Free Republic

Last week, the blog China Defense posted two photos, nearly identical, with only one line of text: “Just in case you might get confused, only one bird below is the J-20.” The J-20 stealth fighter is the creation of the Chengdu Aircraft Industry Group for the People’s Liberation Army in China. About a year and a half ago, the People’s Liberation Army conducted its first tests of the aircraft, which is expected to be fully operational sometime between 2017 and 2019.

As the United States and other nations grapple with how best to stop Iran from acquiring a nuclear weapon, a high-ranking Chinese military official has raised the stakes considerably on any possible military action. On Dec. 4, according to a report in Press TV, a news network owned by the Iranian government, Chinese rear admiral and prominent military commentator Zhang Zhaozhong said, “China will not hesitate to protect Iran even with a third world war.”It is not clear when the statement was made or in what context. Once reported, the statement went viral in China and elsewhere. Apart from being...

My younger sister has often complained to me that, during their working careers, she and her husband had difficulty making ends meet, financially. In response, I’ve tried to convince her that those who have a little money… or even a lot of money… have a far more difficult problem: i.e., holding onto what they have. No man has done more to prove my point than Bernard Madoff, the head of Bernard L. Madoff Investment Securities, LLC, a Wall Street investment advisor admired and trusted by some of America’s wealthiest individuals and foundations. No man has done more to destroy the...