So a pretty general article but this part stood out to me:
in vintage Lambie style she warned him not to “suck up”.
“[America] need[s] Australia more than what we need them, and they need our critical minerals. So, if Trump wants to play with Australia, I suggest you start getting your cowboy hats on,” Lambie said.
“… Don’t play bloody Trump’s bluff. Don’t play it. You don’t move Albo. Don’t you move on him. Don’t you dare. Don’t suck up.”
Why does she think they rely on us more than them?
Average Australian has an iphone, uses facebook/instagram/whatsapp/facebook messenger/marketplace, google, gmail and youtube, and all its services along with Apple/Microsoft, most corporates are damn near 100% Microsoft, Microsoft Windows on Microsoft laptops with Microsoft Teams and Microsoft Edge and MIcrosoft Office365, all our movies are American, all our top hit singles in music are American, TV shows, netflix, Food with McDonalds, KFC, products with Amazon, Amazon prime etc Walk around a shopping centre and count the NBA/NFL/American tshirts
Why does she think Americans rely on us more than us on them? We are deeply embedded in America at this point
You know I was thinking that rents have been climbing throughout the whole country. Maybe the government needs to take into account that Trump and his cronies are out there ratcheting up tensions internationally and posturing as bullies on a global stage, then apply a small rent increase on US bases on our soil. A lazy hundred billion or so for Pine Gap should cover a lot of trade shortfall and somewhat compensate for the extra risk we are shouldering. When Trump calls to posture about it tell him we will increase troops on the border to prevent fentanyl and crack down on the cartels, then offer him the same price and watch him Art of the Deal™ that into a negotiating victory for himself.