Tragedy, blame and the cowardice of easy narratives

After tragedy, grief is quickly hijacked by blame. Votes are counted, ideologies accused, and humanity lost in the noise. But violence is not a referendum, and collective guilt solves nothing. What matters is courage, evidence, and a media culture that informs rather than inflames.


Saint Pastuer

Travelling companions aren’t always pleasant. If you are forced to sit beside someone who is obnoxious or smelly or you aren’t in the mood to…


Loaves (no fishes)

I always wanted to open a bakery…if I win lotto I will and call it ‘This Day’…as in ‘give us this day our daily bread’. …


Motorbike Frog

Margs people or ‘Margites’ as I affectionately call them will get a kick out of  a newby (a Maggot) who was annoyed about what sounded…


MR Soup Kitchen

A bunch of really special people start chopping and slicing at the Margaret River Soup Kitchen every Wednesday morning in preparation for the 5.00 pm…


Going South

The Swan Newspaper is going south…specifically the South West of Western Australia.  We will be telling stories about the great southern region, its history and…


Cow Bullshed

The Cowaramup Bullshed is the ‘Men Shed’ for the Margaret River region. Apparently others are planned for Margs itself and there is also  one at…


Chasing Immortality: From Solar Swarms to Eternal Minds

Immortality has always been humanity’s oldest dream. From myths of gods to the latest neural implants, we’ve searched for ways to outlast time. Now, Dyson swarms — vast constellations of solar-panel satellites — promise limitless energy, while artificial intelligence and neural technologies hint at endurance beyond biology. Could machines carry our voices, memories, and even our identities into futures powered by the stars?


Fab Faberge

Alexei, the long-awaited heir to the Romanov dynasty was born to Emperor Nicholas II and the Empress Alexandra Fedorovna in 1904. Unfortunately in 1911 the…


What a Gas

The following jewel of self experimentation with mind-warping laughing gas, is in the words of Sir Humphrey Davy himself. It is taken from A History…


Nearly 2 Million Migrants in 10 Years. Who Really Benefits?

Australia has welcomed almost two million migrants in the past decade, yet housing affordability and wages are in crisis. While families are left struggling to find shelter and fair pay, real estate agents and big business profit from a system that rewards exploitation over community wellbeing.


From Wessel to Kirk: How Martyrdom Becomes Propaganda in the MAGA Era

When Nazi propagandist Joseph Goebbels transformed Horst Wessel’s death into a political myth in 1930s Germany, he showed how martyrdom could be weaponised. Nearly a century later, the Republican Party and MAGA movement are doing the same with Charlie Kirk’s assassination — erasing complexity, amplifying grievance, and turning tragedy into a rallying cry.


Napoleon’s Chef

He was the first ‘celebrity chef.’ Emperors and Kings, the elite of Europe in the age of romantacism paid homage to Carême’s amazing culinary creations…