Page 1314 of 2473 FirstFirst ... 3148141214126413041312131313141315131613241364141418142314 ... LastLast
Results 13,131 to 13,140 of 24728

Thread: Politics

  1. #13131
    Senior Member
    Join Date
    Jan 2014
    Posts
    799
    Quote Originally Posted by Yobbo NZ View Post
    Kevin 2020 has a nice ring to it don't you think?
    Someone will try overthrow Morrison in the next 6 months.
    Morrison was clever enough to change the rules so apart from the fact that he's got a party room without the problem elements of the past 10 years (and its not just Abbott) and the fact he's got a lot of credibility in the party from winning this election, the new rules are that you need 70% of the party room to get rid of the leader and that just isn't happening. I think we have a period where the government can focus on governing rather than stabbing each other in the back.

    And Kevin 2020, lol, thanks christ no. I think Albo will get the leadership and electorally he's much more popular than Bill, the Liberals won't be able to be as shit if Albo is leader and they aren't quite as extreme in their policies.

  2. #13132
    Ask me about my bottom br FaultyMario's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jan 2014
    Location
    ox.mx
    Posts
    8,233
    acket.

  3. #13133
    Senior Member
    Join Date
    Jan 2014
    Posts
    12,803
    Where can I find your commentary?

  4. #13134
    High Plains Luddite George's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jan 2014
    Posts
    5,101
    Inside the brackets.

  5. #13135
    Senior Member
    Join Date
    Jan 2014
    Posts
    12,803
    Oh!

  6. #13136
    High Plains Luddite George's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jan 2014
    Posts
    5,101





    (I was hoping I was right - wasn't 100% sure)

  7. #13137
    Ask me about my bottom br FaultyMario's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jan 2014
    Location
    ox.mx
    Posts
    8,233
    You're right George.

    In fact I was hoping you'd chime in because, well, you're old enough to remember the anti-japanese attitudes described in the article.
    acket.

  8. #13138
    Senior Member
    Join Date
    Jan 2014
    Posts
    12,803
    I'm kinda old enough... I immigrated to LA around 1984, but I was a 6 grader back then...

    Anyway, back then Japanese was buying up LA. Nowadays, it's Chinese buying up LA.

    Given Japan's size, US kicking its butt is an inevitability whether it's WWII or trade war.

    China OTHO, we have a mixed record. Who won the Korean war or Vietnam war?

    China for sure isn't playing fair though. Obvious example would be Google and Facebook cannot go inside China, but their tech counterparts could venture out globally. Their state run capitalism can set the game up however they want to their advantage. In all honesty, in order to deal with a dictator like Xi, we probably need a dick head like Trump. Let's see who can get crazier playing this game of chicken.

    Of course worst case scenario is that we both collide in a head-on collision and suffer a mutual death. What does Trump have to lose? His term is near the end, might get impeached, he's got nothing else better to do. Whereas Xi, the king of China for a lifetime... has nothing to worry about other than crazy Trump ruining his kingdom.

    I get the feeling that Xi will blink first.

  9. #13139
    High Plains Luddite George's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jan 2014
    Posts
    5,101
    Quote Originally Posted by FaultyMario View Post
    you're old enough to remember the anti-japanese attitudes described in the article.
    People of my parents' generation who were children during WWII (and certainly older people too) often frowned upon Japanese cars and Japanese electronics. But I don't think it was entirely because they wouldn't forgive "the Japs" for WWII. I think it may have been simpler than that - if we buy American-made goods, we'll keep American manufacturing jobs and have profitable American companies.

    Quote Originally Posted by the article Mario linked in post #13132
    When Reagan took office in January 1981, the net domestic saving rate stood at 7.8% of national income, and the current account was basically balanced. Within two and a half years, courtesy of Reagan’s wildly popular tax cuts, the domestic saving rate had plunged to 3.7%, and the current account and the merchandise trade balances swung into perpetual deficit. In this important respect, America’s so-called trade problem was very much of its own making.

    Yet the Reagan administration was in denial. There was little or no appreciation of the link between saving and trade imbalances. Instead, the blame was pinned on Japan, which accounted for 42% of US goods trade deficits in the first half of the 1980s. Japan bashing then took on a life of its own with a wide range of grievances over unfair and illegal trade practices.
    I bolded some text in that quote.

    Despite our parents' and grandparents' misgivings about the Japanese, when my friends and I were teens in the '80s, we liked Japanese electronics and cars and what we knew about their culture.

    I worked for a manufacturing company during and after college (late 1980s and into the '90s) and there we learned about Deming and JIT Manufacturing as the company tried to stay current with the latest trends in efficiency.

    This movie about Japanese manufacturing and culture was pretty popular in its day: Gung Ho (1986)

    Looking back, there many have been as many or more folks trying to learn from the Japanese in the '80s as there were people boycotting Sony and saying there are too many Toyotas in this town.

    I remember "tariff bikes". In around '82 and '83 I was very interested in both motorcycles and cars as I neared age 16 and looked forward to getting my drivers license. I subscribed to Motorcyclist magazine back then and remember the tariff put on Japanese bikes larger than 750cc to protect Harley Davidson's market and by driving up prices for the Honda Magna and Shadow and Gold Wing and similar models from Kawasaki, Suzuki, and Yamaha. Of course those manufacturers had 700cc sport bikes and cruisers for sale in the USA soon afterwards, so I'm not sure what long-term effects that tariff had.

    I'm better with nostalgia than forecasting, but I suspect this Chinese tariff situation is just going to piss everyone off until it's over. And I can't help thinking it's either a smoke screen to hide other goings-on from the American people or Trump and his cronies don't have a clue what they're doing and are just shilling for votes from the hell yeah, 'Murica kicks ass! crowd in the next election.


    My old car keeps breaking down
    My new car ain't from Japan
    There's already too many Toyotas
    In this town...



  10. #13140
    Senior Member
    Join Date
    Jan 2014
    Posts
    12,803
    I think one thing that pisses me off about China is that at least Japan learned from the west and improve upon it. So far, what are the west or rest of the globe learning from China?

    Their entire culture is a fake! Pretending to be capitalistic free market but everything is state controlled! Unless there’s a regime change, China will continue to be a fake nation. Everyone wants to be a part of China to make money off of its huge market, but nobody really wants to stay there. All the rich businessmen/politicians all have exit strategies on how to move their families abroad eventually...

    Yeah, soon the Chinese will be able to knock off Teslas. Will they ever make a better EV or other electronic thingy or planes or what? Or build them more reliability? Made in Japan used to suck but that completely changed now. Will made in China ever sound different in the future? Yes, I don’t want a US/Canadian made Tesla or iPhone, I want one made in China please!!!

    My gut is telling me no.

    Most Chinese companies are shell companies in it to make some quick money. With state sponsored money, companies like Faraday Future can appear very impressive. However should you fall out of favor, they can come crashing down hard.
    Last edited by Crazed_Insanity; May 29th, 2019 at 05:47 PM.

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •