Down Under

Dad saw an Aussie today. The guy painted a very positive picture about the country Down Under. He went on and on about how open and great the Australian economy and people are.

It is home to more than 200 nationalities, including many Singaporeans who have migrated there. And he is so proud tt the country has sent its troops to help maintain peace in other countries. It is a beautiful country but dad is not so enamoured by some of its policies, especially its foreign policy.

But the pleasant man appeared to be slightly flustered when grilled on why Australia won't allow Singapore Airlines to fly the trans-Atlantic route from Sydney to Los Angeles. The lucrative route is currently dominated by Qantas Airlines -- Australia's flagship with the kangaroo logo. I like kangaroos although I have never seen one. hehe.

Anyway, instead of trying to shed light on the contentious issue, the Aussie suggested how Singapore too does not practice the concept of open skies completely. He cited the example of how the Singapore-Kuala Lumpur air route is still dominated by the national carriers of the two countries. Well he is not wrong but dad bets the Singapore-KL may be freed up for budget airlines such as AirAsia, Tiger Airways and even Qantas's Jetstar long before Australia agrees to play fair on the trans-Atlantic sector.

Dad didn't bother to stay too long to listen to the Aussie. He was miffed, feeling that Australia doesn't have the moral authority to claim that it is a paragon of virtue (saying it doesn't hang criminals, it has free press, blah blah blah).

One troubling thing is Australia's blind support for the big bully called America (which seems to back Israel blindly). My father told me about the fiasco in Iraq. America invaded the country although it wasn't an imminent threat to Israel or anyone. There was no evidence of weapons of mass destruction (I think he meant weapons tt can kill a lot of people).

Of course, Australia and its former colonial master UK sang the same chorus and supported America's thuggishness. Notice how the white men-run governments tend to help each other even when the cause is clearly and unequivocally wrong.

Maybe it is true that Australia is the deputy sheriff to America, as first pointed out by brown-skinned Dr M.

Mahathir criticizes Australia's support for war on terror
KUALA LUMPUR, 24 Nov 2002

Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad has criticized Australia for having ''gone too far'' in cooperating in the U.S.-led war on terror, official news agency Bernama reported Sunday.

In an interview with The Australian newspaper, Mahathir said, ''Australia has to choose whether it's an Asian country or a Western country,'' Bernama reported from Melbourne.

''If you (Australia) take the position of being a sheriff, or deputy sheriff, to America, you cannot very well be accepted by the countries of this region,'' Mahathir said in the interview.

The Malaysian leader added that Australia is ''more belligerent'' than many European countries.

''You have never criticized any of the acts of the Americans. Even to the point where the Americans want to go off on their own and attack Iraq. Australia seems to be with the Americans,'' he said.