Dunno about others but I certainly don't support China at any cost. I don't support their occupation of Tibet or East Turkestan or their overt threats to Taiwan (which unlike China has a government legitimised by elections) or their police state at home or any specific breaches of international law on any ocean. Or for that matter the LNP's standing invitation to them to take over much of Australia without their having to fire a shot.

The only country to the aid of which we have automatically rushed for the last 70 years has been America which daily commits more violations of international law than all other countries combined have committed over the entire 70 year period. America is currently at war with Syria because it can't accept the right of the Syrian people to decide on who governs them, and with the Yemenis because of their resistance to America's close ally, the anti-democratic and theocratic Moslem dictatorship Saudi Arabia.

It has always been Lib governments that have sent our soldiers to war for America, without even a passing thought for international law

And now the Deppity Dawgs are slavering to egg the American empire into starting yet another war, an adventure which is most unlikely to have the support of America's own people outside its Neocon pressure group.

Opposing this doesn't mean supporting China. If anything it means supporting assertion of Australian independence for once. Something that gives the Deppity Dawg chorus line the vapours.

Dear EmperorJulian,

You are too idealistic. In the real world of today the Australian govt whether LNP or Labor will not be able to choose to be neutral and let the US and China hammer it out. Staying neutral will be viewed by the US as being equivalent to supporting China. The US will withdraw its protection of Australia and China will look upon Australia as just another victim to be absorbed into its aggressively expanding totalitarian empire.

Problem for the govt is that supporting the US will incur the ire of the Chinese community in Australia and they will cast their votes against a govt that supports the US against their ancestral homeland. In this case, I think the Turnbull govt will not make an open commitment to support the US against China until after the election in order to prevent the backlash from Australia's Chinese voters.

PS. I suppose like me you're holding your breath with excitement waiting for Aidan to give us his list of subjects that engineers are knowledgeable about.

Mr Opinion seems to have a thing about engineers. For the academic disciplines in which they have to be knowledgeable to qualify, he could explore the websites of the training institutions. Beyond that I suppose their knowlegeability will depend on their individual life experiences and will range from that of knuckle-draggers to that of scholars. So?

Their role in creating the structures and machinery of civilisation is in invention, design, supervision and control, for which they have special knowledge. Countless other workers combine in putting it all together. Again, so?

Dear EmperorJulian,

If I had a dollar for every engineer I've heard exclaim 'We're just like doctors!' I would be a millionaire.

You learn an amazing amount on OLO, that, for instance, engineers must be the most grindingly boring people at parties.

And that, somehow, what China is doing in the south China Sea (don't be fooled by names: India does not own the Indian Ocean, nor Mexico the Gulf of Mexico, nor England the English Channel) is relevant to Australian engineers and vice versa. Neither side has proved that relevance yet.

Joe

Dear Loudmouth,

If you keep learning at this rate you'll soon be up there with the engineers. I was there once, about forty years ago.