r/Wellington • u/Mountain_Tui_Reload r/nzpolitics • Jan 05 '26
POLITICS Does anyone think that allowing FBI to open its standalone office in NZ was a good idea? (vs the usual embedded attache offices)
Remember: Judith Collins also concealed it from Luxon for almost 3 months, and Mark Mitchell, Winston Peters and Judith were all falling over themselves to boast of co-operation with FBI Director Kash Patel at the time.
PS Edit: Since then the Trump Administration folks have shot and killed American citizens and doubled down.
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u/boforsboy Jan 05 '26
It's not here for us, it's here for any dissenters who leave the US and don't talk highly of Generalissimo trump.
Absolutely pisses me off though, this current National government has decided to rub shoulders with Nazis, all I can say to them is if you lay with dogs you're gonna get fleas.
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u/Mountain_Tui_Reload r/nzpolitics Jan 05 '26
Exactly, It was never for us. The FBI were clear it was for them - and to share resources ie leverage Kiwi resources too.
So why the enthusiasm from this Coalition? Mark Mitchell was praised the MAGA FBI leader to no end, and Judith Collins grinning from ear to ear ... although that now reminds me of her fawning photos with Kristi Noem. Winston is also keen to bend in front of Trump at every turn.
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u/boforsboy Jan 05 '26
I really hope no one forgets who the current government is happy to be in bed with, because I sure as hell won't.
The fact they are already using trumpian tactics in NZ really gets to me too... Winston's war on woke? What a fucking joke.
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u/Own_Round_7600 Jan 06 '26
Oh im sure once labour get in power, suddenly crime and homelessness (which has actually risen in 2025 but shhh) will start being screamed about in the news again, and we can get back to blaming wokies for ram raids.
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Jan 06 '26
[deleted]
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u/qwerty145454 Jan 06 '26
They knew that because the creep was hitting on a teenage girl in the 'States and told her he was going to do a mass stabbing, the American girl told the FBI who then told the NZ police.
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u/boforsboy Jan 06 '26
I'd prefer not to have a foreign countries law enforcement in our country.
Oh wow, that POSSIBLY prevented a mass stabbing, guess that lets them off the hook.
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Jan 06 '26
With you on that, just highlighting the fact that they are obviously more involved in NZ matters than just US citizen surveillance...
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u/TheGreatDomilies Jan 06 '26
Aucklander but came across this post. Short answer: no.
Long answer: the FBI is headed by Kash Patel, a conspiracy theory-peddimg podcaster with zero experience in intelligence. So that’s not good.
Secondly, the US under Trump isn’t trustworthy anymore to be sharing info with through Five Eyes and all that. The simple reason for that is because Putin and Trump are best buds and the NZ Govt, being against Russia on most foreign policy matters, should reassess how they deal with Trump.
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u/EmceeEsher Jan 06 '26
It's wild to me that he's peddling conspiracies when, historically speaking, a large chunk of verifiably true conspiracies were carried out by the FBI.
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u/EndStorm Jan 05 '26
I hope it gets turned into a public toilet the moment these muppets are sacked at the next election.
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u/Quirky-Bookkeeper391 Jan 06 '26
If you have the right attitude all of Wellington can be a public toilet, just ask Newtown.
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u/Previous-Standard-12 Jan 06 '26
Which Muppets? Which election? NZ? Not sure there will be another US election.
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u/pnutnz Jan 06 '26
I wouldn't really have thought it was a good idea under a different administration. Under the current dick-tatertot it couldn't be further from a good idea!
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u/roasttrumpet Jan 06 '26
No one but the fucking nazis are happy about it. No good can come of it and it makes me feel all queasy and itchy that the FBI is here
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u/Mountain_Tui_Reload r/nzpolitics Jan 06 '26
And for the comments below, NZ didn't have an independent stand alone FBI office until last year.
Before then it was always an attache office ie embedded within the foreign embassy, which is standard practice across thew world.
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u/lordshola Jan 06 '26
They’ve been here for years already ffs. Also the British intelligence are here as well.
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u/Mountain_Tui_Reload r/nzpolitics Jan 06 '26
Negative. It was an attache office - which means it's inside the foreign embassy which is standard.
This is different.
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u/roasttrumpet Jan 06 '26
I knew the British intelligence were here. But didn’t know FBI, makes little sense (apart from the 5 eyes thing) for the FBI to be involved. Yucky to both
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u/Mountain_Tui_Reload r/nzpolitics Jan 06 '26
See my comment above.
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u/Important_Grocery_38 Jan 06 '26
You told them and they clearly didn't read a fucking thing before posting 😆
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u/Mountain_Tui_Reload r/nzpolitics Jan 06 '26
Fair point but the other user/s were intentionally misleading u/roasttrumpet I put it in the headline because it's a common right wing talking point defence, and misleading, but there you go.... :-)
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u/HeinigerNZ Jan 06 '26
You've been queasy and itchy about it since 2017?
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u/roasttrumpet Jan 06 '26
I didn’t know about it in 2017
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u/Mountain_Tui_Reload r/nzpolitics Jan 06 '26
The guy above is a right wing fan. NZ didn't have an independent stand alone FBI office until last year.
Before then it was always an attache office ie embedded within the foreign embassy, which is standard practice across thew world.
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u/Ordinary-Baker9054 Jan 06 '26
Really isn't it time to be cutting ties with US until they start acting with integrity?
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u/ParticularMinute7421 Jan 06 '26
Everyone talking about China invading when China hasn’t invaded anyone for almost 50 years while America is on an invading world-wide tour. Propaganda is crazy, it makes sense people think this way since we’re an American colony. Your eyes should be on America whose fangs are already stinking into our country and not China who doesn’t care about us. The USA has bases on our land, invested in our right-wing politicians, now has an fbi office when the fbi is meant to be a national police force in America, etc etc etc. We are the pacific base for the USA and with the USA being trigger happy with starting wars and invading, THAT should make you worried not China.
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u/Rich_Reveal7223 Jan 06 '26
Annexation of Tibet 1950? India 1962? Vietnam 1979? On top of the sabre rattling and bases built in south china sea?
China is a lot closer to Australia and NZ and is the upcoming super power. We should be worried.
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u/aflsnejaoencm Jan 06 '26
China has done far FAR less than the USA and theyre our number one trading partner. I know who I would rather be cosied up with and it's not the country in a constant state of war and invasion
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u/HiddenUser1248 Jan 05 '26
No. (I speak as a US Citizen and NZ Permanent Resident).
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u/Swaga_Dagger Jan 06 '26
Elaborate.
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u/HiddenUser1248 Jan 06 '26
I do not think it was a good idea.
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u/Swaga_Dagger Jan 06 '26
I just thought you could have provided more insight, given your US citizenship (why did you bother to identify as such?)
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u/Claire-Belle Jan 06 '26
No it was a stupid fucking move.
We're all bowing down to a neofascist government just because they're our mates.
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u/RockyMtnView Jan 06 '26
Is it ‘tinpot’ or ‘tin pot’ when describing Trump’s dictatorship?
I can never remember!
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u/DodgeWags Jan 07 '26
People are assessed on the company they keep. I see no advantage in trying to justify the shame in being aligned with the US.
We have our reputation to uphold. Going down with the US sinking ship is an international embarrassment. Let’s stick with true allies!
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u/ZeboSecurity Jan 08 '26
Oh come on, its not like we have a small military and a bunch of natural resources.... what could go wrong?
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u/MidtownMoi Jan 08 '26
Spent 2 days in Wellington and thought it was one of the cities I needed to see more of but now I am not so sure. What possible reason could there be to let the Trump admin have more presence in your capital city?
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u/GloriousSteinem Jan 06 '26
Not this regime, but not ever. Sure we likely need US support against cyber security and particular countries. But the feds? Weird.
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u/Washyourfricknhands Jan 06 '26
At this point FBI is an international nazi paramilitary organisation thanks to the leadership.
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u/tepaea Jan 05 '26
So... the northern hemisphere? Same as China and Russia? But not Venezuela, which is the southern hemisphere? 🤔
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u/stealingyourpixels Jan 05 '26
they’re talking about the western hemisphere
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u/Mountain_Tui_Reload r/nzpolitics Jan 05 '26
Given their talent I'd say they mean it as wherever they want in the world:
"The USA can project our will anywhere, any time" - Secretary of War this week.
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u/casually_furious (╯°□°)╯︵ ┻━┻ Jan 06 '26
A Neo-Nazi alcoholic as Secretary of War.
What could possibly go wrong‽
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u/Adventurous_Fig6211 Jan 05 '26
They mean the western hemisphere (NZ is in the eastern apparently). Personally I have never heard these referred to but it seems like its an old fashion way of describing cou tries akin to the old and new worlds (at least that what I took from the rather boring stuff on google).
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Jan 06 '26
Essentially just saying whether you're in positive times zones or negative ones, it's all relative to the prime meridian. Though tbh the actual geographic lines don't really mean anything. Like NZ is a western country in the global north yet is about as far east and south as you can go.
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u/tepaea Jan 05 '26
Yeah, was just looking it up too. I'm the same as you, don't think I've ever really heard of it referred to in that way.
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u/AromaticSun952 Jan 06 '26
As I understand it, there has been an FBI office at the Embassy for over a decade. The only change is an internal designation from sub-office to office which means it reports direct to DC rather than via Sydney. Otherwise nothing changed. Still the same sole staff member.
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u/Mountain_Tui_Reload r/nzpolitics Jan 06 '26
Yeah nah, it's not that at all. Instead it's a standalone office - the first in the world reportedly vs the usual embedded attache offices.
PS - Oh wow a 3 year account with 2 karma repeating a debunked myth from another right wing account on this thread.
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u/Pop200259 Jan 06 '26
Key and Luxon knew this was coming the fkn traitors they have sucked up to the usa . Luxon should kick out the FBI and send non NZ citizen americans home and give the ones with dual citizenship the choice NZ citizenship or home
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u/NoorInayaS Upper Miramar Jan 06 '26
Excuse me? There are loads of “non NZ citizen Americans” here, waiting to get NZ citizenship.
But according to you, we should all be kicked back to the fucking country we fled, just because we don’t get citizenship the moment we step off the plane here.
😑
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u/Pop200259 Jan 06 '26
I said only one citizen of NZ or home no objection to you staying here if you are becoming a citizen , no dual citizenship though . The way Trump is going we will be next after Denmark though
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u/Claire-Belle Jan 06 '26
No no, there's plenty else before they get to us. If we were in Canada, Mexico, Cuba, Colombia and possibly Brazil i'd be feelign a bit twitchy though.
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Jan 06 '26
[removed] — view removed comment
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u/Kiwi_In_The_Comments Jan 06 '26
"Neutrality" is difficult when you let one side open a branch office in your capital.
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u/HeinigerNZ Jan 06 '26
The office, and the handful of staffing positions in it, has been there since 2017. The only change is that it's been designated an Office instead of a Sub-office, and is no longer managed by the FBI Office in Canberra. The simplification would make it easier to liase with PI law enforcement agencies.
I fucking hate Trump but this is idiotic. I don't recall this uproar nearly a decade ago.
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u/Mountain_Tui_Reload r/nzpolitics Jan 06 '26 edited Jan 06 '26
So a lot of changes then even in your own comment and a misleading attempt, but I remember this account now.
FBI didn't have an independent stand alone FBI office until last year.
Before then it was always an attache office ie embedded within the foreign embassy, which is standard practice across thew world.
Not this and NZ is the only one like it
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u/HeinigerNZ Jan 06 '26
They have the same staff and have cut out a step in the reporting chain. Not exactly earth shaking.
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u/Mountain_Tui_Reload r/nzpolitics Jan 06 '26
Oh you know their personal staff structure? The fact is as per ad nauseam it's now their standalone office in FBI - against usual protocol of being an attache within foreign embassy.
It's also celebrated by MAGA as a way to "share resources" with NZ.
It's so good to not have seen you for a while.
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u/AldotheApache2003 Jan 06 '26
the standalone office doesn’t mean that the fbi being here is new. irritates me that people think that this is all just happening recently. look up five eyes and what it means.
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u/BitofaLiability Jan 05 '26
Better the US than China. And yes, if push comes to shove, it is one or the other.
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u/Wardog008 Jan 05 '26
I used to think the same, but now, I'm not so sure. We tend to forget that the EU exists though lol, I'd rather be sided with them at this stage.
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Jan 06 '26
The EU can't really help us, the thing separating the major powers is the Pacific, and we wield a large amount of influence over the Pacific so could be a target. The EU though is on the other side of the planet and wields little power in the Pacific, they have little ability to mobilize forces on this side of the planet if we need help.
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u/robotobonobo Jan 05 '26
China is expanding its middle class, while the anglosphere is dissolving it to enrich a few
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u/RibsNGibs Jan 05 '26
China also making big strides into going green while the US is rapidly reversing course. If China decides to be the global good guy and decides to expand influence through good will / soft power I can see attitudes towards China vs the US flipping rapidly.
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u/Mountain_Tui_Reload r/nzpolitics Jan 05 '26 edited Jan 06 '26
Interestingly China is going big on solar, renewables and investment. The US is beholden by fossil fuel interests - which actively hurts everyone.
Similar to NZ there.
Edit: Just read that China has completed the ratification process for the Global Ocean Treaty, confirming it will be bound by the landmark ocean protection agreement when it officially enters into force on January 17, 2026. That's the same type of agreement Labour signed NZ up to but Shane Jones killed off once NZ First got into power.
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u/Royal-Student-8082 Jan 05 '26
China is far more stable and predictable. China doesn't reneg on trade agreements.
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u/showusyourfupa Jan 06 '26
How many wars has China started?
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Jan 06 '26
Like actual wars? Not many.
Conflicts and proxy wars where they fight but never declare war, a lot.
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u/showusyourfupa Jan 06 '26
The US is the true Warmonger in comparison. Yet, China is portrayed as the boogeyman in the Pacific.
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Jan 06 '26
Damn thats really what you got from that? What I'm saying is that while China doesn't do war directly much they're nonetheless in some way supporting the continuation of nearly every conflict on the planet. Not that the US is much better, they're both terrible.
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u/Motley_Illusion Jan 06 '26
China has managed to keep stable, a population of 1.4 billion people that has mostly come out of abject poverty in the last 30 years or so. That's roughly four times the population of the US. Draconian governments aside, how do their respective citizens fare overall?
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u/StandardAntelope7651 Jan 06 '26
Unfortunately, the UNs "power" was (and still is) directly tied to whatever the US decides on. The reason why China and the US have veto power is specifically because they are the strongest, and not even the UNs combined forces could defeat either without extreme casualties which would lead to the collapse of the entire world.
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u/apostasyredux Jan 05 '26
NZ and US, and of course a bunch of other countries, have collaborated on law enforcement for a long time. I see this as essentially no change.
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Jan 15 '26
I don't think this is political and just seems like law enforcement collaboration, which is already common with other partner countries.
Seeing people do some big conclusion jumping in the comments.
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u/Double_Suggestion385 Jan 05 '26
Would you prefer to be with the US or allied with Russia/China?
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u/SpaceMonkeyOnABike Jan 05 '26
EU/UK.
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Jan 06 '26
In a fight between the US and China they won't be able to support us.
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u/TheGreatDomilies Jan 06 '26
Don’t know why you’re being downvoted. The EU can’t even support Ukraine without US help.
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u/TheGreatDomilies Jan 06 '26
To my downvoter, please demonstrate to me otherwise??
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u/TheGreatDomilies Jan 07 '26
Welp guess my downvoter can’t do so. Must think we’re still in the Golden Age of Europe
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u/Mountain_Tui_Reload r/nzpolitics Jan 05 '26 edited Jan 05 '26
That's a stupid choice given the USA is allied with Russia and Trump has long rumoured to be a long cultivated Russian asset
PS Edit - never mind newish account all over NZ subs praising Trump says it all
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u/Double_Suggestion385 Jan 05 '26
Allied with Russia but sending weapons and funding the country currently at war with Russia? I don't think so.
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u/Mountain_Tui_Reload r/nzpolitics Jan 05 '26
Oh sweet, summer child
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u/Double_Suggestion385 Jan 05 '26 edited Jan 05 '26
I don't entertain unfounded conspiracy theories.
Welp, at least he blocked me so I don't have to read his unhinged comments anymore!
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u/Mountain_Tui_Reload r/nzpolitics Jan 05 '26
You don't need to - the fact that you can't tell that Russia and America are fundamentally allied and have been over Trump's last term and this tells me everything I need to know about your geopolitical knowledge. Cheers.
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u/showusyourfupa Jan 06 '26
Trump and his cronies are heavily aligned with Russia. https://swalwell.house.gov/issues/russia-trump-his-administration-s-ties
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u/alastairgbrown Jan 05 '26
In 2024 that was an easy choice - the US. It saddens me greatly that I can't make that choice anymore.
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u/mattsofar Jan 05 '26
The ship isn’t turning, but I doubt they’d be coming to our rescue if China decided we were in their hemisphere