News of the Day (March 6)

Communist Chinese spies are "among the most aggressive at spying on the United States": That assessment came from the new chief of the Office of the National Counterintelligence Executive. In Joel F. Brenner's own words, Communist spies "are eating our lunch" (Bill Gertz, Washington Times).

Communist military to show off J-10 to Russians: The fighter plane will be showcased at joint military exercises laughably titled "Peace Mission 2007" (Worldwide Standard). Meanwhile, Bill Powell (Time) revisits the larger Communist threat with the usual ignorance known as "conventional wisdom."

Communist China calls for its Iranian ally to open up to IAEA, but adds no "or else": As is typical when dealing with its allies on the world stage, the Communist regime "urged Iran to fully open its nuclear program to U.N. inspections" (Newsmax), but made no mention of penalizing the mullahs if they didn't do so.

More on Communist China and the rest of the world: The long arm of lawlessness reaches Mexico (Mexidata) and New Zealand (Epoch Times).

Taiwan news: As the island democracy tested a new cruise missile, this corner's favorite Taiwanese politician - Vice President Annette Lu - announced her intention to run for President (BBC).

Communist China slams the lid on internet cafes: The Communists' crackdown on the web includes a new order that "will not allow any more internet cafes to open this year" (BBC and Newsmax).

More on censorship in Communist China: Wen Jian (Radio Free Asia via Epoch Times) reveals the nature of film censorship in Communist China - "The 36 members of the Film Examination Committee under China's state-run Administration of Radio, Film, and Television decide what movies can be shown in China."

Communist premier promises to crack down on corruption and help the poor - again: Wen Jiabao repeated an annual ritual when he "promised yesterday to curb the lavish lifestyles of Communist Party leaders " (London Daily Telegraph) and help the impoverished rural interior. However, as James Reynolds (BBC) finds, the Communists would rather the poor and the victims of corruption just go away. Meanwhile, the cadres sit on over a trillion in foreign reserves (International Herald Tribune).

Gender imbalance caused by "one child" fiasco leads to brideless men: Gao Feng (VOA via Epoch Times) is the latest to examine the situation.