News of the Day (July 25)

From the China Freedom Blog Alliance: The Korea Liberator has the latest from Stalinist North Korea and South Korea.

More on the Communists' Korean colony: The U.S. is looking at more penalties against SNK (United Press Int'l via Washington Times), while dovish South Korea still opposes any sanctions (Daily NK). The Stalinists have their excuse for the next famine (Washington Times). Shin Bo Ra (Daily NK) examines the closely controlled lives of those from northern Korea allowed to go to Communist China.

On the Communist-backed mullahcracy and its Syrian ally: As the Iranian regime continues its antics in Lebanon (Daily Standard), it is also using the situation "to avoid responding to an internationally backed offer promising incentives for suspending its nuclear program" (Washington Times). It has even tried to smuggle nuclear material (Small Dead Animals). Meanwhile, Michael Ledeen (National Review Online) examines how the Assad regime manages to avoid well-deserved blame for its support for terrorism.

Anniversary of Falun Gong crackdown announcement marked around the world: Seven years ago last week, the Communists called Falun Gong an "evil cult" and made public their crackdown against the spiritual group. The seven years of brutality were remembered in Washington (Epoch Times), Sydney (Epoch Times) and Wellington (Epoch Times).

Enlightened Comment of the Day: In his latest Front Page Magazine column on the American corporate sector and Communist China, William R. Hawkins summarizes the anti-Communist economic view perfectly: "It makes more sense to support economic growth at home or to shift trade to allies, rather than to help advance the capabilities of a strategic rival" (emphasis added).

More on Communist China and the United States: Falun Gong makes a presence at the World Transplant Congress in Boston (Epoch Times). Dan Sanchez (Epoch Times) has another installment on the Pepperdine University conference on Taiwan and the U.S. Lev Navrozov (Newsmax) sounds the alarm once more on the nano-tech race. The Communist currency slips over 12.5 cents, but is still nowhere near the 15-16 cents it would likely be in an unregulated market (BBC).

Canada file: Graham Fraser (Toronto Star) takes notice of the Harper government's robust anti-Communism, but since it's the Star, it won't praise him for it. Meanwhile, CBC and the Globe and Mail have the latest on Canadian citizen and Communist prisoner Huseyin Celil.

Taiwan won't even get the Olympic torch: Communist China is insisting "that the torch pass through Taiwan as an 'internal route'" (Taipei Times), which would "make the entire event a big piece of political propaganda by the Chinese authorities." Thus, the island democracy will likely turn down the "honor" of being part of the torch route; all of this is yet another reason why we should not be in Beijing in 2008.

Bird flu running rampant through East Turkestan: Over 350,000 chickens have been lost to the avian flu in and around Aqsu City (Epoch Times).

More on occupied East Turkestan: Not even Han Chinese sent to the occupied nation by the Communists were spared from the Cultural Revolution. Chen Xuelian (Epoch Times) has the harrowing story of a surgeon whose hands "were publicly chopped off with a broadsword."

More on Communist China and the rest of the world: Huawei Technologies, the firm that helped Saddam Hussein integrate his air defenses inks a deal with Japan's eMobile (UPI via Washington Times). Zhang Jielien (Epoch Times) rips Singapore for doing Communist China's dirty work. Last month's military plane crash could have included scientists from Ukraine and Pakistan (Epoch Times). The cadres may cut export tax rebates (BBC). Some in India think the reports of Pakistan's nuclear reactor (last item) was "an attempt to 'bomb India's N-deal' with Washington" (Cybercast News). Meanwhile, Rupert Wingfield-Hayes (BBC) pens the Ignorant Comment of the Day by focusing on the superficial in comparing Communist China and India.

Anson Chan steps up for democracy in Hong Kong: The "top civil servant under Tung and the last colonial Governor, Chris Patten" (Time Asia) is arguably the most popular official in the city. She has decided to add "some democratic thunder and lightning to the world's press" (Christian Science Monitor) by coming out full-force for democracy in Hong Kong.

Web users arrested; site shut down for 48th time: Police in Fuzhou arrested six internet users "were using the Internet in a NetBar without confirming real names" (Boxun). Meanwhile, the cadres shut down the Democracy and Freedom website "for the 48th time on Sunday" (South China Morning Post via Boxun).

More on human rights abuses in Communist China: Guo Yuetong has been arrested and jailed twice in the last four years; she is six years old (Epoch Times). The cadres are taking aim at "unhealthy" karaoke music (CBC). In response to worldwide criticism over their high level of executions, the Communists "are gradually moving toward what they say is a more discreet way of killing its prisoners: execution vans" (Asia Times). A Communist court's response to a citizen who tried to take his own life was as follows (Epoch Times): "Your attempted suicide in the Jinshui River disgraced the nation. If you wish to die, why don't you just hang yourself in the privacy of your own home?"

Did provincial cadres try to hide storm deaths? That was the question asked by numerous reporters (including the BBC) when the number of reported deaths from Tropical Storm Bilis more than doubled "after journalists visited the town of Pingshi and found that the initial death toll had been too low."

Communists double military pay: Beginning this month, Communist China's soldiers will earn twice as much as they did earlier, "the largest wage raise in the history of the Chinese Communist Party" (Epoch Times).

Millions of peasants will suffer land seizures: The Communists themselves are admitting that "15 million farmers in China are expected to lose their land" (Washington Post, second item) between now and 2011. Of course, the Communists put the blame on "urbanization," rather than their lust for land and corrupt profits.