Image: Sailing Anarchy

Not quite an island, not quite a continent. Despite the distant location and exotic wildlife in Australia, there are some undeniable similarities between our founding and the birth of Australia as a nation. Both were considered somewhat cumbersome backwaters in which the British Crown could dump convicts, unwanted religious groups or other undesirables and both are rich in natural resources, which in turn sparked a westward migration of European immigrants from the already-established cities on the east coast.

It's also worth noting that Australia's Armed forces have fought alongside with their American counterparts in every major war since WWI- so as a veteran of the US Army, that's something that I truly appreciate.

These lovely young ladies from down under are thoughtfully modelling swimsuits and tops that show a variation of Australia's flag [hooray for swimwear or beach apparel serving as an indicator of nationality! -NANESB!]. Besides the Union Jack in the corner (essentially a miniature British flag), most prominently featured are the stars of the Southern Cross, a constellation visible throughout the Southern Hemisphere. This version of the Australian flag was chosen after a nationwide contest and first flown in Melbourne 110 years ago after being approved by King Edward VII.

Australia is not the only country to incorporate the Southern Cross into their national flag [New Zealand's is quite similar, only with smaller, red stars forming the Southern Cross. If you look very closely, the Southern Cross is also present in Brazil's flag as well- NANESB!] but it is the most well known and iconic. As recently as 2000, there was an effort to completely change the Australian flag altogether.

Of course, according to one recent university study Down Under, an Australian motorist that flies the Southern Cross flag on their car is more likely to be racist.

Drivers who fly Australian flags on their cars to celebrate Australia Day are "more racist" than people who do not, according to research from UWA.

University of Western Australia sociologist and anthropologist Professor Farida Fozdar and a team of assistants surveyed 513 people at the Australia Day fireworks on Perth's Swan River foreshore last year to find out whether there was a link between car flag flying and racist attitudes.

"What I found interesting is that many people didn't really have much to say about why they chose to fly car flags or not," Professor Fozdar said.

"Many felt strongly patriotic about it - and for some, this was quite a racist or exclusionary type of patriotism - but it wasn't a particularly conscious thing for many."

Anywhoo, the study came to this conclusion interviewing some 513 people at an Australia Day fireworks display in Perth and determined that 43% of the respondents were racist for speaking favorably of the 'White Australia' immigration policy that was abolished in 1970 and that new immigrants to the country should adopt Australian values.

However, the release of the study seems to serve no other purpose than to try and bolster op-ed pieces critical of Aussie flag-waving published earlier this month ahead of Australia Day.

In Adelaide, the head of the South Australia Taxi Council has given out 500 flags and encouraged cabbies- many of them immigrants from India or the Middle East- to fly them from their vehicles. This follows up a pilot program last year where 100 car flags were handed out to cabbies- the move has so far been positively recieved by the cabbies and tourists alike.

It's also worth mentioning that we're just a few short months removed from the 2012 Summer Olympics in London. Swimming is considered Australia's strongest event in the summer games for both men and women's teams [altho' they brought home the gold in other events like rowing and triathalon during the 2008 Beijing games- NANESB!].

Stephanie Rice (above) brought home three of Australia's 14 gold medals from the Beijing Olympics in 2008- winning both the 200m and 400m individual medley as well as the women's 4 X 200M freestyle relay. In fact, Rice broke the world record for the 400m individual medley during the 2008 Australian Olympic trials.

And if you're wondering- yes, she plans on being in London for the 2012 Summer Olympics.