Reference :- Israeli Prime Minister , Mr Netanyahu , is finding that many soldiers in the Israeli Defense Force are reluctant to return to Northern Gaza .

 Reference:-  Nobody enjoys repeating a job that they thought they had completed weeks ago . 

Dear Mr Netanyahu , 

                                   It sure is becoming tedious , this war in Gaza.  And now you have to find some way to incentivise soldiers who are loath to return to the battlefield in the North , which has become re-infested with returning locals ...... I mean evil terrorists .  As an older chap , I cannot imagine what would entice  me to risk life and limb in a labyrinth of unwinnable urban warfare .  Fortunately I can rely on Ken junior , callow youth as he is , for suggestions . He belongs to the same age group as those who are fighting for the survival of the State of Israel , so his advice is likely to be pertinent . 

 Ken junior reckons that your soldiers seemed very pleased with themselves during the early stages of the war .  He says that there are dozens of posts from the early days visible on those so called " social media sites " , with photos (and even little movies  ) of chaps having a rip roaring time .  You know , raiding pantries, blowing up universities , trashing houses ,  crushing all sorts of civilian goods and chattels under tank tracks and the like . In particular Ken junior reckons the most fun was had when soldiers dressed up in stolen women's underwear , and smashed children's toys  ( dolls and so on ) to smithereens .  

It must be disappointing for soldiers to return only to find Gaza so ruined that there are no undies or toys to relax with after a stressful day shooting anything that moves . 

Ken junior reckons that a few planeloads of saucy lingerie and baby dolls dropped into  the conflict zone would cheers the lads up no end . Maybe a few tricycles as well .  Such items are cheap as chips compared with the cost of 2000 pound bombs , and you might be surprised by how much they lift morale .  

Personally , I think the stench of rotting corpses is probably a bit off putting for some .  Incense sticks might provide useful aromatherapy for soldiers  camping overnight .   Fortunately close to half of the corpses are children , and they will decompose faster than the adults , so don't over-order the frankincense and myrrh , which is what I believe you people favour in the Levant . 

( Ken junior tells me the frankincense and myrrh reference is from the New Testament , which Zionists don't take as gospel , so to speak .  But I reckon that perfumey stuff must have been around way back during the reign of King David . There were plenty of rotting corpses in those days too , by all accounts . )

Your comrade ,

Ken 

PS .  Don't let your soldiers film themselves larking about this time . The International Criminal Court is run by a humorless bunch of old pettiffoggers who can't take a joke . Nobody wants to be arrested while holidaying in other climes , like that poor young  IDF soldier Moche Avichzer . Last I heard he had been arrested  in Morocco after sharing a few photos of his activities in Gaza with the locals . Who would have guessed  that Morocco would be full of self -righteous wowsers ?

Reference:- Contributing Editor at The Sky Reply , young Monte , is reading a book .

Reference :-    Usually if Monte is reading a book it is the workshop manual for his motorbike or a parts catalogue . Not this time . 

Last eve Monte was lounging on the sofa with Dog's head on his lap ,  reading a book . 

" What's that you're reading there Monte ? . "  I said. 

" Its about the War " , Monte said . 

 Gabbo and Ken junior looked up from their game of Scrabble . ( The tele fritzed out weeks ago and we haven't bothered to get it repaired ) 

 " Which War ? "  Ken junior said . 

 Monte flashed a cheeky grin . 

"  Have a guess . "  Monte  said 

 " WW2 ", Ken junior said . 

"  Nope . ", Monte said . 

" WW1.  " ,  Ken junior said . 

" Nope " , Monte said . 

Gabbo was up for the challenge . 

" OK , how about these then , just for starters ?  " , Gabbo said .

" The Gulf War , The Afghanistan War , The Vietnam War , The American Civil War , The Korean War , The French Revolutionary War , The Falklands War , The American War of Independence , The Iraq War  , The Libya War ,  The War in East Timor , The Napoleonic Wars ,  The War of the Roses ,  The Hundred Years War , The Spanish War , The Trojan War ,  The Bosnian War  ,  or The Russo- Japanese War  .  " ,  Gabbo said . 

Monte laughed . 

" You need to think of a different type of war . " , Monte said 

" Alright , I think I know what you mean . How about these  ?  "  Gabbo said . 

" The War on Drugs , The War on Poverty , The War on Cancer , The War on the West , The War on the Woke , The War on Disease , The War on Islam , The War on Men , The War on Women , The War on the Media , The War on Truth , The War on Freedom , The War on Jews , The War on Terror , The War on the Aged , The War on The Deep State , The War on Misinformation , The War on the Media , The War on Activists , The War on Aborigines ........... errrr ....... I know ,  and The War on Emus . You might have to google that last one  , but it is real . " , Gabbo said . 

" Nope " , Monte said . 

" OK . For the love of God, we give up ! " ,  Ken junior said . 

" It's  a book from 1877 by Pontonie-Pierre  called " The War on War " ,  Monte said . 

 " Have you found out who won yet ? " ,  Ken junior said . 

 " Not yet , but I think it might end up being a draw .  " , Monte said . 

Obviously I had better get the tele fixed as soon as possible . 

Also , it worries me that Gabbo clustered together  " The War on Truth " ,  " The War on Freedom " , and " The War on the Jews " .  

  I wonder if he is becoming a loathsome anti-semite ?  And come to think of it , antisemitism does seem to be very much on the rise , despite the best efforts of the highly esteemed Israeli Prime Minister , Mr Netanyahu  . 

Maybe it's time for a War on Antisemitism .  

I mentioned this to Ken junior . 

" Maybe  it is time for a War on Antisemitism ? " , I said . 

" That war has already been going for a long time " , Ken junior said . 

Well how about that ?  I didn't know . 

I sure hope no innocent bystanders have become unintended collateral damage .

Your comrade , 

Ken .

Reference :- Christmas is not far away . Time to start thinking about felicitous gifts for those special people in our lives .

 Reference :-   This is an offer not to be missed .

 Copies of " The Sky Reply " book , which is a compilation of all the Sky Replies from inception until August 2020 ,  are being offered for free by the authors .  Currently there is only one of these special collector's editions available on ebay for ten aussie dollars , plus postage / handling .    This is a rare opportunity to obtain a copy for free .  Including free postage worldwide !

The book contains the first 334 Sky Replies , neatly bound in a handsome paperback with charming graphics.

It is the perfect Christmas gift with which to impress , amuse or irritate your friends and family . 

This is not a joke , it is a serious offer .  

Requests for free copies can be forwarded by email to kengover313@gmail.com 

Limited numbers remain  ( we do not anticipate printing a second edition )  and I guess they will be forwarded on a first come first served basis . 

 Ken junior reckons everybody will think we are joking  .  

Personally , I think the sincerity of this offer is quite obvious , and the remaining copies will be quickly taken .     

But let us see. 

Your comrade  , 

Ken 

 

 

Reference:- What the heck . I feel like posting something ridiculous . Will anybody care ...or even notice ?

Reference :-   Certain sections of media commentary have become so simple-minded that I thought we might as well relax , and partake in the high jinks  . 

Here at The Sky Reply we have encountered some very alarming statistics relating to the " troubles"  in Gaza .  Conservative media heroes , like those highly articulate examples of western intelligentsia , young Douglas Murray and his comrade Konstantin Kisin ,  have failed to draw our attention to these awful tallies . It is disappointing , since Douglas and Konstantin  are usually very fond of quoting numbers to support their scholarly essays .

Anyway , to those young chaps I will simply quote the economist Ronald Coase  . ( footnote to Douglas :-  He was British,  of course , so feel free to be impressed .  )  

" If you torture the data for long enough it will confess to anything . " 

However , to that I would add that first you must collect said data  ,which in this instance did not happen . 

 So here it is . 

 Since October 7 ( that memorable day during the 76 year war between Israel and Palestine ) , over 40,000 Palestinians have been slaughtered in Gaza .  Some were indeed Hamas fighters , although most were women and children .  During the same period , over 40,000 businesses have closed down in Israel because of the hostilities .

Obviously  one Palestinian dies for every Israeli business that goes to the wall . ( No pun intended ) 

There are over 2 million Palestinians , but Israel can only boast perhaps  700,000 businesses at best . 

Clearly Israel's businesses will all become bankrupt before Mr Netanyahu  can achieve his goal of ethnic cleansing . 

That is just simple mathematics . 

Furthermore , 500 thousand Israelis out of 10 million have been displaced , which is 5 % of the population . Yet only 2 % of the 2 million Palestinians have been slaughtered .  At that rate , by the time 100% of the Israelis have fled for their lives  , only 40% of the Palestinians will have been ......ahem .... cleansed from Gaza .  

 Mr Netanyahu appears to be ruining his own country faster than he is achieving  what the United nations politely refers to as " plausible " genocide . 

Once again , simple mathematics . 

I showed these calculations to Ken junior .  

" They make as much sense as Douglas Murray or Konstantin Kisin in an Oxford Union Debate " , Ken junior said . 

" Indeed so . " , I said .  

" What does that mean ?  " Ken junior  said . 

" My point exactly . " I said . 

Your comrade , 

 Ken .

 

  

Reference :- Holy Smokes ! What is going on in the world ?

 Reference :-  How are we supposed to access the news these days ?  

After months shivering in the cold with Seasonal Affective Disorder , the Sky Reply Team emerged eager to start work , only to face disappointment .   We carefully perused weeks of Sky News reporting , looking for something worthy of comment or further analysis , and found NOTHING !     The other mainstream news channels were little better . What is happening ? 

Ken junior is the team member we turn to regarding computers , that  inter-web thing  , and the various incarnations of what is popularly known as the  " social media "  .  He spends a great deal of time looking at his computer , so it is no surprise that he is an expert . 

Anyway , he tells us that these days many folk don't bother watching the news on the tele , or reading  the daily tabloids . He says young folk don't trust the mainstream media .  Ken junior reckons that young folk source their news from "social media " these days .

" Young folk source their news from " social media " these days . "  Ken junior said . 

 " Do they ? " , I said . 

Now, it occurs to me that perhaps a lot of misinformation is spread on these so called "social media" platforms .  I mean , at least we can rely on the honesty and integrity of the mainstream media . The moguls that own the mainstream media and the award winning gazettes didn't get rich by being unprofessional and deliberately spreading propaganda . They take their service to the community seriously .   I gently offered this suggestion to Ken junior . 

" The moguls that own  the mainstream media and the award winning gazettes didn't get rich by being unprofessional and deliberately spreading propaganda . They take their service to the community seriously , you idiot .  " I said . 

Ken junior sighed , clicked away at his lap top computer and then showed me this quote , which read as follows ....... 

" The idea that owners of media organizations regard the practice of journalism as a public service is as outdated as the idea that businesses operate in the interests of a better world . " 

" Who said that ? " , I said 

" The head of News Corp , Lachlan K Murdoch . "  Ken junior said . 

" Never heard of him . " ,  I said 

 Anyway , thinking about it , I might get a computer myself . After all I am pretty handy on a QWERTY keyboard having almost worn the letters off the keys on my trusty Remington typewriter .  

That way I can show Ken junior  ( who is disappointingly naive for his age ) that those independent news reporters on social media are untrustworthy , and only doing it for the money . 

Your comrade ,

 Ken 

 

 

Reference :- The Sky Reply is about to return .

 Reference :-   After an absence of many weeks , The Sky Reply is preparing to return . 

The lads out here in Kooralya have been suffering through the cold winter .  Nobody has put pen to paper for a long time , and  it occurs to me that they have all come down with a malady that the shrinks call Seasonal Affective  Disorder , or SAD .  

Even Dog has fairly copped a dose of it . The other morning a cheeky hare appeared in the back yard , bouncing up and down like the Dow Jones Index .  Ken junior saw it through the foggy kitchen window as he put the kettle on the stove for a cuppa. 

"Hey Dog , that hare is back .  Go get him boy !  " , Ken junior said . 

Ken junior opened the kitchen door and pushed the rusty fly screen open . 

" Go get him boy . Look boy , look  ! " , Ken junior said . 

Dog lifted his head from his blanket and looked .  He looked at the hare . He looked at the fog . He looked at Ken junior's knitted beanie and fleece jacket . He looked at the steam departing Ken junior's mouth as , hunched over , he shivered and rubbed his icy hands together .  Dog let out a feeble whimper ,  lowered his head between his paws and closed his eyes . 

Well , the lads all feel like dog does lately , especially when Ken junior opens the door and let's the cold air in . 

" Shut the bloody door before we all freeze  ! " ,  Monte said 

" Bugger this , where is the hottest place on earth ? " , Gabbo said .

" It's 52 degrees in Saudi Arabia right now , thanks to global warming " , Ken junior said . 

" Well I am moving  there . " , Gabbo said . 

"  Idiot . Last summer you said you were moving to the Antarctic . " , Monte said . 

"  Calm down lads , who wants a cuppa ? " , I said . 

" Calm down yourself . " ,  Monte said 

" Look everybody , there is a lot in the news lately that we should write about ", I said . 

"  Is there .  " ,  Ken junior said  ( question mark deliberately omitted ) 

 "  Both the war in Ukraine and the genocide in Gaza could trigger a nuclear war " , I said . 

"  Great , bring it on . " ,  Monte said . 

As you can see , a nuanced analysis of world events by The Sky Reply team  has not been possible so far this winter .  

 I would get heaters  installed , but we are a bit short of funds due to the cost of firewood .  Besides , the electricity bill would be extortionate .  Quite a catch 22.   Ken junior did cut up the timber from our old chook pen , but we have burned it all , and a ute load of firewood cost us a king's ransom .  

I don't know how much longer we can go on like this , everything is utterly miserable and pointless . 

 But at least I don't have  Seasonal Affective Disorder like the lads . 

Your comrade , Ken

Reference:- Russian activist Alexei Navalny has died in prison .

 Reference :-   It is very dangerous to oppose a corrupt elite who rule a nation .  

We were shocked  to hear that Alexei Navalny  has died under suspicious circumstances . 

" Did Putin have him killed ? ",  Monte said . 

" Yeah , I think so . ",  I said . 

" Biden says he is certain that it was Putin. " ,  Ken junior said  

" Is he ? " ,  Gabbo said . 

" Why was Navalny in jail ?  " , Monte  said . 

" He opposed the ruling elite of Russia and accused them of crimes and corruption . " ,  Ken junior  said . 

" Is that so bad ? ", Monte  said . 

" It triggered demonstrations  and threatened Russian security " , Ken junior said . 

 " How long was his sentence ? " , Monte said . 

" Around 31 years , and he had already served about 3 of them . " , Ken junior  said . 

" What about this Julian Assange guy ? ",  Monte  said .  

" He opposed the ruling elite of America and accused them of crimes and corruption. " ,  Ken junior said . 

" How long is his sentence ? " , Monte  said . 

" He faces 175 years , and has already been in prison for about 5 years ." , Ken junior  said  

Gabbo , who was still listening , spoke up . 

" You know how Biden accused Russia of blowing up that gas pipeline ?   Eventually people started thinking that it didn't make sense for Russia to damage it's own economy and political power by destroying it's own expensive pipeline when  it could turn it off any time with a tap . Now the general consensus is that Biden did it .  " ,  Gabbo said . 

" What is your point? " , I said 

" Maybe the Americans killed Navalny ?   The alleged murder has come just before the Russian elections , and it has caused a backlash against Putin.  Putin must have known that would happen , why do it ? " , Gabbo said . 

" Putin wanted him silenced before the election . " , I said . 

" Navalny was in prison .  He could have been deprived of any way to communicate during the election , he could have had his tap turned off, so to speak . "  Gabbo said  

" It's also a good way to distract everybody from the Tucker Carlson /Putin interview that has opened the world's eyes more than somewhat . " , Ken junior said . 

" Maybe the British MI6  killed Navalni ?   He died the day before the big Munich Security Conference , which would make attendees view Putin as a badass who needs to be stopped .  ",  Gabbo said .

 " That's enough , you lads are making my head hurt . " , I said . 

The trouble with young folk is that they tend believe everything they are told  , without looking  for the evidence . Besides , when have the Americans or the British ever murdered anybody  ?

Your comrade , Ken .