911, Who Cares? --CM/P(ologne)

[Aw'ight, ok, enough already, with this 911 crap! You win. 911 was the work of 19 delinquent Arabs, Mo' and the Atta-boys, probably high--and Srebrenica was the work of 19,000 Bosnian Serb Officials (900 of whom are expected to be indicted by Lord Paddy's fiefdom), and Rwanda 94 was the self-inflicted genocide of a nation of spear-chuckers' on a toxic banana beer binge--but, wow, what spectacular events to be so handily buried, now, so deep down the memory hole.

We're going out East for a piece, to Poland,--Krakow, to be exact--to do some theatre called Warsaw Rebuilds, by Josh Crone.

Poland? 911? Rwanda? Warsaw Rebuilds? Yeah, there's a connection. Come to Krakow and check it out for yourself.

So, to say . . . 'so long for a while' to Paris, (don't even know how to say 'hello' in Polski!) we'll leave you on the up-beat with this dispatch from Le Requin--who's probably, right now, basking in the warm glow of another Canadian Club Sunset: The Chinese President's Speech to the Russian Veterans of WWII.

911? WWII? Remember The Great Patriotic War? When Audie Murphy, John Wayne, Ward Bond, and Rondog MacReagan made Europe and the Pacific safe for Warner Bros?

In this already blighted year, 2005, human memory--if not all human consciousness--has been turned into the cartoon trailer for a Capra/Riefenstal musical collaboration--with Bob the Gelding on bag pipes--Society has gone from Spectacle to Pop Extermination Camp promo-video.

CM/Paris, signing off--CM/Poland . . . back with you shortyly . . . ? After--and only if we survive--this 22 hr Paris/Krakow bus trip. --mc]

[Report: "Hu Jintao's Speech When Meeting With Russian
War Veterans Taking Part in China's War of Resistance
Against Japanese Aggression (Full Text)"]

Moscow, 8 May (Xinhua) -- Chinese State President Hu
Jintao made an important speech, in Moscow on 8 May,
at a meeting with representatives of the Russian war
veterans taking part in China's war of resistance
against Japanese aggression. The full text of the
speech is as follows:

Speech at Meeting with Representatives of Russian War
Veterans Taking Part in China's War of Resistance
against Japanese Aggression
(Moscow, 8 May 2005)

PRC President Hu Jintao

Distinguished war veterans,
Dear comrades and friends:

On the occasion of the 60th anniversary of the victory
of the global antifascist war, I have come to Moscow
to attend the ceremony in Russia marking the 60th
anniversary of the victory of the war to defend the
country. I am very pleased today to have the
opportunity to meet with representatives of the
Russian war veterans who fought bloody battles in the
anti-Japanese war in northeastern China and in the war
to defend the country. First, on behalf of the Chinese
government and people, I would like to pay high
tribute to you and to express my best wishes to the
great people of Russia!

More than 60 years ago, the fascist aggressors
outrageously launched a war of aggression, bringing
colossal calamity and catastrophe to the peoples of
China, Russia, and many other countries. In the
life-and-death struggle between justice and evil and
between brightness and darkness, the global
antifascist forces, by sharing a bitter hatred of the
enemy, supporting each other, and fighting side by
side, ultimately defeated the aggressors, preserved
human civilization, and achieved world peace.

In the principal European theater of World War II, the
heroic Soviet army and people defended national
sovereignty and dignity with their blood and precious
lives and, together with the peoples of other
countries, sent the fascist aggressors to the tribunal
of history. For the victory of the global antifascist
war the Soviet army and people made great sacrifices
that are recognized the world over, performed
ineffaceable historical exploits, and wrote a splendid
and world-shaking epic.

In the principal battleground in the Asia-Pacific
theater of World War II, the indomitable Chinese army
and people, by carrying out protracted and most
arduous struggle, contained and annihilated much of
the Japanese invader's military strength, making
significant contributions to the world's victory
against fascism. No fewer than 10 million Chinese sons
and daughters laid down their lives courageously in
the anti-Japanese battlefields, and they wrote a
stirring and glorious chapter in the world history of
the antifascist war.

In the extraordinarily fierce war in the history of
mankind, the peoples of China and the Soviet Union, by
fighting side by side, cemented a friendship of going
through thick and thin together. At that time, many
ardent sons and daughters of the Chinese nation,
including Mao Anying, the eldest son of the late
chairman Mao Zedong, resolutely joined the Soviet Red
Army's fight against Nazi Germany. In a crucial stage
of China's war against Japanese aggression, the Soviet
Red Army marched into the battleground of northeast
China and joined the Chinese army and people in
fighting the Japanese aggressors, providing important
assistance for the Chinese people's ultimate victory
in the war against Japanese aggression. Many of the
war veterans present here joined in the fierce battles
on the battleground of northeast China and made
valuable contributions to the Chinese people's
struggle against Japanese aggressors. I thank you from
the bottom of my heart. In the battles in those years,
the Soviet Red Army generals and officers fought
heroically and many of them laid down their lives for
a worthy cause. Their heroic deeds will forever be
engraved in the minds of the Chinese people.

History is a mirror reflecting reality; it is also a
most philosophic textbook. Keeping alive the memory of
history and not forgetting it serves the purpose of
cherishing peace and opening up the future. Our
purpose in celebrating the victory of the global
anti-fascist war is to exert more efforts to cherish
and safeguard the hard-won peace, to prevent a repeat
of the tragedies of war, and to ensure that the people
of all countries enjoy peace forever.

Having suffered untold hardships from external
aggression and oppression since the modern times, the
Chinese people are well aware of the preciousness of
peace. China will unflinchingly hold high the banner
of peace, development, and cooperation, stick to the
road of peaceful development, and carry on the
struggle for world peace and common development.

Both the Chinese and Russian nations are great
nations. The peoples of the two countries should make
concerted efforts, advance hand in hand, jointly
safeguard peace, and promote development together. The
establishment and development of the strategic
partnership of cooperation between China and Russia
fully accords with the fundamental interests of the
two countries and peoples. I sincerely hope that the
two peoples will always be friendly and, together with
the peoples of other countries, build a harmonious
world of lasting peace and universal prosperity, and
create a brighter future for human society. Let the
Chinese and Russian peoples be good neighbors, good
friends, and good partners forever, and let all
peace-loving people around the world be immersed in
the sunshine of peace, stability, and development.

Lastly, I wish all the war veterans good health, a
long life, joy, and happiness! I wish all the guests
good health and good luck in everything!

Thank you.