News of the Day (February 9)

Communist China proposes a draft American surrender to Stalinist North Korea: The cadres in Beijing, ally of SNK for almost sixty years, have drafted an "agreement" which "reportedly involves calls for the shutting down of Pyongyang's plutonium-producing reactor at Yongbyon within two months and the return of international inspectors, in exchange for deliveries of fuel oil" (BBC). According to Time, "Washington and Tokyo would also begin steps to normalize relations with the North." Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice was "cautiously optimistic" (Agence France Presse via News.com.au) about all of this. Yet there was not one reference of eliminating the weaponized uranium and plutonium the Stalinists already, and even the notion of a nuclear "freeze" is actually up in the air (Daily NK). As for the Stalinists' history of starving the people of northern Korea (Daily NK), persecuting Christians (World Net Daily), and arresting people for watching anything broadcast from the outside (One Free Korea), that's all water under the 14th Street Bridge.

Communist China wants Canada to stop criticizing it: He Yafei, the cadre tasked with North American affairs, called on Prime Minister Stephen Harper "to improve mutual trust" (Globe and Mail) between Zhongnanhai and 24 Sussex - never mind the abysmal Communist treatment of Huseyincan Celil. Meanwhile, other Canadians are seeing the Communist organ harvesting outrage (Between Heaven and Earth and Epoch Times) and coming to the opposite conclusion (BHaE).

Uighur executed for dubious ties to terrorism: Communist China is once again pulling out the East Turkestan Islamic Movement line to justify the execution of a Uighur, and like every other time the cadres mention the possibly-existent-once-but-likely-defunct-now group, their claims against the late Ismail Semed were "marred by a lack of evidence" (BBC).

Communist China comes to the defense of relocated Chinese - in London, not Yangzhou: The Communist Embassy in London is dismayed over a redevelopment plan in London's Chinatown that would force residents to temporarily leave the area (BBC). Meanwhile, a homeowner in Yangzhou gets no help from the cadres as he is forced to move permanently due to a land seizure (Epoch Times).

Communist-owned mine in Papua New Guinea treating workers "like slaves": David Tibu, the Labor Secretary for PNG, made a surprise visit to the mine, which is run by the Communist-owned Metallurgical Group Corporation. Here's what he found: "health and safety conditions at the project were far below international standards . . . workers were sometimes being paid for overtime with tins of fish rather than with money, that canteen arrangements were not fit for pigs and that toilet facilities were so inadequate and public that employees instead used nearby bushes out of embarrassment" (The Australian).

Taiwan to put its own name on stamps: Of course, like all other attempts by the island democracy to assert itself, the stamp name change is "likely to anger Beijing." Jay Nordlinger (National Review Online) had the best response: "Yeah, what doesn’t anger Beijing? Taiwan’s very existence angers Beijing, as does the existence of anything not controlled by those brutes."

More on Communist China and the United States: Hal Lindsey sees the American reaction to Communist China's anti-satellite test is too little, too late (World Net Daily).

Communist China bans writers from attending Hong Kong conference: The Communist regime "prevented 20 Chinese writers from attending an International PEN conference in Hong Kong" (NRO). One of the banned writers, Yu Jie, made this pertinent point to foreign authors currently being given a little more leeway: "It’s all for show. They’re actually tightening their grip on China’s writers."

Other matters inside Communist China: Young people in Communist China continue to attempt end runs around the regime's internet crackdown (Washington Post); the regime admits that over a quarter-trillion dollars in state funds were "illegally consumed" (Trend via Epoch Times).