Good evening to you STEELEREDUX...

Preparation dear boy, preparation ! Should Indonesia launch a collaborative attack against us, with their main forces concentrated in the various vessels we've kindly given them over the years, we'd need an almighty retaliative force, in response to their aggression !

Hi CHRISGAFF1000...

Ah the old Owen SMG, few moving parts, but utterly reliable, a far superior gun to the F1 that you and I may have carried in SV ?

This thread is getting bizarre.

I doubt the Indonesians have any intention of invading Australia. It would in any case take a long time for them to build up the logistic capabilities which means there would be time to prepare defences.

But they could dominate the air and sea north of Australian and, perhaps, the air over NT within a few years.

I think like it or not we're beginning an arms race with Indonesia.

However in the longer term I think Indonesia, however much they may be grandstanding now, are more concerned about China's growing navel power that about a pipsqueak like Australia.

Foxy,

I think I made it clear what sort of learning I had in mind.

In the late 1960s the Israeli government implemented a plan to turn the Israeli economy away from being an exporter of mainly agricultural products into a tech powerhouse. It took a long time but it is now paying off.

It is expensive for a foreign company to patent a product or process in the USA so they tend not to do it unless it's profitable. Here is a table of foreign patents in the US by country of origin for selected countries for the year 2012:

Japan.............50,677
Germany...........13,835
Taiwan............10,646
South Korea.......13,233
Australia..........1,525
Israel.............2,474
Singapore............810
Turkey................47
Saudi Arabia.........170

See:
http://www.uspto.gov/web/offices/ac/ido/oeip/taf/cst_utl.htm

Japan is the powerhouse. The Taiwanese figure is a little suspect. It looks as if some Chinese companies are choosing to register patents via Taiwan.

However compare Israel and Australia. Australia has three times Israel's population and barely more than half the number of US patents.

In proportion to population Israel is almost on a par with Japan. It is truly an innovation nation.

Among the companies that have recently set up research facilities in Israel are Samsung and Lockheed Martin.

Israel turned itself from an agricultural exporter into a tech powerhouse. In proportion to its population it outperforms even Singapore.

A wealthy Chinese businessman, Li Ka-shing, has given the Technion, roughly the Isralei equivalent of MIT, $130 mn to open a campus in China in partnership with a Chinese university.

The Technion has also launched online course (MOOCs) in Arabic and is attracting thousands of students from Arab countries. (Why aren't Australian universities offering high quality course in Indonesian)

Australia has two options. It can turn itself into a tech powerhouse, an innovation nation, or it can sink into genteel poverty. Historically nations which relied on raw materials exports have not done well.

Israel managed the transformation.

Do any Australian politicians even understand the issues?

Josephu, I doubt your support for Israel has much to do with Israel, but with your obvious dislike of Muslims.

I dislike war of any sort, regardless of the countries involved, or their religion or politics.

Australia is doing just fine, and doesn't need the aggravation of Israel's wars with others.

Dear stevenlmeyer,

My post was probably a little presumptuous assuming you were one of those wanting us to take it up to Indonesia. My apologies.

I personally have no problem with governments finding ways to promote R&D spending in this country so I support you fully on that point, it is just the method you propose I think is dangerous and threatening to us as a country.

On another thread I suggested we direct the subsidy we have been directing at the old car companies be instead directed at kick starting an electric car industry. There are many ways and imaginative government might facilitate R&D spending in this country. To believe in letting purely market forces drive it instead is a folly. I share your pessimism about the current lot.