what the fuck is this shit?

[Baker]

Baker, just because 99% of the goods here in the US were made in China doesn't make China a free market economy. Communism means that the govt owns the means of production. The government owns everything.

The Chinese government DOESN'T own everything. Plenty of American companies have operations in China.

Therefore, according your own definition that a communist country must own everything, China is not communist.

Which is what I stated.

Baker +1

[foq]

Okay... I can see how I got dicked out of that one. In light of this I would rather call China highly socialist rather than full-fledged communist.

However, it still doesn't change the fact that we're (or we were) lighting up one of our greatest buildings in tribute to 60 years since China became communist/highly socialist. Don't forget the Tiananmen Square incident of only 20 years ago.

[Baker]

However, it still doesn't change the fact that we're (or we were) lighting up one of our greatest buildings in tribute to 60 years since China became communist/highly socialist.

Well, another country could say that celebrating the 4th of July means you are celebrating a nation that was founded with slavery and largely grew by gradually "stealing" land from the Indians.

I guess what I am saying is that if you are trying to find fault, you can always do it.

Don't forget the Tiananmen Square incident of only 20 years ago.

It isn't so important where a country has been as to where they are going.

China has radically changed in the last 20 years.

They have a lot more to do, but they'll do it. They have done a lot of reforms.

[metchsteekle]

grew by gradually "stealing" land from the Indians.
.

and Mexico, we had a whole war over that

[foq]

True, but do OTHER nations light up thier shit on the 4th for US? Hell no. Why do we?

[Mindf!3ldzX]

because we the best, obv

[terminus]

It don't matter to the Jesus.

[metchsteekle]

(holding bowling ball) "whats this?"
"obviously you're not a golfer."

[oldendirt]

States with socialized medicine in fact tend to do a very good job on the vast majority of individual cases. Also state governments avoiding the cost of subsidizing large, private healthcare companies with myriad tax breaks could be a plus, and the folks running a socialized program would not get the "golden parachutes" CEOs enjoy now...

OTOH, nowhere in the world is trauma medicine as advanced as in this country, and the privatized system contributes in a big way to education, which is why people from all over the world get their extensive medical training in the U.S.

Ralph Waldo Emerson said, "For everything you gain, you lose something else."

[oldendirt]

Bah

The Chinese government DOESN'T own everything. Plenty of American companies have operations in China.

Therefore, according your own definition that a communist country must own everything, China is not communist.

Which is what I stated.

Baker +1

Their government defines itself as Communist. Good enough for me...

[gnounc]

Hmmm I believe govornment should step into healthcare to try to fix it.
I also believe they will fail horribly because they dont have the peoples best interest in mind. so yay.
I'm all for laisse faire...but I think practicality needs to win over idealism when the shit hits the fan. Gov't..stay out our shit bitch. Gov't help feed our po'. Gov't...you got what I said backwuds bitch, you aint no good at'all. Supid bich.

As for the atheist ornament on top of a christmas tree haha..
umm what would an atheist ornament look like?

Would fashioning a monotheistic dictorial religion's central holiday atop a
traditional Pagan feast be akin to putting an atheist ornament atop a christmas tree?

hmm guess I'm being an ass there, anyways my point is just sorta that
christmas is a hodgepodge at best, I think it belongs to everyone. Atheists included.

[gnounc]

hmm GIYF right?

If the FSM werent so fucking trendy I would be putting it on my tree next year.

[metchsteekle]

[Panix]

It's just another building. I don't see what matters about the lighting configuration at the Empire State Building. It's not any different than the rest of the stuff people do to celebrate their heritage. Maybe there's a bunch of Chinese in the building or maybe they own it. I don't see it any different than the Mexicans flying a Mexican flag outside their house like I see in the neighborhood where I grew up.

When I first saw that image, I didn't see it that well and really thought it was just red with a yellow top. After hitting up google, I found this:



Little more apparent.

And I have to agree with Oldendirt. They call themselves Communist, works for me as well.

What's in a name? that which we call a rose
By any other name would smell as sweet;

....gay, I know but it was the first thing that came to mind.

hmm GIYF right?

If the FSM werent so fucking trendy I would be putting it on my tree next year.

Seriously, you went on google to hunt down images to prove your point and you're too lazy to type 'Google is your friend' ?

[lunatichigh]

They call themselves Communist, works for me as well.

I'm not taking a side (mostly because terms like "communism" are too broad and too different in practice versus a textbook for me to even talk about in one paragraph), I just wanted to point out that the authority in China says a lot of things. Like the age of athletes and quality of air in the Beijing olympics. And supposedly being totally against prostitution and porn to the point of heavily controlling web content and all of that and yet it is rampant (not that i have a problem with prostitution or porn... I don't).