"The present Government has been giving endorsement of US policy in a far more extreme form than the Menzies and Holt governments ever did, and in a situation where there is no evident physical threat to Australia as a nation."
Of course, the "no evident physical threat" situation may not last for long; by being the only nation to unconditionally back US first strikes, Australia may be making itself a more tempting target for terrorists. Of course, the increased threat of terrorism may be a good thing for Howard, as it would allow hard questions to be deflected as "unpatriotic", as in Bush's America, and allowing his nice, shiny deputy's badge to imbue him with reflected charisma. And when US troops enter Baghdad, Havana or The Hague, Australian troops will be right among them, in the first wave.
Meanwhile, Australia will be buying 100 stealth fighters, costing as much as $4bn. Next time you wonder why your taxes are so high while social services are so underfunded, think about that.
(I wonder whether these are the 'stealth' fighters that can be detected by measuring their effects on TV and mobile phone transmissions, using only some receivers and a laptop computer.)
Posted by: Ben | http:// | Thu Jun 27 13:48:48 2002
Or you can use psychics and black magicians to shoot them down, like the Serbians did a couple of years back.
Posted by: angmo | http:// | Fri Jun 28 02:16:47 2002
uhh, perhaps you want to read the article again and get your facts straight.
::quote::
Australia will contribute $US150 million to the $US20 billion development program.
Senator Hill says the Government will decide in 2006 whether to go ahead with the purchase of the planes, which will each cost about $40 million.
The Defence Minister says Australia wants the capability of 100 planes although it may not need that many of the new stealth planes.
::end quote::
What I get out of it is that Australia will be *definately* contributing US$150 mil to the research and *possibly* purchacing *up to* 100 planes at 40mil each, even though we most likely dont need that many.
A far cry from your "Meanwhile, Australia *will* be buying 100 stealth fighters, costing as much as $4bn." (emphasis mine).
If you start fudging facts to make your content more interesting your no better than your beloved MX.
Posted by: acb | http://dev.null.org | Fri Jun 28 04:44:01 2002
Got a bee in our bonnet, have we?
Posted by: alex | | Fri Jun 28 05:01:40 2002
"If you start fudging facts to make your content more interesting *your* no better than your beloved MX."
"If you start fudging facts to make your content more interesting *you're* no better than your beloved MX." (emphasis mine.>
If you're going to snipe, make sure you know how spell. The dearth of correct spelling and grammar that abounds these days (e.g. apostrophe abuse) is truly a sign of the End Times and I will have none of it.
Posted by: Ben | http:// | Fri Jun 28 07:35:52 2002
Actually these projects always end up being way over budget, so we will probably end up getting 50 of them for 50 million each, and they will be obsolete by the time they arrive. A lot of deefense purchases got us fucked over because of the dollar slide in the 90s, as all prices are set in $US.
BTW the internet at the shop is working again.
Posted by: angmo | http:// | Fri Jun 28 10:58:56 2002
alex: Point taken. I guess its the shitty education I got at our under funded public school system showing through. :)
acb: Above is an example of how to take constructive criticism. Just trying to help you make your (usually) good commentary a little stronger.
Make of it what you will
Posted by: acb | http://dev.null.org | Fri Jun 28 11:30:40 2002
The Null Device comes with no guarantee of accuracy. It's a personal blog/ranting post. And goddamnit, I'd like to think that I have at least more style than the MX.
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Posted by: Graham | http://grudnuk.com/ | Thu Jun 27 10:35:57 2002
"Up The Tree with GWB", anyone?