Slipper, who is normally seen in his robe and tie at work, was dressed down for the event, even as veterans and other guests from the military came in full uniform. Footage of the gaffe has also been uploaded on YouTube.

The event also included an Iroquois helicopter dedication, which was apparently flown during bad weather conditions during the war to provide ammunition and support for Australian soldiers during the Battle of Long Tan.

According to John Smith, the President of Vietnam Veterans Association of Australia, the Speaker had mentioned wearing his wig, pomp and robe if he came to the ceremony, so it was a real surprise when he turned up in jeans.

Smith, who is a Long Tan veteran and served under Delta company’s artillery support, made no qualms about expressing that he was horrified by it.

The spokesperson for the Speaker, however, made apologies on his behalf and said that there was no time for Slipper to change into something more appropriate, as he had been travelling from Brisbane. The Speaker went straight to the dedication from the airport.

The spokesperson also said that Mr. Slipper thought it would be best to be on time for the event. The ceremony took place last March 16 at the Caloundra RSL in Queensland.

Reports indicate that the Pentagon is interested in using the area as its base for their surveillance drones or spy planes called the Global Hawk.

Prime Minister Gillard, however, insisted that there has been no agreement at this point. The Prime Minister also refused to answer if she was in favor of this plan. Instead, she said that the matter is being discussed at “officials level.”

Last November, US President Barack Obama visited Australia. The country also welcomed 2,500 US Marines for its exercises in Darwin. During this visit, Defense Minister Stephen Smith mentioned that the Cocos Islands would be ideal for a joint Aus-US air base operation.

But a discussion over spy planes was nowhere mentioned in the agenda. Prime Minister Gillard said that the alliance is crucial to the nation’s security. She also said that she is in talks with Defense Minister Smith for the greater utilization of Cocos Islands although no decision has been made whether to bring in the marines in the near future.

Since the visit in November, no agreement has been set. Discussions are still ongoing but there has been no significant progress from these.

The Prime Minister is currently in South Korea for a nuclear security summit. The summit gathers about 50 world leaders to discuss issues on different internal and external threats related to nuclear materials and related topics.

Based on initial reports, the two soldiers were shot by a man wearing an Afghan uniform. Sources spoke on the condition of anonymity because no official announcement has been made yet.

According to International Security Assistance Force spokesman Major Jason Waggoner, the incident occurred in a US-run base in Lashkar Gah in Helmand province.

A man, who wore an Afghan army uniform, opened fire and killed two British soldiers. The man was gunned down by coalition forces.

Although US troops have started pulling out of the beleaguered country, NATO forces are still in the region to maintain peace and order. Based on statistics, one in seven foreign solders is killed.

The main goal of the mission is to train Afghan forces to gain control of the country’s national security by the end of 2014. This would also pave the way for the complete withdrawal of foreign troops.

Lash Gar is one of the first places in the country turned over to Afghan forces as part of the transition.

Three more foreign troops were injured after a suicide bomber blew up himself in Chora district in Uruzgan. An Afghan police officer was also injured because of the blast.

This year alone, four French, six Americans and one Albanian have been killed in the country. As more foreign troops are killed, NATO forces expect increasing clamor to bring home the troops safe and sound.

The move of the North Korea government is receiving criticism regional powers, including Japan, Australia, and the Philippines. PM Gillard has expressed her dismay saying that the move is a breach of United Nations Security Council resolutions.

This also reneges on Washington’s deal with North Korea that would allow inspectors from the International Energy Agency to enter the country in exchange of food aid.

PM Gillard said that North Korea’s missile launch will have the lowest potential risk to Australian and that it is unlikely that missile debris would reach Australian soil. She also remarked that there is little evidence that a nuclear device would be attached to the missile.

In her address to Yonsei University students in Seoul, she said Asia is facing great security risks because of North Korea’s constant refusal to de-nuclearise. She also expressed appreciation to the more than 150,000 South Koreans in Australia, stating that the two countries are models of democracy.

US President Barack Obama, meanwhile, expressed his dissatisfaction with North Korea’s plans. Obama, who was also attending the Seoul summit, said that North Korea is further isolating itself from the rest of the world.

Obama also warned that if North Korea does not cancel its plans, more sanctions will be imposed to the country.

The 29-year-old unemployed single mother is living in rural West Virginia and just days after a US soldier killed 16 innocent Afghan civilians, Lynndie maintains:

Their lives are better. They got the better end of the deal… They weren’t innocent. They’re trying to kill us, and you want me to apologise to them? It’s like saying sorry to the enemy.

England became notorious in 2004 when she appeared in photos that showed detainees with hoods over their heads, being threatened by dogs, forced to masturbate, or piled on top of each other in a detainee sandwich.

At the time, US President George W. Bush conceded that the scandal shamed the US, and was a disaster for the war effort.

England was dishonourably discharged from the army after serving a year-and-a-half in prison. She has been sending out resumes, but can’t even land a job flipping burgers for the clown.

The proud Lynndie does, however, show remorse for the US soldiers who became victims of the ensuing reprisals claiming:

I think about it all the time – indirect deaths that were my fault. Losing people on our side because of me coming out on a picture.

I suspect the issue is a little more complex than that, but if anyone has any work available for an Army trained supervisor that doesn’t require any profoundly insightful witticisms, please contact us and we will put you in contact with Ms England.

There are so many potential triggers… so many elephants in the region. If we make the anarchical assumption, everyone will behave according to the worst-case scenario.

He conceded the new deployment of US Marines in Australia was not a threat to Indonesia, a sentiment shared by his countrymen. But there are other powers, especially China who tend to see any military build up in the region as a slight against them. Apparently, the shock of the Marine base announcement has died down.

In a statement of profound wisdom, Mr Natalagawa claimed:

In the recent past the largest source of death and destruction has not been conflict but natural disasters. So if there’s a common enemy, that’s it. We want to bring the US Marines into that. Since the US Marines basing has created some excitement in some quarters, we have been told it’s for disaster response. So we may as well try it out.

His comments came after a meeting with the new Foreign Minister, Bob Carr, as well as the Defence Minister Steven Smith.

Mr Natalagawa appears to be a moderate in the often right of centre political spectrum in Indonesian politics. His pragmatic approach to regional issues could make him an asset to the region, which has been severely affected by natural disasters in recent years.

Bob Carr is believed to have taken meetings with at least a dozen of his international contemporaries in his first week as Foreign Minister. His acute intellect is expected to be a firm asset to the negotiation of peace not just in the region, but in international trouble spots.

In an industry that is expected to be worth $1.1 billion to NSW by 2020, the State is being hampered by the lack of available docking ports east of the harbour bridge. It is estimated by 2015, close to half of all visiting cruise ships will be too large to sail under the Harbour Bridge, making the availability of deep water ports limited.

Currently, the Navy has an agreement with Carnival Australia granting access to its largest ships, but the top brass is said to be dissatisfied with the arrangement was is not planning on extending this agreement past 2013. The current arrangement sees passengers bypassing the Garden Island Dockyards and travelling on tenders to the Overseas Passenger Terminal. A more permanent facility would allow passengers to be processed and cleared on site.

Ann Sherry, Carnival Australia CEO claimed

Sydney needs a three-cruise berth solution with one berth west of the Harbour Bridge and two in the eastern Harbour to accommodate an increasing number of cruise ships too big to sail under the bridge.

It appears she has her gaze firmly set on Garden Island which was established in 1856.

Allan Hawke, who is conducting a review into the arrangements, will recommend the Government direct that during the peak October to March cruise season the Navy share the wharf.

However, the Navy is expecting to take delivery of two 230 metre long ships in 2014, and being forced to share their only Sydney super port could severely restrict their operational planning. A possible solution would be to base these Helicopter Landing Ships out of Brisbane, which would make operation sense anyway.

The problem is yet another example of NSW’s struggle to maintain suitable infrastructure to support economic demand.

The much feared SAS raised a fourth sabre squadron in 2005 to counter the growing terrorist threat, but it wasn’t until 2010 that they were refocused primarily on an intelligence gathering role. This is thought to be the brainchild of Kevin Rudd initially as Prime Minister and later as Foreign Minister.

Foreign intelligence gathering duties is officially the role of the Australian Secret Intelligence Service (ASIS), a civilian organisation cloaked in secrecy. After an incident in 1983, ASIS were stripped of their authority to carry weapons but John Howard gave them back in 2003. Australia’s most secret training facility, on Swan Island near Melbourne, has now become the HQ of SAS-4 as well as the Australian training facility for ASIS agents.

The marriage of the two organisations closely mirrors the US Special Operations Command and will benefit the knowledge and training of both the SAS and ASIS. However, many will question the wisdom of sending military personnel on covert missions in countries. Legally, ASIS officers will be protected as government delegates and have fake passports which they are allowed to use. Military personnel are not permitted to  carry fake ID papers, so if they were caught things could get hairy.

Most of the covert operations have been taking place in Africa, so realistically any capture incident would likely be resolved with a big payoff. Regardless of the legal challenges the initiative poses, the deployment of Australian SAS in Africa is bad news for Kony who has all of a sudden become significantly more recognizable.

Australian Defence Force is yet to make comment on the revelations, and it is unlikely that they ever will.