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Author Topic: How to survive the Global Chaos of 2014  (Read 22857 times)

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Offline Slumba

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Re: How to survive the Global Chaos of 2015
« Reply #75 on: December 30, 2014, 03:58:47 AM »
The US manufacturing
is about $2 trillion per year exceeding that of Germany, Korea, Italy, India, Brazil
and Russia combined.

What are all these things you manufacture? When I was in the US I had a hard time buying "made in the USA", everything was made in China or Mexico.

And why do Americans not on the whole buy their own cars?

Consumer goods - not much made in USA aside of course from food like cookies, biscuits, sausages etc.

DaVinci medical robots - costing $1 million apiece or more.  They bring in parts from around the world and assemble in California. 2013 sales were $2.2 billion.

Agilent - lots of biotech and measurement equipment (used to be the oscilloscopes and heart rate monitors, etc. division of HP). 

Lucent, Cisco - billions per year of networking equipment.

Caterpillar, John Deere, and makers of mining equipment such as Bucyrus. 

3M - adhesives and a lot more

Dow Chemical and duPont Chemical - anything and everything

GE makes MRI , CAT, PET scanning machines.

just a short list.

About cars- you don't indicate if you mean "leasing of cars" or just that a lot of people buy on low-interest installment programs.  Part of the rationale for leasing is to avoid depreciation - you just give the car back at the end of the lease.

And part is that if you run a business, you can deduct immediately, lease payments as an expense, whereas if you buy a car you have to keep all kinds of paperwork and records and worry if the taxman still won't catch you out.
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Online andrewfi

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Re: How to survive the Global Chaos of 2014
« Reply #76 on: December 30, 2014, 04:01:57 AM »


Furthermore the USA national debt is an illusion and at worse a misnomer in the era of Monetary Sovereignty, Modern Monetary Theory and Modern Electronic Money Systems.


How can you claim to be any kind of business man when you lack the understanding of economics and money to see that the twaddle you consistently write on this topic is fundamentally incorrect?

I can understand your fact lite rhetoric going down well with the chicken wings and cheap suds crowd at the sports bars you tell us you like to pass your lonely, unproductive hours. Sadly though, your errant maunderings probably garner nothing but derision from those with whom you aspire some kind of peer standing and financial benefit from their table crumbs.
...everything ends always well; if it’s still bad, then it’s not the end!

Offline Slumba

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Re: How to survive the Global Chaos of 2014
« Reply #77 on: December 30, 2014, 04:05:24 AM »


Furthermore the USA national debt is an illusion and at worse a misnomer in the era of Monetary Sovereignty, Modern Monetary Theory and Modern Electronic Money Systems.


How can you claim to be any kind of business man when you lack the understanding of economics and money to see that the twaddle you consistently write on this topic is fundamentally incorrect?


How many times did Argentina default on their debt?  How many times USSR or Russia (since say 1917)? 

The USA repudiated their gold-debt when Nixon closed the gold window; even before that, they had demonetized silver from the coinage.

Who is the realist and who is uninformed, here?
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Online andrewfi

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Re: How to survive the Global Chaos of 2014
« Reply #78 on: December 30, 2014, 04:06:34 AM »
Slumba, so, what you are telling us is that some US owned brands buy in goods from around the world and screw them together in the US, or stick stickers on products designed and made in China.

Don't worry about your confusion. Even the US government is considering counting sales of US branded foreign manufactures as part of US manufacturing and GDP. Your cognitive lack is shared by the brightest and best of the US leadership.

With regard to Cufflinks' errant maunderings about debt fantasy, ask him to explain his ideas to you. You will probably find them easy to understand and thus easy to cleave to whilst leaving both of you lacking in the knowledge you claim to possess.
...everything ends always well; if it’s still bad, then it’s not the end!

Offline Slumba

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Re: How to survive the Global Chaos of 2014
« Reply #79 on: December 30, 2014, 04:13:03 AM »
Slumba, so, what you are telling us is that some US owned brands buy in goods from around the world and screw them together in the US, or stick stickers on products designed and made in China.

Don't worry about your confusion. Even the US government is considering counting sales of US branded foreign manufactures as part of US manufacturing and GDP. Your cognitive lack is shared by the brightest and best of the US leadership.

Yes, AndrewFi, that must be exactly what is going on when DaVinci has their highly trained techs assemble an intricate, several thousand pieces device together that is going to be used to cut open people and sew them up again.

Yes, that must be exactly what is going on when Cisco has their engineering teams design special software to drive commodity and not-so-commodity chips to basically run the global Internet.  Something so good that Chinese maker Huawei stole all the Cisco intellectual property they could get their hands on.

What will happen when your timid hamster-brain realizes that China has in turn, farmed out a lot of manufacturing to lower cost countries such as Thailand or Vietnam, and thus, China may be doing the same thing that you say the USA is?  :ROFL:

The accidental comedian strikes again  tiphat
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Offline Texan77

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3) There has been no "threat" to invade Ukraine. The US invented that and fed it to a complicit media.

Offline Manny

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Re: How to survive the Global Chaos of 2015
« Reply #81 on: December 30, 2014, 09:43:14 AM »
About cars- you don't indicate if you mean "leasing of cars" or just that a lot of people buy on low-interest installment programs.  Part of the rationale for leasing is to avoid depreciation - you just give the car back at the end of the lease.

And part is that if you run a business, you can deduct immediately, lease payments as an expense, whereas if you buy a car you have to keep all kinds of paperwork and records and worry if the taxman still won't catch you out.

Well, even leased cars are bought by the leasing company. No, what I was wondering was as the US makes a lot of cars, why the thirst for German and especially Japanese stuff which seem to dominate the roads there? And why cannot American manufacturers address what local consumers don't like? 

I don't expect there is foreign competition so much in the pick up market, as that market is pretty unique to the US, but on this top 20 list for example, I see only five US cars there (not counting anything that may be screwed together there). In a nation that is known as a car maker, one would expect to see more.
Read a trip report from North Korea >>here<< - Read a trip report from South Korea, China and Hong Kong >>here<<

Look what the American media makes some people believe:
Putin often threatens to strike US with nuclear weapons.

Offline WestCoast

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Re: How to survive the Global Chaos of 2015
« Reply #82 on: December 30, 2014, 10:16:29 AM »
About cars- you don't indicate if you mean "leasing of cars" or just that a lot of people buy on low-interest installment programs.  Part of the rationale for leasing is to avoid depreciation - you just give the car back at the end of the lease.

And part is that if you run a business, you can deduct immediately, lease payments as an expense, whereas if you buy a car you have to keep all kinds of paperwork and records and worry if the taxman still won't catch you out.

Well, even leased cars are bought by the leasing company. No, what I was wondering was as the US makes a lot of cars, why the thirst for German and especially Japanese stuff which seem to dominate the roads there? And why cannot American manufacturers address what local consumers don't like? 

I don't expect there is foreign competition so much in the pick up market, as that market is pretty unique to the US, but on this top 20 list for example, I see only five US cars there (not counting anything that may be screwed together there). In a nation that is known as a car maker, one would expect to see more.

Same thing in the UK market. Best selling cars in the UK market are ironically American. The list only has 2 British cars and the rest are European and Japanese. What happened to the British car making industry?

http://www.autoexpress.co.uk/best-cars/85843/best-selling-cars-2014
andrewfi says ''Proximity is almost no guarantee of authority" and "in many cases, distance gives a better picture with less emotional and subjective input."

That means I'm a subject matter expert on all things Russia, Ukraine and UK.

Offline Texan77

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Re: How to survive the Global Chaos of 2014
« Reply #83 on: December 30, 2014, 10:27:24 AM »
Toyota and Honda both have America car divisons and assembel cars in the US. Also the used a number of American made auto part in these cars. So it is more than screwed together here. The car industry has become so robotic in nature that it really does not used that much labor any more. Also many US cars also use Japanese car parts. I do not think there are very many cars made in just one counrty any more at lease no here.
3) There has been no "threat" to invade Ukraine. The US invented that and fed it to a complicit media.

Offline Manny

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Re: How to survive the Global Chaos of 2015
« Reply #84 on: December 30, 2014, 11:23:39 AM »
About cars- you don't indicate if you mean "leasing of cars" or just that a lot of people buy on low-interest installment programs.  Part of the rationale for leasing is to avoid depreciation - you just give the car back at the end of the lease.

And part is that if you run a business, you can deduct immediately, lease payments as an expense, whereas if you buy a car you have to keep all kinds of paperwork and records and worry if the taxman still won't catch you out.

Well, even leased cars are bought by the leasing company. No, what I was wondering was as the US makes a lot of cars, why the thirst for German and especially Japanese stuff which seem to dominate the roads there? And why cannot American manufacturers address what local consumers don't like? 

I don't expect there is foreign competition so much in the pick up market, as that market is pretty unique to the US, but on this top 20 list for example, I see only five US cars there (not counting anything that may be screwed together there). In a nation that is known as a car maker, one would expect to see more.

Same thing in the UK market. Best selling cars in the UK market are ironically American. The list only has 2 British cars and the rest are European and Japanese. What happened to the British car making industry?

http://www.autoexpress.co.uk/best-cars/85843/best-selling-cars-2014

I think Ford is more of an international brand now rather than an American one in the sense most people understand it. Most Brits think Ford is a British brand. Normal American cars don't really sell here. Very seldom you see a Mustang or a Corvette for example. Or American pick ups. They don't sell here as interior build quality is perceived to be poor and engineering basic. Although we still have an American car (now a 2nd car) I got new in 05 and it has never broke down.
Read a trip report from North Korea >>here<< - Read a trip report from South Korea, China and Hong Kong >>here<<

Look what the American media makes some people believe:
Putin often threatens to strike US with nuclear weapons.

Offline WestCoast

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Re: How to survive the Global Chaos of 2015
« Reply #85 on: December 30, 2014, 12:01:03 PM »
About cars- you don't indicate if you mean "leasing of cars" or just that a lot of people buy on low-interest installment programs.  Part of the rationale for leasing is to avoid depreciation - you just give the car back at the end of the lease.

And part is that if you run a business, you can deduct immediately, lease payments as an expense, whereas if you buy a car you have to keep all kinds of paperwork and records and worry if the taxman still won't catch you out.

Well, even leased cars are bought by the leasing company. No, what I was wondering was as the US makes a lot of cars, why the thirst for German and especially Japanese stuff which seem to dominate the roads there? And why cannot American manufacturers address what local consumers don't like? 

I don't expect there is foreign competition so much in the pick up market, as that market is pretty unique to the US, but on this top 20 list for example, I see only five US cars there (not counting anything that may be screwed together there). In a nation that is known as a car maker, one would expect to see more.

Same thing in the UK market. Best selling cars in the UK market are ironically American. The list only has 2 British cars and the rest are European and Japanese. What happened to the British car making industry?

http://www.autoexpress.co.uk/best-cars/85843/best-selling-cars-2014

I think Ford is more of an international brand now rather than an American one in the sense most people understand it. Most Brits think Ford is a British brand. Normal American cars don't really sell here. Very seldom you see a Mustang or a Corvette for example. Or American pick ups. They don't sell here as interior build quality is perceived to be poor and engineering basic. Although we still have an American car (now a 2nd car) I got new in 05 and it has never broke down.

You're probably right Ford is seen all around the world of course so is a company like Toyota. It's all over Europe. I've seen Toyotas and other Japanese cars in Europe and all over Asia. You'll find that Hondas and Toyotas built in the US are using more locally sources materials than ever before.

As Texan77 says there probably aren't any popular cars that are designed and built in a single country.
andrewfi says ''Proximity is almost no guarantee of authority" and "in many cases, distance gives a better picture with less emotional and subjective input."

That means I'm a subject matter expert on all things Russia, Ukraine and UK.

Offline NS1

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Re: How to survive the Global Chaos of 2014
« Reply #86 on: December 30, 2014, 01:17:52 PM »
Manny for starters you should have listed, bet selling vehicles, that tells a different story.
As said above, Toyota and Honda both build there best selling cars in North America.
Ford truck far outsells anything else.
As for Mustangs outside of NA, they are/were an import, so very expensive to buy.
Mustangs will be now sold globally, be curious to see how they do in the future.
Not sure on Camaros.
There is nothing permanent except change.

Offline cufflinks

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Re: How to survive the Global Chaos of 2014
« Reply #87 on: December 30, 2014, 04:04:59 PM »


Furthermore the USA national debt is an illusion and at worse a misnomer in the era of Monetary Sovereignty, Modern Monetary Theory and Modern Electronic Money Systems.


How can you claim to be any kind of business man when you lack the understanding of economics and money to see that the twaddle you consistently write on this topic is fundamentally incorrect?

I can understand your fact lite rhetoric going down well with the chicken wings and cheap suds crowd at the sports bars you tell us you like to pass your lonely, unproductive hours. Sadly though, your errant maunderings probably garner nothing but derision from those with whom you aspire some kind of peer standing and financial benefit from their table crumbs.

You pompous ignorant arse - do some reading and try to educate yourself a tiny bit before shiteing in my topics - you have become such a fossil in the field of business and economics that you are now a rigid guardian of the great lies and myths...

http://mythfighter.com/ 

Twitter: @rodgermitchell; Search #monetarysovereignty
Facebook: Rodger Malcolm Mitchell

UKMC is one of the USA centers for Modern Monetary Theory and I post this blog link for the benefit of others here as I know if it did not eminate from the London School of Economics our blastedly brilliant Brit blokes will not read it as being some Colonial idea not worthy of them - sort of like the economic centers of NYC, Houston and Silicon Valley - go figure...  Just does not figure in with our Brit bloke's narrative that the BRICS are predominant in the 21st century and the USA is dead and dying...

http://mythfighter.com/2010/05/12/the-meteorology-of-economics-speech-at-umkc/

Offline cufflinks

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Re: How to survive the Global Chaos of 2015
« Reply #88 on: December 30, 2014, 04:15:05 PM »
About cars- you don't indicate if you mean "leasing of cars" or just that a lot of people buy on low-interest installment programs.  Part of the rationale for leasing is to avoid depreciation - you just give the car back at the end of the lease.

And part is that if you run a business, you can deduct immediately, lease payments as an expense, whereas if you buy a car you have to keep all kinds of paperwork and records and worry if the taxman still won't catch you out.

Well, even leased cars are bought by the leasing company. No, what I was wondering was as the US makes a lot of cars, why the thirst for German and especially Japanese stuff which seem to dominate the roads there? And why cannot American manufacturers address what local consumers don't like? 

I don't expect there is foreign competition so much in the pick up market, as that market is pretty unique to the US, but on this top 20 list for example, I see only five US cars there (not counting anything that may be screwed together there). In a nation that is known as a car maker, one would expect to see more.

Errata  - Er ah um  Toyota (12 USA Plants) VW, Mercedes and BMW operate some of their most robotically automated and scientifically advanced manufacturing facilities here in the USA and are in fact now USA manufacturers - as I have stated more than once before the unlimited supply of industrial park land and 400 years of proven energy reserves as well as a long history of political stability (NorAm/CanAm) and no wars on our shores since the Civil War has made the USA the top expansion destination for EU, Swiss, and Asian manufacturers...  We do see the odd Land Rover here however iirc they are now predominately manufactured in India - not highly regarded as a center of quality.

Almost forgot GM derives more than 50% of it's total global profits from its plants in mainland China - people who own the Chevy volt rave about its mileage especially the Plug in variant.

One of the reasons Ford did not need a 2008 bailout is they saw the Japanese writing on the wall and was the first USA major to globalize like Germany, Japan and now Korea.  GM has woken up and smelled the coffee in booming China and i suspect that now that Dodge Chrysler are owned by FIAT they will be the new entry level price point dragged kicking and screaming into the Global markets by FIAT...

Offline cufflinks

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Re: How to survive the Global Chaos of 2014
« Reply #89 on: December 30, 2014, 04:25:43 PM »
Nomad Capitalists' prognostics for 2015:

http://nomadcapitalist.com/2014/12/29/strong-dollar-cheap-oil-tax-loss-season-trifecta/?inf_contact_key=446f56b7883805f6b1a9fae28d797cb490d74b9e3f0214d312b3f2188622a3db

This is what investors have to deal with: strong dollar, collapsing oil prices, and an apparent bottom in gold.

Mining companies are the most hated, disgusted, and pessimistic sector currently. The mining businesses are laying in trenches together as corpses. No one even cares to look if there are any survivors or signs of life. This author does.

Coupled with the last few days of tax loss season and $1,200 gold, many mining companies have artificially collapsed. It does not take a genius too short a hated sector in the month of December expecting large holdings being sold off in bearish sector for the tax loss season approaching.
This alone gives investors a good entry into the best of the best in the mining sector.

Investors taking advantage of the sell-off gives an ample opportunity that does not come often.

Further adding to life in the mining sector is that investors must remember, mining companies are paid for their production in US dollars. ...




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Manny a debate indicates going back and forth, is this a forum or a blog?
« Reply #90 on: December 30, 2014, 04:44:15 PM »
What are all these things you manufacture? When I was in the US I had a hard time buying "made in the USA", everything was made in China or Mexico.

And why do Americans not on the whole buy their own cars?

Westy, Manny you never answered any of my questions you just posed
more questions yourself. A conversation/debate needs back and forth not just
platitudes and endless questions from you.

For your convenience

You seriously think Obama or some other US magician manipulated the price of oil
downward? or the US invaded Russia?


Brussels? They are talking about expanding and adding Turkey and others to the
EU. How many countries can Germany and the UK prop up without breaking?


Lastly, my original point was that China (which you didn't even slightly address) isn't
going to toss their largest customer under the bus for Russia a customer a bit over
10% of it's size. They couldn't, even if they wanted to.

FSUW are not for entry level daters. FSUW don't do vague FSUW like a man of action so be a man of action  If you find a promising girl, get your butt on a plane. There are a hundred ways to be successful and a thousand ways to f#ck it up
Kiss the girl, don't ask her first.
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Offline Manny

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Re: How to survive the Global Chaos of 2015
« Reply #91 on: December 30, 2014, 05:57:37 PM »
Just for you, Bill.

You seriously think Obama or some other US magician manipulated the price of oil
downward?

What you folks are doing has affected it. America is now the world’s largest oil producer. It does not export crude oil apparently, but now imports much less than it did. That creates a lot of spare supply in the world. Which forces the price down. A low oil price probably doesn't benefit US Inc, but does put the squeeze on Russia, hence it is gleefully accepted and US producers are thrown under the bus. US dreams of world domination come before domestic issues as we know. 

Although, Venezuela says its the US's fault, as do others.

or the US invaded Russia?

I didn't say that, I said "fighting with" (English is a tricky language till you get the hang of it.) The US is effectively at war with Russia as we know. Here is a handy overview in case you haven't been reading the last nine months here. Or as Westy will rubbish that source, Ron Paul will also encapsulate it for you.

While I agree that the USA has a multitude of serious problems and they need to be
dealt with right away and rushing all over the globe to get involved in every conflict
certainly doesn't help.

Something we agree on.
 
Does the USA have serious problems? Sure we do
Are they insurmountable? No they aren't

Like us, you have nobody to vote for as they all belong to the same club that caused it.

Brussels? They are talking about expanding and adding Turkey and others to the
EU. How many countries can Germany and the UK prop up without breaking?

Why the UK will end up either out or drastically renegotiated. Germany has trouble ahead, German taxpayers are fed up of paying Europe's bills and now Merkel is cosying up to Uncle Sam at the expense of German industry, and with no benefit, they are howling loud. It may break her reign.

You need to grasp the EU. Those who run it are not voted in. It runs like a machine on its own now. Like NATO, expansion at any cost is the aim. However, some stuff needs to be voted by member countries. This is how we know that sanctions will not be renewed against Russia this coming year, and Ukraine and Turkey are unlikely to join the EU in our lifetimes. The EU isn't a 'United States' like America claims to be, it is a collection of countries with radically different cultures and agendas that do not sing from the same sheet unless it benefits all.

Lastly, my original point was that China (which you didn't even slightly address) isn't
going to toss their largest customer under the bus for Russia a customer a bit over
10% of it's size. They couldn't, even if they wanted to.

China has already stated it 'stands with Russia' and is busily eschewing the dollar along with Russia and other countries. I doubt they want to see the US bankrupt, but some wing clipping is in order. Remember, the Chinese play the long game. The west doesn't. They think generations ahead and the west doesn't. The west thinks only till the next election.
Read a trip report from North Korea >>here<< - Read a trip report from South Korea, China and Hong Kong >>here<<

Look what the American media makes some people believe:
Putin often threatens to strike US with nuclear weapons.

Offline WestCoast

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Re: How to survive the Global Chaos of 2015
« Reply #92 on: December 31, 2014, 08:29:06 AM »
Just for you, Bill.

You seriously think Obama or some other US magician manipulated the price of oil
downward?

What you folks are doing has affected it. America is now the world’s largest oil producer. It does not export crude oil apparently, but now imports much less than it did. That creates a lot of spare supply in the world. Which forces the price down. A low oil price probably doesn't benefit US Inc,
[bolding above mine]

Of course low oil prices benefits the average US consumer and US businesses. Everywhere in the US with the exception of NYC the car is king. Lower oil prices means Americans have more money in the pockets. Lower oil prices means everything transported by trucks cost less, means Americans have more money in their pockets. Businesses save money because their costs are lower because their goods cost less because fuel costs are lower. 'US Inc' benefits greatly due to lower oil prices.


but does put the squeeze on Russia, hence it is gleefully accepted and US producers are thrown under the bus. US dreams of world domination come before domestic issues as we know. 

Although, Venezuela says its the US's fault, as do others.


Manny are you seriously saying the US has deliberately implemented some international strategy to lower the global oil price when in reality there's a strong demand for oil? Most conservatives in the US think Obama and Kerry are fools. Certainly that's the opinion of Putin et al. Now you're saying in reality Obama, Kerry and others in the US government are master strategists, far smarter than Putin?

Obama and Kerry would have to have the cooperation of Saudi Arabia and probably other oil producing nations. How could Obama and Kerry possibly convince the leaders of these countries to implement a plan that would cost them tens of billions of dollars, maybe hundreds of billions of dollars a year in lost oil revenue?

Manny let's hear how Obama and Kerry could possibly implement a global plan that might bankrupt oil producing countries and will certainly cause bankruptcies in the American oil industry? Any sources for this conspiracy theory other than the rants of pissed out socialists?
andrewfi says ''Proximity is almost no guarantee of authority" and "in many cases, distance gives a better picture with less emotional and subjective input."

That means I'm a subject matter expert on all things Russia, Ukraine and UK.

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Re: How to survive the Global Chaos of 2015
« Reply #93 on: December 31, 2014, 08:53:53 AM »
Just for you, Bill.

You seriously think Obama or some other US magician manipulated the price of oil
downward?

What you folks are doing has affected it. America is now the world’s largest oil producer. It does not export crude oil apparently, but now imports much less than it did. That creates a lot of spare supply in the world. Which forces the price down. A low oil price probably doesn't benefit US Inc, but does put the squeeze on Russia, hence it is gleefully accepted and US producers are thrown under the bus. US dreams of world domination come before domestic issues as we know. 

Although, Venezuela says its the US's fault, as do others.

or the US invaded Russia?

I didn't say that, I said "fighting with" (English is a tricky language till you get the hang of it.) The US is effectively at war with Russia as we know. Here is a handy overview in case you haven't been reading the last nine months here. Or as Westy will rubbish that source, Ron Paul will also encapsulate it for you.




Since then, you aggressively invaded the Muslim world, and now Russia,

English is a tricky language but you did say invaded Russia. If that's not what you meant
that's fine but questioning my knowledge of the English language was a bit silly wasn't it?

USA unlike small islands in the Atlantic, loves a low oil price and I will tell you why.
People in Duluth Minnesota don't live a stone throw from the ocean but they really
love bananas in their cereal in the morning. This might be breaking news but bananas
aren't grown locally in Duluth. So how are those poor *snip*s going to get bananas
which they love in their cereal?

Duluth is accessible to oceangoing vessels from the Atlantic Ocean 2,300 miles (3,700 km) away via the Great Lakes Waterway and the Saint Lawrence Seaway but then you really
don't find bananas from many places in the Atlantic Ocean. So they have to be imported
from places like Panama and then shipped to the Los Angeles California then put on a
truck and driven 2077 miles just so that a barber in Duluth can have bananas in his cereal.

The average American adult drives about 18000 miles per year.

Let's do a little math,
18000 miles divided by 20 mpg = 900 gallons of gas for every adult American.
900 times $2.00 per gallon that gas has  gone down is $1,800 times lets say
there are 100 million adults in the USA.

$1800 times 100,000,000 is 180 BILLION DOLLARS in average Americans
collective pockets, which USA INC loves because they can spend it on stuff that USA INC
sells.

I got a little bit long winded so lets recap

1. USA INC loves low fuel costs and it drives the infrastructure of our economy which
means you were completely wrong about that.
2. Despite your claims to the opposite and vague insinuation about my English
comprehension you did say that the US invaded Russia, which I think you didn't
actually mean.
3. Living in a big ass country is different than living on a small island. That's why
we do stuff differently

FSUW are not for entry level daters. FSUW don't do vague FSUW like a man of action so be a man of action  If you find a promising girl, get your butt on a plane. There are a hundred ways to be successful and a thousand ways to f#ck it up
Kiss the girl, don't ask her first.
Get an apartment not a hotel. DON'T recycle girls

Offline NS1

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Re: How to survive the Global Chaos of 2014
« Reply #94 on: December 31, 2014, 09:19:34 AM »
Funny Bill you mention the size difference, Last night here in chat DS asked me if I was close to Bamford.
Never heard of it, So asking whats it close to, he said its in Ontario, well me being on the east coast, I told him not that
far, 16-20 hour car drive, if you don't stop for anything but fuel. New Brunswick is about the size of the UK,
One of our smaller provinces. If your in for a trip, it takes about 6 days of driving to get from Atlantic to Pacific coast.
Keeping in mind all good highway driving. Except for a few major cities, cars are a necessity in our lives.

They just added a bus that goes by my house now, 4 whole times a day :chuckle:
There is nothing permanent except change.

Offline cufflinks

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Re: How to survive the Global Chaos of 2014
« Reply #95 on: January 02, 2015, 03:24:18 PM »
Interesting Sovereign Investor Kick Off email for 2015:

Russians, UK and the rest of the World...

Finding the Right Citizenship
By Ted Baumann, Offshore and Asset Protection Editor

On November 7, 1917, Vladimir Illych Lenin ousted the Provisional Government of Alexander Kerensky. Russian aristocrats and capitalists, fearing for their wealth and safety, scrambled to find offshore havens. Many ended up in Paris, Geneva, and other western European capitals, typically with whatever wealth they could carry in hastily-packed suitcases.

Funny how times haven’t changed. Russians with money are once again fleeing westward 96 years later. These days, however, they’ve taken the lessons of 1917 to heart, and are making their offshore plans well before the doo-doo hits the fan in Mother Russia.

Their favorite destination? Unlike 1917’s émigrés, today’s well-heeled Russians aren’t satisfied with remaining on the same continental landmass as Russia itself. They’ve gone the extra mile, as it were, aiming for the island kingdom of Great Britain, where the number of Russians who were granted investor visas this year has soared by 69%.

Could they have gotten a better deal? You better believe it …

A Bit Steep for a Rainy Island

To get a U.K. investor visa, our Russian would have to invest £2,000,000 ($3.1 million) or more in U.K. government bonds, share capital or loan capital in active and trading U.K. registered companies. The visa is good for a little over three years, but he or she can apply to settle permanently in the U.K. after two years if he or she invests £10 million ($15.5m) — or three years for £5 million ($7.7m). Of course, there are various processing and other fees the applicant has to pay for him and his dependents.

That doesn’t include the import duties for the odd Mercedes Maybach or Aston Martin in their garage (even if the car originally came from the U.K.), and a due diligence process so thorough they’d think they’re visiting a proctologist.

That makes swapping status from a citizen of republican Russia to an hereditary subject of the House of Windsor-Saxe-Coburg-Gotha — i.e., Queen Elizabeth the Second — one of the world’s most expensive offshore residence transactions.

And as much as I admire Great Britain and its constituent England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, the prospect of dropping many millions to enjoy flat beer and overcooked roast beef would probably keep me looking.

Other Islands

Our Russian could have opted for one of several gorgeous islands in the Caribbean for a tiny fraction of the cost of a U.K. investor visa, and gotten immediate citizenship to boot. Dominica would cost about $150,000; St. Kitts and Nevis or Grenada a little over $300,000; and Antigua and Barbuda $200,000. None of them would require that you actually live there, and only lovely little Dominica would ask for an interview.

What’s more, all of them would give our applicant full visa-free access to the Schengen area of the European Union, plus the U.K. itself.

Closer to home, the Mediterranean island nation of Malta would give our Russian permanent residence if his net worth is at least €265,000 ($320,000); or, he could have a net worth of just €17,500 ($21,000) and buy property worth €275,000 ($331,000), or simply rent property for a minimum of €9,600 ($11,500) per annum. Or he or she could simply buy citizenship there for €650,000 ($782,000) — about a quarter the price he’d pay in the U.K.

Perhaps the best deal of all would be to obtain permanent residence in Uruguay. All our Russian friend would need is an address in Uruguay (owned or rented) and proof of enough income to sustain his or her lifestyle (fine French champagnes and beluga caviar optional). On top of that, he’d get a practically tax-free existence, banking privacy and freedom (including deposits in any currency), and one of the most liberty-loving governments on the planet.

Doing the Homework

When revolution, ruin, or other peril actually breaks out, it’s generally too late to “make a plan,” as they say in South Africa, where I'm spending the holiday season this year. You need to think ahead and have your escape route already in place.

The Russians moving to the U.K. at great personal expense have no doubt done what I recommend in my Plan B Club — researched the pros and cons of various offshore residence options and found the one that best meets their needs. Given the weather in Russia, I can respect their decision to opt for gloomy England rather than the sunny Caribbean. If it were me, I’d head for the beaches of Dominica or Antigua, or the nightlife of Montevideo, Uruguay.

With the U.S. becoming more “iffy” by the day, isn’t it time you started on your own Plan B?

Kind regards,

Ted Baumann
Offshore and Asset Protection Editor
P.S. If our Russian had read The Passport Book, he could’ve saved himself that $3 million he had to spend at the last minute to get himself out of dodge. Don’t make his mistake — reading this book will tell you everything you need to know about getting dual citizenship in one of 82 different countries

https://orders.sovereignsociety.com/PB_PLANB//index.htm?pageNumber=2

FULL DISCLOSURE: I receive one billion fantasy points for each book ordered but can't figure out how to use them???

So stuck with RUA's AWEB ads as the booby prize.

Offline cufflinks

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Re: How to survive the Global Chaos of 2014
« Reply #96 on: January 02, 2015, 03:40:36 PM »
Germane to the above price of oil discussion:

http://mythfighter.com/2010/04/06/more-thoughts-on-inflation/

Federal deficit spending doesn’t cause inflation; oil does!

An alternative to popular faith

Ask a debt hawk why he hates federal deficits and he will give you four main reasons:

1. Federal debt must be paid back by taxpayers. (But, because the federal government has the unlimited power to create the money to pay its bills, there is no need to ask taxpayers to do it.)

2. Federal debt adds to the government’s interest paying burden. (Again, interest is no burden to a entity having the unlimited ability to create money.)

3. Federal debt uses up lending funds that otherwise would go to private needs. (But, federal spending adds money to the economy, making more, not less, funds available for private lending.)

4. By increasing the money supply, federal deficits reduce the value of money, thereby causing inflation. Readers of this blog have seen the graph (below) which shows no relationship between federal deficits — even large federal deficits — and inflation. Note how the peaks and valleys of deficit growth do not match the peaks and valleys of inflation growth:


 

 

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