China Launches new Aircraft Carrier. Why?

China has been a very busy boy lately.   As we can see here they have gone and built themselves a new Aircraft carrier fashioned  after one of ours and built obviously with Technology they "borrowed" from America.   See here.

This big "boat" will be home ported out of Dalian in Liaoning Provence.  Reuters has reported on the deployment of this new aircraft carrier here.  But no one seems really concerned about it as a threat to our dominance over the seaways.   Reuters even hauled out one of their experts Andrew Erickson to reassure us everything would be OK.  Mr. Erickson does have an impressive resume but he seems a little too trusting and naive to me.  But what do I know.  I've only lived in in Asia for 10 years with 20 million homogenious Asians who are suspicious of all "foreigners".  I'm sure the Chinese just want this Aircraft Carrier for research.  We shouldn't give it a second thought.
But...When you go into the voting booth this November ask yourself what US Administration would you trust to counter this threat to our national security and position as leader of the free world?  Do you think you'd want to put our lives in the hands of the current administration that bows to foreign powers such as China, Japan, Egypt, Afghanistan, Syria, (Have I forgotten anyone?)  and that has turned over all of the Middle East to radical Islam.  Or maybe a republican administration might be better equipped.  Personally I'd feel safer in the hands of a republican administration that will reinvigorate our military and stand up to these threats. 

 Unrelated to this post on the New Chinese Aircraft carrier are some great photos of the oil spill clean up of Dalian harbor here at acidcow.

Thai Economy Worst Than Expected...But Predicted Accurately Here at Naam Bplah Not at Reuters

As revealed three weeks ago at  the Wall Street Journal and several other financial media outlets including Reuters Thai GDP is expected to drop again.  This is a surprise and a shock to the main stream financial outlets?  Why?


As we predicted here at Naam Bplah back in October and November 2011 while everyone else was expecting the Thai Economy to rebound and recover from the Floods easily we were not so optimistic.

Take a look at this revised chart,j courtesy of the WSJ on Thailand's GDP from 2010 to 4th Quarter 2011.  Amazing Thailand

We at Naam Bplah do not put as much faith in the current stimulus plans of the Thai Government as Reuters and the Wall Street Journal.  In fact we expect the Thai Stimulus efforts to have about as much effect as Obama's stimulus plan has had on the American economy and on businesses such as Solyndra and Beacon Power.  Oh in case your wondering...that would be no positive effect and in fact a long term increase in the national debt and a sure road to increasing the national debt.  As I said the Obama plan and the Thai stimulus plan are very similar.  Or as we say in Thailand,  "Same Same but different." 

There is one thing Thailand could do to spur it's economy on and that would be to open their country to foreign ownership of businesses and land.  Both by businesses and by individuals.  Currently, "foreigners" can't own land in Thailand and business opportunities are very restrictive and unfavorable to foreign investors.

As reported here  the IMF says they expect "Robust" GDP for Thailand in 2012 due to their "appropriate" stimulus efforts.   You have to wonder who's getting their pockets lined in these deals.  It's almost as if the IMF is in on the take.

 

Again the big undecided factor in Thailand's economy, social structure and political future, and the one factor no one is talking about is the health of the Great, wonderful and well respected leader of Thailand.  The worlds longest reigning monarch.  

There are two companies in particular we'd like to point out and recommend as potential investments in Thailand despite their fragile economy.  The first is, Bangkok Bank.  We are not alone in this recommendation.  Here you will find a very successful and aggressive Asian Trader recommending the same.

The other company we like, if only for their product is Mama Noodle.  You can't be a real Thai investor unless you have a little Mama in your portfolio.   That's all for today.  

Tomorrow we have an exciting story coming in about a deranged British Missionary in Chiang Mai, Thailand who is operating a scam church for his own enrichment and appetite.

Reuters, Jack Shafer Backhanded Support for Herman Cain

Jack Shafer editor for Salon and contributor for Reuters

Presidential Candidate Herman Cain

Reuters, commentator, Mr. Jack Shafer offered up the left's version of a mea culpa article on Herman Cain here.  But if this is impartial journalism, who needs a lynch mob?  The way Mr. Cain has been treated by the press is deplorable and Shafer's article doesn't really address this reprehensible behavior on the part of his colleagues.  Shafer bends over backwards to establish he still feels Cain is or probably could be, at a minimum, guilty of "something".  He's not quite sure what, maybe he's guilty of being a "creep"?  Shafer's idea of impartiality and being an objective journalist is to say he's  "...open to the possibility that (Cain) he’s no rampaging sexual monster. " That's all?  That's really big of of him.   Mr. Shafer certainly doesn't suffer from probity or from being objective.  But we've come to expect this type of behavior from the left.  This article by Shafer is an obvious and pathetic attempt to lift himself "above the fray".   I'm convinced Mr. Shafer thinks he really is being objective and unbiased in writing this article.  That is how divorced the left has become from reality.  Mr. Cain has never even been accused of sexual harassment and yet Mr Shafer jumps easily from the initial claims in Politico of "inappropriate behavior" to "sexual harassment" early in his article and then continues to modulate and repeat the phrase until in the end the reader assumes Cain has been charged with "sexual harassment".  But where was Shafer on Clinton and the semen stained dress of Monica Lewinsky?  Mr Shafer has a history of attacking anyone who would dare to tell the truth.  Unfortunately, Mr. Shafer doesn't know the truth or understand the meaning of  objective journalism. Instead of attacking Herman Cain, Matt Drudge and Marvin Kalb he might want to take a few lessons from them.