Links

Audax Australia
This is the umbrella organisation running long distance cycling events in Australia Their website includes a calendar of events.

Bikejournal
A place where cyclist can keep track of their mileage and any number of other statistics, as well as an attached forum.

Bikeforums
A set of discussion forums covering almost every conceivable cycling related topic.

Cycling Adventurer
The Cycling Adventurer has tossed in the structured life of an urbanite to explore the world by bicycle. A well-written site detailing how he came to cycling, and what he learned along the way.

Crazy Guy on a Bike

Bicycle touring journals from all over the world, including a couple of my own.

Johns Cycles

This is my LBS on the Gold Coast. While they cater more to the racing market, their service, advice and workmanship is the best on the coast.

St Kilda Cycles

Importers of all manner of things hard to find in Australia, including the legendary Schmidt hub dynamo & E6 lights.

Blogs

Bicycle-eye
Wonderings and wanderings out and about in Portland, Oregon, US

The Journey
The journey begins in Perth, Western Australia.

Lance Notstrong
The "other" Lance!

Ms Mittens
The Wired Cat on-line

Iron Gambit
.

Aussie Writer and Cycletourist
A blog chronicling the writing and cycling of a seaside baby boomer.

Up in Alaska
Jill's subarctic journal about ice, bears and distant dreams of the midnight sun.

The Kin Chronicles
Taking mediocrity to a new level of ordinary.

Allez
Riding and running with a vengeance.

London Cycling Diary
Pedalling across the capital since August 2005.

CouchPilot-2-BikePilot (Zin's cycling blog)
Living an adventurous life with Type-2-Diabetes.

The adventures of Crazy Biker Chick
... Including cycling, adventuring, cooking, knitting and ranting.

Redneck Espanol
The two wheeled Spanish redneck.

Treadly and me
"Work is something I do between riding my bicycle".

Crowlie
Womanist philosophy and theology. Cycling, climbing, art, single-motherhood and fire-twirling.

Adrian Fitch's random rambling.
A bit about cycling, a bit about genealogy, a bit about radio but mostly a lot about nothing at all.

Geo's big adventure
The life and times of Geo.

It's about the bike
Musings on the cycling life.

Spinopsys
Various cycling tidbits.

Industry Outsider
A blog about bikes and stuff.

Tweed Coast Treadly
An old man's bicycle riding diary.

A cyclist's life in Tenerife
(Canary Islands).

Bike to work to live to bike
It's never too late to get back on the bike

Stupid Hurts
Just the random scribblings of a guy with a bicycle

I'm not drunk enough for this
Really, I'm not.

BikeHacks
What can I say? Just read it.

Mozam's cycling adventures
A random collection of the things I like to do most, and mostly that is to ride my bikes, bicycles that is... My musings from competitive riding, long distance endurance to puttering around the neighborhood..

More cycling blogs

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Monday, April 25, 2005

So it's ANZAC Day

That's right folks, the 25th of April is upon us, and with it the day that everyone in Australia and New Zealand are supposed to commemorate those killed in various wars gone by. Of course, for those of us unable to escape the media hype as well as we would have liked, it's been everywhere for days on end regardless, so much so that it might have been difficult to judge exactly when the day itself had arrived. I also ask whether there is any point to it anymore.

Think about this, what is the real reason that people who were killed in war have a day dedicated to commemorating their loss, while people who were killed by cancer, AIDS or old age don't? The standard line seems to be that they "sacrificed themselves for our country". However, let's dig a little deeper on that definition, let's look at the factors that brought about their sacrifice, and let's ask: why?

The first World War was supposed to be the "war to end all wars". I suspect the idea was that after the needless sacrifice of so many lives, it would never happen again. A few years later, along came another. Since then, these conflicts have been happening more and more regularly. And please, spare me the "they started it" tirade. For one thing, it takes two to fight, and for another, I think "starting a war" is an accusation that could be leveled against a great many countries over the last century or so (including those accusing the other side and claiming to be "fighting for our freedom").

These days, wars are regularly broadcast into the loungerooms of many people thanks to cable television. It's become big bucks for people like CNN and various other media outlets. It wouldn't surprise me if this wasn't at least part of the motivation for some of the tall tales of "weapons of mass destruction" that appeared in various media outlets (I wonder if some of these journalists ever considered a career change, possibly becoming weapons inspectors themselves?). They certainly took enough pot shots at anyone who suggested that the current war in Iraq could have been avoided.

The implication here is clearly this: whatever the horrors that soldiers of years gone by have endured, it seems that the world (including Australia) has learned nothing. Nobody seems interested in preventing wars from occurring -- quite the contrary in fact. People seem more enthusiastic than ever about the prospect of going to war (admittedly, most of these people won't have to go to the front line). Why then, (apart from the fact that it's a public holiday) are we bothering to commemorate this? Why do we commemorate the inability of mankind to learn from it's mistakes?

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