Socialism at it's best--

[justplugit]

$5000 per each newborn for college or buying a house.

Like welfare for each child born doesn't do enough to increase the population and put more strain on our society.

Innovative thinking.

[fishpoopoo]

Assume that average after-tax returns are 5% annually. That's generous in this environment.

In 18 years, that $5,000 would be worth about $12,033.

$5,000 x (1.05)^18 = $12,033.

It costs about $30,000 A YEAR to send a kid to a private four-year college.

Education expenses are growing at a 5% clip (faster than published inflation).

So to send a kid to school, you'll need 4 x $30,000 = $120,000 in today's dollars to finance a college education.

But this is growing at a 5% clip a year, so, in 18 years, it will cost

$120,000 x (1.05)^18 = $288,794 to send a kid to college in 18 years.

Let me get this straight: Her Thigness wants to make sure kids have about $12,000 in beer money to attend school that will cost $289,000 18 years from now?

Sound like pandering to me.

Oh, the numbers get even worse with saving up for a house.

Is Shrillary saying people can't save up for their own educations and housing?

[GonnaCatchABig1]

dont you see the real point? more children = more citizens = bigger military = more power

if the pure pinkos weren't so counter productive we would all be done for. why they are restricting births i have no idea. the next war against the pinkos is coming. we best be bulking up.. russia is pissed. the iranian war will cost many lives. then god forbid we need to fight russia off too. if that happens. guess whos knocking on the west coasts door? china. i dont think we nearly have enough troops to fend off china alone. let alone china iran AND russia. north korea would hop in. possibly going over board and nuking half the west coast. and setting off the end of the world in the process. and cuba.. well they would take their revenge shots.. we have too many enemies too close to the front lines. as much as people want to hide behind economics (pure capitalism) thats the truth. you can say its financially not a smart move for them financially. but the fact of the matter is in some places chivalry is not dead and money isnt everything. pride out weighs the costs.

as much as i hate to say it, we could learn something from them.
that isnt a shot at our troops at all. i am saying our government is just as corrupt as theirs if not more so. the difference being when their government send honorable men (being those who follow orders believing it is best for their countries. not those taliban f*cks) to die for their countries, they tell them straight up this is what we want. this is why. and when you die you died for this. of course its also their form of propaganda. but they are more honest. since their actions stem from hatred and anger, and not political moving and financial gains.

it's an extremely complicated thing to convey with OUT offending some one. because soldiers to governments are expendable. they may be OUR friends and family, but to their governments they are not more then statics and weapons. from generals down are all canon fodder in the overall goal of the leaders. it's sad but true.

which is why i have lost all hope in the world. and will no longer be voting for anyone. non of the people currently running have the interests of the human soul at heart. they cant even make a stand for themselves. they just say what ever makes people happy showing a desire for power. you best believe if i ever ran, i would lay my heart and soul on the table and let the people decide. i would not cater to special interest groups etc. and thus never be able to effectively run. cause it takes money. and you cant get the funds if you anger people.
but i think thats what this country needs some one who is no bullzhit. says hey, this is how i feel if you dont like it dont vote. not hese politicaly correct dinks who try to make every one happy.

a good leader stands for something. a bad leader falls for everything.

ADD ON:: for those of you who are unware.. the korean war never ended.. we have been in an ceasefire for 50 years with no peace terms ever decided on.

[fishpoopoo]

america will no longer be a dominant world power.

the chinese and the indians are waking up (economically) and you just can't fight that tide.

and as long as we are dependent on imported crude oil, we're screwed that much more.

[GonnaCatchABig1]

Originally Posted by fishpoopoo

america will no longer be a dominant world power.

the chinese and the indians are waking up (economically) and you just can't fight that tide.

and as long as we are dependent on imported crude oil, we're screwed that much more.

holy crap.. some one who sees the truth..

[GonnaCatchABig1]

actually..l you did use indians inccorectly. since indians are technically from the indonesian area and have nothing to do with the middle east. the correct enemy would be arabians/plastinians (what ever those are since the jews (sorry for such a racist sounding remark but "jewish people" doesnt right either) claim they never existed).

ADD ON: i am one of the most patriotic people around and i am finding really hard to be so lately. even for my friends over seas. but how can we compete with this? (granted there is some north korean in there but it's all the same) they out number us and are highly organized. to the extent of the nazi party. which gave us and the rest of the word a run for our money. we are already stretched to thin to deal with unorganized militia. imagine facing a well trained organized army willing to fight to the death?! unless ever civilian arms themselves and fights to the death should china invade we are pretty well screwed. you claim editing but this is reality. korea isnt far behind and has nukes. which they will use pre-emptive out of hatred.


that one wasnt even the one i wanted.. it was to focused on infantry. and even for me seemed a bit a edited to appear larger.. hear are the real concerns..

[RIJIMMY]

why would the chinese invade or attack the country that buys most of its crap?

[JohnR]

Originally Posted by RIJIMMY

why would the chinese invade or attack the country that buys most of its crap?

They won't as long as they are rational or something more dear to them isn't threatened... And they can't invade...

[GonnaCatchABig1]

Originally Posted by JohnR

They won't as long as they are rational or something more dear to them isn't threatened... And they can't invade...

as of right now.. they wont. it would be insane. but you arent thinking big picture..

if we got in a scrap with russia which led to bigger conflict. that would change. the kremlin is still big on the pinko ideals. and considering they share massive expanses of border china would be put into a either support us or support the capitalist situation. china would key territory between us and russia. plus the ruskies smart enough to know american factories cant support the country. so if china opposes.. they march right in and shut down the factories. cut of japan and taiwan if not outright invade. north korea make a move south of them. that would give the ruskies side i'd guess over 70% of the worlds industrial power. and since communism is notorious for needing high factory output to work. it all falls into place. china and russia economies would boom again. as they put out infinite amounts of tanks and fighters. and canned goods.
meanwhile we would our economy would fall apart. americans would be in an uproar over the fact that our precious consumer goods were cut off. our factories wouldn't be able to support our population. millions would lose jobs since most jobs depend on asian imports.
and our military factories couldnt keep up with the russian and chinese factories.

this perfect little economic world we live in is very very finely balanced. and only works right now out of trust that the others care more about profit then anything else. should some one get mad enough to decide and disrupt that balance. all bets are off. thats why the capitalist try and take land with clever political moves. they either need complete control or to keep every one happy.

right now we are the only ones who would stand to lose should russia and china go postal on us. even if they did not outright invade. just cut us off. it would make a huge impact on our economy. and pave the way for an invasion a few years down the line. our military is already stretched thin. should our economy fail it only gets worse. our only option would be to with draw all troops and defend the homeland until we could industrialize. and that give russia and iran the exact thing they want in the middle east. korea would take south korea. and china would be happily and more easily exporting to russia. russia would get all the buffers they wanted. and maybe not a single shot would be fired. and once the land grabs were done thing would return to normal. oor russia and china see their chance to expand and ww3 starts.

[stripersnipr]

Originally Posted by GonnaCatchABig1

plus the ruskies smart enough to know american factories cant support the country.

That sounds like the assumptions of Germany and Japan prior to WWII.

[fishpoopoo]

i somewhat doubt china and russia have amibitions outside of their respective geopolitical and economic spheres of influence.

to the extent that current events have the u.s. off-balance, that's all fine and good with them.

russia's just paying off its IMF debts and doesn't want to get into an arms race it can't afford.

china, in spite of its deep-rooted tradition of being an authoritarian nation (well before communism took hold with mao) is going to experience some social fermentation that inevitably comes with rapid economic growth - that should be an interesting distraction for the folks in the forbidden city.

what will REALLY screw things up in the region is resurgent japanese nationalism and beefed up military spending.

[Nebe]

America's biggist enemy is americans.

carry on.

[fishpoopoo]

Mao Zedong, like many of his countrymen, refused to brush his teeth, choosing instead to rinse with tea and chew the leaves. He answered his critics with a rhetorical question: "Does a tiger brush his teeth?"

A rhetorical answer: Do a tiger's teeth turn green and fall out? No.

Did Mao's? Yes.

The Private Life of Chairman Mao is a memoir published in 1996 by Dr. Li Zhisui, one of the personal physicians of Mao Zedong, who emigrated to the United States in the years after Mao's death. The book was controversial and was banned in the People's Republic of China.

According to the book, Dr. Li witnessed Mao's private life on a day-to-day basis, mostly dealing with Mao at the height of his powers. Li alleged that Mao appeared anxious of the public but was indifferent to the problems of the Chinese people. It also shows Mao's signs of illness, paranoia, as well as neglecting dental hygiene (Mao's teeth had a green-coated film; when Dr. Li touched Mao's gums, pus oozed out).

he didn't bathe either. ewww.

[fishpoopoo]

of course, the chinese gov't could care less.

Red river brings cancer, Chinese villagers say

*River through village darkened by discharges from iron-ore mine

*Cancer rate in China is 137 per 100,000 people; higher rate in village

*U.S. imported $4.1B worth of seafood, agricultural products from China in 2006

*Chinese agency cracked down on polluters in September

(CNN) -- Liangqiao, a small collection of huts and farms in southern China, is known as a cancer village.

It is where Hu Xiaoping, a husband and father and a farmer, died an agonizing death at age 30 one year after being diagnosed with colon cancer.

His widow, Zhu Chun Yun, blames his death on the brown and rust-colored water from the river, which farmers use to irrigate their crops.

"The doctor in the hospital told us not to live here," she told CNN through an interpreter. "He said don't eat the rice and don't drink the water."

Residents of Liangqiao say their river is polluted because of the iron-ore mine about 35 miles away, which is run by a nationally owned company.

Mining for iron-ore exposes naturally occurring heavy metals like arsenic and cadmium, which are both carcinogens. Without proper water treatment facilities, water contaminated with high levels of these metals is hazardous and can possibly cause cancer.

Jingjing Zhang, an environmental lawyer who is working the villagers who want to sue the government, said the Dabaoshan mine has been polluting the Hengshui River for decades.

"I always had a dream to live in a place where there's a clean river I can swim in, but this dream seems very difficult to achieve in China now," she said.

Twenty-eight people in this village of 400 have died over the last 10 years from cancer -- a rate much higher than the rest of country. The overall mortality rate for 2006 was 137 deaths per 100,000 residents.

Pollution is a serious problem throughout China.

The Chinese ministry of health reported that increased pollution has made cancer the leading cause of death in the country.

China, along with the United States, is a leading emitter of greenhouse gases, which experts say can contribute to global warming. In terms of total emissions, China is projected by the International Energy Association to become the world's leading greenhouse gas producing country this year.

It can also impact the U.S. food supply. The amount of food imported from China has grown dramatically in the past decade. According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, the United States imported $4.1 billion worth of seafood and agricultural products from China in 2006. In 1995, it was $800 million.

In June, the United States banned five types of fish and shrimp from China because inspectors found traces of cancer-causing chemicals and antibiotics in the products.

Small villages like Liangqiao have little recourse against big companies that might be polluting their air or water.

CNN talked to the mine's director who acknowledged environmental issues with the mine, but said it wasn't a problem that could be solved overnight. He said some of the smaller, privately owned mines should share blame for the problems.

The mine has given the villagers some compensation. About 1,700 Yuan ($200) for the whole village, Zhang told CNN.

Zhang continues to build her case against the mine, trying to win compensation for medical testing, health care and damage to the village's rice crops. She hopes to go to trial next year.

Water tests from Huanan Agricultural University have concluded the Hengshui is indeed too toxic for any human use, in stark contrast to what Jingjing said the government told the villagers.

They told her "we already meet all environmental standards," she said.

China is trying to address its pollution problem. In September, the Chinese State Environmental Protection Administration shut down 400 companies for water-pollution violations and suspended 249 other businesses, according to China Daily. And last week China announced a joint campaign with the European Union to clean up China's two largest river basins. The government hopes to have a dramatically cleaner country by August, when it will be host to the Olympics.

It is too late for Zhu's husband. She said that after he got cancer he was unable to work and he reluctantly went for medical treatment.

"He didn't want to go to the hospital because he worried we didn't have enough money to bring up our daughter," she said.

Zhu told CNN she doesn't have time to be sad. All she worries about is caring for daughter and her small plot of land.

The villagers have figured out a way to pipe clean drinking water down from a nearby mountain, but they still use the dirty water to irrigate the crops.

"They have no other choice," Jingjing said.