中國也有「教科書問題」: 去年十二月二十三日，姚文元病亡。中國諸多年輕人竟然問「姚文元是誰」？！也有年輕人聽說姚文元是「四人幫」中的一個，便問：「四人幫是哪四個人？」在網上，還可以見到年輕人的種種奇談怪論：「姚老走好！」「成者為王，敗者為寇，死得默默無聞啊！」甚至有人在我一篇關於姚文元的文章上留言：「我黨偉大出人才！」

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Booknotes Video: Tiananmen Diary: Thirteen Days in June w/ Harrison Salisbury (recorded Oct 15 1989)

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Driving Defensively: I'm glad I brought with me from Korea the extra cycling gear I used there: plastic hand, elbow and knee pads that rollerbladers use. In four months here I've lost count already the number of times those have saved me from these idiot drivers. When a car tries to cut me off, my knee scraping on the panel and elbow on the window is much more effective than skin at making them move over, and the same applies to the hands of scooter drivers who try to muscle me off the road

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China Plans Surprise Attack on Taiwan: Biff - worth chasing through the comments on this thread.

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華爾街日報：北韓制超級假美鈔流入中國: 美國國會研究處一份報告說，目前在全球被發現「超級美鈔」至少有4,500萬美元。並說，北韓每年從假鈔中賺取的利潤可能高達1,500至2,500萬美元。... 金木蘇說，人權活動人士在中國城市丹東從一家北韓貿易公司的僱員那裡獲得了這張假鈔票。他說，這樣的假鈔用50美元就可以買到。

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China harvesting inmates' organs, journalist says: Mr. Jin said he first learned of the harvesting operation between October and December and that the prisoners used were members of the outlawed Falun Gong religious group. "This is murder, and murder sponsored by a state," said Mr. Jin, who in the past has been a contributor to a Japanese news agency. "It must be stopped." ...Mr. Jin said bodies of the prisoners were burned in the boiler room of the hospital and that boiler room workers had taken jewelry and watches from the dead and sold them. He said he has provided information about the organ harvesting to U.S. government officials, including members of Congress. - Biff: Make what you will of an unverifiable story that sounds suspiciously like a recreation of the Jewish Holocaust, only with Chinese characteristics...

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Chinese translation is here: 華盛頓時報報導蘇家屯活取器官黑幕

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Saddam's Philippines Terror Connection: ...An eight-page fax dated June 6, 2001, and sent from the Iraqi ambassador in Manila to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Baghdad, provides an update on Abu Sayyaf kidnappings and indicates that the Iraqi regime was providing the group with money to purchase weapons. The Iraqi regime suspended its support--temporarily, it seems--after high-profile kidnappings, including of Americans, focused international attention on the terrorist group. ...The memos contain a lengthy discussion among Iraqi officials--from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Iraqi Intelligence Service--about the wisdom of using a Libyan intelligence front as a way to channel Iraqi support for Abu Sayyaf without the risks of dealing directly with the group. (The Libyan regime had intervened in an Abu Sayyaf kidnapping in 2000, securing the release of several hostages by paying several million dollars in ransom. Some observers saw this as an effort by Muammar Qaddafi to improve his image; others saw it as an effort to provide support to Abu Sayyaf by paying the ransom demanded by the group. Both were probably right.)