- Details
- Written by: Op-Ed Blythe
- Hits: 826
“Every tyrant must begin by claiming to have what his victims respect and to give what they want. The worst of all public dangers is the committee of public safety.”
— C.S. Lewis
In 2025, we are being told, once again, that it is for our own good.
We are told to obey the experts. To trust the committees. To believe that restrictions are signs of enlightened governance. But history tells another story: one where the language of safety becomes the camouflage of control. Where fear is not conquered but cultivated. And where God is replaced, not with reason, but with rulers.
We have seen governments lock us down, isolate the elderly, muzzle dissent, and silence the young — not with reasoned debate, but with edicts. Under the guise of public safety, we are being reshaped. Social cohesion is no longer built around families, churches, or communities — but around bureaucracies, panels, and platforms.
This is not safety. This is sedation.When Governments Say ‘It’s For Your Own Good. ' rest assured, it is probably not.
Read more: Censorship, Control and Safety of the Internet - The New Tyranny of Safety
- Details
- Written by: Op-Ed Shaydee Lane
- Hits: 669
The sea doesn’t warn you. It doesn’t care who you are, what rank you hold, or how well you swim. In 1945, Edgar Harrell - a young Marine aboard the USS Indianapolis - found himself tossed into an ocean of blood, oil, and sharks.
Five days he floated. No food. No water. Just faith. When I saw the image of that ship heading into the mouth of a great white - part nightmare, part truth - I thought of him.
I thought of two boys on surfboards who once saved my life. And I thought of how, in a world gripped by fear, someone must still call out: look at the sky, stay on your back, breathe - help is coming.
I had never heard of Edgar Harrell. His name, like so many from the past, drifted quietly beneath the surface of history - until one day, a video clip pulled him into my world.
In it, an elderly man calmly recounts a nightmare: five days adrift in shark-infested waters after the USS Indianapolis was torpedoed on the 30th of July, 1945.
His voice is steady, but the story is harrowing.
After delivering components for the atomic bombs, the ship was torpedoed by a Japanese submarine. Hundreds of his shipmates were killed ... not by the explosion, but by sharks.
Read more: Into the Jaws: Faith, Fear, and the Fight to Stay Afloat
- Details
- Written by: George Christensen
- Hits: 708
National First looks into how compulsory voting shackles true democracy.
Australia likes to pat itself on the back for being a model democracy. But there’s something deeply wrong about a system that punishes you for not voting. Worse still, that very system is dragging our politics into a swamp of apathy, bribery, and hollow promises.
-
Forcing Australians to vote is undemocratic and breeds political apathy.
-
It props up a broken system where major parties bribe disengaged voters.
-
Real debate is stifled, and genuine alternatives are crushed.
-
The media and institutions steer the public toward the same old choices.
-
Removing penalties for not voting could finally shake things up.
- Details
- Written by: Op-Ed Shaydee Lane
- Hits: 725
Read more: Children and Innocence - Bangles Beads and Broken Promises
- Details
- Written by: Op-Ed Shaydee Lane
- Hits: 684
While the new aces argue about the runway, the old crew still knows how to land a plane.
What if you could hold one single moment from your entire life, just one, to carry with you forever? Which one would it be? The answer may tell us more about who we are than any story we tell ourselves.
There’s a photograph in your mind, faded, perhaps, but alive...a moment from your past that never quite lets go. Maybe it’s the day you first rode a bike, the night you whispered secrets to a friend, or the first time you saw your newborn child. Why do these moments cling, while others vanish without a trace?
What moments shape us, and what will our children and grandchildren hold onto in a noisy world?
That is my question today. What memories are we leaving to our new generation? Lockdowns? Climate Change? Global Warming? Guilt? What have we allowed to happen?
Read more: The Flight of the Navigator - Old Pilots, New Aces, and Why Childhood Matters
- View all
- Blog
-
The Charge at Beersheba...…
I’ve started and restarted this article, pondered how to avoid hurting anyone’s sensitivities, and in…
213 hits
-
Calendar Cancelled as BOM…
Forecast: Confused With a Chance of Bureaucracy - Microbursts, bureaucratic panic, and a wallaby with titanium…
295 hits
-
Beersheba - Victory From…
Beersheba is a name that should resonate with every Australian with the same ease and…
455 hits
-
Lawrence of Arabia -…
How have we come to this mess in the Middle East? The strange thing is…
280 hits
-
The Great Calendar Kerfuffle:…
From Bushfires to Bare-Chested Heroes Our resident Redhead proves that admiration, humour, and a little…
315 hits
-
From Whale Oil to…
In the mid-19th century, a flickering flame of innovation sparked a revolution that would illuminate…
345 hits
-
From Cannons to Bureaucracy:…
From the Valley of Death at Balaclava to today’s policy corridors, the brave bear the…
359 hits
-
Why Albanese’s Joy Division…
Imagine women, beaten, humiliated, raped repeatedly in Nazi-run brothels, stripped of their dignity, and sent…
728 hits
-
The EDuck was the…
Prentis Penjani’s Grand Debut – The Duck Was Just the Warm-Up Act By Roderick (Whiskers)…
354 hits
-
Trevor the Wallaby’s Titanium…
By Roderick “Whiskers” McNibble, Senior Correspondent (and dance adjudicator) Crikey, mates and matesses - you’d…
427 hits
-
What a Whale of…
I have often pondered why mankind decided to go after the humble whale. After all,…
422 hits
-
Australia: The Quarry Nation
Critical Minerals: The Deal That Could Turn Australia Into the World’s Quarry There’s a new…
588 hits
-
Birth of the United…
In 1775, the U.S. Marine Corps was established to safeguard American ships and interests. …
394 hits
-
When Sunday School Taught…
We stopped teaching goodness. Now we’re living with the consequences. There was a time when…
401 hits
-
Rediscovering Banjo: The Poet…
In an Australia grappling with division and a search for identity, it’s time to rediscover…
452 hits
-
Ghosts of the Gulch:…
Ratty News: Dusty Gulch Dispatch — “When the Ghosts Came Rolling In” Filed by: Roderick…
427 hits
-
Menzies and the Liberal…
Eighty-one years ago this week, in October 1944, a tall, thoughtful barrister from Victoria gathered…
668 hits
-
The Night Bali Burned…
On the evening of October 12, 2002, the peaceful tourist destination of Bali, Indonesia, was…
415 hits
-
Cane Toads: The Gift…
Queensland and much of northern Australia are overrun with cane toads - an invasion so…
416 hits
-
How Toilets Shaped Our…
Some time ago, a young boy visiting Redhead’s house asked to use the “dunny.” The…
453 hits
-
Wouldn't it Be Nice?…
Have you ever wondered how and why the Youth of today are holding rallies , their…
413 hits
-
From an Irishman Down…
Over the last few weeks I have noticed that people are losing their sense of…
457 hits
-
Operation Hoover Truth: Dusty…
By Roderick (Whiskers) McNibble, Ratty News Bureau Chief There’s panic, pandemonium, and political puffery in…
468 hits
-
Herding Cats: Cancel Culture,…
Try herding cats sometime. You’ll crouch, whistle, wave treats, and for one delusional moment, think…
454 hits
-
When Outrage Becomes Entertainment,…
From Network to today, the prophecy is clear: truth has been turned into a commodity,…
658 hits
-
From Nova to a…
I am personally horrified by what has happened since October 2023. This wasn’t just a…
493 hits
-
Aussie Slang - Where…
Much of Australia’s early slang comes from the convict culture of the late 18th and…
534 hits
-
The New Dogma: How…
In 1925, a small courtroom in Dayton, Tennessee, became the stage for a battle over…
653 hits
-
From Gala to Galah:…
Ratty News Exclusive By Roderick (Whiskers) McNibble, Special Correspondent (aisle seat, back row) Reporting from…
444 hits
-
The Secret Covenant...... Warning…
Back in 2002, an anonymous person sent an email from a disposable email address to…
375 hits