Thoughts about Australia

[Kevin]

Funny... I just read the thread about Matt Damon speaking out about Australian gun control. I'm not wanting a political thread at all, but I'm down here in Sydney. Have been for a couple weeks, so yes, over July 4th. My wife had the opportunity for a quick job in the office here. Couldn't pass up the chance. Matt Damon didn't make the news here at all so we can rest easy about that. The locals it seems could care less.

But I'll post some pictures when we get back next week...

I do want to say people in Sydney are so incredibly nice. My daughter and I were on the ferry, I left my camera case (with spare battery) on the boat. BUT! Later that day, we found the lost and found at the main ferry terminal , yup, there it was. I was impressed to say the least.

Anyway, it's nice here. I saw a sign in a burger joint. "Prayer is a path to God, but trespassing will get you there faster." Ha ha ha...

 

[contender]

I've always heard mostly good stuff about Australia. Of course,, they suffer from the same knee-jerk politicians as we do. So they passed a law requiring firearms be turned in & destroyed. I will never forget the truckloads of guns being dumped on the street to be destroyed.
No, this thread doesn't need to turn political.
To me,,, to see the many fine firearms being destroyed was just so much waste & stupidity.
And from what I can learn,,, most Australians wish had never happened.

 

[graygun]

I could've gone there in 1970 for r/r and a guy from our site did. He stayed free at a ranch and had a fun time. I talked with some Aussie soldiers in bars in Vung Tau back then. They were friendly and liked to buy you a beer.

I'm surprised those folks are like Europe/UK now but their ties to England probably didn't help.

 

[Colonialgirl]

During the '92 Olympic Soccer matches in Orlando, I met a very nice gentleman from there; He was here to gather tips and Ideas for the time the Olympics would be held there !! Told him if invited to help in someway, I'd be thrilled to do so !!
Sadly, NO INVITE.

 

[NixieTube]

Five Words to begin with: Rebecca Peters and George Soros.

The most important activist who prodded Australia to implement the gun control laws there (ban on semiautos of all types plus shotguns) had worked for George Soros' Open Society Institute. In the aftermath of the Port Arthur massacre, she found her moment in the sun, and had no inconsiderable effect.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rebecca_Peters

You can watch her being interviewed by the eternally cadaverous Amy Goodman on Democracy NOW!, here:

http://www.democracynow.org/2012/12/18/new_town_to_newtown_how_96

 

[rgp375]

My wife is Australian, and I lived there for about ten years.

Very nice place, friendly people, but the government there is a nanny state.

And for those who don't know, yes you can still legally own firearms in Australia, but the paperwork and rules make it extremely expensive and a royal pain in the rump.

 

[Kevin]

It is very much like England. Especially in the food. I'm absolutely sick of English food. I do think it would be fun to live here for a while. Last Saturday we went out to this neighborhood area with shops and restaurants. We found a church rummage sale. There were families out with kids and dogs. Playgrounds were packed with kids running everywhere.

People are pretty much the same all over.

And I'm happy to report the women down here are ever so pretty.

 

[Kevin]

Oh yeah, I've forgotten to mention, since they drive on the "wrong side" of the road, they also walk down the sidewalk on the other side. Quite often I've found myself swimming upstream, more or less. People give you dirty looks too. That's when I remember and move to their side of the sidewalk. Even revolving doors and escalators are "backwards." :D

 

[pete44ru]

.

And....... the water in the toilet bowl flushes counter-clockwise :mrgreen:


BTW, the white/outer areas is where 98% of Australia's population resides:

.

.

 

[SAJohn]

That picture looks upside down. :)

Toilets spin in the direction they are designed to spin. Sadly, the Coriolis Effect is far to small to effect a toilet flush. Also, they do not flush straight down with no spin direction at the equator.

 

[Wyandot Jim]

That picture looks upside down. :)

Toilets spin in the direction they are designed to spin. Sadly, the Coriolis Effect is far to small to effect a toilet flush. Also, they do not flush straight down with no spin direction at the equator.

Most people that live on the equator don't have or use toilets. :D :D
Now I know why :wink:

 

[Busterswoodshop]

Even revolving doors and escalators are "backwards." :D

So are you saying the up escalators go down and the down escalators go up ?
How does anyone get anywhere ?

 

[pete44ru]

That picture looks upside down. :)

Silly - The ENTIRE Southern hemisphere is upside-down, from here...... ;) . :mrgreen:


.

 

[SAJohn]

The flush water opening into the bowl under the lip has a direction built in. Flush a toilet and observe.

 

[WendyZXZ]

Sounds like a fun trip! I look forward to any pictures that you post.

 

[Colonialgirl]

Did you make it to any "BOOT SALES" Kevin ?

Yup, open field and people selling their surplus, leftovers, etc from the trunk or BOOT of their automobiles. I bought a NICE Ladies watch in sterling silver including the band for 2 pounds when I was visiting my friends in England.

 

[vito]

I've read that the murder rate in Australia in the years since the gun confiscation is essentially the same as it was in the same number of years prior to confiscation. Does anyone have real data that we could see regarding homicides, or more importantly violent crime. I've read that in the UK violent crime with a gun is a tiny fraction of what it is here in the U.S. but total violent crime is much higher than total violent crime in the U.S. If you are victim and unable to protect yourself, I'm not sure you've gained much by being attacked by a knife wielding thug instead of a gun wielding thug. Seeing the numbers for Australia might help shed light on whether or not the gun confiscation was worthwhile. I suspect that crime is still high, or is higher than before the confiscation otherwise we would have been hearing about the wonderful success of the gun confiscation. I think the George Soros' of the world who push for disarming the citizenry could not care less about crime or the safety of the population. They just want a population that is beholden to government for everything and who are unable to resist growing government power because they are without weapons.

 

[exavid]

Without looking up the stats I'll bet there's still plenty of criminals with guns in both England and Australia.

 

[rgp375]

I've read that the murder rate in Australia in the years since the gun confiscation is essentially the same as it was in the same number of years prior to confiscation. Does anyone have real data that we could see regarding homicides, or more importantly violent crime. I've read that in the UK violent crime with a gun is a tiny fraction of what it is here in the U.S. but total violent crime is much higher than total violent crime in the U.S. If you are victim and unable to protect yourself, I'm not sure you've gained much by being attacked by a knife wielding thug instead of a gun wielding thug. Seeing the numbers for Australia might help shed light on whether or not the gun confiscation was worthwhile. I suspect that crime is still high, or is higher than before the confiscation otherwise we would have been hearing about the wonderful success of the gun confiscation. I think the George Soros' of the world who push for disarming the citizenry could not care less about crime or the safety of the population. They just want a population that is beholden to government for everything and who are unable to resist growing government power because they are without weapons.

Australia is a nanny state, and most of the population lives in a few major cities on the coast. Believe it or not, most urban people seem to like the nanny regulations and if the excess regulations were eliminated, they'd probably vote them right back in within a couple of years. Most rural people find it incredibly annoying.

Oz is a pretty nonviolent place though, and having lived there over a ten year period, I never saw anyone assaulted. They weren't inclined to shoot each other before the feds demanded that unregistered firearms be turned in, and they still aren't inclined to shoot each other. However, assaults involving weapons tend to be with knives. Mostly it involves kitchen knives and domestic disputes. Purse snatching is not uncommon though in the major cities, especially on public transport on Thursday nights, because Thursday night is late night shopping night and the shops tend to stay open past normal hours at that time.

Also you can't carry a pocketknife either as a rule, and bows and arrows require a permit now. Firearms permits are likewise very expensive, and most people who quit shooting did so because of the paperwork mess, but now there are probably more privately owned firearms in Australia than there were 20 years ago. The difference is that now the government knows where most of them are and who has them. On the other hand, if you like fishing, no permit is required for that.

 

[Kevin]

Colonialgirl, we did make it to this really nice flea market, but not a boot sale.

Oh and also ya know, their general election is this week or next, soon anyway. It is mandatory to vote for all adults. The fine for not voting is $110. We need something like that in the States.

Anyway, a great benefit of being from Texas is I don't have to say I'm from the United States. Just Texas is enough. :D

All the stuff going on in Dallas though right now, it's on the TV and radio down here.

 

[Colonialgirl]

Oz is a pretty nonviolent place though, and having lived there over a ten year period, I never saw anyone assaulted. .

Which says diddly-squat; I lived in Orlando, FL for 16 years and NEVER saw anyone "assaulted" and now down in the Tampa area for 13 years with the same lack of seeing any assaults.
The rate of thefts, break-ins and home invasion INCREASED radically after the gun confiscation and JUST as in England; If you Assault the Crook robbing you, YOU can be prosecuted and sent to jail, especially if you use ANY type of weapon; It HAS happen over and over to innocent citizens defending their homes and property.

 

[exavid]

Two things I don't like about Australia. Firearm restrictions and all kinds of poisonous critters.

 

[ndcowboy]

A great book about Australia - from the same guy who wrote A Walk in the Woods - is In a Sunburned Country:

https://www.amazon.com/Sunburned-Country-Bill-Bryson/dp/0767903854/ref=mt_hardcover?_encoding=UTF8&me=

 

[graygun]

Oz is a pretty nonviolent place though, and having lived there over a ten year period, I never saw anyone assaulted. .

Which says diddly-squat; I lived in Orlando, FL for 16 years and NEVER saw anyone "assaulted" and now down in the Tampa area for 13 years with the same lack of seeing any assaults.
The rate of thefts, break-ins and home invasion INCREASED radically after the gun confiscation and JUST as in England; If you Assault the Crook robbing you, YOU can be prosecuted and sent to jail, especially if you use ANY type of weapon; It HAS happen over and over to innocent citizens defending their homes and property.

I've heard of this and saw a tv show where a guy went to prison for killing a burglar(England). A govt which won't let a citizen defend his person or home is as bad as the terrorists,IMO.