When I think of ANZAC Day I think of my late Great Granpa.
Read more: As a young Patriot, I pay tribute to the men who fought for my right to live
“The American press, once the guardian of democracy, was hollowed out to the point that it could be worn like a hand puppet by the U.S. security agencies and party operatives….Disinformation is both the name of the crime and the means of covering it up; a weapon that doubles as a disguise.” — Jacob Siegel
How’s the war going? Huh?
Do you mean the war over in Ukraine?
Or the US government’s war against its own people?
It is not often that a hero can also be a larrikin and vice versa. But John " Scotty " Simpson was such a man. A deserter who found himself thrust into the horror of Gallipoli instead of implementing his plan to jump ship in England
John Simpson Kirkpatrick was an Englishman of Scottish parentage who wanted to get away from his wife.... so he joined the Merchant Navy in 1909. In 1910 he deserted from his ship when it was docked at Newcastle in Australia. He led an itinerant lifestyle as a cane cutter, coal miner and various jobs on coastal merchant ships. He also became a left wing activist with The Industrial Workers of the World. Hardly the stuff of heroes.
But he went on to become a hero.
Read more: Simpson and his Donkey - a larrakin who became a Gallipoli Hero
They say that things aren't what they used to be. One area where that is particularly true is children.
As a lad of a mere 90 years young, I look back on my own childhood and think that I was fairly spirited and independent, in thought and in action.
But I am a pussycat in comparison to one young Australian boy named Lennie. Yes, I remember when kids were tough. But this boy makes me humble.
Over recent years, ANZAC Day was subsumed by the Coronavirus lockdown and we were denied the right to celebrate it and honour our Diggers in the usual way by government decree.
As the day approaches it looks like this year it may be subsumed again by the furore of The Voice.
Either way, I expect that we will still get the usual collection of the bearded unwashed telling us how wrong we were/are for participating in any war because we should be celebrating peace.
These angry shots are not the first, nor will they be the last salvos we ordinary grateful citizens will be subjected to by this ignorant element in our society. Ignore them and roll with the punches.
Over the centuries, we have learned so much about the strength of the human spirit. That incredible ability to triumph over adversity, whether it be physical, emotional or mental agony... or all three at once.
As Easter is uppermost in our thoughts, so too is the concept of war. That conflict that drives us to delve deep and draw upon reserves that we often did not know we had.
Some time ago I had occasion to watch a movie called " The Ideal Palace. " It was based on the true story of a man in France, Joseph Cheval, (19 April 1836 – 19 August 1924) who built a " palace ' for his daughter, Alice.
Read more: A Story of Rebirth after Death and 33 years of Struggle
I dedicate this article to the women who fought, died and tragically were lost.
Alongside the brave men who did the same.
I dedicate it to the women who kept the wheels turning on the farms and in the mines and in the factories and in the family homes.
There is great equality in life and in death. But nowhere as great as in the love we feel in our hearts.
I was brought up around boats. My late Dad was a sailor with the Royal Navy and later with the Royal New Zealand Navy. Nothing weird about that except, like many sailors in those days, he couldn't swim.
Still, that was what he did as a young man during the latter years of the Second World War when he decided that he wanted to sail off, see the world, and hopefully be home in time for dinner.
CAN SOCIETY BE designed? Can an expert engineer alleviate people’s pains and struggles with a good-enough central plan and blueprint?
Minoru Yamasaki thought so.
The Pruitt–Igoe urban housing project, a 1950s effort to revitalize 'urban blight' in St. Louis, was a project doomed from the start—and the "one big failure" of Minoru Yamasaki's distinguished architectural career.
The MS is condemning and/or taunting Trump given he chose Waco as the site of his latest rally.
Waco on the anniversary of the Waco Siege of 1993 between the Branch Dividians and the ATF/FBI.
Given the span of time, the changing dynamics, and a greater insight into our government, the Waco Siege takes on a different story.
Read more: Waco Texas – A Botched FBI Siege: Cleanup in Aisle 47
On ANZAC Day we remember the fallen, the brave, the heroic. But behind every name…
132 hits
Magic happens everywhere and goodness, wonder and delight can be found alive and well throughout…
77 hits
How many people around the world have been warning about the danger we are in? …
93 hits
Two names. Two battles. One legend. At Chunuk Bair and Lone Pine, ANZAC soldiers faced…
339 hits
It has been truly said that Australia arrived in Gallipoli as six separate States and…
294 hits
By Roderick (Whiskers) McNibble, Investigative Reporter Extraordinaire The Ratty News Foreign Desk | Special Report…
288 hits
There are men who live great adventures and there are men who write about them.…
328 hits
When life collapses and the weight of grief threatens to bury us, we have two…
317 hits
He was short, wiry, and came from the dusty outskirts of Clermont in rural Queensland.…
380 hits
As the sun rises on another ANZAC Day in less than two weeks, and an…
235 hits
Some memories shimmer in the mind like a heat haze, half mischief, half magic. This…
238 hits
For over five years now, this blog has grown into more than just a place…
237 hits
In a stunning turn of events, Roderick “Whiskers” McNibble - microphone-wielding rat and founding fur…
299 hits
How did it happen? How did a failed artist and fringe political agitator rise from…
289 hits
What happens when the battlefield goes silent....but the war doesn’t end? When soldiers come home,…
384 hits
John B. Calhoun’s “rat utopia” experiments of the 1960s, designed to be paradises with unlimited…
287 hits
Throughout history, religion has been hailed as a guiding light, a beacon of morality and…
318 hits
In a fast-changing Australia, where new cultures and identities weave fresh threads into our ever…
270 hits
When I was a young lass, I was a fencer. No, not the farming type…
295 hits
By Roderick (Whiskers) McNibble, Ratty News Investigative Correspondent Heard Island, Antarctica - A once-quiet expanse of…
385 hits
In a world obsessed with competition, the most powerful alliances are often overlooked, those between…
298 hits
Fear has always been the most powerful weapon of control, whether wielded by governments against…
273 hits
On a chilly October night in 1938, millions of Americans huddled around their radios, unaware…
250 hits
The exact origins of April Fools’ Day remain unclear, but historians have traced it back…
284 hits
In 1653, Oliver Cromwell stormed into the Rump Parliament and, with a fury that still…
346 hits
They didn’t need guns, tanks, or barricades. The revolution came silently.... through legislation, compliance, and…
279 hits
By Rodererick Whiskers McNibble, Chief Investigative Reporter – Ratty News In a week of shocking…
337 hits
At first glance, trees seem the epitome of urban charm, offering shade on sweltering summer…
360 hits
When our leaders and politicians sign us up to these global accords, declarations and agreements,…
345 hits
In the 1950s, thalidomide was hailed as a medical breakthrough - a safe sedative that…
265 hits
For as long as humans have walked the earth, the issue of abortion has existed…
355 hits
Throughout history, political leaders have risen to power with grand promises of reform, stability, and…
316 hits