Bob & Y'All On 2 March 2012 17:49, Bob Blick wrote: > One of my BFFs replied as follows: I don't know for certain what a BFF is as you intend it. Gargoyle offers several options but neither a Southpark episode or http://www.bicyclefilmfestival.com/ resonate adequately. It seems, based on what you wrote here and on the contents of your "interesting" [tm] offlist comment sent 5 minutes later, so presumably related, that you didn't really note the actual message content of what my BCC wrote > German companies as well as others are accusing China of illegal > subsidies of solar panel manufacturers. Yes. That is exactly what he said. He said that 5 major Chinese PV companies are liable to go bankrupt in the next year and that political largesse from the local party man is all that is keeping them alive thus far. I'd guess that that constitutes a basis for charges of dumping and illegal subsidies (whatever "illegal" may mean in any given international context.) > Your friend I said BCC - may or not be "friend" - not relevant, > has made money off > it. And that profit center for him may dry up. Maybe he can invest in > America now. Your BFF (bicycle film festival?) seems to think they are well informed of the mix and nature of the business concerned. Their prescience fails them. I am not involved in the company concerned except as a designer of some of their product, but my perception is that on a per product$ basis they would rank from far, to far-far ahead of, eg the recently much maligned Apple, oft maligned (rightly or no) Walmart and many many others. And no doubt well ahead of most German companies in this context, through no fault of their own. They contribute to both US incomes and to lower paid Chinese workers incomes in a manner which overall seems likely to be socially acceptable to many. Whatever. The key observation the BCC made is perhaps whether at this late state in the cycle, import tariffs are a viable way to address an already fatally flawed situation. Possibly having the US government buy up Chinese PV factories in anticipation of the next part of the inevitable cycle may be a better response? (Just joking, but ... ). The post was NOT intended to be US knocking or government knocking or party political or whatever. I could have edited out all the non PC stuff but raw value would also be lost. The PV industry worldwide is in a downturn. International politics have helped deepen the trough. Being aware of some wider perspective has its place, even if we would not all word things the same way. > My BFF's opinion - I just pass it on. Getting out an opinion on the above like that shows he's quick, if not actually prescient :-). Russell --=20 http://www.piclist.com PIC/SX FAQ & list archive View/change your membership options at http://mailman.mit.edu/mailman/listinfo/piclist .