The Purple Finger

Winnow · Post by **Winnow** » February 7, 2005, 2:37 am

Zaelath wrote:
Regardless, I really don't see how this relates to travelling to foreign countries, capturing people, and dragging them back to your super happy fun camps in Guantanamo.

Wait until someone flys a plane into your largest building in Sydney and maybe you'll understand somewhat more. Before you answer, I already said your country doesn't matter so you probably won't see anything like that happen. It's not because you're any better than the United States, it's because terrorising you wouldn't accomplish much.

Zaelath wrote: Your inborn reliance on pop-culture and inherent ignorance are amusing though, almost no one drinks Fosters in Australia.

I know, you drink the piss warm beer and export the better stuff to us. I don't drink Fosters either though. I was just trying to be friendly mate!

Surging oil prices should be seen as a warning and not a cure for declining oil and gas exploration which threatened to leave Australia dangerously reliant on overseas supplies, the head of the nation's peak oil and gas body warned yesterday.

Australian Petroleum Production and Exploration Association chief Barry Jones said governments were kidding themselves if they thought that record oil prices around $US40 a barrel would be enough to encourage the level of exploration needed to boost Australian production.

"Politicians and bureaucrats would be living in fantasy land if they believed world record oil prices in 2004 would crystallise the necessary exploration momentum to overcome Australia's looming reliance on imported oil stocks," he said from Darwin, where the South-East Asia Australia Offshore Conference kicks off this morning.

"We just had a week in which every news service in this country has been running stories about instability in the Middle East, how OPEC does not have any more supply capacity and how Chinese demand is growing.

"If all that is correct . . . then this country has a real problem. But where is the urgency in policy-making, and the people saying this is a serious issue? Waiting 10 years for this to hit us is not an answer."

Don't worry, we got your back in the middle east. Keep on truck'in and whining!

Zaelath · Post by **Zaelath** » February 7, 2005, 2:55 am

Winnow wrote:
Zaelath wrote:
Regardless, I really don't see how this relates to travelling to foreign countries, capturing people, and dragging them back to your super happy fun camps in Guantanamo.
Wait until someone flys a plane into your largest building in Sydney and maybe you'll understand somewhat more. Before you answer, I already said your country doesn't matter so you probably won't see anything like that happen. It's not because you're any better than the United States, it's because terrorising you wouldn't accomplish much.

[/quote]

I had family living in the US at the time of 9/11, I was as horrified as anyone else. The greatest fear is for those you love.

Now, back on point. You STILL haven't answered the question, and 9/11 should mean you *favour* this guy's detention.

Winnow · Post by **Winnow** » February 7, 2005, 3:46 am

Zaelath wrote:
I had family living in the US at the time of 9/11, I was as horrified as anyone else. The greatest fear is for those you love.

Now, back on point. You STILL haven't answered the question, and 9/11 should mean you *favour* this guy's detention.

The point is that Australia has it's own problems. The United States' problems are magnified due to the fact that, for good or bad, we are in the spotlight of terrorists because we have the capability of dramatically impacting global affairs.

While I don't have anything against Australia or any other country, I sometimes feel like those from other countries fail to place themselves in our shoes when viewing foreign affairs. The United States happens to be the country that is going to determine what happens to the flow of oil for the rest of the world. You're going to need that oil as much as us and will suffer without it yet it's the U.S. that must take the majority of the action and risks required to stabilize the middle east region. Lets be honest, no one gives a shit about the Middle East for any other reason besides oil and maybe trying to help keep the jewish homeland alive and kicking. Liberating and attempting to set up a democracy in Iraq is admirable and positive but we wouldn't be there unless it impacted our oil supplies (and yours as well)

Try this...imagine Australia being the most powerful country in the world and the United States being a minor player. Do you think the western world would magically be better if that was the case with no terrorism and no oil issues? I see you're already bitching about your present leaders so would something change if the power level of your country was magnified with those same leaders? No. It'd be your buildings being attacked and your military heading to the middle east to stop invasions of Kuwait and threats to oil production...unless I missed something and you guys are all driving around in solar buggies.

Cut us some fucking slack!

Zaelath · Post by **Zaelath** » February 7, 2005, 5:58 am

Highest selling car in Australia:

Highest selling car in America:

Yeah... we're reliant on oil too, but at least we don't piss it away at an exponential rate.

Winnow · Post by **Winnow** » February 7, 2005, 7:00 am

Zaelath wrote:
Yeah... we're reliant on oil too, but at least we don't piss it away at an exponential rate.

That's because you don't have as much money to piss away as us : )

With California being the second biggest petrol market in the world - equal to Japan - and second only to the rest of the United States, it has the highest and most volatile prices in the country due to the top four refiners controlling 80 per cent of its capacity and the top six refiners operating 85 per cent of its retail outlets.

Just one state pwns every other nation besides Japan! Woo! Nice work California.

Gas is more expensive in Australia as well. It may not be accurate anymore, but I saw a conversion that placed your gas at around 2.83/gallon U.S. dollars. That's too fucking high! You make less and have more expensive gas...that's why you drive around in little fuel efficient cars...not because you want to.

Now, if the tables were turned and Australia was the superpower, you'd be driving around in the SUVs while we tried to make it up a steep hill in our 1 liter engine cars while trying to stay above 20mph.

Zaelath · Post by **Zaelath** » February 7, 2005, 9:47 am

Make less? Who's that?

Our "minimum wage" is higher and I make a shedload more here than in the US...

Our fuel is more expensive, but it's still far too cheap. Compare the price of orange juice and gas...

Nick · Post by **Nick** » February 7, 2005, 12:06 pm

Admirable attempt Zealath mate but sadly most of these people would argue that 2+2=5 even if their fucking childrens lived depended on it.

Aabidano · Post by **Aabidano** » February 7, 2005, 12:32 pm

Zaelath wrote:Our "minimum wage" is higher and I make a shedload more here than in the US...

You're 1st floor is higher than ours so to speak, oh boy. It's still the bottom, and when you raise it no one benefits in the least, except in the short term. Prices rise to pay for it, folks that were making somewhat over the minimum aren't compensated, so end up worse off than they were before.

Education and\or training are the only solution to the low wage earners plight. Both are available at little to no cost to anyone with negligible income, in the US at any rate.

Zaelath · Post by **Zaelath** » February 7, 2005, 1:00 pm

Aabidano wrote:
Zaelath wrote:Our "minimum wage" is higher and I make a shedload more here than in the US...
You're 1st floor is higher than ours so to speak, oh boy. It's still the bottom, and when you raise it no one benefits in the least, except in the short term. Prices rise to pay for it, folks that were making somewhat over the minimum aren't compensated, so end up worse off than they were before.

Education and\or training are the only solution to the low wage earners plight. Both are available at little to no cost to anyone with negligible income, in the US at any rate.

It's not really applicable. The real difference is we pay people enough to live on at the bottom end; our waitstaff don't have to be a herd of sycophants in order to survive.

Our middle income earners are better paid compared to the cost of living.

The only difference is the top 5% types who Winnow can only hope to blow in his enourmous gratitude that they keep the oil flowing.

nobody · Post by **nobody** » February 7, 2005, 1:03 pm

why are we bashing australia again?

Winnow · Post by **Winnow** » February 7, 2005, 1:42 pm

nobody wrote:why are we bashing australia again?

Exploiting pandas?

Australia is OK in my book although we may have caused some anti americanism when we crushed the aussies in their national pastime of swimming in the last olympics.

miir · Post by **miir** » February 7, 2005, 1:54 pm

we crushed the aussies in their national pastime of swimming in the last olympics.

Aussie 'national pastime' is football, cricket and maybe surfing... swimming? where the hell did you get that from?

nobody · Post by **nobody** » February 7, 2005, 2:04 pm

football or soccer?

Moonwynd · Post by **Moonwynd** » February 7, 2005, 2:12 pm

He is referring to Michael "DUI" Phelps besting Ian "The Thorpedo" Thorpe in the 2004 Olympics.

I was personally routing for Ian Thorpe.

Australia can't be that bad despite Paul Hogan being from there. I had the chance to meet Gigi Edgley, Virginia Hey and Claudia Black a few years ago...I have a new found love for Oz!

Winnow · Post by **Winnow** » February 7, 2005, 2:14 pm

A sports market research report released today has confirmed that swimming is again Australia’s most popular sport and Ian Thorpe and Grant Hackett are the country’s two most popular athletes.

The performances of Australia’s swimmers are also in big demand from the public following the release of the 17th summer edition of The Sweeney Sports Report – recognised as Australia’s definitive sports industry study.

The survey covered 56 major sports played or covered by the media, with 1000 interviews in six capital cities and Canberra.

It concluded that swimming generated the highest amount of interest of the 52 sports polled with 62 percent against its highly televised opposition in tennis (60%), cricket (56%) and Australian Rules Football (54%).

As expected, swimming is the highest participated sport, with 43 percent of some 3.75 million people surveyed taking to the water.

The most popular sport or physical activity undertaken by Tasmanian adults, aged 18 years and over, in the 12 months before interview in 2002 was walking for exercise, with 25.3% of adults (87,100) participating. This was followed by swimming, with 8.2% of adults (28,300) participating, and aerobics/fitness, with 7.5% of adults (26,000) participating.

If you don't include the thrilling sport of "walking", then swimming is the most popular sport in Australia. (Tasmania at least!)

miir · Post by **miir** » February 7, 2005, 2:18 pm

Why would Australia's national pastime be North American football?

And why is american football called football?
The foot rarely ever touches ball in the NFL... It should, more accurately, be called handball or something along the lines of ball holding... but I don't think that would fly, I think the average NFL fan is already a bit uncomfortable with the amount of homoeroticism currently in the NFL.

Moonwynd · Post by **Moonwynd** » February 7, 2005, 2:24 pm

nobody wrote:football or soccer?

Football IS soccer. If you hear someone outside of the USA refer to football...they are talking about this...and rightfully so!

miir · Post by **miir** » February 7, 2005, 2:25 pm

A sports market research report released today has confirmed that swimming is again Australia’s most popular sport and Ian Thorpe and Grant Hackett are the country’s two most popular athletes.

<snip>

Ah, so a few months before the Athens Olympics, swimming was barely more popular than cricket or tennis. That makes sense to me.

Popularity does not translate to 'national pastime'. Baseball is America's national pastime but you would have been hard pressed to find a market research poll taken in the past month that would rank baseball over football or basketball.

Winnow · Post by **Winnow** » February 7, 2005, 2:35 pm

miir wrote:
A sports market research report released today has confirmed that swimming is again Australia’s most popular sport and Ian Thorpe and Grant Hackett are the country’s two most popular athletes.

<snip>

Ah, so a few months before the Athens Olympics, swimming was barely more popular than cricket or tennis. That makes sense to me.

Popularity does not translate to 'national pastime'. Baseball is America's national pastime but you would have been hard pressed to find a market research poll taken in the past month that would rank baseball over football or basketball.

Your excuses are weak! It's like Waterworld down there. Tennis was number two...please give me an excuse for that one being higher than your choices as well...excuses...excuses...there must have been a Kornikova ad on TV right before the poll...yeah..that's it!

As expected, swimming is the highest participated sport, with 43 percent of some 3.75 million people surveyed taking to the water.

miir · Post by **miir** » February 7, 2005, 2:58 pm

If I could find a market research poll listing figure skating as the most popular sport in the US, would that make it your national pastime?

Aabidano · Post by **Aabidano** » February 7, 2005, 3:51 pm

What would Brian Boitano think of this thread?

nobody · Post by **nobody** » February 7, 2005, 3:53 pm

Moonwynd wrote:
nobody wrote:football or soccer?
Football IS soccer. If you hear someone outside of the USA refer to football...they are talking about this...and rightfully so!

sorry my sarcasim didn't come through too well there. and i thought you guys were into rugby down there. i tried playing (american) football with some kiwi's but they couldn't stand the pace and we ended up playing rugby instead.

miir · Post by **miir** » February 7, 2005, 3:57 pm

Aussie rules football is more like rugby than football.

Winnow · Post by **Winnow** » February 7, 2005, 4:09 pm

miir wrote:If I could find a market research poll listing figure skating as the most popular sport in the US, would that make it your national pastime?

It wouldn't make it mine but it would make it the nation's which is what the discussion is about...not whether my pastime agrees with the most popular national one.

Zaelath · Post by **Zaelath** » February 7, 2005, 6:32 pm

Just goes to show two things:
- Reporters can't relate a fact; you give them one and they come out with some headline that looks good but defies all logic.
- Consumers of media can't tell the difference, hence FOX is as dangerous as everyone says it is.

Australia's national pastime is the same as the US; drinking beer and watching sport. Cricket in summer, football in winter.

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