The Irate Nation Est. 2001

This is just a test First post

Best President in my Life-Time

Chinese Greet ‘Oba Mao’ With Flaming Statue, Wave of Enthusiasm

Pouches printed with a mixed image of U.S. President Barack Obama and late Chinese leader Mao Zedong are on sale at a small souvenir shop in Houhai, a famous tourist area in Beijing, on Thursday, September 24, 2009. (CCTV.com Photo)

Pouches printed with a mixed image of U.S. President Barack Obama and late Chinese leader Mao Zedong are on sale at a small souvenir shop in Houhai, a famous tourist area in Beijing, on Thursday, September 24, 2009. (CCTV.com Photo)

clipped from www.foxnews.com

Sunday's arrival of a U.S. president admired for his charisma is already a source of profit and brief fame for some Chinese.

The Chinese have learned English from his speeches and celebrated the way he rolls up his sleeves. Now President Obama is finally coming, and he's being greeted with "Oba Mao" T-shirts and a statue of him that bursts into flames.

"Yes, setting something on fire can have negative connotations, but this piece represents energy and life that Obama has given to the world," said the 38-year-old, who made a similar piece for former revolutionary leader Mao Zedong.

Pakistani soldiers seized passports that may be linked to 9/11 suspects

clipped from www.foxnews.com

Oct. 29: Pakistani soldiers display seized photos, passports, ammunitions and weapons during operations against Taliban militants in South Waziristan. AP

Oct. 29: Pakistani soldiers display seized photos, passports, ammunitions and weapons during operations against Taliban militants in South Waziristan. AP

Pakistani soldiers battling their way into a Taliban stronghold along the Afghan border have seized passports that may be linked to 9/11 suspects, as they confront an enemy skilled in operating in a mountainous terrain with endless ways to wage a guerrilla war.

The military on Thursday took foreign and local journalists for a first look inside the largely lawless territory since it launched a ground offensive here in mid-October. The U.S.-backed operation is focused on a section of the tribal region where the Pakistani Taliban are based and are believed to shelter Al Qaeda.

Soldiers displayed passports seized in the operation, among them a German document belonging to a man named Said Bahaji. That matches the name of a man thought to have been a member of the Hamburg cell that conceived the 9/11 attacks. Bahaji is believed to have fled Germany shortly before the attacks in New York and Washington.