When you think of a cuckoo, do you think of a clock? You know, the ones from Germany, where a cuckoo pops out and greets you with a cheerful welcome? Time is ticking and it is nearly midnight folks.
Let me tell you a little about this strange little bird. It is rather sneaky.
It lays its eggs in the nests of other birds leaving those unwitting innocents to rear the imposter as one of their own. The cuckoo thrives and eventually throws the other baby birds out to die.
Many of the older generation know the saying whereby someone is a cuckold, referring to a man who unwittingly rears a child, thinking that the little one is his own.
Well, I think we have been cuckolded and, if things don’t change, we will continue to be thrown out of our homes and left to perish.
Read more: The Cuckoo's Nest... the Cuckoo Clock.... and it is about to strike midnight....
If Monkeypox is the new COVID and the WHO release their lockdowns and compulsory vaccinations, where will we be as a society? All on board or, as Bush Barbie would say, Nah,Yeah, Nah. It is just another round of sabotage from the left.
About another round of isolation, lockdown and postal voting. More blackmail and strong arm attempts to break us. From our governments across the world.
Last time many trusted them.
Today ? Not a show in hell. Hell, I no longer trust anyone apart from the few who no doubt feel the same way as I do.
Unless you are a brain dead multi vaxxed card carrying member of the " next vax I will get a free tofu burger" you are not likely to fall for the vax hoax a second time. We are over it. As a clean skin, I tend to venture into that land of reality. I treat many things with great circumspection.
Read more: Social Lepers and Leprosy... We Cannot Go Back to Those Days
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? The Weasels have taken over and Toad Hall is conquered because we were all too busy being nice and playing on the river of life.
Are we asleep at the wheel?
Recently, I have 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: Weasels at the Wheel.... Has Toad Hall Been Taken Over?
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 over 2000 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.
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.
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.
Between the “Scrap Iron Flotilla” and “the Rats of Tobruk,” turning insults into a point of pride was perhaps a running theme for the allies.
Like many other ancillary formations of our armed services in WW1 and WW2, the Scrap Iron Flotilla has not received the same acclaim as the Rats of Tobruk. That does not undermine in any way the exploits of the Rats but it is a pity that these vital supporting formations seem to be easily forgotten as prominent objects of our remembrance celebrations.
The Scrap Iron Flotilla was an Australian destroyer group that operated in the Mediterranean during WW2.
Its story is synonymous with the Rats of Tobruk. It was the means of supply to the beleaguered town under siege between 10th April, 1941 and 7th December, 1941.
Its name was conferred on it by Dr.Goebbels, the German propaganda minister intending to demean and undermine morale of the five Australian ships that made up the flotilla. As happened with the conferring of the name “Rats of Tobruk” on the garrison troops by Lord Haw Haw, instead of depressing morale it spurred them to greater acts of defiance. Neither understood the make-up of the Australian character.
Read more: The Scrap Iron Flotilla - The Story of the Tobruk Ferry Service
There was a time when our currency from every country reflected the pride in our national history. The same with stamps. It was pictorial record of who we were. It was something we saw every time we opened our wallet or sent a letter. Now? No letters and no cash if the government has their way.
How many of us look at our currency? These days, not so much. Digital currency is all the rage. But there was a time when a great woman was on the Australian $5 note. There are remarkable individuals whose tireless efforts leave a mark on society. Caroline Chisholm was one such visionary who dedicated her life to championing the underdog.
She is off the currency now, and has been replaced by an image of parliament in Canberra. So let us look at who has done more for helping the Aussie Battler: Caroline Chisholm or Parliament?
As I said, these days, how long has it been since you had a $5 note in your wallet? But next time, you look in your wallet, look at the images on your money. And wonder why they were honoured.
Apparently, today, Canberra is more worthy of honour than Caroline Chisholm.
So who was she?
Read more: There was a time when our currency reflected our pride in our national history.
“We came here today to raise our voice against something that is beyond politics”
Yes, the Serbs are angry. They value food for their families over money for mining companies.
Nationwide protests are underway in Serbia following the government's decision to revive Rio Tinto’s controversial lithium mining project in the Jadar river valley.
In the last 20 days there have been protests against Rio Tinto and mining in 30 cities in Serbia. Clearly, the Serbs are not fans of Rio Tinto or mining one of the most productive agricultural areas in the country.The western Jadar river valley, one of Serbia’s main agricultural hubs is responsible for around 20% of total agricultural production in Serbia.
Unfortunately it also has rich deposits of lithium. Jadar is estimated to contain 10% of the world’s reserves of lithium, the primary raw material for the production of the batteries that power electric vehicles.
On 6 and 9 August 1945, the United States detonated two atomic bombs over the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. The bombings killed between 150,000 and 246,000 people, most of whom were civilians, and remain the only use of nuclear weapons in an armed conflict.
As 15th August ( the surrender by Japan in WW II ) approaches one can anticipate the usual diatribes from the unwashed and soy-latte sets lecturing us on how bad we were in 1945 to drop the atomic bombs on Japan. None of these know-alls were even alive in 1945 so whatever they have to say comes from their collective backsides.
Britain, Germany and the USA were all working to become the first to master nuclear fission. Thankfully it was America who won.
The American effort began in 1939 when Albert Einstein wrote a letter to President Roosevelt setting out the possibilities and predicted consequences of unleashing nuclear power. Einstein, a German born Jew, left Germany to study in Zurich and renounced his citizenship in 1896 to avoid compulsory military service.
Today, throughout the world, people are facing homelessness. Too many refugees, too many migrants and nowhere near enough houses for everyone.
Having a home is so important. It is fundamental to our sense of self and sense of belonging. It took me back to a time, about 35 or 40 years ago when I was starting out in real estate sales.
The first thing was being given the listing of the unsellable house. It is something that happens when you are new on the job: you are given a listing that no one else wants.
My unsellable house was a cracker. It had lime green shag pile carpet; a bright orange kitchen and covered in wallpaper with bold patterns of mission brown and orange. The toilets were red. Outside, there was a huge collection of garden gnomes. And I mean huge.
It had been on the market for years and as soon as people saw the large collection of garden gnomes, they would not venture inside. The few that did waded through the shag pile green carpet into the kitchen, shook their heads and said " Move on. "
Read more: A Home is not a Home without a Gnome - a story about an Unsaleable House
When I was a kid, I used to go to the movies on a Saturday morning. Or, as my late Uncle ( Mum's brother ) used to call it, The Flicks. Others called it “ The Pictures “ or “ The cinema” … no matter, we went to see a movie and it cost a shilling. In fact, I had friends who called it the Flea House, though I never really understood why.
We would all sit down in our seats, the lights would dim and a movie of a Lady on a horse would appear. We would stand up for the Lady on the horse and sing about saving the Queen. Only after we had sung about how wonderful she was and how important it was that we love our country, only then, could we sit down again and wait for the lady with the ice creams to come around.
It was magical. The crowded theatre; the Lady on the horse, the lady with the ice creams and the lady with the torch that led latecomers to their seats.
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