Made in China.

[John Hill]

Countries like China want all the benefits of such a setup, but behind the scenes they do what they like.

Can you tell me just one country that is not like that?

[AtomKraft]

John.
No, not really. Geopolitics is not the sole preserve of the Chinese.

But, and it's a big one, under the standard deviation curve of outlandish behaviour, dishonesty and general mankiness, they are right at the edge.
Most of us are somewhere in the middle.

Anyway, you are free to like them, trade with them- do what you like.

I'm right off the ****, and it seems the list of similarly affiliated countries grows longer by the day.

I see tension between the Chinks and India is very much on the increase- to state but one example.

[larsssnowpharter]

Nothing much changed there then!

[John Hill]

I am not going to jump on the anti-China bandwagon just yet. China and India have long shared a somewhat tense border and I don't really know if the present state is a worsening or just one of those ups and downs. Just like China India has a lot of 'stuff' I might like to buy.

We may be free to trade with China right now but whenever Agent Orange wants to mess with them, sanctions, tariffs etc we feel the ripples. If he makes it hard for us to send milk products to China who should I feel angry with?

[Dushan]

We may be free to trade with China right now but whenever Agent Orange wants to mess with them, sanctions, tariffs etc we feel the ripples. If he makes it hard for us to send milk products to China who should I feel angry with?

But you would be completely free to make your decision and benefit/suffer from its consequences. Is your counterpart in China so lucky? If you are implying that someone 10,000 miles away has control of your trade activity, I would like an explanation.

[John Hill]

But you would be completely free to make your decision and benefit/suffer from its consequences. Is your counterpart in China so lucky? If you are implying that someone 10,000 miles away has control of your trade activity, I would like an explanation.

Do not twist what I said, I said "If he makes it hard for us to send milk products to China who should I feel angry with?", I did not say control.
What ship could I engage to carry my cargo of milk products?

[BenThere]

What ship could I engage to carry my cargo of milk products?

You're subject to geopolitical developments over which New Zealand has little control. Cope as best you can.

[John Hill]

I am not a Pom Ben and I will not lie back and think of England.

[Dushan]

But you would be completely free to make your decision and benefit/suffer from its consequences. Is your counterpart in China so lucky? If you are implying that someone 10,000 miles away has control of your trade activity, I would like an explanation.

Do not twist what I said, I said "If he makes it hard for us to send milk products to China who should I feel angry with?", I did not say control.
What ship could I engage to carry my cargo of milk products?

Again, why can someone 10,000 miles away make it hard for you to hire whatever ship you may choose? We already know that you do not like USN ships in your ports. It seems like you have quite a bit of control over shipping in your waters (except over the French navy, of course).

[John Hill]

Ships that carry trade to or from the DPRK are liable to be seized by US pirates. Ship Wise Honest for example.

[Nick Riviera]

I am not a Pom Ben and I will not lie back and think of England.

No, you're a Sheep Shagger so we know what you think of when you lie back.

[John Hill]

Tut tut, such language!

[Dushan]

Ships that carry trade to or from the DPRK are liable to be seized by US pirates. Ship Wise Honest for example.

I thought we were talking about NZ shipping goat cheese to the chicomms.

[BenThere]

I never thought you were a Pom, John Hill, and I never suggested you lie back and think of England.

Actually I like the Poms and never use that as a pejorative, like 'septic'. Brits have done good and bad over the centuries. We had to kick them out. But I thank God they gave us their culture, rule of law and contracts, language, and in many cases, genes. Consider me can Anglophile.

[John Hill]

Ships that carry trade to or from the DPRK are liable to be seized by US pirates. Ship Wise Honest for example.

I thought we were talking about NZ shipping goat cheese to the chicomms.

Here, let me refresh your rather porous memory:-

We may be free to trade with China right now but whenever Agent Orange wants to mess with them, sanctions, tariffs etc we feel the ripples. If he makes it hard for us to send milk products to China who should I feel angry with?

Do you not understand that I am concerned that Trump may extend the ***** the US plays with North Korea to other countries, China for example. That is not the world I would like us to leave to following next generations.

[John Hill]

I am not a Pom Ben and I will not lie back and think of England.

Perhaps you are not familiar with the phrase https://www.urbandictionary.com/define. ... %20England

Used in this case as a response to your "Cope as best you can."

[BenThere]

No, it's you responding to a point I never made. I'm quite familiar with the phrase. My wife is Australian.

The point of 'cope as best you can' was to emphasize that New Zealand, if it chooses to not seek and embrace allies with at least a bit of enthusiasm, must also recognize that allies may not be there when New Zealand needs them. For now it seems to be working just fine for New Zealand, but as history shows, things change.

Place your bets.

[John Hill]

Ben you are getting confused, your comment about 'cope as best you can' was not at all about NZ's erstwhile false allies. It was about shipping to US embargoed countries.

[John Hill]

I am posting this again for your Ben so you may come to understand what it is you don't understand.

I am not going to jump on the anti-China bandwagon just yet. China and India have long shared a somewhat tense border and I don't really know if the present state is a worsening or just one of those ups and downs. Just like China India has a lot of 'stuff' I might like to buy.

We may be free to trade with China right now but whenever Agent Orange wants to mess with them, sanctions, tariffs etc we feel the ripples. If he makes it hard for us to send milk products to China who should I feel angry with?

[TheGreenGoblin]

Time has come to completely ignore the worst of the USA and embrace the best of its many good people...

The US Empire is now done, given that a bigger **** than Caligula is trying for interminable power there...