Putin Kills and Beijing Cracks heads

Well, yet ANOTHER reporter is dead in Russia today. And yes, he does fit the profile we have seen so far. He spoke out against Putin. It is kinda scary to watch the KGB thug kill people who stand in his way. The KGB is kinda like Eagle Scouts or the Marine Corps in one very important respect, once a member ALWAYS a member.

On the Chinese Front. Woo Hoo for Freedom of Speech violations. It would seem that China is going to war with Internet News. That's right, the Propaganda Ministry is hatching a plan to combat Internet News. But they are doing it in a strange method. Instead of HIDING the news until they feel that it is time to report on it and spinning it the way they want, they will report it as it happens, and then revising the coverage to as the events un fold and pretend it has always been the way they report it.

Propaganda Chief Li Changchun, in fear that the Ministry will lose control over Information in China stated, "Let us use the method of providing news as the way to control news." Wow, they are controlling the news!? Shocking. *rolls eyes* The faces change, but the facts seem to stay the same.

The Times Online quoted an unamed source (smart man, not giving his name in Bloody China) had this to say on the matter.

The new approach is aimed at ensuring that ultimate control of at least the most sensitive information remains in party hands. The source told The Times: “The principle is to report an incident as soon as possible without the need to inform the leaders in advance.”

Already this has streamlined official reporting of some events.

In the past, major news would be allowed into the public eye only after careful vetting by senior officials. The source said: “In the past, when something happened the usual practice was that a senior person would hold off and say he would report to the leadership. And once something was reported to the leadership then they would issue an order for a media blackout.”

They also said that they withold information that might prove incindiary. Really? They are afraid of Unrest? Well, that doesn't make any sense. After all, the people of China love the government right?

Yeah, they do. As much as the people of Iraq loved Saddam Hussein or the people of Russia loved Stalin. Love him or have your arms sawed off. [/hyperoble]

China is sitting atop a powder keg. It is why their military Districts are all internal, and up until recently, most of their personell have been trained in how to put down uprisings and peaceful protests (emphasis on the Protests if Tianmen Square is any indication).

The Times online had a list of soem of the best (read worst) violations of trust by the official media.

— It took China 18 years before it broke its silence to reveal that 694 people – including 597 children – had died in a Chinese New Year’s Day inferno in a crowded cinema in 1977. There was no explanation for the delay in the news

— In 1975, 62 dams in central Henan province crumbled over the course of three days or were intentionally destroyed amid record rainfall, killing at least 175,000 people in the worst such recorded disaster in history. Government figures were declassified only in 2005

— The extent of the 2003 outbreak of Sars, right, was originally underreported. The Chinese Government was eventually forced to release accurate figures only after a Chinese doctor blew the whistle

— Chinese officials paid high sums in compensation to families of workers who died during the building of the Bird’s Nest Stadium to ensure their silence. China admitted the deaths of two workers only after a report by The Sunday Times in January of this year

— The Government was slow to respond to contamination of milk that led to the deaths of at least four infants and the hospitalisation of 12,892. It admitted partial guilt in October and arrested 36 manufacturers

More on these can be found ont he Times Online story here.

Also, there was a riot in Northwest China. Not much ont he story, but I bet they will be crackign down even more. This is China after all. The circumstances that sparked it kind of reminds me of Eminent Domain for some reason...

Oh, and Breitbart had this choice piece of information on a story about an Activist who is having her residence demolished out from under her. Makes my comments about Property Rights being the most neccessary and basic of all Individual Rights more relevant eh?

As all land belongs to the state in China, local officials enjoy immense powers to determine land-use rights, and critics say residents and farmers are often forcefully evicted in shady deals between the government and developers