[ZenGum]

Originally Posted by Urbane Guerrilla

The wife says we should have imported some koalas along with the eucalypts -- for decorative purposes. We have several varieties around, they being well adapted to rain being only seasonal, which is the case throughout southern and central California. The north end of the state gets the bulk of the rain -- unlike Spain, the plain getteth not the main rain.

The Koala idea is interesting. Koala numbers are falling in most of Australia, urban sprawl being the prime culprit. But on Kangaroo Island, they were taken there recently, are disease free, and the population is booming to the point that they are overeating their resources and destroying the national park, and will eventually face starvation. A few years back they were (briefly) shooting them to reduce numbers, imagine the outrage! They switched to a much less efficient catch and sterilize program. Hmmm, maybe if we export a few hundred and start a colony in California...
They are very picky about what they eat, so you'd need to have the right kinds of gum trees, but they'd leave everything else well alone. But if you recall the Simpson's visit to Australia...

Rain is seasonal in Australia. Every third Tuesday in August, without fail. That's about it.

Originally Posted by Urbane Guerrilla

Eucalyptus as pulpwood seems a growing development, and the local Procter & Gamble paper products plant -- towels and bath tissues -- uses this pulp, but it's shipped in from elsewhere and I don't know the source.

Probably Australian old-growth forests. Grrrr. See Koala population comment.

Originally Posted by Urbane Guerrilla

Intelligence, from satellite as well as other sources, is really the only thing that allows a nation to come up with sensible, effectual foreign policy. I'm not surprised the Australian government is willing to enter into a third-party agreement with ours to get these data.

Indeed, getting to piggyback on the US satellite system is a great thing. But the price is more than $800,000,000. It is also being your loyal sidekick, sending troops to Iraq and Afghanistan, Somalia and Vietnam. I'm not saying it isn't worth it mind you, we get a good package ... FA-18 jets, Abrams tanks ...

No point being whores three nights a week and pretending on the other nights that we're not whores. If we're in, do it properly. But I do wish you could find a better president. Really, out of 300,000,000 people, this was the best president you could find ... TWICE???