OT: Apple's New xServe - 1U Rackmount Server/off topic

[Robert Brandtjen]

On Thursday 16 May 2002 01:11 am, dylan wrote:
> i find this statement not only embarassing, but down right rude to all =
%94
> of the world who are not Americans. economics is somthing that you
> obviously know a little about, but it cannot be the only driving force =
if
> we are to create a *sustainable* lifestyle. take a look at america from=
 the
> outside sometime, and you will see that the "consumption that the world
> depends on" is actually quite different than you can ever imagine. amer=
ica
> is not helping this planet, it is raping it. last i checked 6% of the
> world's population using over %30 of the world's resrouces is not a goo=
d
> thing.

Actually - I know quite a bit about it - neither of you responding are vi=
ewing=20
reality as it is-=20

2 points that prove it - our economy when headed south takes the world wi=
th=20
it, no other sector, including Japan, who's economy is far larger then an=
y=20
Euro country, will do anything more then cause a ripple here - in fact,=20
Americans benefit from it as imports get cheaper, as a general rule of th=
umb.

Europeans tend to have a hard time seeing their increasing irrelevance in=
 the=20
world, especially France, but the truth is, the Pacific rim has been on t=
he=20
rise for some time now and Europe's socialistic economies just cannot com=
pete=20
with the rest of the world. THe US, unlike Europe, does not suffer from a=
=20
core unemployment rate of around 12.5%.

As per our supposed greed using "30%" of the "world's" resources, I assum=
e=20
that reference applies to oil in the main, since we produce more food the=
n=20
the world can consume and we are now in the process of slowly ideling our=
=20
steel mills so as to allow for the cheap imports that will maintain other=
=20
nation's economies.

When that statement is made, it is usually based upon extreme naivete=20
vis-a-vis economics - were it not for that consumption, the nations suppl=
ying=20
us those resources would suffer massive unemployment compared to their=20
present levels. Who are they going to sell it to, China ? It is only by=20
producing products that are marketable that a nation can encrease it's=20
manufacturing base and improve the economic lives of it's citizens - you=20
cannot sell cars to people that cannot afford bicycles.

As per oil - well, if we didn't buy it, again, you would have the same=20
problem, show me one non NAFTA oil exporter that has bothered to invest i=
t's=20
money in a manufacturing base with in it's own boarders. The middle easte=
rn=20
countries for the most part have invested their monies in America. Gasoli=
ne,=20
in America, using 1969 dollars as a constant, is today, no more then=20
$.25/gal, not much more then in 1970 when it was $ .199/gal, in fact, two=
=20
years ago it was cheaper then 1970 gas. The market price is set by the=20
market, if oil were truly in short supply, it would command a much higher=
=20
price tag.

You forget this whole thread (in it's present form) was predicated upon t=
he=20
idea that US business' should adopt OSS, not, say, Taiwan, China, Denmark=
,=20
etc. That in itself is an admisssion that they tend to lead the rest of=20
world, or would have an impact that would push it into the mainstream.
--=20
 Robert Brandtjen
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