The best way to defeat Trump in this election: China cancels all trade war tariffs on American exports

[ronwagn + 6,290]

1 minute ago, Jan van Eck said:

Fasting requires personal discipline.  Also means giving up mayonnaise. You ask too much of me!

I share the same problem Jan but you should try eating your first meal at noon and ceasing all food after 8P. Try not to overeat but eat anything you wish but go for nutritious food as possible. I have lost thirty pounds that way. Modified keto plans work best for me but my sweet tooth isn't too large. 

[Jan van Eck + 7,558]

2 minutes ago, ronwagn said:

but my sweet tooth isn't too large. 

Dutch chocolate!  You want me to give up Dutch Chocolate?  Horrors!   😣

[Tom Kirkman + 8,860]

8 minutes ago, Jan van Eck said:

Fasting requires personal discipline.  Also means giving up mayonnaise. You ask too much of me!

 

3 minutes ago, ronwagn said:

I share the same problem Jan but you should try eating your first meal at noon and ceasing all food after 8P. Try not to overeat but eat anything you wish but go for nutritious food as possible. I have lost thirty pounds that way. Modified keto plans work best for me but my sweet tooth isn't too large. 

 

You can eat mayo if you try Intermittent Fasting on a Keto Diet

 

[Tom Kirkman + 8,860]

2 minutes ago, Jan van Eck said:

Dutch chocolate!  You want me to give up Dutch Chocolate?  Horrors!   😣

Enjoy your extra 10 pounds then  : )

Losing fat requires a modicum of discipline, but I'm sure you can have some Dutch Chocolate every now and then regardless.

[ronwagn + 6,290]

12 minutes ago, Jan van Eck said:

Dutch chocolate!  You want me to give up Dutch Chocolate?  Horrors!   😣

I think European chocolate is the best. I like the taste of Nestle over Hershey. Chocolate is AOK. American chocolate is high in fat, which is not bad. It also has some good nutrition factors and eases stress. Go for it but measure your calories. 

The latest research says that very short spurts of aerobic exercise are the easiest way to help your health. Three hours a week total is enough if it is vigorous exercise. That increases your metabolism and overcomes the bad effects of sitting too long. My prostate helps that too. 

Edited May 9, 2020 by ronwagn
spelling

[ronwagn + 6,290]

6 minutes ago, Tom Kirkman said:

 

 

You can eat mayo if you try Intermittent Fasting on a Keto Diet

 

Tom is much better than me at fasting and exercise but I have lots of links. 

See my Health, Longevity, and Energy Topic https://docs.google.com/document/d/1Oqe_OrjOH1GZXxCdmGhcRPfQxeaFw0vPJt0FnXn9tLo/edit

 

 

 

   

[Dan Warnick + 6,100]

5 hours ago, Jan van Eck said:

Well, maybe so, but the aircraft engine purchased in europe is actually designed by General Electric and is manufactured in a 50-50 joint venture in France.  That engine is the CFM-56,  and the joint venture is known as SNECMA, which has become Safran Aircraft Engines.  The subsidiary of that is called CFM.  Don't think for a minute that you are not buying American technology, all that stuff is from General Electric.  The Safran footprint is huge: aside form the CFM56, of which some 30,000 engines were built, the others in the line-up include the CF6-80 and the GE90.  The latest is the GP7000, which runs the Airbus 380, and you have the LEAP engine, designed by GE and built 50-50 with the French.  As monster turbofans they can and do power the planet.  If you want to go buy a Russian aircraft instead of an American one then your engine powerplant will likely be the SaM 146, which the Russians stuff into the Sukhoi Superjet 100, which is a nice aircraft but again has a US-designed and partnership built motor.  OK, I suppose you could go buy an engine from Rolls-Royce, but other than that, you are fitting your Chinese COMAC 919 with an American engine.  You have a nice day, now.

Largely accurate and true.  Just a bit more detail and a few minor corrections, @Jan van Eck, since this is my bailiwick.

The CFM56-series engines are made by CFMI (Commercial Fan Motors International), which is a 50/50 joint venture between GE and Safran (originally SNECMA) of France.  Originally (when I was cutting my hind teeth), when the first CFM engines were designed and built, the "CF" of CFM was derived from the CF (Commercial Fan) series of GE engines.  GE had/has commercial, marine & industrial and military engine lines, hence the "Commercial" separation.  CF-series engines were and are still today sole GE engine lines and do not fall under the CFMI JV in any way.

The GE CF-series and the CFM-series engines have a very similar design concept with 3 major separable modules: 1. The Low Pressure (LP) Fan & Booster Module, 2. The High Pressure Core Module consisting of the High Pressure Compressor (HPC) and the High Pressure Turbine (HPT), and 3. The Low Pressure Turbine (LPT) Module.  I'll come back to these in a moment.

GE realised they were going to need a European partner if they were to break into that market since it was dominated by Rolls Royce Aero Engines at that time.  More importantly, there were also a myriad of market entry restrictions against U.S. aviation products back then and a European "50/50" partner would eliminate most of those.  SNECMA made sense and the CFMI Joint Venture was formed.

In order to meet the 50/50 JV requirements of the European authorities, GE had to share all design, IP and, at least at first, all production of roughly 50% of the CFM engines with SNECMA.  This physically amounted to the LP Fan and the LPT.  This split was the only acceptable one because the HP Core Module was and is today used in U.S. Military applications, and the technology at the time was strictly classified (for example the Chinese were not even allowed to have the HP section of the engine shop manuals).  This split was also the least risk in that the HP Core Module (the "Hot" section) of the engine holds the most leading edge technology.  The truth is, even today, most R&D was and is done by GE and passed to its CFM "little brother", meaning the LP Fan and the LPT modules were a gift the French couldn't refuse.

In the large commercial aircraft industry there are, at present, two main competitors: Boeing and Airbus.  China, through production JVs with both Boeing and Airbus, is trying very hard to become the 3rd main competitor, and they have employed their normal (for China) "leapfrog" methods to catch up to Boeing and Airbus (essentially to steal as much IP through their JV production agreements as they possibly can).  Russia is also attempting to become a major player, and they do have some promising designs, but they also have problems with general reputation, reliability, safety, and so forth, making them a limited threat to Boeing and Airbus.

For the commercial aircraft engine sector there are 4 main players and, by market share, they are GE/CFMI with around 60%, Rolls Royce with around 25%, IAE (Int'l Aero Engines=JV of P&W, MTU, Japanese Aero Engine Corp) with around 10%, and Pratt & Whitney with around 5% (An incredible fall from grace by P&W, but they have picked up Regional engine market share which I am not addressing here.).

In summary and to Jan's points: 

GE with its JV partner Safran dominate the large commercial jet engine market around the world, by a large margin. 

China can choose to acquire only Airbus aircraft going forward, but they already have a huge fleet of Boeing aircraft in service and most of those are powered by GE/CFMI.  Those older aircraft will keep flying for some time and will require continued maintenance and spares support from Boeing and GE/CFMI. 

China also has a number of JV maintenance facilities for Boeing aircraft and GE & CFM engines, located in country, and they may wish to keep those operating for their own aircraft/engines and for other customers from around the region and the larger world markets.  Maintenance is a very profitable part of the aviation industry.  By contrast, if China closed their JV facilities, they would have to either go without maintenance or send their aircraft and engines outside the country for maintenance, which makes it much more expensive for Chinese airlines.

China will soon be able to supply a number of their own mid-sized single-aisle aircraft to fill some of the void in the event they were to expel Boeing/GE, but in order for their aircraft manufacturing to approach profitability, they will need scale that includes outside China sales, which is a barrier that will take a very long time to surmount in any significant way.

[Dan Warnick + 6,100]

7 hours ago, Jan van Eck said:

You have the same situation with pork, a large input into the Chinese diet.  China has grossly insufficient pork for its internal needs.  China actgually bought the US Smithfield Foods Corp., a huge producer of pork, in order to secure a steady and reliable supply of pork meat to China.  Without US pork, China goes hungry.

And, after the experience of this pandemic, the U.S. government will be looking at food supply threats.  Honestly, what the heck were the USDA and other commerce departments doing when they allowed acquisitions of companies like Smithfield to go through?  Sleeping?  China was also allowed to purchase large portions of other food segments, such as beef, poultry and vegetables, which actually caused huge burdens on U.S. ranchers and farmers.  Unfortunately we went from corporate buyouts of massive amounts of the chicken/beef/pork and food crop industries to allowing virtually unregulated and unlimited foreign ownership and control of the same.  Efforts to reign this in have, until now, been resisted by the corporations and not been supported by the federal government.  Hopefully this will change in light of the experience of this pandemic, but I wouldn't bet the farm on it, if you'll pardon the pun.

Edited May 10, 2020 by Dan Warnick

[Douglas Buckland + 6,308]

7 hours ago, Jan van Eck said:

that is actually funny!  😀

Douglas, I think you have been cooped up inside that apartment way too long.  Time for a motorcycle ride!

Jan,

Yesterday and today I put 100 illegal miles (yea, I crossed state lines somewhere in the jungle. Never saw them...) on the Harley. Unbelievable stress relief...finally! Out in the wind, alot of barely restricted exhaust notes, increased my carbon footprint, and had a coffee in the hills. Feel like a new man!😂

[Hotone + 412]

7 hours ago, Tom Kirkman said:

Have you tried fasting?  I've lost 10 pounds of fat in 9 days of fasting.  And autophagy is a big plus during the lockdown panic-o-rama season.

Ah, I see that you are a Muslim.  

[Douglas Buckland + 6,308]

26 minutes ago, Hotone said:

Ah, I see that you are a Muslim.  

Not everybody who fasts regularly is a Muslim....

[Dan Warnick + 6,100]

27 minutes ago, Hotone said:

Ah, I see that you are a Muslim.  

What the......?  I am pretty much anti-PC, but that seems far and away inappropriate?

@Tom Kirkman?

[ronwagn + 6,290]

48 minutes ago, Hotone said:

Ah, I see that you are a Muslim.  

Fasting is a common Jewish and Christian practice. They are of course older than Islam. All are Abrahamic religions. 

[ronwagn + 6,290]

On 5/4/2020 at 10:04 AM, SUZNV said:

I always confuse with the concept of populist. Which leaders in the world don't/didn't have crazy fans supporting them? From democracy to dictatorship or totalitarian countries? 

A populist can be a very sane and stable person or a terrible demonic fanatic like Hitler. The fans of either are voters in most societies. Theodore (Teddy) Roosevelt was a populist. FDR was a populist IMO. 

[ronwagn + 6,290]

On 5/4/2020 at 10:40 AM, SUZNV said:

Sounds great! Doesn't that mean all of the revolutions and independent wars, civil wars, for better or worse, came from populism? Populism on a democracy political system seems much better than wars. We cannot assume politicians will never be corrupted or there will never be any established elite groups, no matter how many parties a political system has. US did have a Electoral College system with is a some fuse mechanism for extreme populism mob rule (it only wasn't tested yet).

It was just tested when Trump won the last election. The electoral college gave rural America and many less populous states an important voice that prevented the largest population centers from electing his opponent. 

[Hotone + 412]

1 hour ago, Douglas Buckland said:

Not everybody who fasts regularly is a Muslim....

 

1 hour ago, Dan Warnick said:

What the......?  I am pretty much anti-PC, but that seems far and away inappropriate?

@Tom Kirkman?

 

1 hour ago, ronwagn said:

Fasting is a common Jewish and Christian practice. They are of course older than Islam. All are Abrahamic religions. 

It is just an observation and not an accusation.  Islam is the official religion here and there isn't any negative connotation with being Muslim.  That some Westerners choose to convert is quite common especially when they have close dealings with our to Muslim elites.  Heck, I even know a Jew who became a Muslim.

[ronwagn + 6,290]

1 minute ago, Hotone said:

 

It is just an observation and not an accusation.  Islam is the official religion here and there isn't any negative connotation with being Muslim.  That some Westerners choose to convert is quite common especially when they have close dealings with our to Muslim elites.  Heck, I even know a Jew who became a Muslim.

 

As a Christian, I am out to try to bring others to Christianity. I will always defend it. Christians will often wish to recruit Jews and Muslims to Jesus. Christian nations allow Muslims freedom of religion. Most Muslim nations do not. Islamic nations allow Christians and others second class citizenship if any at all. 

[Douglas Buckland + 6,308]

1 hour ago, Hotone said:

 

 

It is just an observation and not an accusation.  Islam is the official religion here and there isn't any negative connotation with being Muslim.  That some Westerners choose to convert is quite common especially when they have close dealings with our to Muslim elites.  Heck, I even know a Jew who became a Muslim.

Question:

Why, in Malaysia, is it okay for a Muslim to attempt to convert someone of another faith, but it is illegal for someone of another faith to attempt to convert a Muslim?

[frankfurter + 562]

12 hours ago, Jan van Eck said:

All true.  Trump has been a huge headache for the Chinese strategy of trade dominance and mercantile enrichment.  Oh, well. 

Trump Xi has been a huge headache for the Chinese American strategy of trade dominance and mercantile enrichment.

[frankfurter + 562]

5 hours ago, Dan Warnick said:

And, after the experience of this pandemic, the U.S. government will be looking at food supply threats.  Honestly, what the heck were the USDA and other commerce departments doing when they allowed acquisitions of companies like Smithfield to go through?  Sleeping?  China was also allowed to purchase large portions of other food segments, such as beef, poultry and vegetables, which actually caused huge burdens on U.S. ranchers and farmers.  Unfortunately we went from corporate buyouts of massive amounts of the chicken/beef/pork and food crop industries to allowing virtually unregulated and unlimited foreign ownership and control of the same.  Efforts to reign this in have, until now, been resisted by the corporations and not been supported by the federal government.  Hopefully this will change in light of the experience of this pandemic, but I wouldn't bet the farm on it, if you'll pardon the pun.

Huge burdens?  Please explain.

2013, the Chinese paid over $4.7 billion for Smithfield.  I don't recall the former owners complained to receive billions.  Prior to 2013, the company violated numerous laws, re enviro and labor.  Post, these are resolved.  Post, the company has been managed by Americans, not Chinese, thus no jobs were lost, and in fact many jobs were created. Post, Smithfiled pays taxes.   

Unlike American firms who buy their way into JVs in China, where Americans insist upon placing American nationals at the lucrative senior positions, and Americans are not taxed on their stipends nor their profits.  The CCP must be sleeping. 

 

 

[Tom Kirkman + 8,860]

7 hours ago, Hotone said:

Ah, I see that you are a Muslim.  

 

5 hours ago, Hotone said:

It is just an observation and not an accusation.  Islam is the official religion here and there isn't any negative connotation with being Muslim.  That some Westerners choose to convert is quite common especially when they have close dealings with our to Muslim elites.  Heck, I even know a Jew who became a Muslim.

Nope, mostly I'm a Free Thinker.

I have little use for organized religion of any flavor.  In my firm view, people should be free to believe - or not believe - whatever the heck they want.  Provided they don't harm others or themselves while wielding their beliefs or viewpoints. 

Over the decades I've traveled all over the world and know people of many different religions, as well as agnostics and free thinkers.  I don't really care what belief system or viewpoint system you have, what is far more important to me is how do you actually treat others, especially those who disagree with your beliefs / views?  That's pretty much the acid test for me in forming my opinions of others.

Being a volunteer moderator on this forum is good practice for my management skills, conflict resolution, nudging others to play nice with others when they absolutely disagree, urging others to at least consider alternate viewpoints ... and so on.  Many of the regulars on this forum have also traveled all over the world, and probably very much understand what I am saying.

• I supremely distrust anyone or any group that tries to shove down my throat that their (choose one)  <<< religion / dogma / viewpoint / cult / science / belief >>>  is the one and only true, correct answer. 
• Even more so if one argues that all other competing beliefs or views are wrong and should be fought against.  Screw that insanity.

With those ^ 2 points laid out, you may better start to understand my particular distaste of the obscenely rich, absolute religious dictators who seem to plague the Middle East.

Thus endeth my soapbox sermon for today.    Have a cold frosty beverage and hoist a toast to freedom of thought  : )

(or not, I'm not your Mother ...)

 

Anyway, I do fasting strictly for health reasons, same reason I eat whole, unprocessed food and exercise.

Fasting – A History Part I

Fasting Science: Fasting is a time-tested solution for better health

 

[Marcin2 + 724]

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Edited May 19, 2020 by Marcin2
typo

[Marcin2 + 724]

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Edited May 19, 2020 by Marcin2
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[Jan van Eck + 7,558]

4 hours ago, frankfurter said:

Trump Xi has been a huge headache for the Chinese American strategy of trade dominance and mercantile enrichment.

That this remark is total rubbish can be instantly seen by noting that only 7% of US GNP is earned in export.  The US is an internal-trade nation, producing and consuming inside its own borders.  Yes, the US imports from others, mostly without barriers, a generos approach that both helps less wealthy nations build up their earnings and allows US consumers to benefit from the rich variety of products found around the world.  But to suggest that the US has a Master Plan of "trade dominance and mercantile enrichment" is totally ridiculous. 

[Hotone + 412]

4 minutes ago, Jan van Eck said:

That this remark is total rubbish can be instantly seen by noting that only 7% of US GNP is earned in export.  The US is an internal-trade nation, producing and consuming inside its own borders.  Yes, the US imports from others, mostly without barriers, a generos approach that both helps less wealthy nations build up their earnings and allows US consumers to benefit from the rich variety of products found around the world.  But to suggest that the US has a Master Plan of "trade dominance and mercantile enrichment" is totally ridiculous. 

You are right.  The US only wants to dominate the world monetary and financial system, and will fight to retain supremacy.