RE: Mystery Spanish Jet

Chaps

I’ve looked down this thread and wanted to make sure I wasn’t stating what had already been said.

The designer of the Ha-200 was none other than Willy Messerschmitt and this aircraft was actually a jet engined version of the HA-100 radial engined trainer, which was developed simultaneously. For some reason, the HA-100 development was slow, with its first flight occurring on 10 December 1953. The 200 first flew on 12 August 1955 It was equipped with twin Turbomeca Marbore II turbojets each of 400kp static thrust. The name Saetta means Arrow in Spanish. Total production, which ran from 1955 to 1967, totalled 97 aircraft and they served with Spain and the UAR.

The Saetta was Willy’s first post-war jet design and was followed by the HA-300 supersonic fighter, which flew on 25 June 1959 as a glider. Unfortunately, development was cancelled before the project was completed.

The Wombat

RE: The Big Question……..

Perhaps we’ve exhausted all the deep and meaningful topics. I’ll go and read my Playboy again and see if there is anything in there which is suitable for the forum.

Love to all,

Wombat

RE: The Big Question……..

[updated:LAST EDITED ON 15-08-02 AT 10:23 AM (GMT)]Lordy, Michael, do you really think anybody cares? How much spare time do you have? Raisins is raisins!!!

Personally, I don’t give a rats …. what they are, where they came from, what they look like or what religious group they belong to.

I like them, they taste nice, and sometimes, they help to cover the taste of some really lousy cooking.

Wombat

RE: Australia’s refugee problem

Mongu

Any preferences as to where you will live yet?

Wombat

RE: Australia’s refugee problem

Mongu

Poor bloody lawyers – they seem to have a bad reputation wherever you go!

If you wanted a job as an accountant out here, you might find our taxation laws a bit perplexing but there could be a real chance of employment for you. With the recent changes in our tax laws, they have become so complex that many accountants now don’t want to have a bar of doing tax returns, so new applicants for the job might be welcome.

Are you considering joining us out here?

Wombat

RE: Australia’s refugee problem

Mongu

Do I read into your message that you are an accountant?

It’s funny that they score so highly – I would have thought accountants were already in plentiful supply out here!

Regards

Wombat

RE: Australia’s refugee problem

Mongu

Your’e right, we did have a scheme to encourage European immigrants to Australia, during the late 40’s, through the 50’s. Not sure if it went into the 60’s. It was a scheme funded by the Australian Government called “Migrant Assisted Passage”, and migrants found suitable for settling in Australia were actually subsidised on a per head basis by the government. The story was that the fare per head was only 10 Aussie pounds (about the same as the English pound in value at that time), with the government paying the rest.

This scheme came about as a result of the scare we got over here during the period immediately following Japan’s entry into the war. Our population at the time was only about 5 million and the Labour Government realised at war’s end that this was insufficient to ensure our security in the event of another war.

The saying at that time was “populate or perish” and, as our natural birth rate was quite low, it was determined that many of the displaced persons from Europe, and many British families, might prefer to live out here. They were particularly welcome if they possessed trades or skills which were in short supply in Oz.

The scheme eventually was terminated because our population had increased to the point where it was considered we no longer needed to encourage migrants to settle here with subsidised passage.

Today, our immigration policies are reasonably liberal in the way they apply to nearly every nationality. True, we have some very tough procedures in place because of the people smuggling which has been going on for some years, and our proximity to South East Asia and the Middle East, The simple fact is, Australia is a very appealing place to want to migrate to, compared to most countries anywhere near us. It has been interesting to read the comments from yourself and many other members, and I note that our “harsh” policies receive a fair bit of support from the board just as they receive some condemnation. You will, no doubt, have seen other correspondence I had recently with Minmiester, and I must say I respect his views regarding our policies, even if we disagree on some of them.

The fact is that our Government knows that many Australians support the action they have been taking with illegal immigrants. Whilst there has been a lot said, and much pressure has been exerted from various migrant groups, the UN and other international agencies, this Government will tough it out because we have to be able to determine who lives here and how they arrive. To ease our standards will open us up to many of the problems being experienced in many countries, particularly Britain and some nations in Europe.

The Wombat

RE: Australia’s refugee problem

Shorty

I think you are right about the attitude of many refugees.

Some of the more heavily populated parts of Australia have been experiencing serious crimes committed by certain ethnic groups, particularly those from some parts of the middle east and Asia.

It is a problem that occurs every where around the world, when different cultures come together. I don’t know what the solution is, but deportation of serious criminals should be an option.

Late last year, a large number of asylum seekers were taken on board the S.S. “Tampa” and the matter received world wide attention. Many of the refugees demanded to go to Australia and when told that would not happen, they turned nasty. Some refused to leave a bus in Nauru when they were landed, and they put on a show for the world media which was watching. Some of them are supposed to have stated that Australia’s treatment of them was worse than they had experienced in their own country. I don’t know if that really happended or not.

In Sydney recently, a number of Lebanese youths were found guilty of a series of pack rapes, and the case has been heavily reported in the local media. Much of the anger about these cases is the fact that race appears to have been a major factor in the selection of the victims. This doesn’t help racial relations in Australia at all and Lebanese, being predominantly Muslim, are finding that Australians don’t like or trust them very much. Most of the Lebanese youths were actually born in Australia, which makes the situation a bit harder to understand.

This sort of thing is being made worse by the general distrust of Muslims after September 11 and the goings on in Palestine and Israel.

I’m sure Australians would be more prepared to accept asylum seekers if some of them weren’t so arrogant and demanding.

The Wombat