President Obama is in Australia

1. 76

   barryrutherfordposted 12 years ago

   President Obama is finally in Australia he has just taken a 21 gun Salute in front of Parliament House Canberra

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   Kangaroo_Jaseposted 12 years ago

   Its a lightening visit Barry, he flies out of the country tomorrow!

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      logic,commonsenseposted 12 years agoin reply to this

      How much would you Aussie's charge to keep him?

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         Kangaroo_Jaseposted 12 years agoin reply to this

         Roughly all the tea in China?

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            logic,commonsenseposted 12 years agoin reply to this

            Well they own our debt, maybe they'll spot us some tea!

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         habeeposted 12 years agoin reply to this

         I was gonna ask that!

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3. 76

   barryrutherfordposted 12 years ago

   Indeed just enough time to announce that eventually 2,500 troops will be stationed in Australia's north

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      Jeff Berndtposted 12 years agoin reply to this

      Wait, what? 2500 US troops stationed in Oz?
      
      And your PM is cool with that?

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         Pearldiverposted 12 years agoin reply to this

         Exactly....
         
         But I believe she has an interest in the upcoming Queensland Wiggles Wannabe Contest.
         
         Last year they really struggled with a lack of BBQ chefs on the Big Tex BBQ Stand.
         
         Isn't it sad that trained marines have to stoop so low, just because the politicians expect to eat good steaks?

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      2. 76

         barryrutherfordposted 12 years agoin reply to this

         And yes! This is a Labor Prime Minister(who would have thought) and one of the Cabinet Peter Garrett once wrote and song a very important hit song with Midnight Oil "US Forces Get the Nod..."

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4. 67

   Pearldiverposted 12 years ago

   Tell me WHY this end of the Pacific requires 'Increased Security' as is being spun as the reason why 2500 US troops are being posted in NT?
   
   Are you aussis expecting another seaborne invasion from box jellyfish or merely boat-people?
   
   Are you planning on training them in AFL tactics? 
   
   Are you using these troops as Barbi Chefs at the Queensland Wiggles Wannabe Contest?
   
   What's the REAL REASON this deployment? 

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      paradigmsearchposted 12 years agoin reply to this

      Seriously? The terrorist groups are setting up shop big time just north of there. And the terrorists hate Australia just as much as they hate America and Europe.
      
      This is just my best guess.

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         mel22posted 12 years agoin reply to this

         Actually this is true what you said.. Abu sayaff of Mindanao Philippines are real close... maybe they're going to make a tactical strike over a gold mine this time rather than oil> isn't Canberra already a U'S military base anyway? Strange though. Maybe its just a way to keep a few thousand newly unemployed vets employed when they get home by putting them on a 6 month rotating tour or something.

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   2. 73

      Jeff Berndtposted 12 years agoin reply to this

      "What's the REAL REASON "
      Well, I'm thinking that the troops we're taking out of Iraq have to go somewhere, and if you've ever played Risk, you know that if you cash in all your cards and put your new guys on Australia, you're going to be really hard to conquer.
      
      No, I think we just want to be sure that we've got a lot of guys all throughout Asia-Pacific, just to let China know that while we may owe them a pile of money, they still can't push us around. It's disappointing macho bluster, really, but that's my theory.

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   SomewayOuttaHereposted 12 years ago

   ...hmmmmm................

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6. 76

   barryrutherfordposted 12 years ago

   I tend to agree I do not like the idea of increased US Troop Deployment I think that will make us more of a magnet for terrorists

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7. 76

   barryrutherfordposted 12 years ago

   Seems that Gillard and Obama are in a similar political cycle.  They are both emerging from the depths of despair looking for legitimacy & re-election next.  Obama is trying to get more of a foothold in the Asian Economy.  The planets are all sort of aligning.
   
   The troops although starting at 250 will in three years be 25,00 on permanent rotation

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8. 76

   barryrutherfordposted 12 years ago

   "Our toasts earlier tonight reminded me of a story.  It’s from our troops -- this is true story -- our troops serving together in Afghanistan.  Our guys, the Americans, couldn’t figure out why your guys were always talking about cheese.  All day long.  Morning, noon and night.  Why are the Aussies always talking about cheese?  And then, finally, they realized -- it was their Australian friends just saying hello, just saying “cheers.” (Laughter.)"
   
   
   Excerpt from Pres Obama's Speech to Dinner in Honour of the President Tonight in Parliament House Canberra.

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      Jeff Berndtposted 12 years agoin reply to this

      Similar story: I used to hang out with someone from New Zealand, and we would often play a game with different colored squares on the board, and with pieces shaped like towers and horsies and so on. One time, she asked my if I was up for a game, and another friend asked, "What's 'chiss'?"

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   prettydarkhorseposted 12 years ago

   "No, I think we just want to be sure that we've got a lot of guys all throughout Asia-Pacific, just to let China know that while we may owe them a pile of money, they still can't push us around. It's disappointing macho bluster, really, but that's my theory."
   
   I agree with that--

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10. 76

    barryrutherfordposted 12 years ago

    Jeff & PrettyDarkHorse you both make valuable points!

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