Posted on 12/10/2005 5:39:57 PM PST by 68-69TonkinGulfYachtClub
Good evening, ms b. ((HUGS)) Did you have a good visit with Poppa?
My tummy just started growling! That sounds so good.
Glad Poppa was quiet today.
Hiya Ma!
*HUG*
Yes, a nice visit..
He was very happy to see me..
Ms.B
Cool....I can try it at work tomorrow.
Thanks.
".....a safe haven for our troops and their families."
Troops and their families ~ Bump!
Wha choo yappin about BL?
Gnight Sweety
Ahhh Haaaa!
Hope you had a good chat
Faraway friends are special arent they?
Ralphie: Oooh fuuudge!
Ralphie as Adult: Only I didn't say "Fudge." I said THE word, the big one, the queen-mother of dirty words, the "F-dash-dash-dash" word!
Mr. Parker: What did you say?
Ralphie: Uh, um...
Mr. Parker: That's... what I thought you said. Get in the car. Go on!
Ralphie as Adult: It was all over - I was dead. What would it be? The guillotine? Hanging? The chair? The rack? The Chinese water torture? Hmmph. Mere child's play compared to what surely awaited me.
There was venison BBQ last night
But I wasnt there for the hieneken and XO
Still...Its nice to be invited.
Rest well FRiend
I honestly never get tired of that film ;)
See ya soon, Pal.
Mahalo
Pleased to meet you!
I am pleased to meet you also. You found a great community to hang out in. The canteen is a wonderful place!
Gidday, Mate -- you write:
> I was thinking, considering some of the NZ govt's
> attitudes, I'm amazed you have troops in the WOT at all.
Our politics in NZ would be thoroughly puzzling to anybody looking in from the outside: indeed, they are puzzling to those of us who live here! It is unlike anything you'd encounter in the USA.
Suffice to say, our Government does not represent the majority view of our Nation on many given issues. And our outspoken Prime Minister certainly does not speak for all of us. She leads the Labor party who, for the time being, has cobbled together a shonky coalition government. But it would be a mistake to think that we all think like she does: happily, we don't! And the fact that our Minister for Foreign Affairs sits in the Opposition, outside Cabinet, should speak volumes: he certainly does!
In terms of the WOT, we have had the NZ SAS (our elite forces) deployed in Afghanistan, pretty much from the get-go. I don't think we are currently involved in Iraq in a warfighting capacity. Ours is a tiny nation -- no larger in population than greater Chicago -- and military deployments take a heavy toll. As it is, NZ takes responsibility for peacekeeping in our South Pacific region, which includes hell-holes like East Timor and Guadalcanal, where there is always fun-and-games happening. To say nothing of Fiji, whose government topples like skittles every ten years or so (usually harmless fun, but we still end up getting involved...)
We also patrol one of the largest coastlines in the world, and a huge chunk of the Pacific Ocean (a very big place!) all the way to Antarctica, to keep it safe from everything from drug smugglers to Japanese Whalers to pirates to illegal fishermen. And we also perform search-and-rescue over the same area...
Not making excuses, mind. There is a finite amount that a small nation like ours can afford to do on big projects like the WOT. However, when we do get involved, we send our very, very best: it would be hard to argue against the quality of our elite NZ SAS.
America has many, many friends in New Zealand who have not forgotten. That we are sometimes represented by impolite elected buffoons is a cross we must bear: after all, there's always next election!
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.