Are We Really Surprised That the Chinese Government Engaged in Deception at Opening Ceremonies?

People seem surprised that the Chinese government used computer graphics and lip synching at the opening ceremonies of the Beijing Olympics. They really shouldn't be. And we shouldn't be surprised when more such revelations come to light.

China's Communist Party are well-known as masters of propaganda; they regularly pull this type of stunt on their own people.

Anything that interfered/diminished the grand spectacle of the opening ceremonies were considered to be unacceptable by the Chinese government were altered:

• Replacing a Chinese child with buck teeth (and a beautiful singing voice) to a "cuter" little Chinese girl who lip-synched the song were considered necessary by the Chinese government.
• Computer-generated fireworks that were inserted into live coverage of the fireworks taking place in Beijing.
• Recruiting people off the streets to come in and fill the seats of Olympic venues so that it looks like the Olympics are being well-attended, to present an image of a unified and supportive Chinese nation.
• Training spectators on how to coordinate their cheers, what they are supposed to sound like, when they are supposed to clap, and all the other things that spectators do at a sporting event.

This is nothing new to the Chinese government; and don't be surprised when the closing ceremonies have a lot of the same alterations and omissions that the rest of the Beijing Olympics have.

In spite of all this, the Olympics seem to be going well so far. Athletes are winning medals, nations are cheering their champions, and some great stories have come out of the Olympics. Let's hope this continues.

USS Pueblo Still Intact and Being Used By North Korea for Anti-American Propaganda Purposes

North Korean officials took a surprised U.S. delegation aboard a captured U.S. Navy spy ship on Monday, saying it represented "...continued U.S. aggression against North Korea."

Governor Bill Richardson said it was a pure propaganda move on the part of the North Koreans.

The USS Pueblo was captured in January 1968; it's crew was held for eleven months before being released by North Korea. They kept the ship and have used it for "anti-American education" ever since.

North Korea has dangled returning the ship to the U.S. Navy in exchange for a high-level visit from the U.S. Secretary of State, but that has been flatly refused by the U.S. government. The U.S. Navy still has the Pueblo on the books as an active unit, and does want it back, but the current level of tension between the U.S. and North Korea has made it impossible to facilitate a transfer.

The Pueblo is the only U.S. warship under the control of a foreign power, and was the first ship to be captured since 1941, when invading Japanese forces captured the USS Wake in Shanghai's harbor.

CNN Airs Enemy Propaganda of Snipers Shooting U.S. Troops

CNN sank to a new low over the last couple of days in their coverage of the Iraq War, airing enemy footage of insurgent snipers shooting U.S. soldiers.

I'm not alone in believing that CNN has become an enemy propaganda tool. It has for quite some time. Anderson Cooper tried to explain that the scene was faded to black before the bullet impacted out of sensitivity, and that the subsequent interview with a terrorist was a CNN exclusive. Oh, joy.

CNN's doors would be broken down and they would be SKINNED ALIVE if they had dared to show the bullets hitting our soldiers.

They ought to be ashamed of themselves for showing something like that on their show. One can only hope that family members didn't recognize their loved ones being targeted by the enemy.

Crooked CNN hatchet job!