News of the Day (February 13)

From the China Support Network: The parent organization reprints the Falun Dafa Information Center's demand for American protection for practitioners against thugs like those who attacked Yuan Li (second item): "It's time our government take concrete action to stop Chinese agents from running around this country and harming Falun Gong practitioners." The long arm of Communist terror has, for obvious reasons, infuriated the dissident community (Epoch Times), and led to a continuing hunger strike among Epoch Times personnel.

From the China Freedom Blog Alliance: Between Heaven and Earth notes hunger strike realys the around the world, as does the Epoch Times (story, interview with Relay founder Gao Zhisheng, who is now in Beijing) and Boxun (via Epoch Times). The Epoch Times also reported on the arrests of strikers, including Guo Feixiong, plus the contribution of a lesser-known American activist (anyone looking to join can do so here). Meanwhile, One Free Korea has closed up shop, and folded into The Korea Liberator.

Communist China bans mosque attendance for children in East Turkestan: The persecution of Islam in occupied East Turkestan continues, and now includes the banning of all East Turkestanis under 18 from entering a mosque (Central News Agency, Taiwan, via Epoch Times). The rest of the Muslim world, of course, is obsessing over cartoons - a glaring hypocrisy exposed by East Turkestan's Government in exile: "The Jyllands-Posten cartoons, offensive as they are, did not touch a single hair on the head of any Muslim. By contrast, Communist China has murdered over 210,000 East Turkestanis through open-air nuclear tests."

Meanwhile, Communist China continues to help our enemies in the War on Terror, in particular, the mullahcracy of Iran (as opposed to the people of Iran - National Review Online), which William R. Hawkins of the U.S. Business and Industry Council notes in his Washington Times commentary, which doubles as the Enlightened Comment of the Day.

Trade Deficit with Communist China passes $200 billion (Washington Post). So we ask again, if your grocer was stockpiling weapons, threatening to kill you, and aiding your mortal enemies, wouldn't you go somewhere else to get eggs?

What are we getting for the $200 billion? A chance to cooperate in the Communist persecution of their own people (Voice of America, Cybercast News, third and eighth items), pressure on American cities to keep Falun Gong out of Chinese New Year parade (Epoch Times, last item), bank embezzlers (BBC, fourth item), and a possible military hotline (Washington Times).

Canada file: For everyone in the Great White North angry over the David Emerson appointment, this quarter has two responses: you're right, but not for the reasons you think; and given the ties between the Desmarais family and Communist China (Toronto Star), you might want to keep an eye on the new Foreign Minister, too.

News from the would-be colony, Stalinist North Korea: The Stalinist regime has found a way to respond to Japanese demands for the truth about its abductees (Newsweek, lead, third, lead, and second items). They are now accusing "Japanese NGO members of abducting North Korean citizens" (Daily NK). Of course, even if one were to take such silliness at its word, it wouldn't explain why the refugees are terrified of returning (Daily NK). Meanwhile, the Stalinist attempt to look more like their colonial masters is one again (Daily NK). The regime also decided to threaten "nuclear war" over a Proliferation Security Initiative drill - in Australia (Daily Times, Pakistan).

Japanese helicopter linked to new Communist unmanned weapon: The export by Yamaha of unmanned helicopters to Communist China (seventh item) has been linked to Communist China's new Tianyan-2 Unmanned Air Combat Vehicle, which can drop "bombs with 'pinpoint' accuracy on a simulated target" (Newsmax).

Farmer commits suicide after land seizure: Cadres in Yangxi village (Lanxi city, Zhejiang Province) decided "to construct a road from the village office block to a railroad junction" (Epoch Times), and for some other "unknown" uses. The cadres offered Zhao Qingxing about $12,300 for his land, which was nearly a full acre of farmland. When he asked for a fairer amount of compensation, the cadres seized his land and doused him with chemicals. Zhao killed himself by swallowing the chemicals. It was just another day in the poor and seething rural interior, as noted by Gary Feuenberg (Epoch Times).

Communists claim to ban AIDS discrimination, but remain silent on Henan: Communist China "announced new rules " (BBC) that it claimed would "ban discrimination against Aids sufferers." However, there was once again no reference to the one million sufferers in Henan province who had largely been infected by an unhygienic Communist blood-drive (sixth, fourth, and sixth items).

Nine Commentaries breaches Communist TV barrier: As the number of ex-Communists approaches 8 million, the document that started it all - the Nine Commentaries on the Chinese Communist Party - "appeared on a state-run TV network in Haicheng City in Liaoning Province, courtesy of a tap by some brave and compassionate people" (Epoch Times).

Practitioner who was tortured to death exposes Communist atrocities: Her name was Li Ping, had the pictures of her suffering are not for the faint of heart (Epoch Times).

On the NTDTV New Year Gala: Normally, I wouldn't mention the Epoch Times review of the NTDTV show, but this may be the closest folks in South Korea (third item) and France (Epoch Times) get to seeing it.

Echo chamber alert: Gordon Chang, author Nuclear Showdown, responds to my review of his book in the Epoch Times; the paper also reprinted my comments on Palestine's "election."

More Commentary on Communist China: Yu Jie (eighth item) calls on the democratic world to help the oppressed people of China (Epoch Times).