Club Dynasty

Why Germany Has It So Good -- and Why America Is Going Down the Drain

Rockslinger

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Apr 24, 2005
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Not sure how much longer DM can continue to go offshore for his medical care. Harper's secret agenda is to make it illegal for any Canadian to get something offshore that they cannot legally get in Canada.
 

danmand

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Nov 28, 2003
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Not sure how much longer DM can continue to go offshore for his medical care. Harper's secret agenda is to make it illegal for any Canadian to get something offshore that they cannot legally get in Canada.
I can legally get health care in Canada, I am not going to the US for heroin.
 

danmand

Well-known member
Nov 28, 2003
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Sweden is right but try again on the Canadian province.
I did not hear that sweeden was close to default. My understanding is that the hedgefunds (Soros et al) were betting heavily on a devaluation of the swedish krone. As I remember, the swedish national bank briefly raised the interbank lending rate to 60% to show the hedge funds that they would do whatever necessary to protect the currency. It worked.
 

onthebottom

Never Been Justly Banned
Jan 10, 2002
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Doesn't look to be all roses in Germany:

Merkel says German multicultural society has failed

Attempts to build a multicultural society in Germany have "utterly failed", Chancellor Angela Merkel says.

In a speech in Potsdam, she said the so-called "multikulti" concept - where people would "live side-by-side" happily - did not work.

Mrs Merkel's comments come amid recent outpourings of strong anti-immigrant feeling from mainstream politicians.A recent survey showed that more than 30% of Germans believed Germany was "overrun by foreigners".

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-11559451

OTB
 

Rockslinger

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Apr 24, 2005
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20 years ago, they were saying why Japan is so good and the U.S. is going down the drain. I even attended a seminar on "Japanese Management Secrets". How can any country that has Facebook, YouTube, Apple and Google be going down the drain?
 

blackrock13

Banned
Jun 6, 2009
40,084
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Doesn't look to be all roses in Germany:

Merkel says German multicultural society has failed

Attempts to build a multicultural society in Germany have "utterly failed", Chancellor Angela Merkel says.

In a speech in Potsdam, she said the so-called "multikulti" concept - where people would "live side-by-side" happily - did not work.

Mrs Merkel's comments come amid recent outpourings of strong anti-immigrant feeling from mainstream politicians.A recent survey showed that more than 30% of Germans believed Germany was "overrun by foreigners".

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-11559451

OTB
There are some deep seeded problems inside Germany and a lot of it is an east and west divide, Germany that is. I've worked in both areas and it's real. These differences are dramatic enough that the numbers on Germany can be skewed when studying average this and mean that. I haven't been able to put my finger on whether it's a generational thing.
 

alexmst

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Dec 27, 2004
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20 years ago, they were saying why Japan is so good and the U.S. is going down the drain. I even attended a seminar on "Japanese Management Secrets". How can any country that has Facebook, YouTube, Apple and Google be going down the drain?
The U.S. isn't going down the drain, but it does need to look at things and maybe change course on some.


I went to those "Japanese Secrets" seminars too lol.

Facebook, YouTube, Apple, and Google are great. In 1985 Apple made its famous "Mac" screen + computer combo in California. Look at the back of a vintage 1985 model and it says "Made in USA". By the 1990's they had moved production to Asia and the "made in USA" no longer was on the back. Now they have started using terms like "designed in USA". It is not enough to design the products in the USA. One needs to make them domestically as well - not just Apple but other companies as well. It builds up a strong lower-middle class of comsumers. The designers were always needed as a middle to upper middle class. The moving the lower-middle class jobs offshore and drastic reduction in domestic manufacturing capacity is dangerous on the global stage and very short-sighted. Yes, it makes for higher pofits for shareholders and lower prices for consumers, but it damages the self-suficency of the nation.

As long as the U.S. continues having the best military in the world and keeps domestic food production, it won't go down the drain IMHO. Keeping domestic food production is a must - look what happened to Rome when they decided to push food production to north Africa.

The Chinese have a strong sense of the importance of the state's interest as well as the individual interest, as does Japan and Germany. The U.S. once did so as well, but it seems for the past couple of decades to have been more of a "what is good for me and let the state take care of itself". The Japanese aren't flocking to buy foreign-made cars - it is a matter of national pride for most to buy Japanese made cars. The majority of Americans tend to buy the car they like best regardless of where it is designed or manufactured.

I admit I let WWII colour my thoughts a bit - nations up against each other having to survive. Domestic self-suffficency I think is a good think, but it is eroding in many places.
 
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danmand

Well-known member
Nov 28, 2003
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You (nor I) can legally get PRIVATE health care in Canada.
I am not too worried. It would be too idiotic a rule, even for Harper to get into law. And how are they going to enforce it?
 

danmand

Well-known member
Nov 28, 2003
46,821
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Doesn't look to be all roses in Germany:

Merkel says German multicultural society has failed

Attempts to build a multicultural society in Germany have "utterly failed", Chancellor Angela Merkel says.

In a speech in Potsdam, she said the so-called "multikulti" concept - where people would "live side-by-side" happily - did not work.

Mrs Merkel's comments come amid recent outpourings of strong anti-immigrant feeling from mainstream politicians.A recent survey showed that more than 30% of Germans believed Germany was "overrun by foreigners".

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-11559451

OTB
White protestant gated community????????
 

fuji

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Jan 31, 2005
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Europeans associate their country with a nationality and that makes it harder for them to accept the sorts of changes immigration brings. In Canada we accept that the "Canadian nation" is comprised of many different individual nationalities much more easily.
 

danmand

Well-known member
Nov 28, 2003
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Europeans associate their country with a nationality and that makes it harder for them to accept the sorts of changes immigration brings. In Canada we accept that the "Canadian nation" is comprised of many different individual nationalities much more easily.
Which is another way to say that Canada is an area, not really a country in the sense of a people.
 

blackrock13

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Jun 6, 2009
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Which is another way to say that Canada is an area, not really a country in the sense of a people.
Wrong again DM. How do you read that into what Fuji wrote?

Using Fuji as a reference point is not a really smart thing to do. It makes you sound like him and I don't think you want to go down that road.
 

danmand

Well-known member
Nov 28, 2003
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Wrong again DM. How do read that into what Fuji wrote?

Using Fuji as a reference point is not a really smart thing to do. It makes you sound like him and I don't think you want to go down that road.
It will be a freezing day in Hell before I follow Fuji anywhere.

I have gotten a lot of flak before, when I have posted this opinion. But it is true (in a sense at least) that Canada as a country is different from most european countris, who have a long history and tradition of being a "peoples". The danes do not like to be called swedish or dutch, and everybody consider themselves very different from the germans, etc etc. The peoples of Europe have fought and won their uniqueness as "peoples" through many centuries, and have the traditions, the literature and theater to prove it. Canada in my opinion is different in this way, the cores of the "peoples" were and still sort of consider themselves british and french, when the chips are down, and many of the more recent immigrants are much less nationalistic.

Now, if you would please refrain from telling me to go back to where I came from.
 

blackrock13

Banned
Jun 6, 2009
40,084
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It will be a freezing day in Hell before I follow Fuji anywhere.

I have gotten a lot of flak before, when I have posted this opinion. But it is true (in a sense at least) that Canada as a country is different from most european countris, who have a long history and tradition of being a "peoples". The danes do not like to be called swedish or dutch, and everybody consider themselves very different from the germans, etc etc. The peoples of Europe have fought and won their uniqueness as "peoples" through many centuries, and have the traditions, the literature and theater to prove it. Canada in my opinion is different in this way, the cores of the "peoples" were and still sort of consider themselves british and french, when the chips are down, and many of the more recent immigrants are much less nationalistic.

Now, if you would please refrain from telling me to go back to where I came from.
Canada allows you to celebrate your difference from other Canadians. We don't try to quash these differences as many do in the US and other countries. Toronto is a perfect example as there is a fair, festival or celebratory parade almost every week. The one thing we all do though is, as citizen, overtly through pledging an allegiance or in more quiet forms, promise to follow the laws of the land.

......... and if you hadn't said anything about those requests, most members would not have been reminded. We shall see how they respond.
 

onthebottom

Never Been Justly Banned
Jan 10, 2002
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onthebottom

Never Been Justly Banned
Jan 10, 2002
40,555
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Hooterville
www.scubadiving.com
The U.S. isn't going down the drain, but it does need to look at things and maybe change course on some.


I went to those "Japanese Secrets" seminars too lol.

Facebook, YouTube, Apple, and Google are great. In 1985 Apple made its famous "Mac" screen + computer combo in California. Look at the back of a vintage 1985 model and it says "Made in USA". By the 1990's they had moved production to Asia and the "made in USA" no longer was on the back. Now they have started using terms like "designed in USA". It is not enough to design the products in the USA. One needs to make them domestically as well - not just Apple but other companies as well. It builds up a strong lower-middle class of comsumers. The designers were always needed as a middle to upper middle class. The moving the lower-middle class jobs offshore and drastic reduction in domestic manufacturing capacity is dangerous on the global stage and very short-sighted. Yes, it makes for higher pofits for shareholders and lower prices for consumers, but it damages the self-suficency of the nation.

As long as the U.S. continues having the best military in the world and keeps domestic food production, it won't go down the drain IMHO. Keeping domestic food production is a must - look what happened to Rome when they decided to push food production to north Africa.

The Chinese have a strong sense of the importance of the state's interest as well as the individual interest, as does Japan and Germany. The U.S. once did so as well, but it seems for the past couple of decades to have been more of a "what is good for me and let the state take care of itself". The Japanese aren't flocking to buy foreign-made cars - it is a matter of national pride for most to buy Japanese made cars. The majority of Americans tend to buy the car they like best regardless of where it is designed or manufactured.

I admit I let WWII colour my thoughts a bit - nations up against each other having to survive. Domestic self-suffficency I think is a good think, but it is eroding in many places.
I, and much more importantly, economists, would disagree with your views here.

OTB
 

alexmst

New member
Dec 27, 2004
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I, and much more importantly, economists, would disagree with your views here.

OTB
It is possible to dig up an economist who will agree or disagree with any just about anything. I respect that your opinion is different to my own. I would ask that you specify what part of what I said to you disagree with? The idea of self-sufficiency of the nation state? That a majority of Japanese consumers like to buy Japanese cars partly out of a sense of national loyalty? That the fall of the Roman Empire was in part due to outsourcing of food production to North Africa which resulted in enemy forces being able to blockade shipping to cause food shortages? That maintaining U.S. agricultural production is in the national interest? That a country needs a domestic industrial base in the long term to be a superpower?
 
Ashley Madison
Toronto Escorts