From: info@turneraudio.com.au   
      
   Niel mentioned on aspect of many opinions.....   
      
   """""So you want to keep these things in American hands? Well,   
   turnabout is fair play. We can start by emptying out the   
   museums and returning all the mummies to Egypt and all the   
   above-mentioned Ming vases to China. While we're at it we   
   should return Texas to Mexico, Everything west of the   
   Mississippi to the French, and then all of the Americas to   
   the Lakota, Navajo, Cherokee, Aztec, Incas, Olmec, and all   
   of the other nations that fall under the blanket term of   
   "Native American." """"""   
      
   An interesting thread, because there are always so many opinions. But the   
   world is a big noisy market with new AND old gear trading to and from nations   
   at prices everyone must be happy with or else there would be no trade.   
   But opinions of people have not all been converted to laws to restrict trade.   
   And trade can be cruel to many ppl of many nations who see what they as   
   national treasures vamoosing, even old tubed preamps.   
   We live in a fickle world. There is really no loyalty to the local made   
   wonderful product once the novelty has worn off or someone comes along with a   
   cheaper version made overseas with more and better features.    
      
   Here in Oz, and I suspect right across the USA and Europe, we buy so much junk   
   made in asia and its all necessary junk, like cheap underpants. Well, the   
   asians make the undies by paying their workers a pittance in sweat shops then   
   sell them to us at    
   prices which just puts OUR factories out of business. Then the makers and   
   importers make a huge profit because the difference between our wages and   
   asian wages is enormous, while there is only a slight difference in undie   
   prices at the shop. This is a    
   reason why China is America's banker.   
      
   The same goes for amps made in Asia, some a good, some are rubbish, but asians   
   stop us making our own amps. They'd be unaffordable if we did. OK, so ARC   
   makes amps in USA. Sheesh, very expensive!   
   The electronics industry in Oz made TV sets and radios and some hi-fi which   
   was mainly low-fi. It was protected by tariffs because we needed to maintain   
   the industry because of national strategy, ie, we'd need to make our own army   
   radios if there was    
   another war. Well, during 1960s,70s, both Labor and Liberal Governments got   
   rid of the tariffs and let all the Jap crap flood in and the whole electronics   
   industry was closed down. The car industry in Oz is now nearly closed. But I   
   have zero desire to    
   own an ancient Holden made here in Oz. People buy what they think is better   
   for them and the imported cars easily outsell local mades.   
      
   I worked 18 years handcrafting amps in Oz. Included in my custom jobs were far   
   better preamps than Marantz ever were prepared to sell to the public, so I   
   don't much understand the nostalgia for past goods which always bear the   
   hallmarks of having been    
   designed by an accountant. The majority of inquiries for quotes on prices for   
   gear I made were from ppl who expected me to compete   
   with Chinese junk on Ebay.    
      
   I only worked for ppl who well understood social wage justice. Most ppl don't,   
   and they expect all "other people" to slave away in terrible conditions, but   
   they would never ever work for the same wage or conditions.    
   Unless you value everyone else like you value yourself, you have no value.   
   Most of the world does not seriously consider these ideas so the absurdity of   
   poverty and inequality between ppl world wide continues.    
      
   And what will happen in 5,000 years? Who will want a Marantz then? I think   
   greenhouse warming will raise sea levels 100 feet and DROWN New York, and   
   Sydney, and so on, and it will be an entirely unimaginable world - well beyond   
   whatever Hollywood could    
   dream up.    
      
   Just enjoy what you can while you can, because life is sweet but brief.   
   Patrick Turner.   
      
   --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05   
    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)