Patriot Realm

If Monkeypox is the new COVID and the WHO release their lockdowns and compulsory vaccinations, where will we be as a society? All on board or, as Bush Barbie would say, Nah,Yeah, Nah.  It is just another round of sabotage from the left. 

About another round of isolation, lockdown and postal voting.  More blackmail and strong arm attempts to break us. From our governments across the world.

Last time many trusted them.

Today ? Not a show in hell. Hell, I no longer trust anyone apart from the few who no doubt feel the same way as I do. 

Unless you are a brain dead multi vaxxed  card carrying member of the " next vax I will get a free tofu burger" you are not likely to fall for the vax hoax a second time.  We are over it. As a clean skin,  I tend to venture into that land of reality. I treat many things with great circumspection. 

When I was young, one of my favourite books was " Wind in the Willows. " Even today, as I approach 70 years of age, I can still relate to this book and, if anything, it means more to me now than when I first read it about 60 years ago. Why do I feel that we are cruising down the river with a weasel at the helm and the " riverbank"  is no longer home? The Weasels have taken over and Toad Hall is conquered because we were all too busy being nice and playing on the river of life. 

Are we asleep at the wheel? 

Recently, I have found myself increasingly drawn back to the wonderful work of Kenneth Grahame. Written to enchant, excite and amuse, it makes me sad that children today no longer see such work in their school libraries, much less sit back in bed and snuggle down to share the joy of a tale woven out of love and the soothing pleasure of beautiful words. But, even in this lovely tale of friendship, home and the importance of family, there was a sinister threat that lurked.

The Weasels.

The Battle of Long Tan took place on August 18, 1966, in the Phuoc Tuy Province of South Vietnam. It was part of Australia's involvement in the Vietnam War as part of its commitment to the United States' efforts to counter the spread of communism in Southeast Asia. The region's dense jungles, muddy terrain, and unpredictable weather added to the complexity of the conflict. The Australian soldiers were part of the 6th Battalion, Royal Australian Regiment, and were led by Major Harry Smith.

On that fateful day, a small Australian company of 108 men  - 105 Australians and 3 New Zealanders - found themselves vastly outnumbered by a determined North Vietnamese force estimated to be over  2000 strong. The Australians were based at a rubber plantation in Long Tan, surrounded by thick vegetation that hindered visibility and movement. The North Vietnamese launched an intense assault, employing small arms, mortars, and artillery fire.

The Panama Canal officially opened on 15 August 1914. This date marked the completion of the canal's construction and the first successful transit of a vessel, the SS Ancon, which had been acquired by the Panama Railroad Company to haul freight, through the entire length of the canal, connecting the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans.

However, it took a railroad to build the canal. 

The length of the Panama Canal from shoreline to shoreline is about 40 miles (65 km) and from deep water in the Atlantic (more specifically, the Caribbean Sea) to deep water in the Pacific about 50 miles (82 km). It shaved 8,000 miles or about 20,000 km off the Cape Horn route through much safer waters, and it was an immediate hit with the world's shippers at the dawn of the First World War.

The Panama Railroad played a crucial role in facilitating the construction of the Panama Canal. It provided essential transportation infrastructure that supported the movement of people, equipment, and supplies needed for the monumental task of building the canal.

Between the “Scrap Iron Flotilla” and “the Rats of Tobruk,” turning insults into a point of pride was perhaps a running theme for the allies.

Like many other ancillary formations of our armed services in WW1 and WW2, the Scrap Iron Flotilla has not received the same acclaim as the Rats of Tobruk. That does not undermine in any way the exploits of the Rats but it is a pity that these vital supporting formations seem to be easily forgotten as prominent objects of our remembrance celebrations.

The Scrap Iron Flotilla was an Australian destroyer group that operated in the Mediterranean during WW2.

Its story is synonymous with the Rats of Tobruk. It was the means of supply to the beleaguered town under siege between 10^th April, 1941 and 7^th December, 1941.

Its name was conferred on it by Dr.Goebbels, the German propaganda minister intending to demean and undermine morale of the five Australian ships that made up the flotilla. As happened with the conferring of the name “Rats of Tobruk” on the garrison troops by Lord Haw Haw, instead of depressing morale it spurred them to greater acts of defiance. Neither understood the make-up of the Australian character.