By Andrew L. Jaffee

What in China has been “egalitarian” under communist rule? The 50-80 million dead bodies racked up by Mao, Deng Xiaoping, Zhou Enlai, Ye Jianying, etc? Did Marx envision communists getting rich by experimenting with capitalism — all while maintaining central control in the hands of a few? The concept of the democratic soviet (workers’ council) has been long forgotten in favor of making plastic chochkees for Walmart. The Chinese communist-billionaire-kulaks have expropriated land owned by the proletariat, established stock markets, and built trading relationships with the Great Satan’s evil corporations, like Ford, GM, and Google — and, of course, gunned downed a few protestors here and there. Chinese “communism” is far from being egalitarian, or consistent. The BBC, safe in the capitalist UK, isn’t even consistent about China’s inconsistencies, let alone its own sophist inconsistencies. I would venture to say that many of the BBC’s staff own private property, even though they wouldn’t admit to being un-”egalitarian.” Here’s a loaded statement from the Beeb, implying that private property rights are not “egalitarian:”

China has unveiled a landmark law that will boost the protection of private property rights.

This is the first piece of legislation in the Communist country to cover an individual’s right to own assets.

Analysts say the move is an important step away from Chinese egalitarianism and towards a market economy.

The bill will also reportedly boost protection against land seizures, which have become a major source of unrest among farmers in rural areas.

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By Andrew L. Jaffee

What happened to Muammar Gaddafi’s jamahiriya, the socialist “state of the masses?” Reality happened. One by one, the socialist/communist states created during the 20th century have either collapsed or co-opted the free enterprise system because… capitalism is dynamically adaptive, while communism is stolid, glacial, and discourages creativity. “Vietnam has embarked on an extensive reform program which aims at developing a market economy…” China’s economy would make Marx and Engels turn in their graves. So it goes that now Libya is engaging in free market reforms:

The Libyan government is to lay off 400,000 people - more than a third of its workforce - to ease public spending and stimulate the private sector.

Libyan Prime Minister Baghdadi Mahmudi told parliament the number of civil servants had become excessive.

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By Andrew L. Jaffee

Is this a first? The word “collaborator” is being applied to traitors who helped the Russians/Soviets oppress millions of Eastern Europeans. The context involves a Polish bishop, Stanislaw Wielgus, who “confessed to collaborating with the communist police.” This is a start, but when will there be a Nuremberg-style tribunal to try all the Soviet murderers and their indigenous collaborators?

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By Andrew L. Jaffee

To some, especially those on the Left (e.g., the BBC), French Interior Minister Nicolas Sarkozy is a controversial figure — a “hardliner” — even though he is the best hope for France. Unfortunately, many French agree with the BBC, and are not sanguine with Sarkozy’s bid for the French presidency. Remember that last year the Beeb accused Sarkozy of calling the Muslim Paris rioters “scum.” Though after I caught its crude translation of the French, the BBC edited its “scum” reference, but continued to insinuate that Sarkozy caused the riots. Many French oppose the reforms Sarkozy would implement if made president, instead hoping for lifetime, guaranteed employment and believing (wishing) there are no immigration problems. Without Sarkozy, France will remain a 3rd-rate Western power — contraire à la croyance des parisiens hautains. Here’s how the BBC sees it — just filter out the “hard-line” editorializing as you read:

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By RA Sprinkle

A recent article posted on Israpundit by Felix Quigley, “Herzl and Trotsky…We have to go behind the Neo-leftist lies about both,” explores anti-Semitism in some circles of the neo-Left today and its roots.

The purpose of my article will be to explore the relationship between collectivist systems of government and anti-Semitism. Being that leftists are proponents of collective societies such as socialist, communist, and social-democracies, it is my intent here to expose the roots of leftist anti-Semitism by showing the correlation between collective authoritarian cultures and anti-Semitism — and this will hold true not only to the leftists but also to the rightists who embrace these types of mass movements.

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by Andrew L. Jaffee

Target Corp said on Friday it had pulled a CD carrying case bearing Ernesto “Che” Guevara’s image after an outcry by critics who label the Marxist revolutionary a murderer and totalitarian symbol.

- Reuters

Sounds like censorship to me, though I would not argue with the statement that Che was a “Marxist revolutionary [and] a murderer and totalitarian symbol.” This brings up an interesting question: What is an open and free society willing to tolerate as free expression?

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By Andrew L. Jaffee

Is the experiment by Chinese communists with capitalism (an oxymoron in itself) starting to let the genie out of the bottle? Charging for medical treatment in the great peoples’ paradise? From the BBC:

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By Andrew L. Jaffee

Castro will be in power until he’s dead. Hugo Chavez probably will try to do the same. Now — guess who — Daniel Ortega is back in power in Nicaragua. One can only wonder why he was elected — some kind of populist nonsense, no doubt:

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By Andrew L. Jaffee

The people have spoken in the U.S. The precious gift of democracy has been savored once again. Such unimaginable freedom we have, and yet, there are those who take liberty for granted, and live (talk) the illusion that the grass is greener “over there” — wherever “there” is. But think of those who lived through the Soviet years, or those who now live in the “People’s Republic” of China. Listen to this: Some poor Chinese shmuck had a truly brilliant marketing scheme for selling condoms. He put the images of Lei Feng and Mao Zedong on the wrappers. You’ve got to hand it to him: what a savvy way to get product recognition. The guy had balls; he had to know for sure that such a marketing ploy would insult the glorious memory of the revolution! Of course the “authorities” shut his business down and “accused [the vendor] of violating advertising and product quality laws.” From Reuters:

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By Andrew L. Jaffee

Today, Hungarians commemorated their 1956 revolution against Soviet occupation. 1956 was a real revolution, and between 2,800 to 30,000 Hungarians gave their lives in the pursuit of liberty and sovereignty, two words which have lost meaning to some in the free world. It is with a sad heart, but with joyous spirit that I salute Hungary today. (Story continues below)

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By R.A. Sprinkle

Introduction

[From the beginning I realized it too voluminous a work to record all the evidence contained in H.G. Wells’ book, The Open Conspiracy, which supported a thesis that today we are in latter stages of it. There is here, however, sufficient citation of evidence to that end.

The objective of writing an expose’ on the Open Conspiracy is not as much a fascination with the past as it is a revelation of the now, and the immediate and not too distant future.]

Never before in the history of the world has mankind possessed such great troves of knowledge, and although this vast and ever increasing catalog of knowledge has brought with it immense benefits and manifold hopes; it has also brought with it many and great perils. The advent of this astounding collection and consolidation of knowledge, and the possible repercussions of it, was perceived more than a century ago by Jules Verne and other visionaries whose conceptions were expressed through science-fiction novels.

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By Andrew L. Jaffee

Very rarely, but sometimes, can you find truth in the words of dictators — in this case: North Korea:

…we will deliver merciless blows without hesitation to whoever tries to breach our sovereignty and right to survive under the excuse of carrying out the UN Security Council resolution.

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By Andrew L. Jaffee

Even after what we knew about North Korea, and after Stalinist “fearless leader” Kim Jong-il’s detonation of a nuclear device, shooting missiles near Japan, and collusion with Iran… China and Russia are still hedging on sanctions against this most dangerous of Asian rogue states. From Reuters:

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By Andrew L. Jaffee

Before people go rushing to urge “dialogue” with North Korea — which is exactly what its Stalinist leadership wants by testing nuclear devices — there are several facts to keep in mind:

1) Two to three million North Korean citizens have starved to death because their government spends more money on weapons per capita than any nation on earth (see also here).

2) Democracy blossoms in South Korea. It is the world’s 11th largest economy. A recent nighttime satellite image of the Korean Peninsula showed North Korea totally dark, while South Korea was glowing with light. South Koreans aren’t flocking north, but North Koreans flee to the south by the thousands every year.

3) Previous dialogue (appeasement) between the Clinton administration and North Korea only encouraged its pursuit of nuclear weapons. According to Colin Powell:

Because the last time we had a bilateral negotiation with the North Koreans, it resulted in the Agreed Framework, which bottled Yongbyon so that no weapons came out of Yongbyon for another eight years, but it left the capacity to develop weapons in place at Yongbyon; and while they were doing that and we were watching that, before the ink was dry on the Agreed Framework, the North Koreans had started to move in another direction to develop the same kinds of nuclear weapons that we thought we had capped at Yongbyon. We’re not going to fall into that trap again.

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By Andrew L. Jaffee

Not that we already have our hands full with Iraq, Iran, Somalia, Afghanistan, Hezbollah, etc. … And when I say “we,” I limit my meaning to the few nations that have the guts to stand up to fascism and imperialism, like the U.S., Israel, Australia, Britain, Japan — a pretty short list. Now N Korea is going ballistic — literally. It wasn’t enough for Kim Jong-il to shoot missiles near Japan. Now he’s testing nukes. China and Russia are expressing dismay, but who knows if it means anything, as they’d probably rather have N Korean business than face down a psycho nuclear threat. Maybe the South Koreans will finally wake up, but I’m not getting my hopes up. Their “Sunshine Policy” towards by the North sounds a little too cheeky — and sun rays may be replaced by gamma rays. One would think we’ve learned a little bit from Clinton’s failed policy of appeasement towards the North. From the Beeb:

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