Wednesday, September 13, 2006

News of the Day (September 13)

Whose side did Communist China take during the Israel-Hezbollah battle? Columnist Kin-ming Liu examines the Communist-run media's coverage of the war, which "can lead to only one conclusion: Beijing is no friend of the Jewish state" (Daily Standard). Of course, there's a slew of air-defense items in a Cyprus port that already spoke a million words on the cadres' pro-Hezbollah line.

Who "attacked" the U.S. Embassy in Syria? Yesterday, this corner expressed more than a little skepticism on the report that terrorists had attacked the U.S. Embassy in Damascus, Syria (seventh item). In less than 24 hours, I acquired quite a bit of company (New York Sun and Newsmax). Even the Assad regime itself, perhaps realizing the jig was up - turned away from the terrorist angle; only they claimed the U.S. "directed the attack and then ensured it was foiled" (World Net Daily).

Ignorant Comment of the Day: None of the above prevented F. Michael Maloof from recommending talks with the Assad regime (note: his Washington Times column also reveals an affinity for "engagement" with Communist China).

On to Middle Eastern Proxy Number One (Iran): The Communist-backed mullahcracy now says its willing to talk to the U.S. and Europe about its nuclear weapons program, but not end it (Washington Post); Europe's ready to cave (United Press Int'l via Washington Times). Meanwhile, hawkish views on the regime came from the Jerusalem Post, New York Post, New York Sun, and the Worldwide Standard.

Enlightened Comment of the Day: The editors of the Washington Post would like to know (as do I) why the Bush Administration is OK with Communist Chinese ally Pakistan opting out of the War on Terror.

More on Communist China and the rest of the world: Former East Turkestan escapee and current Canadian citizen Huseyin Celil (eighth item) will spend 15 years in a Communist prison for, in effect, being a Uighur who cared about what the Communists were doing to his people (Toronto Sun). The head of Taiwan's Democratic Progressive Party says China will never be peaceful until its democratic (UPI via Washington Times). James Burke (Epoch Times) has the latest on Dai v. Downer.

From the China Freedom Blog Alliance: Between Heaven and Earth recounts a Falun Gong demonstration in Victoria, British Columbia, laments the role of American technology in Communist persecutions, and finds another victim of Communist legacy theft: Confucius. The Korea Liberator ponders the reports of anti-Stalinist protests in North Korea (see also seventeenth item and Daily NK), relays the latest silly words from Roh Moo-hyun, and looks to history to see what might happen in a Second Korean War.

More on the Communists' Korean colony: The United States offered bilateral talks with Stalinist North Korea, but heard no response (BBC). The Network for North Korean Democracy and Human Rights demands better tracking of food aid into SNK after a smuggled-out video reveals the truth: that the Stalinist military steals the aid from everyone else in northern Korea (Daily NK).

Press crackdown expands: Communist China's recent move to further tighten its press (fourteenth item) now includes its court system: "Special spokesmen would now release all information to journalists, state-run Xinhua news agency said, and leaks from court officials would be punished" (BBC). Meanwhile, the overall crackdown catches the eye of Canadian blogger Steve Janke, who's none too happy about it.

Wikipedia won't censor itself for Communist China: Communist China banned Wikipedia last year because it wouldn't tailor its famed entries to the cadres' liking. Nearly a year later, Wikipedia won't budge. In fact, founder Jimmy Wales "challenged other Internet companies, including Google, to justify their claim that they could do more good than harm by cooperating with Beijing" (London Observer via Taipei Times).

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