ancient ruins of apollon temple

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I spent a good number of years studying ancient history at university and thoroughly enjoyed it. I recommend the learning experience. Understanding the ancient world, however, remains an intellectual exercise, as the passing of millennia makes it impossible to really grasp the Geist of these distant times. I compare it to trying to stare down a deep well through cloudy water in a bid to see what is down there. Fleeting speculations based on interpretations of translations and bits of broken pottery are the best we can do. Still, the process of trying to comprehend the past is a worthwhile thing in itself, in my view. It reflects keenly upon the present.Continue Reading

President Trump Congratulates Record Breaking Astronaut (NHQ201704240002)

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America was made great via immigration. Millions of people joined this new world democratic experiment and became Americans. The country grew in leaps and bounds economically to become a superpower. The journey was not perfect and plenty of mistakes were made along the way. People died and were exploited in unfortunate incidents but the arc of progress was headed in the right direction. Migrants kept coming to find opportunity and often to escape hopelessness. Forces of good kept pushing for fairness and equal opportunity for all Americas no matter the colour of their skin or ethnic background. Pockets of racism and inequality remained but there was a general trend toward a better life for all. The American experiment: Democracy & surviving Trump.Continue Reading

Poverty (Armut), (1919) by Aloys

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I have been reading a detailed account of the slavery of Indigenous Indians in the Americas from the 15C onwards. They call it the ‘other slavery’ because most of us are more aware of the enslavement of Africans. The slave states in the southern states of the USA have been the focus of many books and movies. What happened to the native Indians, apart from their extermination via massacres, warfare, and disease, is less well known. The Spanish Empire was the first and most heavily involved colonial European power in the Americas and the Caribbean.Continue Reading

football stadium

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Losing the 2023 Grand Final by just 4 points in many way means that Brisbane were right in this contest. Collingwood were, however, never going to lose this match on the evidence of a couple of screenings of this great game. The game was won and lost on the back of defence, as most finals are. Brisbane’s back 6 just did not measure up to the extreme demands of the contest. Whereas the Magpies defence was enormous for 4 quarters and was the difference in the end. Why Brisbane lost the AFL Grand Final – it was their mediocre defence.Continue Reading

Badge - Vote Yes for Aborigines, Australia, 1967

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If you vote No in the Voice referendum you are voting with the team that brought you Robodebt. Robodebt cost lives and Australian tax payers more than $1.8 billion in a settled class action by plaintiffs. If you vote No you are voting with the team once led by the biggest liar in the history of Australian prime ministers, Scott Morrison. If you vote no you are aligning yourself with the racist community here in Australia. If dog whistling is one of your favourite sports, then, Peter Dutton is your man. Dutton has promised another referendum on the same issue if he is elected PM??? Warren Mundine has promised his push for treaty if you only vote No???? It sounds like these folks will say anything to dissuade you from voting Yes in this referendum about changing the constitution to recognise a Voice to Parliament for First Nations Australians.Continue Reading

Killers Of The Flower Moon movie

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Everybody is talking about Killers Of The Flower Moon because it is now a Hollywood movie. The book, written by David Grann, was published some 6 years ago in 2017. This is a great story and more importantly a true story. It tells us about the nature of human beings and how white people have treated those who have come before them. It is an American story involving native Americans and their displacement by European settlers. It is an American story, also, because it is about money and get rich quick schemes at any cost. It has something to say about how First Nations people were treated by white colonising powers in the creation of the New World.Continue Reading

Arnold Rasnick, Virginia-Pocahontas Coal Company

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If the PwC consultancy crisis has revealed one important thing it is the role of accountants as professional enablers for rip off merchants in the corporate world. Now, we are informed via an ABC investigation of labour hire fraud in the oil and gas industry in Australia. The shifty paperwork was completed by a local accountant in Perth, WA – one Blake Read.Continue Reading