Six years ago, fate had me stumble across a YouTube video of Mischa Maisky playing the Sarabande from Bach’s first cello suite. I don’t know why, but I decided to rent a cello with the goal of playing this song, at least badly.
I didn’t have a teacher nor any more sophisticated plan beyond that. Fate would strike again in a fit of harmonic synchronicity: the woman who would teach me appeared at the luthier the day I picked up my cello. I had no musical experience; she was a professional.
When the student is ready, the teacher appears. I had the right guidance. I practiced. By the end of the first year I could play the Sarabande badly. I had accomplished my goal, but I was hooked.
Read more: The Covid Controls, the Cello and Me
When we think of anarchy, the image that often springs to mind is one of lawless mayhem, a world without rules or structure. But what if I told you that anarchy is already with us? It is simply that the governments in the world are getting away with it and the sensible citizens among us are still trying to abide by the rules.
In fact, we are living in parallel societies. Where the rules only apply to those who follow them. The rest? Hell, it is open season for anarchy.
I am a great fan of debate: where teams representing opposing points of view argue their case and the decision is made as to who wins by casting votes for one side or the other.
But today, the votes are already cast and anarchy is already with us.
Read more: Anarchy - the Absence of government - Disorder and Confusion
A National Digital ID system will soon be foisted upon all Australians — if we let it. Our government has schemed and conspired for this for some time, and that time is almost upon us.
It will be unlike existing Digital ID. The technology will be based on the storage of blockchain-encrypted biometrics that can be securely scanned and decoded upon request. Every Australian will be required to submit a combination of their unique biological aspects (fingerprints, palm print, iris scan, DNA, face scan, etc) to a nationwide database. Once these biometrics have been gathered, they will comprise a unique Digital ID that can be routinely accessed for verification and identification purposes. You will be instantaneously identifiable everywhere; geolocated and tracked; and with all personal data harvested and analysed — every aspect of your life, health and finances will be openly scrutinized by endless AI-profiling.
What could possibly go right.
Read more: NATIONAL DIGITAL ID: Why Every Australian Must Reject It
Read more: PARIS TO LYON BY CANAL ON THE WANDERLUST II - Part 4
" We need to preserve wild spaces. Outside in the environment, but also within ourselves. The opposite of control isn’t chaos, it is reality"
I read this quote recently and it got me pondering.
What a profoundly wonderful piece of truth.
When our lives are controlled, we are meaningless. We drift from task to task, seemingly blind in achieving our objective which, ultimately, is to stay ahead of the Boss Hogs, Weasels, and Snakes.
The Battle of Long Tan took place on August 18, 1966, in the Phuoc Tuy Province of South Vietnam. It was part of Australia's involvement in the Vietnam War as part of its commitment to the United States' efforts to counter the spread of communism in Southeast Asia. The region's dense jungles, muddy terrain, and unpredictable weather added to the complexity of the conflict. The Australian soldiers were part of the 6th Battalion, Royal Australian Regiment, and were led by Major Harry Smith.
On that fateful day, a small Australian company of 108 men - 105 Australians and 3 New Zealanders - found themselves vastly outnumbered by a determined North Vietnamese force estimated to be around 2,500 strong. The Australians were based at a rubber plantation in Long Tan, surrounded by thick vegetation that hindered visibility and movement. The North Vietnamese launched an intense assault, employing small arms, mortars, and artillery fire.
Read more: The Battle of Long Tan: A Defining Moment of Courage and Tenacity
I publish this piece as a tribute to all of the modest men and women who reach their own summit ... that of surmounting the challenge to raise a family, survive the avalanche of MSM and governmental indoctrination and rise triumphant at the sunset hours and say, as Sir Edmund Hillary said " What a fortunate man I have been. "
To be able to say, as he said, " I have had much good fortune, a fair amount of success and a share of sorrow, too. Ever since I reached the summit of Everest … the media have classified me as a hero, but I have always recognised myself as being a person of modest abilities. My achievements have resulted from a goodly share of imagination and plenty of energy."
In many respects, to live a life well and know that we have scaled metaphoric mountains to arrive at the pinnacle of our personal mountain, is no small feat. Many have survived war. Too many have survived hardship. Hunger. Homelessness and or helplessness.
And you know what? We can all stand tall and know that a life worth living is a life worth having lived well.
Read more: Sir Edmund Hillary: A Life With Living is a Life Worth Having Lived Well
The Panama Canal officially opened on 15 August 1914. This date marked the completion of the canal's construction and the first successful transit of a vessel, the SS Ancon, which had been acquired by the Panama Railroad Company to haul freight, through the entire length of the canal, connecting the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans.
The Panama Canal stands as one of the most remarkable engineering achievements in human history, a testament to our ability to conquer nature's barriers and connect distant parts of the globe.
However, it took a railroad to build the canal.
The length of the Panama Canal from shoreline to shoreline is about 40 miles (65 km) and from deep water in the Atlantic (more specifically, the Caribbean Sea) to deep water in the Pacific about 50 miles (82 km). It shaved 8,000 miles or about 20,000 km off the Cape Horn route through much safer waters, and it was an immediate hit with the world's shippers at the dawn of the First World War.
The Panama Railroad played a crucial role in facilitating the construction of the Panama Canal. It provided essential transportation infrastructure that supported the movement of people, equipment, and supplies needed for the monumental task of building the canal.
Read more: The Industrial Revolution Part 2 - How a Railroad Helped Build a Canal
For thousands of years, a diagnosis of leprosy meant a life sentence of social isolation. People afflicted with the condition now known as Hansen’s disease were typically taken from their families, treated with prejudice and cruelly exiled into a lifetime of quarantine.
In America, patients were sent to separate settlements but were deprived of fundamental civil liberties: to work, to move freely and see loved ones, to vote, to raise families of their own. Some who bore children had their babies forcibly removed.
In Australia, people were exiled to quarantine facilities. Many " patients " died there.
Read more: The Disease of 2023: Social Leprosy and the Division Bell is Tolling
Throughout our modern world, we are seeing people being thrown into a battle over land rights. It seems strange to me that the welfare of the land is becoming a secondary issue to money. Much like parents bickering over who gets custody of the kids. It is no longer about the land. It is about the money. The power. Control.
And the people who prosper? Well, it's not really black or white, is it?
Australia is heading to the courtroom later this year in a custody battle that is turning ugly and becoming more divisive by the day. It will ultimately end in divorce proceedings and the separation of the aboriginal " mother " and the rest of us, also known as " Dad ". Without " Dad " Australia would not be the country it is today. " Up until " The Voice ", we were mucking along quite nicely and I didn't even realise that we had a problem in the marriage.
So let us have a look at how we got to this sorry state of affairs.
Read more: Land Rights and Custody Battles - It's not really Black or White
When I was young, one of my favourite books was " Wind in the Willows. " Even today, as I approach 70 years of age, I can still relate to this book and, if anything, it means more to me now than when I first read it about 60 years ago. Why do I feel that we are cruising down the river with a weasel at the helm and the " riverbank" is no longer home?
Are we asleep at the wheel?
Having become enchanted with Chaucer's adventure on the Wunderlust II, I found myself increasingly drawn back to the wonderful work of Kenneth Grahame. Written to enchant, excite and amuse, it makes me sad that children today no longer see such work in their school libraries, much less sit back in bed and snuggle down to share the joy of a tale woven out of love and the soothing pleasure of beautiful words. But, even in this lovely tale of friendship, home and the importance of family, there was a sinister threat that lurked. The Weasels.
Read more: Cruising Down the River With a Weasel at The Helm...... Are We Asleep at the Wheel??
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