I think Richard Gere may have been been banned from traveling to China. Given this news, I bet he really regrets all of that Tibet independence activism he engaged in, not to mention making Red Corner.: (via Milton J Madison)

The giant gerbil story is not getting much coverage. Maybe there is media blackout on this in favor of the farmer protests.

The infestation of giant gerbils in Xinjiang has already destroyed a grassland area the size of Switerland.
The gerbils running riot in China’s arid far north-west may sound like the fluffy pets loved by so many children but they are in a different league.
An explosion of gerbils is decimating vast areas of grasslands in China’s north-western Xinjiang region, with some of the prairies completely destroyed by hundreds of rodent burrows, according to authorities in the region.

Oh, here’s the startling truth about the Gere-bil.