Don't give up on hope. The Australian parliament is tied up on citizenship. The Liberals have a one seat majority and they could lose that easily. The ALP clearly have membership issues, but they are obfuscating. The ALP possibly hope they can sneak into government through a bye election before they have to front up. The issue affects me. I ran for federal parliament in Jason Clare's seat in 2010. I knew I needed to get rid of my US citizenship, but I hedged my bets, and approached the US embassy. The Embassy was willing to expedite it immediately, but I said I would be very unhappy if they were to move hastily. They said "What if you are elected and it is decided that you had not vacated your dual nationality." I pointed out the document wording was to have taken the appropriate steps, and should I be elected I would immediately finalise the process I initiated. I understood that had I run again, I would need to have completed the process. Thing is, my grandmother was born in London. I can work in the UK because of that. So it may be deemed that I have citizenship of the UK. I had not even considered renouncing UK citizenship. That is a problem the High Court has stupidly dropped on the parliament. There is a reason why such retrospective laws are being enacted internationally. They are humanitarian grounds so people don't get abused as stateless Jews were prior to WW2. But it is ridiculous that the High Court interprets the constitution in a way that the framers never intended. They have read between the lines before.
Four of the same anecdotes, spread over time. I was at a Sydney Institute event when I got onto an elevator circa 2014. Michael Kroger was there with two other senior Liberals, possibly Ruddock was one. I was star struck and embarrassed. I was wearing swim shorts as they were the only pants that fit me. I was sweaty, carrying several bags. I wanted to talk to them because I needed their help. But I froze and they turned their backs to me and spoke in low tones. Twenty years ago an aunt of mine had gone to an ALP fundraiser, $3k a head. She was dressed to the nines. Paul Keating got in the elevator with security, and turned his back on her. Tom Pocock, Horatio Nelson's biographer, records a young couple were outside the Admiral's office in the UK circa 1803. They have an awkward wait with a short, one armed veteran that turns out to be Nelson. Nelson spoke shallowly and vapidly, referring to the 'Nelson's Touch' and his exploits. He finds out that the male is a soldier who had served in India, and suddenly Nelson speaks with knowledge and insight, humorous, not boring. And the last anecdote is Donald Trump as President calling a parent of a fallen soldier and thanking them for their sacrifice. The call had been anticipated and a family friend, a Democrat Congress member, was able to overhear the call and verbal Trump.
I have nothing but praise for Kroger, who was gracious and gave me an opportunity before going private. I have nothing but contempt for Paul Keating who thought little of his supporters. It is enlightening that we know so much of the conversation between Lord Nelson and that couple. But because of our ability to now make such connections and bring them into the public domain, politicians need to be .. diplomatic. It was despicable that a congress person politicised a personal call from President Trump. I'm sure Trump takes no pleasure from the sacrifice, and I'm also sure the President was Presidential, and humble.
Jingle bell, jingle bell, jingle bell rock
Jingle bells swing and jingle bells ring
Snowin' and blowin' up bushels of fun
Now the jingle hop has begun
Jingle bell, jingle bell, jingle bell rock
Jingle bells chime in jingle bell time
Dancin' and prancin' in Jingle Bell Square
In the frosty air
What a bright time, it's the right time
To rock the night away
Jingle bell time is a swell time
To go glidin' in a one-horse sleigh
Giddy-up jingle horse, pick up your feet
Jingle around the clock
Mix and a-mingle in the jinglin' feet
That's the jingle bell rock
Jingle bell, jingle bell, jingle bell rock
Jingle bell chime in jingle bell time
Dancin' and prancin' in Jingle Bell Square
In the frosty air
What a bright time, it's the right time
To rock the night away
Jingle bell time is a swell time
To go glidin' in a one-horse sleigh
Giddy-up jingle horse, pick up your feet
Jingle around the clock
Mix and a-mingle in the jinglin' feet
That's the jingle bell
That's the jingle bell
That's the jingle...
David Daniel Ball calls himself the Conservative Voice.
I'm a teacher with three decades experience teaching math to high school kids.I also work with first graders and kids in between first grade and high school. I know the legends of why Hypatia's dad is remembered through his contribution to Math theory. And I know the legend of why followers of Godel had thought he had disproved God's existence.
I'm not a preacher, but I am a Christian who has written over 28 books all of which include some reference to my faith. Twelve blog books on world history and current affairs, detailing world events , births and marriages on each day of the year, organised by month. Twelve books on the background to and history of Bible Quotes. One Bible quote per day for a year. An intro to a science fiction series I'm planning, post apocalyptic cyber punk. An autobiography with short story collections.
I'm known in Australia for my failure as a whistleblower over the negligence death of a school boy. ...
In Tanami’s red sands where spinifex grows,
Where waterholes gleam ‘neath the sun’s golden glare,
Lived Yaparla, sweet maid, with a heart pure as snow,
Her kindness a light in the desert so bare.
Her father, a wise man, kept songs for the land,
To guard the soak’s waters where life held its sway.
But drought gripped the earth with a merciless hand,
And he sought a new spring to ease their dismay.
Deep in a gorge where the rocks hid the sky,
He found a clear pool with fish dancing free.
But a voice shook the stones with a thunderous cry,
“Who steals my sweet water without leave of me?”
Out slid the Wanyarra, half-man, half a snake,
His scales flashed like opals, his eyes cold with pain.
“For your kin’s life,” he hissed, “one price I must take—
Send Yaparla to me, or your land drinks no rain.”
The father returned, his heart heavy with woe,
And told his dear daughter the serpent’s demand.
“I’ll go,” said Yaparla, her voice soft and low,
“For my people, my country, I’ll walk that red sand.”
She came to the gorge with her digging stick strong,
Singing songs of her kin ‘neath ...
AI adapted
To adapt the story of Bambi to the Dreamtime of Warlpiri culture in the Tanami Desert, we’ll reimagine the tale with respect for Warlpiri storytelling traditions, cosmology, and the desert environment. The Dreamtime (Jukurrpa) is a sacred framework where ancestral beings shape the land, law, and life, so Bambi’s journey will reflect Warlpiri values like kinship, connection to country, and survival in harmony with nature. I’ll keep the essence of Bambi—a young creature’s growth amid loss and discovery—while grounding it in the Tanami’s ecology and Warlpiri worldview. Since Bambi is a specific narrative, I’ll translate its core themes rather than reproduce the original text verbatim, ensuring cultural sensitivity. The story will be concise yet vivid, as requested.
Bambi in the Jukurrpa of the Tanami
In the Jukurrpa, when the Tanami Desert glowed under the first stars, the ancestral beings shaped the land. From the spinifex and red sand, they formed Jampijinpa, a young red ...
Created with Grok, Pictory, And Topmediai
Content from listening to podcasters Hunley and Groubert of America's Untold Stories. They tell it better than me
Folk Song: "The Ballad of Lee Harvey Oswald"
Verse 1
Oh, Lee Harvey Oswald, a man they did frame,
The deep state and CIA, they tarnished his name.
They said he went to Mexico, a lie they did spin,
While he fought for his service, his honor within.
Chorus
Sing for Lee Oswald, innocent and bold,
Framed by the shadows, a story untold.
With courage he stood, though the truth they denied,
A patriot’s heart in a nation that lied.
Verse 2
On that dark day in Dallas, they said he shot Tippit,
Left a wallet behind, but the tale didn’t fit.
Arrested with his own in hand, the proof was right there,
But the deep state kept spinnin’ their web of despair.
Chorus
Sing for Lee Oswald, innocent and bold,
Framed by the shadows, a story untold.
With courage he stood, though the truth they denied,
A patriot’s heart in a nation that lied.
Verse 3
They trained him in Russian, sent him off to the East,
A ...
