Read more: Chaucer's Travels - Chilling Out
When war broke out on 3rd September, 1939 there was no mad rush of support for the causes espoused by Britain or for Poland and other occupied European countries. Americans were very much of a mind to remain out of any European war. There was no universal feeling of kinship towards Britain and there was, in fact, quite a lot of sympathetic support for Hitler.
The second most common language spoken in the USA at the time was German and to cap it all the Neutrality Act prevented any engagement, let alone involvement, by Americans with any belligerent country. That included Britain and France as well as Germany.
Amongst all that however, there was a core of sympathetic support for Britain and an eagerness by those who had learned how to fly to enter the fray. Among the various means of getting around the rigours of the Neutrality Act was to cross the border into Canada and proceed from there.
It was September 15th 1940 . An auspicious day. The Allies had faced enormous adversity In June 1940; the Wehrmacht had overcome most of Western Europe and Scandinavia.
At that time, the only major power standing in the way of a German-dominated Europe was the British Empire and the Commonwealth.
There had been dark days and days that were increasingly full of light from the daylight raids on Britain from the German attacks that were set to test the resolve of the British people.
The Prime Ministers of Canada and, most recently, New Zealand, have assured their nation’s citizens that they had never forced anyone to get vaccinated, despite their years-long, well-documented support for vaccine mandates.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Prime Minister Chris Hipkins are joined in their eleventh-hour rewrite of history by Pfizer executives who said in a recent Australian Senate hearing that “nobody was forced to have a vaccine”.
As citizen journalist Rebekah Barnett has quipped, “We are at the ‘no one made you take it, it was your choice’ stage of the pandemic.”
Read more: 'We didn’t force you; we just took away everything until you consented'
Our elected Government Representatives are defying our wishes and importing terrorists. They are importing people who are bleeding our taxpayer funded social security.
Our Government is destroying our culture, our Religious foundation, and our rights to speak freely and go shopping without being frightened of being shot, blown up or our throats cut with a knife. Or having to wear a mask or be jabbed with poison.
Our homes are being invaded. Our rights are being invaded. Our culture is being invaded. Our liberties are being invaded. Our judicial system is being invaded. Our history is being destroyed and our language is being stolen. If you want to know who the stolen generation is in 2023, it is the many generations of Australians who have fought and slogged their guts out to create an Australia for which many of us were very proud. Stolen, yes, stolen, by our Government of whichever side is in power at the time.
Read more: Be Worried. Really, Really Worried. Everything is Broken
Last week, I discussed the role of America in the defence and defense of the allies in the lead up to World War II. When, thanks to the back-up of American production, Britain was able to fight the threat from its enemies. As the war progressed, the allies were facing greater threats and assembly lines were needed to keep the allies armed.
On 7th December Japan attacked the American base at Pearl Harbour, Hawaii. Tension between the two countries was extreme and had been rising for a long time starting with the American disapproval of the Japanese Army behaviour in China. As a sanction, America progressively denied supply of materials to Japan until it reached breaking point with the complete embargo on oil supplies without which Japanese industry could not operate.
Japan was well aware of the American vulnerability of weak defenses and there was strong support within the military to invade California. The decision not to invade was due entirely to the fact that it was known that there were many guns in the hands of the civilian population and California was very far from Japan which made supply a logistical nightmare.
Read more: God Bless America - Episode 2: The Eagle Takes to the Sky
The town of Longreach in Western Queensland, Australia has had a tough time of late. Their much-loved paddlewheeler, the Pride of the Murray, had sunk to the bottom of the Thomson River. Fortunately, she has been raised from the muddy waters and is now getting a much-needed cleanup.
One of our readers has also been keeping us updated on a feel-good story about an emu family wandering the streets of town. Australia does not have an official national bird, but unofficially, it is widely accepted to be the emu. This impressive bird is pictured on the national coat of arms alongside another of Australia's most peculiar animals, the red kangaroo. Emus are the second largest bird in the world.
So it was with horror that I read that two teenage girls deliberately ran them over, killing two of the chicks.
Read more: The Emu War 2023 - Don't pick a Fight with your Coat of Arms
The saying "Off with their heads!" is famously associated with the Queen of Hearts character in Lewis Carroll's 1865 novel "Alice's Adventures in Wonderland." In the story, the Queen of Hearts frequently utters this phrase as a threat to anyone who displeases her. She is known for her extreme and arbitrary sense of justice, which often involves ordering executions.
The Queen of Hearts' catchphrase reflects her authoritarian nature and has since become a symbol of irrational and arbitrary authority.
Read more: Off With Their Heads! The Queen of Hearts is no fairytale - she is our worst nightmare
Read more: CHAUCER’S KITCHEN - Manifestly " Provoketh’ Venus "... Asparagus
When I was a child, my teacher taught us the story of Grace Darling, a heroine of enormous courage. I wonder how many of us have heard her name today or know of her incredible act of heroism one dark and stormy night in 1838? It matters not what country you call home when considering people like Grace Darling. It is a story for everyone, from every background and every country.
For there are many heroes in history whose names have been forgotten and whose acts of bravery have been washed ashore on a beach and taken away by the waves of indifference.
This is our salute to one person whose name and deed should never be forgotten and, in the words of Wordsworth " "But courage, Father! let us out to sea,
A few may yet be saved."
Read more: Grace Darling - a woman whose bravery overcame a tempest.
A commenter on this site said that we are watching life through a looking glass.
This chance comment made one of our other contributors refer back to a quote from Lewis Carroll's book " Through the Looking Glass " and a quote from the Cheshire Cat.
He was talking with Alice, newly arrived in the land where insanity and nonsense prevailed. He said “we’re all mad here. I’m mad. You’re mad.” “How do you know I’m mad?” said Alice. “You must be,” said the Cat, or you wouldn’t have come here.”
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