In the United Kingdom, four students have recently been suspended from their school after slightly damaging a Quran, despite there being “no malicious intent by those involved” according to the BBC report. British police have recorded the event as a “non-crime hate incident,”
A boy had taken the Quran to school last week and given it to another pupil who read out passages on the tennis court. The book was then taken inside and fell on the floor before being put in a pupil’s bag. The book was the student’s own property. Yet this was deemed as a suspension-worthy offense by the school.
To escalate the situation more, a local government official, Usman Ali, claimed the book had been “desecrated” and it “needs to be dealt with urgently by all the authorities, namely the police, the school and the local authority”
When I think of ANZAC Day I think of my late Great Granpa.
Read more: As a young Patriot, I pay tribute to the men who fought for my right to live
“The American press, once the guardian of democracy, was hollowed out to the point that it could be worn like a hand puppet by the U.S. security agencies and party operatives….Disinformation is both the name of the crime and the means of covering it up; a weapon that doubles as a disguise.” — Jacob Siegel
How’s the war going? Huh?
Do you mean the war over in Ukraine?
Or the US government’s war against its own people?
It is not often that a hero can also be a larrikin and vice versa. But John " Scotty " Simpson was such a man. A deserter who found himself thrust into the horror of Gallipoli instead of implementing his plan to jump ship in England
John Simpson Kirkpatrick was an Englishman of Scottish parentage who wanted to get away from his wife.... so he joined the Merchant Navy in 1909. In 1910 he deserted from his ship when it was docked at Newcastle in Australia. He led an itinerant lifestyle as a cane cutter, coal miner and various jobs on coastal merchant ships. He also became a left wing activist with The Industrial Workers of the World. Hardly the stuff of heroes.
But he went on to become a hero.
Read more: Simpson and his Donkey - a larrakin who became a Gallipoli Hero
They say that things aren't what they used to be. One area where that is particularly true is children.
As a lad of a mere 90 years young, I look back on my own childhood and think that I was fairly spirited and independent, in thought and in action.
But I am a pussycat in comparison to one young Australian boy named Lennie. Yes, I remember when kids were tough. But this boy makes me humble.
Over recent years, ANZAC Day was subsumed by the Coronavirus lockdown and we were denied the right to celebrate it and honour our Diggers in the usual way by government decree.
As the day approaches it looks like this year it may be subsumed again by the furore of The Voice.
Either way, I expect that we will still get the usual collection of the bearded unwashed telling us how wrong we were/are for participating in any war because we should be celebrating peace.
These angry shots are not the first, nor will they be the last salvos we ordinary grateful citizens will be subjected to by this ignorant element in our society. Ignore them and roll with the punches.
Over the centuries, we have learned so much about the strength of the human spirit. That incredible ability to triumph over adversity, whether it be physical, emotional or mental agony... or all three at once.
As Easter is uppermost in our thoughts, so too is the concept of war. That conflict that drives us to delve deep and draw upon reserves that we often did not know we had.
Some time ago I had occasion to watch a movie called " The Ideal Palace. " It was based on the true story of a man in France, Joseph Cheval, (19 April 1836 – 19 August 1924) who built a " palace ' for his daughter, Alice.
Read more: A Story of Rebirth after Death and 33 years of Struggle
I dedicate this article to the women who fought, died and tragically were lost.
Alongside the brave men who did the same.
I dedicate it to the women who kept the wheels turning on the farms and in the mines and in the factories and in the family homes.
There is great equality in life and in death. But nowhere as great as in the love we feel in our hearts.
I was brought up around boats. My late Dad was a sailor with the Royal Navy and later with the Royal New Zealand Navy. Nothing weird about that except, like many sailors in those days, he couldn't swim.
Still, that was what he did as a young man during the latter years of the Second World War when he decided that he wanted to sail off, see the world, and hopefully be home in time for dinner.
CAN SOCIETY BE designed? Can an expert engineer alleviate people’s pains and struggles with a good-enough central plan and blueprint?
Minoru Yamasaki thought so.
The Pruitt–Igoe urban housing project, a 1950s effort to revitalize 'urban blight' in St. Louis, was a project doomed from the start—and the "one big failure" of Minoru Yamasaki's distinguished architectural career.
On Bloody Sunday 30 January in 1972, peaceful protesters in Derry were gunned down by soldiers…
202 hits
Dusty Gulch Gazette – Reference Guide Purpose: A canonical reference for writers, artists, and collaborators…
66 hits
Dusty Gulch Gazette – Chapter 2 Shadows in the Frangipani By Roderick Whiskers McNibble, Chief…
317 hits
In early 1942, the Japanese launched their invasion of the Dutch East Indies (modern-day Indonesia)…
541 hits
Before Everything Became Political I grew up in a small rural farming community in New…
370 hits
Political parties were meant to serve the people, but in today’s climate, they resemble warring…
340 hits
Australia Day 2026: A Quiet Line in the Sand I began writing something cheerful. Something…
397 hits
It's time to move beyond guilt-or-glory myths. History is never simple, and it should never…
1095 hits
Why modern activism feels less like justice and more like identity I was watching Rebel…
375 hits
By The Boundary Rider, Dusty Gulch Gazette Part bush philosopher, part realist, part stubborn old…
402 hits
A Stranger on the Line: Meeting the Boundary Rider By Roderick “Whiskers” McNibble, Dusty Gulch…
422 hits
So many people from all walks of life have shaped our Aussie way of life,…
395 hits
As Australia Day approaches, I am reminded of a moment not long ago when ANZAC…
432 hits
Another 26th of January is on our doorstep. Only a few more sleeps before we…
455 hits
Australia's White Australia Policy was a set of laws designed to restrict immigration by people…
439 hits
Frozen Whiskers and Secret Missiles By Roderick “Whiskers” McNibble, Senior Foreign Correspondent, Dusty Gulch Gazette…
491 hits
By Roderick Whiskers McNibble, Chief Nibbler & Correspondent Date: Some dark night in Dusty Gulch,…
427 hits
Iran’s Self-Rescue and the Moral Test for a Silent West When calls for rescue come…
501 hits
Albo, the Old Testament, and the Strange Shape of Freedom Prime Minister Anthony Albanese thought…
485 hits
BREAKING: Albanese Appoints Malcolm Turnbull as US Ambassador – “Time to Pay the Piper” Edition! Canberra,…
485 hits
Albanese, the Bikini, and the Death of Aussie Larrikinism Following the horrific massacre at Bondi…
1504 hits
On the 10th of January 2011, a catastrophic deluge unleashed an unprecedented "inland tsunami" across…
473 hits
Knees Up, Feathers Down: Trevor the Wallaby and the Great Knee Caper of Dusty Gulch…
414 hits
Dusty Gulch Gazette Special Dispatch “The Art of the Iceworm Deal: From Venezuela to Orangeland”…
480 hits
Money Still Makes the World Go Around - And Boy, Has It Gotten Wilder When…
513 hits
From Floppy Disks to the Cyber Monster: How the Internet Changed Us It all really…
505 hits
It is one of the great temptations of modern geopolitics: to stare at the latest…
523 hits
When America “Runs” a Country, the World Should Pay Attention As 2026 stumbles out of…
565 hits
There are moments in history when telling the truth plainly becomes dangerous - not because…
435 hits
As a child, we spent our Christmas holidays at a remote coastal sheep farm in…
468 hits
From Dusty Gulch Part One of the Honklanistan Series By Roderick (Whiskers) McNibble The lamingtons…
519 hits