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ronz28
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Posts posted by ronz28
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^you're not gonna stop big oil, if such an entity exists beyond the fertile imaginations of a few, until YOU stop using it. No demand, no supply. Simples.
I understand your point and you were 100% correct up until 5 years ago. The game changed when India and China went into high gear. These are 2 countries that don't care how the oil is obtained, nor do they have any concern for concepts such as environmental damage or impact upon local communities. The USA's selfish lust for cheap petrol for its drivers while still a major motive behind oil demand, is now surpassed by India and China's need for oil to power their economic growth. It is India and China that are in the driver's seat now.
I wonder what you're trying to say here...?
India nor China didn't start wars to "free" the world from WMD (Weapons of Mass Destruction) when in fact it was all about (protecting their own interests in) oil in the Middle East.
Apart from that there's the fact that a high number of countries, with the US on top, possess the highest number of petrol swallowing cars per capita: 800-850 cars per 1000 people while the number of cars per capita in India and China is still extremely low.
It will be at least another 40-60 years before India and China will reach 50% of the -present- number of cars in the US.
And, why would anyone deny the people in Asia to possess the same "assets" as their fellow citizens in other parts of the world consider normal ?
Also, Thailand could learn something from the traffic pollution controls in Chinese cities where polluting Tuk-Tuks and motorbikes are forbidden; just bikes, electrical bikes, electrical scooters and cars. It would be a good step in Thailand too.
China is also leading in the manufacturing of electrical cars.
Many Japanese, European and US car builders could learn something from them.
Warren Buffett understood so and took a substantial share of around 10% in BYD* in 2008, the leading manufacturer in the world of batteries and battery technology in China, and a (electrical) car manufacturer also, including starting export to the US and Europe.
Buffett paid some $ 230 million at a share price of HK$ 8....now at ca. HK$ 52 making a profit of more than 650% on his investment, worth now $ 1,5 Billion.
* BYD started just 15 years ago, in February 1995 with a capital of less than $ 400,000; now a listed company with more than 200,000 employees.
Meaning:
there's more to oil and pollution and a rapidly changing environment and usage of oil; in one or two generations from now people will only buy vehicles, powered by engines, other than powered by petrol/oil/gas.
It's a matter of time, also for Samui, and let's hope there will NEVER be any pollution on it's shores and/or Gulf of Thailand.
LaoPo
Don't rewrite history here. Iraq was invaded for its invasion of Kuwait and then the job had to be finished later because of Sadam's continued threats against others including WMD (even though he apparently didn't have it at the time) and for harboring of terrorists. He ended up in a hole in the ground in Iraq and was later executed by his own people.
Payback for terrorists murdering thousands of innocent people and knocking down our buildings in New York and Washington D.C., etc takes time. The world will continue the war against terrorism until the Al Qaeda and the Taliban have been sufficiently punished for their crimes against humanity and terrorism has been neutralized.
Asia is far more polluted than the U.S. but these actions by BP to cut costs and corners without regard to safety, the lives of its own people, the millions of people who rely on the Gulf of Mexico and the environment are unconscionable. Thailand must not make the same mistakes the U.S. did regarding BP or it will surely happen in the Gulf of Siam too.
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I suppose this is an academic question on the Thai Visa forum as the Panasonic G series isn't sold in Asia yet. For this market only the VT, V, U, A and X series are currently available.
Also, the 42" G series draws 129W (not 99W as previously stated) while the 50" version draws 325W. The corresponding figures for the V series are 156W and 430W respectively.
The specifications for the G and V series are otherwise identical and both model use 0.4W (not 0.3W as previously stated) in stand-by mode.
The power consumption values you cite might be for the 2009 version or the Asian version of this model as the improved version available in the US in about June of this year are supposed to be as I cited from the articles mentioned and the Panasonic US website. Those differences are not material to me but some of the other points you mentioned are.
I am in the US and have looked at the Costco, Best Buy and Sears websites and don't find this model either but that is typical of those websites so I plan on making the rounds to the retail stores today and see what's up and how I will know its a 2010 version vs. a 2009 version as there are other improvements mentioned in the CNET article I cited too.
The CNET review article you cited is interesting to me too as it appears the fading black problem has been corrected per their update after one month of additional viewing. On other websites I have heard of a floating black problem that when early versions of that set were watched in total darkness but when even a small light was turned on in the room it would not be noticed. Nothing's perfect but I like to know what I am getting before spending a grand.
I appreciate the posts in this topic as I was leaning toward an LCD/LED purchase and now think the new energy efficient plasmas are the way to go in the 42 inch size that I am currently looking for.
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U.S. is on track for hyperinflation and probably won't see the deflation that Japan experienced such as the decline in the NiKkei from almost 39,000 to about 7,000.
The website that sponsors this clip has other interesting videos in the same vein. To me, the videos are thought provoking although a little over the top, but holding gold and silver in a diversified portfolio is still probably a good thing.
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The new 2010 Panasonic 42" plasmas (G25 series) are now down to 99 watts of power consumption when on and 0.3 watt when off/on standby. They also expect a screen life of 30+ years now far beyond normal obsolescence. Now that I have decided to wait on 3D improvements and price decline, I am looking for the best price on a Panasonic TC-P42G25 in USA.
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BP was written up 700+ times for violations at the same time Exxon had one violation yet BP was allowed to continue until their blowout polluted a good part of the Gulf of Mexico. I think exploration can be done safely but BP and US government oversight were the worst examples of safe operations and review. I think some good self disclosure by the oil companies and some investigative reporting needs to be done to prove up how safe the drilling around Thailand is and to make sure they aren't dumping their trash and sewage into the Gulf so that it washes up onto the beaches.
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I have never heard of suicide by coals before. Perhaps more details will come out to confirm that both parties were willing participants. Nevertheless, one lesson here might be to buy and install carbon monoxide detectors in case your spouse, roommate, etc. or neighbor decides to end it all and you might get taken along for the ride.
My sympathies and condolences to their family and friends who must live with this tragic event.
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I agree that body odor definitely varies by race. Thais generally don't stink and its offensive to others not to do something about body odor.
What to do? In addition to the antiperspirant and deodorant, take a clue from the Thais and also use a body powder like Shower to Shower with a time released fragrance in your favorite scent. Such absorbent body powders help to deal with the sweat on your body in areas where you don't apply your deodorant. Its a battle for most of us Farangs who sweat a lot in the heat but body powder will help many of us.
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Years ago a friend of mine came out of a bar to find a Thai guy on his motorcycle who did not want to get off. He had words with him and before he knew it he was getting beat up by a bunch of Thai guys. I don't know what the solution is but take it easy when evicting him/them from their squatter's rights. Maybe the business owner's crew would be of some help for a few bucks or could call the cops?
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U.S. Army also built the highways from the deep water port at Sattahip to the air bases up north so the ETO trucks could carry the bombs to the warplanes flying over Vietnam which definitely added to the speed of the Marky's message getting around.
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Sorry any ling did not read/comprehend the Bloomberg article I linked to indicating a 60% price drop in China properties is possible.
Further information on this condition are included in Tyler Durden's article and responding comments are found here
Any ling, I am only sharing information here so if it doesn't suit you then you may provide your own information to further the discussion. However, read my information provided carefully including the linked article to gain a better understanding of the message before jumping off the deep end. I generally do not repeat lengthy linked articles within a message.
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ronz <deleted>: 60% property price drop possible in China...
bloomberg fact: China’s banking regulator told lenders last month to conduct a new round of stress tests to gauge the impact of residential property prices falling as much as 60 percent
Ghost towns and malls in China, Ireland and elsewhere constructed to make developers rich without regard to the economics of the development will have to be cut in price by 50% or more to sell them or they can just bulldoze the new homes like they have done in the U.S. Lots of videos on the Ghost towns, neighborhoods and malls in the China, Ireland, etc. on Youtube. Any ling can see that. :jap:
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Here is one of the malls claiming to be the biggest in the world...twice as big as the Mall of the Americas.
But its almost empty...no customers.
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Deirdre interviews Marc Faber on his prediction of a China slowdown that is now being confirmed by China.
http://www.ritholtz.com/blog/2010/08/marc-faber-chinese-economy-stock-market/
Real estate crash needs to happen there to stop the empty cities from being built...
60% property price drop possible in China...how about the rest of Asia?
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Deirdre interviews Marc Faber on his prediction of a China slowdown that is now being confirmed by China.
http://www.ritholtz.com/blog/2010/08/marc-faber-chinese-economy-stock-market/
Real estate crash needs to happen there to stop the empty cities from being built...
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Forbes is reporting hundreds of Red Shirts demonstrated at Victory Monument on Sunday- Aug 1st in defiance of the Emergency rule. I hope they don't let this stuff spin out of control again.
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The Tea Party Republicans cry about their 35% tax rate possibly going to 45% but the fact of the matter is the real effective tax rate on the wealthy has been lowered to 16.6% via loop holes and lowering the tax rates. The latest IRS pub on the top 400 earners in the US indicates the effective rates for the elites have been cut about in half over the last 10 years and is now only 16.6%. The 35%+ tax rate myth is the biggest fraud the Republicans have ever perpetrated against the rest of the US.
http://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-soi/07intop400.pdf
Selected Items for Taxpayers with the Top 400 Adjusted Gross Income (AGI), 1992-2007 from PDF page 10
Average tax rate
1992..................... 26.38%
1993..................... 29.35%
1994..................... 28.57%
1995..................... 29.93%
1996..................... 27.81%
1997..................... 24.16%
1998..................... 22.02%
1999..................... 22.23%
2000..................... 22.29%
2001..................... 22.85%
2002..................... 22.88%
2003..................... 19.53%
2004..................... 18.16%
2005..................... 18.23%
2006..................... 17.17%
2007..................... 16.62%
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We have two American/Thai daughters both educated through university level in the USA and never lived in Thailand so our situation doesn't quite fit your question. One is 29 and now an electrical engineer working for an engineering consulting firm and the other is 35 and a Senior Clinical Research Associate reviewing new drug clinical trials for Pharma companies.
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Equity portion of net worth is based on mark to market... what a willing buyer and willing seller would do a net deal for at the time of the mark. We all know property values have taken a major hit in many places in the U.S. so that a condo in Nevada costing $379,000 three years ago can't be sold for $150,000 today. Any one holding a mortgage on such a place will loose maybe $229K for making the loan and be out the interest income until the property is sold because the buyer can/will stiff you. Even if you can get $150K back on the loan and deposit in a bank, your friendly banker might now only now pay you 1% interest on your deposit. So you now have $1500 a year in interest from the bank and you were planning on getting $26,000 per year net on your $379K loan multiply that by the number of loans you did and you get a flavor of what happened to some retirees and their current net worth vs 2004 because they now have less assets and are having to spend down some of those to live on since their interest income is inadequate.
Personal balance sheets have taken a major hit so 2004 Net Worth stats are worthless.
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Facts of life are... its harder to get/stay employed in your 60s. They can keep raising the retirement age but some people are worn out at 62 while others can work a lot longer. Depends on what type of work you do but your health usually gets worse as you age and I don't know how a construction worker would work longer than the current age. I wouldn't touch social security.
I think there are a lot of other opportunities for the U.S. government to cut expenses and certainly a greater opportunity in state and local governments. There are too many people in government at all levels paid over $125K-$250K and then get 70 to 100% of that salary as an annuity for retirement for life. They ought to be capped at say $70k in retirement. Social security is peanuts compared to the taxpayer ripoff in excessive pay and retirement for government managers and executives who are often political hacks that lack the competence needed for their jobs.
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Betty Liu is in Thailand
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Americans are broke and depressed—and also swilling $3 lattes and waiting in line for iPhones. Welcome to the schizophrenic economy
Of course the wealthy taxpayers and those holding the bag high yield bondholders will pay for the excess...right?
http://www.businessweek.com/magazine/content/10_32/b4190050473272.htm
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Good job Thai students. You proved you are the best in the world. Keep it up!
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According to the article linked below, the Samsung cooler Plasmas aren't available yet and will still consume same amount of electricity but spread it over a larger area. Sounds like same amount of heat but might extend life of picture quality???
http://hd.engadget.com/2010/05/05/samsungs-figured-out-how-to-keep-hdtvs-running-cooler/
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I have read that plasma screen picture quality will degrade after a few years and so have so far gone the LED route but need to replace more CRT style TVs. I wonder if the newer plasmas that run cooler also extend life of the picture quality?
Noisy Mosque In My Area
in General Topics
Posted
No, electricity and loudspeakers have not been around for thousands of years and a religion shouldn't be offensive to others who hold different beliefs. I recall a friend from Puerto Rico who complained about a Pentecostal church that would crank up their loudspeakers on their day of worship too. He is Catholic and found the Pentecostals to be offensive.
A call to prayer can be made naturally without loudspeakers as it has been done for hundreds of years and would be more honorable to all those who have practiced the religion before them. I think the addition of loudspeakers dishonors their own religious beliefs and predecessors.