OzOne wrote in message

The idea is not to be called upon,

That's easy for Oz, but not for the US. We always get called upon for aid.
It goes with being the strongest, richest nation in the world.

nor shamed into 'volunteering'.

The US is never "shamed into volunteering." If you truly believe that, you
know absolutely nothing about the US or its people.

Much to my dismay, Oz has offered a billion dollars in tsunami
relief....guess we can do without the hospitals and schools
here....

A billion dollars doesn't go far these days. Won't even build a new wing on
a hospital or a small elementary school.

roads are covered, they've all been let out to private
companies who recoup their costs with tolls that they increase
annually.

Your point? Isolationism? The US doesn't practice that, regardless of the
attractiveness of the concept. We help the less fortunate for altruistic
reasons--because it's the right thing to do.

Max

Bart Senior wrote:
Who controls the press?

OzOne wrote

Guess what Joe, there are over 10 million Muslims in the US,
there are only 6 million Jews.

Guess what OZ, They are Americans first.

Most likey 10 million smart Muslims. They got here as fast as they
could eh..They know a good thing when they see it. The ones that hate
us most likely could not get a visa and are ****ed and jelious.
And why did you bring up the Jews?

Joe

OzOne wrote

"Give me your tired, your poor,
Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free,
The wretched refuse of your teeming shore.
Send these, the homeless, tempest-tossed to me.
I lift my lamp beside the golden door"

That used to be on the Statue of Liberty, it's now covered over with
duct tape.

Scotty

OzOne wrote in message

We volunteer before the request.

So do we, actually. In fact, we're helping out in Indonesia despite the
general antipathy toward us there. We've been asked to get the hell outta
Dodge, er their country, in three weeks. To that, I think we replied,
"you're welcome."


Yeah, the US was shamed into putting another $400 million into their
original offer of a paltry $35million

The 35million dollar figure was offered up when the death toll reports were
calling for roughly 25K killed and double that displaced and homeless. Last
figure I heard is over 6 billion pledged.

Ummm yeah, we help alright, a billion dollars is IMHO probably
excessive from a nation of as few as 20 million when we are already
struggling to provide the infrastructure required in a land as vast as
Oz.

. . . much of it wasteland with no significant inhabitation or agriculture.
I saw a nighttime satellite photo of Oz recently, and there were lights
around the perimeter, but almost none throughout the remaining 80% in the
center.

My comment about roads is directly related. Our Govt cannot find the
dollars to build new highways here so they let out contracts for
tollways, that way we pay not them.
Yet, in their wisdom, they have found a way to donate twice as much to
Tsunami relief as any other nation.

Not according to the figures I've seen, but this is a moot point.

Yes, I'm a little peeved at that attitude when my kids schools need to
raise money to repair leaking roofs and toilets as funds are not
available from Govt coffers.

School infrastructure and non-academic programs are always the first to
suffer. Same here.

Max

OzOne wrote in message

Where were you, and when, for how long?

We were only in Paris proper for three days. We toured much of France,
including Bordeaux, the Alps, and some smaller towns along the Med. But
Paris was far and away the filthiest place we saw.

I've always found Paris clean and tidy..though the Metro could do with
a brush up at times....but then again it carries massive numbers each
day.

The traffic, both auto and foot, was astonishing.

That said, I love Paris for a wide variety of reason. Just wish they'd
clean the place up now and then.

Yep, it's easy to become immersed in the city.
We stay at a place called the Hotel de Tourisme (sp) right near the
Eiffel Tower / Champs de Mars

We stayed with friends overlooking the Seine. Beautiful view, and nice,
ma-pa restaurants nearby. Charming.

Max

OzOne wrote in message

Did you drive in Paris at all? It makes your hair curl the first few
hours until you realise that they actually drive well.

Motorcycles. My stomach is still in knots.

Yep, the palce we stay at is a short walk to the Tower, and then back
to the centre of Paris. The Metro station is right across the road.
That's how we initially found it many years ago, arrived in Paris at
the Gare du Norde from the airport, dropped our bags in a locker and
jumped on the metro. Got off when we thought we were somewhere near
the centre of Paris and walked straight into the door of this charming
little hotel. Booked a room, then back on the Metro to grab our bags.
Been staying there ever since.

Sounds nice in a quaint way. What I love about France in general is the
quaintness of so many places, restaurants, hotels, shops, etc. Not much of
the big, glitzy superstores and mega-palace hotels we have here.
Size--small size--does matter, and it's what makes Europe in general so
charming. Since we have friends in Paris who absolutely, positively would
be hurt if we stayed anywhere but with them, the odds of us discovering a
place like your hotel is remote.

Max

OzOne wrote in message

Nope, sorry, US Govt has tossed in $350 million that they say is
"initial" but they are pulling out as I type so I can't see it getting
anywhere 6 billion.

My source was local news, so it's naturally suspect.

Like I saaid, a land as vaste...Ya still gotta put in Hospitals and
Schools, sewer, roads ,airports,etc etc even if there might only be
1000 people in the isolated tow.
You've gotta come out here and see for yourself, the view from space
at night is very deceptive.

We're planning a trip to Oz (not by the Yellow Brick Road, however) within
the next year or two. Someone told me it's summer down there when it's
winter here, which sounds appealing. g


Yep, mainly because the Feds can cry that the States haven't handed
over enough.

Every gummint has its priorities. Sadly education isn't high on most lists.

Max

OzOne wrote in message

On Sat, 22 Jan 2005 04:51:43 GMT, "Maxprop"
scribbled thusly:


Please don't follow the normal tourist routes.
They all go to Cairns, Brisbane ,Sydney and Melbourne

We do want to see the Sydney and at least one other city, but we're also
planning to see wine country and Freemantle (or nearby) to do some sailing.

with maybe a
diversion into the centre to see Ayers Rock (hope I don't get struckk
down for not calling it Uluru :-) )

That's what I know it as (OO-luh-ROO). And it's too touristy, despite the
interesting way it was formed and the miles of continuous rock under ground
that you can't see.

They miss that charming cities like Adelaide, and the Barossa, Hunter
Valleys and Western Australias beauty.

I'm writing these down as we speak. Any other suggestions?


Do plenty of research before you come here to get the very best of us.

I bought a book on Ozzie culture and little-known places last month, but it
was obviously written by an American tourist. I'm looking for a better
treatise. We're planning on two weeks, but who knows--if we can't fit
everything into that amount of time, we'll expand the trip. We were
planning to spend some time in Hawaii, too, but that can be postponed for
another time.

Max

OzOne wrote in message

It's well worth not telling your friends that you're coming :-)

Couldn't do that. He is like a brother to me.

We get to 'live' in Paris and not just go to the touristy joints.

We've been to Paris twice, and I still haven't seen the Eiffel Tower any
closer than half a mile away. We really don't do any of the touristy stuff.
None of our meals cost very much at the restaurants the locals frequent.
The tourist spots rake one's wallet over the coals, so to speak.


We'll be there again in 2006.
Got two weeks booked in Lake Tahoe, then over to Paris to catch up
with some friends there.

Ah, Tahoe. Gorgeous place. I passed up buying a relatively inexpensive
cottage in the hills overlooking the lake there about 25 years ago. Bad
decision. Terrible decision.

Max

OzOne wrote in message

The Tower is one thing you should do.

Someday, perhaps, but no time so far. I'm sure it's worth it for the view.

Bad move.
I bought my place in Val d'Isere just before the prices went ballistic

Hindsight is truly 20/20. I also passed on a condo in Breckenridge, my old
hometown, for roughly 10% of its current worth. (sigh)

Max