News of the Day (March 5)

Communist China ups its military spending by more than 17 percent: The cadres announced "a 17.8 percent increase in the defense budget" (Washington Times). This comes off an increase of almost 15% last year (BBC). Also reporting: Shotgun and Worldwide Standard

More on the threat from Communist China to the free world: Mark Helprin (Washington Post) and Geoff Metcalf (Newsmax) share Enlightened Comment of the Day honors for their columns on the cadres' belligerence and how America must respond. James Mann is furious at the "engagement" crowd, and takes his case to print in The China Fantasy: How Our Leaders Explain Away Chinese Repression (reviewed by the Washington Post). Cao Changqing (Observe China via Epoch Times) uses Hu Jintao's recent trip to Sudan as a metaphor for his (Hu's) views on the free world.

Communists rip Chen Shui-bian for insisting Taiwan should never fall under their thumb: The cadres flipped out Taiwan's elected President insisted the island democracy "should be independent" (BBC) - never mind that it already is, something the cadres would like everyone to forget.

North Korean refugees sought U.S. help in Communist China - and were turned down: One Free Korea has the sickening story of how American consulate officials in Shenyang violated U.S. law and the norms of human decency in the case of the "Shenyang Six" (tenth item).

More on the Communist China and the United States: The long arm of the cadres extends to the arts (Epoch Times) and will soon reach the auto market (Washington Post).

Ireland's Parliament may move against Communist organ harvesting: Members of the Dial (what the Irish call their legislature) are pondering measures to use what power they have (Epoch Times).

More human rights abuses in Communist China: Anti-"one child" activist Chen Guangcheng is being abused in prison (Epoch Times and National Review Online). A lawyer willing to speak up for Falun Gong is now in prison for "counter-revolutionary" activities (Epoch Times).

More news from inside Communist China: As the cadres' open their rubber-stamp parliament (BBC), a new report shows that the Potemkin cities in Communist China are leaving the impoverished rural interior behind (Voice of America via Epoch Times). After days of speculation, Asia Times (via Epoch Times) found the reasons for the Shanghai stock market drop that sunk markets around the world - Communist regulations imposed on bank and stock transactions.

The Beijing surrender takes more flak, this time from Jay Lefkowitz, John McCain (Worldwide Standard), and John Bolton (Wall Street Journal), but the Administration is still going forward with this fiasco (BBC), even to the point of unfreezing Stalinist assets (Washington Times), while doves from all around are taking aim at the issue of Stalinist North Korea's uranium weapons program - they claim the regime never had one (One Free Korea's take on the matter).

Back to the Communists' Korean colony: The United Nations Development Program is pulling out of SNK (Wall Street Journal). South Korea, acting against type, is holding off on aid to SNK (Daily NK). A leading SNK-Communist China trading zone is practically shut down by the Stalinists (Daily NK). The regime is still manipulating international food aid distribution (Daily NK). Ha Tae-Kyoung, President of Open Radio for North Korea, talks to Daily NK about his efforts to bring the truth to the people of northern Korea.