> >A bit
>>unseeming to appear to gloat over the swaggeringly overpriced, overbearing,
>>almighty US dollar, though
>
>Cruelly insensitive. Glow ye in thy shame, Douglas! Thou Pizarro.
>
>We actually have to live on those prettily-hued little kopeks y'know ...
Sorry. They are very colorful, and with that transparent hologrammed bit, quite fetching. I was being cruel and insensitive. I was swayed by the memory of the fine food and wine at the waterfront harbourrestaurant in Sydney, a dinner for the equivalent of US$22 each, and the fine lunch at the Universal Wine Bar in Adelaide, with 2 glasses of Shiraz, for just US$11. And the cute "boutique" Hotel Tolarno in Melbourne, with all its hilarious art, for US$50 a night. It was all very seductive, and now I'm feeling very guilty about these pleasures. What penance should I do?
By the way, why is Australia still rich? Why didn't it follow a path more like Argentina? There's not much autonomous technological capacity, and the economy seems very resource based for a First World (or imperialist, if you want) country. Can someone explain Australia to me?
Doug