News of the Day (September 22)

Communist China skips session of Stalinist North Korea nukes: Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Indonesia, and the Philippines joined the effort to convince the Stalinist regime to end its nuclear ambitions (Washington Times), but Kim Jong-il's colonial masters are apparently losing interest (as are the Russians).

From the China Freedom Blog Alliance: Between Heaven and Earth notes Amnesty International's assessment of human rights in Communist China (last item). The Korea Liberator tracks Stalinist propaganda, the regime's nuclear plans (including preparations for an underground test), the latest SNK news, refugee news, and ramifications of the increasingly unpopular dovishness of South Korea's government.

U.S. had to threaten to bomb Pakistan to bring it onside in War on Terror: Communist Chinese ally Pakistan deserted its Taliban ally in 2001 only after the U.S. threatened to bomb the country "back to the Stone Age" (Washington Times). Of course, Pakistan and the Taliban supporters are friendly once more; part of Pakistan's military is once again aiding the anti-American forces, according to RAND (Washington Times).

Ignorant Comment of the Day: Today's dubious winner is University of Chicago Professor Emeritus Richard Stern, who announced in The New Republic's Open University blog that Iranian mouthpiece Mahmoud Ahmadinejad "didn't get elected because of . . . good looks or humble ways." This may come as news to the professor, but Ahmadinejad didn't get elected at all.

More on Middle Eastern Proxy Number One: Ahmadinejad says his regime will stop developing nuclear weapons (Ha'aretz), but also says its not developing them in the first place (Voice of America via Epoch Times). He was also cagey about support for Hezbollah (Newsmax and United Press Int'l via Washington Times); Lowell Ponte (Newsmax) notes that there is good reason not to believe a word the Iranian mouthpiece says. There is some good news. Columbia pulled back its red carpet for Ahmadinejad (New York Sun); more importantly, some of the regime's top Sadrist agitators are under arrest in Iraq (Washington Post). Two New Jersey Congressman comment of the Iranian threat (Cybercast News), while Amir Taheri rips France for ignoring it (Jerusalem Post).

Is Taiwan's government auditor given Ma Ying-jeou a pass? Naturally, that's what political allies of Chen Shui-bian think - and they may be right (Taipei Times).

More on Communist China and the rest of the world: Communist Chinese "scholars" is not happy that the U.S. won't let keep Japan's military in a box (Washington Times). Lev Navrozov (Newsmax) laments the lack of concern for the late Zhang Hongbao (thirteenth item). Manfred Nowak talks to the United Nations Human Rights Council on Communist Chinese abuses (Epoch Times). U.S. Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson calls on Communist China to "open its financial markets wider to foreign competition" (Newsmax). Another regime-owned bank scores big in fleecing investors (BBC).

Unemployed workers beaten in attempt to petition provincial cadres: About forty workers in the Suizhou Guesthouse were laid off after the house went bankrupt due to "corruption by the general manager of the guesthouse, Xie Zhicheng, who is now the deputy secretary general of the Suining Municipal Government" (Boxun). The workers exercised their right of petition to plead their case to top-level cadres in their home province (Sichuan). They were met "several dozen uniformed and plain-clothes police officers" who beat them.

Gao Zhisheng gets a lawyer: Mo Shaoping takes the jailed human-rights attorney's case (Epoch Times). Mo previously served as lawyer to dissident Zhang Lin and jailed New York Times researcher Zhao Yan (second, sixth, tenth, ninth, last, third, and twelfth items).