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.


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…


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…


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…


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…


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…


The Swan News

From ‘The Aboriginal People of Alice Springs’ by Dan White This and many more amazing pictures of Indigenous people of Central Australia can be viewed…


Emotional Intelligence

Will get barked at here probably… someone spoke of EQ in glowing terms…and it does sound perfectly reasonable when you look at the description (http://eiconsortium.org/measures/measures.html)…the…


The Living Quantum: How Biological Cubits Could Make Transhumanism Real

When quantum technology merges with the machinery of life, the line between biology and computation begins to blur. With biological cubits now functioning inside living cells, humanity stands on the edge of a revolution that could redefine consciousness, memory, and the nature of existence itself.


First Sculpture

Considered to be the first sculpture ever found. The Venus of Brassempouy was carved from mammoth ivory. She is 36.5 mm high, 22 mm deep…



Why Australia Should Be With China, Not the USA

Australia’s future will be shaped not by distant alliances but by the realities of our own region. For too long, we have tied ourselves to Washington’s strategic fears, most recently through the costly and outdated AUKUS submarine deal. At over $360 billion, AUKUS locks us into dependence on the United States and Britain while doing little to secure our nation in an era when autonomous systems and advanced technologies define modern defence.

The real choice facing Australia is clear. We can cling to a declining America, which hides inequality and social control behind the rhetoric of “freedom”, or we can embrace our place in the Asia Pacific by working with China, our largest trading partner and a nation that has lifted millions out of poverty while building infrastructure across continents.

Western narratives about “reds under the bed”, about Taiwan as a spark for World War III, and about American moral superiority are propaganda designed to serve oligarchs and arms dealers. Chinese people, by contrast, have proved time and again to be generous, trustworthy, and valuable partners.

China is not our enemy. China is our friend. For Australia, the path to peace, prosperity, and independence lies not across the Pacific but with our neighbours in Asia.