News of the Day (July 14)

From the China Freedom Blog Alliance: Between Heaven and Earth has the latest on the reaction to the Kilgour-Matas report (as does the Epoch Times). The Korea Liberator presents an excellent diagnosis of the deficiencies of conventional wisdom on Stalinist North Korea, and recommends threatening to cancel PNTR with Communist China to force it to let go of its colony (yours truly thinks it will take a lot more pressure, but it sure is a step in the right direction). TKL also relays a heart-rending CNN interview with SNK refugees.

Is Communist China hoping for Japan to militarize? That's what some South Korean analysts are hypothesizing; the reason: "creation of an enemy that would clearly justify continued Chinese military modernization and expansion" (China Confidential via Epoch Times). Under this construct, the Communists "have welcomed - and perhaps even encouraged - North Korean threats to attack Japan" in order to spook Japan into re-arming itself. Given that the Communist military expansion would occur anyway, this corner recommends Japan builds up its military in any event.

Enlightened Comment of the Day: Today's winner is Li Tianxiao (Epoch Times) for his theory on the Stalinists' Projectile Dysfunction: "North Korea confronted the U.S. in an effort to please Beijing."

Bird flu whistleblower sent to jail: Qiao Songju "notified the Gaoyou City Agricultural Department in Jiangsu Province about the bird flu case last October" (Epoch Times). He naturally assumed letting the authorities know about this danger would be appreciated. The local Communists responded by arresting him on trumped up fraud charges and sentencing him to prison for three and a half years.

More on the satellite regimes: Japan is still pushing for some punishment for SNK over the ICBM launch (BBC, CNN, Voice of America via Epoch Times). A majority of South Koreans is not happy about the launch (Daily NK). Yoduk Story (sixth item) tours the democratic world (Daily NK). Meanwhile, President Bush says Iran's nuclear weapons development "is now fully in the hands of the U.N. Security Council" (Washington Times); count me among those not reassured. The Washington Post has the details on what was offered the terrorist-supporting, Communist-backed mullahcracy.

Commerce Department announces proposed curbs on high-tech export to Communist China: Apologies for putting the cart before the horse (i.e., presenting the Communist reaction to the restrictions first - sixth item); the restrictions themselves are currently under review (Bill Gertz, Washington Times).

On Communist media in Canada - again: Jack Jia, like nearly every Chinese-Canadian, has taken notice of the argument over the possible introduction of nine Communist-run television channels into Canada. Jia himself was worried about the local media interjecting itself into the debate, and said so in Chinese News (he did not oppose the channels themselves). This was the pro-Communist response: "Mr. Jia does nothing good. Let's castrate him" (Epoch Times). For more on the Communist television issue (and why we oppose letting the channels in), see second, seventh and lead items.