USXPat's Open Salon Blog

Go Back to Where You Belong ... Reality TV Aussie Style

Fri, 24 Jun 2011 16:06:39 -0400

Find out what happens whena bunch of people do a "reverse" illegal immigation. The series takes place in three episodes as the participants descend through the circles of human hell over a series of weeks. On Tuesday 28 June 2011, if you want to stay up they will broadcast the "wrap-up" episode.

http://www.sbs.com.au/shows/goback/tab-listings/page/i/1/h/About/

Dr. David Corlett is the "tour guide". He has set up their reverse journey. Hs has advised them on transportation and venue selection. He has done much of the research in finding appropriate hell holes.

The show is in three episodes, each more confronting than the last.

1) The participants live with recently arrived assylum seeker in Australia. They meet two families and hear stories about why these families left. Those stories include polotics and torture and war zones. The participants then taka a boatride they assumewill take them to Indonesia. Find out what happens when the boat "sinks". Fun is had by all.

2) Find out what happens when the participants go to Malasayia. they live with an ethic Chin family fleeing Burma. Burma is a remote dictatorial heelhole of a dictatorship. The children never go outside for fear of getting arrested. The adults work for food, not money sifting rock from the soil to build a "farm" for an anonymous "employer". See the economic system the Koch brothers wish they could have!

3) The participants go to the asylum seakers countries of origin. They end up meeting people related to the families experienced in episode 1. The participents go to the Congo and Iraq after getting the opportunity to bail while in places like Kenya and Jordan. The participants experience refugee life under the protection of US/UN forces. A good time was had by all.

CNN's Michael Ware ... Australian Story ... Prisoner of War

Mon, 27 Sep 2010 22:09:48 -0400

This post refers to two episodes about the CNN reporter Michael Ware and shows much unseen footage dealing with the Afghanistan/Iraq Wars. This footage should illustrate some of the complexities he observed and the resulting PTSD he is now enduring.

Some notes to aid in understanding:

Michael is introduced by his law professor. Yes, he has a degree in law. but so far that has no been his calling.

Michael got his start in Timor. It was a smaller civil war that almost claimed a Nobel Peace Prize winner as a victim. Jose Ramos Horta barely survived an assasination attempt. We still have soldiers there.

He is currently spending much time in Brisbane working on a book and taking some time to recover from the effects of severe PTSD. It seems the contradictions he has experienced in the war zone will take him some time to "figure out". He appears to value the mateship experienced in a warzone, but is fully aware of war's horror and wants others to experience that horror. Maybe those people won't be so fast to pull the trigger next time if they have that experience.

Below find footage of the war from the Australian Broadcasting Corporation. Learn about the time he was kidnapped and prepared for execution in front of his own camera. And meet Michael, his sister, his mother, a couple of co-workers, and his team from Afghanistan and Iraq. Plus meet the solder who fought along side Michael in Faluja.

All of those people have been to a hell of American making ... modern American War in the 21st century.

Both episodes are 28 minutes long. Get a diet Coke and be prepared for a "ride".

Prisoner of War: Part I

Prisoner of War: Part II

Click on the links above and start the video clip viewer by pressing "Continue" found just below "Australian Story".

My Mid-Life "Crisis" Part I

Wed, 3 Jun 2009 01:06:47 -0400

Please note the quotes around the word "crisis". I put them there on purpose after a lengthy 30 second consideration.

Some people think I make rash decisions. But I don't, I swear. I usually think things through, I swear.

I'm sure my ex thinks I had a midlife crisis ... no I didn't, I swear. I'm sure many would attribute my actions to itchy feet. But the situation is a little more complex than all that.

Around 1998 I was 35 and my ex and I had a 1.5 year old daughter together.We were approaching our 7th year anniversery and I was sometimes working for 2o hour stretches. This didn't go over very well with the "X". She thought I was having an affair.

This didn't make any sense to me. I swear. I could see how she couold think I was having an affair, but I'm not a male model. In addition I couldn't for the life of me see how getting another female in my life would help me. I simply wanted to get away from my "X". I didn't need another woman. I was smart enough to know that an affair wouldn't help me in the least.

So what did my "X" do when I came home fom another all-nighter? when I came home I was greeted by her parents at the door. Oh, no. They didn't like driving to our house. I knew immediately something was up. My "X" then drove me to a mental insititution. I was greeted on a Friday evening by a very friendly, good-looking, woman doctor who told me she couldn't commit me, but that she felt the hospital could offer me a world of good services. She then pushed the papers into me for a signature.

All I could see was that there might be a release form my current pain, so I signed myself in. Besides even if I didn't want an affair I would never say that I'm immune to good-looking women. Any good salesman knows the power of someone good-looking of the opposite sex. The sales industry and doctors use that power all the time. That's one of the reasons why she had that particular job. I'm sure.

Little did I know where this would lead me... Warning, this story is strange.

This simple act took years and thousands of miles to play out in ways that still boggle my mind. I've promised myself that I would write about it when I got some time, maybe someone would find the story just a little bit interesting. We'll see. And if you feel a sense of forboding after reading this; well you should.

To be Continued...

"Chasers" For Americans

Wed, 14 Jan 2009 20:01:40 -0500

My daughter told me today that you will be getting a rare peice of Australian television on cable in the near future. You will be seeing a rare piece of "real" Australian sensilibilities. Let me explain.

Last Year John Howard, in an election year round-up, hosted the Asian development conference here in Sydney. This was big sh*t, so big in fact that we borought in American security consultants to help set up the meeting's security. And you could tell. The city was closed down for a long weekend and everyone was advised to go on vacation. The whole Central Business District was cordoned off. Many Aussies complained bitterly. But it was another part of America coming here to the US along with Kentuky Fried Chicken and McDonalds.

We also have an ABC here, but it is the state sponsered station, much like Public TV in the US. One of the shows they run is "The Chasers War on Everything". After all, if bush could have a "War on Terror" why not ramp it up the "The War on Everything". When they signed off the previous Wed. fans knew something was afoot. I guess American security people didn't watch "The Chasers".

The Chasers went out a hired a limo and put Canadian flags on it. All but one dressed up in a suit. The other dressed as Bin Laden. They then drove up to the security checkpoint with a bunch of serious looking men dressed in suits and glasses running along side the car and were waved through the security checkpoint. Then they drove up to Bush's hotel and were about to enter when they were finally stopped. They arrested a couple of the guys we see every week but neglected to arrest the guy dressed up as Bin Laden. He was last shown argueing with the police. I kid you not. This stunt is the stunt you saw on the news.

You will see Aussie poloticians mercilessly lampooned and rightly so. And you will see Chas trying to enter the Parliment House. but in this case he is trying to go through a metal detector in a suit of armor. It's all in good fun.

So if you have a chance to see it, I suggest you will have fun. I think some of the humor will transcend nationalities, but who knows. And "Australia" the movie. Who cares. Save your ticket money.

ps. I forgot about the piece where he "test drives" beds in furniture stores. You would take a car for a test drive. Why not a bed?

On Aussie Cynicism and Empire

Tue, 13 Jan 2009 03:01:09 -0500

In the new old days the PNAC crowd of the neocons were all hot about creating a newAmerican empire. It would help if they had lived in an old empire first. But as they like to say ignorance is bliss.

When I came to Australia I thought I was somewhat cynically cool. Then I met Aussies and figured out what true cynicsm really is. Some Australians raise cynicism to an major art form.

Australia is a Commonwealth country. This means we come from the British Empire and are still ruled by the Queen who rules through a Governor - General. Our Governor-General is a nice lady who has a house on Lake Burley Griffith. We paddle by it in racing kayaks all the time without being harassed by the police. It is probably a nicer place than the Prime Minister's lodge, even though the Prime Minister appoints the Governor- general after elections. But in difficult times the Governor-General can call elections and effectively dismiss the Prime Minister. Don't laugh. It's happened in my life time.

The coming from the Empire part also impacts us on Anzac day. Anzac day "celebrates" a loss. Our good friend Winston Churchill was instrumental in planning this fiasco.

When war broke out in 1914 Australia had been a federal commonwealth for only 14 years. The new national government was eager to establish its reputation among the nations of the world. In 1915 Australian and New Zealand soldiers formed part of the allied expedition that set out to capture the Gallipoli peninsula to open the way to the Black Sea for the allied navies. The plan was to capture Constantinople (now Istanbul), the capital of the Ottoman Empire and an ally of Germany. They landed at Gallipoli on 25 April, meeting fierce resistance from the Turkish defenders. What had been planned as a bold stroke to knock Turkey out of the war quickly became a stalemate, and the campaign dragged on for eight months. At the end of 1915 the allied forces were evacuated after both sides had suffered heavy casualties and endured great hardships. Over 8,000 Australian soldiers were killed. News of the landing at Gallipoli made a profound impact on Australians at home and 25 April quickly became the day on which Australians remembered the sacrifice of those who had died in war.

Although the Gallipoli campaign failed in its military objectives of capturing Constantinople and knocking Turkey out of the war, the Australian and New Zealand actions during the campaign bequeathed an intangible but powerful legacy. The creation of what became known as the "ANZAC legend" became an important part of the national identity of both nations. This shaped the ways they viewed both their past and future.

from http://www.awm.gov.au/commemoration/anzac/anzac_tradition.asp

Winston Churchill knew what he was doing. When he needed cannon fodder. He knew he could turn to his loyal subjects in Australia and New Zealand for bodies.

That means that for us part of being in an empire is fighting other people's wars. We went from fighting in England's wars to as of late fighting in Vietnam, Iraq, and now Afghanistan.

For those who want to expand the American empire, I want no part in it.