posted on May 1, 2011 09:16:43 PM new
This makes me happy, even though it's odd to be celebrating someone's death.
I'm old enough to remember how thrilled the nation was when Stalin died in the 50s in his old age. Many thought communism would die out--but NOOOOOOOOOOO.
posted on May 2, 2011 04:51:19 AM new
this may not be the place for these discussions. I would like to point out that Bin Laden and his followers are not Communist they are Muslim extremist.
Also the Communist party remained powerful for almost another 50 years after Stalins death and still is a powerful party. By now someone has stepped into Bin Laden's sandals and the war to rid the world of infidels goes on.
posted on May 2, 2011 04:58:04 AM new
People vote with their stomach,communism does not bring more food to the table,worse,it brings less to the table.
There was a time when Chinese were alloted 10 ounces of meat per month and 1/2 yard of fabric PER YEAR !
Imagine eating 10 ounces of meat per month,most households do not have refrigerator,they dont need one either !
What a wonderful way to conserve water and energy!
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There is no 'Global savings glut',only wild horses and loose bankers.
posted on May 2, 2011 12:21:52 PM new
Alldings: I know this site isn't the place for such a discussion, but I was so excited that I posted it here anyway.
And. . . I do know that Al Quaeda members aren't communists! Just drawing a comparison.
I must not have made myself clear, late last night! Sorry.
posted on May 2, 2011 06:33:01 PM new
What would you call a group of people who agree to participate in an organization where they are required to follow directions, cannot provide any personal opinion or do something not approved by their leaders? They must perform as expected. Their collective provides their food, their clothing, their training, their housing, their health care, their retirement? These people cannot quit or leave the collective unless their collective grants them permission.
What is this called????
Is that Communism, or does that sound like how the US Military is run?
I always find it ironic that people pretend that Communism is some great evil when in fact it is a MAJOR part of our culture. Our governments budget provides over 19% of its funding to support a system that is run exactly like Communism, yet nobody complains. Nobody would ever say this is wrong. I don't have a problem with it myself. In fact, I have 110% respect for those who have served in our military. I believe these people deserve what they get (and even far more) in benefits.
I am simply making a point that sometimes we need to take a step back and see things for what they are.
The USA military is actually more communist than the USSR ever was. That is a good thing. Our military couldn't run like a democracy and the USSRs and China's form of communism is riddled with corruption that it is more a dictatorship than it was communism.
[ edited by shagmidmod on May 2, 2011 06:34 PM ]
posted on May 3, 2011 02:29:42 AM new
The U.S. Military is a volunteer system. Nothing like the communist system. People that want Communism should move to a country that has it and quit screwing with this country.
posted on May 3, 2011 05:27:39 AM new
comparing the military system of a nation to communism?
Only a civilian can say that,quoting Oscar Wilde-it is a triumph of imagination over experience.
And we all know most civilians do not have much practical experience in military matters!
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There is no 'Global savings glut',only wild horses and loose bankers.
posted on May 3, 2011 05:34:29 AM new
There is a communist party in this country,back then they were active in recruiting union members,we dont hear much from them anymore.
We can argue all day long which is the best-totalitarism,communism,socialism,capitalism ,it is the stomach which casts the vote.
Americans greet each other with 'how are you ?but Chinese often greet each other with a question-have you eaten yet?
There is also a saying 'punch your face so you look fat' why?
A person will punch his face in front of the mirror before he ventures out the door so his face will be swollen and red,it gives the appearance he has been eating well,talk about saving face!
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There is no 'Global savings glut',only wild horses and loose bankers.
posted on May 3, 2011 08:30:06 AM new
So, what system does the military resemble more closely??? If you need help deciding, Wikipedia is there to clarify the differences of social/political systems.
posted on May 3, 2011 08:51:02 AM new
It seems Americans have always had trouble telling the difference between totalitarianism and communism. I think that's because during the Cold War, the USSR was both communist and totalitarian. Somehow the terms became synonymous when in fact they have nothing to do with each other. You can have one without the other. Actually, I think Americans who grew up in that era tend to call any doctrine they don't like "communist".
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posted on May 3, 2011 09:26:44 AM new
Actually,many nations practice socialism to a degree-and I am not talking about the Scandinavian countries with the saying-from womb to tomb.
Canada for many years practice a heavy dosage of socialism and finds it burdensome.
Some folks claim there is more socialism in good old USA than any country in the world-free education,free school lunch,free school bus,Medicaid,welfare,aids to dependent children,SSI,disabilities benefits,benefits to veterans of war,and recently extended unemployment benefits,aids to farmers,aids to senior citizens,student loans,etc etc.
Immigrant families with elderly parents collect SSI and it is a nice sum of money for the elderly who live with their children with free room and board.
$375 may not mean much to you,but for an elderly coming from a poor country,it is a very nice sum to have each month.
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There is no 'Global savings glut',only wild horses and loose bankers.
posted on May 3, 2011 09:42:22 AM new
Neglus- that is pretty much what I am getting at. We, as Americans have to brand things without any thought as to what it actually means.
We have "feared" communism for decades... but the reality is that we actually feared the USSR. Americans were marketed propaganda and as usual, we bought into it.
Most political/sociological ideologies are never applied in their purest forms. It is easy for America to refer to the USSR as Communist just as much as it is for some Americans to call our President a Marxist, Socialist, Muslim, etc. It is a label meant to "scare" naive people. Face it, as Americans we are used to being sold BS... regularly.
My point wasn't to criticize the military, but to point out that within our own political/sociological system we have variances of political ideologies that work... and work very well. Sometimes we never consider that what we do within our own borders is often viewed differently when applied to other countries.
posted on May 3, 2011 12:00:31 PM new
Didnt McCarthy call for a communist hunt?
Soldiers are trained to combat,they are most effective as an unit,if they want to display their individual prowness,they can sign up as gladiators.
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There is no 'Global savings glut',only wild horses and loose bankers.
posted on May 3, 2011 12:05:33 PM new
Have any of you watched HBO Rome series?
The senate called Julius Caesar a tyrant and stabbed him to death .
I heard there will be a sequel ,not financed by HBO,it costed them a fortune to produce the 20 episodes!
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There is no 'Global savings glut',only wild horses and loose bankers.
posted on May 3, 2011 06:57:28 PM new
In more enlightened times the severed head of an enemy of the state would be paraded through the streets of the capital, then affixed to a tall pole. This would serve as a warning to those who would oppose the power of the Republic.
Unfortunately with no body to publicly display I'm sure that it won't be too long before rumors start to the effect that Osama bin Laden is alive and well in Argentina/Antarctica/Afghanistan... just as they did with Hitler until long after the war on terror episode one had long finished. Only with the opening of Soviet wartime archives was the matter finally resolved.
Of course the really smart thing to have done would to have taken him alive in secret and then milked him for all the info he had. President Obama would get all the gory details about his predecessor's (Reagan and Bush) tacit support for the early Taleban in the fight against the Soviet bogeyman. Such revelations would then show where the real threat to democracy lies in America.
To those who would say that the Pakistan government was ignorant - their spy agency, the ISI (think combined FBI/CIA), owned the million dollar building in which bin Laden lived the past several years. The parallels to the post-war "Operation Paperclip" when the nascent CIA recruited former Nazis like Klaus Barbie (aka the butcher of Lyon) are erie. It seems that those that ignore history are doomed to repeat it.
To finish, I for one hope that with the (supposed) death of bin Laden, that the eBay market will once again rise to the glory days of pre-September 2001. Rejoice and let a thousand wallets open to hark the new Golden age. Amen.
posted on May 4, 2011 08:14:47 AM new
Years ago,a security guard of a UK supermarket standing outside the store noticed his cell phone registeried busy signals in the area.
He reported to Scotland Yard and it turns out that the credit card swipe machine has a small chip inside which randomly copy cc data ,every day around noon it will dial a number of a remote computer in Pakistan and transmit credit card data stored on the chip.
It turns out these machines were made in China and used in retail stores in UK,Holland etc and accounted for multi million dollars of credit card fraud.
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There is no 'Global savings glut',only wild horses and loose bankers.
posted on May 17, 2011 08:47:34 AM new
A little late to the party, I know, but this is from one of my favorite writers.
There Goes the Neighborhood
Maybe his presence brought down property values, maybe he got hit by the real estate bubble, or maybe he just overpaid. Whatever the case, London's Guardian reports Osama bin Laden's house isn't worth as much as had been advertised:
After Sunday night's dramatic raid by US Navy Seals, a senior Obama administration official told reporters that the property, an "extraordinarily unique compound" in an "affluent suburb," was valued at around $1m.
But two property professionals in Abbottabad--a quiet, military-dominated town--said that much of that was incorrect. Based on the size of the plot and the house, which was built in 2005, and using recent property sales as a guide, they estimated that it would fetch no more than $250,000 on the current market.
Assuming bin Laden made the customary 20% down payment and took out a mortgage for $800,000 in 2005, he's going to be underwater for a long time.
posted on May 17, 2011 05:47:27 PM new
Some one will pay $1 million for it!
House of OJ Simpson's slained wife sold for a good buck!
Same with Madoff's house,yacht etc.
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There is no 'Global savings glut',only wild horses and loose bankers.
posted on May 17, 2011 05:54:51 PM new
Totalitarism and Communism,why do they go together?
Because people who are under communist regime do not embrace communism,so they have to be coerced into it,aka shoved down their throat!
Ask any Chinese in China now who endured the hardship in the 50s and 60s and the spartan lifestyle of the 70s and 80s,do they miss it?
Do they want to go back ?
All that talk about how great shark fin and swallow nest are as delicacy?
I can only think when people are so hungry,they found a shark carcass on the beach and take home the fins,the only part which looks like it has meat on them.
And climb up a tree looking for bird eggs and found none,but the saliva of the swallow birds used in building the bird nest look edible,so lets try it!
*
There is no 'Global savings glut',only wild horses and loose bankers.
posted on May 18, 2011 08:18:59 PM new
LOL, Fluffy. Great twist of words. Adele
_____________________
"Here in America we are descended in blood and in spirit from revolutionists and rebels - men and women who ***dared to dissent*** from accepted doctrine. As their heirs, ***may we never confuse honest dissent with disloyal subversion."*** --Eisenhower
