Vienna

$25 Oil Could Happen Before a Return to $100

THAT IS ALL THAT NEEDS TO BE SAID !


On Dec 07 02:57 AM Smoothest wrote:

> Not very many people realize the following.
> Oil is a "fossil" fuel. It takes millions of years for oil to form.

>
> Oil is a "finite" and "limited" resource.
> After we use all the oil on the planet now, it will take millions
> of years for more to form. Water evaporates and goes up, and comes
> back down as rain. Oil goes up as smoke and fumes and doesn't come
> back down. Did you ever see it raining oil? Water comes right back,
> After we use the finite and limited oil that's here now, it will
> take millions of years to replenish itself.
> A double-edged-sword, the population is increasing and using more
> oil and at the same time the finite non-replenishing shrinking supply
> of oil is dissapearing.
> I'LL TELL YOU "EXACTLY" WHERE THE PRICE OF OIL IS GOING-
> As the non-replenishing supply gets less and less, the price will
> go ever higher and higher. Gasoline will go to 5$ a gallon, then
> 10$,15$-20$ a gallon. When it's somewhere around 20$ a gallon- we
> run out of oil on the planet!!! The ONLY way to stop this is to
> stop OVERPOPULATION!!! That's the BIGGEST problem we face as a species
> bar none. If we don't stop OVERPOPULATION, we will USE UP "ALL" OUR
> RESOURCES AND POLLUTE THE "WHOLE" PLANET AT THE SAME TIME!..........
> AND WE'RE "ALL" TO BLAME! WE GET WHAT WE DESERVE! If you're able
> to grab on to and comprehend the above, please pass this information
> on to other people!

Obama's 2.5 Million Job Stimulus: We Need a Scalpel, Not a Shotgun

I do think there are many possibilities to create work (lasting jobs) that should have been done many years ago, and do not need any further analysis concerning the effectiveness:

Public infrastructure
Schooling and education
Environmental sector
Social aspects
Clean up political system

I think these might seem a little socialistic, but are they really bad, and did the banks, auto and steel industry in the private sector as opposed to government do any better ?

IBM Drops Two Bombs on Microsoft

What I see is the same what has happened in the automotive industry. People where constantly unsatisfied with US cars.

Now you have the crash. I assume the same will happen with MS and software in US. The constant pressure set on companies will finally lead to companies not being able to provide the Software with US labor and development will be in India.

MS is not that bad, and as many posts mention, the people using it don't care about freak opinions, and just use it for work, and they have got acquainted to how the box works. My pc gets delivered with MS and office, if used for 4 years costs somewhere 5 $/month/user. I wonder if this is worth the hassle. I think there are many other topics in the US which need to be enhanced.

People need more training for using computers. As with my boss, he was of the opinion just because he is the boss the computer should do what he wants. It was hard for me to make him understand that this is a machine, programmed by people to do something in a certain procedure. No matter who and what, you have to sit down and learn how it works, and then do it. Many people do not bother to do this. I did not do it with Linux or Mac, and I always get very confused when working with them, cause I just don't have a clue how the system is set up. So in matter of fact it does not matter discussing over this issue. Pay for Software and it will work, be maintained and jobs stay in US.

Rather save on one burger a month.

Please remember this in 10 years if everybody is puzzled why Software has disappeared from US.

Will Detroit's Loss Be Japan's Gain?

Thank you for the nice article. I am from Europe and have been auditing US auto plants for some time.

The cause is that the people from GM etc I have met where so arrogant and convinced about their system, that they would not listen to any thing. I was always being told about technological leadership and US world power.

I was always quite amused since to my opinion the production systems to my opinion where technological not very advanced and very inflexible.

e.g. the production lines from GM are built to produce one type of car. If you have 3 plants and 2 types of vehicles go down and one up then 2 plants lay dead and the 1 can not cope with production capacity.

Why is this: Well setting up a flexible line is more costly and requires much more coordination. It does not suit the John Wayne management style I encountered.

In fact I would like to join GM or Ford now, since I think this can be a very interesting time.

Obviously the US auto companies need new heads with different approaches, that people who are fix minded at the US corporations have a hard time to cope with these changes.

Don't look at Toyota, do it - this is probably the greatest challenge, telling people that what they have been doing was wrong and that the people copying them are doing it better.

On Dec 07 04:33 AM bs_o_meter wrote:

> A Japanese company ( Toyota ) and an American company (Ford) decided
> to have a canoe race on the Missouri River . Both teams practiced
> long and hard to reach their peak performance before the race.<br/>
>

Automakers: A Pitiful Trio

Who is to blame. Since I am from Europe, but have been to the US many times, for certification of the automotive industry I would like to place my opinion from an external point of view.

First of all, this is not the first industry which is going bust. We have constantly noticed that the steel industry, power industry and many other have had sharp declines.

What i personally noticed was the poor shape everything was in. My conclusions

1. As in an other article of mine, I noticed that private companies are driven by profit and not quarterly reports. I have seen investment plans being dropped since investors did not want any programs longer than 1 year or more. The question is, are private companies better than state ones in the long run?
2. The way government works. As with the example of the GM that baught the public transport network in LA and shut down everything to promote its vehicles and install normal buses. You must realize that US is major corrupt. Look at the people sitting in government, Bush, Bush, Bush, Kennedy, Kennedy and so on. Its a clan that support its self, and it gets even better, they are being paid by private companies.

For all people that are going to scream at me. I do not propagate communism, and for the CIA that is monitoring my post, I do not wish to change your system or get blacklisted for entry, it is just my personal opinion.

The Auto industry, like other industries got its self into this through arrogance and greed (of company CEO and shareholders and everybody buying a car).

Everybody always puts the blame on the government, but that is just too easy. You voted bush, you wanted the war, you wanted tax cuts, you want good roads, you want good schools.
But the companies failed.

Bleeding in the Labor Market

US are really fond of their statistics. Which president candidate got the most donations etc.
In Europe we have stopped falling at the way data and numbers are presented. They are quite often heavily faked. Its just about selling, consumption, not necessarily the truth.

Eg. calculation of the dow, statistical analysis of population only done in suburbs, my knowldge as Qm auditor at US auto plants.

People i worked with where often so convinced about US leadership, that any argument would not stand or even be considered.
As in the post here, people would call you dummass or something similar.

Many serious post are talking about 12 % unemployment now, due to the fact that many people don't bother to register or just move around.

I think putting money into systems has to be done in a very careful and responsible way. With all the lobbyist etc. and government being sponsored by private companies I see a problem here.

What I read from Obama makes us very fond of him in EU. Putting money into common things, which should have been done the last 20 years does make sense.

Schools, public transport, for the hard thinkers social housing (where is the difference to a missile), training for unemployed etc and investment in green technology like isolation of houses.

Surely these are things that are hard to think through, since they do not offer a major benefit for any single person instantly, which is the major US driver.

But maybe the truth lies somewhere between absolute capitalism and absolute communism

Morici: Depression or Recession

To the statement about governments not performing well:

US : Steel industry bust, Banks Bust, Automotive bust, publich transport ??

Should we not raise the question if they are really doing as well as they are always telling us.

To my opinion we have to choose between government that might not be so productive and qualitative, and the privates that obviously tend to end up bust due to greed.

I prefer less quality with less productivity - but not bust. The services the government provides here are quite good, and they have learned to work as something you call NPO in the states. Well if you have all of these NPO, why do you look at something that the government does as NPO as something so terrifying.

A few things in this direction which really makes us Europeans wonder and it even makes us smile a little:

. Politicians being paid by private corporations, and this funny fund raising, where the amount of money being donated is constantly presented as a guideline to success. In Europe we as tax payers and voters pay a certain amount to the parties. No private donations allowed.
. The constant presence of the same people and clans in Washington. The follower of Miss Bush is Miss Kennedy ???????????
. The rate of lobbying which is that obvious that we could cry (GM an public transport in LA, Bush and Oil, Weapons and Bush Senior's Carlyle)
. The ability to Vote Bush even a second time
. The system voting works - well it is inherited from 1820 or so, and we heard that after Bush victory even computers where installed
. The inability of private companies to introduce modern and effective systems. People keep on telling me about US productivity and technical advance and so, but driving through the states has given me a different picture. I could hold a long speech on how production lines at GM and Mercedes work.

Maybe there is always a good optimum between two extremes.

Morici: Depression or Recession

I live in Europe/Vienna. We have been having long debates on the pro and cons of government controlled health, pension systems and tax rates of 50%.

It was always mentioned that the US was absolutely against this and constant threats where posed if government interfered.

After many years many US industries are disappearing as Nr. 1 key players. Since I have been to the states a few times with automotive industry I know of the deep hearted reject of anything that has to do with socialism.

Well, here we have this system and I am grateful for it. The future will show how the US will continue to cope with globalization.

Here in Europe this system is working good for us, and we hope it will help us through the recession better than a free live and let die system.

Please - this is my personal remark, no need for anyone to call me something, as many people like to do if some other opinion does not equal theirs.