The Amazing Cucumber.

This information was published in The New York Times several weeks ago, (taken from my blog) as part of their "Spotlight on the Home" series that highlighted creative and fanciful ways to solve common problems. - Werner

1. Cucumbers contain most of the vitamins you need every day, just one cucumber contains Vitamin B1, Vitamin B2, Vitamin B3, Vitamin B5, Vitamin B6, Folic Acid, Vitamin C, Calcium, Iron, Magnesium, Phosphorus, Potassium and Zinc.

2. Feeling tired in the afternoon, put down the caffeinated soda and pick up a cucumber. Cucumbers are a good source of B Vitamins and Carbohydrates that can provide that quick pick-me-up that can last for hours.

3. Tired of your bathroom mirror fogging up after a shower? Try rubbing a cucumber slice along the mirror, it will eliminate the fog and provide a soothing, spa-like fragrance.

4. Are grubs and slugs ruining your planting beds? Place a few slices in a small pie tin and your garden will be free of pests all season long. The chemicals in the cucumber react with the aluminium to give off a scent undetectable to humans but drive garden pests crazy and make them flee the area.

5. Looking for a fast and easy way to remove cellulite before going out or to the pool? Try rubbing a slice or two of cucumbers along your problem area for a few minutes, the phytochemicals in the cucumber cause the collagen in your skin to tighten, firming up the outer layer and reducing the visibility of cellulite. Works great on wrinkles too!!!

6. Want to avoid a hangover or terrible headache? Eat a few cucumber slices before going to bed and wake up refreshed and headache free. Cucumbers contain enough sugar, B vitamins and electrolytes to replenish essential nutrients the body lost, keeping everything in equilibrium, avoiding both a hangover and headache!!

7. Looking to fight off that afternoon or evening snacking binge? Cucumbers have been used for centuries and often used by European trappers, traders and explores for quick meals to thwart off starvation.

8. Have an important meeting or job interview and you realize that you don't have enough time to polish your shoes? Rub a freshly cut cucumber over the shoe, its chemicals will provide a quick and durable shine that not only looks great but also repels water.

9. Out of WD 40 and need to fix a squeaky hinge? Take a cucumber slice and rub it along the problematic hinge, and voila, the squeak is gone!

10. Stressed out and don't have time for massage, facial or visit to the spa? Cut up an entire cucumber and place it in a boiling pot of water, the chemicals and nutrients from the cucumber with react with the boiling water and be released in the steam, creating a soothing, relaxing aroma that has been shown the reduce stress in new mothers and college students during final exams.

11. Just finish a business lunch and realize you don't have gum or mints? Take a slice of cucumber and press it to the roof of your mouth with your tongue for 30 seconds to eliminate bad breath, the phytochemicals will kill the bacteria in your mouth responsible for causing bad breath.

12. Looking for a 'green' way to clean your faucets, sinks or stainless steel? Take a slice of cucumber and rub it on the surface you want to clean, not only will it remove years of tarnish and bring back the shine, but is won't leave streaks and won't harm you fingers or fingernails while you clean.

13. Using a pen and made a mistake? Take the outside of the cucumber and slowly use it to erase the pen writing, also works great on crayons and markers that the kids have used to decorate the walls!!

Pass this along to everybody you know who is looking for better and safer ways to solve life's everyday problems.

* * * * * * * *

Here is a garden tip for you – no guarantee is given that it will succeed. A man was growing wonderful lush red tomatoes every year, yet the tomatoes grown by a lady in his neighbourhood were lacking in the colour department and she asked the man what he was doing to his tomatoes to have such brilliant red colours.

“I stand in front of my tomato garden naked in my trench coat and I flash them.” The lady said that she would try this with her tomatoes. After a few weeks they met in the street and the man asked her. “Did your tomatoes turn red?” “No” she replied, “but my cucumbers are enormous”

And for a brag. These are the cucumbers grown by me, they may not be enormous, but they are nice. Click on picture to enlarge. - Werner

My thought for today:

Being happy doesn't mean everything's perfect. It means you've decided to see beyond the imperfections. –Unknown

Laughter is the best medicine!

My last two postings were bad news about Queensland’s state affairs, which possibly put some people in a gloomy frame of mind. Hopefully, the following story will uplift your spirits and remove the feeling of melancholy apprehension. Just picture yourself in such a situation as the lady was in – then it would not have been a laughing matter.

Laughter and humor are two emotions that are commonly over looked. Laughter is therapeutic for the soul and laughing is so healthy - it's like jogging on the inside. - Werner

A hearty laugh gives one a dry cleaning, while a good cry is a wet wash. Puzant Kevork Thomajan

HOW DID YOU BREAK YOUR ARM?? (A hilarious must read story – Werner)

Even if you aren't a skier, you'll be able to appreciate the humour of the slopes as written by a New Orleans paper: A friend just got back from a holiday skiing trip to Utah with the kind of story that warms the cockles of anybody's heart. Conditions were perfect...12 below, no feeling in the toes, basic numbness all over, telling me when we're having a fun kind of day.

One of the women in the group complained to her husband that she was in dire need of a rest room. He told her not to worry, that he was sure there was relief waiting at the top of the lift in the form of a powder room for female skiers in distress. He was wrong, of course and the pain did not go away.

If you've ever had nature hit its panic button in you, then you know that a temperature of 12 below doesn't help matters.

With time running out, the woman weighed her options. Her husband, picking up on the intensity of the pain, suggested that since she was wearing an all-white ski outfit, she should go off in the woods and no one would even notice. He assured her, "The white will provide more than adequate camouflage." So she headed for the tree line, began lowering her ski pants and proceeded to do her thing.

If you've ever parked on the side of a slope, then you know there is a right way and wrong way to set your skis so you don't move. Yup, you got it!!! She had them positioned the wrong way.

Steep slopes are not forgiving...even during the most embarrassing moments. Without warning, the woman found herself skiing backward, out-of-control, racing through the trees somehow missing all of them and onto another slope. Her derriere and the reverse side were still bare, her pants down around her knees, and she was picking up speed all the while. She continued backwards, totally out-of-control, creating an unusual vista for the other skiers. The woman skied back under the lift and finally collided violently with a pylon.

The bad news was that she broke her arm and was unable to pull up her ski pants. At long last her husband arrived, putting an end to her nudie show, and then summoned the ski patrol. They transported her to a hospital. While in the emergency room, a man with an obviously broken leg was put in the bed next to hers.

"So, how'd you break your leg?" she asked, making small talk. "It was the stupidest thing you ever saw," he said. "I was riding up this ski lift and suddenly, I couldn't believe my eyes! There was this crazy woman skiing backward, out-of control, down the mountain, with her bare bottom hanging out of her pants. I leaned over to get a better look and fell out of the lift."

"So, how'd you break your arm??

Further to FLUORIDE OPTIONS!

This is an addition to the previous two postings. A picture speaks a thousand words. In my introduction to Jan Sharrock’s posting, I should have mentioned that Jan is totally against fluoridated water, but is forced to drink it because of this government’s mandatory fluoridation legislation. So, Jan has selected the “better” of the three evils. My cartoonist friend sent me this cartoon. Click on picture to enlarge.- Werner

IMPORTANT! FLUORIDE OPTIONS.

Mrs. Jan Sharrock suffers health problems by drinking fluoridated water. Jan sent this to me and asks everybody to write to the Cairns Mayor to request to use the first option. - Werner

Before fluoride is introduced to Cairns water supply this year, Council will decide which particular fluoride chemical we will have.

The options are:
1. Sodium Fluoride
2. Sodium Silicofluoride
3. Hydrofluorosilicic Acid

Option 1 which is Sodium Fluoride, is classified as a Pharmaceutical Grade product. This means that it must meet strict standards of purity, and be subject to periodical testing, thus ensuring that it is, by government definition, suitable for human consumption. Sodium Fluoride is the most expensive option, and is the chemical used in Townsville and Mareeba water supplies.

Options 2 & 3 are known collectively as Silicofluorides, and their classification is Industrial Grade. The pesticide and rat poison industries use silicofluorides, as do the laundry and drycleaning trades, for stain removal. These chemicals are also used extensively in the refining of oil. Sodium Silicofluoride is the cheapest option.

Unlike pharmaceutical grade Sodium Fluoride, the silicofluorides do not have to be chemically pure, and may therefore be contaminated with residues of toxic heavy metals, such as arsenic, mercury and lead, all of which are known carcinogens. Product will vary from batch to batch.

When we look at the poison ratings of each product, there is again considerable variation between options. Poisons are required by law to be labelled according to their rating on the Government Poisons Schedule.

Checking the options again:

1. Option 1 is Sodium Fluoride. It has the lowest possible poison rating which is S2
.
2. The rating of the second option, Sodium Silicofluoride, jumps to S6. Products in this category have a greater potential for causing harm to humans.

3. The third option, Hydrofluorosilicic Acid is S7. This is the category for the most dangerous poisons. The only higher category, S8, covers illegal poisons.

No toxicology studies have ever been performed on silicofluorides used in water fluoridation schemes. The only toxicology studies ever done are on pharmaceutical grade S2 Sodium Fluoride, as used in toothpaste.

Council favours the Sodium Silicofluoride option. If we must have fluoride for health reasons, then the choice must surely reflect the primary issue which is health, and this product is SODIUM FLUORIDE. Price should be a secondary concern.

It is imperative that Council be aware of the huge variation between the 3 fluoride chemicals, and that they know what you and I, and all the people of Cairns want. Council needs to know that you feel strongly about the best fluoride option. And they need to know NOW, before a decision is implemented, which will be any time now. You can email the mayor at v.schier@cairns.qld.gov.au
Jan Sharrock.

The Queensland government is on the nose – big time.

Most people of Queensland are starting to realise that they committed a grave folly when they re-elected this Labor government in March 2009. Most either didn’t see their dictatorial tendencies or had the wool pulled over their eyes, and now we collectively pay the price. Selling our State assets, mandating fluoridation and saddling Queenslanders with a horrific debt burden are just a few things that raise the bristles of the population.

The introduction of fluoride into Far North Queensland is expected to cost $5 million, while rate payers will fork out $500.000 a year to keep the system running. If you multiply this with all the Regional Councils in Queensland you get a princely sum.

I can’t help reiterating the sad tale of Tasmanian fluoridation, which clearly shows the futility of this practice and the waste of money this Labor government is “flushing down the drain.” Pun intended.

Quote: Tasmania has been fluoridated for about 50 years and has one of the most intensive fluoridation schemes. Currently it has 41 fluoridation plants for nearly half a million people, is 83% fluoridated at 1.1ppm with Fluorosilicic Acid and Sodium Fluoride.

A report released 17th Dec 2007 from the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare stated: “The highest levels of permanent decay experience were found in Tasmania.”

A Submission to the Senate Select Committee on Medicare by ANGLICARE TASMANIA in July 2003, stated: “Tasmanian adults have the worst dental health in the nation with the highest percentage of edentulous adults per capita with 15.3% of the adult population, compared to the national average of 9.7%.

The State also has the highest percentage of persons wearing a denture in the nation, with 11.2% in the 25 – 44 year category, which is almost double the national average.” Stated also in this report: “Tasmania has had some of the worst health indicators in the nation.” Unquote.

And the latter may well come from the build up of fluoride in their bodies.

Werner Schmidlin

The Queensland railway workers, traditionally Labor voters, are not happy at all with the Queensland Government. They have erected a large sign on Brimsmead Road Cairns. Click on picture to enlarge!

And here is what eminent Babinda identity, Errol Wiles, sent to me: I Quote:

“The ship on which we are travelling (HMAS Queensland) is under the command of captain Blight. She spends her time messing about in the galley (maybe she's looking to the future to be a shearers' cook) while her command with first mate Fraser at the helm is heading straight for the reef.

Her criminally incompetent crew under bosun Nuttal (now in the brig) is running around like headless chooks laying the blame for the impending shipwreck on everything but their own stupidity.

The crew tell captain Blight about the danger and her only solution is to throw our lifeboats overboard (sell our, note our assets). The school teachers are up in arms, the QR unions accuse the clowns of selling them out, the farmers are being bashed again and Beattie says he didn't know anything about it.

Consider, my people, how stupid we are (the electors) for putting these idiots in command and how masochistic we are if we keep them there.

Friday's Cairns Post on its front page asks "Rudd, Blight, Where the bloody hell are you----12.5% unemployment." I ask: Fletcher Christian, please save us again.

Our Babinda health situation is not less than in a state of crisis. To meet the crisis, a packed-hall meeting was held in the Spirit of Babinda hall on the night of 22Sep09 The best the state government and a series of Qld health professionals could do is urge us to WORK TOGETHER ! Oh yes? Suppose an invader were approaching Cairns in his ships. Do you think the Defence professionals would be up here in numbers urging us to WORK TOGETHER to repel the invader?

Queensland Health KNOWS what we need. They KNOW what is required. They KNOW what doctors reasonably require before becoming established in Babinda. What the hell are we the people expected to contribute? Do we know more than the professionals? We can CONSULT and WORK TOGETHER ad nauseam, to what effect? If we haven't yet had enough of this government's consultation, smoke-and-mirrors and plain bullshit we are masochists.

This is a not-to-be-avoided state government responsibility. Full stop! If the dollars were there we would have no problem. The dollars, 40 millions of them, are more appropriately applied employing rangers on Cape York Peninsula. From this we can see where Babinda stands on this government's priority list. It has to be a matter of "Dollars up mate, or pack your bag."
Errol Wiles Babinda

My thought for the day.

I cannot teach anybody anything; I can only make them think. - Socrates

The ubiquitous toilet paper roll . . . . . .

. . . . . . has more than just one use – useable to the last piece.

Here is a pictorial explanation. German/English. Click picture to enlarge!

Fluoride: European Court ruling starts to bite.

This is an update from Doug Cross, the man behind the UK website. - Werner

“Section 130 defines ‘medicinal product’ and I am satisfied that fluoride in whatever form it is ultimately purchased by the respondents falls within that definition.” *

The potential impact of the European Court of Justice ruling that functional drinks must be regulated as medicines is starting to alarm exporters of processed foods to the EC. Inevitably, fluoridation apologists are trying to dismiss the warning - but once the legal challenges start to reach the Courts they will force the fluoride supporters to accept that their quack remedy must not be used to prepare food for human consumption.

* Lord Jauncy, 1983, on the application of the Medicines Act 1968 to fluoridated water.
The full implications of my article outlining the implications of the Warenvertriebs and Orthica case ruling by the European Court of Justice, that I published here in May, are beginning to bite!

With over 6000 downloads already, especially from readers in overseas fluoridated countries, the Australian Trade Commission, Austrade, is urgently seeking clarification about the possibility that the ruling could mean a trade embargo on the export of a wide range of processed foods to the European Community.

Inevitably, there are determined efforts by the dental and public health sector advocates of fluoridation to dismiss my conclusions as the ramblings of an 'anti-fluoride activist'. Well, that takes care of the legal argument, then! I guess fifty years as a jobbing scientist and para-legal don't count when you're dealing with real professional dentists.

We 'Activists', of course, do take an active role in looking at the issues that emerge from policies that we find irrational. Does that make us inferior to the fluoride protagonists, who find it easier to play a passive role and accept the relentless propaganda pouring from the scientifically illiterate dental sector? So let's ignore the infantile inuendos and slurs against our personal characters for a moment, and concentrate on facts.

Under EC Law, any product promoted as having medicinal properties MUST be classified, regulated and licensed as a medicine. This applies 'even if the product is generally regarded as a food . . and even if it has no known therapeutic properties under the present state of scientific knowledge'.

And in Scotland, Lord Jauncy made it quite clear back in 1983 that he interpreted the UK law on medicines as applying to any form of fluoride purchased by the consumer.

A product does not need to have pharmacological properties (i.e. to be 'medicinal by function') to be classed as a medicine - simply claiming that fluoridated water prevents tooth decay is enough to render it subject to medicinal law. So fluoridated water is indeed a 'functional drink' - it DOES come under EC medicinal law, and MUST therefore be regarded as a medicine. Everything else I have said in my analysis follows.

All that is needed now is direct legal confirmation that the ruling applies to fluoridated water - either a case before the European Court or a Judicial Review in national law will do. And then of course, Queensland Premier Anna Bligh's forlorn argument that 'EC law does not apply in Australia' (or elsewhere) becomes irrelevant.

Click to enlarge!

Poisoned Queensland Water!

One Click will enlarge the image! Send my blog address to your family and fiends so that they can view this message. - Werner
http://www.wernercairns.com/

No doubt! Cairns has talented people!

A few weeks ago I received a letter from a person who gave me a pat on the back about a letter I had written to the Cairns Post. He is a retired cartoonist. Here is the envelope in which it came in and the many cartoons beside the postage stamps even fooled the post office, which stamped some of them to cancel them. Just click on the pictures to enlarge them!

Then, today I received this cartoon, made especially for me, I wish I had such talent. - Werner

The cost for adulterating our drinking water.

Below is a report, courtesy of Cr Linda Cooper Cairns City Council that will raise your bristles.

Here is what Cr Linda Cooper wrote, I quote: Thought I’d be the bearer of bad news and go through the details I extracted from the Capital Works (Water & Waste) 1st Budget Review and associated ongoing costs with the provision of chemicals, maintenance etc.

Previously Council were following a budgeted implementation program at a cost of $365,000. The actual cost that has now been allocated for the design, consultancy and construction of fluoride implementation facilities at Tunnel Hill and Behana Creek is $2 million. The fact that this figure is completely funded by State Government is irrelevant. Of further concern is that three more reservoirs (Mossman, Babinda and Whyanbeel) will need to be funded by December 2010.

During today’s Water and Waste meeting, GM Mr Bruce Gardiner provided me with ongoing costs, which will have to be borne by this Council. The annual cost of providing chemicals and maintenance for Tunnel Hill, will be approximately $150,000 and for Behana Creek $137,000 (a total annual cost of $287,000). I asked the GM if it was fair to assume that when the other three reservoirs come online that Cairns Regional Council will have an annual upkeep cost of approximately half a million dollars. His answer was yes. Unquote

What a forced and flagrant impost on the Cairns city Council and what a reprehensible waste of money, for poisoning our water supply that is totally unnecessary and futile in combating tooth decay. If you multiply this with all the other councils across Queensland you will get a princely sum of dollars that the government has to borrow and, money that could be spend on schools and hospital just to name a few. This totalitarian government with its wannabe ’master chef” just keeps on dishing out whatever they want; whether we like it or not, how can we stop this blatant arrogance? – Werner Schmidlin

Double click on the picture to enlarge it.

Fluoride free drinking water.

This is a machine that collects water from the air and filters it and then one filter adds minerals to the water, this machine supplies cold and hot drinking water free of fluoride. We have this machine for a week to trial. This machine costs $2.400, which is unfortunately forced upon people to buy who don’t want to drink fluoridated water for a variety of health reasons.

Because the Queensland government mandated water fluoridation without any consultation of the people of Queensland this is now an expensive option for people with kidney problems, asthma and thyroid problem to name a few, who do not want to drink fluoridated water. Since we had no choice whether or not we wanted fluoride in the water, I strongly believe that the government should compensate the people who have to buy this machine. What do you think?

Following is a letter sent to the Premier in this regard. – Werner Schmidlin


The Cairns agent for the “Konica Water purifier” is:
Andy Cowie, Phone: 0407 657 808

Tuesday, 15 September 2009

To:
The Queensland Premier
The Hon. Anna Bligh MP
Brisbane Qld.

Dear Premier,

The day is getting near when you force us to drink fluoridated water, which we don’t want to drink, nor need and we would like a choice, like it should be in a democratic country.

However, let me tell you something, why my wife should not drink it. And before I get any further, please answer to this e-mail personally; I do not want to get a pre-prepared letter from one of your staff, without you even seeing my letter, which seems to be the normal procedure. You politicians only listen to us at election time and after you do what you want and ignore us till the next election is looming.

My wife needs blood transfusions every three weeks, but blood transfusions build up iron in the body, which the body cannot get rid off. High iron content in the body poses a very great health risk so she has to take chemicals to get rid of the excess iron. This in turn causes a lot of side effects and puts a big strain on her kidneys and she has been advised not to drink fluoridated water. Why do you make us buy bottled water, which may not be clear of fluoride and would be too expensive for us pensioners? Why are you doing this to us, Premier?

We have at present a machine on trial, which collects the water from the air and filters it, and another filter adds minerals to the water.

Now, Premier Bligh, since you force fluoridated water on us, which we don’t want nor need, will your government compensate us for this machine which costs $2.400?

Furthermore, why on earth would a government want to fluoridate all of our pristine water when a person, according to World Vision, uses 282 litres of water a day and is supposed to drink 2 litres of water per day, and many don’t drink that amount? So most of the 282 litres of fluoridated water that we use for the shower, flushing the toilet, washing the dishes, washing our clothes etc goes down the drain and finishes up in the ocean and our reef. To a normal person this doesn’t make any sense. Perhaps the government thinks that we are not normal and Fluoride in our water makes us docile and dulls our collective brains so we easily take whatever the government dishes out.

Your government has accumulated a tremendous debt for Queensland. By stopping this nonsense of fluoridating our water you would save money.

If you look at the record of Tasmania it should clearly show you that fluoridation does not reduce tooth decay one bit – so why are you persisting with it?
Tasmania has been fluoridated for about 50 years and has one of the most intensive fluoridation schemes. Currently it has 41 fluoridation plants for nearly half a million people, is 83% fluoridated at 1.1ppm with Fluorosilicic Acid and Sodium Fluoride.
A report released 17th Dec 2007 from the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare stated: “The highest levels of permanent decay experience were found in Tasmania.”

A Submission to the Senate Select Committee on Medicare by ANGLICARE TASMANIA in July 2003, stated: “Tasmanian adults have the worst dental health in the nation with the highest percentage of edentulous adults per capita with 15.3% of the adult population, compared to the national average of 9.7%.

The State also has the highest percentage of persons wearing a denture in the nation, with 11.2% in the 25 – 44 year category, which is almost double the national average.”

Stated also in this report: “Tasmania has had some of the worst health indicators in the nation.” And the latter may well be caused by the build up of fluoride in their bodies.

And please, don’t tell me again how difficult a decision it was for your government to fluoridate the water; after all, your predecessor Peter Beattie wouldn’t have a bar of this.

We admit that fluoride has its use and this is topical application by dentists to the young non water dinking population. Most people also know, but apparently not your government that what we need for good teeth is calcium fluoride and not that waste product from the aluminium and fertiliser industry that you force us to drink. Also, tea contains up to 4 mg of calcium fluoride per cup so a tea drinker gets a double dose of fluoride. Would it not be much cheaper for the government to hand out tea instead the poisonous stuff you put into our water?

You know, Premier that the young people drink very little if any water, so how good is your fluoride in the water for them? I witness this every day when I walk to pick up my paper in the morning; dozens of school children waiting for the school bus and what do the have in their hands? Not water, but coloured soft drinks and that is the cause for tooth decay, so why the futile mass medication by your government? I rest my case.

Sincerely yours,

Werner Schmidlin

Stifling Queensland Government Rules and Regulations.

The Queensland government has a penchant for making rules and regulations without any consultation of the Queensland people. You don’t know about them until it affects you personally.

A case in point is the Cairns Amateur races, the biggest event on the racing calendar in Cairns, which they have stuffed up big time with their rules and regulations.

I have just become acquainted with another of these incongruous rules and regulations that the government regularly “invents’ and stealthily inserts them into the system. Having such an absurd majority they can do whatever they like and the opposition may just as well stay home and read the book, “How to win an election and become a better government.”

Since my wife is a regular recipient of blood, we wanted to say thank you and show appreciation to the blood donors. So I made a timber freeform stand with beautiful North Queensland timber that is not available anymore. This item is conservatively valued at $600.00; it is a one off product and cannot be replicated. Double click to enlarge pictures!

Our idea was that every blood donor gets a ticket when donating blood, and after 5 or 6 months the winner would be drawn. The idea behind this was to encourage people to spend blood more often. However, I was told that the regulations do not allow this, and the Blood Bank would not be permitted to put a note in the Cairns Post to make blood donors aware of this; nor could it be raffled.

So, unfortunately we withdrew our donation. Karola just takes this opportunity to say thank you to the altruistic and wonderful Blood Donors; without them, she would not be alive.

I love you all, Karola

Opinions by true blue Australians

When I came to this country it was like a breath of fresh air, a lot has changed since and the air is getting stale, we are over governed, over regulated and run by a virtual dictatorial government – luckily, we are still allowed to express an opinion, but who knows how long before they will muzzle us and take away this right. – Werner Schmidlin

Below are two letters; the first by I. Edgerley, which was recently published in the Cairns Post; then a response to that letter sent to me by a lady from the Gold Coast – a True Blue Australian.

I quote the first letter:

"Multiculturalism has not worked.

"MARK Corrin's (28-8-09) criticism of Werner Schmidlin by using the Aboriginal experience as proof that many cultures that are mixing together works, in fact did just the opposite. For 40,000 years many people, many cultures and many languages have lived on this continent and not once during that time did they ever manage to join together to form a nation.

He proved that all this mixing of races just does not work. There is no proof world-wide that multiculturalism is a successful nation-building exercise, and while an admirable concept in theory, in practice it has proved a dismal failure.

Zimbabwe, Kenya, Iraq, Sri Lanka, et al; all attest to the multiracial nation as a concept noted for its ineffectiveness. Even the US, for all its drumbeating about its multicultural, multi-racial and multi-language policies, is not a successful entity. Take away its strong government and it would collapse into division, dissension and internal warfare.

Werner Schmidlin was correct: the theme of one people, one culture, one language, best describes a successful nation. - I. Edgerley, Tully." Unquote.

Here is what true blue Australian wrote: I Quote.

"I agree whole heartedly - it's not working!!! The only thing that the multicultural theory has produced in this country is division. We used to be a nation that stood shoulder to shoulder, united for a common cause; but not any longer. The day they opened the floodgates to all and sundry was the beginning of the end of a 'united country'.

It would be interesting to see where allegiances and loyalty would lay if push came to shove. I deplore the fact that children in kindergartens and schools don't sing Christmas carols for fear of offending Muslims. Christmas decorations and carols in some shopping centres are banned for fear of offending Muslims.

Yet, if I go to their countries I have to live my life by their standards or suffer severe consequences. What gives them the right to demand more say in what happens here than an Australian citizen? I have thought long and hard as to where I really fit in my own country. I have fewer rights than the majority of newcomers.

Aborigines refer to themselves as the only true Australians. I am a 3rd generation Australian, born and raised here, yet, I am not considered by them to be a true Australian. They regard me as a foreigner, yet I need a passport and visa to enter the UK - the country of my earlier ancestors. I am, by Aboriginal standards, a displaced person without a homeland. My original passport used to say "Commonwealth of Australia" now it just says "Australia".

All I can say is that I am glad I am entering the final years of my life, because I believe my grandchildren and their children are in for a very torrid time living in this multicultural environment. God forbid that any future wars are fought on our shores, because your neighbour next door could be plotting your demise with no loyalty whatsoever to this country. It's all a bit scary."

Signed: True blue Australian
(Name withheld)

A thought for today:
We all live under the same sky, but we don't all have the same horizon. Konrad Adenauer

Corporate Lessons.

This may well apply to government departements.

Corporate Lessons number one.
A crow was sitting on a tree, doing nothing all day. A small rabbit saw the crow, and asked him, "Can I also sit like you and do nothing all day long?. " The crow answered: "Sure, why not." So, the rabbit sat on the ground below the crow, and rested. All of a sudden, a fox appeared, jumped on the rabbit and ate it.

Moral of the story is: To be sitting and doing nothing, you must be sitting very, very high up.

Lesson number two.
A turkey was chatting with a bull. "I would love to be able to get to the top of that tree," sighed the turkey, "but I haven't got the energy." "Well!, why don't you nibble on some of my droppings?" replied the bull. "They're packed with nutrients." The turkey pecked at a lump of dung and found that it actually gave him enough strength to reach the first branch of the tree. The next day, after eating some more dung, he reached the second branch. Finally after a fortnight, there he was proudly perched at the top of the tree. Soon he was promptly spotted by a farmer, who shot the turkey out of the tree.

Moral of the story: Bullshit might get you to the top, but it won't keep you there.

Lesson number three:
When the body was first made, all the parts wanted to be Boss. The brain said, "I should be Boss because I control the whole body's responses and functions." The feet said, " We should be Boss as we carry the brain about and get him to where he wants to go." The hands said, " We should be the Boss because we do all the work and earn all the money."

And so it went on and on with the heart, the lungs and the eyes until finally the asshole spoke up. All the parts laughed at the idea of the asshole being the Boss. So the asshole went on strike, blocked itself up and refused to work. Within a short time the eyes became crossed, the hands clenched, the feet twitched, the heart and lungs began to panic and the brain fevered. Eventually they all decided that the asshole should be the Boss, so the motion was passed. All the other parts did all the work while the Boss just sat and passed out the shit!

Moral of the story: You don't need brains to be a Boss - any asshole will do.

A thought for today:
Life is not the way it's supposed to be. It's the way it is. The way you cope with it is what makes the difference. Virginia Satir.

Masterchef or media tart?

Queenslanders don't like what Anna has cooked up so far.

Wet . . pardon me, what’s his name? You know the person that you seldom see, he has a string attached that Anna Bligh and the Labor caucus can pull and he then says “Yes.” He is the ineffective member for Barron River, OK that should give you an idea who I’m talking about and if you know his full name let me know.

Anyway, this fellow wants us to send Anna Bligh recipes that she can cook on “Celebrity Masterchef.” Chefs or cooks make their own recipes and if you come on to a show just to cook something from a recipe provided by somebody else you just do it for publicity. If Anna needs recipes it just shows that what she is doing is nothing more than a political stunt and all she wants is to outdo Peter Beattie’s record as media tart.

A lot of Queenslanders are sick of the sight of her and will not watch Masterchef with her on it.

I would suggest that she swims with the sharks, as Beattie did, which would be the perfect environment for her. What she has cooked up and dished out to Queensland so far is, apart from telling pre-election furphies, put our state into enormous debt, mandated fluoridation, sold the assets, taken away the fuel subsidy - just to name a few, which is totally unpalatable to the majority of Queenslanders.

Werner Schmidlin

What is a fanatic?

A fanatic is one who can't change his mind and won't change his stand.- Winston Churchill


(The Qld Premier Anna Bligh, who mandated waterfluoridation comes to mind.)

An Australian Migrant Story.

This is the first time this story is published. I have asked our local daily "The Cairns Post" many times over the years to publish this or other stories from me, (Mind you I didn't want money for it) but they just were not interested.


The Mossman Rifle Club.
By Werner Schmidlin

The year: 1958. I formed some wonderful friendships with Australians in this club and, I experienced the true blue Australian spirit over and over again as many times before. There was no malice shown towards me, considering that only a few short years before I would have been considered their enemy. And, amazingly, as a “former enemy” I was able to bring about a change in a longstanding Army directive that existed since the colonial days when the British were in charge here.

When we first arrived in Australia the government under Prime Minister Robert Menzies, asked “New Australians,” as we were called then, to assimilate with Australians and integrate into the Australian way of life - and that was exactly what we set out to do. We never sought out German migrants, but mixed with Australians at every opportunity. I joined the Mossman Rifle Club, which was located halfway between Mossman and Port Douglas, (See map at the bottom) and there I formed some wonderful friendships. People from all walks of life belonged to the rifle club, including Neville Rex, whose father lent his name to the Rex Highway, and from the four policemen stationed at Mossman; three were members of the club. After the shoot we had a few beers together and discussed shooting or other subjects and I had a wonderful rapport with everyone. The club visited other rifle clubs on a regular basis, in Cairns, Mareeba, Atherton, and Ravenshoe. To drive the entire length of the Rex Highway to Mareeba was an absolute nightmare; it was a narrow and dusty road, stretches of which had a high ridge in the middle, and made overtaking very precarious.

All rifle clubs in Australia were under the jurisdiction and control of the Australian Army, and membership lists had to be submitted to the Army headquarters and kept on file there. What nobody knew, was that an Army regulation existed; stipulating that only Australians or British subjects were allowed to be members of rifle clubs and own a rifle. When my application to become a member of the rifle club finally arrived in the army headquarters in Brisbane, my name and other relevant information came to the notice of the Australian Army, and alarm bells rang. The name, Werner Schmidlin, just didn’t look too British or Australian to the top army brass. It was clear to them that I fell into the category of ‘foreigner’. The Army informed the club about the situation, and as I learned later, the club executive mulled over it for quite some time. However, they were not sure how to solve the situation or break the news to me. Apparently, no club had been confronted with such dilemma before. This certainly caused a predicament for them and they didn’t have the heart to tell me about it, nor did they want to lose me as a member. So it was decided to do nothing about it, or mention anything about it to anyone; let alone to me and they just let me carry on as usual and as a normal member of the club.

All went well until we were practicing for an up-coming prize shooting event at Atherton in which I achieved an extremely good score. It suddenly occurred to somebody that the club could be in a bit of a predicament should I win a prize or prizes, and alarm bells started to ring. The Club executive had an “emergency” executive meeting in the clubhouse while I was lying on the rifle mount firing at the target. They finally had to own up and tell me about the Army regulation. To make a long story short, it was decided that, should I be successful in winning a prize or prizes, I will forfeit them to the shooter with the next best score, as the Army always had to be informed who the winners were in the shooting competitions. I was not upset about this situation; I realised that rules are rules, and was happy that the other members stood by me. The camaraderie was excellent; I was considered one of them, despite being on the other side of the fence during the war, then, only few years back.

On the way home to Miallo however, I gave this matter a bit more thought and it started to rankle me. “Hang on a minute, I said to myself, "The Australian Government, since the day they accepted my application to migrate to Australia, back in Germany, had drummed into us migrants that we should make an effort to assimilate and integrate into the community of our new country and the Australian way of life.

With this in mind and not being the person who lets unresolved matters stay unresolved, I wrote a letter to the Prime Minister, Bob Menzies. I explained the situation to him and pointed out that I wanted to practice what the Australian Government had preached to me – namely, to assimilate into the Australian community. I went on to lament the fact that, the Army regulation about "foreign" shooters was not in the best interest or spirit of assimilation and integration between Australians and New Australians, and so on. I also made it clear to the Prime Minister, that his government should practice what it preaches.

Within a very short time I had a reply from the Prime Minister, Bob Menzies, thanking me for my letter, and stating that he had noted the content of the letter and that he would look into the matter, but will also pass on the letter to the minister of the army, Mr. Kramer. After approximately two months, the Army informed the club that the ‘vexatious’ rule had been removed from the Army’s regulations. When the club captain informed me about this, and wondered what made the army to change this rule, only then did I own up and tell him that I had written to the Prime Minister. From that moment on I didn’t have to be a “secret” club member any more.

We had some real Aussie characters in our club, one these was Tom Francis; a cane farmer from Mossman comes to my mind. He was of Irish descent and had a very “short fuse” and a bad temper. When he missed the bulls-eye a few times he was likely to get up and throw his 303 rifle as far as he could into the scrub, often before he had fired off all the allocated rounds of ammunition. He blamed his rifle for getting bad scores. Tom’s son-in-law, who was our target marker for the rifle club, told us the following.

On one occasion, when Tom was trying to make two identical rings for a farm implement on his blacksmith forge, he couldn't make the second ring exactly like the first. After persevering for a short while, unsuccessfully, his short fuse reached the end and he threw the red-hot iron ring through the wall opening into the adjacent cane paddock. It resulted in nine hundred tons of sugar cane burning down. Luckily it was in the middle of the cane season and the cane could be harvested.

On another occasion, Tom was happily driving a tractor, ploughing a paddock, when the rear tyre burst. Tom was so enraged that he jumped off the tractor and bit the tyre.

And, here is another anecdote from my time in Mossman. Karola’s Brother, Walter, had migrated to Australia and lived with us in Mossman. He had only been here for a week and he didn’t speak a word of English. I took him along for the Sunday shoot at the Mossman rifle range and introduced him to the members. After the shoot we went for a beer to one of the Mossman pubs. Somebody was telling a joke, which wasn’t particularly funny, but everybody had a bit of a laugh, with the exception of Walter. “Please, tell Walter the joke so that he can also have a laugh,” Norm Downs said to me. I explained to them that this joke cannot be translated as it contains Australian idiom and vernacular and wouldn’t make any sense nor be funny in German. But they wouldn’t have any of this and kept persisting that I tell Walter this joke. Walter wanted to know what was said and I said the following to him.

“These guys want me to tell you this joke, which, by the way is not very funny nor can it be translated and make any sense, but as soon as I finish talking to you, please laugh like hell.” Walter found that very funny and burst out laughing – and everybody was happy that Walter found the joke funny.

My thought for today.

People are lonely because they build walls instead of bridges. - J.F. Newton

Thank you for visiting my blog!

Political correctness or political incorrectness?

I have seen headlines in our local newspaper, referring to people holding up shops and taking something away by force and without the consent of the owner as robbers.

Goodness me, this is absolutely politically incorrect to refer to these poor wretched souls who have a penchant for stealing, as robbers, the politically correct term is: Unpaying customers. So please remember this.

English is now a language with no sex drive. Political correctness effectively neutered its potency, precision and transparency. Instead of referring to people as white or black, or even purple, we are forced to use more cumbersome “euphemisms,” that, at times, are hardly euphemisms at all.

Australians are used to call a spade a spade and the politically corrected words do not fit well into our national character. Many of us are unwilling to sacrifice frankness for political correctness. -

Werner Schmidlin

Yorkeys Knob Residents Association, muzzle freedom of speech.

I approached the Yorkeys Knob Residents Association, to put a short note in their next newsletter that I’m blogging, they refused. Their reason, I quote: Upon reading the blog, we discovered that it contained items of a political nature. Unquote.

Well, well, well, they are in effect suppressing freedom of speech. No wonder, it is alleged that they are the sub branch of the Barron River ALP branch. It may be of interest that the humorous political item “How to get rid of Anna Bligh” they didn’t like, was sent to me by a life member of the ALP who could see the funny side of this. Needless to say this motley crew of Labor supporters are devoid of a sense of humor.

I cannot see that mentioning my blog once in their newsletter (And I was prepared to make a donation) would politically compromise their rag. Nobody would know what is in it until they open it and - if the reader doesn’t like what is in my blog he/she simply deletes it and never opens it again.

This is like advertising for shops, you don’t know about everything they sell, until you go there – and if you don’t like what you see you don’t go there again, the same would be the case with my blog.

And, talking about politics, Wettenhall and Turnour constantly feature in this rag. – Non political? You would have to be kidding. Of course, Wettenhall is printing this rag for his sub branch.

And while I’m at it let me tell you this. I used to be a member of this association. Then they wanted to produce a newsletter and were having a competition for a name of this newsletter, Lesley Clark, the former member for Barron River, donated a bottle of Champagne for the winner of the name competition.

I was the winner with: “Yorkeys Knob News” second place getter was “Yorkeys Knob Matters.” So after the meeting the executive in their wisdom decided to make the second place getter the winner, and that person was most likely a member of the ALP. I didn’t very much care of what they did, but how they did it. Courtesy would have demanded that they would have at least consulted me about this, but they didn’t. But, I was told that I can still keep the bottle of Champagne. I walked out of that meeting without the bottle – and that ended my membership with this association.

My publishing criterion in my blog is: It must be interesting, educational, informative and humorous and political opinions can be expressed.

My thought for today:
Speak well of your enemies. After all, you made them.

Werner Schmidlin