Australian Politics Forum - Rudd puts US Defence Secretary to sleep

Maqqa

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14% - that low?!

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Rudd puts US Defence Secretary to sleep
Jan 9^th, 2014 at 1:24pm

http://au.news.yahoo.com/qld/a/20664839/rudd-speech-put%20pollie-to-sleep/

As Kevin Rudd's long soliloquy about Australian history dragged on, the dinner's guest of honour - then-US defence secretary Robert Gates - couldn't help but nod off.

Gates' memoir Duty has been making international headlines due to his criticisms of US President Barack Obama and Vice President Joe Biden, but it also contains an amusing anecdote involving Australia's former PM.

Mr Gates visited Australia in February 2008 as part of a global tour, but he says a broken shoulder made for some awkward moments.

"At a very nice dinner given in my honour by Australian prime minister Kevin Rudd, I was doing fine at table conversation until Rudd began a long soliloquy on the history of Australia," he writes.

"I had made it just past World War I when the combined effect of a painkiller, jet lag, and a glass of wine caused me to fall asleep.

"This led to not-so-subtle attempts by my American colleagues at the table to rouse me."

Mr Rudd was "very gracious" about the whole thing, Mr Gates says.

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Bill 14% is not the alcohol content of that wine. It's your poll number

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bogarde73 Gold Member Offline Anti-Global & Contra Mundum Posts: 18443 Gender:	Re: Rudd puts US Defence Secretary to sleep Reply #1 - Jan 9^th, 2014 at 1:53pm If you got Rudd for an after-dinner speaker you would want to have dinner at lunch time. I heard about Gates' memoir, apparently he gave Obama a serve but saved the worst for Biden. Biden must be to Obama what Johnson was to Kennedy but without any brain matter.
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Armchair_Politician Gold Member Online Australian Politics Posts: 29217 Gender:	Re: Rudd puts US Defence Secretary to sleep Reply #2 - Jan 9^th, 2014 at 3:01pm Rudd's voice is like a narcissistic, monotone drone - he could put anyone to sleep in no time at all. Never seen anyone so totally in e with the sound of their own voice as Rudd. No one comes close.
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Bam Gold Member Offline Australian Politics Posts: 21905 Gender:	Re: Rudd puts US Defence Secretary to sleep Reply #3 - Jan 9^th, 2014 at 3:10pm February, 2008? This is news? Must be the silly season.
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Armchair_Politician Gold Member Online Australian Politics Posts: 29217 Gender:	Re: Rudd puts US Defence Secretary to sleep Reply #4 - Jan 9^th, 2014 at 3:16pm Bam wrote on Jan 9^th, 2014 at 3:10pm: February, 2008? This is news? Must be the silly season. Check the date of the story - TODAY! The incident occurred in 2008 but the story is about Gates' recently published memoir "Duty"...
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Kat Gold Member Offline Socialism IS the answer. Posts: 17709 Everywhere and no-where Gender:	Re: Rudd puts US Defence Secretary to sleep Reply #5 - Jan 9^th, 2014 at 3:21pm Another waste of good bandwidth by Maqqa.
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Armchair_Politician Gold Member Online Australian Politics Posts: 29217 Gender:	Re: Rudd puts US Defence Secretary to sleep Reply #6 - Jan 9^th, 2014 at 3:33pm Kat wrote on Jan 9^th, 2014 at 3:21pm: Another waste of good bandwidth by Maqqa. More wasteful than this thread??? http://www.ozpolitic.com/forum/YaBB.pl?num=1389135337
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Bam

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Re: Rudd puts US Defence Secretary to sleep
Reply #7 - Jan 9^th, 2014 at 4:06pm

Armchair_Politician wrote on Jan 9^th, 2014 at 3:16pm:

Bam wrote on Jan 9^th, 2014 at 3:10pm:

February, 2008? This is news? Must be the silly season.

Roll Eyes

Check the date of the story - TODAY! The incident occurred in 2008 but the story is about Gates' recently published memoir "Duty"...

Who cares? Really, who cares? It supposedly happened in 2008.

It's not news. It's about as newsworthy as a cat stuck up a tree. Silly season filler.

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You are not entitled to your opinion. You are only entitled to hold opinions that you can defend through sound, reasoned argument.

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cods Gold Member Offline Australian Politics Posts: 88048	Re: Rudd puts US Defence Secretary to sleep Reply #8 - Jan 9^th, 2014 at 6:02pm AND NO SELFIE......OH......WHAT A MISSED CHANCE... I think they fell asleep at the U.N. as well didnt they????? and not a bugger listened to him in Copenhagen... it proves one thing.. the lefties in this country are the only ones to appreciate this ego driven twit.
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buzzanddidj

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Re: Rudd puts US Defence Secretary to sleep
Reply #9 - Jan 9^th, 2014 at 8:13pm

... and then the story from a NON-Murdoch source

"At a very nice dinner given in my honour by Australian prime minister Kevin Rudd, I was doing fine at table conversation until Rudd began a long soliloquy on the history of Australia," he writes.

"I had made it just past World War I when the combined effect of a pain-killer, jet lag, and a glass of wine caused me to fall asleep
"

"This led to not-so-subtle attempts by my American colleagues at the table to rouse me.

"Rudd was very gracious about the whole thing; my team less so, as they took raucous delight in making fun of my undiplomatic snooze."

Mr Gates, who had broken his shoulder in three places when he had slipped on ice outside his Washington DC house, said he was "shocked" to wake the next morning and find his entire upper body was black and blue.

"The US Air Force doctor traveling with me called in a couple of Australian physicians, and everyone was puzzled that the bruising had appeared a week after my fall, but in typical Aussie fashion and with good cheer, they said it would take care of itself.

"Given the the number of pain-killing drugs he was on when he arrived at The Lodge, Mr Rudd thought it was surprising Mr Gates could remember anything from the evening at all," the spokesperson said.

"Perhaps Mr Gates should have taken up Mr Rudd's suggestion, made to him when he arrived, to forget dinner and just go home to bed"

http://www.abc.net.au/news/2014-01-09/kevin-rudd-27soliloquy27-put-former-us-sec...

The
laughingly ludicrous slant
to which
Murdoch Press
applies to any story on the former PM - and former member of the parliament - would make you think they were STILL election campaigning

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'I like your Christ, I do not like your Christians.
Your Christians are so unlike your Christ.'

- Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi

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Kat

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Socialism IS the answer.

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Re: Rudd puts US Defence Secretary to sleep
Reply #10 - Jan 9^th, 2014 at 8:36pm

Armchair_Politician wrote on Jan 9^th, 2014 at 3:33pm:

Kat wrote on Jan 9^th, 2014 at 3:21pm:

Another waste of good bandwidth by Maqqa.

More wasteful than this thread???

http://www.ozpolitic.com/forum/YaBB.pl?num=1389135337

I'd be more inclined to take that up with whoever started that thread.

And it wasn't me.

(For the record, I think it was a waste of bandwidth also).

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Peter Freedman Gold Member Offline Australian Politics Posts: 5275 Wellington Gender:	Re: Rudd puts US Defence Secretary to sleep Reply #11 - Jan 9^th, 2014 at 9:04pm Ronnie Reagan used to regularly drop off during Cabinet meetings. Don't think Rudd was there.
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John Smith

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Re: Rudd puts US Defence Secretary to sleep
Reply #12 - Jan 9^th, 2014 at 9:09pm

buzzanddidj wrote on Jan 9^th, 2014 at 8:13pm:

... and then the story from a NON-Murdoch source

"At a very nice dinner given in my honour by Australian prime minister Kevin Rudd, I was doing fine at table conversation until Rudd began a long soliloquy on the history of Australia," he writes.

"I had made it just past World War I when the combined effect of a pain-killer, jet lag, and a glass of wine caused me to fall asleep
"

"This led to not-so-subtle attempts by my American colleagues at the table to rouse me.

"Rudd was very gracious about the whole thing; my team less so, as they took raucous delight in making fun of my undiplomatic snooze."

Mr Gates, who had broken his shoulder in three places when he had slipped on ice outside his Washington DC house, said he was "shocked" to wake the next morning and find his entire upper body was black and blue.

"The US Air Force doctor traveling with me called in a couple of Australian physicians, and everyone was puzzled that the bruising had appeared a week after my fall, but in typical Aussie fashion and with good cheer, they said it would take care of itself.

"Given the the number of pain-killing drugs he was on when he arrived at The Lodge, Mr Rudd thought it was surprising Mr Gates could remember anything from the evening at all," the spokesperson said.

"Perhaps Mr Gates should have taken up Mr Rudd's suggestion, made to him when he arrived, to forget dinner and just go home to bed"

http://www.abc.net.au/news/2014-01-09/kevin-rudd-27soliloquy27-put-former-us-sec...

The
laughingly ludicrous slant
to which
Murdoch Press
applies to any story on the former PM - and former member of the parliament - would make you think they were STILL election campaigning

thanks buzz ... they must really hate it when you show them up for the liars they are. Grin

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Our esteemed leader:
I hope that bitch who was running their brothels for them gets raped with a cactus.

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Armchair_Politician

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Re: Rudd puts US Defence Secretary to sleep
Reply #13 - Jan 10^th, 2014 at 10:24am

buzzanddidj wrote on Jan 9^th, 2014 at 8:13pm:

... and then the story from a NON-Murdoch source

"At a very nice dinner given in my honour by Australian prime minister Kevin Rudd, I was doing fine at table conversation until Rudd began a long soliloquy on the history of Australia," he writes.

"I had made it just past World War I when the combined effect of a pain-killer, jet lag, and a glass of wine caused me to fall asleep
"

"This led to not-so-subtle attempts by my American colleagues at the table to rouse me.

"Rudd was very gracious about the whole thing; my team less so, as they took raucous delight in making fun of my undiplomatic snooze."

Mr Gates, who had broken his shoulder in three places when he had slipped on ice outside his Washington DC house, said he was "shocked" to wake the next morning and find his entire upper body was black and blue.

"The US Air Force doctor traveling with me called in a couple of Australian physicians, and everyone was puzzled that the bruising had appeared a week after my fall, but in typical Aussie fashion and with good cheer, they said it would take care of itself.

"Given the the number of pain-killing drugs he was on when he arrived at The Lodge, Mr Rudd thought it was surprising Mr Gates could remember anything from the evening at all," the spokesperson said.

"Perhaps Mr Gates should have taken up Mr Rudd's suggestion, made to him when he arrived, to forget dinner and just go home to bed"

http://www.abc.net.au/news/2014-01-09/kevin-rudd-27soliloquy27-put-former-us-sec...

The
laughingly ludicrous slant
to which
Murdoch Press
applies to any story on the former PM - and former member of the parliament - would make you think they were STILL election campaigning

Politicians are ALWAYS election campaigning. But I wouldn't expect a halfwit such as yourself to realise that.

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Datalife

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Re: Rudd puts US Defence Secretary to sleep
Reply #14 - Jan 10^th, 2014 at 10:56am

buzzanddidj wrote on Jan 9^th, 2014 at 8:13pm:

... and then the story from a NON-Murdoch source

Where is the Murdoch report? I read them both, the first one which you seem to object to is AAP, which is a Fairfax source. The second one was ABC.

And they both contain the phrase " Mr Gates, who was taking medication for a broken shoulder, "should have taken up Mr Rudd's suggestion... to forget dinner and just go home to bed," Mr Rudd's spokeswoman said in a statement." and "In the memoir, Mr Gates wrote: "I had made it just past World War I when the combined effect of a painkiller, jet lag, and a glass of wine caused me to fall asleep."

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"If they’re out there in the high seas, what you would do is seek to turn them back through the agency of the Australian Navy".

Kevin Rudd on 2GB, July 12, 2007

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