Putin goes to a restaurant with Medvedev and orders a steak. The waiter asks, "And what about the vegetable?" Putin answers, "The vegetable will have steak too.

China Relations

Over the weekend representatives of the Rotary Club of Kowloon West headed into Guangdong province. Signs of the approaching Lunar New Year were abound. Not a tile on the floor of the Guangzhou East Train Station could not be seen. It was covered by seated travelers or constantly shuffling feet of ticket queues.

The crew of six was traveling northwest toward Qing Yuan. Funds had been provided by the club to engineer a running water system for a local mountain village of 500. Villagers previously collected water from underground wells that would not be considered potable by urban living standards. The new system drew water from a stream coming from higher in the mountains and purified it.
The Mandarin is improving with experiences like this. Language acquisition through diplomacy:

"今天見到我的時候，你們問: 他是誰？他是外國人嗎？他是美國人嗎？這個沒有意思。我們是朋友。我們都是朋友。這才有意思。Remember Rotary. Congratulations and Happy Lunar New Year (translated)."

"Upon seeing me today you ask: who is he? Is he a foreigner? Is he American? This is not important. We are friends. We are all friends. Only this is important. Remember Rotary. Congratulations and Happy Lunar New Year."

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