Why is it ok to do business with COMMUNIST China and not Cuba or not Iran? Just last week the U.S. stated it feared China’s military buildup, yet we’re going to sell them nuclear reactors that could end up enhancing their military power. Go figure….

By Mark Clayton
China has its heart set on buying a cutting-edge US design for a nuclear-power reactor, and the Bush administration has said it is willing to sell because the transaction will mean jobs for Americans and pave the way for a “nuclear [power] renaissance in the US.”

But critics of the mammoth $5 billion-plus sale are raising concerns that China might not use the advanced technology strictly for peaceful purposes, perhaps intending to “reverse engineer” pieces of it for military purposes.

That worry surfaced this month in a letter four members of Congress sent to Defense Secretary Robert Gates. The May 18 letter asked whether the sale of four nuclear-power reactors to China, approved by the administration in December, could end up enhancing Beijing’s military, including its ability to produce nuclear fuel for bombs and increase the stealthiness of its submarines.

“This transaction presents potential security concerns that Congress will have to consider,” wrote Reps. Jeff Fortenberry (R) of Nebraska, Ed Royce (R) of California, Christopher Smith (R) of New Jersey, and Diane Watson (D) of California. All serve on foreign or international relations committees of the House of Representatives.

The sale of US civilian nuclear technology to China has long been a matter of contention. The debate is intensifying now because Westinghouse Electric Co. is expected within weeks to apply for up to $5 billion in loans from the US Export-Import Bank to finance the sale of the reactors to China. When it comes, the application will trigger a review by Congress, where critics of the deal hope to raise enough questions about it to hold it up, perhaps for good.

If approved, the deal would be the largest by far in the history of the bank, a taxpayer’supported entity charged with creating and sustaining jobs by financing sales of US goods to international buyers.

Read more at CSMonitor

SHANGHAI: The former head of China’s top food and drug safety agency was sentenced to death Tuesday after pleading guilty to corruption and accepting bribes, the state-controlled news media reported.

Zheng Xiaoyu, who served as commissioner of the Food and Drug Administration from its founding in 1998 until mid-2005, was detained in February as part of a government investigation into corruption at the agency.

The unusually harsh sentence for the 62-year-old former commissioner came at a time of heightened concern about the quality and safety of China’s food and drug system, following a series of scandals here involving tainted food and counterfeit drugs.

China is under mounting pressure to overhaul its food export controls after two local companies were accused this year of shipping contaminated pet food ingredients to the United States, leading to one of the largest pet food recalls in U.S. history.

More at International Herald Tribune

Is there no place on earth we can’t exploit for our own need, greed or gratification?

Now They Speak Out

If U.S. business is a quiet force for progress in China, as it claims, why is it protesting against labor reform?

May 28, 2007 issue - When critics accuse U.S. companies of moving jobs to China to exploit cheap labor and sweatshop conditions, businesses always argue that their presence has helped improve labor standards and even forward democracy. Now the same companies that pat themselves on the back are lobbying to weaken a draft Chinese labor law-and workers’ rights activists are calling them hypocrites.

The proposed law would require employers to sign contracts with all workers and to pay severance to fired employees, and tighten job protection for older workers and sole breadwinners. It would also give the party-run union more power in contract negotiations and setting workplace rules. Designed to quell unrest over working conditions, withheld wages and long hours, the law has already been amended to make it more acceptable to foreign firms and is due to be approved as early as this summer. Critics say efforts to water it down further show how U.S. firms put profits ahead of principles in China while staying mum on sensitive issues, from Internet censorship to the repression of lawyers.

(Sarah Schafer, Newsweek International)

More at MSNBC.com

NEW YORK — A human rights group launched a campaign Thursday against Yahoo Inc. on grounds the U.S. search company assisted China’s communist government with torture by revealing information that led to the arrest of dissidents.

The World Organization for Human Rights USA said businesses that operate abroad need to be more aware of their responsibilities.

“They should not be participating actively in promoting and encouraging major human rights abuses,” said Morton Sklar, executive director for the Washington, D.C.-based organization.

Yahoo has acknowledged turning over data on its users at the request of the Chinese government, saying company employees face civil and criminal sanctions if they ignore local laws.

More at SeattePI

The beast rarely leaves the confines of his lair. But when he does… look out!

    (Kudos to MSNBC.com for creating this fitting image)

Is there any country left we can alienate? How about Canada? Aren’t they about to erect their very own border fence yet? Who would blame them? The United States has an idiot and a madman running the show!

“…China’s continued fast-paced military buildup are less constructive and are not consistent with China’s stated goal of a peaceful rise.”

Isn’t the United States a peaceful/peace-loving country? Don’t we spend more on military buildup than anyone else? Don’t we allow our vets to go nearly unclothed, hungry and cold, into the streets just so more money can stay in our military budget? Don’t we nickel & dime America’s middle class and poor right out of maintaining basic necessities, like adequate health care, just to boast the world’s finest military?

It takes really huge balls to stand in front of a knowing crowd and make such statements!

From MSNBC.com:

Cheney rips China’s anti’satellite weapons test

SYDNEY, Australia - China’s recent anti’satellite weapons test and its continued military buildup are “not consistent” with its stated aim of a peaceful rise as a global power, Vice President Dick Cheney said Friday.

In a speech in Sydney, Cheney also expressed wariness about North Korea’s commitment to a landmark deal on ending its nuclear programs.

As anti-war demonstrators clashed with police outside the hotel where Cheney was speaking, the vice president also expressed gratitude to Australia for sending troops to the Iraq war, which he said must be won or terrorists would be emboldened worldwide.

Cheney praised China for playing an “especially important” role in the negotiations that resulted in the North Korea deal, under which the North is to seal its main nuclear reactor and allow international inspections in exchange for fuel oil.

“Other actions by the Chinese government send a different message,” Cheney told the Australian-American Leadership Dialogue, a private organization that promotes ties between the two countries.

“Last month’s anti’satellite test, China’s continued fast-paced military buildup are less constructive and are not consistent with China’s stated goal of a peaceful rise,” he said.

Is this man serious? We’re going to tell China what it can or cannot do? Of course not! A day without a republican sounding a false alarm would be like a day without breakfast. Know this: Without any alarms to sound or sins to battle, there would be no republicans.
I suppose Hu Jintao could look at Jon Kyl and ask; “You, and what army?”

Senator urges robust U.S. stance on China space moves

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - China’s test of an anti’satellite weapon this month was a “wake-up call” that should make the United States get serious about threats in space, a Republican senator said on Monday.

Jon Kyl of Arizona said China’s destruction of an aging Chinese weather satellite with a ground-based ballistic missile underscored the vulnerability of U.S. security and communications assets in space.

“Chinese military doctrine and numerous writings make it clear China does not believe space can or should be free of military capabilities,” said Kyl.

On January 11, China used a ground-based ballistic missile to knock out an aging Chinese weather satellite about 537 miles above Earth, scattering dangerous debris that could damage other satellites for years.

China confirmed the blast 12 days later but denied it was seeking an arms race in space.

Kyl told the conservative Heritage Foundation think tank that China posed a multifaceted space threat with broad capabilities. Russia, Iran, North Korea and other states with missile capabilities also could destroy satellites, he said.

Source: WashingtonPost.com

The Chinese have the new PlayStation 3 now and Bushie is upset. Take your ball and run on home, G-Dubya.

“…asserting the United States’ right to deny adversaries access to space for hostile purposes“… What arrogance we have!

U.S. criticizes China over missile test

WASHINGTON - The United States criticized China on Thursday for conducting an anti’satellite weapons test in which an old Chinese weather satellite was destroyed by a missile.

The Bush administration has kept a lid on the test for a week as it weighs its significance. Analysts said China’s weather satellites would travel at about the same altitude as U.S. spy satellites, so the test represented an indirect threat to U.S. defense systems.

“The United States believes China’s development and testing of such weapons is inconsistent with the spirit of cooperation that both countries aspire to in the civil space area,” National Security Council spokesman Gordon Johndroe said. “We and other countries have expressed our concern to the Chinese.”
…

The head of the Defense Intelligence Agency, Lt. Gen. Michael Maples, told Congress last week in his annual threat address that China and Russia are the “primary states of concern” regarding military space programs.
…

In October, President Bush signed an order asserting the United States’ right to deny adversaries access to space for hostile purposes. As part of the first revision of U.S. space policy in nearly 10 years, the policy also said the United States would oppose the development of treaties or other restrictions that seek to prohibit or limit U.S. access to or use of space.

“Freedom of action in space is as important to the United States as air power and sea power,” the policy said. “In order to increase knowledge, discovery, economic prosperity and to enhance the national security, the United States must have robust, effective and efficient space capabilities.”

Source: Yahoo! News

Beijing - China and Iran have signed a memorandum of understanding worth more than $16bn to develop a giant natural gas field, an Iranian diplomat in Beijing confirmed on Friday, reported the China Daily.
According to Iranian media reports, China National Offshore Oil Corp (CNOOC) and the National Iranian Oil Company signed the agreement over the development of the North Pars gas field on Wednesday.
[tag]
North Pars gas field[/tag], which is located 85km north of the giant South Pars gas field in the Persian Gulf, has an estimated 80 trillion cubic feet of natural gas.

According to the Iran Daily, the project, which is one of the largest of its kind in Iran, would involve the development of the gas field in four phases. It is expected to take eight years to become operational.

Read more here and here.

Even as the stock market is hitting new record highs almost every day, the Federal Reserve and Treasury Department are quietly coordinating a devaluation of the dollar that the Bush administration hopes will be a slow decline rather than a dollar collapse.

This week, in an unusual move, the Bush administration is sending virtually the entire economic “A-team” to visit China for a “strategic economic dialogue” in Beijing Dec. 14 and 15.

Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson and Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke are leading the delegation, along with five other cabinet-level officials, including Secretary of Commerce Carlos Gutierrez. Also in the delegation will be Labor Secretary Elaine Chao, Health and Human Services Secretary Mike Leavitt, Energy Secretary Sam Bodman, and U.S. Trade Representative Susan Schwab.

The Bush administration wants to get China’s cooperation in preventing a dollar collapse. That’s the conclusion of John Williams, an experienced professional econometrician, who writes the “Shadow Government Statistics” blog.

Read more at WorldNetDaily

BEIJING — After years of denial, China has acknowledged that many of the human organs used in transplants here are taken from executed prisoners and that many of the recipients are foreigners who pay hefty sums to avoid a long wait.

Speaking at a conference of surgeons in the southern city of Guangzhou, Deputy Health Minister Huang Jiefu called for a strict code of conduct and better record keeping to stem China’s thriving illegal-organ trade, state media reported.

More here