"Tin-foil-hat wearing tossers in Florida" -

[mccardey]

Aboriginal elders, health organisations and frontline workers in the Northern Territory’s Covid outbreak have lashed out at false information about public health measures on social media, with the NT chief minister blaming the misinformation on “tinfoil hat wearing tossers, sitting in their parents’ basements in Florida”.

Over the past few days false claims have been circulating online that Aboriginal people from Binjari and Rockhole were being forcibly removed from their homes and taken to enforced quarantine in Howard Springs, and people including children were being forcibly vaccinated.



None of these claims are true, according to the Aboriginal Medical Services Alliance Northern Territory (AMSANT), the local Aboriginal health services and community leaders.

Bugger off, Florida. Seriously. There are few communities more vulnerable to Covid-19 than those on (remote) Country. They're on a knife-edge.

 

[MaeZe]

I was surprised to hear this was something that actually was being repeated in Florida in the US. Do you all get news from idiots in the US that mention Australia?

That sucks. This news piece is nine minutes long if anyone wants to watch it.

 

[Helix]

Do you all get news from idiots in the US that mention Australia?

If we did, we'd get nothing else done.

There's been a lot of bullshit coming from US antivaxers, rwnjs, and 'libertarians', and our own versions of these are just repeating the US nonsense because it's ready made. (Can anyone say sheeple?)

 

[mccardey]

Hmm - great link. Remember the big kerfuffle here when I responded to the "Wear A Mask When You Go Out" call by saying Unless you're in Australia, in which case stay the fuck at home because we don't have the PPE sorted yet (because of the bushfires)?

I think there's a part of America that will always think it knows more about Australia than Australia does.

 

[Introversion]

I think there's a part of America that will always think it knows more about Australia than Australia does.

Don’t think that makes you special, though. We think we’re bigger brains than every country. The bigliest.

 

[Albedo]

Don’t think that makes you special, though. We think we’re bigger brains than every country. The bigliest.

tbf Australia has some gigaminds that rank right up there with youse.

 

[Introversion]

tbf Australia has some gigaminds that rank right up there with youse.

Them’s fightin’ words! Our idiots are world-class!

 

[Albedo]

Them’s fightin’ words! Our idiots are world-class!

We got Australian idiots pleading the 14th. The American 14th. Your move.

 

[Diana Hignutt]

Them’s fightin’ words! Our idiots are world-class!

American idiots do seem to be the one thing that makes American exceptionalism seem true.

 

[Diana Hignutt]

We got Australian idiots pleading the 14th. The American 14th. Your move.

Ok, that is impressive idiocy.

 

[Introversion]

We got Australian idiots pleading the 14th. The American 14th. Your move.

Pfft, our idiots only plead the 2nd. (Not sure they can count to 14.)

 

[Chris P]

We got Australian idiots pleading the 14th. The American 14th. Your move.

Wow, it's touching that Australians care so much about the apportionment of Representatives. I didn't know you cared.

Wait! Or is the GOP trying to charge Australia for their part in January 6?

 

[SWest]

Australian interference in our political life is well documented.

 

[Chris P]

Australian interference in our political life is well documented.

Fosters. Australian for discourse.

 

[MaeZe]

We got Australian idiots pleading the 14th. The American 14th. Your move.

We have Americans who sabotaged the 14th. And when you pack the SCOTUS with biased justices, (like we have today), your sabotage can last almost a decade.

Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

Often considered as one of the most consequential amendments, it addresses citizenship rights and equal protection under the law and was proposed in response to issues related to former slaves following the American Civil War. The amendment was bitterly contested, particularly by the states of the defeated Confederacy, which were forced to ratify it in order to regain representation in Congress. The amendment, particularly its first section, is one of the most litigated parts of the Constitution,

Dred Scott v. Sandford - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

Dred Scott v. Sandford,[note 1] 60 U.S. (19 How.) 393 (1857), was a landmark decision of the United States Supreme Court in which the Court held that the United States Constitution was not meant to include American citizenship for people of African descent, regardless of whether they were enslaved or free, and so the rights and privileges that the Constitution confers upon American citizens could not apply to them.[2][3] The Supreme Court's decision has been widely denounced, both for how overtly racist the decision was and its crucial role in the near destruction of the United States four years later.[4]

It's a reminder we haven't changed much in more than a century.

Sorry to get so serious. Please continue with more funny stuff.

 

[mccardey]

I'm not sure that it's true, but I did hear yesterday that our PM said Australia was founded by people seeking religious freedom. Which was, well, news to Twitter....

 

[Roxxsmom]

Them’s fightin’ words! Our idiots are world-class!

We have the very best idiots. The greatest idiots. It is amazing how great our idiots are. It's beautiful. But some people are jealous of us. They want to destroy American jobs exporting idiocy*. Sad.

*idiocy might be too big a word here.

 

[frimble3]

Fosters. Australian for discourse.

If that isn't an ad, it should be!

 

[Helix]

Fosters. Australian for

cat's pee.

We don't touch the stuff here.

I was going to say that the only thing Australian about Fosters is its name, but that's American. The original brewery was founded by a couple of American brothers who moved to Oz in the late 1800s.

 

[Roxxsmom]

I feel much the same way about Budweiser, Miller etc. Was shocked to discover they actually have a following in countries with much better domestic beers.

Back in the late 80s, if I remember correctly, there was a huuuuge fad here where Australian kitsch (if that's the correct term) was a national obsession. Australian boutiques popped up all over, and there were numerous products claiming to be Australian that weren't (such as Australian Hair Salad shampoo, which was a decent shampoo for all it was no more Australian than I am). My cousin had a job for a while in a cute little shop called KOALA (Korner of Australia Los Angeles) Blue in LA, and it was owned by Olivia Newton John, who obviously benefited from this fad. And, sigh, Crocodile Dundee movies.

Fosters seemed to gain a following at that time. Plus it came in what appeared to be oil cans, which appealed to "quantity over quality" beer drinkers. I remember the ad campaign.

Australian didgeridoo music playing. Huge steak appears on screen, and corny Aussie voice over says, "STEAK!" fingers place a small parsley sprig on the steak. "SALAD!" Then a Foster's can is plopped down next to it. "BEER!"

"Fosters, Australian for BEER!"

Even back then I did consider that this might possibly not be an accurate representation of Australian culture and taste.

 

[Helix]

Monty Python described American beers as like making love in a canoe.

(This does not extend to a lot of the microbrewery beers, which are quite delicious.)

Back to the OP:

<extreme Troy McClure voice> You might remember Michael Gunner, Chief Minister of the Northern Territory, from such incidents as telling Ted Cruz where to go.

ETA: Linky: https://www.theguardian.com/austral...-ted-cruz-in-twitter-spat-over-covid-vaccines

 

[Roxxsmom]

Re the tinfoil hatiness, would that it were just watered down, tasteless beer that we were exporting.

 

[Helix]

Even back then I did consider that this might possibly not be an accurate representation of Australian culture and taste.

Tbf, it's not too distant from Australia in the early 1980s.

I note, to my horror, that Florida monstrosity, the Outback Steakhouse, has several restaurants in the greater Sydney and Brisbane areas. It's been going here for 20 years, so it has, in fact, outlasted Starbucks.

 

[Roxxsmom]

Tbf, it's not too distant from Australia in the early 1980s.

I note, to my horror, that Florida monstrosity, the Outback Steakhouse, has several restaurants in the greater Sydney and Brisbane areas. It's been going here for 20 years, so it has, in fact, outlasted Starbucks.

I was just thinking of Outback. My mom likes it, so we eat there occasionally when I visit her. There is something odd about the texture of the meat compared to, say, our local steak chain, Cattleman's. Kind of gelatinous for those of us who like their steaks done medium rare.

Ironic it would have made its way to Australia to view yourself through a twisted, US mirror.

Though I've heard weird American theme restaurants have become a thing in the UK, and it would be amusing if one actually opened here--feeding us "American food" through the eyes of another country. A friend who spent a lot of time in the UK said there used to be one that had a theme of Great American Disasters, because evidently one stereotype everyone has about us is that we have a constant string of fires, floods, earthquakes, tornadoes, hurricanes etc. occurring. That's not completely inaccurate, actually. But the US needs more humility, so that is a different thing.

 

[Albedo]

Tbf, it's not too distant from Australia in the early 1980s.

I note, to my horror, that Florida monstrosity, the Outback Steakhouse, has several restaurants in the greater Sydney and Brisbane areas. It's been going here for 20 years, so it has, in fact, outlasted Starbucks.

Is it wrong that I wanna one day work up the courage to demand my family take me to Outback Steakhouse for my birthday? I'm sure the place is entirely filled with similar curious/ironic diners.

Actual attempts to launch actual Australian food chains in the USA usually end up gigaflops (see: Pie Face).

Re: Starbucks, there are a few around. I've occasionally visited one when I've been in the mood for a liquid dessert rather than an actual coffee.