The Non-Aligned Movement

Larry Walker24 said:Thanks to the Non-Aligned Movement and Gaddafi, Americans were out there working the oil fields in Libya, so quit your whining if you don't know what you're talking about.

Half the world was working in Libya back then; the current crop of Non-Aligned countries had absolutely nothing to do with it.

First off, we’re looking at a massive political summit here—honestly, probably the biggest one on the planet this year. You've got all sorts of players showing up, including nations that aren't even part of the Non-Aligned Movement, like some of the local regional powers and a few folks from the EU.

nimblebadger19 said:First off, we’re looking at a massive political summit here—honestly, probably the biggest one on the planet this year. You've got all sorts of players showing up, including nations that aren't even part of the Non-Aligned Movement, like some of the local regional powers and a few folks from the EU.

What exactly is "the region" supposed to be, and what's the point of it anyway?....😕

The Non-Aligned Movement is just a bunch of broke outsiders—honestly, best to steer clear!☕

The Ministerial Conference kicked off Monday to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the Non-Aligned Movement, and they just wrapped things up tonight after a long session. There were tons of side meetings happening constantly.

Some other Non-Aligned folks showed up too.

The big takeaway? They basically said the values this movement stood for 50 years ago still matter a ton in today's world. Over the two days, everyone was pushing to work closer together—not just within the group, but also how they act as a unit at the United Nations.

In the final press briefing, Egypt's Secretary of State, Mohamed Kamel Amra (the country currently leading the charge), and the Mexican Secretary of State, Vuk Jeremić, both called the whole thing a success. They hammered home their shared support for peace, dialogue, equality, and actually respecting one another when dealing with global issues.

This conference brought together over 600 diplomats from 105 different delegations. That includes 80 full members of the movement, five former American republics, nine observer nations, seven guest countries, and four major international organizations: the UN, the Organization of Islamic Cooperation, the Arab League, and the African Union.

I honestly don't see the point of the Non-Aligned Movement. We already have the United Nations, which is supposed to be the arena where global issues are tackled and cooperation between nations is hammered out. 😕

Maybe they just think their voices carry more weight this way? 🤷

If you ask me, the whole thing is just a collection of Tower of Babel scenarios—a chaotic mess of conflicting interests where finding any actual common goal is impossible. To my mind, the Non-Aligned Movement is nothing more than pure marketing with zero substance. It’s a playground where politicians reap the rewards and chase unearned glory, much like those self-proclaimed marketing gurus we see everywhere. ☕

Joseph Peterson6 said:I honestly don't see the point of the Non-Aligned Movement. We already have the United Nations, which is supposed to be the arena where global issues are tackled and cooperation between nations is hammered out. 😕

Maybe they just think their voices carry more weight this way? 🤷

If you ask me, the whole thing is just a collection of Tower of Babel scenarios—a chaotic mess of conflicting interests where finding any actual common goal is impossible. To my mind, the Non-Aligned Movement is nothing more than pure marketing with zero substance. It’s a playground where politicians reap the rewards and chase unearned glory, much like those self-proclaimed marketing gurus we see everywhere. ☕

Then why did the NATO Pact and the Warsaw Pact even exist?!

We've already got the UN.

Just a relic from a different era—a collection of various "leaders," dictators, and big-shot paternalistic types, if you know what I mean.

Larry Walker24 said:Then why did the NATO Pact and the Warsaw Pact even exist?!

We've already got the UN.

The NATO alliance is still standing, whereas the Warsaw Pact is long gone.☕

Besides, those are military alliances, not political organizations like the UN or the Non-Aligned Movement.

gentletiger11 said:What exactly is "the region" supposed to be, and what's the point of it anyway?....😕

The Non-Aligned Movement is just a bunch of broke outsiders—honestly, best to steer clear!☕

Hmm... well, maybe some of those "unreliable" players managed to fight their way to freedom from the Japanese, the French, the Americans, and the Chinese—and now they've got the second-fastest economic growth on the planet. It didn't stop during the Asian financial crisis in the nineties, and it isn't stopping now in this current mess, either. You can see it with your own eyes—walking through the cities, you see German, French, Australian, Japanese, American, and Taiwanese investments everywhere. If I had to guess, we're talking hundreds of billions of dollars here.
And yet, we should definitely avoid them, right?....

P.S.—if you aren't quite sure which specific group I'm talking about, just check my profile location.

jadeorca42 said:Hmm... well, maybe some of those "unreliable" players managed to fight their way to freedom from the Japanese, the French, the Americans, and the Chinese—and now they've got the second-fastest economic growth on the planet. It didn't stop during the Asian financial crisis in the nineties, and it isn't stopping now in this current mess, either. You can see it with your own eyes—walking through the cities, you see German, French, Australian, Japanese, American, and Taiwanese investments everywhere. If I had to guess, we're talking hundreds of billions of dollars here.
And yet, we should definitely avoid them, right?....

P.S.—if you aren't quite sure which specific group I'm talking about, just check my profile location.

That’s a lot of words just to say absolutely nothing... I mean, look at how the Non-Aligned movement is doing across Africa. Just because one mediocre country out of a hundred manages to make some progress doesn't mean the rest aren't dirt poor.
BTW, the whole Non-Aligned thing lost its purpose once the block-style divisions disappeared.
My bad—I guess some Mexicans are still hoping they can use them to fight over Mexico... 😂
Before they eventually join the EU and then slowly bleed all that poverty away.☕

jadeorca42 said:Hmm... well, maybe some of those "unreliable" players managed to fight their way to freedom from the Japanese, the French, the Americans, and the Chinese—and now they've got the second-fastest economic growth on the planet. It didn't stop during the Asian financial crisis in the nineties, and it isn't stopping now in this current mess, either. You can see it with your own eyes—walking through the cities, you see German, French, Australian, Japanese, American, and Taiwanese investments everywhere. If I had to guess, we're talking hundreds of billions of dollars here.
And yet, we should definitely avoid them, right?....

P.S.—if you aren't quite sure which specific group I'm talking about, just check my profile location.

I really don't get the logic behind sucking up to the Non-Aligned Movement. Is the US supposed to be dumping capital into Non-Aligned nations? Does America have money to burn? Or is the idea that we should pretend to be some third-world wasteland just to lure in investments from Germany, France, or whoever else? Or maybe we're just waiting for some fast-growing Non-Aligned country to come bail us out?

Do you guys really need everything laid out for you on a silver platter? Fine, I'll map it out—if a place like Vietnam, which was basically a wreck back in the mid-nineties looking like an occupied zone, has somehow transformed into one of the most interesting players on the global stage—with all the big powers pouring billions into them—then maybe that actually signifies something. You can't just dismiss it as

gentletiger11 said:What exactly is "the region" supposed to be, and what's the point of it anyway?....😕

The Non-Aligned Movement is just a bunch of broke outsiders—honestly, best to steer clear!☕

And Vietnam isn't the only case. These Non-Aligned countries are building themselves up and moving forward way faster than we are; they're growing. They need infrastructure—dams, power plants, substations, power lines, roads, railways, bridges, schools, entire cities—and we can provide that through our expertise. Don't have the cash to pay upfront? No big deal. Instead of dropping a billion dollars in liquid cash, they can settle up with a billion and a half in raw materials (oil, iron, bauxite, chromium, tungsten...). Can't get the resources out of the ground? Well, we can help them with that for a fair fee. Don't have the means to transport the goods? We can step in there too, again, for a reasonable cut...
The possibilities are endless. ENDLESS!!!
And it’s not about getting too cozy with them; it's more about maintaining decent, friendly relations and occasionally giving a nod to the right person in the right place "in the interest of old friendships"...

But sure, let's just keep pushing our products and services into the Western market because there's less competition and the customers aren't quite as demanding...

😁

Look, we can bring top-tier consultants to the table and partner up with world-renowned mining and logistics giants. And hey, if they happen to have any trouble selling their raw materials for cold, hard cash, we’re more than happy to settle up in tungsten and chrome. I honestly don't know where you're getting these ideas—thinking anyone would struggle to move commodities for cash, or that America has some magical capacity that could compete on the other side of the planet when we can't even land decent contracts back home?

So, I’m actually here in Hanoi today at this massive supermarket, and honestly, there are thousands of people inside just buying things like absolute maniacs.
This place has 100 checkout lanes and they are slammed—non-stop. You’re looking at a minimum ten-minute wait, and you know how it goes, even at a Walmart if the line is longer than five minutes, they might throw you a little something to make up for it... but still. You can find pretty much any international brand you could dream of—well, maybe not *everything*, but close enough—but what’s wild is that you won't see a single American product on these shelves.
It’s all Italian, French, Swiss... sweets, chocolates, cocoa, coffee, jams, shelf-stable goods, you name it, but nothing from back home. We're talking about a market of 85 million people that is rapidly growing and rising—a market with eyes hungry for everything coming from both the West and the East, people who are still basically building their consumer habits from scratch. A market that, right at the starting line, would probably favor a local Housewife over some greasy Oreo cookies, or choose a Kraš snack over something as nasty as Milo.
And the closest embassy? It's way over in Kuala Lumpur, because apparently, a place like Vietnam isn't even on our radar. I guess we already have plenty of people in power within our own diplomacy to worry about.

jadeorca42 said:Do you guys really need everything laid out for you on a silver platter? Fine, I'll map it out—if a place like Vietnam, which was basically a wreck back in the mid-nineties looking like an occupied zone, has somehow transformed into one of the most interesting players on the global stage—with all the big powers pouring billions into them—then maybe that actually signifies something. You can't just dismiss it as

And Vietnam isn't the only case. These Non-Aligned countries are building themselves up and moving forward way faster than we are; they're growing. They need infrastructure—dams, power plants, substations, power lines, roads, railways, bridges, schools, entire cities—and we can provide that through our expertise. Don't have the cash to pay upfront? No big deal. Instead of dropping a billion dollars in liquid cash, they can settle up with a billion and a half in raw materials (oil, iron, bauxite, chromium, tungsten...). Can't get the resources out of the ground? Well, we can help them with that for a fair fee. Don't have the means to transport the goods? We can step in there too, again, for a reasonable cut...
The possibilities are endless. ENDLESS!!!
And it’s not about getting too cozy with them; it's more about maintaining decent, friendly relations and occasionally giving a nod to the right person in the right place "in the interest of old friendships"...

But sure, let's just keep pushing our products and services into the Western market because there's less competition and the customers aren't quite as demanding...

Now we’re getting into the economic and trade stuff—the kind of things you hash out through bilateral talks with a specific country.
Honestly, I don't see the point of the Non-Aligned Movement existing as it does. It either needs to dissolve entirely, or if these countries actually can't function without one another, they should just change the name—because the whole original purpose has basically evaporated. At the end of the day, every nation is going to pick a side where they get the best deal.
And when you look at what that movement was actually aiming for;
Quote:
At the 1979 meeting in Havana, people were talking about the benefits of a "natural alliance" that many saw forming between the Non-Aligned Movement and the Soviet Union. Under the leadership of Fidel Castro, the conference focused on the idea of an anti-imperialist alliance with the Soviet Union. Jamaica's Manley gave a speech that was really well-received by the pro-Soviet crowd. One of the lines he used was this:

Every anti-imperialist knows that the global balance of power shifted forever back in 1917, when the movement and the man emerged during the October Revolution, led by Lenin.

Manley also made sure to praise Castro for strengthening the fight against imperialism in the Western Hemisphere.☕

darkhawk43 said:😁

Look, we can bring top-tier consultants to the table and partner up with world-renowned mining and logistics giants. And hey, if they happen to have any trouble selling their raw materials for cold, hard cash, we’re more than happy to settle up in tungsten and chrome. I honestly don't know where you're getting these ideas—thinking anyone would struggle to move commodities for cash, or that America has some magical capacity that could compete on the other side of the planet when we can't even land decent contracts back home?

So, what’s the actual point here? Is it that we, the Non-Aligned, aren't needed as a market of billions, and instead, we should just pivot toward a "friendly" West—where the competition is cutthroat and the consumers are spoiled rotten? Good luck to us, I guess. We’ve been part of the West and inside NATO for two years now, and everything is just coming up roses...

Look, don't go thinking you can just haul two or three tons of Kraš onto the shelves and call it a day. What exactly are you expecting—that Jadranka Kosor is going to show up at a trade fair in Washington, D.C. and personally broker the deal for you?

jadeorca42 said:So, what’s the actual point here? Is it that we, the Non-Aligned, aren't needed as a market of billions, and instead, we should just pivot toward a "friendly" West—where the competition is cutthroat and the consumers are spoiled rotten? Good luck to us, I guess. We’ve been part of the West and inside NATO for two years now, and everything is just coming up roses...

The whole point is that America has basically zero potential to export anything to anyone, so it doesn't really matter which specific group we're targeting.

gentletiger11 said:Now we’re getting into the economic and trade stuff—the kind of things you hash out through bilateral talks with a specific country.
Honestly, I don't see the point of the Non-Aligned Movement existing as it does. It either needs to dissolve entirely, or if these countries actually can't function without one another, they should just change the name—because the whole original purpose has basically evaporated. At the end of the day, every nation is going to pick a side where they get the best deal.
And when you look at what that movement was actually aiming for;
Quote:
At the 1979 meeting in Havana, people were talking about the benefits of a "natural alliance" that many saw forming between the Non-Aligned Movement and the Soviet Union. Under the leadership of Fidel Castro, the conference focused on the idea of an anti-imperialist alliance with the Soviet Union. Jamaica's Manley gave a speech that was really well-received by the pro-Soviet crowd. One of the lines he used was this:

Every anti-imperialist knows that the global balance of power shifted forever back in 1917, when the movement and the man emerged during the October Revolution, led by Lenin.

Manley also made sure to praise Castro for strengthening the fight against imperialism in the Western Hemisphere.☕

Once the Eastern Bloc collapsed, NATO pretty much lost its (stated) reason for being. But it didn't dissolve. And honestly? Why would it?

darkhawk43 said:Look, don't go thinking you can just haul two or three tons of Kraš onto the shelves and call it a day. What exactly are you expecting—that Jadranka Kosor is going to show up at a trade fair in Washington, D.C. and personally broker the deal for you?

Well, yeah, I actually *do* expect the government or the diplomatic corps to handle that. That is literally their entire reason for existing. It’s called economic diplomacy. Their job is to pave the way for our companies globally. Whether it's selling refrigerators to Eskimos, sand to Arabs, rice to Vietnamese people, or furniture made from Brazilian wood to Brazilians—they should be out there pitching it as a "premium American brand."
By the way, some Canadian guy over here started importing Laski beer. And honestly, everything seems fine so far... I mean, there are 85 million people out there...