News of the Day (December 14)

U.S. seems ready to give Kim Jong-il what he wants; Japan stabbed in the back on abductions: U.S. negotiator Christopher Hill made clear he's willing to pick up (fifth item) where the September 2005 debacle left off on Stalinist North Korea's nuclear ambitions. Hill is apparently "willing to offer North Korea a security guarantee if it halts nuclear plans" (BBC, previously, the U.S. insisted SNK's nuclear program had to be destroyed first) and ease counterfeiting penalties against the regime. Hill threw in one shocking betrayal when he dismissed any possibility of the talks rectifying the Stalinists' abduction of Japanese citizens (lead, third, lead, second, fourth, second and second items) - a flat-out reversal of previous U.S. policy on the talks.

Mitt Romney tips his hand on policy towards Communist China: In his interview with National Review Online, the outgoing Massachusetts Governor comes up short, especially when compared to he who must be President.

Paulson begins meetings in Beijing: The Treasury Secretary will hold talks on Communist China's deliberate currency devaluation and various other subjects (BBC); some are already saying this trip is more for show than anything else (Fortune via CNN).

Rebiya Kadeer visits Canada as espionage network against her is revealed: The leading Uighur activist (fifth, second, eleventh, last, and second items) was in Ottawa to talk about the Huseyin Celil case (eighth, sixth, and lead items) and Communist China's human rights abuses in general (Epoch Times). Meanwhile, German intelligence officials have noticed Communist spies "keeping a close eye on . . . Rebiya Kadeer" (Intelligence Summit).

Singapore releases Falun Gong practitioner: Erh Boon Tiong was set free last week; he "called on the Singapore authorities to immediately stop the persecution of Falun Gong, and to release the other detained Falun Gong practitioner, Ng Chye Huay" (Epoch Times).

Enlightened Comment of the Day: The editors of the Washington Post win the prize for slamming the Communist regime's unwillingness to push its Sudanese allies to stop the slaughter in Darfur.

Hong Kong democrats thank their supporters: The Democratic and Civic Parties did well enough in elections for a sliver of the Chief Executive selection panel to ensure pro-democracy forces can nominate their own candidate - Alan Leong - for the post (Epoch Times), despite a rigged election system designed largely to shut them out (third item). They don't expect Leong to win - since the Communists themselves still appointed the overwhelming majority of the 800-person panel.

Communist China sends out propaganda on avoiding Soviet collapse - to party members only: The regime has sent the DVD series Think of Danger While Living in Safety: The Lessons From the Collapse of the Soviet Union Communist Party to millions of cadres; the DVDs "are marked never to be shown to the general public" (The Australian). The series praises Stalin, pans Mikhail Gorbachev, and referred to the steady erosion of freedom under Vladimir Putin (whose military-industrial complex is Communist China's largest outside arms supplier) as " the renaissance of Russia."

Afghan President rips Pakistan for caving in to the Taliban: Hamid Karzai singed the Musharraf regime, accusing it of trying to make his people "slaves" (BBC). Meanwhile, Musharraf's Waziristan surrender continues to mortify outside observers (National Review Online).

Back to Communist China's Korean colony: Daily NK interviews Dr. Marcus Noland on the SNK food situation, talks to Siegfried Hecker on the Stalinists' nuclear weapons program, and speculates as to Stalinist-in-chief Kim Jong-il's successor. One Free Korea has another post on South Korea's dovish antics.

On to the Middle Eastern Proxies: Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's promise to destroy Israel may land the Communist-backed mullahcracy the genocide label (Guardian and Newsmax). CAIR rips the Holocaust denial conference (Cybercast News). Tony Blair (BBC) and Victor Davis Hanson (Townhall) belittle the idea of talks with Tehran, but neither of them can take the next step (liberation). Meanwhile, Senator Ben Nelson (Democrat-Florida) tries his own hand in diplomacy with a visit to Syrian tyrant Bashar Assad (New York Sun), even as Assad's Hezbollah allies continue trying to paralyze Lebanon (Washington Post).