Foreign News and Analysis Since April 2005 Great mountains, great rivers and an amazing place Every road is flat and wide When friends are here, there is fine wine But if the wolves come What greets it is the hunting gunChina Confidential
Monday, January 24, 2011
IRAN PROXY PICKS NEXT LEBANESE PM
Scandal: Chinese-Born Pianist Played Well Known Anti-American Song at White House Dinner for Hu
Moscow Massacre Reminder of Vulnerability of US Airport Lobbies and Train Terminals 9 Yrs After 9/11
MUSLIM SUICIDE ATTACK KILLS 31 IN RUSSIA
Sunday, January 23, 2011
'Obama and Islam' Pamphlet Probes President's Pandering to and Appeasement of Political Islam
Monday, 24 January 2011
COMMENT: Given (a) that more than 36,000 American lives were lost in the Korean War, (b) that North Korea, the world's worst dictatorship, is a Chinese vassal that has repeatedly threatened to attack the United States and South Korea with nuclear weapons, and (c) that the U.S. needs China's help to stop the North from continuing to aid Iran's menacing nuclear and missile programs, playing an anti-American propaganda tune from a Chinese-made movie about the Korean war at a White House state dinner for China's President is worse than scandalous.
After the bowing and the apologizing, the awkward anthem and flag moments, the quoting from "the Holy Koran" ... "My Motherland" ... is performed at the White House. No wonder some conservative critics of the Obama administration have referred to it the first post-American Presidency.
POSTSCRIPT: China Confidential analysts say the visiting Chinese delegation approved the song choice, seeing it as delivering a message that China's military buildup, which has alarmed its neighbors and the U.S., is defensive in nature. (Beijing regards reunification with Taiwan, by peaceful or military means, as a domestic Chinese issue. And N. Korea is seen as China's ally and part of its sphere of influence.) The following solo lyric, though obviously offensive to Americans (GIs are compared to "jackals," or "wolves," depending on the translation) is considered key:
The terrorist attack on Russia's largest airport--click on link or scroll for coverage-- is a chilling reminder of the shocking vulnerability, more than nine years after 9/11, of America's airport lobbies, train terminals, and bus stations. No meaningful defense measures have been put in place to prevent terrorists from using bombs or store-bought weapons--e.g. shotguns and handguns--to murder and maim innocents in these unrestricted, publicly accessible areas.
Related:
Will Liberal Media Reach for 'Root Causes?'
Russian media and officials say a suspected suicide bomber has killed at least 31 people in what investigators are calling an act of "terror."
As of this writing, no group has claimed responsibility for the attack; but analysts and intelligence experts blame Islamist separatists
from Russia's North Caucasus, who have targeted the Russian heartland. Three men are suspected of carrying out the attack.
The Interfax news agency reports Monday that Russia's Investigative Committee said the explosion went off at one of Moscow's international airports, wounding at least 130 people.
The blast occurred inside the international arrivals area of the airport.
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