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Fri Oct 27, 2006 9:17 am  |
OK, so I know that politics and discussions on soverinity is technically not allowed here, but this story literally made me laugh out louder than the one earlier this week about US customs stipping incoming Aussies of their Vegemite!
Australia "a nuclear threat"
HAROLD Ford, a handsome 36-year-old from Tennessee, has become one of the sensations of the mid-term elections in the US...(deletion of irrelevant discussion)... But if Mr Ford, already a US congressman, wins his bid to become a more powerful senator, Australia had better watch out. Because according to Mr Ford, Australia has an interest in nuclear weapons and is part of the broader nuclear threat to the US. 
(big chunk of deletion)
His skilled oration on domestic politics may be flawless, but his grip on foreign policy is error-prone. Yesterday he stumbled into gaffes on the North Korean nuclear tests and then mentioned Australia in the same breath as rogue nations wanting to go nuclear.
"Here we are in a world today where more countries have access to nuclear weapons than ever before," Mr Ford said, adding that when he left college in 1992 he thought the nuclear age had come to an end "and America would find ways to eliminate the number of chances that a rogue group or a rogue nation would get their hands on nuclear material".
"Today nine countries have it - more than ever before - and 40 are seeking it, including Argentina, Australia and South Africa," he said.
Mr Ford was referring to the nine known nuclear weapon states: the US, the UK, Russia, China, France, India, Pakistan, Israel and now North Korea.
He said this made the US less safe because "more countries have nuclear weapons today which means the possibility of nuclear weapons falling into the wrong hands has increased dramatically".
On North Korea, he claimed Pyongyang had conducted two nuclear tests, the first of which he said occurred on July 4. This confuses the ballistic tests Pyongyang carried out on that date with the single nuclear test earlier this month.
The gaffes were lost on the audience and he was given a rousing standing ovation from Democrats and Republicans alike. Any chance of clarifying Mr Ford's remarks with the man himself was impossible as minders shielded any international media from asking questions, ushering Mr Ford away.
"You don't win us any votes," said his spokeswoman. And she might have added that it also means he is insulated from pesky questions probing his limitations on enunciating a foreign policy involving a trusted ally.
 muahahahaha  Australia's secret plan - take over the world!! muahahahaha
But in seriousness, forget the, um, "error", how rude is the spokeswoman to dismiss international media cuz "you don't win us any votes"?!!! My goodness, she needs to learn some manners! 
The full article is here:www.news.com.au/story/0,23599,20656046-2,00.html
(this kind of reminds me of a funny email program that got sent to me years and years ago which was a "globe" and had USA and some other country firing off nuclear rockets at each other - with witty commentary - until such time as the entire northern hemisphere blew off .. then in comes some wise crack from down under to the effect of "our plan for world domination has worked"  Oh I wish I knew what happened to that file...) |
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SKIN: combination, reactive to climate changes and extremely fair. "Women complain about premenstrual syndrome, but I think of it as the only time of the month that I can be myself." --Roseanne |
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Mabsy
Moderator
 
Joined: 17 Aug 2003
Posts: 9644
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Fri Oct 27, 2006 4:30 pm |
| I saw this the other day and we had a little discussion about this at work - it's *way* funny! I'm heading over there in a month I'm thinking of sneaking a jar just to see what happens and I don't even like Vegemite! |
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Sat Oct 28, 2006 2:36 am |
| He is a lousy advertisement for US politicions. Someone should ask him where Australia is. |
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Skin: Over 60, ex combination now sensitive, Cellcosmet |
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Sat Oct 28, 2006 7:17 am |
Okay, okay - I gotta defend poor Harold Ford, cause I know him! The article is a bit of a mischaracterization of what he said and, although foreign policy is definitely not his strongest point, he's really not a complete imbecile.
I'm certain he COULD find Australia on the map. Now, if Australia really is developing nukes, I just hope they have the address of the WH
Only joking..... Ahem  |
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Sat Oct 28, 2006 7:41 am |
I heard that this is the reason why Tom and Nicole broke up........nuke threat pitting country against country..
no, that's hilarious, and so much so that I bet his statements were taken out of context..
personally, I'm obsessed with Iran because after all we are the "big devil" and Israel the "little devil".......funny Mel Gibson got more press for his drunken comments than Iran's president who wants to wipe us off the face of the world... ...I digress... |
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Sat Oct 28, 2006 7:55 am |
| I don't understand the world's "no reactions", turning a blind eye to the Iran's president wanting to wipe Israel off the face of the earth... |
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Sat Oct 28, 2006 8:04 am |
nor do I...mark my words, Iran will wreak havoc if they aquire more power...
I think the world is so historically anti Israel, along with the inept U.N., that people haven't reponded with outrage to these comments..........what would happen if say, Spain(random) said 'we need to wipe Iran off the face of the world'...........I bet there would be quite a different reaction... |
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Sat Oct 28, 2006 11:23 am |
| so unfair!!! |
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Sat Oct 28, 2006 8:51 pm |
Hi Katee,
well, if I needed someone to stand up and defend me, I would be looking for you! Whilst I still cannot stop having a laugh about Australia's "threat", I reckon the reporter probably had his knickers in a very big knot about being blown-off by the spokeswoman - hence the rather catty article. Did you read the rest of it online?
And I just wanted to say, that I hope this thread does not turn into a debate on war, and actual national threats and nuclear issues... that is not what I was going for (and is actually not permitted on our boards because it can end up getting pretty nasty). Since we are a global, multi-cultural group we need to be very careful.
The world is full of politicians who say/do silly things from time to time and I just wanted to share a funny gaff - and only did so because I did not think it would offend any of our US members.
But, just to get back on track, years ago here in Japan, our non-English speaking PM (I think it was Mr. Mori) was welcoming Bill Clinton and this is the ACTUAL greeting process:
PM: "Who are you?"
BC: "I'm Hilary's husband"
PM: "Me too."
Ah, if only he remembered the difference between "who" and "HOW". So much for rote learning... |
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SKIN: combination, reactive to climate changes and extremely fair. "Women complain about premenstrual syndrome, but I think of it as the only time of the month that I can be myself." --Roseanne |
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Tue Oct 31, 2006 3:41 am |
Well, in defence of the poor misguided politician, he's not the only one who is geographically-challenged about Australia. I grew up in Aus and on the odd occasion I mention this am often greeted with a blank look or some comment about "Austria". (well Australia is a very small country)
On the other hand, once while in New York I was asked by a NYer where I was from and when I replied "Hong Kong" the response was "But you don't look Japanese".... which amused me even more as I am in fact part Japanese LOL
Then again, I was mistaken for a drag queen in Bangkok a couple of weeks ago, but that's another story |
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