Australia, we don’t know you, but we love you, say our American friends

That was my immediate take, but I've not read enough.

I looked for him at FB. He seems to have disconnected from a lot of the A2K folks. Have another account still to check.

I think he was frustrated. I don't think he dislikes women. I got a sense he felt rejected by them and was lashing out. I bet his bride has softened him up a bit on that.

What the hell is this USians crap?

There must be some more euphonic moniker for people from a not major land place in a relatively large part of the global earth.

The last time he was here, he blew a gasket because people were talking about D.I.Y electrical work. He was of the opinion that we mere mortals should not so much as rewire a lamp.
He was chuffed that people pointed out electricians make mistakes too and have been known to electrocute each other.

Oh. Hopefully that will blow over and he will one day return.

It's an anti-American slur that you see here and there on the Internet. Like calling the Chinese chinks or a Korean a gook.

Osso, I've been chastised for every single thing I've called Americans, I've been told I'm an American too. They don't like terms such as - down south, the US, the states, yankees, yanks. Some names are understandably upsetting but at this point I figure WTH, maybe ya'll should come up with a term you can all agree on.

That's kind of funny - every orstralian I know that's been to NY loved it.

What's kind of weird to is the image we project through our pop culture (outback, rugged, open spaces, frontierish) is bollocks we're a more urban (not urbane) nation than the US.

DJ's list of flick was almost all historical, and the only contemporary urban setting was Richmond Hill (well, Neighbours was suburban) and Romper Stomper (dystopian). Then I thought - well which nation does movies that are basically documentaries of actual contemporary life? None of course.

And you're right - I don't think we were courting the US bases - it's more a power play by the US.

This piece about it was pretty interesting:
http://www.smh.com.au/opinion/politics/dear-mr-president-we-beg-to-differ-over-the-future-of-asia-20111115-1nh36.html
Excerpt
Dear Mr President, we beg to differ over the future of Asia
Hugh White
November 16, 2011
OPINION

Australia should tell Obama we take a different view on China.

AS CHINA'S power grows, the Asia we have known is passing into history, and a new and very different Asia is taking shape. Barack Obama's visit is a key moment in that transformation, because he is coming here to promote America's view of how the new Asia should work.

America has a lot at stake. For 40 years it has been the region's uncontested leader. Now China wants to lead instead, and is trying to ease America aside. That means the era of uncontested US primacy has passed. This is a big loss for America, for Australia and much of Asia, but it is the strategic price we must all pay for China's economic miracle.

There are two competing visions of Asia's future now. China's vision is that America will slowly fade as a strategic power in Asia, leaving China as the region's new uncontested leader. America's vision is that Asia will divide into two camps, with China on one side and the rest, under US leadership, on the other. It hopes that if the rest of Asia stays strong and united by America's side, China will eventually see the error of its ways and join the US-led camp as well, thus restoring America's uncontested primacy.

Of course neither Washington nor Beijing describes their vision in such blunt terms. But behind the diplomatic drapery, these are clearly the plans to which each side is working. Washington has suddenly woken up to the magnitude of China's power, and now understands that Asia, not the Middle East, is where it faces its most decisive challenge. That's why Obama is making this trip. He is here to persuade America's friends and allies to sign up to Washington's vision of Asia's future.

At APEC in Hawaii, Obama promoted the economic element of his vision. His Trans-Pacific Partnership initiative is aimed at building a new economic framework in Asia that includes America's friends and allies and excludes China. It is not clear that is a good idea. Now Obama is coming to Canberra to promote the political and strategic element of his vision. He wants to draw America's loose network of Asian allies and friends together into a more unified military coalition to confront China's growing maritime power. That will be the underlying message of his speech to Parliament tomorrow, and it is the symbolism at the heart of the announcement he will make about US military training in Darwin.


Read more: http://www.smh.com.au/opinion/politics/dear-mr-president-we-beg-to-differ-over-the-future-of-asia-20111115-1nh36.html#ixzz1e1HdLTsi

Are you kidding?
He was lashing years before the bride.

people from the u.s. is fine with me.

Seppos?

Yes, that is what I referred to.

That's a wee bit wordy.. as far as nicknames go.

Somebody said they were seven or eight years old before they realized that in Australia English is the common tongue? Hell, when I was that age I thought everybody in the whole world spoke English. Well, not in Mexico, of course. They speak Mexican there. Sounds a lot like Puerto Rican. And in Canada, of course, everyone speaks French. But, other than that . . .

Staying out of this (well up to now, anyway) for very good reason.
I just know we'll be discussing Oz KFC ads before too long!
Interesting reading what you all have to say, though.

My parents (refugees from Europe after WW2) knew as little about Oz as many Americans these days, before arriving here.
They were told it was the end of the world (which was sorta true then) & to bring can openers & blankets with them because they'd have a helluva time finding any here!
And butter? Forget it. They'd have to get used to doing without in that god forsaken place.
It must have felt rather like going to Mars at the time.

Sorry for the bolds, I should have been more subtle.

When the thread degenerates into arguing, I intend to abandon it.

What's wrong with 'Murricans? That's how I tend to spell it fonetically (as OmSig wood sei).

Repeating, I think you are so wrong on that.