Russia' Pravda Ru States "America Moving from Kingdom of Cash to Socialism Slowly but Surely"

I came across an interesting article on Pravdu Ru's website that says America is moving from a "kingdom of cash to socialism, slowly but surely." That may be just what the right wing is hoping would be the conclusion that many are reaching about Barack Obama's presidency. Here's the article in its entirety:

America Moving from Kingdom of Cash to Socialism, Slowly but Surely

Obama’s decision not to build the Missile Defense System in Poland and the Czech Republic and his Noble Prize have not yet been comprehended from a philosophical viewpoint. It’s time to do it.

Power of Money against Power of Spirit

The last turning point similar to the current one happened approximately 400 years ago. The Western European society discovered a new hierarchy of values. Feudalism that valued service and chivalry was replaced with capitalism. Wealth became the measure of success, and everyone was to care about his own pocket only. The cult of money replaced all other values, including religious.

Capitalism turned everything upside down and made people more excited about stuffing their bank accounts than anything else. This system turned out to be extremely efficient in terms of production of goods, services, and comfort. America benefited from the system the most, and decided that the rest of the world has to adopt it as well. If some underdeveloped countries are unable to appreciate the benefits of capitalism, they should be forced to do it.

Collapse of the Illusion

Meanwhile, philosophers says that capitalism is driven not by hard cash, but rather, striving for hard cash. It’s driven not by the production of goods, but rather, striving for consumption of these goods.

If everyone had these values, the “dog-eat-dog” principal would be the major principal in the world history. But America failed to do it. There are plenty of “underdeveloped” people in the world who continue to cherish spiritual values. There are not that many chances left to force them into worshiping money since these “underdeveloped” people adopt western technology and become stronger. The appeal to adopt American values doesn’t work either. Why would we adopt the system if the system is in crisis? Pragmatic America realized that billions of people are not willing to live in the kingdom of hard cash and decided that it would be better off leaving this kingdom itself. Now the USA is talking about introducing elements of socialism.

What does Obama’s decision not to build the Eastern European Missile Defense System have to do with all of this? Well, it means that it’s not capitalism that’s undergoing the crisis, but the belief in its high efficiency. And this, in turn, means that America, the bulwark of capitalism, is no longer the boss of the world. And if it’s not the boss any more, it has to be friends with everybody, including Russia. And it’s America’s turn to offer Russia to push the reset button. Or maybe it’s just tired of imposing its rules on others and felt that friendship is more valuable than money and power? If this is the case, we will soon witness another turning point in the world history. Source: Pravda Ru

I viewed President Obama's decision not to proceed with the Eastern European Missile Defense System purely as a calculated political move to allay Russia's fears. I didn't view this as an indicator that the country is moving towards Socialism.  President Obama decided to take that course of action on counsel of Defense Secretary Robert Gates, the Chiefs of Staff and opted for a "smarter, stronger and swifter" system involving both sea-based and land-based mobile interceptors. President Obama also said that the latest intelligence suggested that the threat of long-range missile attacks from Iran had receded, but the threat of short- or medium-range attacks were a real one. I don't agree for one minute that the threat from Iran has receded. He said that the system would be "phased and adaptive" and used proven technologies to create an effective missile defense system.

Firas Alkhateeb, Obama Joker Artist Unmasked is a Fellow Chicagoan

Firas Alkhateeb, Los Angeles Times

Remember those cryptic posters portraying President Barack Obama as the Joker from "Batman" began popping up around Los Angeles and other cities? Well, the person behind the image has been revealed -- a 20 year old senior history major at the University of Illinois, Firas Alkhateeb. He reportedly crafted the picture of the president with the recognizable clown makeup using Adobe's Photoshop software.

Alkhateeb had been tinkering with the program to improve the looks of photos he had taken on his clunky Kodak camera. The Joker project was his grandest undertaking yet. Using a tutorial he'd found online about how to "Jokerize" portraits, he downloaded the October 23 Time Magazine cover of Obama and began digitally painting over it. Four or five hours later, he happily had his product.

On Jan. 18, Alkhateeb uploaded the image to photo-sharing site Flickr (shown at right). Over the next two months, he amassed just a couple thousand hits, he said.

Then the counter exploded after a still-anonymous rogue famously found his image, digitally removed the references to Time Magazine, captioned the picture with the word "socialism" and hung printed copies around L.A., making headlines.

Alkhateeb's original Flickr page surpassed 20,000 views. The Times found his Flickr site last week thanks to a tip left by a loyal reader of The Ticket. By Friday, the page had been taken down.

On Alkhateeb's page, a manipulated image condemning fellow Chicagoan and White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel (captioned "epic fail") was mixed in with parodies of the "Guitar Hero" game franchises -- dubbed Quran Hero -- and of Napoleon riding a motorcycle (pictured after the jump).

Flickr had removed the Joker image due to copyright-infringement concerns, Alkhateeb says the company told him in an e-mail. A Flickr spokeswoman declined to comment due to a company policy that bars discussing inquiries about individual users. Source: Time Magazine

As menacing as this seems to many, this young man is within his rights to create the picture. Let's not forget that President George W. Bush was caricatured in a similar manner. Of President Obama, Alkhateeb says,"In terms of domestic policy, I don't think he's really doing much good for the country right now," he said. "We don't have to 'hero worship' the guy." He also added that socialism was the wrong caption for the picture and I agree with him wholeheartedly on that!

Poster of Barack Obama in Heath Ledger-Style Joker Make-Up with the Legend 'Socialism' Below it has been Popping up Around L.A.

Have you seen this poster? Well, the right wing is circulating this. I found this on News Busters and The Drudge Report. The picture, with President Barack Obama in Heath Ledger-style Joker make-up, has reportedly starting to appear in weird places in Los Angeles and, of course, the person(s) putting them up don't have the guts to show their face(s) in public. According to News Busters, this picture also appeared in an April 25th article in Bedlam Magazine.

Connecticut Lawmaker Frank Nicastro's Proposal for Government Bailout of Local Newspapers Smacks of Socialism

The notion that the government should bail out just about every industry in the United States is unconscionable. I have yet to hear one bailout plan to help struggling homeowners and to stem the massive tide of unemployment slowly permeating this country. I was disgusted to learn that Connecticut lawmaker Frank Nicastro sees saving the local newspaper his responsibility. This will set a very worrisome precedent for the government to get involved with the press. Socialism comes to mind. Heck, even the dreaded communism comes to mind.

Nicastro represents Connecticut's 79th assembly district, which includes the city of Bristol. Its paper, The Bristol Press, reportedly may collapse within days, along with The Herald newspaper in New Britain. It seems that the parent company, Journal Register, is in serious jeopardy of folding due to millions of dollars debt and it says it just cannot afford to keep these papers open. So, enter Nicastro on his stallion, along with fellow lawmakers who want to the papers to survive and have petitioned the state government to step in. "The media is a vitally important part of America," he said, particularly local papers that cover news ignored by big papers and television and radio stations. Wait, doesn't this sound like a bailout?

This comes on the heels of the government's decision to literally throw billions away to the banks and to General Motors Corporation and Chrysler LLC. The broader issue with this latest proposal is that relying on government help raises significant ethical questions for the press, whose traditional role has been to operate free from government influence as it goes after politicians to hold them accountable to the people who elected them. You cannot have it both ways. It would definitely muddy the mission of the press in the grand scheme of things.

The lifeline comes as U.S. newspaper publishers such as the New York Times, Tribune and McClatchy deal with falling advertising revenue, fleeing readers and tremendous debt. Aggravating this extreme change is the world financial crisis. Publishers have slashed costs, often by firing thousands in a bid to remain healthy and to impress investors. Any aid to papers could gladden financial stakeholders, said Mike Simonton, an analyst at Fitch Ratings."If governments are able to provide enough incentives to get some potential bidders off the sidelines, that could be a positive for newspaper valuations," he said.

Many media experts predict that 2009 will be the year that newspapers of all sizes will falter and die, a threat long predicted but rarely taken seriously until the credit crunch blossomed into a full-fledged financial meltdown.Some papers no longer print daily, and some not at all. Even as industries deemed too important to fail are seeking bailouts, most newspaper publishers have refused to give serious thought to the idea, though some industry insiders recounted joking about it with other newspaper executives."The whole idea of the First Amendment and separating media and giving them freedom of control from the government is sacrosanct," said Digby Solomon, publisher of Tribune Co's Daily Press in Newport News, Virginia. Source: Reuters

The government does not have an obligation to preserve free press by bailing them out. Many have accused Barack Obama of being a socialist, but this proposal reeks of socialism at it worst. Sorry, taxpayer dollars are not to be thrown out to everyone with a cup. There are other incentives that can be offered to help these newspapers, but not for the government to offer a bailout. What about the taxpayers who are literally under water in their homes. I must say that 2009 will be a rather interesting year.

The residents of Bristol and surrounding areas should call Frank Nicastro's office and voice their disapproval for his proposal. His contact information is:

At the Capitol:
Legislative Office Building, Room 4061
Hartford, CT 06106-1591
(860) 240-8585
1-800-842-8267
Frank.Nicastro@cga.ct.gov

In the District:
80 Beleden Gardens Drive
Bristol, CT 06708
(860) 585-6070

Connecticut Lawmaker Frank Nicastro's Proposal for Government Bailout of Local Newspapers Smacks of Socialism

The notion that the government should bail out just about every industry in the United States is unconscionable. I have yet to hear one bailout plan to help struggling homeowners and to stem the massive tide of unemployment slowly permeating this country. I was disgusted to learn that Connecticut lawmaker Frank Nicastro sees saving the local newspaper his responsibility. This will set a very worrisome precedent for the government to get involved with the press. Socialism comes to mind. Heck, even the dreaded communism comes to mind.

Nicastro represents Connecticut's 79th assembly district, which includes the city of Bristol. Its paper, The Bristol Press, reportedly may collapse within days, along with The Herald newspaper in New Britain. It seems that the parent company, Journal Register, is in serious jeopardy of folding due to millions of dollars debt and it says it just cannot afford to keep these papers open. So, enter Nicastro on his stallion, along with fellow lawmakers who want to the papers to survive and have petitioned the state government to step in. "The media is a vitally important part of America," he said, particularly local papers that cover news ignored by big papers and television and radio stations. Wait, doesn't this sound like a bailout?

This comes on the heels of the government's decision to literally throw billions away to the banks and to General Motors Corporation and Chrysler LLC. The broader issue with this latest proposal is that relying on government help raises significant ethical questions for the press, whose traditional role has been to operate free from government influence as it goes after politicians to hold them accountable to the people who elected them. You cannot have it both ways. It would definitely muddy the mission of the press in the grand scheme of things.

The lifeline comes as U.S. newspaper publishers such as the New York Times, Tribune and McClatchy deal with falling advertising revenue, fleeing readers and tremendous debt. Aggravating this extreme change is the world financial crisis. Publishers have slashed costs, often by firing thousands in a bid to remain healthy and to impress investors. Any aid to papers could gladden financial stakeholders, said Mike Simonton, an analyst at Fitch Ratings."If governments are able to provide enough incentives to get some potential bidders off the sidelines, that could be a positive for newspaper valuations," he said.

Many media experts predict that 2009 will be the year that newspapers of all sizes will falter and die, a threat long predicted but rarely taken seriously until the credit crunch blossomed into a full-fledged financial meltdown.Some papers no longer print daily, and some not at all. Even as industries deemed too important to fail are seeking bailouts, most newspaper publishers have refused to give serious thought to the idea, though some industry insiders recounted joking about it with other newspaper executives."The whole idea of the First Amendment and separating media and giving them freedom of control from the government is sacrosanct," said Digby Solomon, publisher of Tribune Co's Daily Press in Newport News, Virginia. Source: Reuters

The government does not have an obligation to preserve free press by bailing them out. Many have accused Barack Obama of being a socialist, but this proposal reeks of socialism at it worst. Sorry, taxpayer dollars are not to be thrown out to everyone with a cup. There are other incentives that can be offered to help these newspapers, but not for the government to offer a bailout. What about the taxpayers who are literally under water in their homes. I must say that 2009 will be a rather interesting year.

The residents of Bristol and surrounding areas should call Frank Nicastro's office and voice their disapproval for his proposal. His contact information is:

At the Capitol:
Legislative Office Building, Room 4061
Hartford, CT 06106-1591
(860) 240-8585
1-800-842-8267
Frank.Nicastro@cga.ct.gov

In the District:
80 Beleden Gardens Drive
Bristol, CT 06708
(860) 585-6070

Paul Broun, Georgia GOP Rep. Says Barack Obama Will Establish Gestapo-Like Security Force To Impose Marxist Dictatorship

The socialist attacks on Barack Obama continues even after John McCain was trounced in Electoral College votes last week. Republican representative Paul Broun sayd that he fears that President-elect Obama will establish a Gestapo-like security force to impose a Marxist dictatorship.

"It may sound a bit crazy and off base, but the thing is, he's the one who proposed this national security force," Rep. Paul Broun said of Obama in an interview Monday with The Associated Press. "I'm just trying to bring attention to the fact that we may — may not, I hope not — but we may have a problem with that type of philosophy of radical socialism or Marxism."

What an idiot. Look at what President Bush has done. That's more of a Gestapo-style administration to me--wiretaps, secrecy in disclosing who the federal government loaned nearly $2 trillion to, invading Iraq on a lie, and I could go on and on.

Broun referenced a July speech by Obama that has circulated on the Internet in which the then-Democratic presidential candidate called for a civilian force to take some of the national security burden off the military.

"That's exactly what Hitler did in Nazi Germany and it's exactly what the Soviet Union did," Broun said. "When he's proposing to have a national security force that's answering to him, that is as strong as the U.S. military, he's showing me signs of being Marxist."

According to media reports, Obama's comments about a national security force came during a speech in Colorado in which he called for expanding the nation's foreign service.

"We cannot continue to rely only on our military in order to achieve the national security objectives that we've set," Obama said in July. "We've got to have a civilian national security force that's just as powerful, just as strong, just as well-funded."

Obama spokesman Tommy Vietor said he was referring in the speech to a proposal for a civilian reserve corps that could handle postwar reconstruction efforts such as rebuilding infrastructure — an idea endorsed by the Bush administration.

Of course, with gun sales up in a number of states, Broun piggybacked off that too.
Obama has said he respects the Second Amendment right to bear arms and he favors common sense gun laws. Gun rights advocates interpret that as meaning he'll at least enact curbs on ownership of assault weapons and concealed weapons.

So, here we are again, back on the socialist issue. It seems to me that President Bush and his posse has led us down a dangerous path and we are experiencing eight years of Gestapo-style rule under Bush.

Paul Broun, Georgia GOP Rep. Says Barack Obama Will Establish Gestapo-Like Security Force To Impose Marxist Dictatorship

The socialist attacks on Barack Obama continues even after John McCain was trounced in Electoral College votes last week. Republican representative Paul Broun sayd that he fears that President-elect Obama will establish a Gestapo-like security force to impose a Marxist dictatorship.

"It may sound a bit crazy and off base, but the thing is, he's the one who proposed this national security force," Rep. Paul Broun said of Obama in an interview Monday with The Associated Press. "I'm just trying to bring attention to the fact that we may — may not, I hope not — but we may have a problem with that type of philosophy of radical socialism or Marxism."

What an idiot. Look at what President Bush has done. That's more of a Gestapo-style administration to me--wiretaps, secrecy in disclosing who the federal government loaned nearly $2 trillion to, invading Iraq on a lie, and I could go on and on.

Broun referenced a July speech by Obama that has circulated on the Internet in which the then-Democratic presidential candidate called for a civilian force to take some of the national security burden off the military.

"That's exactly what Hitler did in Nazi Germany and it's exactly what the Soviet Union did," Broun said. "When he's proposing to have a national security force that's answering to him, that is as strong as the U.S. military, he's showing me signs of being Marxist."

According to media reports, Obama's comments about a national security force came during a speech in Colorado in which he called for expanding the nation's foreign service.

"We cannot continue to rely only on our military in order to achieve the national security objectives that we've set," Obama said in July. "We've got to have a civilian national security force that's just as powerful, just as strong, just as well-funded."

Obama spokesman Tommy Vietor said he was referring in the speech to a proposal for a civilian reserve corps that could handle postwar reconstruction efforts such as rebuilding infrastructure — an idea endorsed by the Bush administration.

Of course, with gun sales up in a number of states, Broun piggybacked off that too.
Obama has said he respects the Second Amendment right to bear arms and he favors common sense gun laws. Gun rights advocates interpret that as meaning he'll at least enact curbs on ownership of assault weapons and concealed weapons.

So, here we are again, back on the socialist issue. It seems to me that President Bush and his posse has led us down a dangerous path and we are experiencing eight years of Gestapo-style rule under Bush.