News of the Day (July 13)

From the China Freedom Blog Alliance: Between Heaven and Earth notes a hearing in a torture lawsuit against Jiang Zemin. The Korea Liberator muses on Stalinist North Korea's missile test motives, the psychology of Kim Jong-il, the effects of South Korean dovishness (Daily NK has more on this), and what the Bush Administration must decide. TKL also has the latest SNK news.

Communist China still running interference for SNK, but people are noticing: Communist China is now proposing the Security Council adopt "voluntary measures to restrain the North's missile and nuclear weapons programs" (United Press Int'l via Washington Times) and still won't agree to any punishment for its Stalinist ally (Worldwide Standard). Maddeningly, Ambassador John Bolton actually welcomed this move (UPI via Washington Times). However, as Charles R. Smith (Newsmax) notes, the "engagement" crowd here in the United States are taking it on the chin. The political results haven't been rosy for SNK either (BBC).

More on the Communists' Korean colony: As one would expect, talks went nowhere (BBC, CNN), including talks with South Korea (CNN). The Stalinists have more ICBMs (Bill Gertz, Washington Times). Christianity Today talks to Ronald Boyd-MacMillan on Christianity in SNK. Daily NK reviews the latest Stalinist propaganda.

On Communist China and Iran: The cadres agreed to demand the Iranian regime "suspend its nuclear activities" (Cybercast News), but remained silent on the consequences. Khomeinist military engineers were found at the SNK missile launch (World Tribune). Robert Kagan (Washington Post) has a theory behind the Administration's strange weakness on the Communist-backed mullahcracy. Meanwhile, the recent actions of Iranian-backed Hezbollah (Small Dead Animals, The New Republic, Worldwide Standard) garners another liberation call from Michael Ledeen (National Review Online).

More on Communist China and the United States: Jed Babbin, co-author of Showdown: Why China Wants War with the United States, talks to Jamie Glazov of Front Page Magazine. Richard Weitz, of the Hudson Institute, downplays (wrongly, in my view) the importance of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization in the Daily Standard.

Australian politician calls for his own country to investigate organ harvesting claims: Bob Brown, leading of Australia's Green Party, called for the probe in light of the findings of the Kilgour-Matas report; he also insisted the Australian government "rule out the inclusion of any human blood or tissue from the China Australia FTA" (Epoch Times).

India worried about espionage threat from the Silk Road: The Silk Road pass between Communist-occupied Tibet and India has been open for less than a week (sixth item). However, even before it was opened, experts in India were warning of the possible boon to Communist efforts to spy on the world's largest democracy (Islamic Republic News Agency - of all things - via Global Security).

Wu Banggao meets EP President: The chairman of Communist China's puppet Parliament met European Parliament President Josep Borrell Fontelles and expressed "hopes to enhance political exchanges and strategic cooperation with the EU so as to boost China-EU relations to a new level" (UPI via Washington Times). It would have been a much more interesting meeting if EP VP Edward McMillan-Scott (fourth, seventh, tenth, eleventh, second, and seventeenth items) had been there.

Li Yuanlong "confesses" after Communists kidnap his family: The writer was tried for "subversion" in May (next-to-last and tenth item). The cadres "kidnapped his wife and held her in a hotel room for 10 days and detained his 16-year-old son for a week in order to force him to write his 'confession'" (Boxun). Li was sentenced to two years in prison.

Zheng Enchong arrested again: Zheng Enchong, the attorney sent to prison for exposing corrupt real estate schemes in Shanghai (tenth, twenty-sixth, fifth, ninth, fourteenth, fifth, and eighth items), was re-arrested by Communist police for "impeding officials of state organs in the execution of their duties" (Boxun).

Communist Party claims membership over 70 million: The cadres made no mention of the nearly 12 million ex-Communists who have quit the party in disgust since 2004 (BBC).