“Let’s put you in the dunking chair and we’ll figure out what nature says about your status in the next world, and then we’ll make a decision about what to do with your still-living body.” — Matt Taibbi
I’m sure you’re asking yourself: what’s up with the company CEOs like Anheuser-Busch’s Brendan Whitworth, Target’s Brian Cornell, and North Face’s Todd Spaletto? Did they green-light the disastrous Pride Month marketing campaigns based on transgender activism that are suddenly wrecking their businesses? Or do these things just happen down the chain-of-command while the top dogs are otherwise occupied, knocking golf balls around or reviewing their stock options’ strike prices?
Well, this has caught me off guard. I never expected Mark McGowan to pull a Jacinta Ardern and do the " I am tired " routine.
So worn out, so exhausted from working so hard to ..... well, I am amazed. Some might say that it is a "Thank God, about time " moment. I could not possibly say that.
Poor man. Some might say " It is amazing how they worked so hard to screw us over during the Covid Scamdemic and, when they look like they might be up for a bit of scrutiny, they bugger off because they are so, so tired. Boo Hoo. "
Someone might say " Well, guess what Mark McGowan and all of you who are bailing out right now? You are in the Life boat and we are left bailing the water out of a sinking ship that is our country.
Thanks a million. "
Read more: Rats, Ships, Sinking and the Captains who Flee and Leave Us to Drown
John Wayne is an American Hollywood icon every bit the equal of James Dean or Marilyn Monroe.
He is also a man from another era, a man whose conservatism came as naturally as walking down the street.
Affectionately known as “The Duke,” he spent three decades as a top box office draw with 179 film and television credits to his name.
Nearly 30 years has flowed under the bridge since I last owned a dog. That doesn’t mean that I’ve had nothing to do with dogs. It means that I’ve had relationships with other people’s dogs as a by-product of the relationship with their owners - some of an intimate nature and some not. But that’s what this series of posts is all about - the behaviour of people and dogs.
The day I met Eddie I had driven about 50 kilometres to Alan’s house on the outskirts of Nowra, a town some two hours drive south of Sydney. I’d been modifying some paint shaking machines for my brother who owns several paint shops. However, I needed a special machine cutting tool and it was the sort of tool I’d probably never use again and couldn’t really justify its heady price tag. Borrowing was the best option.
Alan was another of those middle-aged men who was trying to get on with life after the trauma of a failed marriage. It’s funny how people wake up one morning in a 25-year marriage to discover they hate each other. Men never know why, women always tell you that the split comes from a lifetime of hell at the hands of an uncaring and self-absorbed man.
Back in 2005, I was teaching in an adult learning environment. I had been a long time fan of Science Fiction and an avid reader of the old classics. I loved the work of Douglas Adams and had read the works of pretty much every Sci Fi author I could lay my hands on. I had read the work of JRR Tolkien.
I was no Sci Fi novice.
In short, I was a Space Opera, Sci Fi, Fantasy junkie. Always searching for my next fix.
I sat down one day during our class lunch break and one of my students was sitting, munching on his sandwich and totally engrossed in a paperback novel. It appeared to be huge. Over a thousand pages. He was so engrossed in his book that I felt almost invasive by asking him what he was reading.
When I lived in South Korea, the first thing I had my Korean friend write down in Hangul ( written in the Korean Alphabet ) was " this person is allergic to chilli. " I later found out that he actually wrote " Don't let this woman eat chilli. It makes her lips fat and she will look very ugly and drive your customers away. "
I always wondered why they looked at me strangely and almost sympathetically when I presented the staff with my note.
When I found out what he wrote, he said to me " Miss Shaydee, you wrote about how it affected you. They don't care. I made it tell them how it would affect their business. "
Virtually every manifestation of evil involves a desire to dominate and control.
To many people, the world seems to make less and less sense with each passing day. Values we once cherished and that bound civil society together face daily bombardment. Offensive things are routinely said and done today in ways intended to inflame and divide. Freedoms we took for granted—freedoms of thought, speech, press, religion—are under relentless assault as intrusive government and cancel culture gain ground.
“Orwellian” is no longer just an adjective derived from a work of fiction more than seven decades ago; it describes some new development in our lives every day. Words and thoughts, once neutral or perhaps disagreeable but not actionable, are treated now as if they are crimes. History itself is being rewritten to serve political agendas. Petty tyrannies are morphing into bigger tyrannies as governments play an ever more intrusive role in the lives of their citizens. There’s an awful lot of bad behavior going on—and perpetrators getting away with it, too. From lying to looting, it feels like an epidemic.
I just heard that a relative is going to a Steam Punk get together this weekend and am I green with envy or what?
Redhead asked me what the hang Steampunk was. I tried to explain. Needless to say, I didn't convince her that it was worthy of my enormous excitement...... and no doubt it seems unusual for a woman of my vintage to be so jealous of a pair of young ones heading off to such a gathering but perhaps, in these times of despair, it actually makes sense to want to escape to a world of fantastical inventions and where the only thing that limits you is your imagination. Just think of the early days of Inspector Poirot meeting up with a wild west movie and a large dose of Dr Who to round it off.
It seems to me that it encompasses all of the good times when people did bold things, had fun, imagined greatness and then were free to follow through... without the constraints of being " offended " or " not allowed. " In short, it was when there was no red tape, green tape or black tape and if you dared, hell you could win. Or lose.
Read more: Steampunk: A Fusion of Past, Future, and Imagination
I was quite taken aback about a year ago when I read that Mr Albanese - Prime Minister of Australia - said he wanted the Aboriginal language to be taught in schools. If " The Voice " gets up, you can be sure it will happen.
But how about we teach English first?
What puzzled me is that there are more Indigenous languages in Australia than there are genders - which is saying something. In Australia, there are more than 250 Indigenous languages including around 800 dialects. So I guess it is going to be fun choosing which one they will teach in the school curriculum... and who is going to be the teacher?
Read more: Reading, writing and arithmetic - with a serve of English language on the side
Luckily, those journalists who’ve specialised in climate and net-zero nuttery have a global Big Brother to train them, “tackle disinformation” and supply daily titbits to print and inspire. More than 15,000 environment/climate reporters from 180 countries are subscribed to the Earth Journalism Network, run by a staff of about 30 (a dozen full-time plus project staff). It also boasts thousands of journos accessing EJN on social media.
EJN is funded by dozens of foundations – including woke billionaire entities such as the Hewletts and Packards and Rockefeller Brothers, along with official sugar-daddies like the European Commission, UN aid agencies and the US, UK and Swedish governments.
Read more: The Obliging Presstitutes of Climate ‘Journalism’
Sometimes, justice is neither done nor seen to be done. In fact, it is unjust and plain and simple, really unfair.
We are living in a world where nothing is fun, nothing is fair and nothing is as it seems.
Decades ago, I knew a teacher. A good man. He was married, two great kids and a lovely wife. He was dedicated to his craft and believed that it was his honour and his duty to educate his students to the best of his ability. If a student passed his classes, they KNEW it was because they deserved it. He didn't hand out participation prizes and he certainly did not reward laziness as some sort of free pass to graduation.
In short, he was a very fine teacher and educator of young minds.
This man was a highly respected member of the community. He was a volunteer firefighter and an active member of his local Church. He loved a beer down at his local and was a keen backyard cricketer and a fine teller of jokes.
But one day his life changed.
Read more: Pack your Bags Men... We are Living in an Unjust World
In May 1942, as Japanese forces surged southward across the Pacific, Australia stood on the…
220 hits
When a nation loses its voice, it turns to memory. In these strange days, when…
352 hits
Factional ferrets, backstabbing bandicoots, and the great Teal tango - how the Libs turned on…
125 hits
In an era where technology dictates much of our daily lives, algorithms have become the…
322 hits
When you cast your vote, you’re not just selecting a candidate; you’re choosing the kind…
281 hits
When news broke that Australia had declared war on New Zealand, most assumed it was…
315 hits
Beneath the swaying trees and the green grass of Norfolk Island lies a brutal chapter…
346 hits
In a world that seems determined to teach us to hate our countries, I remember…
347 hits
By Roderick (Whiskers) McNibble In a stunning turn of events, Peter “Cooker” Fookit - who…
399 hits
For nearly three decades, the Port Arthur Massacre has been remembered as Australia's darkest day…
574 hits
Who pays the Ferryman? In the old myths, no soul crossed the river Styx without…
319 hits
By Roderick (Whiskers) McNibble, Special Correspondent for Ratty News Roderick Whiskers McNibble here, tail fluffed…
378 hits
Each war seems to produce its own under-appreciated heroes who, for reasons that have nothing…
427 hits
Just before dawn on August 7, 1915, the men of the 8th and 10th Australian…
414 hits
It is not often that a hero can also be a larrikin and vice versa.…
363 hits
On ANZAC Day we remember the fallen, the brave, the heroic. But behind every name…
389 hits
Magic happens everywhere and goodness, wonder and delight can be found alive and well throughout…
183 hits
How many people around the world have been warning about the danger we are in? …
195 hits
Two names. Two battles. One legend. At Chunuk Bair and Lone Pine, ANZAC soldiers faced…
524 hits
It has been truly said that Australia arrived in Gallipoli as six separate States and…
397 hits
By Roderick (Whiskers) McNibble, Investigative Reporter Extraordinaire The Ratty News Foreign Desk | Special Report…
437 hits
There are men who live great adventures and there are men who write about them.…
434 hits
When life collapses and the weight of grief threatens to bury us, we have two…
434 hits
He was short, wiry, and came from the dusty outskirts of Clermont in rural Queensland.…
527 hits
As the sun rises on another ANZAC Day in less than two weeks, and an…
311 hits
Some memories shimmer in the mind like a heat haze, half mischief, half magic. This…
305 hits
For over five years now, this blog has grown into more than just a place…
299 hits
In a stunning turn of events, Roderick “Whiskers” McNibble - microphone-wielding rat and founding fur…
417 hits
How did it happen? How did a failed artist and fringe political agitator rise from…
360 hits
What happens when the battlefield goes silent....but the war doesn’t end? When soldiers come home,…
491 hits
John B. Calhoun’s “rat utopia” experiments of the 1960s, designed to be paradises with unlimited…
332 hits
Throughout history, religion has been hailed as a guiding light, a beacon of morality and…
398 hits