Gotta Love the Aussies
After a week wasted in part on John Kerry's cut 'n run amendment, is there anyone else who wishes some Republican senator could say, "I move that that sniveling grub over there be not further heard"?
posted by LadybugUSA at 1:49 PM
5 Comments:
Actually Carol the quote you are reporting on came from a member of the Australian Labor Party aimed squarely at a conservative politician.
ie The quote came from the left and was directed towards the right.
I should know... I live in Aussieralia.
Yes OSO's right, the article is referring to Julia Gillard's comment - for which she was ejected from the parliament. However she was mimicking Tony Abbott, the Health Minister, who wasn't ejected for saying exactly the same thing a few days earlier.
With regard to the article, while it is nice to be loved and appreciated for what we do and who we are the article is overtly gushing with praise. The US and Oz share a long 'kin-like' relationship through both fair and foul times, and that is demonstrated favourably at an official level. However, at a grassroots level things are less straight-forward. Where a yank could almost guarantee a free beer in any pub in Oz - or at least a friendly, heartfelt welcome - that's no longer the case. It is by no means openly hostile but there is now a tension at the grassroots amongst many. The term "fuck'n yanks" now is more than just exasperated banter and has real spite attached to it.
Of course Bruce Arena's diplomatic comments last year didn't exactly help matters =).
http://www.smh.com.au/news/opinion/a-lightweight-transport-solution/2006/06/23/1150845377399.html
A lightweight transport solution
Michael Duffy
June 24, 2006
Fortunately for our leaders, we Australians are a tolerant bunch.
Skribe is right - the grassroots opinion of America is heading downwards. America was never our "best buddy" pre-Iraq war but we had some level of respect and, especially after 9/11, a level of deep sympathy.
Nevertheless I always prefer to take people as they come - so I would probably give a visiting American the benefit of the doubt. I would also give him, if the opportunity arose, my thoughts on Bush and Iraq.
As usual, Krauthammer tells only half the truth and leaves out the fascist part. As already noted, the week before Julia Gillard used the phrase "snivelling grub," Health Minister Tony Abbott, a vocally anti-abortion Catholic, had used the same term against a Labor MP. Labor objected to this language, but nothing happened. To prove a point, Gillard threw the same invective against Abbot. SHE was ejected from the floor of Parliament for a day. Double-standard there!
The Liberals (Australia's conservative party) are making this into a one-party state. They now have control of the Commonwealth Senate, which used to act as a check against the powers of the House and the PM. They've eliminated the Opposition's right to committee chairmanships. Other fascistic policies against labour (the workers) as well as Labor (the political party) are coming into force.
Little by little, Australia is becoming a fascist government just like the U.S. That's why the aptly-named Krauthammer so loves the Land of Oz. Whenever I think of him, it brings to mind the penultimate scene in "Dr. Strangelove" with the wheelchair-bound mad scientist finally standing and screeching "Mein Fuhrer, I can walk!"
BTW, I'm an American who's pushing 50. But my wife and I emigrated to Australia last year because we could no longer stomach being part of President Cheney's evil empire. (I'm a registered nurse, so I could get a work visa here.) You would be amazed at how much America is feared and despised in what used to be one of its closest allies. I didn't realise how right-wing it was going, but I have faith that Aussies, with their anti-authoritarian streak, can turn it around at the elections in 2007.
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