During the darkest days of World War II, when the world teetered on the edge of chaos, it was the incredible loyalty and alliance between nations that turned the tide of history. For Australia and Britain, the unwavering support of the United States was not just a matter of strategic necessity...it was a real wave to the spirit of unity and shared purpose that defines our relationships to this day.
Here was a big brother who was there to lend a helping hand when things were looking pretty grim.
Now, as our big brother is set to go on and become better and braver and more successful, we are sitting here subjected to the domineering bully that is George Orwell's " Big Brother. "
So let's just have a trip down memory lane and remember when our big brother stepped in - let us cast our minds back to World War II.
Before the United States formally entered the war in December 1941, it had already extended a crucial lifeline to its allies through the Lend-Lease Act. Signed into law by President Franklin D. Roosevelt in March 1941, this programme provided Britain, Australia, and other Allied nations with vital military supplies, equipment, and resources. For Australia, facing the looming threat of Japanese expansion in the Pacific, American support was indispensable.
Read more: A Fork in the Road for Australia - A Big Brother or " Big Brother "?
The following passage is a direct quote from a person well-known in world history. It is as equally applicable now as it was when it was first penned.
“The stupidity of democracy. It will always remain as one of democracy’s best jokes that it provided its deadly enemies with the means by which it was destroyed.
The persecuted leaders of XXXX became parliamentary deputies and so acquired the use of parliamentary immunity, allowances and free travel tickets. They were thus protected from police interference, could allow themselves to say more than the ordinary citizen, and apart from that they also had the costs of their activity paid by their enemy. One can make superb capital from the democratic stupidity. The members of the XXXX grasped that right away and took enormous pleasure in it.”
These words are very much applicable to the current invasion and immunity handed out to Islamic refugees from all Islamic dominated countries. The United Nations was intended to be a world forum for the suppression of war and in its formative stages was promoted by democratic countries.
Read more: The Death of Democracy: Supporting Our Enemies Spells Our Own Downfall
At the heart of any society lies a simple truth: without community, there is no community. No government programme , policy, or institution can replace the strength that comes from people standing shoulder to shoulder, bound by shared purpose and mutual care. While governments may promise solutions, they often deliver bureaucracy, inefficiency, and a quiet erosion of personal responsibility.
True resilience doesn’t come from distant offices or official decrees - it grows from the ground up, in the hands of neighbours who choose to act, not because they’re told to, but because they understand that real security comes from each other.
The Napier earthquake of 1931 was a devastating seismic event that occurred on February 3, 1931, in the Hawke's Bay region of New Zealand. The earthquake had a magnitude of 7.8 and remains one of the most powerful earthquakes in New Zealand's recorded history.
It got me thinking - the more we’ve advanced, the more we’ve distanced ourselves from the basics that kept communities strong - self-reliance, neighbourly cooperation, and practical skills. It’s almost as if resilience has been outsourced, leaving people vulnerable when the systems they depend on falter.
But maybe that’s where the lesson lies. Disasters like the Napier earthquake showed the power of local action - ordinary people stepping up without waiting for permission. Perhaps the way forward isn’t just better technology but rekindling that spirit of community-driven resilience.
Read more: The Illusion of Support: Why Real Strength Comes from Us, Not Them
On Bloody Sunday in 1972, peaceful protesters in Derry were gunned down by soldiers acting under the authority of a government that claimed to defend democracy while silencing dissent.
Nearly fifty years later, in the streets of Australian cities, protesters were met with rubber bullets, mass arrests, and the same cold rhetoric about “maintaining order.” Different countries, different eras, but the pattern is unmistakable: when citizens stand up, governments crack down. The tools of repression may have changed....from rifles to riot shields, from internment without trial to sweeping protest laws....but the message remains chillingly familiar: disagree at your own risk.
Throughout history, states have maintained a monopoly on violence, justifying its use in the name of security, stability, and the common good. In Northern Ireland, the British government framed civil rights activists as threats to national security, branding them as insurgents rather than citizens demanding equality. The introduction of internment without trial in 1971 allowed for the indefinite detention of individuals without due process, a tool designed not to protect the public but to suppress political opposition. It was under this climate of repression that Bloody Sunday unfolded, with soldiers firing live rounds into unarmed crowds and the state swiftly covering up its role in the massacre.
Read more: From Derry to Down Under: The Unbroken Chain of State Repression
On Monday, 20th of January, 2025, Donald J. Trump was inaugurated as the 47th President of the United States of America. Against astronomical odds, and despite the endless skullduggery of his many swamp-dwelling adversaries, Trump had miraculously prevailed.
Dancing his signature side-rocking-with-alternating-fist-pumps dance, he side-stepped impeachment, out-stepped lawfare, and head-tilted away from a bullet to once again become the Commander-in-Chief of an American Empire in terminal decline.
Divinely spared from assassination, Trump is resolute that he has a mandate from God to Make America Great Again — and a majority of American Patriots, Conservatives and Christians wholeheartedly believe him.
Amid the chaos of World War II, Sparrow Force - a small yet resilient group of Australian, British, and Dutch troops - were deployed to defend the strategically critical island of Timor against Japanese invasion.
They faced overwhelming odds. Isolated, outnumbered, and undersupplied, Sparrow Force mounted a remarkable guerrilla campaign that defied expectations, disrupting enemy operations while enduring unimaginable hardships.
Sparrow Force was one of three formations rapidly put together by the Australian Government in March and April of 1941 when concern was rising about the intentions of the Japanese to enter WW2 as a combatant and to form a ring of defenses against any advance on Australia. The three forces were given code names of birds: Gull, Lark and Sparrow.
Read more: Sparrow Force: Courage Against All Odds on Timor's Forgotten Battleground
In early 1942, the Japanese launched their invasion of the Dutch East Indies (modern-day Indonesia) as part of their southward expansion in the Pacific. Ambon, a strategically important island, was defended by a small garrison of Dutch troops and about 1,100 Australian soldiers from the 2/21st Battalion, known as Gull Force.
They were poorly equipped and significantly outnumbered by the Japanese forces.
On the night of 30/31 January 1942 Japanese forces landed on Ambon. The Japanese were resisted by Australian troops at a number of locations, including Mount Nona, Kudamati, Amahusu and Laha.
After the Japanese captured Ambon, they focused on Laha Airfield, a strategic point of contention. Following its surrender, Japanese forces accused the prisoners of sabotaging their operations and executed them in a series of massacres. Most of the victims were Australian soldiers and Dutch personnel, with estimates of the dead ranging from over 300 to 400 people. They were bound, blindfolded, and killed by bayonet or decapitation in groups. The killings were systematic, carried out in retaliation for earlier resistance by Allied forces. Prisoners were marched to isolated locations, such as beaches or jungle clearings, and slaughtered en masse. Some survivors from earlier groups were forced to bury the bodies of their comrades before being executed themselves.
Roger Maynard has written of the executions “History would record it as one of the worst massacres of the Second World War”.
Read more: Slaughter at Laha: The Forgotten Massacre of Australian Heroes
Environmentalism once conjured images of saving whales, planting trees, and preserving the natural world in harmony with human activity.
Movements like "Save the Whales" or campaigns to combat deforestation rallied millions around the globe.
The ethos was simple: protect ecosystems, minimise harm, and work alongside nature.
But over time, the movement has shifted.
Today, environmentalism often advocates large-scale industrial projects like wind farms, solar arrays, and offshore energy developments. While these projects aim to combat " climate change " , they can ironically conflict with the movement’s original goals of conservation and sustainability.
And all to promote globalist interests over national sovereignty.
Read more: Restoring Sovereignty with Responsible Growth Over Globalist Agendas
Activism has shaped the course of history, no doubt about it. From the abolition of slavery to civil rights, feminism, and environmentalism, activism has been the driving force behind some of humanity’s greatest leaps forward.
But what happens when the battles are, for the most part, won? Here’s a controversial idea: some activists seem to hate a solved problem.
Activism thrives on causes, and without a cause, it seems lost.
Some people need conflict to feel alive, even if the conflict is self-made or artificial.
And some don't mind fighting battle for someone else if it avoids focusing on their own lack of purpose to channel all that restless energy into.
It is over 250 years since Captain Cook's discovery of the east coast of Australia and it's worth asking ... what was Cook doing here?
He certainly wasn't looking for Australia (or New Holland as it was then known) as Europeans had known it existed since the 1500's.
Like many other Europeans before him, Cook was searching for the fabled land of Terra Australis.
When Captain James Cook set off in 1768 his mission was to go to Tahiti to observe Venus passing before the sun. Cook’s mission was one of three missions sent at the same time to observe the transit of Venus and it was hoped their data would help calculate the precise distance of the sun from earth.
But Cook was also given sealed instructions to be read only after his Tahiti stopover. When he read them Cook was told to sail south in the hope of discovering Terra Australis.
Read more: Captain Cook - I am glad you found Australia- Thanks mate
Few figures in maritime history are as polarising as Captain William Bligh. Often portrayed as a tyrant, Bligh's legacy is far more complex -marked by extraordinary navigation skills, fierce resilience, and a personality that clashed with the rigid hierarchies of his time.
From his harrowing open-boat voyage across the Pacific to his controversial tenure as Governor of New South Wales, Bligh's story is one of survival, controversy, and enduring intrigue.
Following is the story of Captain Bligh. The man who truly is a legendary figure.
Captain William Bligh is most remembered for the mutiny on the HMS Bounty in 1789. This dramatic event, where part of his crew led by Fletcher Christian seized control of the ship and set Bligh and loyalists adrift in a small open boat, has become one of the most famous mutinies in history.
Despite being cast off in the middle of the Pacific Ocean, Bligh's extraordinary navigational skills allowed him to lead his crew on a 3,600-mile journey to safety in Timor, with minimal supplies and no maps. This feat is often regarded as one of the greatest survival stories in maritime history, although his strict leadership style remains a point of debate.
Read more: Captain Bligh: The Misunderstood Mariner Who Shaped Naval History
When you cast your vote, you’re not just selecting a candidate; you’re choosing the kind…
47 hits
When news broke that Australia had declared war on New Zealand, most assumed it was…
267 hits
Beneath the swaying trees and the green grass of Norfolk Island lies a brutal chapter…
311 hits
In a world that seems determined to teach us to hate our countries, I remember…
318 hits
By Roderick (Whiskers) McNibble In a stunning turn of events, Peter “Cooker” Fookit - who…
364 hits
For nearly three decades, the Port Arthur Massacre has been remembered as Australia's darkest day…
517 hits
Who pays the Ferryman? In the old myths, no soul crossed the river Styx without…
299 hits
By Roderick (Whiskers) McNibble, Special Correspondent for Ratty News Roderick Whiskers McNibble here, tail fluffed…
356 hits
Each war seems to produce its own under-appreciated heroes who, for reasons that have nothing…
399 hits
Just before dawn on August 7, 1915, the men of the 8th and 10th Australian…
386 hits
It is not often that a hero can also be a larrikin and vice versa.…
348 hits
On ANZAC Day we remember the fallen, the brave, the heroic. But behind every name…
372 hits
Magic happens everywhere and goodness, wonder and delight can be found alive and well throughout…
166 hits
How many people around the world have been warning about the danger we are in? …
178 hits
Two names. Two battles. One legend. At Chunuk Bair and Lone Pine, ANZAC soldiers faced…
505 hits
It has been truly said that Australia arrived in Gallipoli as six separate States and…
374 hits
By Roderick (Whiskers) McNibble, Investigative Reporter Extraordinaire The Ratty News Foreign Desk | Special Report…
403 hits
There are men who live great adventures and there are men who write about them.…
418 hits
When life collapses and the weight of grief threatens to bury us, we have two…
418 hits
He was short, wiry, and came from the dusty outskirts of Clermont in rural Queensland.…
514 hits
As the sun rises on another ANZAC Day in less than two weeks, and an…
295 hits
Some memories shimmer in the mind like a heat haze, half mischief, half magic. This…
292 hits
For over five years now, this blog has grown into more than just a place…
292 hits
In a stunning turn of events, Roderick “Whiskers” McNibble - microphone-wielding rat and founding fur…
396 hits
How did it happen? How did a failed artist and fringe political agitator rise from…
341 hits
What happens when the battlefield goes silent....but the war doesn’t end? When soldiers come home,…
474 hits
John B. Calhoun’s “rat utopia” experiments of the 1960s, designed to be paradises with unlimited…
327 hits
Throughout history, religion has been hailed as a guiding light, a beacon of morality and…
377 hits
In a fast-changing Australia, where new cultures and identities weave fresh threads into our ever…
322 hits
When I was a young lass, I was a fencer. No, not the farming type…
337 hits
By Roderick (Whiskers) McNibble, Ratty News Investigative Correspondent Heard Island, Antarctica - A once-quiet expanse of…
486 hits
In a world obsessed with competition, the most powerful alliances are often overlooked, those between…
335 hits