Foxy,

Please make us a promise you won't give up the day job and stick to writing poetry, not jokes.

Mr O,

I like Foxy's sense of humour - and her altruistic motivations about just about everything.

So, try to be reasonable, and sensible, old chap - for all of our benefits.
There's a good lad; Keep the old chin up, hey?

Saltpetre,

Now, that's what I call be funny.

Mr O,

A Briton, a Frenchman, and a Russian, are standing and
staring at a portrait of Adam and Eve.

"Look at the calm, the reserve, surely they must be
British", says the Briton.

"Nonsense", replies the Frenchman.
"They are beautiful. Surely they must be French".

The Russian finally speaks.

"They have no clothes, no shelter, only an apple to eat,
and are being told this is Paradise.
They are Russian".

Taken from the times of the Soviet Regime.

I thought that with your obsessions with totalitarian
regimes - this joke would surely appeal to you.

I shall try to find an appropriate one about the CCP
for you - preferably with appropriate slogans in it.

Mr O,

He who doesn't laugh didn't get the joke.

Here's an alarming journalistic item I found this morning:

http://www.nzherald.co.nz/world/news/article.cfm?c_id=2&objectid=12349105

The salient point being made is that if China cannot achieve absolute hegemony over the South China Sea by diplomacy (i.e. everyone just accepts China's claim without question - what I call China's 'One Way, Our Way' policy) then it will use force to keep others including the US out of the region.

I've noticed from the web that things seem to be heating up and I ran across something that said that in the last day Taiwan has pointed US missiles towards China. I couldn't find anything else on this but I assume it was inferring that Taiwan is anticipating a Chinese invasion.