Whilst one has much sympathy for the relatives and friends of those murdered on Flight MH17, one cannot help but wonder at the motives of the PM and his followers.

1,193 people died on our roads in 2013; will there be a Memorial Service for them?

So far the PM has been silent on these 1,193 Australians.

Really Mise ?
Are you that insensitive that you do not understand ?

I understand only too well but I wonder why nothing is said about all the road deaths, some have said, elsewhere, that the 27 were murdered and the 1,193 were accidental, but does that really make a difference?

I see the present situation as political posturing and one notes that the pollies are now whining because Russia has responded to Australia's sanctions against her with sanctions against Australia.

The depths of Australia's remorse will be measured in our response to this move by Russia, and the dollars involved.

It is certainly interesting to watch the posturing of our politicians on the "world stage", Is Mise.

>>...one notes that the pollies are now whining because Russia has responded to Australia's sanctions against her with sanctions against Australia<<

Says Ms Bishop: "it is disappointing that Russia has acted in a retaliatory manner". One can only wonder at the qualifications of a Foreign Minister who hadn't taken into consideration the possibility that sanctions can work both ways.

It would have been refreshing - but beyond the requisite qualities of statesmanship - to have heard "retaliation was to be expected, of course, but it is the right thing to do. Sorry, farmers, suck it up, and find somewhere else to sell your stuff for a while."

We have to face the fact that we are governed by a bunch of neophytes on the world stage, who wield the collective international clout of the proverbial wet lettuce.

I do not believe the sanctions against Russia was merely on MH17 but on the fact that Russia is supporting terrorist activity in Ukraine. One of which is the shooting down of innocent international travelers that had nothing to do with the conflict in Eastern Ukraine. Sanctions were put in place before MH17.

What did Abbott and Bishop expect? The Australian hostility to Russia and their role as a US lapdog was evident by Abbott's immediate condemnation and rhetoric that the Russians were to blame for the downing of the plane by supporting the rebels. This despite lack of proof that it was the rebels not the Ukrainians; it happened in a war zone where Ukrainian advice was that planes should avoid but they may have directed the plane that way anyway and it was clearly an accident. On the ground the rebels could not see the lane and even if it is proven that the Ukrainian fighter that was close to the plane shot down MH 17 it could still be a case of mistaken identity because the Malaysian plane looked similar to Putin's plane. The aggressive war of words from the West and increased sanctions cannot be expected to go unopposed by any powerful country. This is an excuse for a power play by those who fear the development of a new and powerful Russia and China and their alliances and development of the BRICS. It is notable that New Zealand who have kept quiet can still export their goods to Russia.