Patong2021

The downfall of the German automobile industry started with its embrace of of cutting production costs through shortcuts and the embrace of cheaper parts with a built in obsolescence. German auto workers were trained for years and labour was respected. No more. Today's products reflect that embrace of short term profit , of greed over quality and pride of workmanship. That's "White Western Culture" . The British did not start out as pirates. The reality is that all countries with a ocean going capability were equally given to piracy. It was Great Britain which helped put an end to international piracy, and in particular with the Dutch, brought peace to the South China Sea. The "White" culture of the British is what ensured that some semblance of security was put into effect to protect shipping routes and the passage of people without constant attack. The accusations against the British as plagiarists and copyists (sic) is nonsense. The reality is that such behaviour was the norm throughout the developing world. We saw it with some of the great musical composers of all time where they often "borrowed" from students or lesser musicians. We have seen it in scientific R&D where scientists often borrowed from others. The fact is that the activities were all in their own cultural sphere. No one was copying or plagiarizing from the Arab world, or from Africa or from the Americas. The greatest barrier to R&D is the ease of Communication. Cultures that do not have a language basis that allows an ease in communicating and in disseminating complex concepts are at a disadvantage. The Chinese language is vast and inconsistent. The language relies on characters, which includes at least 50,000 characters, of which an estimated 10,000 are used in regular communication. Consider that the English and French alphabet has 26 letters, the German has 30, and the Russian alphabet 33 letters and it becomes obvious why some cultures have been able to share information faster and to advance quickly. Vietnam is an excellent example. It changed to a Roman alphabet in the early 1900's and that is what laid the foundation to its development. Instead of relying on cumbersome chinese characters to communicate with, the Vietnamese language could be communicated with a simplified and consistent easy to master series of 29 letters that preserved and respected Vietnamese tones and cultural meanings. You also ignore the fact that great scientific though requires a nurturing environment. The west offers its innovaters a place to think and live in freedom. China cannot offer its scientists this, nor will it. One need only look at the disappearing scientists of China during Covid to understand that point.

You selected a poor illustration. German automakers have fallen into the disgrace that once characterized the US automakers. BMW Reliability Rating: Reliability rating based on the cost, frequency, and severity of actual repairs. BMW Reliability Rating Breakdown The BMW Reliability Rating is 2.5 out of 5.0, which ranks it 30th out of 32 for all car brands. This rating is based on an average across 345 unique models. The China (and India) rely on theft of intellectual property. Western nations, especially universities are their accomplices. In their lust for foreign student fees, western universities have taken in people who have copied and stolen intellectual property. Canada and the USA have been particularly harmed by Chinese agents posing as students and workers.

The assumptions are invalid. Some are laughable. For example, "heavy focus on the British Empire." Seriously? Germans were once one of the largest ethnic groups in the USA. They now account for 12% of the US ethnic background. Italians are 6% . Neither has historically had much focus on the British Empire. Latinos make up 19% of the US population. Its a mix of multiple cultures . Spanish and many South Americans cannot be compared to cultures such as Hondurans or Mexican. A large portion of the population is "European" in its culture. And then you have the Asian cultures. The work and value ethics of Koreans and japanese can hardly be compared to those of some other Asians.

Gay people are unlikely to want to "mutilate" their genitals to make a fantasy come real. On the contrary, it is often "heterosexuals" who are proponents of fetish sex. Homosexual men are attract to other men and want to have sexual relations with MEN. Lesbians are attracted to other women and want to have sexual relations with WOMEN. Transgenders have their own preferences. Very few gay men want to be women. They are fond of the penis and want to keep theirs.

Nasrallah set the wheels in motion when he helped the responsible parties of the 1983 mass murder of US and French nationals in Beirut. Hezbollah was responsible for the planning and execution of the bombings, which resulted in the deaths of 307 people, including 241 U.S. military personnel and 58 French soldiers. Nasrallah had been been providing organizational cover and funding for terrorists. Ibrahim Aqil, the Hezbollah operations commander recently killed in an Israeli strike, had a $7 million bounty on his head for the 1983 Beirut bombings Fuad Shukr also implicated in the Beirut bombings had just overseen the mass murder of 12 Druze children in a missile strike when he was eliminated in in July. Both were close associates of Nasrallah and leaders of Hezbollah. And now Nasrallah joins them. Remember too that Hezbollah was created by the Iranian Republican Guards, the militant anti western Iranian military group which has had a direct role in the murder of 500,000 syrians and the creation of 14 million Syrian refugees. Nasrallah actively supported the slaughter of Assad opponents. Anyone complaining over his death, is a supporter of the Syrian genocide.

Collateral damage? The Hezbollah bunker was intentionally located there. The buildings were populated by Hezbollah workers and associates. The people living there were all affiliated and part of the terrorist organization. Everyone knew what the risks of living at a Hezbollah HQ was. They did not care.

No he was not. He was a shia muslim leader. Most of the population have no loyalty to Hezbollah, nor its Syrian and Iranian masters. For reference sake, the lebanese demographics are approximately; Christian -32%, 4% Druze, 32% Sunni, 31% Shia, 1% other. Hezbollah dominates because Iran has armed it and provides its guidance. It is loyal to Iran, not Lebanon.

Why recommend something that almost no one will qualify for? To be eligible to apply for an ABTC you must hold a valid passport from an APEC economy (or be a permanent resident of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (Hong Kong, China), engage in regular business travel throughout the APEC region and have no criminal conviction. Each economy has the discretion to impose additional eligibility criteria on their applicants. Most of the people on this forum are elderly retirees, or who do not have regular business travel in the region, or who do not live in one of the designated countries. Participating ABTC countries: Canada and the United States are transitional members and have additional requirements (e.g. Nexus membership). The other full ABTC members are: Australia, Brunei Darussalam, Chile, China, Hong Kong (China), Indonesia, Japan, Korea, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea, Peru, Philippines, Singapore, Chinese Taipei, Thailand, Vietnam and Russia.

It also destroys the natural flora of the gut. All drugs have side effects. They are chemical compounds that are introduced into an environment where they are not normally found. Therefore, they should only be used when there is a certainty of a need. And no DoxyPep is not a panacea. It still requires a follow up to ensure that there is not an infection. The downside of only taking the limited dose is the creation of an antibiotic resistant infection.

VP Harris is neither Jamaican nor Indian. She is not a citizen or a national of either nation. She is a US citizen. Also, she was born in the USA. The hateful racist sentiment seems lifted out of a white supremacists for Trump pamphlet.

The primary system does not elect the Democrat (or Republican) presidential candidate. The candidate is selected at the convention by delegates. The delegates selected VP Harris. Delegates had the option to nominate anyone or to withhold their endorsement. No delegates did that. VP Harris was already on the presidential ticket and had already been validated by the US electorate because she was in the elected position as VP.

Why did you vote electronically. Trump says such ballots are unacceptable and are part of the great election steal. Trump says only paper ballots that can be counted by hand are acceptable. Why did you vote via a format supported by Democrats?

A response characterized by its envy, bitterness and general rudeness. The former Senator and volunteer has not sold out to anyone. To sell out , she would have to have been paid by the other party and her detractors have nothing with which to substantiate their vile claim. She has principles, something the Trump collective does not understand. To them, they judge others using their own value system, a system characterized by greed and selfishness. Former Senator Kassebaum is not endorsing Biden, not Clinton, neither of whom is a candidate for President. On what basis is she a "rotten creature of the Washington swamp? The woman hasn't lived in DC in over 25 years. It is so revealing that when Trump cultists disagree with anyone, they never have anything factual, just baseless insults. The former Senator is recognized for her community service, and considered a treasure of her state.

And the expat community thanks you. Please continue.

how will their pockets benefit? Former Senator Kassebaum is 92 year old. She is financially well off and does not need any more wealth. On the contrary she has been giving it away. Her roots as a principled Republican are in her DNA. Her father was Alfie Landon the Republican Governor of Kansas from 1933 to 1937 and the 1936 Republican nominee for president. She is the widow of former Tennessee Republican senator, Reagan & Bush loyalist and diplomat Howard Baker. Her voting record was conservative on defense and fiscal issues, but progressive on social issues. She was also known for her bipartisan efforts. Now tell us again, why she is profiting and how she is profiting from staying true to her princples?

What if he loses? What if Melania leaves him ? What if he loses more cases? What if he is sentenced to a serious penalty post election? What if he has a health crisis since he is 78 1/3 years old?

I give it a few weeks until all positions are filled with more evil Iranian puppets.

Nasrallah was refusing to discuss a truce with Israel and refused to not link his position to that of Hamas. It looks like Israel cut the strings of Iran's puppets. If Lebanon was smart, it would use the opportunity to rid itself of Hezbollah, the state within the state, foreign presence controlled by Iran that has a military better equipped and funded than the Lebanese military. It is Hezbollah that will not allow Lebanon to negotiate a peace treaty with Israel. Syria still dreams of the day when it will absorb Lebanon.

You are correct. I confused this with the other trial. I checked the judgement and the calculation is derived from the valuations that had been used. If Trump's lawyers can recalculate the valuations and justify a lower mount, the amount will be reduced. However, so far the appeals court has not questioned the judgement, only the amount of the penalty and compensation to be paid.

ok. However, Hezbollah uses these tunnels to move its militray equipment and personnel about. They are legitimate military targets.

HUH? Context please. As per the SCOTUS case of Estelle v Gamble (1976), the 8th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution requires that states provide adequate care for people who are incarcerated. Prisoners and social activists have brought legal action to expand access to mental health and general health care, including hormonal and surgical interventions. Multiple courts have already interpreted the SCOTUS case to order prisoner access. At the very least, it requires medical experts/professionals to oversee the process and not leave it in the hands of unqualified prison administrators. In 2015, the state of California was forced to settle a case with prison inmate Quine on this issue. The courts ruled that California by way of the 8th Amendment had an obligation to pay for Quine's gender reassignment in 2017. Harris position was a response to the very expensive cases and judgements that California was facing. Her position was to establish a consistent policy that would respect the SCOTUS ruling and to reduce the number of legal filings and the tens of millions of dollars expended on legal fees and potential settlements. The "California Family Council" cites a cost of $4 million expended since 2017 for gender reassignment related medical care. (This includes psychiatric care, counselling and cosmetic procedures such as breast removal aka top surgery). For all those complaining, $4 million over 4 years works out to $1 million a year on medical care mandated by the court. This strikes me as a bargain compared to paying tens of millions of dollars on legal fees and compensatory settlements. The takeaway is that the Harris position will save taxpayers money over time.

Not unusual when there is a large jury award. The judgement is not being questioned, which is really what matters. The award may be reduced, but it will not be vacated, which means that Trump would still be found responsible for vile and illegal acts.

Norway's riches come courtesy of its status as western Europe's largest oil and gas producer. In so doing it over contributed to global warming, at a cost to countries who are vulnerable to climate change. In effect, Norway has reduced its poverty by ensuring that hundreds of millions of people in other regions will suffer poverty due to the impact of catastrophic climate conditions. It's an inconvenient truth some people don't wish to acknowledge,.

And your words bring to mind the dining experience of the gristle platter ala Sizzler.

Consider an Asset sale. You sell the physical assets and retain the company rights. This is what is done with the purchase of bankrupt or failing companies or companies with legal issues. (Not a reflection on you or your company). Typically, the purchaser wants the inventory or some other property like a company brand name or location leases without the legal issues that attach to the company. In your case, you wish to monetize whatever the asset value is, while retaining legal rights that would protect you. A website, a lease, a client list, a general company name are all assets. This is an option to discuss with both accountant and legal counsel.