One of the more of the many appalling – things – incidents – catastrophes of WW1 that happened:

Gallipoli.

Australia and New Zealand and the UK and – we should NEVER forget – Turkey – were embroiled in this utterly futile and destructive stretched-out battle. So many young men – teenagers, on both sides, were doing their best to kill each other, probably without any idea of the politics behind that war.

So many young lives wasted.
So many parents and siblings mourning.
So many families grieving forever.

Now the wannabe warlord/tsar of the world is wreaking his hubris on Ukraine – a place fought over for centuries. Who’s next? Poland, aka the battleground of Europe?

When I was a child, my family and I often visited the War Memorial in Canberra. For me, it was an important way of learning part of our history, and I learned so much from those visits: respect, sorrow, and – hey – let’s NEVER do that again.

Now I completely and utterly deplore the Australian War Memorial’s morphing into being a celebration of war. I don’t see anything in their glorification of war that supports the amazing efforts of the people of Ukraine. That is so sad.

I want the AWM to return to what it used to be: a memorial.

It’s not a memorial or a museum now. Instead, it’s – under its current leadership – a glorification of endless war.

My father served in the RAAF throughout WW2. He would be appalled by the current state of the “museum”.

It seems trite to start with anything like “We are all Ukrainians now”. However, in so many ways, we are. We are all little people, doing our best to get on with our lives, looking after those dear to us.
Then life as we’ve known it explodes, and we are shattered into devastating uncertainties – precisely what’s happening to everyone in Ukraine.

To backtrack 60 years, my parents were remarkably open with me from my earliest days about social issues, e.g., cancer and smoking, sexuality, religion, racism, politics – local and world – and everything in between. I knew about the Holocaust, I knew about Anne Frank and so many other victims, I knew about the nuclear bombing of Japan, Yet I don’t recall ANYTHING about the Cuban Missile Crisis.

I do wonder – and now wish I’d asked them – if they’d decided to adopt media silence as far as I was concerned (I was only 6 years old but was already aware of the dangers of cigarettes and often cried myself to sleep thinking about mum’s smoking.

I was well-aware of the Malaysian/Indonesian war. I knew about the Korean war. I most certainly knew about the Vietnam war. And – unbeknownst to them – I had listened to a dramatisation of the Nuremberg Trials. 

The only reason I can imagine is that, for them, it was an existential crisis, and they didn’t want me to know about it until it might have affected Australia.

And I weep for all Ukrainians, all of whom have been children, and for all and every Ukrainian child.

Note: my apologies for having posted a work-in-progress threadstarter late yesterday evening.

PM Julia Gillard’s response to Abbott in 2010:

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2021-03-23/scott-morrison-changed-the-script-women-sexism-political/100023188

Today our illustrious PM tried to change the script – again.

He tried to portray his government as being pro-women, all the while ignoring his deliberate ignorance of the abuse – sexual and otherwise – of every aspect of the national workforce. Not to mention in his specific domain: our federal Parliament House.

His (though he’d probably say it was his office’s) treatment of Brittany Higgins and Rachelle Miller is unforgiveable. I have nothing but admiration for these two former staffers, and former Liberal MP Julia Banks, for (as Mr Albanese put it) lifting the lid on the culture of bullying, harassment, and sexual abuse in Federal Parliament.

Bipartisan recognition of harm done is important but must be followed by real action and cultural change. The younger generations – women in their 20s, 30s, 40s – are determined to continue speaking truth to power, as Brittany Higgins and Grace Tame, who gave our graceless prime minister possibly the worst slap-down of his life just a fortnight ago …

… will do later today at the National Press Club. Needless to say, I shall be glued to the media!

Finally, another fantastic ode from Patricia WA:

“Amazing Grace!”

Isn’t that our PM’s favourite hymn?
Did he pray for a souvenir snap with him?
But this photo-op shows ‘preyed-on’ victim.

All year he’s ignored ‘The Cause’ of her fame,
To give voice to women, shout out names
Of bullies for whom it’s often a game
For their gangs to play again and again.

Sometimes a good cop shows up and they’re caught,
‘News’ writes a story and juicy report
Of fighting, screaming, how wildly she fought!
Yet often the case is thrown out of court.

Other abuse, more discretely played out
Was in some High Office when staff weren’t about.
In Confession poor innocents found out
No help would be had from those thought devout.

Now headlines are hers because she refused
To nicely behave as he wants her to;
To pretend yet again she likes being used.

That’s why Australians all say, “Grace, we love you!
You beat him!” Framed picture-perfect for us too!