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August 25, 2004
yeah
I've just got back to Adelaide. I've been watching the news here and there as much as it is possible in the country towns. There is no internet connection in the hotels or motels, the television is lousy, and the mobile coverage is marked by blackspots.
No one loves Telstra in the regions that's for sure.
Most of the news I saw has been about the hullaballoo around the Olympic women's eights rowing final. The focus has been on the crew members becoming embroiled in a tense public feud over Sally Robbins' dramatic collapse 350 metres from the finish line.
This caught my eye as I quickly scanned the quality press online before dinner:
Bruce Petty
The guy can be a national embarrassment. His understanding of Australia's foreign policy is to give carte blanche to whatever the US does. He assumes that the alliance with the U. S. is beyond criticism, and he is willing to encourage an increasingly irresponsible American foreign policy. As a result he is willing to insult other countries such as Spain and the Philippines for not going all the way with the USA.
Australia suffers as a result of Downer's stridency. What more needs to be said?
26 August
To be fair Downer is caught in a bit of a vice. He is trying to balance Australia's growing economic dependency on China with Australia's growing security dependency on the US. The US and China are at odds with one another and there is growing tension between them on economic and security matters. So Australia walks a tightrope.
Posted by Gary Sauer-Thompson at August 25, 2004 08:22 PM
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