Imagethief was interested to read that United Airlines has inaugurated the first nonstop flight from Washington DC to Beijing.

Now American senators and congressmen will be able to fly directly to Beijing to either suck up to the Chinese government for business or berate it for human rights, depending upon which way the political winds are blowing. Comforting thought.

The route was awarded by the Transportation Department, presumably based upon negotiations between civial aviation authorities in both countries. I note that United was one of four airlines bidding for the single new route. The other airlines routes would have originated in Newark, NJ, Detroit and Dallas respectively. Seems like it was going to be a rough go for the Chinese no matter who won.