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AGM

@ AGM @lemmy.ca

Posts
1
Comments
254
Joined
11 mo. ago

  • Dramatic policy U-turns put Canada far behind in the global EV race

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  • Lol, as usual, Scotty Sockpuppet posts some bs to push a narrative and when the bs gets called out for what it is and runs up against anyone who actually knows something about the topic, Scotty runs away with his tail between his legs.

    People can see through that.

  • Dramatic policy U-turns put Canada far behind in the global EV race

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  • The absolutely predictable reply of running to pieces by organizations like ASPI and Lowy to find ideologically aligned and bias-confirming snippets, because you don't actually have any depth in international development economics or the nuances of Southeast Asian policy.

    All you're actually demonstrating is a lack of understanding. Conflating a structural trade deficit, that is actually standard for a developing nation with a manufacturing base early in development, with "economic dependence" is, as typical for your posts, all about ideology not about reality.

    Importing capital goods and machinery is the typical mechanism for nations to industrialize. It is not a trap. It's the same development ladder that Japan, South Korea, and China used to climb up. This is how flying geese works.

    Also, presenting Lowy and ASPI as objective sources is laughable. Do you know these think tanks and how they fit into the picture of the region? Both have been heavily funded by US/Western defense and government interests or benefactors tied to those. They operate to produce knowledge products that facilitate opposition to Chinese influence. Quoting them to make a shallow "China bad" argument is, at best, circular. Really, it's your standard propaganda.

    You're pushing the idea that Indonesia’s 2024 e-commerce restrictions sre proof of a failed relationship? Nope. That is a demonstration of Indonesia’s agency in the relationship. A dependent puppet state wouldn't do things like ban TikTok Shop or tax Chinese imports to protect domestic SMEs. So, it's actually a counterpoint to the narrative you're trying to push. A nice self own.

    What they're actually doing in Indonesia is leveraging the smile curve of value-added production. They banned the export of raw nickel ore and forced Chinese firms to build refineries inside Indonesia. That pulls the country up the value chain and is part of the development process.

    As for your take on the South China Sea, Indonesia’s refusal to mimic the Philippines’ "transparency initiative" isn’t them being afraid. They have a long-standing, non-aligned foreign policy doctrine of being "free and active." They are actually prioritizing strategic autonomy and ASEAN centrality over becoming a pawn in US-China containment.

    Oh, and did you know the "transparency initiative" is based on work of a US air force colonel who moved out of direct military service into operating an organization focused on serving the same US defense goals but at arms length? Probably not. Did you watch the US senate hearings back in October where that former USAF colonel was advocating for the expanded use of the "transparency initiative" as a method serving US interests in the region and essentially lobbying for more funding to have his "independent" organization expand application of the method to serve US security interests? Probably not.

    Well, that's exactly the type of stuff that Indonesia’s free and active policy doctrine is about keeping themselves out of. So, choosing not to be part of it isn't dependence. They are making a strategic choice aligned with long-standing doctrine to maintain independence and agency.

    When you try to present hedging strategies that are actually demonstrations of agency as just being "dependency", you're just revealing your own inability to view SEA nations as independent, rational actors making their own intelligent moves.

    What you have is an ideological commitment combined with a lack of experience and expertise, so you end up parroting a narrative funded by stakeholders from Washington and from Canberra with deep defense ties that treats Indonesia as a victim that ought to be saved through conformity with Western interests, but not as an active and intelligent agent in their own economic development. That is some pretty weak and foul-tasting sauce.

    Instead of habitually pushing articles on topics you don't actually know much about to advance an ideological position, a good faith actor would take some substantial time to really read and research issues from a balanced range sources and raw data. But, that's not what you do here, is it? You push heavily ideologically aligned articles, cross posting to numerous communities to drive a narrative. Your account has been called out by multiple people as being one of several sock puppets engaged in the same activity pushing the same narratives here. So are you a good faith participant, or a bad faith participant? People can make up their own minds about that based on the evidence.

  • Dramatic policy U-turns put Canada far behind in the global EV race

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  • There's nothing bold about any claims I'm making for anyone that knows much at all about these topics.

    Want a single example of a foreign business with long-term benefits in China? Take KFC. They've been in China since the 80s, have 2× as many restaurants in China as they do in the US, and almost double the revenue. Not long-term benefit? Sure seems like it to me.

    Want an example of a country? Take Indonesia. $140B of annual bilateral trade. High-value infrastructure development. Development of their critical minerals industry and their green tech industry, including large projects like hydropower. Investment and building of industrial capacities such as smelting to do value-adding work domestically. All things that contribute to Indonesia's improved competitiveness in the global economy, and helping them maintain an overall surplus in their global trade.

    So, Indonesia is exporting raw materials and increasingly some value-added products from those, and this is what supports a trade surplus overall, and they're importing low-cost consumer goods from China that allow better quality of life for people while also importing things like machinery to improve industrialization.

    Doesn't sound bad.

    Anyone who knows much about these topics would know the bold claims are your absurd suggestions that no companies or countries have long-term benefits with China.

  • ‘Get the f**k off there’: MPs, Senators call on government to abandon X/Twitter following wave of ‘Grok porn’

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  • I used to be on there, and when I look back in from time to time I see more and more of both accounts I followed that have become inactive and accounts I followed that stayed and have gone far right. People who I never would have expected to go that way but who stayed on that platform keep getting pulled towards fascism, white supremacy, and might makes right worldviews. It's awful to see.

  • ‘Get the f**k off there’: MPs, Senators call on government to abandon X/Twitter following wave of ‘Grok porn’

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  • It's basically government officials and news organizations having their main communication channels be on 4chan. That's where we're at. It's ridiculous.

  • Dramatic policy U-turns put Canada far behind in the global EV race

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  • I encourage anyone to go do the research for themselves. No need to trust me. They will easily find for themselves how wrong and manipulative the positions you're pushing are. You are here actively misleading people.

  • Dramatic policy U-turns put Canada far behind in the global EV race

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  • Random companies? These are all companies that have been doing huge business in China for years. Some have been there for 30 years or more and have China as a huge part of what makes them successful.

    Go read some financial statements yourself. Go read some trade and investment data from countries.

    You just posted one of the most absurdly ignorant statements possible about business and economic engagement with China in claiming that nobody has seen long-term benefits, and now you're doubling down? It's completely detached from reality.

    If not for your posting history I would give you the benefit of the doubt that you're just an uninformed and misinformed person, but people don't set up sock puppets for good faith activity.

  • Dramatic policy U-turns put Canada far behind in the global EV race

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  • Which non-Chinese company ever had long-term success in the Chinese domestic market?

    Companies: Volkswagen, GM, Tesla, Toyota, Honda, BMW, Mercedes, Hyundai, Apple, Samsung, Microsoft, Intel, Foxconn, Siemens, SAP, IBM, Sony, Panasonic, Coca-Cola, PepsiCo, P&G, Unilever, Nestle, L’Oreal, Nike, Adidas, Walmart, Costco, IKEA, KFC, Starbucks, McDonald’s, Haagen-Dazs, Budweiser, Shell, Exxon, Caterpillar, 3M, HSBC, J.P. Morgan, Goldman, Sequoia, McKinsey, Pfizer, AstraZeneca, J&J, Roche...

    That list could go on for ages. These are just big ones, and there are whole sectors not even touched on.

    Just name one country that ever benefited from a 'tight relationship' with China in the long term?

    Okay.

    Countries: ​Vietnam, Pakistan, Brazil, Australia, Russia, Indonesia, Cambodia, Laos, Ethiopia, Chile, Germany, Korea, Thailand, Malaysia, Saudi Arabia, UAE, Singapore, Kazakhstan, Argentina, Nigeria, South Africa, Peru, Chile, Angola, Greece, Hungary, Myanmar, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Kenya, Tanzania, Zambia, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, Iran, Oman, Qatar, Algeria, Morocco, Ecuador, Bolivia, Sudan... and so on.

    Seriously, why do you think so many companies have the China market as an essential component of their business, and have done for decades? And, why do you think most countries have China as their number one trading partner? They wouldn't if they weren't benefiting, but somehow you have either convinced yourself that you know better than all of them or you're just posting entirely in bad faith.

  • Ottawa “welcomes” assault on Venezuela, but fears a rampaging America threatens Canadian imperialist interests

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  • Agreed.

  • Ottawa “welcomes” assault on Venezuela, but fears a rampaging America threatens Canadian imperialist interests

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  • Our leadership is also trapped. Nobody is coming to save Canada if the US chooses to do something. I don't think it's likely that they take any military action against Canada, because we're already very compliant and will continue to be, but, if they do attack, we are on our own on an island against a much, much larger power. So, I don't think they see much other choice even if they want one.

  • Did Donald Trump Just Activate His Plans to Become King?

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  • True, however you read it.

  • Ukraine's Zelenskyy says he's appointed Chrystia Freeland as an economic adviser

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  • Lol, did you read the article before your initial post?

    The article was updated after my post, because she had not yet announced that at the time I posted, which means she had not announced it at the time you posted the comment I was replying to. She announced it hours after your comment.

    It is funny to see such a failed attempt to frame others as posting in bad faith only to reveal your own bad faith posting. Did the guys using your sock puppet account change shifts and the new guy not know the article had changed?

  • A new ‘cold’ war? Canada looks to bolster Arctic security, sovereignty amid an increasingly aggressive Russia coupled with China's influence

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  • There are three levels to that “battle” in the North, Huebert said: creating distrust among elements of Canadian society to distract them from outside threats, dividing “political elites” from each other, and dividing Canada from the United States.

    Yeah, so Russia and China don't have to do anything. The US is already doing all of that far, far better than Russia or China could ever hope to.

  • Ukraine's Zelenskyy says he's appointed Chrystia Freeland as an economic adviser

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  • Good news. The right thing to do.

  • Ukraine's Zelenskyy says he's appointed Chrystia Freeland as an economic adviser

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  • Serving as a representative appointed by Canada is very different from serving as an advisor appointed by Ukraine. Can't serve two masters, especially when there are huge financial interests involved between them.

  • Ukraine's Zelenskyy says he's appointed Chrystia Freeland as an economic adviser

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  • Not too surprising. Canada's version of Victoria Nuland. The Conservative critique in the article that this is a conflict of interest lands, loathe as I am to agree with anything from that party. She's clearly not focused on representing the constituents of her riding and should have already stepped down from her role as an MP.

  • Carney says Canada 'welcomes the opportunity for freedom' after Maduro's capture

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  • And, now we have the official readout from the PM's meeting with Maria Machado today...

    January 4, 2026 Ottawa, Ontario

    Today, the Prime Minister, Mark Carney, spoke with Nobel Peace Prize laureate María Corina Machado.

    The Prime Minister and Ms. Machado condemned Nicolás Maduro’s brutally oppressive, criminal, and illegitimate regime, which repressed the Venezuelan people and persecuted dissenters. Prime Minister Carney thanked Ms. Machado for her resolute voice on behalf of the Venezuelan people. They underscored the importance of seizing this opportunity for freedom, democracy, peace, and prosperity in Venezuela.

    Prime Minister Carney affirmed Canada’s steadfast support for a peaceful, negotiated, and Venezuelan-led transition process that promotes stability and respects the democratic will of the Venezuelan people. He emphasised that such a process must be anchored in the Venezuelan people’s sovereign right to decide and build their own future in a peaceful and democratic society.

    Prime Minister Carney agreed to remain in contact with Ms. Machado and international partners.

  • Carney says Canada 'welcomes the opportunity for freedom' after Maduro's capture

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  • If anything, we'll be looking to get our mining companies in if we can. The statement is not registering opposition. It's a registration of some disagreement with the means while tacitly endorsing the ends. We won't take a strong position against it because we are already cowed. We know the game, and would prefer to comply up front. That still might not save us this time.

  • Mark Carney turns off geolocation on phone just in case

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  • By all means, feel free to do so.