Good Show 007 - Daniel Craig visits the troops at Camp Bastion in Helmand Province, Afghanistan

Glad to see 007 was able to make a stop out to visit the troops over at Camp Bastion.  I was stationed there ( at next door Camp Leatherneck) and getting there is half the fun.  Working side by side with the UK Troops/Aussies/ Kiwis (New Zealanders) was always a great experience.

Bravo Zulu to Daniel Craig for bringing the new movie " Skyfall " out to the troops in Afghanistan.

Good Show 007.

James Bond Star Daniel Craig In Afghanistan

Hundreds of UK soldiers, airmen and sailors get a surprise treat as they are waiting to see the latest 007 film Skyfall

Troops at Camp Bastion in Afghanistan were taken by surprise when 007 star Daniel Craig dropped in on their base.

 The actor met 800 soldiers, airmen and sailors just before they watched the new Bond film, Skyfall.

 During his tour of the camp, Craig witnessed some of the training given to troops before they are sent to forward operating bases.

 He also got the chance to fire some of the machine guns they use and took the wheel of the Foxhound vehicle in which he was shown around.

 Warrant Officer Rob Ingham said: "We get quite a lot of visitors here, but having James Bond was special. He seemed to be pretty comfortable in the driving seat!"

 Craig later visited the world-class Bastion Role 3 Hospital, which is acknowledged to be a centre of excellence for trauma medicine.

Private Scott Craggs, 23, from Newcastle, a combat medical technician serving with 3 Medical Regiment, said: "It was really good morale for everyone - it's a decent thing for him to take time to come out and visit everyone here."

 The star's final stop was a practical demonstration of counter improvised explosive device searching techniques where he was given a chance to use detectors to search for buried training devices.

 Warrant Officer Paul Ward, a Squadron Sergeant Major, said: "It was good to see Daniel Craig here in Bastion. Our training is critical to keeping Afghans and our own soldiers safe."

 RAF Sergeant Dave Hammond, who was one of those lucky to get a ticket for the film, said: "It was like a return to the old James Bonds. There was a bit of humour and some spectacular effects.

 "It was great to be able to see the film here - and to have James Bond himself to introduce it was brilliant!"

 Private Shane Awbery, 23, from Doncaster, a communications specialist, said: "It was great for morale and the atmosphere in the tent when we were watching the film was buzzing.

 "The film was really good, too - and I liked it that he answered our questions."

Australian PM pays an emotional tribute to her countrymen.....

The "Land From Down Under", Austrailia has been taking it on the chin from Mother Nature - Floods, Cyclones, Wildfires, and all manner of whatever could happen to them has been happening. Aussies are made of tough stuff and anyone who has seen them on the Battlefield can testify to that.

The Austrailian Prime Minister gave an emotional speech about what her country has been through and how a flag was given to her by a helicopter rescue crew who found it - muddy but unbowed.

I salute our friends in Austrailia and their unbrokem spirit...Keep up the superior effort.

No worries mates - Fair Dinkum !!

Australian PM Pays Emotional Tribute to Natural Disaster Victims
2011-02-08 www.ntdtv.com

Australia's parliament met for the first time this year on Tuesday.

Political parties put hostilities on hold as they paid tribute to those who died during a summer of natural disasters.

Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard, who has been criticized for not showing enough empathy during the emergencies, became visibly emotional as she led a bipartisan condolence speech.

[Julia Gillard, Australian Prime Minister]:
"I move that the house acknowledges with great sadness the devastation occasioned by this summer's natural disasters including unprecedented floods, Cyclone Yasi and bushfires, extends its deepest sympathies to the families of those who have lost loved ones.”

She paid special tribute to thousands of volunteers and rescue workers, displaying an Australian flag given to her by the crew of a rescue helicopter.

[Julia Gillard, Australian Prime Minister]:
"These helicopters continued with their search and rescue in the days to come and they found this flag mister speaker and I was honored when they gave it to me.”

She also told of local heroes that emerged from touching rescue stories.

[Julia Gillard, Australian Prime Minister]:
“I spoke to them of courage, the courage it takes to keep filling sand bags even when your back is breaking, the courage it takes to hold your nerve in the dark as the cyclone races around you, the courage it takes to tell your children to run across the railway line, knowing it is dangerous, knowing they could fall but knowing it is their only hope of getting to safety, the courage it takes for a young boy, 13-year-old boy Jordan Rice to say to his rescuers, take my brother first and before that brave rescuer could return, Jordan and mum Donna were taken by the flood but the legend of Jordan's amazing courage will go on."

Floods in the northern Queensland state alone killed 35 people, with nine still missing, inundated 30-thousand homes and wiped out roads, rail lines and bridges.

Destructive floods also swept through New South Wales and Victoria states, a massive category five cyclone hit northern Queensland and ferocious bushfires have destroyed more than 60 homes around the Western Australian capital of Perth.

Opposition leader Tony Abbott also paid tribute to volunteers and rescue workers and commended Gillard for her efforts.

[Tony Abbott, Opposition Leader]:
"I rise to support the motion so eloquently moved by the prime minister, we have lived through a summer of disaster, a summer of flood, of storm, of fire, it is right that this parliament should pause at some length to reflect on that to mourn the death, to offer words of comfort to the suffering, to congratulate everyone who has responded to this with courage, with professionalism and with good old-fashioned Aussie grit and also may I say, mister speaker, to congratulate the prime minister for the effort that she has made over recent weeks and again today to be with the victims of the floods."

The bipartisanism is unlikely to last very long, with the government and opposition still arguing over how to pay for disaster recovery.

Economists estimate the floods and cyclone damage to be more than $10 billion with the national government to pay around 75 percent of the costs.