CCTV FOLLIES 10.17 BELT AND BOONDOGGLE

Xi greets most-favored leaders (more on pal Putin later) -Foreign news focus on Palestine suffering -Israel gets a mention for dropping bombs -US, UK, France, Japan vs. the rest -US loses 900 billion!

There’s more goose-stepping than usual in the news today since the first half hour of what is normally a half-hour program is devoted to the militant pomp and circumstance of Xi meeting and greeting VIP visitors to the Great Hall.

Xi Jinping met with Chilean President Gabriel Boric, who is in Beijing to attend the third Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation and pay a state visit to the country.

It takes a certain amount of chutzpah to refuse to wear a tie when everyone else does, and Chile’s Boric gets credit for that. Is Xi miffed or just his usual grumpy self?