Diplomacy, you’re doing it old school

34 comments on “Diplomacy, you’re doing it old school ”

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1. Macro 1

   13 April 2013 at 1:27 pm

   Frankly I don’t care if NZ never ever signs another “free trade” agreement again! They are nothing more than a mechanism for the export of jobs from this country. Globalisation is more about the globalisation of poverty and the further enrichment of the super wealthy. The sooner we dismantle this web of “deals” between those who have at the expense of everyone else – the better for the rest of the world population -and for the environment.
   • Herodotus 1.1

     13 April 2013 at 1:51 pm

     Link your comment with transfer pricing and structures that allow for profits to escape having local taxes apply. Just another drain on our balance of payments and indirectly selling our sovereignty and self determination. I wonder who will be the 1st Sovereign country to be sold just like an EPL football team?
     http://www.nbr.co.nz/article/apples-nz-unit-paid-tax-amounting-04-percent-its-half-billion-sales-2012-bd-137629
   • Tim 1.2

     13 April 2013 at 2:34 pm

     And the laughable part is that Wonder Boy thinks his little jaunts (alongside buzzniss leaders and others) are somehow ‘progressing things’ (going forward). It’s that kind of arrogance that makes him believe he’s smarter than those recently visited and on his agenda. Half (ekshly MOST) of Sth America’s got his number….. just India, Russia, Sth Efrika left to conquer eh John?
     As someone else has pointed out ….. after 4 years bordering on 5 – where’s the FTA deal John?
     John Key has NO cultural affinity with ANYTHING of value that isn’t based on a dollar. Bloody shame for him though that he hasn’t taken into account that those he seeks to do buzzzniss with usually see things differently. And, as another post on here points out – TRUST is an important cultural value.
     There is none, so when and IF anything comes to pass, rest assured it won’t be based on a benefit to what JK seeks to ‘represent’ – Nu Zull.
     Keep it coming tho’ John. I’m watching in entisspayshun
     • Tim 1.2.1

       13 April 2013 at 2:55 pm

       Well, now I think further: pus, pimple, bum, ugly springs to mind!
       Nu Zull eh?! John Key Eh?1
       Staying the course!
   • Murray Olsen 1.3

     13 April 2013 at 4:27 pm

     I agree, Macro. If paying for Key’s photo ops means we are not subject to Free Trade Deals, I think they come cheap.
     • Draco T Bastard 1.3.1

       13 April 2013 at 5:11 pm

       😆
   • Gosman 1.4

     15 April 2013 at 8:18 am

     One of the biggest contributors to reduction in global poverty though. I suspect you don’t care about reducing global poverty. At least people like Helen Clark are. Hence why she loves free trade deals.
2. Hooray! 2

   13 April 2013 at 3:24 pm

   Let’s not forget another reason for Key’s trip. It’s a free overseas holiday. I bet he has a much greater flexibility in his diary when he’s overseas. Plus he probably gets to fuck his secretary a bit more than usual.
   • dumrse 2.1

     13 April 2013 at 9:26 pm

     What an outstanding contribution.
     • karol 2.1.1

       13 April 2013 at 9:31 pm

       Well, Hooray!’s last sentence is not helpful at all.

       And seems to include a pretty dated and regressive idea of a (female) secretary.

       I see no reason to think that he has more spare time when overseas in his capacity as PM – probably less so.
       • Colonial Viper 2.1.1.1

         13 April 2013 at 11:24 pm

         And seems to include a pretty dated and regressive idea of a (female) secretary.

         It’s been done by other NZ Prime Ministers.
       • felix 2.1.1.2

         14 April 2013 at 5:20 am

         Who said anything about the gender of the secretary?
         • Hooray! 2.1.1.2.1

           14 April 2013 at 7:19 am

           karol did.
           • felix 2.1.1.2.1.1

             14 April 2013 at 9:55 am

             That’s what I thought.
         • The Al1en 2.1.1.2.2

           14 April 2013 at 7:20 am

           Anyway, wouldn’t be his secretary. More likely the female lurch from the sis 😉
   • Pete 2.2

     13 April 2013 at 11:07 pm

     I think the PM’s too busy fucking the rest of us to get up to those kinds of shenanigans.
3. tc 3

   13 April 2013 at 3:57 pm

   It’s not about diplomacy or advancing NZ in any way.

   It’s to keep him away from the clusterf*#k he’s fronting back here and reduce the opportunities for more ‘knucklehead’ moments as he’s proven he useless when questioned to any reasonable level reverts to bullying a la the cup of tea in 2011.

   He gets to be PM and do as many junkets as he can while the real workhorses of the sell off go about making it happen, like Joyce, findlayson, Blinglish and the boot crew like crusher, basher and royall get to punish the great unwashed into the bargain.

   He didn’t leave wall street to do anything other than as told by the hollowmen which amounts to keeping him and his media sycophants filing pretty photo opp’s of what a big man JK is.
4. ghostwhowalksnz 4

   13 April 2013 at 4:18 pm

   The ‘optics’ of his meetings are always run to over dramatise Keys actual schedule.

   The China visit is a perfect example.

   Key was one of a number a ( more important) world leaders at some sort of summit at Hainan Island

   I think the meeting with the Chinese president was merely a grip and grin.

   But Key adds in a few extra cities and meets other functionaries.

   Back here it appears he is on a major state visit.

   Washington is usually the same: he meets the Vice President , the Secretary of State and so on, but gets only a 5 min ‘bilateral’ with Obama.

   The media back here play it like hes the centre of attention in Washington for a few days
5. KJT 5

   13 April 2013 at 4:43 pm

   Why bother visiting New Zealand. We have already given away everything!
   • Draco T Bastard 5.1

     13 April 2013 at 5:13 pm

     +1
6. infused 6

   13 April 2013 at 5:42 pm

   Yeah, probably because of this

   https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EmzxRmfTaz0
7. karol 7

   13 April 2013 at 6:48 pm

   I wouldn’t underestimate Key. Throughout his PM-ship things have been going on that we are now only becoming aware of – eg his integration of the GCSB, and loads of small changes adding up to major shifts.

   I think when he’s doing his photo ops, there’s likely to be other things happening behind the scenes.

   This time, it may be an excuse to be out of the country when Kitteridge’s report was released. But, also, Key’s government is trying to balance the US-dominated TPPA, with the ASEAN-centred RCEP – maybe his team have sen a need to keep on China’s good side.

   And maybe Key has some commerce-centred deals going on behind the scnes.
   • dumrse 7.1

     13 April 2013 at 9:33 pm

     Conspiracy, the theory of last resort.
     • karol 7.1.1

       13 April 2013 at 9:39 pm

       So, does that mean you’ve run out of ideas that you’ve got to resort to raising the idea of conspiracy?

       My comment is about an evasive and two-faced way of going about things.
       • Colonial Viper 7.1.1.1

         13 April 2013 at 9:55 pm

         Please, can we just all be sensible like the three blind, deaf, dumb monkeys?
       • One Anonymous Knucklehead 7.1.1.2

         14 April 2013 at 8:58 am

         “…run out of other people’s lines to repeat mindlessly…”
         FIFY

         Dumbarse hasn’t authored a single original thought, so there is no evidence that they had “ideas” to run out of.
   • Wayne 7.2

     14 April 2013 at 8:35 am

     I suspect that Koral is correct.

     The Boao Forum at Hianan would no doubt have been focused on RCEP. China needs RCEP to catch up to TPP (in terms of timing). TPP is supposed to be completed this year. China which is not part of TPP would want RCEP to show it can carry the same authority in the Asia Pacific as the US. The fact that the ASEAN nations and Australia and New Zealand were the main nations at Boao is possibly the indicator. And unlike TPP negotiations, China is able to do this quietly.
8. BrucetheMoose 8

   13 April 2013 at 10:07 pm

   In a funny sort of way, I genuinely relish the fact that Key insists on continually whipping overseas on his little escapades. Hopefully on one of them, he will forget to come back. Wouldn’t that be nice.
9. Populuxe1 9

   14 April 2013 at 2:42 pm

   I don’t think world leaders have ever really made a big habit of coming here outside of ASEAN conferences, although Xi Jinping in 2010 was a big deal, but unless Karol is some specialist in international foreign relations, I think she’s talking nonsense. I know from my own experiences in the area of international cultural exchanges nothing ever gets done unless you travel for face time because you simply don’t exist – particularly if you are on the other side of the planet.
   • Populuxe1 9.1

     14 April 2013 at 3:24 pm

     I mean Michael – oops.
10. Rogue Trooper 10

    14 April 2013 at 5:13 pm

    an intersecting Vale of analysis,
    and Con-jecture http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Conjecture popping here and there.
11. johnm 11

    14 April 2013 at 6:44 pm

    The Yankey john. You’ll just get the Yank line on society, economics and foreign policy, the hapless locals don’t count at all! 🙁 So Why bother visiting? It’s a foregone conclusion you’ll get standard Yanker lines. refer Washington! 🙂
12. Skinny 12

    15 April 2013 at 9:56 am

    Frankly I think Key done more harm than good on this visit. One would think after 5 years as PM he would have learnt to be diplomatic, referring to his open backing of supporting South Korea in the event of any future conflict. The Chinese Leadership will know Labour have been their real foe but regardless John Key should have known better than to insult the Chinese in their own Country.  
13. Rogue Trooper 13

    15 April 2013 at 11:24 am

    after checking out the mark-downs at HNW yesterday (across that side of the tracks on a mission) I had a conversation with a lady-pensioner who hailed from Dartmoor; it seemed that her husband had been a principal, and very conversant with politics around the dining-table; anyway, it was a lovely day, lovely day, so we chatted about the weather and politics and the young people of today as you do; she felt Thatcher had been an important figure, yet, SHE COULD NOT STAND JOHN KEY. 🙂 lovely lady, we valued her experienced perspective.

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