha in the central prayer hall.
Brandon has never forgotten Lamayuru as anyone who has been here never does. We’ll be here again this August – and Brandon will be leading the expedition. Join us for the high adventure of Indian Tibet 2023 for a true “experience of a lifetime”! (Glimpses of our breathtaking world #151 photo ©Jack Wheeler)
NOT AGAIN??!!
TANTRIC BHUTAN
The most fabulously exotic country on earth is the Himalayan Kingdom of Bhutan. The Bhutanese religion of Tantric Buddhism is here exemplified by a prayer hall wall painting of Yab-Yum – the physical union of Compassion and Wisdom. Male compassion is personified as the deity Samvara with a blue body, multiple faces and arms. He embraces his consort of female wisdom Vajra-varahi.
It is important to understand that Yab-Yum is considered a sacred act as a path to Enlightenment. It is just one example of how Bhutan may stretch our comfort zone to learn ancient ways and practices, giving us a broader perspective on our humanity. For an in-depth understanding of Bhutan’s extraordinary culture, consider joining our Wheeler-Windsor Expedition to the Land of the Thunder Dragon this November. (Glimpses of Our Breathtaking World #16 photo ©Jack Wheeler)
SKYE’S LINKS 04/13/23
Scrooge McDuck Moves to Texas
Free! Free at last! Well, not quite yet, but we may be on the way to the most important thing that has happened in America since FDR seized monetary gold nine decades ago. Get ready for a Holy Moses! moment. So calm down, get settled for first things first. Before the link below, read about the Texas Bullion Depository.
See texasbulliondepository.gov for details. Okay, now you’re prepped to read what’s below. Worried or terrified about CBDCs that eliminate cash and give the Deep State control over every dime you spend? Texas is riding to your rescue. Please study this well, and hold on to your hat:
Texas Bill Would Create State-Issued Gold-Backed Digital Currency
And what’s this about?
This Skye’s Links is a real blockbuster, so come on in to learn and enjoy!
GGANTIJA
The small European island country of Malta in the Mediterranean south of Sicily and close to the north coast of Africa is where civilization emerged from the Stone Age.
The story begins over 7,000 years ago, when a handful of Stone Age tribes in Sicily rafted 55 miles south to land on the twin islands of Gozo and Malta. They lived in caves, then huts, fished, hunted, farmed with primitive tools for they had no metal – and over a period of more than a thousand years taught themselves how to construct massive buildings of stone.
This is the Temple of Ggantija (zhee-gan-tee-zha). Built almost 6,000 years ago (around 3600 BC), it is the oldest free-standing structure in the world. It is older than the pyramids in Egypt by a thousand years, older than Stonehenge by 15 centuries. The enormous stones weighing several tons were cut from the limestone bedrock with tools of stone and antler horn for they had no metal, and moved using small round-cut rocks as ball bearings for they had no wheels.
These folks figured out all by themselves how to build this and other massive stone temples to their gods and goddesses so many millennia ago. Nobody taught them. They were the first. Be sure and see it for yourself this October and experience The Magic of Malta with Rebel and me! (Glimpses of Our Breathtaking World #166 photo ©Jack Wheeler)