CCTV FOLLIES 9.19 Xinjiang like you've never seen it before!!! And probably never will again.

-The news was so slow today I got distracted by the commercials -CCTV's public service announcement on Beautiful Xinjiang -Inculcating from the cradle on up, Xi promotes education -US loses F-35

Xinwen Lianbo news runs without a commercial break until you get to the weather report, but it’s bookended by a surprising number of commercials, most of them about hard liquor, some skillfully filmed. And CCTV has a “relationship” with its advertisers, and with the CCTV seal of approval you get a win-win situation where there’s money to be made hand-over-fist on both sides. I’ll save a write-up on the maotai and hard liquor ads for another time, but it typically looks like this:

It’s almost as if the planet earth itself was brought to you by “Moutai” since it commands the important countdown clock that leads straight into the news at seven.

But today CCTV also offered a non-commercial commercial about Xinjiang. It looks like something the tourism board would approve of, but it’s billed as a “public service announcement.” And now, without further ado, CCTV presents: XINJIANG!

I get the nature shots, but I’m still trying to figure out what’s going on with the water.

Panda-huggers abound in China, but it’s nice to know there are tree-huggers, too.

Xinjiang is being actively promoted as a tourist destination for city dwellers in the Han population centers in the east. It’s got camping, hiking, fresh fruit and snow-mobiles, among other attractions. Apps and maps help you find your way around.

It’s such an idyllic place, the sun always seems to be lolling gently above the horizon.

And it’s the land of cotton. Why do Westerners boycott Xinjiang cotton?

The cotton is clean, pure and not picked by slave labor. It’s harvested by tractor!

And is if to dispell any lingering doubts, CCTV’s portraits of typical Xinjiang inhabitants are accomplished, serene and beautiful, which serves to remind us that everyone is happy all the time.

Even the swans are in love.

And the fruit? Don’t get me going!

Like the rest of China which flourishes to such a great degree under the CCP, Xinjiang enjoys bumper harvests and the carefully synchronized harvesting of grain for the benefit of state-TV drone cameras hovering above.

The felicity in this portrait speaks for itself, but CCTV is playing three-dimensional chess with its viewers here. This bucolic scene is not just about mist-covered mountains, well-groomed children and cute woolly lambs. The camera zooms into that lovely blur of wool and fades into a white snowbank where tourists are making a racket and ravaging the environment, zipping around in their super-fun snowmobiles.

Wow!

Not sure what’s going on here either, but it’s dreamy, isn’t it?

What a colorful, beautiful land!

As for the news, such as it is, (brought to you by a leading producer of maotai liquor) it’s the usual Xi, Xi, Xi for the first, second and third top stories.

Mostly talking heads today. The first five minutes are about Xi replying* to a letter in which he offers a limp olive branch to the US in the name of the legendary Flying Tigers while driving a knife in the back of Japan.

"In the past, our two peoples fought the Japanese fascists together, and forged a deep friendship that withstood the test of blood and fire. In the future, the two major countries shoulder even more important responsibility for world peace, stability and development."

(*the other side always has to write him first before he deigns to put pen to paper)

Xi is here, there and everywhere, even when you don’t see him. He currently holds ten out of the ten top bestsellers in China, at least that’s the impression you get watching the news, though today’s twist is that he’s also widely read abroad, as these volumes in translation (undoubtedly driven by high demand) apparently attest.

It’s hard to even write the word “learn” without thinking about Xi, and he answers the popular call to promote education for kids of all ages. Inculcation starts in the cradle.

This is old footage, but the news really comes alive when you see a great man in action.

China has peacekeeping troops in the Congo and hospital ships at sea.

Russia and Ukraine are still fighting which is all the fault of NATO for helping Ukraine to defend itself (from murderous plunder and violent invasion.)

Ukrainian grain is something China needs. It wishes Ukraine would beg for peace and recognize Russian claims so the grain can flow and the traffic on the Belt and Road can really get rolling again.

US debt is astronomical enough to make Andrew Jackson feel undervalued at $20

Pssst! Has anyone seen an US F-35 go by? Is that it, over there in the trees?

Fires in Australia

Have a nice day!