My grandfather in WW1. I have fond memories of him, and am probably the only grandchild to do so. (I was the first grandchild). He had parkinsons and became hospital bound and non-compos when I was still young.
I refuse to praise the "glory" of war, though understand its occasional need. I decry the utter waste of human life and potential in the pursuit of power or glory. I spit on the leaders, politicians, and diplomats who would rather stand on "honour" than seek peace. I revile the media, which publish stories of "glorious" battles and lie about reality to appease their political and financial masters. I hate, truly hate, the military financial machine that seeks profit from death. I weep in memory of those who died for another man's glory.
Those who fell are not our "glorious" dead; they simply are our dead. Nothing more. Lost to us through other men's folly and hate.
I praise the bravery of men and women placed in untenable situations by those who have the power to not do so. I praise the protesters who stand up for truth against the machinations of their country's powerful.
ANZAC day, the 25th April, is one of the most solemn days in #Australia, commemorating the first great battle Australia took part in as a nation - the storming of the beach in what is now known as "ANZAC Cove", Türkiye on April 25, 1915 as part of #WWI. #ANZAC stands for Australian and New Zealand Army Corps, the name for the joint force of the two young nations, forever joined in solidarity and mateship.
Ever since Bruce Ruxton died in 2011, Australians have struggled to find a way to make ANZAC Day cringeworthy, manipulatively sentimental, insensitive, attention-grabbing, disrespectful, inauthentically mythologised, and downright embarrassing.
At last, we have all that and more — thanks to the Queensland government's Virtual Veterans AI guide to World War I. Hurrah to the Queensland Government and the brave techbros at TalkVia AI who merged the horrors of war and the horrors of an "AI" LLM chatbot. slow clap
Arvo, Toots! Well, Mum phoned with exciting news - the #Anzac Commemorative Medallion just arrived in the post! I helped her apply for this 7 months ago. Her Grandfather was at Lone Pine in 1915, had his thumb shot off, and was left permanently deaf in one ear. After spending time in hospital in England, he was back home in 1916, and married in Woollahra in Sydney- and then lost all his medals and memorabilia in a house fire at Yass. I’ve found so much documentation, Mum knew none of this!
Reminder that if you're in Australia and work "normal" hours then taking Monday off gives you an extra long weekend - Tuesday is ANZAC Day. So a long weekend and then a day of solemn reflection for many #Australia#ANZAC 🇦🇺