Free Republic

TOKYO – President Barack Obama says he wants to visit Hiroshima and Nagasaki sometime during his presidency but won't have time during this week's trip to Japan to go to the cities devastated by U.S. atomic bombs at the end of World War II. No sitting U.S. president has visited the two cities largely because of the controversy it could raise at home. In an interview with Japanese broadcaster NHK that ran Tuesday, Obama said he would be unable to visit the cities on his trip to Japan this weekend due to time constraints but would be willing to do...

The Obama Administration sends taxpayer dollars for "green jobs" to Chinese manufacturersKirsten Gillibrand's letter to the Wall Street Journal has already proven that the real purpose of Obama's "climate change" legislation is to create a market for carbon credits--a phony commodity with even less value than mortgage-backed securities or dot-com stocks--to enrich Obama campaign contribution bundlers like Goldman Sachs and J.P. Morgan Chase. Goldman Sachs bundled almost a million dollars in campaign contributions to help elect Obama so he could pass laws to enrich the company's highly-compensated executives even further, at the expense of working Americans who will have to...

What Hatoyama Has in Common with Roh Moo-hyun The steps the new Japanese government of Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama has been taking are reminiscent of the early days of former President Roh Moo-hyun's administration, the Nihon Keizai Shimbun said Sunday. The newspaper pointed out that the two administrations resemble each other most in foreign policy, and particularly in relations with the U.S. The Hatoyama administration has criticized ousted Liberal Democratic governments for being at Washington's beck and call and has been calling for a more equal relationship. That, the paper said, is strikingly similar to the Roh administration's pledge not...

Taiwan shelves 9 Mirage jets due to lack of spare parts Asia-Pacific News Taipei The Taiwan Air Force has shelved nine Mirage 2000-5 jets due to a lack of spare parts supplied by France, a newspaper report said Sunday. The China Times quoted an unnamed Air Force official as saying that the jets had been mothballed with assistance from France. The planes had undergone tests so that they could be reactivated, even for combat missions, he said. The delivery of pare parts could resume by the year-end, the official said. The China Times report comes one month after lawmaker Lin...

China hopes that the United States will keep its deficit to an appropriate size to ensure basic stability in the U.S. dollar exchange rate, Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao said on Sunday. "We have seen some signs of recovery in the U.S. economy ... I hope that as the largest economy in the world and an issuing country of a major reserve currency, the United States will effectively discharge its responsibilities," Wen told a news conference in Egypt. "Most importantly, we hope the United States will keep an appropriate size to its deficit so that there will be basic stability in...

ust when it looked like the prophecies of Nostradamus may be coming true, a white knight, in the form of Warren Buffett, strode in and saved the day. Buffett’s buy of Burlington Northern (BNI) turned the US equities markets from ugly duckling to suave Prince. The purchase was hailed by the Oracle himself as a “bet on America”. We see it a little bit differently…it is a bet on Asia/China. Burlington Northern System Map The map above (click to enlarge) illustrates the BNSF network. The BNSF system travels through the agricultural heartland, the manufacturing mid-west and the coal rich Powder...

SHARM EL-SHEIK, Egypt — China's premier on Sunday pledged $10 billion in new low interest loans to African nations over three years, offering the beleaguered continent sorely needed cash while dismissing criticism that Beijing's motives in Africa are far from altruistic. Wen Jiabao's promise at the start of a two-day China-Africa summit was warmly received by African leaders and officials, most of whose nations confront a miasma of despair further accentuated by a global financial crisis that is only now showing signs of abating. "The Chinese people cherish sincere friendship toward the African people, and China's support to Africa's development...

In most countries tens - perhaps hundreds - of thousands of children being abducted and sold on the black market would be seen as a national crisis, but not, it seems, in China. The government is touting some success in cracking down on child-trafficking gangs, but Adrian Brown finds distraught Chinese parents taking matters into their own hands. REPORTER: Adrian Brown These grainy images of a supermarket security camera record a young child being abducted. A woman leaves followed by the child, who appears distressed. The woman has taken the little girl's umbrella. Outside, the child will vanish, like tens...

In an historic effort to develop the U.S. military to military relationship with the People’s Republic of China, Gen. Kevin P. Chilton, commander U.S. Strategic Command, hosted Gen. Xu Caihou, one of two Vice Chairmen of the PRC’s Central Military Commission.

LTTE arms moved overland from China to NK for almost a decade by Shamindra Ferdinando Chinese arms consignments for the LTTE had been moved overland to North Korea across the China-North Korea border before being transferred to the terrorist group’s ‘floating’ warehouses on the high seas close to Indonesia, for about a decade, The Island learns. The LTTE had obtained its first Chinese arms consignment way back in 1994/1995 during the then People’s Alliance (PA) administration. On-going inquiries, well informed sources said, revealed that the China-North Korea overland transport of arms for the LTTE had operated for almost a decade...

Taking candy from a baby: A consortium of Chinese and American companies goes to Washington and announces plans to build a $1.5 billion windmill farm in West Texas using $450 million in U.S. Stimulus funds, which will create 2,330 jobs – 2,000 of them in China. The baby – Washington -- doesn’t cry or whine or spit in the consortium’s face. That’s what’s really wrong with this story. So accustomed to being bought and sold, Washington simply begins processing forms so it can hand over your tax dollars to create jobs in a turbine factory in the city of Shenyang,...

With plenty of money to invest from the interest owed to it by the United States, China continues reaching out its tentacles to grab more natural resources from Africa.

South Korea recently uncovered a North Korean plot to obtain South Korean electronic warfare equipment. North Korean agents, operating in China, sought to connect with South Korean business and government officials travelling in China, in order to see who could be bribed to help obtain the desired equipment. As a result of this, South Korea again warned their citizens, especially those working for the government or defense firms, to be careful who they deal with in China. To emphasize the danger, the government also announced the arrest of a former army officer, only identified as Mr. Lee, who had been...

China air force much improved though still lagging Christopher Bodeen, Associated Press Writer – Thu Nov 5, 12:21 pm ET BEIJING – China's rapidly modernizing air force is planning a display of its new military might for its 60th anniversary, showcasing a wide-ranging technical upgrade that has boosted its capabilities, though it still lags far behind its main rival, the United States. The People's Liberation Army Air Force is marking the occasion this Sunday with an aerial show and skydiving exhibition, using some of the state-of-the-art combat aircraft that have replaced hundreds of antiquated MIG fighters. While only about 20...

Comparing the relative strengths of India and China is a time-honoured parlour game. Which nation can grow faster? Which will be the more important power in the 21st century? Which one has a better model for growth? After China’s dramatic Olympic showcase and its ability to get its economy growing quickly after the global financial downturn, many have wondered if China has the jump on India today. But courtesy of an innovative London-based think tank, we have a comprehensive way of comparing India and China—one that is far more useful and comprehensive than anything that has come before it—and the...

China denounced as protectionist new U.S. anti-dumping duties on steel pipes on Friday and called for Washington's swift recognition that it is a market economy, a week before a visit by U.S. President Barack Obama. The United States on Thursday slapped preliminary anti-dumping duties ranging up to 99 percent on $2.63 billion in Chinese-made pipes used in the oil and gas industry, in the biggest U.S. trade action against China to date. The Commerce Department issued its preliminary decision a week before Obama heads to Asia on a trip that includes stops in Shanghai and Beijing. It follows counter-vailing duties...

The Obama adminstration must react responsibly to China’s declaration that military operations in space are inevitable, a top China expert says. “How will the US react to Chinese diplomatic efforts in light of the PLA’s blunt statements on space warfare? This is something the Obama administration has to take into account,” said Dean Cheng, China specialist at Washington’s Heritage Foundation. “Are we going to see outrage, any meaningful reactions to the Chinese statements or again that it was someone speaking out of school and we just aren’t sure.” Cheng was referring to what appears to mark a major shift...

President Obama and the Democratic majority in Congress are spending billions of tax dollars to subsidize development of "green jobs" - positions for people and companies designing and manufacturing alternative energy sources such as biomass, wind and solar. One of Obama's buddies, Gov. Deval Patrick of Massachusetts, is also a vocal advocate of such subsidies. Last year, Patrick put Massachusetts taxpayers' money where is mouth is by backing a $58 million package of incentives and subsidies to Evergreen Solar, which manufacturers collector panels used in solar energy units. Now barely a year later, Evergreen has announced that it is moving...

Future-oriented industries, such as those manufacturing solar panels, are being held back by shortages because of China's control of essential metals.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. military needs to deepen dialogue with China to better understand the intent of its space programs, a U.S. general said on Tuesday, after a Chinese commander announced plans to develop offensive military capabilities in space. General Kevin Chilton, head of the Pentagon's Strategic Command which coordinates U.S. military operations in space, said China-watchers had been "absolutely amazed" by the country's advances in its space programs over the past decade.

The Obama adminstration must react responsibly to China’s declaration that military operations in space are inevitable, a top China expert says. “How will the US react to Chinese diplomatic efforts in light of the PLA’s blunt statements on space warfare? This is something the Obama administration has to take into account,” said Dean Cheng, China specialist at Washington’s Heritage Foundation. “Are we going to see outrage, any meaningful reactions to the Chinese statements or again that it was someone speaking out of school and we just aren’t sure.”

AN official Taliban publication warns Australia that it will have to assimilate into a dominant Asia or face the prospect of being overpowered and forced to take population overspill from Asia. The choice is spelled out in the latest issue of the online Taliban monthly magazine, Al Sumud (Steadfastness), whose lead article offers a sweeping view of a post-war order in which a Taliban-ruled Afghanistan becomes a moral pivot for a pan-Asian renaissance that will coincide with the decline of Western power. "The end of European leadership in the world will place the white settler diaspora in Australia before two...

Nien Cheng, 94, whose memoir "Life and Death in Shanghai" was widely praised as one of the most riveting accounts of the Cultural Revolution, died Nov. 2 of cardiovascular and renal disease at her home in Washington. At a time when China's Communist leader Mao Zedong was trying to purge political rivals and reassert his authority, Mrs. Cheng, the wealthy widow of an oil company executive, was one of untold numbers of professionals who were evicted from their homes by the Red Guard. She was arrested in August 1966 and falsely accused of being a spy. Mrs. Cheng endured 6...

<p>Taiwan said Wednesday that its giant neighbour China has started building its first aircraft carrier, a move analysts have said could raise military tensions in the region. The head of Taiwan's National Security Bureau told parliament construction of the carrier had begun, Lin Yu-fang, a legislator of the ruling Kuomintang party, told AFP.</p>

Reporting Lou Young NEW YORK (CBS) -- Democrat John Liu has won a decisive victory in the race for New York City Comptroller. The Queens Councilman has made history, becoming the first Asian-American elected to citywide office. They pretty much knew they were having a victory party at John Liu's headquarters in Midtown. In fact, you could see the optimism on the candidate's face when we caught up with him earlier tonight in Harlem. Liu was wrapping up his successful campaign for Controller at the side of the man who currently holds the office. And his is a big deal...

The ongoing campaign against triads, or Chinese-style mafias, in the west-China metropolis of Chongqing is the largest such operation since 1949. Yet what renders this so-called “anti-triad tornado” (fanhei fengbao) so disturbing is not simply that close to 3,000 big-time criminals have been nabbed by authorities, the Chongqing disaster has laid bare the full extent of the collusion between organized crime on the one hand, and senior officers in the police and judiciary on the other. Even more shocking is the fact that what the local media calls “dark and evil forces” have become so entrenched and prevalent in this...

"He was a conjurer. He was a magician."

In a wide-ranging interview in the People's Liberation Army (PLA) Daily, air force commander Xu Qiliang said it was imperative for the PLA air force to develop offensive and defensive operations in outer space. "We must build an outer space force that conforms with the needs of our nation's development (and) the demands of the development of the space age." "Only power can protect peace," the 59-year-old commander said in the interview given to coincide with this month's 60th anniversary of the founding of the PLA air force.

Beijing gives frosty reception to man-made snowstorm Wed Nov 4, 1:26 AM BEIJING (AFP) - Government scientists in Beijing have been pilloried for inducing a recent heavy snow fall that jammed traffic, delayed air travel and left city residents shivering, state media said Wednesday. Sunday's snowfall dropped more than 16 million tonnes of snow on the Chinese capital, blanketing a city where winter heating services have yet to be switched on and leading to howls of public protest, the China Daily reported. The Weather Modification Office shot massive amounts of chemicals into clouds over the city the night before to...

Taiwan says China starts building first aircraft carrier Agence France-Presse First Posted 19:44:00 11/04/2009 Filed Under: Military, Foreign affairs & international relations TAIPEI – Taiwan said Wednesday that its giant neighbor China has started building its first aircraft carrier, a move analysts have said could raise military tensions in the region. The head of Taiwan's National Security Bureau told parliament construction of the carrier had begun, Lin Yu-fang, a legislator of the ruling Kuomintang party, told AFP. However, the security chief, Tsai Teh-sheng said the carrier's construction "has not been smooth" and that the Chinese navy may struggle to put...

China interested in Russian hydrocarbons; Russia aims to reduce its dependence on European energy markets. Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin's visit to Beijing earlier this month yielded commercial deals worth $3.5 billion and a sweeping framework for bilateral energy cooperation. China's interest in Russian hydrocarbons is motivated by a desire to meet growing demand and diversify import sources. Russia stands to gain from reducing its dependence on European energy markets and using exports to China to develop Russia's Far East. Oil integration. Earlier this year, the China Development Bank (CDB) provided Russian energy companies Rosneft and Transneft with a $25...

China, finally, is ready to build a house for Mickey Mouse. Beijing has approved plans to build a Disney theme park in Shanghai, a major milestone in the more than decade-long effort by Walt Disney Co. to dramatically expand its reach into China. Disney and the Shanghai municipal government jointly submitted plans in January to build a $3.59-billion park to open as early as 2014. It would be the entertainment giant's fourth theme park outside the U.S., after Paris, Tokyo and Hong Kong -- and the first in mainland China, the fastest-growing mass market in the world. The Chinese central...

A well-regarded website devoted to “open source military analysis” believes that the picture [below] is of a Chinese anti-satellite laser weapon...In 2006, China fired lasers at U.S. satellites, possibly blinding the spacecraft...and just this week, the head of China’s air force pledged to militarize space “in order to protect peace"...In a post today, IMINT & Analysis stated that these rectangular buildings in the Tian Shan mountain range of Xinjiang province could be hiding the next phase of the Chinese arsenal.

DOUGLAS — Federal authorities say they have seized nearly 700 pounds of marijuana at the Douglas Port of Entry. U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers were screening travelers and vehicles Sunday night when they came in contact with a 20-year-old Douglas man driving a truck. The vehicle was inspected and authorities discovered that the bed of the F-150 had been completely altered to accommodate the concealment of nearly 700 pounds of marijuana with an estimated street value of $1.1 million, authorities said. Officers seized the vehicle and marijuana and the man was turned over to the custody of Immigration and...

10 Ways A China Blow-Up Will Slam America Vincent FernandoNov. 3, 2009, 8:50 AM Beware a surprise economic crash in China. The country is expanding like crazy, and while this may look great in the short term, there are many signs that the country's economic path is unsustainable. The government itself realizes the problem, but must balance the country's bubble concerns with the zealous economic expectations of its population, and most importantly, the massive need for job creation. It's also a huge country and the government has far less control over the economy than it would like to admit. Should...

Budapest, Oct. 30 (Xinhua) -- Investor and philanthropist George Soros forecast in Budapest on Friday that China would emerge as the big winner of the global financial crisis. Soros called on Chinese leaders to "rise to the occasion" and take an active role in the creation of a new multilateral financial order urgently required to reinvent the "broken international financial system." Soros also warned that "the worst financial crisis since WWII" may not be over. The Hungarian-born billionaire sounded a pessimistic note throughout the week and said that those who believe the global economy is stabilizing are wrong. In the...

ChiNext, China’s long-awaited Nasdaq-style stock exchange, opened on Friday with frenzied trading that more than doubled the prices of all 28 newly listed companies. Investors piled into the fledging market in the hope that its technology and innovation-driven start-ups would become future heavyweights. But some experts were sceptical. “There’s a lot of belief that somehow the next Microsoft is lurking in there, which you’d be a fool to believe,” said Fraser Howie, author of Privatizing China: Inside China’s Stock Markets. One of the most popular stocks was Huayi Brothers Media, the movie maker famed for putting kung fu stars Jet...

SNIPPET: "Lula and Chavez have established a "strategic relationship," and recently agreed upon a joint Brazilian-Venezuelan oil venture worth billions of dollars. Lula and Chavez have joined with Daniel Ortega, the returned Nicaraguan Marxist dictator, to form an anti-U.S. Latin American military alliance - all with Russian assistance - funded by the region's abundant oil reserves. Brazil is engaged in its own arms build-up and Lula is determined that Brazil will become at least a first-rate regional power. Unfortunately, Lula is establishing Brazil as an anti-American military power by aligning with nations hostile or potentially hostile to the U.S. Lula...

And now some welcome news for a change: In a little-noticed move, the U.S. Congress tore down a barrier to imports of chicken from China last week. It's a victory for free trade and for a more rational approach to safety standards. President Obama signed an appropriations bill Wednesday that clears the way for the imports by allowing the U.S. Department of Agriculture to conduct in China the safety inspections U.S. law requires for any country exporting food to America. The congressional move in 2007 to block funding for those regulatory steps amounted to an import ban. Now USDA will...

WASHINGTON, Nov 02, 2009 (Xinhua via COMTEX) -- BKIAF | Quote | | News | PowerRating -- The International Monetary Fund announced on Monday the sale of 200 tons of gold to India's central bank, almost half the total sales volume of 403.3 tons that was approved by the Executive Board in September. "I strongly welcome this transaction with the Reserve Bank of India," Managing Director Dominique Strauss-Kahn said in a statement. "This transaction is an important step toward achieving the objectives of the IMF's limited gold sales program, which are to help put the Fund's finances on a sound...

Christians gathering in snow after forced out On Sunday, Novermber 1, Beijing Christians gathered in heavy snow after they were banned from an indoor place.

Japan denies friction with US by Kyoko Hasegawa Mon Nov 2, 1:57 am ET TOKYO (AFP) – Japan's centre-left government on Monday denied US ties were being strained by a row over an American airbase, amid confusion over whether its foreign minister will travel to Washington this week. The US State Department on Saturday said Japanese Foreign Minister Katsuya Okada would meet US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton on Friday, but within hours dropped mention of the meeting from Clinton's schedule. In Japan, media reports suggested Okada was still seeking a meeting late this week, ahead of a Tokyo visit...

China's "father of space program" mourned across country (Source: Xinhua) 2009-11-02 　 People in deep sorrow come to express condolences in a small mourning hall that was set up at Qian Xuesen's home, Beijing, Nov. 1, 2009. Qian, also known as Tsien Hsue-shen, died of illness in Beijing Saturday morning at the age of 98. He led the country's missile and aviation programs and played a significant role in developing China's first man-made earth satellite. (Xinhua/Gao Xueyu) 　 　　BEIJING, Nov. 1 (Xinhua) -- The death of China's legendary scientist Qian Xuesen has plunged many Chinese into deep sorrow and people...

As I have repeatedly noted, China has been blowing a bubble with easy credit. MarketWatch's Craig Stephen warns investors to be wary of a potential correction, at least in some sectors: Policy tightening could soon become the dominant market theme, meaning it's time for a rethink. After recent rate hikes in Australia and Norway, tightening is back on the agenda in many countries, including China. And with the U.S. just clocking up 3.5% annualized GDP growth for the third quarter, dollar bears will have something to think about. Nomura says its time to get a little more defensive in the...

The Chinese conundrum This is the proper space for continuing with a chapter named Exodus, but we will defer that subject. The holiday of Christian redemption approaching, the day the German-Jewish philosopher-theologian Franz Rosenzweig called “a day of entry into eternity,” it behooves us to take notice. Rosenzweig (1886 -1929) owes his own redemption from history’s benign neglect to the erudite Asia Times columnist Spengler, who has been championing this, in Spengler’s words, “sublime master of German letters,” for a long time. But for Christmas, one would do well to take exception to both Spengler’s and his prototype Oswald Spengler’s...

How And Why China Will Flood The Gold Market Commodities / Gold & Silver 2009 Oct 31, 2009 - 09:07 AM By: DailyWealth Jeff Clark of Casey Research writes: As you read this, the Chinese government is doing an extraordinary thing... something nearly unheard of in the modern world. It is encouraging citizens to put at least 5% of their savings into precious metals. The Chinese government is telling people gold and silver are good investments that will safeguard their wealth. After last year's meltdown in the stock market, people believe it. After all, Chinese citizens don't receive government retirement...

A LOVE cheat balances naked and shivering on an air conditioning vent after being caught romping with another man's wife. Sun Meng, 25, fled outside with the husband yelling abuse from his apartment window. This photo was taken by a neighbour - then posted on a local community website. Sun said in Chengdu, central China: "People are even laughing at how I look naked. But I must point out it was a very cold day."

HONG KONG (MarketWatch) -- China's manufacturing expanded for the eighth straight month in October and forward-looking indicators pointed to a further pick-up underway, according to a government index released Sunday.The data adds up to a picture of an economy that's on track for acceleration in the October-to-December period, marking the third-straight quarterly pick up. The Purchasing Managers Index (PMI) rose to 55.2 in October from 54.3 in September, the China Federation of Logistics and Purchasing said in a release. A gauge of export orders rose to 54.5 from 53.3, the sixth straight month of gains. General orders notched a similar...

BEIJING (AFP) - – Chinese meteorologists covered Beijing in snow Sunday after seeding clouds to bring winter weather to the capital in an effort to combat a lingering drought, state media reported. The unusually early snow blanketed the capital from Sunday morning and kept falling for half the day, helped by temperatures as low as minus 2 Celsius (29 Fahrenheit) and strong winds from the north, Xinhua news agency reported. Besides falling in the northeastern provinces of Liaoning and Jilin and the northern province of Hebei, the eastern port city of Tianjin also got its first snow of the autumn,...

Kabul government’s decision to reject bids from competitors in the U.S., Canada and other countries