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TEMPUS FUGIT

tempus-fugit

Mdina, Malta. In the medieval city of Mdina on the ancient Mediterranean island of Malta, I saw this carving on a old pillar – a hourglass with wings. What better symbolism could you have for the Roman caution in Latin: Tempus Fugit, Time Flies.

Time flies for everyone, with the irony that the older you get, the faster time flies. We only live once on this Earth. Do what you dream of here and now, for you’ll never have another chance, just the one you have now. (Glimpses of Our Breathtaking World #308 photo ©Jack Wheeler)

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THE UNKNOWN SERENGETI

serengeti-migration

[This Monday’s Archive was first published in TTP on December 29, 2020. We have now operated five of these extraordinary life-memorable experiences. I am 82 now, and although I remain in good health, the sixth early next year must be my last. If you have always dreamed of making a luxury safari in the Serengeti of Africa a part of your life, and would like to make that dream come true with me as so many TTPers have, now is your chance. Especially since my wife Rebel, as the business manager of Wheeler Expeditions, is ready to make special savings for you – see below. Enjoy the photos!]

TTP, December 29, 2020

The Serengeti Migration is world famous, when the great herds of wildebeest, zebra, and gazelles are strung out mile after mile migrating from Tanzania’s Serengeti to the Masai Mara of Kenya from May through July. The migration is circular, for starting in October, the herds return.

But return to where? And from where do the great herds start the cycle anew? The answer is the Short Grass Plains of the Serengeti’s far south. It is here where, from January through March, over a million wildebeest congregate en masse as you see in the photo above, not strung out over a hundred miles. For this is their Birthing Season when the herds are replenished with new life.

A Serengeti Birthing Season Safari is unimaginably spectacular.  Over 8,000 wildebeest calves are born every day, along with thousands of baby zebras and gazelles.  Nearby adults gather around the newborn to protect them from hordes of lions, leopards, and cheetahs on the hunt.

This is by far Africa’s, indeed the world’s, greatest wildlife extravaganza – yet it remains unknown to all but the most experienced African cognoscenti.

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FLASHBACK FRIDAY – TRANS-SAHARA EXPEDITION

trans-sahara-expeditionJanuary 2003. Our campsite at dawn in the center of the Sahara called the Téneré in Niger. We found hand stone axes here 8,000 years old when the Sahara was green. Crossing the world’s greatest desert is a true expedition, one of the most astounding adventures to be had on earth, geographically, culturally, and historically. Unfortunately, it is too dangerous with lawless and ideological banditry today. I can hardly wait to do it once more when it is safe again. (Glimpses of Our Breathtaking World #70 photo ©Jack Wheeler)

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WALZ REMINDS NATION NOT ALL SOMALI RAPISTS ARE BAD PEOPLE

MINNEAPOLIS, MN — Amid national outrage over Somali immigrants in Minneapolis raping people all the time, Minnesota Governor Tim Walz held a press conference to assure concerned citizens that not all Somali rapists are bad people.

"I'm friends with a lot of Somali rapists, and they really aren't all bad," said Walz while prancing back and forth across the stage to the delight of his voters in the press. "Somali rapists are some of the nicest, smartest, most polite people I know, and many of them contribute to the economy somehow. Anyone who is prejudiced against them should be ashamed of himself or herself or theyself."

Walz's statement was interrupted by commotion in the crowd as a Somali rapist tried to rape someone.

"Ok, cut that out, this isn't the time or place," said Walz sternly. "Soomaali qurux badan baad tahay, dhaqankaaga qurxoonna waan ixtiraamayaa!"

Democrats admitted that while Somali rapists have caused some tensions among the local population, which is currently being raped, that rape was an important part of Somali culture and must be respected. "All cultures are equal," said Minneapolis DA Mary Moriarty to reporters. "I learned that in school."

At publishing time, thousands of Somali rapists were forced to leave the country to search for people they hadn't raped yet.

~ Babylon Bee reporting.

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HALF-FULL REPORT 12/05/25

Elegance, Class and Patriotism are back at the Christmas White House.  Compare that to last year’s Jill Biden Woke Cutie Pie Boy Toy Christmas Clown Show. What a relief.

And that’s not all that back by a long shot.  Stock markets (DOW, S&P, NASDAQ) have been on a continuous rise since POTUS sat once again at the Resolute Desk, and now higher than ever. Core inflation is lowest since 2020, Black Friday spending broke records, home rents are falling, gas prices are under $3 nationally, lowest since 2021.

There’s more:

Bloomberg reports that Jobless Claims Fell To Three-Year Low Over Thanksgiving.

There’s a lot more too in this HFR, insightful, interesting, important to know, really funny, and entertaining too.

So let’s go!

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TRULLI

trulliAt the top of Italy’s boot heel, there’s an ancient village named Alberobello that’s become a World Heritage Site.

This is because the villagers have preserved a prehistoric building technique with the conical roofs of their homes built up of corbelled limestone slabs with no mortar. The homes are collectively called trulli (true-lee) as each home individually is a called a trullo (true-low). Some trulli are centuries old albeit regularly rebuilt in the traditional way and maintained immaculately.

It’s a fascinating look into unique millennia-old living. Yet it is only one example of this little-visited part of far southern Italy that’s worth exploring. There’s so much more to Italy than Rome, Florence, Venice and such tourist magnets, as worthwhile visiting them may be. You’ll learn that very quickly when you start exploring Italy’s remoter regions. (Glimpses of Our Breathtaking World #255 photo ©Jack Wheeler)

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THE US NAVY SINKS THE PIRATES

target_drugboatsOn September 2, 2025, U.S. forces wiped a cartel pirate crew off the map in the Caribbean.

The target was a classic modern pirate craft—a swift, unmarked go-fast boat running low in the water, built for speed, smuggling, and violence. It was moving along one of the main narcotics corridors toward the United States when the operation commenced.

By the end of the strike, the boat was gone and all eleven cartel pirates on board were dead. It was the moment the new maritime campaign made its message unmistakable: If drug pirates tried to run the Caribbean, the United States would answer with finality.

The predictable wailing from the coastal elites and their favorite “human-rights” NGOs started before the smoke cleared. “War crime!” they shrieked. “Extrajudicial killing!” Spare us.

These were not innocent mariners. These were modern pirates—stateless, lawless, armed predators operating exactly the way Blackbeard’s crews did three hundred years ago, except instead of dealing in gold doubloons, they steal American lives with fentanyl and cocaine.

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MAKING GOOD ENOUGH CHOICES

Having choices is wonderful.

Today we have more options in terms of goods and services to choose from than any time in the history of the human race, and the options for spending money are nearly endless. This is part of the Great Enrichment I’ve written about earlier, and when we manage it well, it can contribute to our quality of life.

When we don’t manage it well, it can ruin our quality of life – even in the midst of incredible abundance.

On one end of the spectrum, we can get into trouble with our money when we don’t think enough – we spend too much on things we don’t really like once we have them. On the other end, we can devote too much time and emotional energy on making absolutely sure that we’ve bought the very best thing, at the very best price, with everything we buy.

This is where it’s essential for our happiness that we aim for making choices that are good enough, rather than trying to maximize every single purchase we make.

This is the message of Barry Schwartz’s excellent book, The Paradox of Choice.

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A CHANGPA NOMAD GIRL ON THE TIBETAN PLATEAU

changpa-nomad-girlChangpa” means “northerners” in Tibetan, the nomads who survive with their herds of goats and yaks in the 15,000-foot high plateau of northern Tibet known as the Changtang.

In 1987, I conducted an overland expedition from Beijing to Kathmandu, crossing the entire Changtang north to south. TTP’s Dr. Joel Wade was with me. Occasionally, we’d chance upon a Changpa encampment. For many of them such as this young girl holding a handful of barley meal, we were the first white people they had ever seen.

The Changpa live in one of the most remote and harshest places on earth. We can hardly imagine what life is like for them any more can they imagine ours. Being with them is an unforgettably profound experience. (Glimpses of Our Breathtaking World #254 photo ©Jack Wheeler)

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THE CIA ATTEMPTED COUP AGAINST TRUMP IS FAILING

CIA Headquarters, Langley, Virginia
CIA Headquarters, Langley, Virginia

“This isn’t just about Maduro. This is the final nail in the coffin for the CIA-black-budget narco pipeline that’s been running since the 80s.”

- The Ghost of Ezra on “X”

You must wonder: what exactly has CIA Director John Ratcliffe been doing over in Langley, VA, lo these many months since things changed bigly in Swamptopia?

Does he wander the hallways of that giant black box howling ineffectually. . . sit barricaded in his office playing sudoku. . . or is he doing what needs to be done: methodically uncovering and disassembling the diabolical racketeering operation that the agency has become?

One thing for sure: you have heard next to squat coming out of his mouth all year. Mr. Ratcliffe is playing a close hand in a dangerous game and I think that he is for-real.

The CIA, you understand, is the beating heart of the Deep State (a.k.a. the Blob). The Democrat Party and the Never-Trump RINOs are its errand boys. And that is why a ten-year-long coup has been running to smash Trump and Trumpism.

Mr. Trump is now striking at the apparatus of the CIA’s extra-constitutional power and influence: the election interference machinery that queers politics at home and abroad, and the drug cartel that furnishes the money to run CIA’s many black ops, finances the NGOs behind lawfare and gay-communist street action, and probably underlies many a congressional fortune.

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BONGINO TORCHES ‘DEEP-STATE DEVINE’

FBI’s Dynamic Duo Bongino and Patel
FBI’s Dynamic Duo Bongino and Patel

Deputy FBI Director Dan Bongino unloaded on New York Post columnist Miranda Devine yesterday (12/01), accusing her of running yet another coordinated “deep-state hit piece” on reform-minded FBI leadership.

Bongino wrote on X:

“Deep-state Devine strikes again. Miranda loves attacking our reform agenda with gossipy anecdotes from disgruntled former employees because she’s upset that her ‘reporting’ keeps falling apart under scrutiny.

You can always count on Miranda for a timed hit piece when the Director and I make big changes. Miranda prefers the old guard. I don’t. Full steam ahead.

— Dan Bongino (@dbongino) December 2, 2025

Devine’s piece centers on a 115-page so-called assessment compiled by a self-appointed alliance of active and retired agents who openly admit they were embedded during the Biden-era FBI, a period marked by DEI obsession, political targeting, Russiagate hoaxes, retaliatory investigations, and record-low public trust.

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AMONG A MILLION PENGUINS IN SOUTH GEORGIA

million-s-georgia-penguins

The Antarctic island of South Georgia is home to a million King penguins, plus countless fur seals, gigantic elephant seals, staggering numbers of seabirds such as albatrosses, amidst a backdrop of towering mountains with massive glaciers spilling off them.

Nothing can prepare you for the incomprehensible size of the penguin rookeries here, densely packed as far as the eye can see (all those white dots on the hills behind are penguins). Nor for the size of bull elephant seals weighing up to 8,000 pounds, especially when they rise up and crash their chests against each other in mating challenges emitting deafening bellows. Nor being surrounded by a thousand fur seals unafraid of you. The density of wildlife combined with the magnificent beauty of the island is completely overwhelming.

Here also is the abandoned whaling station of Grytviken where the heroic explorer Ernest Shackleton is buried. You can only get here by expedition cruise ship. South Georgia is one of the great experiences on our planet. (Glimpses of Our Breathtaking World #96 photo ©Jack Wheeler)

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UNPLUGGING THE AUTOPEN PRESIDENCY

Could POTUS’ autopen executive order debench Biden’s 237 leftist federal judges including Justice Ketanji?  It may be legally required.  And that’s only one of a multitude of consequences in Biden’s autopen illegality.

Revelations about President Joe Biden’s cognitive decline have exposed an “autopen presidency” run by unelected aides. Exclusive footage from the Oversight Project shows former Chief of Staff Jeffrey Zients and others admitting they propped up a president increasingly unable to perform his duties.

Thousands of documents—including executive orders, pardons, commutations, and judicial commissions—were signed by machine rather than by Biden himself.

On November 28, President Donald Trump declared all documents bearing Biden’s autopen signature “terminated and of no further force or effect.” He estimated that up to 92% of Biden’s official actions relied on the device, accused aides of running a “shadow government,” and warned of perjury charges if Biden denies the facts.

The Constitution (Article II, Section 3) and federal statutes (e.g., 1 Stat. 281 [1792]; 28 U.S.C. § 172; 5 U.S.C. § 2902) require the President to personally sign commissions, which must then bear the Great Seal.

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HAMAS IS COMING TO AMERICA

Mosab Hassan Yousef has seen how terrorist movements build from the inside, as he grew up the son of one of Hamas’s co-founders. Now he’s warning that jihadis are putting the same destructive game plan that turned Gaza into an Islamic terrorist cesspool into action in the United States.

In a thought-provoking and bone-chilling X post on Nov. 26, Yousef spoke out to warn Americans that Muslim jihadis are as determined to take over America as they are to take over Israel. As Hamas’s backer, the Iranian regime, always said, America is the “Great Satan.”

Jihad is not just about the guns and missiles. It is also about the educational initiatives, mosques, propaganda campaigns, and political efforts.

Yousef’s warning is particularly timely as an Afghan immigrant just gunned down two National Guardsmen in D.C., and radical pro-Hamas Zohran Mamdani won the New York mayoral election. An Oct. 7 jihadi was also recently found living in Louisiana.

Yousef began:

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LETHAL BEAUTY

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: jack@wheelerexpeditions.com. (Glimpses of Our Breathtaking World #204 photo ©Jack Wheeler)

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