As President-Elect Trump is days away from returning to the Whitehouse, I pondered a man who may have applauded his victory and his ambitions to make America Great Again. Both men ran as outsiders to politics, appealing to voters disillusioned with the traditional political establishment.
Ross Perot was best known as a maverick billionaire and two-time U.S. presidential candidate He was one of the most successful third-party candidates in American history.
But what a lot of people don't know is that he also played a remarkable role in a daring rescue mission in 1978. This lesser-known part of his life, dubbed "Operation Hotfoot," (Help Our Two Friends Out of Tehran) illustrates Perot's determination, ability to think under pressure, and commitment to those under his care.
I am not a fan of maggots. Let us be clear on that from the outset. Horrible little squirmy things. Writhing and thriving.. .
I do not care who ( or WHO ) tells me that they are full of protein and eating zee bugs will make me happy, I am not eating one.
Read more: Maggots: Miracle Medics, Sheep's Nemesis, and the Protein Snack Nobody Asked For
Australia's White Australia Policy was a set of laws designed to restrict immigration by people who were not of European origin, especially targeting Asians - mainly Chinese - and Pacific Islanders. Those laws aimed to maintain Australia as a predominantly white, British-style society.
The roots of the policy trace back to the gold rush era of the 1850s, when thousands of Chinese immigrants came to Australia seeking prosperity. Their success in the goldfields primarily resulted from them taking all available ground, leading to tension with European miners and culminating in violent protests such as the Buckland and Lambing Flat Riots.
In response, the Colonies (now States) imposed taxes and other restrictions targeting Chinese arrivals. By the late 19th century, labor unions opposed low-wage competition from Chinese workers in industries including furnituremaking and market gardening, further fueling support for restrictive immigration laws.
Read more: The White Australia Policy - Blackbirds and Cuckoos
In recent years, it has been fashionable to be Woke.... fashionable to be " gay ", " transgender ", " black ", " climate change aware ", vaxxed " and vegan.
Nothing appears to stop these dedicated disciples from following the latest fashion trend of being completely dedicated to being complete dickheads in order to gain approval from the social media trolls, leftie luvvies and the woke brigade.
If mutilating your teenage body to become accepted is the latest fashion, thousands of young people are jumping on the bandwagon. If gluing yourself to a road will get applause from your online chums, then do it. After all, who can blame you? You are simply a dedicated follower of fashion.
On the 10th of January 2011, a catastrophic deluge unleashed an unprecedented "inland tsunami" across Toowoomba and the Lockyer Valley, leaving a trail of devastation in its wake. Torrential rains transformed creeks into raging torrents, sweeping away cars, homes, and lives in a matter of minutes. Entire communities were submerged, as families clung to rooftops, desperate for rescue. With over 20 lives lost and countless others left homeless, the disaster became one of Queensland's darkest chapters, a stark reminder of nature’s unyielding power and a day I will never forget.
" A 3-metre wall of water came without warning, tearing through Toowoomba — Queensland’s largest inland city — when rain of “biblical proportions” fell on already soaked earth after months of record-breaking falls across the state "The inland tsunami swept through Toowoomba, washing away cars, damaging buildings, picking up water tanks, and thrusting people into the torrent. "
I will never forget the day. It had been raining in Toowoomba. It had been raining across much of Queensland and everywhere was soggy. The rain had been falling steadily all over the state and I had no idea just how bad things were about to get.
Read more: Inland Tsunami: The Floods That Changed Lives Forever
Read more: The Mysterious Case of Nigel Farage, Tommy Robinson and Elon Musk
Newsflash! :
In an unprecedented turn of events, the United States has officially completed the purchase of Greenland, renaming it “Orangeland” in honour of, as President Donald Trump explained, “its bold potential and my favourite colour.”
The announcement came after a top-secret, high-stakes negotiation involving billions of dollars, a lifetime supply of spray tan for Danish officials, and a signed agreement to name every other iceberg after Elon Musk.
“They couldn’t resist the deal - it was tremendous, the best deal in history,” Trump declared during a press conference held aboard Air Force One, which had been repainted bright orange for the occasion.
Read more: Newsflash: America Buys Greenland, Rebrands It as “Orangeland”
Once upon a time, universities were temples of learning....hallowed halls where the pursuit of knowledge trumped everything else. Now?
They’ve morphed into bustling bazaars, hawking degrees like street vendors selling knock-off handbags.
Leading the charge in this academic garage sale are international fee-paying students, the golden geese whose eggs are starting to crack under the weight of greed and shortsightedness. It is fast becoming a comedic tragedy and a modern day fiasco.
Knowledge was once sacred and the faint scent of aged books lingered in the air, a new aroma now dominates: the unmistakable whiff of money. Specifically, international fee-paying student money. It’s the academic equivalent of a sugar rush - lucrative in the short term but disastrous in the long run.
In the 1889-1892 pandemic, the Russian or Asiatic Flu killed more than 1,000,000 people worldwide, and today is thought to have been caused by human coronavirus OC43, so WuFlu was and is nothing new.
Entire cities throughout Europe shut down, including postal services, banks and trains.
Even the Courts were closed, but unlike today Zoom was not available.
Death was rife in London, Paris, Vienna and Berlin.
Members of royalty died, including Queen Victoria’s grandson Prince Albert Victor aged 28, who was second in line to the English throne.
Enter the Carbolic Smoke Ball.
Imagine the joy of discussing life's great mysteries or the simple art of cooking a chicken with someone you've never met, whose face you've never seen, whose voice you've never heard.
This is the essence of online anonymity, a digital echo of the old-school phone calls with characters like my very own " Chicken Man. "
But now, our governments are stepping in, proposing laws that could censor these very conversations. If they can control our online chats, what's to stop them from listening to our phone calls next?
This move threatens the very fabric of our digital community, where anonymity allows for open and sometimes free-range exchanges.
Let me tell you about one such phone call when I met a free-range Chicken Man before the government wanted to listen in and cook our goose......
Read more: From Chicken Man to Censorship: The Internet's Anonymity Under Threat...What Next?
The Marshals have moved in. The posses are out in force. The lynch mobs are around every piece of tumbleweed, ambush alley or Acme shed. And by the way, Martial Law is different from Marshal Law. But in this case, is there much difference these days?
No one is safe from the hanging tree if you are white, heterosexual, conservative and can still have a laugh. Hell, even the black conservatives are in the firing line.
In a world where political correctness tiptoes on eggshells, navigating the fine line between being offended and being offensive has become an art form.
All I can say is no wonder the chicken crossed the road. She hoped it would be safer on the other side. Only it isn't. Because to get to the other side means you have to cross a highway of laws, hate speech accusations and lawsuits. The poor chicken rarely makes it. And, if she does, she is roasted for giving a cluck.
Every joke these days is reported to a moderator on social media because someone was offended. It seems to me that to laugh these days, is offensive.
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