I was recently invited to speak to a student group about alcohol prohibition. During the course of my talk, I shared with them perhaps the most chilling historical account of America’s failed experiment to ban the sale of alcohol.
The Prohibition Era (1920 -1933), which began with the passage of the Volstead Act, had many problems. Virtually overnight, millions of Americans became criminals for the “crime” of having a drink. Instead of people trading money for a jug of beer or a bottle of gin, they had to make their own or turn to the black market. It resulted in a surge of organized crime and the rise of many of the most notorious gangsters in history, including Al Capone, Dutch Schultz, and Charles “Lucky” Luciano.
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.
Well, we now have it officially announced. The Australian Federal election is to be held on the 21st day of May. That means we will have to enure endless hours and weeks of political posturing so as to convince us that we should vote for the incumbent government or the coalition of Labor and the Greens.
Obviously, people like me will be voting for One Nation, UAP, Liberal Democrats - anyone but the raving bloody lunatic parties who are our current choices.
But sadly, the same people who line up to get their children vaccinated and are now seeing them fall ill with heart conditions, the same people who wear face nappies and are terrified of their own shadows should that shadow be infected with Covid; these are the people who will decide OUR future.
Read more: It's election time in Australia. Can we take the Senate? Maybe it is time to charge!
A very alarming global food shortage has already begun, and it is only going to get worse in the months ahead. I realize that this is not good news, but I would encourage you to share the information in this article with everyone that you can. People deserve to understand what is happening, and they deserve an opportunity to get prepared. The pace at which things are changing around the globe right now is absolutely breathtaking, but most people assume that life will just continue to carry on as it normally does. Unfortunately, the truth is that a very real planetary emergency is developing right in front of our eyes. The following are 20 facts about the emerging global food shortage that should chill you to the core…
Read more: 20 Facts About the Emerging Global Food Shortage That Should Chill You to The Core
The pages were just as clean as they had been when they were first been bound. It was the year 1946 and I thumbed through to find the entry that I sought so many decades later. And there it was. Filed neatly under the heading " tonsils. "
I am a mother, a grandmother and a great grandmother. I am also a daughter, a sister and a person who believes in such things as a child's RIGHT to be a child.
The RIGHT to life, to believe in the Tooth Fairy, Santa and that rainbows are a sign from God, not scary men dressed up as women. I believe that the fairies at the bottom of the garden are pretty little creatures who sprinkle fairydust and chat with butterflies and kiss my loved ones on the cheek. They fly on the backs of dragonflies and whisper soft words in little ears to calm them as they fall asleep.
Last night, our site suffered a bit of a hiccup... a massive attack that brought it to its knees. I have stayed up throughout the night to see if I could get it back and have managed to restore it to a few days ago. Sadly, several articles have been lost.
I apologise to everyone for the interruption to service!
Read more: Has there ever been a time of peace? Or are we always at war?
Reginald Woolmington was a twenty-one-year-old farm labourer from Castleton, Dorset in the UK. Three months after he married seventeen-year- old Violet in November 1934, she gave birth to a child and left Woolmington following a dispute and returned to her mother. In the December following, Woolmington stole a double-barrelled shotgun and cartridges from his employer, sawed off the barrel and hid the weapon under his coat. He then bicycled over to his mother-in-law's house where he shot and killed Violet.
How many of us when we were young had a penpal? It is a tradition that has not survived in its old form... yet has it been re born in the form of social media?
The whole idea of snail mail seems rather absurd these days, when an email or a quick message in a forum or comments section can give us instant gratification.
Read more: I remember.... when penpals existed... before the internet
We may believe that this is about a virus. We may FEAR this virus. We may dread what will happen in the next few months but I do not think we have seen anything yet.
China has been setting up the master chess play for decades. Quietly buying vital infrastructure in Australia and elsewhere- including its water and agricultural producing companies – Australia’s ports – leased for 99 years – and it has bought the State of Victoria for a who knows what payment to who knows who and for how knows how much.
Read more: Flashback Friday... 2 years ago... wow.. has anything changed? April Fools.
On 6 and 9 August 1945, the United States detonated two atomic bombs over the…
108 hits
RATTY NEWS SPECIAL REPORT THE PROFESSOR PECK PHENOMENON How Dusty Gulch University Accidentally Created the…
204 hits
Barefoot in the Grass: The Last Lesson My Father Taught Me My father passed away…
239 hits
Thomas Pritchard, Australia's last "Rat of Tobruk" passed away at the age of 102 on…
230 hits
From immigration policy to identity politics, energy to ideology - the erosion of Western society…
281 hits
Twenty-Five Teenagers. One Mother. What Could Possibly Go Wrong? When I was about twelve years…
259 hits
Swish, Swish... Off With Their Heads When I was a young lass, I was a…
256 hits
Mystery Deepens: Who Are the Chookhouse Four? By Roderick (Whiskers ) McNibble, Chief Investigative Correspondent,…
258 hits
The sea doesn’t warn you. It doesn’t care who you are, what rank you hold,…
306 hits
The Census Came for the Quiet Ones I have just finished the Australian Census. Had…
2769 hits
In a fast-changing Australia, where new cultures and identities weave fresh threads into our ever…
319 hits
“Every tyrant must begin by claiming to have what his victims respect and to give…
340 hits
At nine years old, I felt the silence of the lambs, long before I knew…
307 hits
While the new aces argue about the runway, the old crew still knows how to…
350 hits
Howling into the Abyss of Settler-Colonial Absurdism A Decolonial Reading of "The Werewolves of Dusty…
298 hits
RATTY NEWS SPECIAL INVESTIGATION THE WEREWOLVES OF DUSTY GULCH Project Howl, the Hacked Rolling Pin,…
380 hits
The Ghost Returns The first thing he noticed was the silence. Not the silence of…
347 hits
A Dream Needs a Driver: Sir William Hamilton, the Jet Boat, and the Men Who…
368 hits
When I tell people I’m a beek, inevitably the first thing they say is, “Yes,…
387 hits
He stood on top of the world - literally. But Sir Edmund Hillary never saw…
367 hits
The Basement at Yekaterinburg When People Become Symbols, History Takes a Dark Turn On the…
393 hits
In many Western countries today, we often speak of multiculturalism as though traditions no longer…
371 hits
RATTY NEWS EXCLUSIVE THE DUCKS WHO KNEW TOO MUCH How the Mysterious Death of the…
356 hits
In a world that seems determined to teach us to hate our countries, I remember…
423 hits
When the Bush Is No Longer Enough Just days after Sam Neill's passing on 13…
449 hits
Why Churchill Still Matters in Australia: Blunt Voices, Shared Goals, and the Fight for a…
438 hits
Bastille Day, Artificial Intelligence, and the New Reign of Terror The guillotine has gone digital.…
430 hits
How a turned head, a washing machine, and a handful of extraordinary coincidences made me…
411 hits
RATTY NEWS FILM REVIEW Dracula the Emu No Stakes... No Steaks... No Hope. Reviewed by…
455 hits
A 94-year-old’s heartfelt plea about cruelty to animals, the neglect of children and the elderly,…
423 hits
No, Sire. It Is a Revolution. It's easy to forget, but revolutions don't just fall…
421 hits