If Communism never actually existed, then what the heck was the deal with USSR, China, E. Germany, Vietnam, North Korea, Cambodia, et al.? There are a lot of nations that insist they are following some Communist ideal, why would the non-practiced version be any more valid than the one these countries actually implemented?

The problem with Communism is that it is a sham. Communism the ideal really only accounts for this by rising up and taking out the existing capitalists / imperialist / other non-communist ideology greedy control freaks by force. It does nothing to account for the greedy control freak Communists that are left.

Communism, the Marxist verity which was put into practice by several nation states, did exists and was a failure. It was a failure because it didn't take into account human nature. Marx thought that the problems of the world were the result of a system, not the nature of man. He had this kookie idea that changing the system would eliminate something that could never be eliminated. Yes he was a loon, but his ideas were incredibly incomplete and flawed.

Socialism, the more liberal type that gets mixed with capitalism in all Western democracies (sorry US tea party, you've had socialism for many, many years) , tends to at least account for the fact that people are greedy, and makes an attempt to balance greed, through capitalism, with social well being, through socialism. But the reason some form of socialism exists in all these countries is that the greedy control freak bastards with all the money have learned that if they don't give at least a little to the rest, then it is likely some joker will start nationalizing their stuff. Socialism is just a way to avoid getting overthrown while externalizing the costs of keep the masses placated through taxes that, if you are wealthy enough, you can figure out how to avoid paying.

You seem angry. Did you miss part where "these states generally correlate", or did the cat urinate in your Wheaties? . Regarding correlation, we seem to agree.

The correlation is interesting because an argument often given for not raising the minimum wage is that a rise in the minimum wage will increase unemployment and negatively impact the economy. The evidence, from a list of standard economic indicators that anyone with an internet can look up, suggest this argument to be bunk.

As you've so eloquently reiterated, in the end this is just a correlation....

One can either accept that a connection between the conomic indicators and minimum wage exists, or one can place arguments about the minimum wage negatively impacting the economy and stick them in an orifice of their choosing. Can't have it both ways.

http://lmgtfy.com/?q=Minimum+W...
http://lmgtfy.com/?q=Unemploym...
http://lmgtfy.com/?q=Poverty+b...
http://lmgtfy.com/?q=Household...

I'm glad you are not my attorney, it sounds as though you are working off the Code of Hammurabi. In regards to most US and EU laws, you are conflating an admission of an act with an admission of guilt. For instance, one can admit to shooting someone, but can be found non-guilty by reason of self defense, insanity, etc. At least in cultures dominated by US/EU, defending oneself by denying facts is usually the worst defense. Maybe that works in cultures dominated by the Russia, China, and Mullahs/Ayatollahs... I'm glad I don't live in those places.

The only people assigning motive and guilt to the MH17 flight shooting seem to be the Ukrainians, who are going out of there way to call this "Terrorism". I think most rational people in the US/EU world are reading this incident something like this: Some drunk yahoos accidentally shot down an airliner with a sophisticated weapon system. I think we all know that the Russians supplied the yahoos with the weapon system which make Putin look bad. No one believes this was terrorism or an intentional attack on an airliner, but we all know, from all the topless pictures, how much Putin hates to look bad.

Who said anything about an "apology" or "acknowledgment of wrongdoing"? What I was responding to was the assertion from above:

Certainly the government admitted to shooting down the plane. Lower in that article is a quote from Reagan:

President Reagan in a statement said he was "saddened to report" that the Vincennes "in a proper defensive action" had shot down the jetliner. "This is a terrible human tragedy. Our sympathy and condolences go out to the passengers, crew, and their families . . . . We deeply regret any loss of life."

That looks like an admission to me. Reagan raised his hand and said we did it. Certainly one could argue weather it was a proper defensive action.

Even lower in the article, summarizes the US governments official position on the issue:

Navy leaders said Iranian commercial aircraft had flown over U.S. warships in a threatening manner at least eight times before the Stark was hit by two French Exocet missiles fired by an Iraqi jet. Ever since the Stark attack, skippers in the gulf have been less tolerant of such apparent threats.

The US was a combatant in a simmering conflict with Iran. This is the same conflict its been in from 1979 until today. The US claims that Iran was using commercial aircraft in this conflict. Since there is little or no diplomatic communications between the countries - Iran's choice, btw - it is really hard for either nations to come to an understanding of what the commercial aircraft were doing, if anything prior to the Exocet strike. Its also really hard for the US to offer an apology to Iran for anything since Iran has yet to apologize for the embassy hostages. An apology from the US to Iran for anything just isn't going to happen until Iran apologizes for killing some of its diplomats and holding the rest hostage for months.

Nobody can say the US didn't admit to shooting down the airbus, and the US government did offer up an explanation. People may not like the explanation, or agree with it, but at least the US stood up for its actions.

Malaysia and the Netherlands are not in a conflict with Ukraine, Russia, or the separatists. Both countries have good diplomatic ties with Ukraine and Russia. There is dialog. The fact that nobody can't even raise their hand to say they did, or say they know who did is reprehensible. Time for the parties to man up, offer up their explanations and take their knocks.

For people to come here and say this behavior - shooting down an airplane and then claiming someone else did it - is the norm because the US didn't apologize to Iran for shooting down a plane is, as someone else pointed out, whataboutism. And bad whataboutism at that.

Bullshit.

From http://www.washingtonpost.com/...

"The U.S. government deeply regrets this incident," Adm. William J. Crowe Jr., chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, told a Pentagon news conference.

Look at states with the lowest minimum wages. These states generally correlate to highest unemployment, lowest household median income, and highest poverty.

These are usually the same states that vote for politicians from the party that more openly advocates for business friendly taxes laws and minimum wage.

Suckers.

Fair enough.

If you are pointing out that Wiki editing by the Russians really has nothing to do with the US handling of Iran Air 655, then I agree.

The Russians are sending arms and support into Ukraine and have created a war there. If there appears to be bias against the Russians, then the Russians have brought it on themselves.

If the Russians hadn't been in Eastern Ukraine, where they don't belong, then nobody would be complaining about Russians. Instead, Putin and his buddies have been acting like jerks, which kind of makes the Russians look like suspect #1.

You can use Al, but Sn is best. Al doesn't protect well against many of the mind control waves, though it can work OK for HAARP. Sn can be found here: http://www.advent-rm.com/catal... You are right - pricey. But better than the alternative.

The real problem is that they are working on the neutrino control ray under south pole icecap. Once they figure that out, we are screwed. Neutrinos go right through Sn.

Not "others". Just AC Ruskie.

Oh yea, I get it... They want us to think that those sunglasses allow us to see the alien reptilian faces so that when we put them on and see human faces we think the alien reptiles are real people. I have found that tinfoil makes the sunglasses work. You should try it.

You are watching too much "Western Media", my AC Ruskie friend.

So has your non-Western media ever told you of the western democracies arming a bunch of yahoos with SAMs that could shoot down commercial airliners?

At least when we arm are proxy forces, we're not dumb enough to give them weapons that make us look stupid. You Russians are idiots for that one.

There is a big difference between admitting fault and admitting a fact. The US never denied shooting down the plane.

Claiming that an incident where nobody is even raising their hand as to who shot it down is the same as the Iran Air incident makes you sound like the kind of person that wants the vilify the US wherever they can.