Showing posts with label Asia. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Asia. Show all posts

How the Left Destroys Words

Political correctness destroys the accuracy of language

President Trump (left) and George "Moonface" Conway (right)
President Trump (Photo: Tasos Katopodis/Getty Images);
George Conway (Photo: Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)

This is a subject that could fill a 700-page book, but here I want to examine just a few recent examples that inspired me to write this post.

In summary, the recent coronavirus crisis has a lot of Leftists prickly about the word "Chinese" and use "Asian" instead.

This is akin to the Leftists' aversion to the word "Oriental," in my opinion, which many still (incorrectly) assume is ethnically derogatory. President Trump recently called someone "moonface," which many Leftists (incorrectly) assumed to be an ethnic slur.

On May 4, Trump called George Conway "moonface." He's the husband of Trump's White House counselor Kellyanne Conway, and although he's "conservative," he's a big Never-Trumper.

Trump and Conway's bitter public feud goes back a long time. That culminated in the now-infamous "Moonface" tweet from the President, which immediately set off a firestorm of outraged screams of "racist!" from the Left.
Kurt Schlichter, Senior Columnist at Townhall.com, tweeted this gem the next day in response:
What Schlichter was saying, of course, was that Leftists would pounce on Trump's use of "Moonface" as "racist." And, predictably, they did.
Was Trump's "Moonface" tweet in poor taste? Yes. But racist? Absolutely not, and the tweet by Victoria Brownworth (@VABVOX) is based on a falsehood: "Moonface" (or "moon face") is not a "common ethnic slur" for any group, let alone "Asians." Search Google for "moon face -trump -conway -orangeface" (that filters out the recent noise about Trump's tweet).

That search does not bring up "ethnic slur," "Asian," or "Chinese." In fact, the overwhelming majority of the Google returns are about "moon face" as a medical condition. 

Merriam-Webster gives this definition of "moon face":
moon face    noun
variants: or moon facies
Medical Definition of moon face: the full rounded facies characteristic especially of Cushing's syndrome and typically associated with deposition of fat
The condition of "moon face" can also be a side effect of the drug Prednisone.

Merriam-Webster defines "moonfaced":
Definition of moonfaced: having a round face 
Examples of moonfaced in a Sentence Recent Examples on the Web// His moonfaced son, drunk and sweaty, smelling like grass.— Emma Cline, The New Yorker, "Son of Friedman," 24 June 2019
First Known Use of moonfaced 
1619, in the meaning defined above
Do either of those definitions sound like "a common ethnic slur for Asians?" Not to me.

When was the last time you heard anybody use "moon face" to besmirch Asians? If it's a "common ethnic slur," as Victory Brownworth claims, then surely you've heard it. Surely it would come up as such in a Google search. Right? Ironically, Brownworth's Twitter profile says she is an "Award-winning investigative journo." Yet she failed to investigate the term "moonface." Maybe she doth protest too much: Do her comrades in the Leftist echo chamber in which she dwells use the term "moonface" to describe Asians? Why else would she think that very rarely used "slur" is "common?"

Comparing George Conway to Average Filipino Faces
Some other leftists are mistakenly claiming that Kellyanne Conway is "half Filipino." She's not. Her mother Diane Fitzpatrick is of Italian descent and her father John Fitzpatrick is of Irish ancestry, according to her bio.

George Conway is half-Filipino on his mother's side. However, Trump was probably not remarking on his ethnicity but, rather, on his physical appearance. Conway is, after all, a pudgy, dumpy moonfaced little man. His appearance is not obviously Filipino. George Conway's fat doughy face actually resembles someone who might have Cushing's syndrome. He appears to have, well, a moon face.

World of Facial AveragesTo all of the pearl-clutching, Trump-hating Leftists out there who are horrified by the term "moon face," check yourselves and your comrades for your years-long, incessant, and deliberately cruel deriding the President for his physical appearance: weight, "orange" skin, hair, etc.

This brings us back to how Leftists are misusing (and abusing) the word "Asian."

The Philippines is considered to be part of Asia, and George Conway is half-Filipino – therefore, he's half-Asian.

However, Brownworth and others are saying that "Moonface is a common ethnic slur for Asians." We've already shown that this is not true, but the bigger point here is – which Asians do they mean?

There are many countries and ethnicities on that vast, multicultural continent, as seen in the small sampling of typical Asian faces (left).

Asia is much more than just China. It stretches from the Mediterranean Sea in the west to Japan in the east, from Russia's Siberia in the north to India, Indonesia, and Papua New Guinea in the south.

The 2020 population of Asia is approximately 4.6 billion. The 2020 population of China alone is approximately 1.4 billion. So, about 70% of Asia is not "Chinese," and China has at least 56 ethnic groups within its borders.

My tweeted response (with a map of Asia) to Brownworth ask her just that:
To say that "moonface is a common slur against Asians" is absurd. Not only is that untrue, but it's also about as accurate as saying that everyone in North America is white. Not everyone in Asia looks the same. Not every Filipino looks like George Conway. There is, fact, a great variety of facial types in Asia. In their attempt to be politically correct, Leftists like Brownworth are, ironically, racist by means of stereotyping and homogenizing several billion humans.

There's this madness from The Washington Post: "Trump has no qualms about calling coronavirus the ‘Chinese Virus.’ That’s a dangerous attitude, experts say." This opinion piece, written by Allyson Chiu, essentially preaches that referring to something by its point of origin is evil, xenophobic, and promotes violence.

I searched and searched but could not find anything by Ms. Chiu in which she admonished us to stop saying "African swine flu" or "West Nile virus." I wonder why that is. After all, she must have been horrified by the waves of violent mobs attacking Africans because of those names. Weren't you?

"Jenn" is an "Asian American race &  feminist blogger." Given that, you might think she would know that "Asian" is not a race. She should know that while much of the world blames the government of China for COVID-19, NOBODY blames the Chinese people.... or India, Pakistan, Lebanon, Vietnam, or any other Asian country. But, sadly, she doesn't and this is typical dumb-think by Leftists:
And of course, the media love to encourage this dumb-think:
We've had the Left lecturing us that calling COVID-19 "Chinese Virus" is racist. It's gotten to the point where some on the Left don't even like to acknowledge that it originated in China. There's a logic of sorts to not naming future diseases after their place of origination, and give them bland names such as COVID-19 (Corona Virus Disease 2019). But it is also logical to wonder where that blandly named disease came from because knowing that can give important clues as to its epidemiology.

The deadly Asian giant hornet
The deadly HOVID-19
Diseases, of course, are not the only things that have been named for the place that they were first known.

The actual name of "murder hornets" is "Asian giant hornets." Why? Because they originated in Asia. Many liberals say that calling coronavirus (COVID-19) the "Chinese Virus" is racist. Some even think that saying it's from China is racist.

So why, then, isn't the term "Asian giant hornets" racist?

Give it time. Some leftie will propose calling them HOVID-19 (Hornets Vicious Dangerous 2019).

If missiles hit civilians in a war zone, would it be racist to say that "Russian missiles" or "American missiles" were responsible? Is it racist to say "Washington apples," "Danish pastry," or "Italian opera?"

This made me hungry. I'm going to my favorite Oriental restaurant tonight to get some Chinese food. I just love Asian cuisine.

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Could China-Japan Dispute Over Tiny Islands Cause World War Three?

Chinese pilots and Jian-10 fighters (photo: Xinhua)
Dec. 27, 2012 - Will the tensions between Iran and Israel trigger World War Three? Many would bet on, and it is certainly an obvious situation that is ripe for military conflict. But some experts think an argument between China and Japan is a more likely scenario, one that could trigger another world war.

The China-Japan dispute over three seemingly unimportant islands is not getting the attention it deserves. Professor Hugh White of National University in Australia, a defense expert, has made news this week by writing that the disagreement over the islands could cause Japan and China to stumble into full-blown shooting war with each other. He says the United States, and possibly other nations, would probably get sucked into the fight. (More about Prof. White below.)

Japan says "Senkaku" but China says "Diaoyu."
Both nations say "hands off."
Both Japan and China are making provocative and self-serving statements for all of the usual reasons: Propaganda, bluster, and national pride. While the Chinese government says that today's "harassment" by Japan "was meant to escalate the situation," China itself has been doing its best to rathet up the tension as well. Back in August, Chinese citizens were whipped into a frenzy of nationalistic furor over the dispute, rioting in some cities after Japanese activists landed on one of the Senkaku / Diaoyu islands claimed by both Beijing and Tokyo (see video report). A survey showed that 87 percent of Chinese citizens have a negative opinion of Japan at the end of 2012, up from 65.9% in 2011.

The disputed islands are called "Senkaku" by Japan and "Diaoyu" by China.  The islands are in the East China Sea (see map), and are also claimed by Taiwan. They are tiny, but are on a strategically important shipping route. In addition, however, the tiny islands sit atop large deposits of hydrocarbon petroleum and natural gas, discovered in the 1970s. Not surprisingly, that's when China and Taiwan began claiming the little islands.

Japan has long claimed that it has controlled the islands from 1895 until surrendered to the U.S. in 1945, at the end of World War II. The U.S. controlled the islands until 1972, when it returned them to Japan’s control. China, however, claims to have discovered the islands in the 14th century and to have controlled them since then.

Today, China is accusing Japan of deliberately trying to escalate the already tense situation:
A Chinese government spokesman Thursday [Dec. 27] said a maritime surveillance plane was harassed by Japanese military aircraft while patrolling the airspace near the disputed Diaoyu islands," reports TwoCircles.com. "Shi Qingfeng, spokesman for the State Oceanic Administration, said Japan's action was meant to escalate the situation and it should bear the consequences, Xinhua reported. Shi said the Chinese plane was conducting a routine patrol in the airspace over the East China Sea about 150 km from the Diaoyu islands. He said the flight route used by the Chinese plane has been used by Chinese surveillance aircraft since 2007. "The Japanese side's disturbance was intended to cause confusion and distort the truth," he said.
Harbin Y-12, Chinese surveillance aircraft
For months, both China and Japan have been conducting military exercises near and over the islands, often getting uncomfortably close to each other. God forbid there is an accident or misunderstanding.

Earlier this week, says International Business Times (IBT), "Japanese and Chinese military made contact near the disputed islands. The Y-12, a Chinese maritime surveillance aircraft that was cruising around the disputed territories, was intercepted by several Japanese Air Self-Defense forces."

"Up to eight F-15 jets were scramble by the JASDF (Japan Air Self Defense Force) in the morning of Dec. 13 (02.00 GMT – 11.00 LT)," reported The Aviationist, "after a Chinese Harbin Y-12 maritime surveillance aircraft skirted one of the disputed islands in the East China Sea." Japan said China was violating its airspace. China, however, considers that to be their own airspace.

PROF. HUGH WHITE, "THIS IS HOW WARS USUALLY START"

Prof. Hugh White (see bio)
"Australian National University professor Hugh White," reports The Japan Daily Press, "also a former Australian defense official, believes that the recent violation of Japanese airspace by Chinese planes and Japan’s election of a new, nationalist-leaning prime minister are sure signs that the two Asian superpowers are heading to war within the next year. In an opinion piece for the Sydney Morning Herald, White writes that the tensions developing now between the two countries are the among the conditions that have led to war many times in history, even when conflict is in no one’s interest."

The U.S. could become embroiled in a China-Japan war because of "America's recent pivot to Asia, which has sought to increase its military presence in various parts of Asia, posing a threat to China," says IBT. "In return, China has pushed back against U.S. pressure. China's formidable military developments, including a new fighter jet and aircraft carrier, has both Japan and the U.S. anxious."

Prof. White, says The Japan Daily Press, "feels that China is attempting to challenge the U.S. and President Barack Obama’s 'pivot to Asia,' itself a response to China’s growing power and territorial claims in the region. He believes that the tit-for-tat dispute over the uninhabited islands in the East China Sea is what inevitably leads to someone opening fire."

THE OBAMA "PIVOT"

 By "Obama's pivot," Prof. White was referring to the Obama administration’s strategic “pivot” from the Middle East to East Asia.

Prof. White wrote that warning in a column that was published by The Sydney Morning Herald on Dec. 26. It's ominous title was "Caught in a bind that threatens an Asian war nobody wants." The column start with, "THIS is how wars usually start: with a steadily escalating stand-off over something intrinsically worthless. So don't be too surprised if the US and Japan go to war with China next year over the uninhabited rocks that Japan calls the Senkakus and China calls the Diaoyu islands. And don't assume the war would be contained and short."

The vision of a China-Japan shooting war is not some lone, crazy vision held only by Prof. White. Many are worried about it, actually, as indicated by a Dec. 17 article at CurrentIntelligence.net (with my emphasis added):
As tensions persist between China and Japan over the disputed islands in the East China Sea, the United States faces the almost impossible task of simultaneously reassuring and constraining its regional allies, while ensuring that it does not escalate its own tensions with Beijing. On one level it is hard to see how China and Japan could become so consumed over a small set of remote islands and it remains unclear how serious the crisis is. Yet, over the past several months, Chinese and Japanese ships have been patrolling the same waters with both laying territorial claims to the area.  And, earlier this fall, U.S. Defense Secretary Leon Panetta warned that the escalating tensions and close proximity of Chinese and Japanese vessels could lead to some triggering event and conflict.
Video Below: Professor Hugh White's speech entitled 'Abandon the Alliance? How China's rise will shape Australia's future'." Related articles listed below.



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Raw Video: Fire Kills Dozens In Bangladesh Factory, Many Jumped To Their Deaths

December 14, 2010 - Bangladesh - The Associated Press reports that "dozens of people" were killed in the fire that "raced through a garment factory that supplies major multinationals such as Gap and JCPenney near Bangladesh's capital on Tuesday. Many of the dead included trapped workers who jumped from the smoldering building engulfed by flames, witnesses at the scene said." The Guardian UK reports that most of the dead jumped to their deaths from the ten-story factory. Raw video below....
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N. Korea Wants $65 Trillion From U.S. For Compensation

North Korea wants $65 Trillion (US dollars) for 60 years of "hostility." What makes the North Korean request so bizarre is the fact that they started the war for which they now want us to pay them damages. On June 25, 1950, the North Korean People's Army (NKPA) invaded South Korea across the 38th Parallel with 135,000 men. The South Korean military was badly outgunned and outnumbered and suffered heavy casualties. North Korean forces entered Seoul on June 28. The first battle between the U.S. Army and the NKPA was on July 5, 1950. (Source) In other words, North Korea started the war. Comrade Obama responded to the North Korean demand. The Associated Press reports today that "The Obama administration ridiculed North Korea on Friday for claiming $65 trillion from the United States in Korean War damages, saying the communist nation is an economic 'basket case' due its own failed policies." I do believe that this is the first time I have ever agreed with His Regime. Before the U.S. entered the war, however, it called on the United Nations on June 27th 1950, "to use force to get the North Koreans out as they had ignored the Security Council’s resolution of June 25th. This was also voted for and once again the Russians could not use their veto as they were still boycotting the United Nations..... On September 15th 1950, United Nations troops landed in an amphibious assault at Inchon. The landing was a huge success and the United Nations effectively cut the North Korean army in half and pushed them out of South Korea. MacArthur then advanced into North Korea – despite the warnings from Communist China. This resulted in a Chinese attack on United Nations troops and between November 1950 and January 1951, the Chinese managed to push back the United Nations force. After a clash with President Truman, MacArthur was sacked and the war degenerated into a war of stalemate with neither the United Nations or the Chinese managing to gain the upper hand." (Source) The fighting stopped in July 27, 1953, when the UN and North Korea signed an armistice. A permanent peace treaty between South Korea and North Korea has never been signed (source). It has been more than 50 years since the Korean War Armistice Agreement was signed "and what was intended to be a temporary measure is currently the only truce that prevents resuming the war. In 1954, an unsuccessful attempt was made to create a formal peace agreement. To date, no peace treaty has ever been signed and the demilitarization zone (DMZ) is still defended today by South Korean and American troops on one side and North Korean troops on the other." (Source) No peace treaty. Only an armistice, or cease-fire. Technically, we are still in a state of war with North Korea. (Be sure to watch the video below.) Since then, South Korea has rebuilt itself with U.S. aid and trade, and a lot of hard work and ingenuity by the South Koreans. Their recovery could not have happened without having a democratic and capitalist system. On the other hand, North Korea remains Communist and has been patronized and "protected" over the past 60 years by the communist Soviet Union (USSR) and China. No attempt was ever made by either of those powers to democratize North Korea or to improve their economic system. It remains a heavy handed dictatorship living in isolated paranoia and bitterness. And now they have the nerve to ask for compensation? If anybody should ask for compensation, it's South Korea, the United States and the other nations who joined the United Nations in keeping South Korea free from the boot heel of communist tyranny. South Korea was damaged directly, obviously, while every participating nation defending it lost men and women in battle, as well as considerable treasure. North Korea should be apologizing still for its unprovoked aggression and its continued beligerence and its attempts at nuclear blackmail. On a personal note, I'd like to sue Egypt for compensation for more than 3,000 years of continuous hostility toward my Jewish father's ancestors. Would $65 Million Billion Gazillion be too much to ask for? RELATED: US: N Korean war damages claim 'preposterous' (AP)‎ Legacy of Unresolved Korean Conflict Plagues US Policy‎ (VOA) South Korea Consumer Sentiment Rose in June for Second Month‎ BusinessWeek EDITORIAL: Our ongoing war in Korea‎ Washington Times Forgotten Korea war continues‎ Yuma Sun Inside North Korea (Video) National Geographic The UN Offensive, 16 September - 2 November 1950 The Korean War Armistice Agreement History of North Korea
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SOUTH KOREAN NAVY SHIP SINKS, NORTH KOREA THREATENS NUCLEAR STRIKES

UPDATE, MARCH 27, 2010 - South Korea rules out navy ship sunk by North Korea (Reuters) - South Korea on Saturday [March 27] all but ruled out the chance that North Korea was involved in the sinking of one of its navy vessels near their disputed border.... "Given the investigations by government ministries so far, it is the government's judgment that the incident was not caused by North Korea, although the reason for the accident has not been determined yet," a senior government official was quoted as saying by Yonhap news agency. Full Article here... Also see: South Korea says must check reasons for ship sinking March 26, 2010 - Within the past 24 hours, very disturbing news from a very disturbed part of the world: North Korea has made very strong threats of nuclear war against both the U.S. and South Korea. North Korea has made similar threats previously, but today we also get reports that North Korea may have torpedoed a South Korean naval vessel. "Those who seek to bring down the system in the DPRK (North Korea)... will fall victim to the unprecedented nuclear strikes of the invincible army," a General Staff spokesman told the official Korean Central News Agency... Source: AFP/GoogleNews South Korea’s Yonhap News Agency is reporting that a South Korean naval vessel sank with a crew of 104 "off of the island of Baengnyeong in the Yellow Sea on March 26. Based on size and crew displacement it is likely either an Ulsan-class guided missile frigate or a Po Hang-class corvette. The incident took place between 9 and 10 a.m. local time." Source: 1913intel.com The BBC: "The South Korean ministry of defence has not confirmed the reports of North Korean involvement. There were reports that another South Korean ship had fired shots toward an unidentified ship in the North following the alleged torpedo attack." More at BBC... Because of security concerns, South Korea is not giving out a lot of information. The situation is not entirely clear and different stories are coming from many sources. The Bangkok Post reports that "South Korea's navy opened fire Friday at an unidentified ship in the Yellow Sea near the North Korean border after one of its own ships was sunk, Yonhap news agency said." The combination of the North's threat of nuclear attack and the sinking of the South's naval ship makes this situation more alarming than either would be separately. RELATED ARTICLES: South Korean Navy Reportedly Shoots at Unidentified Ships Near North Korea FOXNews S. Korean Naval Ship Sinks; Presidents Convenes Security Meeting BusinessWeek Report: South Korean navy ship sinking near North Korea CNN (blog) Korean War? Reason Online (blog) Navy ship sinking in West Sea after explosion Korea Herald Leave a Comment * Conservative T-Shirts * Follow CNB on Twitter * RSS Feed
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Indian Election Gives Congress Party "Massive Mandate"

The big national election in India gave more power to the powers already in power. Surprising most observers, the Congress Party swept the polls in a huge victory. 

It marks a huge loss for India's leftists, especially the Communist Party of India and the Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party. Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M) general secretary Prakash Karat, who had come to see the election as a referendum on the Left's ideological stance as opposed to that of the Congress, acknowledged that the results were a "major setback" for them. He agreed that the people all over the country had voted "on the basis of the platform put forward" by the Congress and its allies. Full Story at EconomicTimes.indiatimes.com...

The Economic Times also reports that Congress President Sonia Gandhi says that Manmohan Singh will be the Prime Minister. Singh would be the first person since Jawaharlal Nehru to "return to power after a full five-year term." The ruling Congress party swept to a resounding victory Saturday in India's mammoth national elections, defying expectations as it brushed aside the Hindu nationalist opposition and a legion of ambitious smaller parties. The strong showing by the party, which is dominated by the powerful Nehru-Gandhi political dynasty, laid to rest fears of an unstable, shaky coalition heading the South Asian giant at a time when many of it neighbors are plagued by instability, civil war and rising extremism. Prime Minister Manmohan Singh declared victory, telling reporters that voters had given the Congress party-led coalition a "massive mandate." Full Report from AP/Yahoo! News...

"We have won a thumping majority," Congress activist Parag Jain said outside the party offices, in a leafy, elegant south New Delhi neighborhood. "Successful rule begins and ends with Congress and the Gandhi family."

RELATED: India's Left Loses in Strongholds - Wall Street Journal Parliament to host four Gandhis for the first time - The Economic Times Left will have no role in government formation - Economic Times Left has suffered 'major setback', admits Karat - Hindustan Times Left allies dig in heels against Cong, BJP - Expressindia.com Maoist Revolutionary parties and organizations in India - massline.info Incidents involving Communist Party of India... - South Asia Terrorism Portal
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Sri Lanka Wiping Out Tamil Tigers

Update, 16 May 2009: Click for updated headlines about Tamil Tigers "Defeated" The "tigers" of Sri Lanka are endangered - finally. Not cats but terrorists, the Tamil Tigers are a terrorist group that has fought a bloody war against the Sri Lankan government for 26 years. Now, the government is engaged in a big push to wipe out the rebels in a bloody and frantic campaign. "Sri Lankan troops have captured the last patch of coastline held by the Tamil Tigers and the rebels would shortly be left without any territory, a top military source said" - Agence-France Presse Over the years, Tamil Tiger bombings, assassinations and other atrocities have occasionally spilled onto mainland Asia, to nearby India. Since 1983, more than 70,000 people have died in the on-again-off-again civil strife in Sri Lanka, which became independent from Britain in 1948. (See a timeline of the civil war here.) Sri Lankan troops seized the entire coastline for the first time in its 25-year war with the Tamil Tigers, the military said, cutting off escape for separatist rebels now facing total destruction. Two divisions marching from north and south sealed the coast, while a third completed the encirclement of the Tigers and their leaders, now trapped in barely a square kilometre and without their umbilical access to the sea. Full Story at ABC News Australia. The Sri Lankan strategy seems to be working, according to an Agence-France Presse report in the National Post (Canada): "They are slowly giving up. They are blowing up whatever arms and ammunition they have," Brigadier Udaya Nanayakkara said of the remnants of the once-powerful separatist Tamil Tiger army. A military spokesman said about 10,000 civilians had managed to flee to government areas on Friday, and that there was now "hardly anybody left" in the rebel zone on the northeast coast. Full Report at National Post... RELATED: Sri Lanka's Civil War: Not Over Yet - TIME Leave a Comment on our Guestbook Chicago News Bench RSS Feed - Follow ChiNewsBench on Twitter
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Thailand Near Revolution

Video below. Thailand is in a state of turmoil this weekend, with a former leader urging revolution. Fox News reports today: Thailand's prime minister narrowly escaped a savage attack and rioting erupted in Bangkok as protesters commandeered public buses and swarmed triumphantly over military vehicles in unchecked defiance after the government declared a state of emergency. Bands of red-shirted anti-government protesters roamed areas of the Thai capital, with some smashing a car carrying Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva and others beating up motorists who hurled insults at them. More at FoxNews... Meanwhile, CNN reports: Former Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra has urged his supporters in the troubled south-east Asian country to revolt, a military-run network and CNN affiliate MCOT reported Sunday. More from CNN... You can find even more links at Mahalo.com... Chicago News Bench RSS Feed CommieBama Hats and More
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UPDATED: PAKISTAN-INDIA TENSIONS STILL HIGH

Dec 27, 11:26 AM EST - Associated Press - Pakistan Moves Troops Toward Indian Border ISLAMABAD, Pakistan (AP) -- Pakistan told India on Saturday it did not want war and was committed to fighting terrorism - a move apparently aimed at reducing tensions after Pakistan moved troops toward their shared border. Islamabad also announced it was canceling all military leave - the latest turn of the screw in the rising tensions between the nuclear-armed neighbors following last month's terror attack on the Indian financial capital of Mumbai. THIS BEGS THE QUESTION: Why, then, did Pakistan move thousands of troops to its border with India on Friday? Why was leave canceled for all of Pakistan's military? That seems to be a very odd way of signalling that they don't want war. AP continues: Intelligence officials said Friday that the army was redeploying thousands of troops from the country's fight against militants along the Afghan border to the Indian frontier - an alarming scenario for the West as it tries to get Pakistan to neutralize the al-Qaida threat. FULL ARTICLE from AP... PREVIOUSLY, 26 DEC 2008: Pakistan is preparing for war with India. They are, at this moment, placing thousands of soldiers on its border with India. Tensions are very high, fingers are on the triggers. New bunkers are being built. The tension has been building since the Mumbai attacks. God forbid, it looks like it may reach the boiling point at any moment. AFP Reports today: Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh summoned his military chiefs to review New Delhi's "defence preparedness" while his foreign ministry advised Indians not to travel to Pakistan, saying it was unsafe for them to be in the country. The developments sent ties plummeting to their lowest point since late 2001, when Kashmiri militants staged a brazen attack on the Indian parliament -- an attack New Delhi blamed on the Pakistan-based extremist group Lashkar-e-Taiba. Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) is also blamed for the recent Mumbai massacres. Times of India - 27 Dec 2008, 0042 hrs IST, Ajay Sura, TNN - Pakistan has stepped up its war moves by cancelling all military leave, sharply increasing deployment of its troops along the border adjoining Punjab and Jammu, and building new bunkers along the border near Barmer, Jaisalmer and Ganganagar. Highly placed sources said Pakistan has shifted its 4 Corps, an important strike arm, to Lahore, just 25 km from Attari. Its 10th brigade, consisting of around 5,000 personnel, has further been moved to forward areas along Punjab. Similarly its 3rd Armoured Brigade has been moved towards Jhelum.... India's 2nd Corps from Ambala and 10 Corps from Bathinda have also moved to border areas for what an Army spokesperson described as annual exercises. This comes even as 11 Corps from Jalandhar has already moved for the exercise. RELATED: US warning on South Asia tension Pakistan Sends Troops to Indian Border Tensions mount as Pakistan shifts troops to Indian border South Asia descends into terror's vortex Newsdesk: Brown warns of Pakistan terror
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India Loves George W. Bush

The Bench front page... For nearly eight years, we've been hearing the twin lies that "the world hates America" and "the world hates President Bush." Just ask India's Prime Minister what he thinks of George W. Bush. The Hindu newspaper ran an article on September 27 (well before the Mumbai chaos of last week), in which he unabashedly lavished praise on Mr. Bush. “People of India deeply love you,” Prime Minister Manmohan Singh told United States President George W. Bush here on Thursday evening. The actual quote was "deeply, deeply love you." I've heard the audio. Singh continued: “In the last four and half years that I have been Prime Minister, I have been the recipient of your generosity, your affection, your friendship. It means a lot to me and to the people of India.” As Mr. Bush sat beaming in the glare of television cameras, he heard the visitor saying, “When the history is written, I think it will be recorded that President George W. Bush played a historic role in bringing our two democracies closer to each other.” Praise for George W. Bush - from a foreign leader??? This must sound like science fiction to the average American liberal, but the fact is that Bush is not the evil dictator that the lying liars have worked so hard to portray. Singh noted that President Bush made a major contribution to peace in Southern Asia. “For 34 years, India has suffered from a nuclear apartheid. We have not been able to trade in nuclear material, nuclear reactions, and nuclear raw materials. And when this restrictive regime ends, I think a great deal of credit will go to President Bush. And, for this I am very grateful to you, Mr. President.” Full Article at The Hindu... Wow. A major world leader saying that he is "grateful" to George W. Bush. Imagine. RELATED LOVE NOTES: Manmohan Professes India’s Deep Love for Bush - Prime Minister ... South Asia Investor Review: Manmohan Says India Loves Bush Bill Clinton Praises Bush : Next Stop Lauderdale Howard Dean fails again. Nagin praises Bush. Scott Allan's World Praise for George Bush's leadership skills Education The Guardian Bush's record in Africa receives well-deserved praise - Opinion ... Praise for President Bush in German Paper - Atlantic Review ... PajamaHadin » Blog Archive » ABC surprised by praise for Bush Open Letter Of Praise For George W Bush Putin criticizes NATO but has praise for Bush - International ... Well-Deserved Praise for Bush's Africa Record - Examiner.com Grudging Praise for Bush on Environment praise for bush from danish P.M. « The Homesick American… Rock star Bono praises Bush for AIDS plans
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Nepal Steps Toward Suicide

Maoism: the theory and practice of Marxism-Leninism developed in China chiefly by Mao Zedong [source] Kathmandu, Aug 15: With the election of Maoist supremo Prachanda, once hunted by Interpol with a bounty on his head, as Nepal's first Prime Minister in the post-monarchy era, a question mark hangs on what course the Himalayan country will take, including on its ties with India. FULL STORY... What the definition above does not tell you is that Maoists, unlike your average socialist on the street, are very violent and believe strongly in using violence to achieve their political goals. Kinda like Barack Obama's buddy William Ayers. No, that's not an exagerration. Ayers and fellow Weatherman alumni believed in firebombing and arson as valid political tools. They quoted Mao extensively. Still do, really. Back to Nepal, which has just taken it's first decisive step toward suicide by electing Maoists to run their beautiful country. Poor naifs. What the Maoists called their "people's war" had left 13,000 people dead, tens of thousands displaced and much of the country's infrastructure destroyed. [BBC] Many news reports today speculate whether Prachanda will act democratically, drop his nom de guerre, etc. Hmmm. Many news reports today involve the "former" Soviet Union acting a lot like, well, the Soviet Union. Look, kids, with very rare exception, once an avowed Communist, always an avowed Communist, whether you're Bill Ayers or Prachanda. RELATED: VOA News - Nepal Selects Maoist Leader as Prime Minister Nepal Terrorist Groups - Maoist Insurgents CHRONOLOGY - Milestones in Nepal's Maoist war, peace Maoist Internationalist Movement (MIM) BBC NEWS - Who are Nepal's Maoist rebels?
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