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July 22, 2008
Change Australia Can Believe In?
Barack Obama, who bows to nobody in his understanding of this world, has some rather important news for Australia: you are henceforth part of Asia
Now to find Australia some Hope.
(h/t to Daughter, who noticed this over my shoulder while I was on Obama's site)
(click post time to see full text)
Posted by Mr. Bingley at July 22, 2008 09:17 PM
Comments
Kevin Rudd's Labour government is already tanking in the polls. Aussies have a talent for seeing through bullshit.
Posted by: Dave J at July 22, 2008 09:28 PM
Oh, this is certainly CHANGE!
Perhaps HOPE comes later.
Posted by: The_Real_JeffS at July 22, 2008 09:33 PM
So is Tim Blair singing "I think I'm turning Japanese, I think I'm turning Japanese, I really THINK so!" now?
Posted by: tree hugging sister at July 22, 2008 10:39 PM
I think it was one of Paul Keatings' dreams to see Australia accepted as part of Asia, a true "Asian nation." Chuck off the old ties to those nasty Imperialist British and Warmonger Yanks and bind ourselves to the bosom of Asia. Because, we have so much more in common with, and so much more to gain from, the communists, totalitarians, military juntas and miscellaneous thugocrats of China, Burma, Indonesia et. al.
Kevin wants to form an EU-style Asian Union, too - at least that was one of his thought-bubble, announced-on-the-run policies.
"With friends like that..."
Posted by: spot_the_dog at July 22, 2008 11:52 PM
i think you'll find this is a matter of definition. you could say australia is part of oceania, but that's like saying 'australia, new zealand and some smaller islands.' 'asia-pacific' is a more meaningful grouping in diplomatic and trade terms. australia certainly puts its hand up to be included in this definition and has done so for decades.
Posted by: gutful at July 23, 2008 12:15 AM
Between Keating and Rudd, there was this guy:
JOHN HOWARD: And a combination of Mandarin and Cantonese is now the most, if you can combine them, is now the most widely spoken foreign language in Australia.
And that's a little fact, a little vignette that's probably known to a lot of you, but when you tell that to an Asian leader or even more so, to a European leader, they're perfectly astonished.
And it's just an illustration of the way in which we are naturally and comfortably and permanently part of this region and see our future in it.
In terms of economic and military strategy, Australia is part of Asia.
Posted by: Tobias Ziegler at July 23, 2008 01:47 AM
So between Kevni p!ssing off the Yanks in favour of China, and Obambi being a pacifist wuss anyway, if a WWII-type situation were to happen again here in the near future, we'd just have to hope that Burma, North Korea or China would come to our rescue...
We're all f__ked.
Posted by: WAF at July 23, 2008 02:28 AM
Isn't Australia already one of the "57 states"?
Posted by: Kate P at July 23, 2008 09:35 AM
He's going to work to ensure that China plays by international rules? By hoping they'll change, no doubt...
This guy isn't fit to be elected dogcatcher. He should stay in the Senate where reality won't bother him too much.
Posted by: nightfly at July 23, 2008 10:17 AM
Dude: "...he's got issues, man!"
Walter: "You mean besides the pacifism?"
Posted by: mojo at July 23, 2008 01:45 PM