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This may be deemed too political by the mods, but IMO it is only political in cloud cuckoo land

An American political commentator has proposed, not entirely in jest, that the US invade Australia to free its people "suffering under a totalitarian regime." I want to reassure the Oz members here that Australia has always held a special place in our hearts. To that end I offer this take from Randy Newman:

 
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I have no Idea how these intellectual pygmies get on tv, or why they’re not laughed off screen.

Inflammatory noise gets attention. Attention = revenue. It 's all about the Benjamins

For those among us who are not native speakers of American English, Benjamin Franklin's picture is on the US $100 bill. Benjamins has become slang for money
 
Just to be fair, idk that she's actually proposing we invade Australia when she proposes that we invade Australia. 😜 I take her diatribe to be "Omg, covid restrictions in Australia are horrific and dystopian! We Americans pretend to care about totalitarian regimes when it's somewhere like Afghanistan, but why aren't we all up in arms about this?? This is terrible! Look at me! I'm on TV and I have opinions! Click on me! And while you're at it, get more mad and more mad about covid restrictions in America, because we might become like Australia, and then come spend more time listening to me because I'm the only one that will understand your anger!!!"

Whatever.

https://www.news.com.au/entertainme...y/news-story/9a487acac0dbafefaa0945d2aa7284cc
 
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Not familiar with this type of topics, but are they choosing Australia because it's absurd enough? I always thought they would mention countries like Saudi Arabia, Iran, North Korea or China.
 
Just to be fair, idk that she's actually proposing we invade Australia when she proposes that we invade Australia. 😜

Fair? Who cares about fair? Have you been living in a bunker for the past twenty years?
They've got beaches, surfing, wombats, kolas, and kangaroos We've invaded countries for worse reasons.
 
Not familiar with this type of topics, but are they choosing Australia because it's absurd enough? I always thought they would mention countries like Saudi Arabia, Iran, North Korea or China.

They’re choosing Australia because the point they are trying to make is that covid restrictions are bad.
 
How “refreshing” would that be though?

“We’re invading Australia. I went there in 2016, and I just loooooved the beaches, the seafood, and I hear they’ve got some spiffy knife makers there.”
 
Australia is little more then a speed bump if the Chinese ever decide to invade/attack. I have no idea how we (U.S.) would be of much use, at least not early on. Hopefully the submarine deal will actually be a deterrent to the Chinese, but I doubt it. The Chinese are preparing for a war they believe will surely come, and it's going to be a doozy!
 
Actually the logistics of a naval invasion over such a distance would be far from trivial... which is exactly why Australia is investing in a navy. The idea of teaming up with allies is that if you put enough small sticks together you end up with a bigger stick than the other guy.
In the short(er) term the fight (if there's going to be one) is all about Taiwan. The Chinese know the war is coming because they're the ones planning to invade... the only real question is whether someone will step in to aid Taiwan.
 
I didn't say it was trivial, moving troops and equipment during war is a major logistical nightmare. Australia's navy is tiny compared to the Chinese's navy, which is now the largest in the world. They overtook us a few years ago. Thank God quantity does not equal quality. We've got the upper hand in that area, but missile technology is making naval warfare (surface ships) obsolete. We've got the Aegis system, but the Russians are giving away their superior missile technology to all their allies, which happen to be our enemies. The Chinese will invade Taiwan, at least that's my opinion. It's just a question of when, not if.
 
I didn't say it was trivial, moving troops and equipment during war is a major logistical nightmare. Australia's navy is tiny compared to the Chinese's navy, which is now the largest in the world. They overtook us a few years ago. Thank God quantity does not equal quality. We've got the upper hand in that area, but missile technology is making naval warfare (surface ships) obsolete. We've got the Aegis system, but the Russians are giving away their superior missile technology to all their allies, which happen to be our enemies. The Chinese will invade Taiwan, at least that's my opinion. It's just a question of when, not if.

The PRC may invade Taiwan at some point but it isn't an easy calculation for them. Taiwan would try to delay full secure occupation until hoped for help from the US arrives, which it might or might not. Their bigger problem would be post taking over Taiwan only to see almost all major global markets closed to them and potentially some major limitations on ship traffic outside of the South China Sea. The knock-on effects of Evergrande are still unknown, China's economy may not be securely stable. If they face major economic turbulence Xi Jinping's grip on power may not be all that secure.
 
Yeah, that's a good point, sanctions, blow-back, etc. I wonder though, do you really think most global markets would be closed to them? We, and the world, have a symbiotic relationship with the Chinese. One can't really survive without the other, at least not in the short-term. It's tough to know what they'll do, and what they're thinking. I've read some alleged comments some of their high-ranking officers have said, and it doesn't fill me with optimism. It could very well be a situation of saying insanely threatening things, but in reality, they really wouldn't carry out such threats. I don't know, I'm just a layman. I don't even know if what we're hearing is the truth. I thought Xi was pretty secure in his position, though economic troubles could change that in an instant.
 
An American political commentator has proposed, not entirely in jest, that the US invade Australia to free its people "suffering under a totalitarian regime." I want to reassure the Oz members here that Australia has always held a special place in our hearts.

Murdoch is responsible for taking news off the rails in the Anglosphere... we cant run away from his origin story.


The knock-on effects of Evergrande are still unknown

Fascinating you mention this. I was wondering if it would come up on KKF. Yeah... it is interesting. A slow moving train wreck. Definitely interesting to watch and quite significant.


The PRC may invade Taiwan at some point but it isn't an easy calculation for them.

I am not deep enough into foreign policy and international politics to have a greatly informed view on this. While conflict in the region is inevitable... I do not think a full-blown hot war is inevitable... maybe not even likely. For my money, if China really sees value in annexing Taiwan, i think it is more likely they will keep chipping away using softer methods. A hot war would be disastrous for the region... including China. Right now I think it is more productive to view these things through the lens of political maneuvering.
 
I have no Idea who Candace Owens is. Does she have any knowledge of Australia? She doesn't seem to know that the Northern Territory already hosts a couple of thousand US Marines. On very friendly terms, it should be said.

She also seems to have ignored that the restrictions in the covid affected states (and the border restrictions in the other states) have been institutied by democratically elected governments of both Liberal (that is to say, conservative) and Labor (that is to say, liberal) parties. Those governments remain accountable for their actions at elections to be held within months or years (depending on the state). The WA and Qld governments have already been re-elected. It’s fair to say that their covid management record was important in both campaigns.

There is robust debate about the restrictions but you would have a pretty hard time arguing that they have been universally unpopular to date, even if everyone in Vic and Sydney is pretty much over lockdowns by now. Border restrictions in Qld, Tasmania, SA and especially WA have been very popular. This is democracy at work in all of its ugly glory. It is not some totalitarian dystopia.

The covid affected states have reached 70 plus percent double vax and 90 plus percent single dose and have emerged from lockdown. I suspect that it would be politically very difficult to go back now (democracy at work again...) unless the case numbers rise to the point of overwhelming the hospital system.
 
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I have no Idea who Candace Owens is.

She’s a ridiculous ranting ringpiece, clearly,

Just to be fair, idk that she's actually proposing we invade Australia when she proposes that we invade Australia. 😜 I take her diatribe to be "Omg, covid restrictions in Australia are horrific and dystopian! We Americans pretend to care about totalitarian regimes when it's somewhere like Afghanistan, but why aren't we all up in arms about this?? This is terrible! Look at me! I'm on TV and I have opinions! Click on me! And while you're at it, get more mad and more mad about covid restrictions in America, because we might become like Australia, and then come spend more time listening to me because I'm the only one that will understand your anger!!!"

Whatever.

https://www.news.com.au/entertainme...y/news-story/9a487acac0dbafefaa0945d2aa7284cc

I do kind of get this, but I do find her continued popularity remarkable. At some point you’d expect some kind of political ‘jump the shark’ moment, where any watcher with any critical faculties begins to lose interest as the sheer ridiculousness and detachment from reality bites. But here this bibblehead is making repeated comparisons to tyranny, Hitler and Stalin - there should be nowhere further she he can hysterically scrape the Godwin’s law barrel- and people still seem to keep watching. Surely the joke must wear off eventually.

I’d like to think that people don’t actually lap this up and believe nothing from this woman’s mouth. But sadly I‘m far from certain this is the case.
 
Australia was threatened early WW2 Japanese
air raids. Also had aims to isolate Australia with bases & lots of planes in Indonesia. US couldn't let that happen early naval attacks on islands were in part to keep shipping lanes open to Australia & New Zealand.

Chinese communist have always had a bug in their bonnet about Taiwan. They have the military to take it over easy. Their not stupid they produce goods for much of the western world. Of coarse could be wrong still think full military attack on Taiwan is not in China's best interest.

Boomer Nuclear Subs with multiple warheads
is one of the greatest don't F#@k with us big sticks.

Kim Jong-Un was asked if he would use nuclear weapons
His reply was are you kidding US would wipe us off the map. He wants them to keep his power
Intact. People think twice before invading North Korea.
 
People forget that a hundred years ago, America did in fact invade and colonize other countries.
 
Haha! I hadn't seen any of this. It's either amusing or depressing, probably depending on where you live and how detached you are.

I will say this though... while I'm left-leaning politically, the current right-of-centre Australian federal government are a feck of a lot more competent and serious than most. Covid policies at both national and state levels here, as well as the response of the population, have been remarkable. And politicians of all stripes should be extremely proud for every single one of the many tens of thousands of deaths that have been avoided.
 
Before you dump on Ted Cruz remember he’s one of us … a Texas Line Cook.

How do I know …

I once saw him cook up an order of bacon by wrapping the slices around the barrel of an AR15 and firing off a few clips.

You can’t make this stuff up!

Sure hope he's not using an AR15 on the line!
 
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