32 minutes ago, Patong2021 said:

 

KFC, McDonalds typically source their ingredients locally.  They use local labour. The retail outlets in Thailand are franchises. For example, Minor corp which owns Sizzler, Wine Connection, Dairy Queen  and others  is the  jv licensee for Burger King.  Aside from the license fees paid back to the master license holder, much of the profit stays with the local  operators.

 

The real driver of the US economy is services. A boycott of US financial services, especially banks would  destroy Wall Street and reduce US influence. No more JP Morgan, Bank of America etc., and  the USA would think the sky is falling.

 

However, the reality is very different. Everyone talks a good game, but no one really does anything. It's like the sanctions on Russia, Everyone was  ignoring the intent of sanctions. The USA was still importing Russian minderals, the EU oil and gas through ghost  transfers, China and India readily devouring the Russian oil, and thereby financing a war.

 

It's nice that Canadians say they will boycott, but the reality is that the aircraft are still flying from Canada to Florida filled with holiday goers. The gays are still planning to go to NYC for Pride, the  US agricultural products are still flowing unimpeded into Canada, and 800,000+ Canadians are still living and working in the USA.

 

 

I'm not buying your "what's the point, it's so interconnected, and its all gonna fizzle out shortly anyway" propagandistic rhetoric. It's undeniable that traumatized and alienated from the government consumers are spending less. The worldwide Tesla sales numbers speak for themselves, and other retailers are reporting a drop in sales as well. Your comments about Canadian consumers still buying American products and travelling to the US flies in the face of numerous news articles reporting that they are deeply upset and aggressively avoiding American products. According to my research, 82% of McDonald Corp's profits come from franchisee licensing fees, with the balance coming from rental income, and company owned outlets.

 

 

On 3/18/2025 at 5:34 PM, jas007 said:

I think you're missing the fact that not much is produced in the USA these days that the rest of the world wants.   Aren't many of its agricultural products already banned in other countries? 

 

Anyway, the more important point is that America is a rich country with lots of consumers who like to buy stuff.  perhaps that's the more important factor? If the rest of the world wants to do business in America, that may be the more important factor. 

I can't remember the last thing I ever bought that was made in the USA. Maybe a Fender guitar I bought about 25 years ago. Everything else I've bought was made in China, or elsewhere in SEA, or perhaps India and Bangladesh. When I'm in Australia everything comes from China, or was made in Australia, sometime NZ. I think in my whole life the only things I ever owned that were made in USA were Fender and Gibson guitars. Even my Levi jeans were made in some other country but not USA.

9 minutes ago, grain said:

I can't remember the last thing I ever bought that was made in the USA. Maybe a Fender guitar I bought about 25 years ago. Everything else I've bought was made in China, or elsewhere in SEA, or perhaps India and Bangladesh. When I'm in Australia everything comes from China, or was made in Australia, sometime NZ. I think in my whole life the only things I ever owned that were made in USA were Fender and Gibson guitars. Even my Levi jeans were made in some other country but not USA.

The points you and @Patong2021 are making about globalization of the supply chain and labor inputs are well taken, but the profits from the sale of the final product accrue to the US corporation.

6 minutes ago, grain said:

I can't remember the last thing I ever bought that was made in the USA. Maybe a Fender guitar I bought about 25 years ago. Everything else I've bought was made in China, or elsewhere in SEA, or perhaps India and Bangladesh. When I'm in Australia everything comes from China, or was made in Australia, sometime NZ. I think in my whole life the only things I ever owned that were made in USA were Fender and Gibson guitars. Even my Levi jeans were made in some other country but not USA.

 One thing I forgot, for sure, is that the USA sells lots of war material.  Missiles, bombers, jets, munitions.  The rest of the world buys that junk all the time, although the world would probably be a better place if no one bought any of that stuff.

 

Made in the USA? Johnny Walker scotch.  Whiskey.  Some cars, perhaps. Some audio equipment. Actually, I had two cousins who own a factory that ships products all over the world.  And they do that from New York State, of all places.  It's a family owned business, so they don't have shareholders to answer to.  When they make money, they expand the business rather than paying taxes on the profits.  Anyway, it is possible to successfully manufacture products in the USA. For political reasons, that hasn't happened ate large scale in quite a while. 

13 minutes ago, Gecko123 said:

but the profits from the sale of the final product accrue to the US corporation.

Every cog in the supply chain wouldn't be in business if they weren't making a profit.  The total profits from the sale are split many ways not just accrued to the seller in the final step.   The materials, labor and transportation costs are all marked up by the provider(s) to become their portion of the total profit.

On 3/18/2025 at 6:39 PM, worgeordie said:

Last time I have a McDonalds ......healthier too ,win win.

 

regards worgeordie

But seriously,

I used to have a Double Cheeseburger set (chips & coke inc.) at least once or twice a month, but don't anymore; reason being that in most places (exception is the McDonalds on the Chonburi highway COMING BACK FROM PATTAYA TO BANGKOK) the taste is no longer (to me) delicious, and too much salt in the ingredients.

I personally think this is a wonderful development.  This will rapidly accelerate the movement away from globalism and back towards national resiliency and sovereigntism. Everyone should concentrate on buying and manufacturing local.  This is a trend that is long overdue, and will make the re-establishment of tariffs that much easier. If everyone is voluntarily not buying American, then nobody will have cause to complain when tariffs result in the eventuality that they can no longer sell their own products to the American market. And as those overseas companies reduce scale due to the loss of the American market, they will have less ability to negotiate for raw materials, making it easier for startup American manufacturers to compete. This is a win-win, and will push manufacturing back to American shores even faster.

 

So please, join the trend to stop buying American and selling to America. Embrace sovereigntism. Let's all work together to end the scourge of free trade and globalism. The more people that climb on board with this, the better.

9 hours ago, TedG said:

Are they tossing people in jail for mean Tweets like in Europe? 

 

We know that's exactly what trump wants to do with people who disagree with him, including Judges. Which countries in Europe are "tossing people in jail for mean Tweets" - credible links please.

32 minutes ago, uncletiger said:

I personally think this is a wonderful development.  This will rapidly accelerate the movement away from globalism and back towards national resiliency and sovereigntism. Everyone should concentrate on buying and manufacturing local.  This is a trend that is long overdue, and will make the re-establishment of tariffs that much easier. If everyone is voluntarily not buying American, then nobody will have cause to complain when tariffs result in the eventuality that they can no longer sell their own products to the American market. And as those overseas companies reduce scale due to the loss of the American market, they will have less ability to negotiate for raw materials, making it easier for startup American manufacturers to compete. This is a win-win, and will push manufacturing back to American shores even faster.

 

So please, join the trend to stop buying American and selling to America. Embrace sovereigntism. Let's all work together to end the scourge of free trade and globalism. The more people that climb on board with this, the better.

So the US can do without Canadian oil and electricity? I'd like to see that.

 

The only thing America is good at is the manufacture of weapons of war. I can't think of any other field where the US can compete on a level playing field.

 

Take transport. China has 48,000 km of high speed rail. America has just 80 km. That's a demonstration of how dilapidated US infrastructure has become. Americans are paying a high price for personalized transport, in terms of environmental degradation and inefficiency.

 

America is a mature market. China and India have far more potential.

 

 

1 hour ago, Lacessit said:

So the US can do without Canadian oil and electricity? I'd like to see that.

 

Absolutely they can. It may have escaped you that Germany has just found alternative energy supplies for its 90% Russian energy. Was done in a year.

 

1 hour ago, Lacessit said:

he only thing America is good at is the manufacture of weapons of war.

 

Not so. 

 

Simply put, the United States remains a manufacturing powerhouse. In 2020 it was the world’s fourth‐largest steel producer and in 2021 was the second-largest automaker and largest aerospace exporter. Accounting for nearly 16 percent of global manufacturing output in 2021—second only to China, which has four times the population of the United States—the US had a greater share than Japan, Germany, and South Korea combined. 

 

https://www.cato.org/blog/united-states-remains-manufacturing-powerhouse

 

Maglite torches are the best in the wrold, imho.

2 hours ago, Cameroni said:

Absolutely they can. It may have escaped you that Germany has just found alternative energy supplies for its 90% Russian energy. Was done in a year.

 

Wow quite amazing  where did they conjure up the energy from ?

turning the nuclear reactors back on ?  importing natural gas from "somewhere"    solar panels ?

 

Still bemused that they have remained silent about the Nordstream gas pipeline.

24 minutes ago, johng said:

 

Wow quite amazing  where did they conjure up the energy from ?

turning the nuclear reactors back on ?  importing natural gas from "somewhere"    solar panels ?

 

Still bemused that they have remained silent about the Nordstream gas pipeline.

Still bemused that you don't know that they already decided to stop Russian imports before the explosions occured, and also that NordStream 2 A is intact and could be used if they wanted....🙂

2 hours ago, Cameroni said:

 

Absolutely they can. It may have escaped you that Germany has just found alternative energy supplies for its 90% Russian energy. Was done in a year.

 

 

Not so. 

 

Simply put, the United States remains a manufacturing powerhouse. In 2020 it was the world’s fourth‐largest steel producer and in 2021 was the second-largest automaker and largest aerospace exporter. Accounting for nearly 16 percent of global manufacturing output in 2021—second only to China, which has four times the population of the United States—the US had a greater share than Japan, Germany, and South Korea combined. 

 

https://www.cato.org/blog/united-states-remains-manufacturing-powerhouse

 

Maglite torches are the best in the wrold, imho.

They could easily replace Canadian oil by another source, but at a cost. So what's the benefit? Instead of a trade deficit with Canada, the U.S. would have a trade deficit with another country and it would be more costly.

 

Electricity is a different matter and it would take some time to build new power plants, several years.

On 3/19/2025 at 6:11 PM, Gecko123 said:

Trump has managed to single-handedly destroy American exceptionalism and goodwill towards America. Anyone thinking things will quickly get back to normal once things settle down is living in la-la land. 
 

Canada is not going to forget the disrespect it has been shown anytime soon.

 

Europe has been completely traumatized by the suddenness of the withdrawal of support for Ukraine and NATO. The abrupt surge in defense spending this has necessitated is going to put further social strains on Western European economies.

 

In giving Israel a carte blanche to commit genocide in the Gaza, Trump has engendered hatred for the US and support for terrorist organizations throughout the Middle East which will last for generations to come.

The abrupt cancellation of third world humanitarian and health initiatives has done untold damage to America’s humanitarian image throughout the world.

 

Did you know that Greenland has a more than an 80% indigenous population? What does Donald Trump’s attitude about annexing Greenland say about his respect for indigenous people around the world?

 

And what about racial minorities and other minorities in the US? Trump and his right-wing judiciary and enablers in Congress have destroyed all sense of America being a land of opportunity or of being a melting pot where different cultures competed against one another in a dynamic environment. What is the common thread which will bind all of us together? The damage done to the American social fabric is enormous which will have a devastating  affect on US productivity, not to mention the damage to social cohesion were we to ever face a common enemy, or the degradation to the social environment, (think no-go zones) that reduced social mobility will bring.

 

No more D.E.I., no more affirmative action, no more equal opportunity in the workplace or in housing? No more investigations of right-wing militias, white nationalism in the military or police brutality? A DOJ and FBI only interested in protecting Trump and prosecuting his enemies? 

The harassment of non-compliant members of the judiciary, educational institutions, free speech, and the media ( just to name a few) has put a chill on America’s image as the land of liberty. It would not surprise me were Trump to tell France to come get their Statue of Liberty cause he didn’t want it any more anyway.

The fallout from Trump’s second term is only beginning to be felt, the damage will be long-lasting, and in the end only incurable fools will be without terrible regrets.

 

 

 

The scary part about it is the amount of firearms held by an increasingly divided  public. 

6 minutes ago, candide said:

they already decided to stop Russian imports before the explosions occured,

 

Really !  blowing the pipeline just as they were about to negotiate a deal was no big deal at all.

So where are the Germans getting this  abundant cheap energy from now ?

and why don't they open the pipeline so as to provide abundant energy  to ramp up production of war machines to fight the "evil orks" 

they already buy it via obfuscated methods at a much higher price. 

1 hour ago, candide said:

They could easily replace Canadian oil by another source, but at a cost. So what's the benefit? Instead of a trade deficit with Canada, the U.S. would have a trade deficit with another country and it would be more costly.

 

Electricity is a different matter and it would take some time to build new power plants, several years.

 

Indeed they could. If say, the US imported oil from Russia, it still would not have a trade deficit with Russia because Russian exports to the US are minute at the moment.

 

It would just be a fairer trade than shoving 60 billion USD down the gullet of the poutine feeders.

4 hours ago, Cameroni said:

 

Absolutely they can. It may have escaped you that Germany has just found alternative energy supplies for its 90% Russian energy. Was done in a year.

 

 

Not so. 

 

Simply put, the United States remains a manufacturing powerhouse. In 2020 it was the world’s fourth‐largest steel producer and in 2021 was the second-largest automaker and largest aerospace exporter. Accounting for nearly 16 percent of global manufacturing output in 2021—second only to China, which has four times the population of the United States—the US had a greater share than Japan, Germany, and South Korea combined. 

 

https://www.cato.org/blog/united-states-remains-manufacturing-powerhouse

 

Maglite torches are the best in the wrold, imho.

America produces one - tenth of the steel China does.

 

Putting it bluntly, American autos are crap. They are now a byword for poor quality and reliability. That ship sailed quite some time ago. No need to boycott them, they do it for themselves.

 

That includes Teslas. How many recalls has the Cybertruck had?

 

Maglite torches make good clubs. I can buy something just as good for a fraction of the price in the Mae Sai markets.

12 minutes ago, Lacessit said:

Putting it bluntly, American autos are crap. They are now a byword for poor quality and reliability. That ship sailed quite some time ago. No need to boycott them, they do it for themselves.

 

You are stuck in the 1970s and 1980s, when British and American cars were indeed of poor quality. However, in 2025 no manufacturer makes bad cars. None. Even the Chinese.

 

Even cars not selling well, like Nissan, are actually very good cars.

 

Modern American cars are very good. 

 

In fact there is no such thing as a Chinese, American or British car anymore. Most cars today are amalgams of other cars made in other countries. For example, the latest Lamborghini is actually identical to the latest Audi, and full of VW parts.

22 minutes ago, Cameroni said:

Modern American cars are very good. 

 

No they are not, I wouldn't buy a Ford or Chevrolet if they were half price.

I have owned a Chevrolet colorado here for 1 year. Worst car I have owned so far.

 

40 minutes ago, CallumWK said:

 

No they are not, I wouldn't buy a Ford or Chevrolet if they were half price.

I have owned a Chevrolet colorado here for 1 year. Worst car I have owned so far.

 

 

Yes, they are, Ford cars are excellent.

 

 Even in terms of off-roading, there are a number of systems in place like trail-turn assist and trail control to maneuver the big truck in tight spaces, or to crawl up or down craggy hillsides with relative ease. It doesn’t take much time at all with the F-150 to see exactly why so many Americans can’t live without one.

 

https://www.topgear.com/car-reviews/ford/f-150-us

3 hours ago, johng said:

 

Wow quite amazing  where did they conjure up the energy from ?

turning the nuclear reactors back on ?  importing natural gas from "somewhere"    solar panels ?

 

Still bemused that they have remained silent about the Nordstream gas pipeline.

 

Azerbaijan is supplying some LNG. However, the big profiteer is the USA which is selling LNG to Germany and Italy at a premium price.  This is why the Europeans are putting pressure on Canada to build a new LNG supply system to Hudson Bay, Manitoba or to the oil refineries at Levis Quebec.  If it happens, Canada should thank Trump for  getting uniting the country to build it as it will deliver much needed FX to the economy.

 

Lots of  unepected consequences of Trump's idiocy. South Korea is moving to normalize relations with hina and to transfer more trade to China away from the USA.

2 minutes ago, Cameroni said:

 

Yes, they are, Ford cars are excellent.

 

 Even in terms of off-roading, there are a number of systems in place like trail-turn assist and trail control to maneuver the big truck in tight spaces, or to crawl up or down craggy hillsides with relative ease. It doesn’t take much time at all with the F-150 to see exactly why so many Americans can’t live without one.

 

https://www.topgear.com/car-reviews/ford/f-150-us

 

Oh yes, because F150s are so practical for commuting to work and for taking the kids to soccer practice.

1 minute ago, Cameroni said:

 

Yes, they are, Ford cars are excellent.

 

 Even in terms of off-roading, there are a number of systems in place like trail-turn assist and trail control to maneuver the big truck in tight spaces, or to crawl up or down craggy hillsides with relative ease. It doesn’t take much time at all with the F-150 to see exactly why so many Americans can’t live without one.

 

https://www.topgear.com/car-reviews/ford/f-150-us

 

Options don't make a car a better quality.

Recalls and break-downs are what determine if a car is good quality.

Just have a look where Ford and Chevrolet, among other US built cars, are on the list.

 

https://www.consumerreports.org/cars/car-reliability-owner-satisfaction/who-makes-the-most-reliable-cars-a7824554938/

More f35s could be in jeopardy  

3 hours ago, johng said:

 

Really !  blowing the pipeline just as they were about to negotiate a deal was no big deal at all.

So where are the Germans getting this  abundant cheap energy from now ?

and why don't they open the pipeline so as to provide abundant energy  to ramp up production of war machines to fight the "evil orks" 

they already buy it via obfuscated methods at a much higher price. 

Germany stopped the certification of NS 2 in February 2022, and Russia stopped deliveries via NS 1 in September before the explosions.

NS 2 A is intact and could be used if Germany wanted.

Those are the facts! 

On 3/20/2025 at 6:31 AM, Jingthing said:

I'm American and considering the Putin loving fascist government in D.C. (freely elected or not) the time has come for Americans to need to feel the pain of their horrific mistake in order for there to be any hope at all at recovering. 

Define fascist. D

33 minutes ago, Patong2021 said:

 

Oh yes, because F150s are so practical for commuting to work and for taking the kids to soccer practice.

The F150 can seat a family of four. 

3 minutes ago, candide said:

Those are the facts! 

Where?

37 minutes ago, Patong2021 said:

 

Azerbaijan is supplying some LNG. However, the big profiteer is the USA which is selling LNG to Germany and Italy at a premium price.  This is why the Europeans are putting pressure on Canada to build a new LNG supply system to Hudson Bay, Manitoba or to the oil refineries at Levis Quebec.  If it happens, Canada should thank Trump for  getting uniting the country to build it as it will deliver much needed FX to the economy.

 

Lots of  unepected consequences of Trump's idiocy. South Korea is moving to normalize relations with hina and to transfer more trade to China away from the USA.

I like the US making a windfall from Germany.   

 

How many years will take for Canada to build a new LNG supply system?

35 minutes ago, Patong2021 said:

 

Oh yes, because F150s are so practical for commuting to work and for taking the kids to soccer practice.

 

Cannot get more practical than this excellent Ford car

 

Ford usually makes cars that drive well…

Yes, and it has again here. Look, we have to begin by saying mid-size electric crossovers are among the most generic sorts of car the industry makes. Their differences aren't huge. But the Capri sits at the better end. All its dynamic moves are well-calibrated and each balances the rest. Steering, braking, ride – they each operate with smooth, damped precision.

 

https://www.topgear.com/car-reviews/ford/capri