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