Besides being hilarious, it gives our history in a way no dry old history book does.

After reading it and looking at politics and politicians, nothing has changed except that Australian pollies don’t rely on rum to balance the books, now it’s gambling.

SOUNDS like some of our politicians have declared war on Australia’s cane toad population.

Pauline Hanson wants a bounty on their heads.

I think about $2 per head.

Bob Katter wants to get a kids army funded by a $2 million fund mobilised, armed with high power air rifles to shoot cane toads for 40 cents a head.

Bob’s answer to a Dad’s Army.

Poor buggers will wish they never came to the land down under.

THE proposed road bridge across the Tamar River from Riverside to Newnham in last week’s The Examiner, appears to be of a low level construction, thus preventing yachts access to Launceston.

The minimum clearance height under the bridge would have to be 25 metres clearance at high tide to allow yachts access to Launceston and the Seaport.

Also the approach to the bridge would be very steep especially on the Newnham side.

An ideal spot for a new bridge would be from Freshwater Point to Dilston, especially with the large housing expansion at Legana, and as the channel is on the Dilston side of the river a clearance of 25 metres would be feasible.

I get slightly annoyed when people who have never been teachers talk about education and teacher training.

Unless you have stood in front of a class of middle-to-lower level students, you have no idea what it is like, and then people talk about things like teaching critical thinking.

There is constant talk about improving the quality of students entering teacher training and the standard of training, with many talking unrealistic rubbish.

As a teacher for nearly 30 years I would like to comment.

Control, discipline, classroom management, call it what you will, is absolutely essential, not every student wants to learn.

I don’t know if this can be taught. I think you either have it or you don’t.  

The essential part of teacher training should be practical placements with criticism lessons and how to use educational technology effectively in teaching.

From my Diploma of Education studies (which would be the equivalent of a Master of Teaching today) all I remember is the qualities of a good teacher are “fair friendly firm” and the quality of a good lesson is “variety interest and activity”.

We had however three lots of four weeks of supervised practice teaching in a variety of schools.

It was there I learnt my “trade”.

It stood me in very good stead in my career.

ONE in eight deaths of Australians under the age of 25 is alcohol related.  

Even though the alcohol content of beer and wine is clearly stated on the label, people still take risks with excessive consumption.

It seems that drugs like alcohol are still very much a part of the cultural milieu for many youths, regardless of law enforcement efforts.

Allowing the testing of illegal substances would show what ingredients were included in the pills presented and help young people to make informed decisions about their use.

Educating people about alcohol and drug use and seeing their abuse as a health problem is, perhaps, a more realistic option to counter the epidemic of lost young lives than making this a purely legal and policing issue.

WE don’t need pill testing, rather either dill testing, or recognition of Darwin’s theory of survival of the fittest.

WHY are our young people not expected to overdose and die on the pills tested as OK?

How many folks routinely die from legitimately obtained prescription drugs?

Wouldn’t each and every drug obtained from a pharmacy test OK?

Would it then follow that the drug test would approve them for our children to ingest?

AS we debate the pros and cons of pill testing, let's spare a thought for the hundreds of Australians that die of alcohol poisoning each year.