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  • #16
    I try to stay away from conspiracy theories whenever possible simply for the sake of peace of mind. However I do remain keenly aware of interesting 'coincidences', hence the following Q & A:

    *Whose idea was it to make China a world Super Power by artificially providing them the ability to wage war on the world's economic market?
    *Who actually profit$ from EPA's declarations, determinations and mandates?
    *If China would indeed become a major force within the world industrial/economic complex who would stand to make the greatest profit from that, outside of China?
    *Who told us that the creation of laws allowing this industrial explosion and economic expansion in China would benefit American people and give us a source of goods at greatly reduced prices, due to China's lower economic level and lower wages for its [slave] workers?
    *We had many more refineries some few years back, but one by one they were shut down. The purported cause of shutdowns is an interesting study in itself. Now the cry is that it is just too expensive to build new ones while maintaining equity with EPA mandates, so we must suffer through and do our best with diminished production. Who directly profited from the shutdown of refineries, in the big picture and over the long term?
    *What is necessary to control the sulphur content of sour fuels emissions, ON THE VEHICLE AS IT IS OPERATED, in order to accomplish compliance with EPA emissions regulations, and what is NOT being done, by whom, to arrive at a solution?
    *What 2 or 3 entities make the most profit from past, current and known future conditions caused by these circumstances?
    *Which entities are possessed of such a vast corporate conglomerate of diversification and have such a cadre of financial experts available that they are able to 'cook the books' to apply all costs of expansions, new constructions, financial losses in the many armed octopus of corporate entity across the board and then use that to justify renegade prices in one single [most profitable] sector of their corporation?
    *What entities or groups are in a position to continuously profit regardless of current status of world government powers, political 'shifts', rising and falling nations, regional national economics, war, peace, good weather, bad weather etc.?
    *What entities or groups are keenly aware that there is enough wealth in the total wealth of the world to allow that ALL PEOPLE, as in ALL, could be multi-billionaires and still not exceed the total wealth of the world [hard fact] and of those entities or groups, who controls that wealth?
    *Is there any visible proof from current, past and future economics, industrial production, world political intrigues etc. that there is a possibility that such entities are manipulating the pieces on the playing field so as to increase their wealth? Is there any veracity to the theory that you can make far more profits/money from creating a crisis of need and filling it than from waiting for one to come along by happenstance?
    *Which groups or entities are past masters of crisis management including the creation of crises and profitting from the needs created by same?
    *Which groups or entities have learned these seemingly arcane principles and have possibly applied them to our lives, we who are far too stupid to figure it out, and are continuously reaping the profits from direct application of said principles if they are indeed being manipulated into positions of pressure against us?

    I'm not saying that all players alluded to here are married as one, or even that they are all in bed together, but I do suggest that they are engaged in some very heavy petting in the back seat and it is steaming up the windows of our world economic vehicle as we try to negotiate the twisty road of life and arrive at a destination for which they have drawn the roadmap, unbeknownst to us. There is one basic rule that must be applied in the unravelling of certain tyes of crimes and intrigues: FOLLOW THE MONEY.

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    • #17
      When people talk about "more fuel efficient" cars in this country, and how the manufacturers aren't supporting the making/marketing of them I would just point to Europe and Japan. They have had smaller, more fuel efficient cars there since the end of WWII. They have them because the consumers want them. We, as a general rule, don't want them.(Their governments task the heck out of vehicle fuel too, to keep usage down)

      As to hybrids, recent studies have shown that they don't actually save the consumer money to operate. If I can find a link to the most recent I read I'll post it.

      If you're looking for conspiracy theories from manufacturers, start at companies that make razors. Safety razors are arguably the best tools on the market to shave a man's face. The steel in safety razors is of much better quality then in any of those "double/triple track super-duper razors". Yet the companies push the new fangled razors because they get more profit from cheaper made products that need to be replaced more often.

      I chose to buy my M37 as a daily driver/work truck because I felt the operating costs, even with the sub 10/MPG fuel usage, would still be cheaper then putting the same amount down on a new (or almost new) truck and having to borrow the rest of the money and pay interest. I don't feel powerless in this situation. When people fell powerless they're susceptible to any conspiracy theory that comes along. I want to remind everyone that most of these theories come from extremist groups that really believe that no government (anarchy) and no technology are the way to go.

      I am a believer in limited government and I do think our State and federal governments have become tax happy. They routinely bring up class warfare as a way to separate us (the voting consumers) and to incite emotional responses. They don't want an informed populance, just a responsive one (the rhetoric on all sides during the last election was appalling). This is not a new thing.

      Remember the "Robber Barons" of the last century? Those gentlemen brought cheaper goods and services (including fuel) to the consumers. Check here for nice article by John Stoessel

      Look on the bright side, as screwed up as the USA can be, we've still got the best thing going!

      Comment


      • #18
        Now for an example, stolen from my own post in another thread:

        Let's see, how can I as a corporation derive the most possible profit from my product without getting blown up, burned down, tarred and feathered etc.? Aha! I will produce and sell my product at the lowest margin or profit to stimulate sales, while simultaneously creating an insurmountable crisis for the consumer of my product, thence remaining in a position to provide the only solution to that current crisis.

        Bought any printer ink cartridges lately me buckos?

        "THE PRINTER'S OUT OF INK, AND I'VE GOT TO GET THIS REPORT OUT; WHAT CAN I DO?"

        Saw a brand new Hewlett Packard printer and a Lexmark on 'sale' at Wally World China Outlet Store a couple of days ago for $24.99 each/either. From the rack above you could purcha$e the replacement ink cartridge$, which will solve an ongoing crisis of need for as long as you own and use the printer, for a cost of approximately [can't remember what the math came out to, but wasn't it] $4,992 per gallon.

        Ridiculous conspiracy theory and just where do these wackos come from anyway?

        Anybody bought a replacement circuit board for the PROCESS CONTROL computer in their vehicle lately?

        Which particular piece of apparel made by which company is the ONLY ONE ACCEPTABLE to your teenager/husband/wife in order to answer the crisis of social accepteance i.e. being 'one of the gang', with the determination of such suitability created by which company's advertising onslaughts?

        Is a picture forming yet.....?

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        • #19
          A further comment on the thoughts addressed in the last posts:

          A man was speaking quite some years ago and made a perplexing point......

          "Okay, okay fine, you say that I'm a 'Conspiracy Theorist' and a wacko. Okay, fine; but answer me this: how come the cookie NEVER breaks that we get the big piece, and we ALWAYS end up getting nothing but crumbs and excuses?"

          And again, it has been said that, "Even paranoids may have very real enemies..."

          Charles Talbert spelled it out a few posts back, clearly and succinctly: "Man's greed"; and sometimes men get together and form incorporations for their own mutual yet exclusive benefit, and we aren't them.

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          • #20
            JimmieD,

            Excellent examples of marketing, but not a conspiracy, as there are numerous ways to buy other products that will do the same thing for less. It's still possible to buy printers that don't require you to pay that much for refills. it's also possible to skip the color printer and buy an inexpensive laser printer and buy a toner cartridge every year or so. Do you really need a color printer? It's way cheaper to print pictures from an online provider (and get better quality) than doing yourself.

            Uninformed people are just that, uninformed. It's our responsibility as consumers to know what's a good deal and buy accordingly.

            Brand acceptance is driven by "Least Common Denominator" thinking. If your child/wife/husband will only wear a particular brand, who's fault is that? The manufacturer? I don't think so. It's their fault. My kids don't "want" to wear any particular brand. Is that because their smarter than other kids? No. It's because I've explained to them, over and over, that commercials and movies exist solely to convince them that they don't have the right stuff and need to buy more stuff. They understand marketing. They want stuff that lasts. They base their choice of toys on what they like and what will last the longest.

            It helps that we don't have TV reception and don't pay for cable. Most of broadcast and cable TV is mind-rot that simply fills the time between commercials.

            Marketing came into existence to promote a maker's goods over another makers. If you make your choices based on commercials and Ads, than you get what you pay for, Caveat Emptor. If you base your purchases based on solid research than you also get what you pay for.

            The problem with conspiracy theories are that they effectively take control away from you and give you nothing but stress and anger in return. If the price of printer ink refills makes you fume, do some research and buy a printer that gives you more control over your choices when it comes time to get refills.

            If your car's onboard computer costs so much, do better vehicle research and buy your next vehicle based on how well they traditional hold up. I sold cars for two years while I was healing up from some construction related injuries and I got to know pretty quickly what vehicles didn't stand up to usage. US manufacturer's, unfortunately, know that buyers here, on the average, buy or lease a new car/truck every three years (or less). So they construct the cars to hold out (hopefully) a little longer than that. That used to be true for only passenger cars, but after Lee Iaocca destroyed quality manufacturing at Chrysler (in his "brilliant" turn around of the company) Auto makers started mixing in less durable parts into their truck/van lines. Because more consumers were buying those vehicles as passenger vehicles (and planning on getting new ones in a few years) they were able to do this and still be profitable.

            This is a trend that the majority of consumers have happily supported by purchasing vehicles based on perceived value as opposed to traditional values based on durability/build quality. Chrysler vehicles are known for "high-style" concept vehicles pushed out onto cheap platforms (think PT Cruiser which is basically a rebodied Neon). People want glitz, not real value.

            This is a problem with consumers, not manufacturers.

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            • #21
              Mankind's history is a patchwork quilt of scheming, fraud, misrepresentation, self-serving deceits and gross immorality. Some things never change. This most recent iteration of those traits is simply that, as Charles said.

              I have two different friends who are former bank robbers by trade. They enjoyed the excitement and the monetary benefits and the casual work schedule. Both men were caught, tried and convicted and served their time. Much longer ago, Willy Sutton, an infamous bank robber, was queried by a reporter:

              "Willy, why did you keep robbing banks?" to which Willy quickly replied, "'Cause that's where all the money is...."

              He too was caught. They were all caught in the same way: the authorities studied their patterns and were able to trace down the perpetrators by their 'Modus Operandi' or mode of operation. They were set in their ways and failed to vary the game. Many men, good and evil alike, are able to study history and profit from it, contrary to common belief. Here a thoughtful man may realize the fatal flaw in the game plan of those former thieves and make certain adjustments to their own wicked ways in order to escape virtually free, even from suspicion or claims of illegal associations.

              We are witnessing that in the diesel fuel prices. The heat was on regarding the gasoline pricing scam, so time to change horses so to speak, and still make a profit while making a getaway. They can wait 'til things cool down on the gasoline accusations, and move into diesel price gouging. Come winter they can relax diesel AND gasoline pricing, showing themselves to be working so hard for the benefit of their beloved customers, while they jack the prices of heating oil, plastic's raw materials, pharmaceuticals [you DID know that they are the same companies, didn't you?], or maybe clothing fibres, or roofing materials, or houshold cleaning products, or raw materials for paints and protective finishes, and the list goes on.

              Did you ever wonder why the price of EVERYTHING is skyrocketing out of control, while the same companies still report record profits quarter after quarter regardless of the events that are seen? It's that very old and tried and true Shell Game, and we're the rubes.

              The most famous and widely sold and read book in history has a line in it, "The heart of man is desperately wicked; who can know?" We have allowed our present America and world to become a society that is primarily bereft of morals, ethics and Godly principles, because God has become for the most part unfashionable and seemingly unprofitable, at least to these I refer to. So, just what can one expect in a godless, immoral, unethical world manipulated by men who are godless, immoral and unethical?

              Better be careful now, 'cause I've stepped over the line of social acceptability and may perchance offend. Well, like it or not, believe it or reject it but the truth remains to be seen and oh so painfully clearly. 'Fill 'er up there, buddy!" or has it degenerated far enough that you even pump your own? Yes, we pump our own selves up and pay the price, and that daily and continually.
              Last edited by JimmieD; 11-19-2005, 02:53 PM.

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              • #22
                Originally posted by JimmieD
                A further comment on the thoughts addressed in the last posts:

                A man was speaking quite some years ago and made a perplexing point......

                "Okay, okay fine, you say that I'm a 'Conspiracy Theorist' and a wacko. Okay, fine; but answer me this: how come the cookie NEVER breaks that we get the big piece, and we ALWAYS end up getting nothing but crumbs and excuses?"

                And again, it has been said that, "Even paranoids may have very real enemies..."

                Charles Talbert spelled it out a few posts back, clearly and succinctly: "Man's greed"; and sometimes men get together and form incorporations for their own mutual yet exclusive benefit, and we aren't them.
                "Man's greed", is that when someone tries to get something for nothing? Most scams are based on the idea that people are traditionally greedy and want "something for nothing". The infamous "Nigerian" email scam is based on the idea that you will give out secure bank data because you want "something for nothing". That means two greedy people are at the focal point of that scam, the scammer and the scammee.

                If you, as a consumer, don't take responsiblity for what you purchase, than who's at fault? If someone fools you once it may be their fault, but if you fall for it twice it's yours. There are decent manufacturers out there that just want to make a living making a good product, at fair prices. Find them and support them. Educate others about crappy products. Drive the "greedy" manufacturers either out of business, or into respectibility, by market forces, ie., not buying their junk.

                Conspiracy means secretive decisions made behind closed doors. All this stuff is very visible and right out there for everyone to see. It's simply how markets work.

                BTW, anybody can form a corporation and fill a need in the marketplace. It's how it works. That's actually how most companies start. It's usually later that the greedy people get involved and start trying to bilk the consumer.

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                • #23
                  Originally posted by JimmieD
                  ...

                  Better be careful now, 'cause I've stepped over the line of social acceptability and may perchance offend. Well, like it or not, believe it or reject it but the truth remains to be seen and oh so painfully clearly. 'Fill 'er up there, buddy!" or has it degenerated far enough that you even pump your own? Yes, we pump our own selves up and pay the price, and that daily and continually.
                  Actually I think we're talking about the same things, I'm just more optimistic because I think that the Fellow who caused that book to be written can turn any evil to good, and will.
                  You've definitely not offended me, I enjoy reading the various viewpoints here, and the FREE exchange of them.

                  God Bless!

                  Comment


                  • #24
                    Hi BobbyMike,

                    I hear what you're saying, but have to take a peek at who is saying it. You certainly must know that your family is by far the exception rather than the common item. The number of people who have drop-kicked their TV through the goal posts [I preferred to dispatch mine with a well placed hollow point] into eternity are less than few. The number of kids that would make sober and rational decisions based on logical deductions may be fewer than the number of non-TV-owners!

                    I for one have no time for conspiracy theories, which I stated at the outset of my first post in that vein. However, I am not a blithering idiot drooling on myself either. My life has been focused on machines and my skills were based in seeing mechanical relationships between one part and another, while maintaining the ability to comprehend the complete machine in operation. Therefore whenever I see a 'Machine' of any sort I naturally analyze its workings and complexities to better understand its operations and functions and purpose. I see a Machine in these topics addressed here.

                    You are obviously possessed of a much above average and especially clear thinking mind. You're in the minority again, as you probably know. Thinking and logical deduction are now being removed from school curriculums in favor of responding to feelings of the moment. Solid benchmarks of behavior are now replaced with whatever one's emotions, lusts or whims of the moment happen to be. "Hey, it's all about me, isn't it?" Children, very young children, are currently being taught in school how to do things and accept those things that when described here would get my posts deleted from this same forum!

                    People are now conditioned to respond to short sound bites, convincing half-truths, glitz and glitter and whatever peaks their emotions right here, right now. Do yourself a favor and go spend an evening watching TV one night. If you've been way for awhile you may be shocked to say the least. I tune in about once every 6 months or so, and am continually amazed at how much farther society has slipped since the last time I looked, and at just what people are willing to swallow with their nightly diet of sheer idiocy, carefully scripted for someone else's profit.

                    The wise man says, "Know your enemy."
                    Last edited by JimmieD; 11-19-2005, 03:41 PM.

                    Comment


                    • #25
                      This is getting humorous on my side: every time I take a minute to post a reply you or someone else is also feverishly pecking away at the keys ha haha!

                      No, don't be confused: I am a dyed in the Wool Capitalist in the extreme. I believe in business, small personal business, corporate business and BIG business, 'cause that's a key component of what made America the greatest nation on earth.

                      I have been approached numerous times by clerks in several stores, offering me assistance simply because I am taking such an extrarodinarily long time to figure out the relative 'value' available between competing products. Problem is, most are made in China today so value is no longer a key consideration in the traditional sense.

                      What cranks me up is the deceitful scheming behind closed doors at the carefully planned expense of others. Maybe that's because I've been one of those behind those same corporate doors, doing the scheming in the past! We cashed out fatly to say the least. Only later did I become a man with morals and ethics. I have been intimately involved with some of the largest corporations in the world, and with governments, and have personally devised and co-operated in plans to selfishly and cleverly remove resources from the coffers of others in order to fatten our own. Been there.....but far more gladdened to be here in Truth now.

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                      • #26
                        I like...

                        ...when we can disagree without being disagreeable, that is the entire point of this country! Good job both of you!
                        By the Way, paid $2.51 for diesel today, that pipeline is filling up again....= )
                        MN

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                        • #27
                          Yes, Norm, I appreciated BobbyMike's most gentlemanly method of disagreeing while also making his point! Very nice.

                          I'm personally trying to learn from my past inappropriate behaviors on the forum. I flew off at two different people who responded to posts I had made, then found out quickly that neither one intended any direct offense at all! I might have caused a bit of a ruckus over at another forum you frequent ha haha?

                          Live and learn, then hope to live long enough after that to apply what we've learned! :~ )

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                          • #28
                            War...

                            I was under the impression that a lot... a LOT of diesel is fueling our vehicles over in the sand. Less here, more there for their effort.

                            Am I way off here?...

                            Dana

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                            • #29
                              Just back in Aug. my local area had its county fair. 99% of all the diesels (even the tractor pullers) were running the Bio-Diesel. Mind you not mixed, but full tanks of Bio-Diesel.

                              Now here is a pic of them pulling, they did not have any issues doing full pulls and some of the drivers are not having 100% bio-Diesel in all their equipment on the farms.
                              Attached Files

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                              • #30
                                Here he is same driver almost at Full Pull
                                Attached Files

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