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Post by robeiae on Feb 2, 2017 8:49:16 GMT -5
So, Trump's call to Australia PM Turnbull last week got a little heated and apparently ended with Trump hanging up on the PM: www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/onpolitics/2017/02/02/president-trump-australia-refugee-ban-malcolm-turnbull/97385750/Dumbass. That said, two things: 1) Who leaked this story, because neither the White House nor Turnbull are confirming it? 2) I don't disagree with Trump on that deal with Australia. The treatment of the refugees in question by Australia has been deplorable and frankly, Australia should clean up its own mess there. Trump's catching flak for his attitude--rightfully so--but I'm seeing a lot unqualified support for Australia that ignores what has been happening there. Thoughts? |
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Post by Don on Feb 2, 2017 9:06:35 GMT -5
I think Trump's attitude is far more important to future history than the treatment of refugees by a relatively minor player on the world stage. The 500-ton gorilla on a rampage is the story, not the peanut vendor who got his toes stepped on.
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Post by robeiae on Feb 2, 2017 9:18:36 GMT -5
Not if you're one of the refugees stuck on that island off Australia. People here were used as examples for how horrible Trump's EO was because they were stuck at airports.
We shouldn't miss the forest for the trees, true enough, but the trees are still there. The point is, there's plenty of room to criticize Trump, but Turnbull isn't the hero here. Far from it.
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Post by Don on Feb 2, 2017 9:37:38 GMT -5
Focusing on the peanut vendor is a great way to minimize the gorilla's rampage, IMO.
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Post by robeiae on Feb 2, 2017 9:42:26 GMT -5
*shrug*
Again, I don't think Trump is wrong with regard to the agreement in question here. Australia is wrong--deeply so--on how it's been handling this situation. And it shouldn't get a pass on that--imo--because "Trump." Yet that's exactly what I'm hearing and seeing from many people.
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Post by Amadan on Feb 2, 2017 11:07:37 GMT -5
Focusing on the peanut vendor is a great way to minimize the gorilla's rampage, IMO. This reminds me a lot of the "Starving Children in Africa" argument. Do we not get to criticize any other politician anywhere as long as Trump is in office? |
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Post by poetinahat on Feb 2, 2017 19:17:14 GMT -5
Absolutely. Australia's treatment of asylum seekers stinks to high heaven. Turnbull didn't invent it, but his government, that of his predecessor, and that of the opposing party have all persisted with it. It's awful. That said, I give Turnbull high marks for sticking to his guns. I hope others here in Australia do the same, and I think it's possible. They like America a whole lot, but they don't like being pushed around. And it was not a one-way bargain; it was a swap. Which seems weird to me, but it's not at all a case of the US simply taking Australian castoffs. It was a two-way deal. Given that Bannon is setting the expectation of war with China, I hope the American government remembers this moment when thinking about asking Australia for military support. And I hope the Australian government remembers it when answering. |
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Post by Deleted on Feb 2, 2017 19:46:25 GMT -5
God, the world is depressing.
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Post by robeiae on Feb 3, 2017 7:33:23 GMT -5
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Post by poetinahat on Feb 5, 2017 18:48:13 GMT -5
So the asylum-seekers are essentially equivalent on both sides, and it's the holding conditions that purportedly differ. And, once again, the Australian arrangement is awful; I already said that. It's a national shame, and Australians have been protesting it and railing against it for years. I know nothing of the Central American processing arrangement.
Interesting about the timing, but the article also cites "months and months of careful planning". So this isn't something Obama decided to do once the election was over.
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