Yeti [42]:

Funny you should mention that …. though I can’t see the ADF being very happy at all about going on operations against the US Marine Corps on either the Iranian Front or the Georgia/Gruzi Front

Steve At The Pub [43]:

Yeah. That seems to be as workable a definition as any other. Alas, out in the big bad ugly world, international relations is as dirty and as brutal and as unfair as any other game …. it has always been thus.

American hegemony may have some drawbacks, but the prospect of chinese/russian/muslim hegemony ought to make the bowels of readers on this site evacuate.

Dunno about the rest, but for China, having a close look at their name for us gives a bit of a clue: Aodaliya

澳 (ao4): inlet, bay, dock, bank, waterfront, girtbysea
大 (da4): big / huge / large / major / great / wide / deep
利 (li4): advantage / benefit / profit / sharp / opportunity
亞 (ya4): second, auxiliary

So: A huge opportunity for waterfront weekenders.

It’s a bit like the bargaining scene from Superman II:

- General Zod: “What do you want?”
- Lex Luthor: “Well General, the world is a big place. Thank goodness that my needs are very small. As you may know, I have an affinity for beach front property … Australia!”

Good to hear a sensible suggestion from Professor Rat on the need for a common language, including a word for Esperanto.

Yep that’s why people all over the world are learning Esperanto. There are schools that teach it in every city…
>
Oh wait.

I deliberately omitted “school” and “tourist destination”. Both tourists and full-fee-paying students seem to be voting with their feet - or wallets - lately. And “Influence” is definitely in the past tense or soon-to-be past tense..

Yes. Quarry is fine - but we seem to have given up owning a lot of that already.

That doesn’t change my curiosity about what it is we can actually offer the countries of the hemisphere for getting into a brand-new shiny club. Hey, how about free uranium if they let us play in their backyard?

So why would these people need Australia for anything at all other than as a quarry, a brothel, a retirement home, a farm, an aircraft carrier, a source of cannon-fodder and a prison?

You forgot school.

The post-grad agriculture school at the UNE is absolutely chockas with asian and east asian government funded students, coming here to learn about animal genetics, pasture management, livestock disease control and a hundred other things aimed at lifting their home food production productivity. You just can’t underestimate the impact we can have in a region that regularly threatens to starve to death.

Besides which, being a quarry isn’t so bad.

“Huh? What are you talking about?”

Long before last week’s high-level love-in between Taipei and Beijing or the recent one between Tokyo and Beijing, there was a hell of a lot of close co-operation at all levels throughout North Asia. Its only a matter of time before North Korea joins in boots-and-all [sooner rather than later].

So why would these people need Australia for anything at all other than as a quarry, a brothel, a retirement home, a farm, an aircraft carrier, a source of cannon-fodder and a prison? What else can we offer them now? Partnership perhaps? Yeah, right - of course - perhaps these countries are queuing up in the hope of joining the Commonwealth Of Australia too.

Adrien [33]:

As I implied on comment 30, Keating can’t shut up. Anyway, it’s not his job to shut up - he’s filling the policy vacuum left the by Howardite mutual-pugilists pretending to be an Opposition. Someone has to do it.

In terms of international acceptance Esperanto is definately on the up.

Eight British MP’s have nominated Esperanto for the Nobel Peace Prize 2008, for example.

You can check detail on http://www.esperanto.net

you also come to the conclusion that the man isn’t happy with his place in history - which I think is probably right.

And won’t be until he features in the Greats of the 20th Century Series: Roosevelt, Stalin, Churchill, Hitler, Mao, Thatcher, Gandhi, Keating..
>
(One of these kids is not like the other one)*.

And that’s before he sees Krudd, sort of an effete all-work-no-output Howard-(very) -lite, who repudiates what Keating stood for…

I reckon Kevvie’s gonna extend the agenda of Keating al la Engagement but in his own way. After all Kevvie knows his Asia a tad better n’ Paul (maybe).

waking up every morning knowing that Howard’s place in Australian political history is orders of magnitude ahead of his own.

He might think that but it’s too soon to call. Howard’s role was as a reactionary and middle manager. Keating was the architect of 21st century Australia; Howard’s job was to play the bugle whilst the Union Jack was being rolled down for the last time. The trust he put in the Americans over Iraq and David Hicks would be a cautionary tale to any future leader. He put the conservative breaks on a rapidly changing society, fair enough. But he didn’t do anything new. Keating did and the Hawkeating era’s been copied in the UK and the USA.
>
* Ghandi. He’s the only one whose ego can fit within the borders of Brazil.

The Commonwealth seems as valid a model as the EU to this little black duck…and I don’t think anyones suggesting federations are absolutely perfect from every angle…more like that the advantages of a convenient common currency - and passport free travel outweigh the disadvantages - like unfair agricultural subsidies in the EU for example.
Its obviously a bit haywire of the Krudd-9000 series computer to include China - a failure in the AE35 unit? - but this is actually getting to be a bit of a habit with our new Mandarins in Canberra. The stunning potential is clearly there for great strides to be made in federating the region, and yes…the world.
And the Indonesian innovation of a common language may be useful then.
Just as all Indonesian children learn Bahasa today - so too all future generations could all learn… Esperanto? Spanish…shudder…Mandarin.

The Japan-China-Taiwan-Hankok-Chosen economic union is up and running …. better get used to it.

Huh? What are you talking about?

Spiros on 7 did have a point …. but mine’s better.

Keating’s the man. He’s not a resurrected Gough. He’s not a Malcolm converted to decency and vision on the Road to Damascus. Keating would have re-emerged no matter who was Prime Minister. Don’t particularly like him but he is one of Australia’s few ever statesmen …. and who, at the moment, is the de facto Opposition - since the official Opposition components are too busy back-stabbing one another to notice that Australia’s place in the world is changing radically.

S C O? S C O? did anyone mention S C O?

And that’s before he sees Krudd, sort of an effete all-work-no-output Howard-(very) -lite, who repudiates what Keating stood for. Then add Keating’s monstrously overblown ego to that whole unlovely stew.

Might this be a recipe for bitterness, bile: and bags of entertainment and fun from here in the cheap seats?

That’s why I am just kicking back and enjoying the show. You have to admit that it is entertaining.

MarkL
Canberra

It was cab off the rank at regular PRC foreign ministry press conference question time:
Mandarin
BabelFish: “Now I am willing to answer everybody’s question. 　　
Questioning: Australian Premier Lu Kewen indicated yesterday that hoped the Asian country completes is similar European Union “the Asian and Pacific community”. The Chinese side has what response regarding this? 　　
Answer: I noted the related report. Strengthens the region cooperation is a present era tidal current, we hoped that the Asian and Pacific area the related country can joint effort, to promote the contact, strengthens the political mutual confidence, the deepening mutually beneficial cooperation, the promotion communal development, realizes the mutual benefit altogether to win. So long as is advantageous in realizes this goal proposal, we hold the open mind.” It’s a bit, a lot even, boilerplate, but hey it’s China, they’ve got a scrutability rating to protect.

Did you hear the one about how if we were signatory to a European Union Commission competition type authority, ( a subset of Kev’s proposal?) instead of just our local ACCC, we might have some levarage in China’s gradual control of Aodaliyan iron ore. etc, production, including BHP, bit by bit? As it stands “Section 50 of the Trade Practices Act.. means the ACCC’s remit is limited to the merger’s impact on competition in Australia….BHP Billiton and Rio Tinto sell very little product into the Australian market…. ACCC does not have the remit to protect international customers of either”
Oops, while everyone was dissing Kev, China, with the help of Malaysian chinese, snaps up 40+% of midwest, next…

many cultures speaking…speakers for the dead…& future(?)…back to the future:

http://www.greenpeace.or.jp/campaign/nuclear/hiroshima/message_en/daylist_html?year=2005&month=7&day=26

Metaphorically speaking…building bridges.