Another Difference Between the US and Australia

This morning we went to Manuka to meet some friends for coffee and pastries. Manuka was even more packed than usual on a Sunday morning because a bunch of football fans were in town from Sydney - the Sydney Swans (Aussie rules football) play a couple of "home" games a year in Canberra at Manuka Oval, and today is one of those games.

So we're strolling down the crowded sidewalks, weaving our way thru the coffee-swilling fans and chatting, and I say "oh and there's the Prime Minister."

Kevin Rudd, Prime Minister of Australia, chatting with some guy in front of the bookshop in Manuka. There were a couple of guys nearby with earphones and that was it. Nothing between me and Rudd at all - I passed within three feet of him.

Needless to say, you couldn't stroll by the President in quite such a casual way without passing thru a metal detector at a minimum...