I’m almost as astonished to see that during the day today (Monday US time) there has been absolutely zippo about this particular report of massive deaths by a defecting intelligence officer of the miltary regime — on US cable news channels (CNBC, FOX, Headline News, CNN, MSNBC — I usually have ne of them on).

You might want to check to see if on-line NYT or WaPo is covering it if you have fast broadband; I may get to it eventually however my old slow computer with dial-up is not as nimble.

“Thousands of protesters are dead and the bodies of hundreds of executed monks have been dumped in the jungle, a former intelligence officer for Burma’s ruling junta has revealed.

The most senior official to defect so far, Hla Win, said: “Many more people have been killed in recent days than you’ve heard about. The bodies can be counted in several thousand….

Reports from exiles along the frontier confirmed that hundreds of monks had simply “disappeared” as 20,000 troops swarmed around Rangoon yesterday to prevent further demonstrations by religious groups and civilians.

Word reaching dissidents hiding out on the border suggested that as well as executions, some 2,000 monks are being held in the notorious Insein Prison or in university rooms which have been turned into cells.

There were reports that many were savagely beaten at a sports ground on the outskirts of Rangoon, where they were heard crying for help.

Others who had failed to escape disguised as civilians were locked in their bloodstained temples…”

Wow. Suddenly (if this report is accurate) — a Burma/North Korean comparison is looking much more apt.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/pag....._id=484903

http://edition.cnn.com/2007/WO.....index.html

“There are signs that the use of deadly force against the people are eminent.”

to “imminent.”

Or, for that matter, how constrained ones actions are when the target of criticism is North Korea, and ones ruling party and progressive civic groups have tremendous political capital invested in portraying Pyongyang as misunderstood brothers rather than brutal tyrants

Good point. You can always count on the progressives never to see the parallels in the two situations; however terrible the violence in Kwangju was, the system they’re supporting is much, much worse.

WJK is right. Those monks are just for show, to give the impression that North Korea has such a thing as freedom of religion. I believe they also have a church that serves the same purpose.

Yes, even my own country of origin engages in questionable activities. I can neither make monkeys or train them.

If what you say is true, why doesn’t the US government force yahoo and google (both american companies, and powerful industry leaders) to stop filtering and censoring search content the repressive Chinese government wants them to hold back?

Isn’t what you say - that governments hold sway over corporations - kinda communist?

Very weird.

A girl with a full set of hair in a colorful handbok, with a US $1 in her hand, selling trinkets and souvenirs to the South Koreans.

Actually, it’s not weird.

There is NO freedom of religion in North Korea.

That should be elementary knowledge.