Hillary Clinton at APEC Day 2

More photos came in late last night and news is dribbling in. I just saw on CNN that President Obama is due to land in China soon and it should be no surprise that the Communist Chinese government is refusing to allow Obama’s scheduled Town Hall to be aired a) live or b) to a wide audience.

Ok, you know I have to say something about this (before we get to the good stuff) so here it goes:
It strikes me as a tad ironic that the leader of the free world is being censored. Also, the news on the ground is that loads of dissidents have been rounded up prior to the arrival of the POTUS and to add insult to injury, while China often will release some political prisoners in advance of a U.S. POTUS or SOS visit, China has not done so- in fact, they sent a rather different message prior to the arrival of our new American President, announcing the planned execution of some of the Uighur rioters (I don’t believe dates for execution have been set). That is a huge slap in the face not only to any notion of due process and freedom, but in a way, to the U.S. President himself. That said, I can’t help but think the Obama administration paved the way for this Chinese arrogance by caving on the issue of human rights almost as soon as he took office by sending a powerful message to China that it could flaunt its disregard for human rights without so much as a hint of international condemnation.

I know, I know- it’s the economy, stupid.

I think we can all appreciate the sensitive nature of our economic position, but at what point do weaken our own position and cheapen the very principles that made this nation great? By the way, what is the U.S. doing to decrease it dependence on China’s cheap, tainted, toxic goods? When is the U.S. going to start actually manufacturing something again? Hmmmmmmmm?

Ok, sorry, enough of that. Somebody (Still4Hill) should probably not allow me to have access to TV, print media or a computer while this China love-fest is going on because quite frankly, I’m sick of hearing myself say the same thing over and over again with respect to China’s human rights so I know you, the readers, must be sick of it also. It doesn’t mean I am going to shut up about it, just know that I feel your pain

So, since the title of this post is Hillary Clinton at APEC, here we go:

US Commerce Secretary Gary Locke (L) shares a laugh with Secretary of State Hilary Clinton before the start of the ASEAN-US leaders meeting at a hotel in Singapore November 15, 2009, on the sidelines of the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation Summit.

U.S. President Barack Obama and Secretary Clinton meet with Singapore's Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong

US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton sits alongside National Security Advisor James Jones during meetings in Singapore, site of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit, November 15, 2009

President Barack Obama meets with Russia's President Dmitry Medvedev on the sidelines of the APEC summit in Singapore, Sunday, Nov. 15, 2009. At left is Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton and National Security Adviser James Jones. (AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais)

US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton arrives at the Istana presidential palace prior to a retreat meeting in Singaporean on November 15, 2009