I never made that claim maggie, I only C/P the talking points.

And as I do live in the U.S....I'll say that the opinions expressed here by the far right hack from Australia is pretty much based on fact.

 

LOL, that senile dolt biden is burning bridges and making enemies all around the world.

Better watch out Australia, or biden will take you down with him....

Oh and I don't feel sorry for France one bit. That got what was coming to them....

France recalls ambassadors to US and Australia in response to AUKUS nuclear submarine pact
France has lashed out against the deal, calling it a stab in the back



France recalled its ambassadors to the United States and Australia in response to a pact signed by the two countries along with the United Kingdom that the French referred to as a stab in the back.

"At the request of President Macron, I have decided to immediately recall our ambassadors to the United States and Australia to Paris for consultations," French Minister for Europe and Foreign Affairs Jean-Yves Le Drain said in a statement Friday.



France has expressed outrage after an announcement this week of a pact between Australia, the United Kingdom, and the U.S. that will provide nuclear submarines to Australia and scrap an agreement previously made to send French-made submarines to Australia.

"The abandonment of the ocean-class submarine project that Australia and France had been working on since 2016 and the announcement of a new partnership with the United States aimed at studying the possibility of future cooperation on nuclear-powered submarines constitute unacceptable behavior among allies and partners; their consequences affect the very concept we have of our alliances, our partnerships, and the importance of the Indo-Pacific for Europe," the statement added.



Earlier in the week, Le Drain told a French radio station that the pact, known as AUKUS and widely perceived as a challenge to China’s presence in the region, was a "stab in the back" and that France had been "betrayed."

Le Drain also compared President Biden to former President Trump.

"This brutal, unilateral and unpredictable decision reminds me a lot of what Mr. Trump used to do," Le Drian said. "I am angry and bitter. This isn't done between allies."



White House press secretary Jen Psaki denied that the move had created a "regional divide" and said that France was notified of the deal prior to the announcement.

A White House official told Fox News that the Biden administration "regrets" France's decision but "will continue to be engaged in the coming days to resolve our differences."

 

Well, lets be honest.
If Australia wants a reliable sub to project sovereignty to china, they'd do much better with an American sub than a french one.

Wonder who in government came up with this?

 

The pact has got the wrong name for starters....

It should be.. AUSUK.. the US flanked by Australia on the Pacific side and UK on the Atlantic side.

The contract with the French was signed in 2016, there's been 5 years of building and hundreds of Australian companies involved in this co-build in the state of South Australia, the first subs were on schedule to start service in 2025, when our current Collins Class subs would be well past their use-by date.
The estimated first float of the US/AUS subs will be 2040, so that's 15 years with what????......i can understand why the French are pissed.
Plus this is going to cost Australia multi billions in breaking this contract.....and then a much bigger bucket load of dollars for the US/AUS build.
There's going to be a lot of politicians on both sides getting huge back handers for this deal

The other thing that doesn't seem to being mentioned is that these US subs will be only nuclear powered, they WON'T have nuclear missiles.

The feeble excuse that our "fellow from down-under" is giving the locals is.....we're getting them because they run silent, deeper and longer.

This has nothing to do with Australia's security, it's all about the US getting another military base in the Southern Hemisphere, another installation to add to the other 400 plus in an arc around China..


Here's a funny fact....the harbour of Darwin, Australia's most northern harbour is being run by a private company from China, they have a 99 year lease to do so.....and the US would like to set up a base just round the corner......let's have a flash point in northern Australia..

Fuck Morrison...Fuck Biden...Fuck Boris and Fuck AUSUK.

 

The French have never won a war WW1 was with the UK and the USA.Would you bye a major weapons system from them.Beside the probability design a weapons system to sink your subs and sell it to your enemy

 

You need to get back into your history books......France were part of the allies, the winning side (France, Britain, Russia, Japan and Italy) that joined forces at the start of WW1, the US didn't join the affray until 1917.

 

Obama sells the Aussies 72 F-35s. Then Trump hangs up on the Conservative Prime Minister over accepting a few refugees.
Now the Biden admin will oversee a submarine deal. Pretty good of the Aussies.
The USA couldn’t possibly wish for better allies.

 

They need us more than we need them.....

Nice of the US to look after and provide for the free world's defense.

 

Absolutely not, in fact it's the reverse by a long way.

Our fire power is equivalent to a small fireworks display.....
It's Australia's location on the world map that makes us a very important ally.

If the US lost Australia losing one of the eyes in the 5 Eyes installations would put a huge dent in your Southern Hemisphere surveillance....and then there's the Northern Australia staging points for your navy and air force.

 

Important for what??? Australia doesn't have anything the US couldn't live without.

No one is forcing Australia to take the deal. That is unless you think biden is now calling the shots down under.

The submarines will be built in Adelaide by Australian's.

The submarines will be used for Australia's defense, not the US.

So I don't know what you problem is......

 

Florida kicks butt in the covid contest. Australians will need to loosen up a bit if they want to challenge Florida.
Australian deaths 850 /Florida 14,000 Aussiepussies! Lockdown fraidycats! Mask wearin, vacinatin weirdos.

 

French submarine deal snub reflects Australia's need for better technology to counter China
French officials have been in an uproar since Australia dropped $66B contract



The widening diplomatic spat over Australia’s canceled submarine deal with France highlighted a key strategic shift in the West, with the United States and its allies willing to snub a key European partner to counteract China’s aggression in the Pacific Ocean.

French officials have been in an uproar since Australia dropped the $66 billion contract for 12 conventional submarines in favor of a nuclear submarine pact with the United States and Britain. Australian officials, who had expressed concerns about budget overruns and delays in the French deal, said the nuclear submarines were a technological necessity to defend the country’s interests.

Australia’s decision to partner with the U.S. and U.K. over France also signaled its strategic view toward China has changed "very dramatically" since the contract was awarded in 2016, according to Ivo Daalder, who served as U.S. ambassador to NATO from 2009 to 2013. Relations with China have deteriorated over Beijing’s handling of the COVID-19 pandemic, actions in the South China Sea and efforts to control trade in the Pacific.

"Frankly, [Australia] wanted to bind the U.S. into the Pacific as well and this is another way to do that," Daalder told Fox News. "The strategic rationale for going with the UK-U.S. was much more significant than going with the French."

"The conventional subs were just not going to do the job," he added.


Video
Australia will receive at least eight nuclear-powered submarines in the agreement by 2040. Aside from infuriating France, which will lose billions in expected revenue and $1.7 billion in sunk costs, the deal angered China, which ripped the U.S. and Britain for sharing highly sensitive nuclear technology.

Nuclear-powered submarines have several operational advantages over the submarines Australia would have received under the original deal with the French. The U.S.-made vessels can last decades without a need to refuel, have greater range and are more difficult to detect than their conventional counterparts. The French-made vessels were a nuclear submarine design converted to operate as diesel-electric hybrids.


"The delays, that could probably be worked out," said Garret Martin, co-director of the Transatlantic Policy Center at American University. "But China’s behavior and the economic coercion against Australia and others, I think, created a real sense of urgency and real domestic pressure. (Australia has) a lot of sea coast to defend, and the Pacific Ocean is massive, so having that long range made a big difference for them."

While the accord between Australia, the United States and the United Kingdom was negotiated in secret, Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison said France was aware his government had "deep and grave concerns" that the conventional submarines would not meet its defense needs.

French officials have pushed back on Australia’s claim, arguing the country’s government gave no public indication that they had misgivings about the submarine contract.

"The United States carries more clout in the region and everywhere than France does. On a purely strategic standpoint, that is understandable," said Ben Haddad, director of the Atlantic Council’s Europe Center. "I think what’s been really frustrating to Paris is that Australians have not been forthcoming about their misgivings and certainly not open about the fact that they were about to turn to another partner."

Public statements suggested the deal was stable as recently as Aug. 30, when French and Australian defense and foreign affairs officials issued joint remarks referring to the "importance of the Future Submarine program" and plans to "strengthen military scientific research cooperation."


In this photo provided by U.S. Navy, the Los Angeles-class fast attack submarine USS Oklahoma City (SSN 723) returns to U.S. Naval Base in Guam, Aug. 19, 2021. (Mass Communication Specialist 3rd Class Naomi Johnson/U.S. Navy via AP)

"There is a crisis of trust beyond the fact that the contract is being broken, as if Europe itself didn’t have any interest to defend in that region," French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian said at the United Nations on Monday.

Top Australian officials argued the change of heart was necessary to protect the country’s "narrowing" technological edge in the Indo-Pacific region, where China’s naval capabilities include nuclear submarines.

Last week, Morrison said the country was "not in a position" to pursue nuclear submarines when it signed the original deal in 2016.



"It wasn't on the table for a range of reasons," Morrison said. "So, the decision we have made to not continue with the Attack class submarine and to go down this path is not a change of mind, it's a change of need."

President Biden has requested a phone call with French President Emmanuel Macron in the coming days to resolve the dispute, a senior Biden administration said. Any lingering tensions could undermine Biden’s pledge to closely cooperate with European allies following tumultuous relations under former President Trump.

"My sense from the Biden administration is that really, it speaks volumes about how important countering China is, even if it means ruffling the feathers of a major ally in Europe," Martin added.

 

Supermarket giant ends in-store butcher service, moves to packaged meat
Australia's Coles is sending butchers packing



Australian supermarket giant Coles is sending its butchers packing – at least to other departments – announcing that all of its more than 800 stores will end in-store butcher services and offer only pre-packaged meats.

The move will impact roughly 1,570 of the firm's 120,000 employees, and their union says many of those affected could soon be out of a job.


A Coles sign is seen at a Coles supermarket in Canberra, Wednesday, August 18, 2021. Supermarket chain Coles will today release its FY21 full-year results. (AAP Image/Lukas Coch) NO ARCHIVINGNo Use Australia. No Use New Zealand. (AAP Image/Lukas Coch / Reuters)


Coles said earlier this year that it was in talks with union representatives about the prospect of ending its butcher services, and confirmed this week that it decided to move forward with the plan that will be implemented on Oct. 11.

"In June we let our meat team members know we were considering a proposal to align our meat operating models nationally in our stores, so that we can consistently deliver high quality retail-ready meat for our customers whenever they want to shop," a spokesperson told Brisbane's ABC Radio on Wednesday, saying that "following a period of consultation with affected meat team members as well as their union representatives, a decision was made to proceed with the proposal in late August."


A worker prepares items behind a counter in the meats section at a Coles supermarket, operated by Wesfarmers Ltd. (Photographer: Carla Gottgens/Bloomberg via Getty Images) (Getty Images)

The spokesperson added that Coles is currently working with its butchers to "assess" retraining them for other positions within the company.

Matt Journeaux of the Australasian Meat Industry Employees' Union told the outlet that Coles' move is "just a cost-cutting exercise, there's no two ways about it."

The union representative said affected employees – some of whom have been with the company for decades – have checked out the available roles they could transition to with their current employer, and were only offered part-time work of roughly 16-20 hours a week.


A butcher cuts a piece of meat in a Coles supermarket. (Photographer: Carla Gottgens/Bloomberg via Getty Images) (Getty Images)



Journeaux said the union was trying to help Coles' butchers find work in slaughterhouses, but he said many of the workers live in cities while the slaughterhouses tend to be located in rural areas.

"So, a lot of these people are really going to have to pack their things up and move," he explained.

 

What's bad for the Cole's butchers is great news for the local independent butcher shops where the quality of cuts of meat are much better and the service friendly......this is 2 thumbs up in my opinion.

"Coles in-store butchers' axing could see meat prices drop, retail expert says - ABC News" https://amp.abc.net.au/article/100520026

 

Well, the butcher in our local Kroger owned store is a surly fellow who has yet to offer a smile, encouraging word or even a "can I help you".
When he sees someone looking in the display case he goes over and stands there like a Mannequin until the customer says something like "I'd like a pound of the ground sirloin" and then he gets it for them. If they ask a question like "How fresh is the fish" he mumbles some nonsense like "It was here when I got here this morning."
Not talkative at all, not friendly, just surly.

In fact, watched him growl (yes, growl. Like a dog.) at some kid who wondered behind the meat display case.
The kid backed out quickly, clueless mom didn't even notice.

 

Could you imagine the interview with him??

"So, Mr. stumbler, I see here that you worked in the oil fields for 120 years."
THOSE TREASONOUS CONSERVATIVE/REPUBLICANS DRAINED ALL THE OIL OUT OF EVERY HOLE I EVER DRILLED!! THEY STOLE IT AND GAVE IT TO TRUMP AND HE GAVE IT TO THE RUSSIANS!!
"Oh. Uh, Ok, sure. So what interests you in working here?"
I WANT TO POISON THOSE TREASONOUS CONSERVATIVE/REPUBLICANS WITH RAT POISON AND WATCH THEM SQUIRM ON THE FLOOR PUKING THEIR GUTS OUT AND WHEN THEY'RE DEAD I'M GOING TO CARVE THEIR EYES OUT AND STOMP ON THEM!!!
"uh huh. Oh! lookit the time! Thank you for coming in Mr. Stumbler, we'll call you later in the week if something opens up"
"ARE YOU A TREASONOUS CONSERVATIVE/REPUBLICAN?? YOU ARE, AREN'T YOU!! COME HERE!! EAT THIS!! I'LL KILL YOU YOU TREASONOUS CONSERVATIVE/REPUBLICAN RAT LICKING TRAITOR!!"

 

Perhaps.... However, from what I understand Australia is a big country and not all the people that shop at Cole's will have a local butcher shop to patronize...

 

In the smaller towns they're more likely to have a local independent butcher than a Coles store.