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Gaza, Pipelines, and the Dream of a Canal That Never Was

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Written by: Op-Ed Monty
Hits: 753

A Journey Through Time: From the Suez Canal to the Speculative Ben Gurion Canal

Let’s embark on a voyage through history, geopolitics, and ambition, starting with Egypt’s Suez Canal and ending with the tantalising, yet unbuilt, Ben Gurion Canal. This is a story of trade, power, and strategic maneuvering, with Gaza and global players like the United States at its heart. 

Beyond the Suez: The Untold ‘What If’ of the Ben Gurion Canal.......

The dream of linking the Mediterranean to the Red Sea is ancient. Pharaohs like Senusret III (19th century BCE) dug canals connecting the Nile to the Red Sea. But the modern Suez Canal , a 120-mile marvel – was completed in 1869 under French diplomat Ferdinand de Lesseps and the Suez Canal Company. Built through a decade of gruelling labour, it transformed global trade by bypassing the treacherous Cape of Good Hope.

Read more: Gaza, Pipelines, and the Dream of a Canal That Never Was

Saturday Morning at " The Flicks "

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Written by: Op-Ed Shaydee Lane
Hits: 606

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.

Read more: Saturday Morning at " The Flicks "

When Pirates Weren't the Government

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Written by: Op-Ed Monty
Hits: 839

I recently watched  the film " Captain Philips " on Netflix. I had resisted for some time, given I am no longer a fan of Tom Hanks. But boredom got the better of me. I must confess to having enjoyed it and, as is so often the case, it sent me scurrying down rabbit holes. All to do with pirates. 

I also feel it was a comment someone made here a few days ago about having enjoyed the book " Treasure Island "  as a child. I then thought of " Kidnapped " another favourite from my early years of reading. 

In my travels, I stumbled across a rather colourful character known as Black Bart, also known as Bartholomew Roberts.

He was one of the most successful and feared pirates of the "Golden Age of Piracy" in the early 18th century. So sit back and enjoy a tale of a pirate from over 450 years ago whose legend still lives on. I wonder how many of our politicians will still be celebrated 450 years hence for their acts of piracy against us? ( I just thought I would put that in for a touch of modern day relevance. ) 

Read more: When Pirates Weren't the Government

Dusty Gulch Dispatch: Mission Improbable – Operation Selfie Strike

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Written by: Op-Ed Ratty News
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By Roderick (Whiskers) McNibble, Special Correspondent (aisle seat, back row) 

The Prime Minister has officially hit Platinum-Plus on the Ratty Airways Frequent Flyer Club, logging more miles than a croc turbo-charged on WDPT boosters. His latest diplomatic detour: a lightning sprint to the UN, accompanied by Toto, whose primary task seemed to be preventing lamingtons from making a daring escape from his carry-on..... and to set up the selfie that the PM wanted so desperately.  

So, exclusive to Ratty News, here is how it went down and how Trump first learned of Dusty Gulch.... and how our PM got a selfie of global significance.

It all started when Ratty Airlines was taken over by Duck HQ to provide a flight for a Very Important Pruck, none other than the Air Bus himself. Our lead bi plane, powered by Whiskers Dynamic Propulsion, could get him to New York faster than UberRoo delivering a McFookit Burger from Dusty McFookit's burger joint to the Dusty Dingo. In other words, fast. 

But why the hurry? That was where I came in, your rodent with a nose for a story. Buckle up folks, you are in for one ducker of a ride,

Read more: Dusty Gulch Dispatch: Mission Improbable – Operation Selfie Strike

The Sky Guardians - The Flying Tigers of WWII

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Written by: Op-Ed Happy Expat
Hits: 719

Those who are not familiar with this title may be excused for thinking that it is the name of a circus troupe. After all, in WW1 the Red Baron’s squadron was popularly referred to as The Flying Circus so such an assumption is reasonable.

Those who are familiar with it will know that it was a name given to a group of American airmen fighting with the Chinese forces against the Japanese during and before WW2.

In Australia most knowledgement of this group is pretty thin and the full impact of their efforts on the outcome of the Pacific war is largely unknown. Their persistence in the face of impossible odds had a significant impact on the Pacific war in that they kept China fighting and by that means tied up somewhere between 500,000 and 750,000 Japanese troops that would have been otherwise available to fight the allies elsewhere.

Read more: The Sky Guardians - The Flying Tigers of WWII

Memories are Made of This

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Written by: Op-Ed Shaydee Lane
Hits: 637

It was back in the early 80's that Redhead and her late husband bought their small plot of Australia. Just 604 sq m of the greatest land in the world. There were no aboriginal artifacts, no unexploded bombs ( as was the case in so many places along the Sunshine Coast of Australia at that time.) No, it was just a home built on a block of land a sparrows fart from the beach.  

They had moved from another country: migrants in truth. They started a new life in a new country and found a home that suited them very nicely. Ineligible for a pension in those days, they worked selling products at a market place on Saturday mornings and embraced the Australian life that they had decided to accept with gratitude. 

Over the years, their home has become one of warmth, welcome and love. 

Read more: Memories are Made of This

The Bailey Bridge: A Bridge Too Far Made Possible

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Written by: Op-Ed Monty
Hits: 664

During the early years of World War II, the British Army faced many obstacles. Chief among them were bridges. The irony was stark: the very structures designed to connect and enable movement became the obstacles that had to be overcome to win the war.

As the British advanced across Europe, retreating German forces left destruction in their wake, blowing up bridges to slow the pursuit. Existing military bridge designs were too heavy, too slow, or too resource-hungry to keep pace with tanks and supply lines. Progress stalled wherever rivers ran.

Enter Sir Donald Bailey, a civil engineer with a practical streak and a knack for simplicity. His answer was lightweight, modular, and portable- a bridge that could ride in pieces on trucks, be bolted together by ordinary soldiers with simple tools, and still bear the weight of a 30-ton tank.

The Bailey Bridge was born.

Read more: The Bailey Bridge: A Bridge Too Far Made Possible

A Bridge Too Far

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Written by: Op-Ed Monty
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When people think of World War II, they often picture D-Day, the Blitz, or the fall of Berlin. Yet in September 1944, another gamble was made that could have ended the war by Christmas - a bold but ultimately tragic operation known as Market Garden. It’s this story that Cornelius Ryan’s book, and the epic film A Bridge Too Far, brought so vividly to life.

The Allies had just broken out of Normandy and were racing across France. Field Marshal Bernard Montgomery proposed a daring shortcut into Germany:

  • Market: Drop three airborne divisions -  the U.S. 101st, U.S. 82nd, and British 1st Airborne (plus Polish paratroopers) -  to seize bridges across the Netherlands.

  • Garden: Send British XXX Corps, a column of tanks and infantry, racing up a single highway to relieve the paratroopers.

If successful, the Allies would cross the Rhine at Arnhem and punch straight into Germany’s industrial heartland.

It was breathtaking in scope. It was also, as one general warned, “a bridge too far.”

Read more: A Bridge Too Far

What Makes Good Government?

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Written by: Op-Ed Shaydee Lane
Hits: 769

I asked the question " What makes good government? " on a forum I belong to and an answer struck me as one of the best. 

" Good people make a good government. So the real question you are asking is "what makes good people?" "

Obviously, this leads to the question that if we have good people, why do we need government at all? Easy. Because we will always have bad people. We just don't want them in Government. Simple really.  

It therefore follows that we need Good people in Government to protect us from Bad people.

Instead, why is it that it seems to be the opposite way around? 

When I ponder this, I must ask myself what makes us actually WANT a government? To pay taxes? To be brow beaten?  Seriously, why do we have a government? I warn you now, you may detect a certain sarcastic tone today. For that, I do not apologise.  

Read more: What Makes Good Government?

The Chicken Man’s Call: Friendship, Roast Chooks, and a Wrong Number

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Written by: Op-Ed Shaydee Lane
Hits: 661

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. "

In 1997, my phone rang, and a stranger asked me the most unexpected question:


“Do you know how to cook a roast chicken?”

That was the beginning of my five-hour conversation with the man I’ve come to call the Chicken Man.

Read more: The Chicken Man’s Call: Friendship, Roast Chooks, and a Wrong Number

Whiskers Remembered – A Follicle-Fueled Fightback Against Feather-Brained Folly

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Written by: Op-Ed Ratty News
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Dusty Gulch Dispatch: Whiskers Remembered – A Follicle-Fueled Fightback Against Feather-Brained Folly
By Roderick (Whiskers) McNibble, Special Correspondent

In times of crisis, some towns turn to science. Others turn to faith. Dusty Gulch? We turn to whiskers.

Yes, whiskers. Those humble facial feelers the Good Lord gave cats, rats, and the occasional platypus. Under the right conditions, those bristles become something more  -  follicles as a force of rebellion against the feather-brained.

It is called Whisker Dynamic Propulsion Theory -  WDPT to the initiated, and “that madcap nonsense” to the ducks. But let us not get ahead of ourselves, dear reader.

Last week, many Dusty Gulch citizens mysteriously turned into ducks following Maurice EDuck’s latest decrees.

Read more: Whiskers Remembered – A Follicle-Fueled Fightback Against Feather-Brained Folly

  1. The Home Children
  2. The Eagle Squadrons: Friends Indeed in Time of Need
  3. The Lost Art of Letters: A Lament in the Digital Age
  4. From Jim Stark to Charlie Kirk: The Quest for Meaning

Page 9 of 251

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