News of the Day (November 3)

Jia Jia safe in Thailand, for now: The cadre-turned-defector managed to escape Hong Kong, but he is still looking for a country to grant him asylum (Epoch Times). Meanwhile, the campaign to grant Jia asylum spreads to Great Britain (Epoch Times).

From the China Freedom Blog Alliance: One Free Korea has two more accounts of South Korean doves shooting themselves in their feet.

Ignorant Comment of the Day: Someone please tell Lee Jong-Heon (United Press International via Washington Times) that there is no such thing as a freely offered opinion in Stalinist North Korea, before another embarrassment of a column hits the press.

U.S. military puts surgical strike plans against SNK on the front burner: The Defense Department "has stepped up planning for attacks against North Korea's nuclear program" (Bill Gertz, Washington Times). The plans all involve surgical strikes - i.e., nothing even close to liberation.

More on the Communists' Korean colony: Daily NK reports that the Stalinist regime won't get the lifting of financial sanctions it so desperately wants. Meanwhile, the Mt. Kumgang tourist stop is losing its luster (Newsweek and UPI via Washington Times).

Khatami calls on U.S. to pull out of Iraq and Afghanistan: The former front man for the mullahcracy "said foreign forces should withdraw from Iraq and Afghanistan as soon as possible and allow neighboring countries to help find a solution" (Voice of America via Epoch Times). Only one nation neighbors both Afghanistan and Iraq. Care to guess who it is?

On Pakistan's role in the War on Terror: Thomas Joscelyn (Daily Standard) finds that the Communist Chinese ally is still trying to be with us and with the terrorists.

Canadian cabinet ministers to visit Communist China in 2007: Canada's Foreign Minister and its International Trade Ministers will visit Beijing; no timetable was given (Epoch Times).

U.S. advising Communist China on labor laws: There was one concept completely absent from the Washington Times piece - independent labor unions.

Microsoft not so sure about Communist China anymore: Senior policy counsel Fred Tipson told the Internet Governance Forum that the tech giant may "look again" (BBC) at its participation in Communist China: "Things are getting bad . . . and perhaps we have to look again at our presence there" (emphasis added).

Taiwanese First Lady charged; prosecutor says only immunity is protecting Chen Shui-bian: The wife of Taiwan's elected president has been charged with "alleged misuse of state funds" (BBC). The prosecutor in the case went even further, saying there was "enough evidence to charge President Chen Shui-bian with corruption - but he is protected by presidential immunity." The opposition called for Chen to resign - an action which would lead to the ascension of Vice President Annette Lu, who is one of Taiwan's most vocal anti-Communists (and not a member of the increasingly pro-Communist opposition).

Communists admit to bad debts over $100 billion: Before anyone thinks the Communist-run banks have experienced an outbreak of candor with this announcement (BBC), outside analysts have put the bad-debt figure at close to $800 billion (twenty-fourth item).