HISTORY BOOK A 'FANTASY'
It was only a matter of time, of course, before your columnist Ray Goodlass got around to spruiking Bruce Pascoe's fantasy Dark Emu as a "ground-breaking work" that provides "irrefutable evidence" of colonial-era Aboriginal permanent cities replete with flour mills which noisily churned out produce 24/7 - the only things Mr Pascoe can't find evidence for are fire hydrants and highway overpasses.
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It was only a matter of time before Mr Pascoe got a run up the flagpole because it's so hard these days to fill a column with recycled Greens press releases whilst side-stepping the mention of criminal charges against the green hack on the letterhead or some staff member or other.
Mr Goodlass says that Mr Pascoe is an "Aboriginal historian"; which is confusing.
Is it like an "Ancient Incan Historian" where we don't expect the historian to be either ancient nor Incan himself, or does it refer to the dubious assertions that Mr Pascoe makes - that he claims an Aboriginal lineage for which he has absolutely no evidence but for which there is plenty of proof to the contrary?
I simply googled "Bruce Pascoe Aboriginal" to come up with half a dozen sites which will take you through both his claims and his very contradictory English family tree.
Have a look at what this bloke says about himself and his idea of evidence about his own identity before believing any wider "history" he's trying to sell.
Instead, Peter O'Brien's book "Bitter Harvest" takes Mr Pascoe's story apart page by page and reprints all the (original) sources in entirety.
Before giving any credence to such phrases as "ground-breaking work", "irrefutable evidence" and "history," as dimly understood by Mr Goodlass, check the readily available evidence about his hero; Mr Pascoe's Australia is about as factually accurate as Lemuel Gulliver's Lilliput.
Robert T Walker, Wagga
LEADERS WITH MUCH IN COMMON
Revelations contained in the yet to be published book written by John Bolton, the former US National Security Advisor to President Trump, appear to confirm the somewhat unusual relationship that exists between Trump and the Chinese President Xi Jinping. That the two presidents regularly praise each other comes as no surprise given the similarities they share.
Both Trump and Xi inherited from their fathers, Trump millions of dollars; Xi in fame as his father was a hero of the 1930s Communist Party.
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Both have been married more than once.
Trump and Xi have both been strongly associated with people found guilty of corruption, Trump in New York and Washington, Xi in Shanghai. However, neither has had any charges laid against them personally.
Trump and Xi both believe in putting people in cages; Xi with Uyghur Muslims, Trump with refugee children.
The families of both presidents have amassed considerable fortunes during their presidencies.
In 2012, Bloomberg published details of the wealth accumulated by Xi's close relatives. The wealth gained by Trump's family since he became President is common knowledge, particularly in the case of Ivanka with her Chinese contacts. Both Trump and Xi are both inveterate liars; although being politicians, that almost goes without saying.
Mike Sargent, Cootamundra
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