Today in the supermarket I found a free paper I'd never seen before: The Epoch Times. The headlines were more than unusual compared to the free papers usually available in supermarkets in the NJ area or, in fact, anywhere to my knowledge: "Hurricane Victims Now Face Greater Disasters"; "Amidst Internal Crisis, China's President Visits Other Nations"; "Marathon Talks at U.N. to Avoid Crisis at Summit".
Emblazoned on the banner was their website URL:
http://www.theepochtimes.comI went to the "About Us" page for more info, and got less than I was looking for -- which was, quite frankly, ownership info.
I did find this:
The Epoch Times is a privately held news media company. The center is in New York, but our network of local reporters throughout the world uncovers stories that are authentically local, yet also globally relevant. Our independence enables us to report widely and present a diversity of opinions.
(snip)
A special strength of the Epoch Times is our coverage of China. Today the world is increasingly looking to China, as this troubled giant goes through tremendous changes. Business and political leaders, and also world citizens, want to understand better what is happening there. We are able to provide well-sourced stories that no one else has through the original reporting done by the Chinese-language edition of The Epoch Times.
(snip)
The English edition of The Epoch Times launched in September 2003 on the web, and in August 2004 as a newspaper in New York. It meets a growing need for news reported and published independently, uncovering stories that have depth and meaning to people. In English, as well as in other languages, it serves a broad, international readership.
http://www.theepochtimes.com/aboutus.htmlWikipedia has this to say about it (emphasis mine):
The Epoch Times originally targeted Chinese readers living abroad and reported on the alleged persecutions, abuses, and inner workings of the CCP. Its reports on China are highly critical.
It has since grown to report on civil rights issues worldwide in a conservative view, and now appeals to a somewhat wider audience. The English edition represents itself as a general-interest newspaper that, although it maintains a large amount of China-related content, offers 12 other sections, including travel, science, sports, and regional and international news featuring articles from major wire services.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Epoch_TimesI find it very odd that this paper just turned up this week, and I'm wondering if there's a Moon connection here?