What if you lived in Australia?

[Sir Honkers]

Poor fella my country.
Still if we all paint Aussie flags on our faces and wrapped ourselves in Aussie towel flags and shed a jingoist tear of pseudo grief for great grand uncle Albert who died somewhere we couldn't find on a map if left up to us, eighty years before we born and who we couldn't have given a shit about until it became fashionable to do so, maybe we can convince ourselves, that puerile myths will stop this nation going down the crapper.
God I wish I could convince my wife to pack up and move to France. Maybe I should work on my son. If he and his family moved back, Deb might be more readily persuaded to follow.
And jerquer, I am slightly embarrassed to admit that not only did I not need subtitles for the Bazza Mckenzie moves, I actually found them funny. Barry Humphries is a wicked observer of truths about ourselves we'd rather know not wot of.

[effCup]

Originally Posted by loosegoose

shed a jingoist tear of pseudo grief for great grand uncle Albert who died somewhere we couldn't find on a map if left up to us, eighty years before we born and who we couldn't have given a shit about until it became fashionable to do so

Yes, the anzac "grief" reminds one of the mass hysteria following Diana's death & similar such episodes. It's a facade & raises the question: whose interests are being served?--& no, I'm not being anti-royal I'm simply questioning the role and rhetoric of the supposed "public"/national mood.

At risk of going off-topic just a little, there's an excellent book by James Barr titled "A line in the sand: Britain, France, and the struggle that shaped the middle east" (2011). It's about the fierce rivalry between the "Entente Cordiale" partners, UK & France, prior to & during WWI, as well as extending through to post-WW2 & the establishment of Israel/UK exit from Palestine. This imperial rivalry included efforts to each have a "piece" of the supply of oil from Mosul (other sites in today's Iraq, Kuwait, Saudia Arabia were yet to be found), e.g. rival pipelines to the Med. via Syria & Palestine. They were vying to expand their own empires & take over what were nominally bits of the Turkish empire, then widely thought to be defunct. In the UK's case also to bolster their hold of Egypt & the Suez canal route to India, Iranian oil, & trade. Having just switched its navy from coal to oil the UK was looking to diversify its oil supply away from a reliance upon the US. This was the context in which Churchill thought to try & break the "deadlock" on the Western front by attempting to knock out Turkey, use the Bosphorus & Black Sea to supply Russia & thereby help defeat the central powers. The first plan was not Gallipoli but rather to attack the Turkish harbour/naval base at Alexandretta (today: Iskenderun), which would also have been a handy point from which to cut their rail link south to the rest of the mid-east/empire. Germany had not yet got far in helping the Turks to build a railway East towards the oilfields, on which their eye was also set--too many tunnels, etc.--but that's a whole other book. The French put the kibosh on the Alexandretta attack because they feared the UK was making a move on claimed French "interests" in what later became Syria & Lebanon. This too was founded upon just rhetoric/fantasy, supposedly linked back to the crusades except the French were instead defeated by the Arabs back then & kicked out of the region.

I'm in no way implying that Alexandretta would have been an easier target or whatever but simply that the Anzac deaths in the Dardanelles were not for "freedom" so much as for extending/expanding empires, similar to the South African war a few years earlier. The rhetoric about WWI as a fight for freedom/liberty was added post-hoc like all national(-ist) mythologising. Woodrow Wilson hadn't really thought of such ideas until lateish-1917 and they didn't really get "popularised"/widely publicised until later still, c.1918-19. Oh & yes, that too raises the question: whose interests were being served--i.e. by Wilson's 14 points?

Also not forgetting the far larger number of Turkish & Arab deaths in the Dardanelles.

[andw]

Originally Posted by effCup

...Iranian oil...Having just switched its navy from coal to oil the UK was looking to diversify its oil supply away from a reliance upon the US...

Although when the Iranian oil industry was nationalised, having been in the control of the Anglo-Persian Oil Company (now BP), the UK had no trouble backing the US in the overthrow of the then Iranian government. And so we come full circle, attempting to curb their nuclear ambitions whilst still thinking "we know better" in neighbouring countries. I bet the ANZAC's didn't think they'd be the first in now 100 years of futility?

Do we get really cynical and include Korea and Vietnam in that?

Not a well known snippet of information, Australia offered to excise part of itself to form the state of Israel, rejected of course, but I wonder.

[MaxJoker]

I`d mention Estreeter`s name whenever I ordered takeout

So`s to get`a the right`a respectful`a service

[SanteeFats]

I wish this was our attitude!!

[SanteeFats]

Love this idea.

[blondifan]

Early Anzac day. A mate of mine was saying two nights ago that he reckons there will be some 'death cult' event on this day.

Maybe like our inglorious government he has a hard time telling teenagers from terrorists.

You can deny that you heard it here first.

Meanwhile the subterfuge of another 'Craptain's Call' shortly after quietly issuing permits for petroleum exploration in marine sanctuaries.
http://www.smh.com.au/federal-politi...16-1mlvge.html

More untaxed profits for offshore multinationals?
Are we getting used to this "open and honest government"?

http://www.abc.net.au/news/2015-04-2...losing/6416020

[Hikarufan]

I just did my first dawn service. Seemed a good time to finally do it.

I never knew what to think about it growing up as I had a granddad wanting to forget WWII then later on a cousin of mine who is bitter from his SAS days.

But then I thought about the thousands that died in the mud and shit. My small town mentality would have had me there if I lived in that age. When I did try to join 20 odd years ago, it was kind of hard to take that I wasn't fit for service. Leaves a hole like something was unfinished.

I hope the diggers enjoy knocking down a beer or two today. They deserve it!

[Motorboater]

I thought ANZAC day was just a reason to cram in as many footy games as possible in a day! 5 for both AFL and NRL!

[Hikarufan]

It never use to be but like anything, it gets hijacked for marketing and making a dollar