Declining Possum

<p>Back to School (?)Reminds me of those awful schooldays. Our Latin master was an international Rugby Referee and as such put us in awe and fearsome dread. We sweated over reading out loud which was an excruciating task,perspiration dripping onto the desk... ..but then we didn't have possums to help us ....<p>

'..and so on -estis , -sunt

What a difference a day makes ..........

Je suis bête

It's been a heavy few days. Unprecedented scenes of camaraderie and solidarity. Funny that it takes a shock,like the events of last week,  to unite us. Why can't the EU continue in this vein?
Doubt it. We're a funny mob capable of all sorts of things . Side by side with the throngs that crowded Paris streets , we have anti-islamisation demonstrations in Germany.

The Human Rights Watch reports that in six months of 2014  Boko Haram have killed , in Nigeria, more than 2000 innocent men,women and children , the annual figure ir reported to be nearer 10000; recently, too, in Pakistan more than 130 school children were gunned down in cold blood in the name of belief.

We are convinced our democratic ideals are true and are shocked to find those who don't agree. It's like the old Guru, smugly secure, in splendid isolation , atop a high mountain who,  when told that the meaning of life was not a deep well , replied thunderstruck, "It isn't?"

People can get killed for their convictions but  their beliefs and faith live on. Time is the sole evidence and proof of validity.

Alas, stupidity too, lives on. This is an ideal time for those arguing the case for bigotry to emerge from the shadows.

Bigotry is worse than stoopid.

He was told to stick the bomb in a jumbo jet's hold

Je suis Marianne

Liberte

Eugène Delacroix 

What's that about the pen?

Charlie will live..

The cold blooded killing of twelve in Paris is a shocker. No excuses, no matter what the cause.

Dangerous Missions

TTFN... 

Without so much as a cheery "Ila al-liqa'a" Prime Minister Abbott was off to Iraq on a secretive mission.The media were not invited due to the "heightened Security risk" Presumably the foreign Press were not subject to these concerns.Secrecy was again the order of the day.

Mr Abbott, it seemed, was a little more welcome in Iraq than he will be in Queensland where Campbell Newman is holding a  swiftie state election later this month. 

After discussing methods and strategies, the PM then visited Australian troops thanking them " very, very much" for their presence ( who sent them there?) and adding that "fair dinkum" Ozzies admired their efforts. His effusive thanks no doubt were reflected in their recent 1.5% pay rise. Although a tad below the inflation rate it was a move designed to encourage conversation at the ensuing official barbecue (snags and onions no doubt). 

History has shown that when one is in trouble at home politically, it's a good move to shift one's focus elsewhere. 

As they say in France, the more things change the more they remain the same.

Ho, Hum!

Mr Abbott arrives "ïncognito"in Baghdad