US to bomb Australia

Test bombs that is. :p

http://www.couriermail.news.com.au/common/story_page/0,5936,11289590%255E952,00.html

THE US will test new-generation weapons including smart bombs on Australian territory under an agreement being hammered out in Canberra and Washington.

Some of the precision munitions will be tested in Queensland at Shoalwater Bay, already named as one of three sites for experiments in high-tech warfare including mock attacks from US aircraft carriers.

Tactics and cutting-edge communications will be tested, former senior ANZUS treaty adviser Ross Babbage said.
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Nothing to exciting. No troops getting stationed or anything like that.

considering an American f16 pilot has just this week demonstrated that he can't get within three and a half miles of his target, and that he can mistake a school for a firing range,I would advise schoolchildren from Perth to Brisbane to be very nervous. If they can't watch out for American civilians, they sure as shit ain't going to worry about Australian ones.

Two points arise from this article.

1.We've already seen endless grainy footage of alleged 'smart bombs' supposedly hitting their targets in Iraq with 'pinpoint accuracy'.If the guidance systems for these weapons are as accurate as was claimed, why is any further testing neccesary?Or could it be that the capabilities of these wonderful weapons have been grossly exaggerated for political purposes?

2.What's wrong with testing your shit in your own back yard?

2. Because your back yard is more fun to play in.

2. Because your back yard is more fun to play in.
Yeah, and do you happen to know the GPS coordinates for your home??
Not that we would hit it, of course...

if i did i'd give them to you.... not that you COULD hit it...

actually i don't see the problem with the whole thing. I would have preferred to see the range set up at Maralinga, because thanks to the British there is NOTHING out there that they could do damage to. Australia has 1000's of Km of vacant terrain and they decide to set up shop just out of Brisbane.... clever.

I do see parrallels with the british testing in that the story first broke in a newspaper rather than an official statement. Much like news of the atmospheric nuke tests broke that way despit the (liberal) government trying to keep it secret. How do you keep displacement of whole communities and land based atmos nuke tests secret? just goes to show that Johhny's Hero Gough was just as stupid as Johnny!

2. Because your back yard is more fun to play in.

Your lack of geographical understanding comes as no surprise to me.Now, are you here to debate, or just to slag me off because I happen not to like the worthless piece of shit in the Oval office?

:crying:
You've got anger issues....

Yeah, and do you happen to know the GPS coordinates for your home??
Not that we would hit it, of course...hmmm Since when does Taranaki live in Australia?

As for the article, I noticed this...He said the program would place Australia among the highest-priority training grounds for the US in the world and send a strong message of US support for Australia throughout the region.I wonder if that puts Australians in danger from terrorist attacks being so chummy with the USA.

TS out

Another of the endless perks that an alliance with the U.S entails.

All the war you can eat and all the weapons we can blow up on your land are just two...

hmmm Since when does Taranaki live in Australia?

As for the article, I noticed this...I wonder if that puts Australians in danger from terrorist attacks being so chummy with the USA.

TS out

Believe it or not, there are still a few buffoons who think that Australia and New Zealand are joined by a border of some sort....


As for the Australians being in danger of terrorist attacks, they've already suffered two as a direct result of their being bought off by Bush.

11 dead in Jakarta as a result of the bombing of the Australian Embassy,

180 dead in Bali in a double car bombing targetted at Australians on vacation.

hmmm Since when does Taranaki live in Australia?

Who said he did? I asked for GPS coordinates, not his street address in the outback!
:slap: I love the lack of humor amongst the left lately...

hahahahahaha that's why the right's getting all anal on that other thred, to articles posted in humor? you crack me up :lol:

Who said he did? I asked for GPS coordinates, not his street address in the outback!
:slap: I love the lack of humor amongst the left lately...

You'd think with such a resounding win [52%,way to have a landslide,guys], the Republicans could be a little less..........well,dumb,frankly.

Yogs and Gladhatter seem to have mastered it, what's with the rest of you?

Believe it or not, there are still a few buffoons who think that Australia and New Zealand are joined by a border of some sort.....
No border, just the tasman sea. The country is roughly the same mass as Colorado and is roughly as close to Australia as Vanuatu, site of the latest Survivor series.

As for the Australians being in danger of terrorist attacks, they've already suffered two as a direct result of their being bought off by Bush.

11 dead in Jakarta as a result of the bombing of the Australian Embassy,

180 dead in Bali in a double car bombing targetted at Australians on vacation.
2 offshore attacks, 1 of which was "targetted" at Aussie tourists, and Australia is in the cross-hairs of terrorism?

makign up words you want to come out of his mouth, you little republican you

52%, way to have a landslide, guys...
That was just the presidential vote. The house and senate both gained republic strenghth and the last 4 "dixiecrats" got booted out of office in the southeast. Also, all of the "progressive" legislation on ballots got voted down except California's stem cell research bill (which they cannot afford).
Over 70% of state governments are now republican controlled. Reagan's conservative revolution continues it's uninterrupted 24-year march!!!
:grinyes: :grinyes: :grinyes: :grinyes: :grinyes: :grinyes: :grinyes: :grinyes: :grinyes: :grinyes:

Your lack of geographical understanding comes as no surprise to me.Glad to hear it.

Now, are you here to debate, or just to slag me off Decisions, decisions..... I'll take what's behind door number 2 Bob.
because I happen not to like the worthless piece of shit in the Oval office?
Yeah?!? Well your Queen is a #@*!... Nah...never mind. You can't help it if the Royal family is just the most expensive welfare case on the planet.

Yeah?!? Well your Queen is a #@*!... Nah...never mind. You can't help it if the Royal family is just the most expensive welfare case on the planet.

lol, hey dont say that they dont like the truth! sorry guys just had to laugh at that one

even having lost a friend in the Bali bombing, I am dubious over the Jakarta Embassy bombing. It couldn't have happened at a more conveniant time, and there were ZERO australians killed.

you're right there were two OFFSHORE attacks....

in the way that all those attacks in IRAQ are OFFSHORE! yet the US still bitches about them. Where they occur is pretty irrelevant.

I think, Alexander Downer, the ASIS and ADF heads all concur, that Australia is increasingly making itself a greater terrorist target.

oh no you dont like being the target of terrorist attacks do you? dont do anyhting about it, or the rest of the world will shun you.

.

Yeah?!? Well your Queen is a #@*!... Nah...never mind. You can't help it if the Royal family is just the most expensive welfare case on the planet.

Amusing.The British Royal family are among the biggest landowners in the country,and the money that they receive from the civil list comes exclusively from British taxes.Most of it goes to heritage building maintenance,and cermonial expenses,two things that draw millions of tourism dollars from their neighbors across the atlantic, who have no culture or heritage of their own worth visiting.


New Zealand ,for your information ,retains ceremonial links to the Crown.Most here could not care less if we became a republic,and certainly would not see any difference in government.

At least when I talk about how badly led your country is, I know who I'm talking about.

oh no you dont like being the target of terrorist attacks do you? dont do anyhting about it, or the rest of the world will shun you.

you're a moron.

Australia has gone to war everywhere the US has lately, terrorists or not, what the fuck are you on?

if you are going to just slag people off at least have some knowlege of the topic cause as it is the only thing insulting is your ignorance!

lol, hey dont say that they dont like the truth! sorry guys just had to laugh at that one

oh no you dont like being the target of terrorist attacks do you? dont do anyhting about it, or the rest of the world will shun you.


another clown who doesn't know what he's talking about. Are you here to debate?if not, please don't bother with the trolling.

yea the 1 guy australia's got in iraq makes a mean omelet

go away and learn something because you are just making yourself look stupid and tarnishing the reputation of a lot of the other republicans in here.

people like you who just come in here to insult people and clearly have NO idea what you're talking about, let alone the fact you dont contribute anything to the conversation, should be banned.

okay...if you've just come in to troll and post ignorant crap, here's a nifty little trick for you.Your keyboard just took a one week vacation from AF.If you decide to continue to be an ignorant pain in the ass when you come back, you'll find yourself permanently removed.

Anyways.. so why did the US decide to do testing there specifically? Whats wrong with other locations the US controlls?

okay...if you've just come in to troll and post ignorant crap, here's a nifty little trick for you.Your keyboard just took a one week vacation from AF.If you decide to continue to be an ignorant pain in the ass when you come back, you'll find yourself permanently removed.
Well, I guess I'm at least not thought of as an "ignorant pain in the ass" as I haven't been banned.... yet!!
:grinno:

Australia has been planning to upgrade some of those places for a while anyway. There have been joint training excercises at shoalwater for a while now. ALSO Australia has LARGE amounts of arid terrain with no McDonalds or ice cream to train in and joint training was part of the deal for Australia to buy M1 Abrahms instead of gen III leopards. The US will be permanently positioning like 100 tanks in Aus for rapid regional deployment, and it makes a safe place in the region to be able to get your shit together before heading out.

I guess with Australia now tipped to buy Tomahawks too they will be wanting somewhere to learn how to use them. Also having local testing grounds may help Australian defense companies make use of the new trade agreement and get into the US defence market cause theres big bucks there, specially with george on the roll.

The new Aussie tiger recon choppers (eurocopter attack helicopters) will also need somewhere to get broken in.

Well, I guess I'm at least not thought of as an "ignorant pain in the ass" as I haven't been banned.... yet!!
:grinno:

Nope, you are my pet monkey on a chain,feel free to call me a godless,gutless,etc whenever you need a break from AF :evillol:

Well, I guess I'm at least not thought of as an "ignorant pain in the ass" as I haven't been banned.... yet!!
:grinno:

yea you're just a stubborn PITA :smokin:

Mmmm pita.

Amusing.The British Royal family are among the biggest landowners in the country, Wonder where all that land came from and how they acquired it?


who have no culture or heritage of their own worth visiting. But you like the Americans. It's just Bush you hate. So go on and Just say it. I'm sure everyone here still believes it when you go into that same old rhetoric. At least when I talk about how badly led your country is, I know who I'm talking about.
It's hard to come up with a slam on NZ. I mean ,come on. You got nothing going on over there.


Now, as for the whole Australia thing. I would never disrespect Australia. Great country. Great allies. Good people. They rank right up there with Canada and Great Britan. Hopefully we will always be Allies.

Most of the land owned by the royal family dates back to the Middle Ages, when all land was the property of the feudal lords.It only changed hands by right of conquest,a practice that diminished as time passed,and did not resurface until the settlement of the colonies.Of course, the biggest land grabs happened in.....America.

As for the 'culture' thing....please feel free to list all of the castles, palaces and ceremonial events that predate European settlement that draw more tourism than the British royal family. If you cannot handle the fact that you have no comparable culture, please dont accuse me of being anti-American.

Naki isn't anti-American or anti-Republican in my opnion just anti-Bush. If Kerry won the election and he screwed up Naki would be anti-Kerry. But on the bright side with Bush winning the election Naki has at least 4 more years to slag Bush!

if he lives that long. if we all live that long...

Most of the land owned by the royal family dates back to the Middle Ages, when all land was the property of the feudal lords.It only changed hands by right of conquest,a practice that diminished as time passed,and did not resurface until the settlement of the colonies.Of course, the biggest land grabs happened in.....America.

As for the 'culture' thing....please feel free to list all of the castles, palaces and ceremonial events that predate European settlement that draw more tourism than the British royal family. If you cannot handle the fact that you have no comparable culture, please dont accuse me of being anti-American.

Your understanding the meaning of the word culture might prove helpful.
Old doesn't mean culture. I simply means old. Tourism does not mean culture either. It may just mean it's an oddity that tourist are drawn too.



Culture.
a. The totality of socially transmitted behavior patterns, arts, beliefs, institutions, and all other products of human work and thought. b. These patterns, traits, and products considered as the expression of a particular period, class, community, or population: Edwardian culture; Japanese culture; the culture of poverty. c. These patterns, traits, and products considered with respect to a particular category, such as a field, subject, or mode of expression: religious culture in the Middle Ages; musical culture; oral culture. d. The predominating attitudes and behavior that characterize the functioning of a group or organization. Intellectual and artistic activity and the works produced by it. a. Development of the intellect through training or education. b. Enlightenment resulting from such training or education. A high degree of taste and refinement formed by aesthetic and intellectual training. Special training and development: voice culture for singers and actors.

i think he's referring to the fact that most "american" culture is derived from european culture through migrants. Therefore american culture would be from native americans, but that is not really exploited in the way a lot of European/egyptian/chinese/indian etc. things are. America definately has it's own culture, but the roots of it lie elsewhere. As is the case with many migrant nations.

i guess you could summarise it with americas greatest gift to the world is McDonalds.

i guess you could summarise it with americas greatest gift to the world is McDonalds.

Yeah - that telephone and television thing is overrated. :rolleyes:

Yeah - that telephone and television thing is overrated. :rolleyes:
Not to mention flight, moon landings, mars expeditions, mass production, personal computers, windows, and wealth production...

Yeah - that telephone and television thing is overrated. :rolleyes:


Both invented in Britain by SCOTSMEN, Alexander Graham Bell, and John Logie Baird respectively.

But you are right, Yogs,American TV is overated. Particularly their political coverage.

A Culture Of Moon Landings And Mars Expeditions.... Uh Huh.

Either Way, Exploration Is Hardly An American Concept. Although You Would Try To Claim It.

Both invented in Britain by SCOTSMEN, Alexander Graham Bell, and John Logie Baird respectively.

From what I can find, we are both wrong. He invented the telephone in CANADA. Add Antionio Meucci as another phone maker of the day.


The point of my post was that there are many daily things that were invented out of the US to counter the moronic observation that McDonalds is the US's greatest contribution. Flight, internet, peanut butter, incandescent light bulb and a miriad of others certainly have a bigger impact.

Yogs,

I think it's time to give up on them. They see what they want to see. If they can't complain about it they don't want to hear it. If it makes them feel better about the place they live in then so be it. It's sad that the only way some can feel better about their situation is to find fault in others. Sure we have our problems but at least we don't look to run down someplace else to find worth in ourselves. At least that's my outlook for the most part.

i meant mcdonalds as a culture because culture is what we were talking about if it makes you feel any better.

regardless, flight was not invented in the US, it is commonly accepted, but also debated, that the wright bros achieved mans first powered flight there, but people had been attempting it with good theory for centuries, if anything suddenly allowed for people to fly it was the internal combustion engine.

none of the space missions could have been achieved without german technology and german scientists captured or conjoled in WWII.

the internet is a good one though as it has cultural significance and i believe american routes!

you can have peanut butter. Kellogs patented "nut butter" in like 1895. ground peanut paste was described as being used in africa in the 15th century and has been used in asian cooking for centuries too. but nobody called it butter or spread it on bread.

Naki isn't anti-American or anti-Republican in my opnion just anti-Bush. If Kerry won the election and he screwed up Naki would be anti-Kerry. But on the bright side with Bush winning the election Naki has at least 4 more years to slag Bush!

Well, thanks for that Flatrater,good to see that at least one non Democrat gets it.It's not about the color of his politics, its about how his politics affects those around him.

And the Bush bashing should be a little less intense this time around.52/48 is more like an indictment than a mandate, but at least it wasn't decided in court. And based on his last 4 years in office,I don't think theres much that he could do to make me respect him any less.

I wouldn't consider McDonald's to be culture. Have you seen "Supersize Me", or read "Fast Food Nation"?

And someone said that NZ doesn't have anything going on. Is THAT ever an American statement -- to insult another country that you've never been to and experienced.

-edit- and why does it have to be Democrat this and Republican that? It's WHAT you do while in office, not who you're affiliated with.

And someone said that NZ doesn't have anything going on. Is THAT ever an American statement -- to insult another country that you've never been to and experienced.

Someone was me.

A couple things.

1. Are you sure I have never been to or experienced NZ? Should I assume that your statement is a typical NZ statement? Your statement insults all Americans as not being traveled and making statements that are unsubstantiated. That is very bigoted (or narrow minded) of you isn't it?

2. Having nothing going on is not necessarily a bad thing. Actually having nothing going on is a good thing. I live in a small town and believe me that there is nothing going on. I like it that way. That's why I live here.
If you go back and read what I said you will note that I said it's hard to slam NZ because they have nothing going on. Would you rather that I was able to slam them?

is fred from NZ?

DGB, sorry you were upset by my comment. Maybe I misread what you were trying to say, that NOT having a whole lot going on is cool. I like it quiet most of the time myself.

But the bigger picture (I think) I was aiming for is that alot of Americans have never been out of the country, and are ignorant about the rest of the world. Case in point: take a world map and pick 5 or 6 countries (say maybe Nepal, Belgium, Indonesia, Bolivia and Lesotho) and ask the average American where they are. Most can't. An embarassing % can't. And that's just the map, nevermind the culture or anything else.

Some of the narrow minded people I might call friends and acquaintances said they will never leave the US (I won't go into their reasons, let's just say they are narrow minded, bigoted, culturephobic, or a combination, depending on who you talk to. Damn maybe I need some new people)

Many Americans are actually well traveled. I worked for a major airline for several years and had the opportunity to speak to many Europeans about Americans. Americans in Europe have the reputation as being loud, obnoxious, fat and rich, always complaining about not being able to find McDonald's and that the food is different. (<---ok McD's is a stereotype, but valid for illustration)

I've experienced both of these first hand and don't think that what I'm saying is unsubstantiated.

Oh yeah, and for the record I live in the US.

DGB, sorry you were upset by my comment.

Not upset. Just clarifying.

But the bigger picture (I think) I was aiming for is that alot of Americans have never been out of the country, and are ignorant about the rest of the world. As is the rest of the world about the rest of the world.






Many Americans are actually well traveled. I worked for a major airline for several years and had the opportunity to speak to many Europeans about Americans. Americans in Europe have the reputation as being loud, obnoxious, fat and rich, always complaining about not being able to find McDonald's and that the food is different.

You need to hang out with different Europeans. :smile:

naaa thats generally the reputation americans have in asia and Australia as well. And most europeans i have spoken to seem to have that opinion.

thats a long held majority reputation... these days there are also a lot of worse things said.

I guess it's no different than the reputation asians, europeans, australians...etc have here and other places. If you aren't from there then the native people have a tendency to look down on you. I mean look at France. They look down on everyone but the French. Ever visited France? The rudest people I ever met.

whether or not people are looked down on it is for different reasons.
i don't see asians as loud or obnoxious, fat or always complaining about not getting mcdonalds. I would add another to the list, ignorant, because from my experience americans are percieved as particularly ignorant about everything outside the US. (i would like to point out i do not mean unintelligent, just uninformed) and their obnoxiousness stops many from pursuing knowledge to fix their ignorance.

french are rude (and hairy)
asians are bad drivers and take lots of photos
Australians i don't know but i would definately say loud, i'm in NZ so reputation here is a little different to anywhere else.

however not everything is looking down... germans are precise and generally well educated. for example.

I wonder if some of the hatred that is aimed at American isn't a matter of jealousy and ingorance also. Most Americans hate the Yankees because they have all the money and power in baseball. The same can be said of the world. American is by far the strongest military and economical might in the world so there is some hatred stemming from that. Also most Europeans, Asians, Africans and South Americans I have meet held ideas about Americans that just weren't true.

As far as Americans being loud and fat. The fat I will give you. We are, and it's something that bothers me, but that's pretty insignificant really. The loud thing I think can be attributed to a simple cultural difference in how we act in groups and/or based on isolated occurances that are remembered. I've been to Europe twice and no one knew I was American by looking at me. I wasn't loud or rude so the experience wasn't noticed like say a group of drunk Americans would have been.

As far as what has American done culturally. Well the basis for the French constitution is from the American constitution and if you read both you can see where 50% of the wording is directly taken from it. And don't forget that after both world wars it was American that came and rebuilt those castles and buildings. As far as tourism. Go to either of the American coasts and you'll see that we don't have a problem getting people to come here. The thing is alot of people end up staying.

Our culture is far more diverse than any other nations. We have more nationalities and religions than any other country in the world. Yet as 9/11 proved there is still a sense of community that binds us all.

sorry so long, i just wanted to put in my :2cents:

Americans as individuals do not hold world power. And yet americans as individuals are seen as loud obnoxious and globally ignorant.

Many Americans are actually well traveled. I worked for a major airline for several years and had the opportunity to speak to many Europeans about Americans. Americans in Europe have the reputation as being loud, obnoxious, fat and rich, always complaining about not being able to find McDonald's and that the food is different. (<---ok McD's is a stereotype, but valid for illustration)

I've experienced both of these first hand and don't think that what I'm saying is unsubstantiated.

Oh yeah, and for the record I live in the US.

an interesting argument on the subject....

http://www.gyford.com/phil/writing/2003/01/31/how_many_america.php

always complaining about not being able to find McDonald's and that the food is different

i'll admit, i ate at McD's while in france. but something about ordering a royal with cheese and a glass of wine at a McD's appealed to me a great deal.

but as for complaining about the food being different, everyone that i know that travels LOVES trying the food. and its so cheap.

Test bombs that is. :p

http://www.couriermail.news.com.au/common/story_page/0,5936,11289590%255E952,00.html

THE US will test new-generation weapons including smart bombs on Australian territory under an agreement being hammered out in Canberra and Washington.

Some of the precision munitions will be tested in Queensland at Shoalwater Bay, already named as one of three sites for experiments in high-tech warfare including mock attacks from US aircraft carriers.

Tactics and cutting-edge communications will be tested, former senior ANZUS treaty adviser Ross Babbage said.
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Nothing to exciting. No troops getting stationed or anything like that.


WTF, you have deserts the size of our country, fuck off and drop your bombs on your on godamn land, you supid bloody yanks. (not you, yogs)


Assholes.

WTF, you have deserts the size of our country, fuck off and drop your bombs on your on godamn land, you supid bloody yanks. (not you, yogs)


Assholes.



2. Because your back yard is more fun to play in.

Sorry, just trying to be ironic and bring this thread back to square one. I am Japanese/American. My parents were born in Hawaii. My grandparents migrated to Hawaii from Hiroshima (before the war). I am proud to be American, I am proud to be Japanese/American. I am GLAD I have Mexican/American neighbors. Also glad to have Korean/American neighbors, Armenian/American, Russian/Americans, also glad to have neighbors from just about every nation on the planet. God bless America.

This war in Iraq is kinda fucked up though. I'd like to bring our boys home in one piece.

Sorry that this doesn't have much relevance to the thread, but I love my country (as all of you love your countries).