News of the Day (March 16)

Communist military spending hike spooks Taiwan: The head of Taiwan's Mainland Affairs Council gave the island democracy's Central News Agency (via the Epoch Times) his view on Communist China's military spending surge - "China's intent is to become the dominant global superpower." As Michael Goldfarb notes in the Worldwide Standard, there a lot closer to that than most think.

More on Communist China, the U.S., and Taiwan: Lev Navrozov sounds the nano-weapons alarm once more (Newsmax). Charles R. Smith (also in Newsmax) notes the willingness of the outgoing French government to arm the cadres. Boycott 2008 ponders Taiwan's possible role in the 2008 Games, while Dr. Paul Mass relays a 1971 memo on American policy towards Taiwan (China Support Network). Finally, the head of NASA says Communist China will likely be the next power to reach the moon (Washington Post).

UN "sanctions" against Iran leave gaping holes for Communist arms sales: Communist China has agreed to support a resolution that even the Americans are admitting is merely "incremental" (Time). More to the point, "The U.S. was unable to convince the Security Council powers to support an embargo on conventional weapons sales to Iran . . . Russia and China have continued to supply the Iranian military despite U.S. objections."

More on the Communist-backed mullahcracy: Russia gets back into the Iranian nuclear business (United Press Int'l via Washington Times). An Iranian exile says his people can take his homeland back if the Americans would just help them do so (World Net Daily). Rick Brennan (Washington Times) details the mullahs' infiltration into Iraq. Mad Mouthpiece Mahmoud hears it from others vying for the PR job (Washington Times).

Supporter of democracy in China turns his eye to Stalinist North Korea: Jared Pearman (whom I know and admire greatly) takes to the keyboard and highlights the suffering of those trapped in the Communists' Korean colony (Epoch Times).

More on Stalinist North Korea: The next step in the Beijing surrender is the resolution of the dispute over SNK's uranium weapons program; Daily NK analyzes the situation. Daily NK also notes how the forests in northern Korea have vanished, due to starving Koreans cutting the trees to eat the bark. Meanwhile, One Free Korea profiles one of Kim Jong-il's financial enablers.

And they call it a property-rights law: The propaganda may circle the globe (BBC), but this corner isn't buying, especially given what Time discovered (emphasis added): "All land in China is, in any case, owned by the state, and individuals can only claim right to a 70-year lease on buildings—something the new law won't change." Nice try, fellas.

This is why the Communists want the blogosphere firewalled: The BBC managed to get more than a few choice comments from bloggers unimpressed with the rubber-stamp Communist parliament.

On the plight of petitioners: Maureen Fan does the Washington Post immense credit with her piece on the average day of a citizen fighting the system in Beijing on behalf of wronged relatives back home.