The United Nations Human Rights Council is now officially and perpetually China's (insert your choice of pejorative here)

WuWei · 2020-07-06T13:13:48.909Z

Core, Gap and Seam

Happyhappyjoyjoy · 2020-07-06T13:14:57.583Z

Kuwait and Iraq are on that list, not a great return for all that blood sweat and tears.

There are a few Caribbean countries there, isn’t that a little close to home?

SixFoot · 2020-07-06T13:16:37.782Z

There’s no such thing as far away anymore.

WuWei · 2020-07-06T13:20:18.444Z

Jezcoe:

Happyhappyjoyjoy:

Again you miss the point entirely and resort to a lame personal shot.

China is fulfilling it’s geopolitical aims.

The West is doing nothing to stop that.

If you accept China is a legitimate superpower now annd no friend to the West, which I personally do, then you have to ask how that will change.

Multilateralism seems to be a answer, build an alliance to counter China’s influence, but that is not the current direction of travel.

We don’t do multilateralism anymore because it’s globalism or something.

When the US started to abandon the post war institutions That it built to further the country’s goals because of some grievance or another, look at how fast the void was filled.

This all was an unforced error.

They don’t have the same grievances now they did then. It took several bad actors and world wars to create the conditions that drove them to those alliances.

China is a bad actor. Alliances come and go.

JayJay · 2020-07-06T13:26:36.177Z

Smyrna:

JayJay:

That’s what it should be and could be.

That’s not the capitalism we have today.

It’s the beat I march to and practice on a daily basis.

Your own experience is not the end all be all of reality.

And even in your case as I have pointed out repeatedly your market has been distorted by forcing us to underwrite the costs of your industry for dubious value in return.

This is not a knock on you personally…but it’s a truth of your industry as a whole.

Smyrna · 2020-07-06T13:30:29.289Z

AngraMainyu:

Sure. It’s also brought misery to many areas of the world in order to protect markets or provide it with cheap labor. A bar of soap in America is the same price in the Congo.

I often hear about “cheap labor” but in many cases, labor represents a small percentage of the over all costs. The pollution regulations required to produce products that are overlooked elsewhere are a huge cost savings component but it isn’t discussed much. The politicians that signed agreements allowing this production to pollute the world are also demanding cap and trade taxes. It’s one of the most egregious truths of our time and so many do not look any further than the pennies they’re saving at Walmart.

Happyhappyjoyjoy · 2020-07-06T13:31:54.725Z

Aside from China’s, which alliances are coming at the moment?

The West seems to be going through a period of weakening of alliances at the moment, without a clear idea of what follows.

Smyrna · 2020-07-06T13:32:27.572Z

JayJay:

Your own experience is not the end all be all of reality.

And even in your case as I have pointed out repeatedly your market has been distorted by forcing us to underwrite the costs of your industry for dubious value in return.

This is not a knock on you personally…but it’s a truth of your industry as a whole.

My industry on the ground level I work in is one of the, if not the most challenging business in this country. It’s why so many are going under and being replaced by conglomerates.

AngraMainyu · 2020-07-06T13:33:03.660Z

I agree. I suppose I should have added that the materials they acquire through cheap labor are also inexpensive.

WuWei · 2020-07-06T13:34:29.217Z

Happyhappyjoyjoy:

Aside from China’s, which alliances are coming at the moment?

The West seems to be going through a period of weakening of alliances at the moment, without a clear idea of what follows.

The coming alliances will be because of China’s. Sometimes you have to await developments.

Did the traditional alliances weaken?

JayJay · 2020-07-06T13:35:47.023Z

Smyrna:

JayJay:

Your own experience is not the end all be all of reality.

And even in your case as I have pointed out repeatedly your market has been distorted by forcing us to underwrite the costs of your industry for dubious value in return.

This is not a knock on you personally…but it’s a truth of your industry as a whole.

My industry on the ground level I work in is one of the, if not the most challenging business in this country. It’s why so many are going under and being replaced by conglomerates.

That doesn’t change the fact that in a non-distorted system of capitalism it is highly likely your industry would not be valued by the consumer and thus if it existed at all it would be as a niche supplier of services…at best.

WuWei · 2020-07-06T13:38:37.044Z

What is your industry?

Smyrna · 2020-07-06T13:38:45.289Z

JayJay:

That doesn’t change the fact that in a non-distorted system of capitalism it is highly likely your industry would not be valued by the consumer and thus if it existed at all it would be as a niche supplier of services…at best.

…and yet, in this pandemic, was considered, “essential” and remained open?

Happyhappyjoyjoy · 2020-07-06T13:40:41.852Z

They’ve withered on the vine.

Europe is selfindulgent, cowardly and overly introspective.

America is divided and narcissistic.

Russia is a diminishing kleptocracy reduced to trolling.

China’s cleaning up at the minute, hard to see that trend changing any time soon.

WuWei · 2020-07-06T13:44:05.783Z

Happyhappyjoyjoy:

They’ve withered on the vine.

Europe is selfindulgent, cowardly and overly introspective.

America is divided and narcissistic.

Russia is a diminishing kleptocracy reduced to trolling.

China’s cleaning up at the minute, hard to see that trend changing any time soon.

And adversity builds unity.

“America” has always been divided.

Alliances come and go. They are METT-TC dependent.

Happyhappyjoyjoy · 2020-07-06T13:48:13.491Z

Would you be kind enough to explain the nuance of that acronym beyond a simple Google search?

WuWei · 2020-07-06T13:49:18.611Z

Happyhappyjoyjoy:

Would you be kind enough to explain the nuance of that acronym beyond a simple Google search?

Nuance?

Happyhappyjoyjoy · 2020-07-06T13:52:32.451Z

I can Google the words the acronym contains but don’t really understand the connotation of it as a while.

WuWei · 2020-07-06T13:55:10.036Z

Happyhappyjoyjoy:

I can Google the words the acronym contains but don’t really understand the connotation of it as a while.

It’s used as a framework to aid in analyzing a situation, prioritizing key aspects, and then planning accordingly. It works at every level.

Happyhappyjoyjoy · 2020-07-06T13:59:30.502Z

Also referred to as what you learn doing an MBA, I suspect more cheaply and practically your way though.

Is the new cold war really much than the latter stages of the last one?

Different flags but don’t western democracies still have the same shared interests?