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Riff McClavin's avatar

Am I not supposed to notice that the same folks who want me to jump up and down about China mistreating their Muslim minority are the ones who bankroll and defend Israel's genocide of the Palestinians, and have for decades?

As you asked in a previous post, how is the CIA still a thing? We live in miserable times, where even the bullshit is unworthy of us.

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David Gosselin's avatar

One of the greatest psyops in the Western world is the anti-China psyops. And it makes sense considering China actually outsmarted the Anglo-American establishment by not remaining a cheap labor economy. They used that system to leap frog, and have as a result raised 600 million people out of poverty.

Naturally, China has some problems, but would China have the kind of crackdown and surveillance systems they had if there wasn’t an Anglo-American oligarchy trying to subvert it throughout not only the 20th century, but the 19th century as well.

Mao was crazy, but the reason he still gets respect is because he ended what the Chinese call “the century of humiliation.” The British Empire had for a long time been enslaving China through their opium trade. When China tried to crack down and prevent opium from entering the country, the British sent hundreds boats and blew apart China’s navy. They were completely enslaved.

Not surprisingly though, the Anglo-Americans were gaga over Mao because he wanted to create a permanent serf system, with the idea of the “sacred peasant,” and the murder and destruction of anything smacking of Confucianism and intellectual culture ie anyone with reading glasses.

China and it’s cultural revolution was the model for the kind of feudal serf and slave master economy the financial oligarchy is now going full hog trying to impose under the guise of a “Great Reset.”

China has also been a historically closed off society, so the Belt and Road Initiative and nation building programs are really seen as an existential threat, because they’re actually building major infrastructure and helping other nations industrialize ie become self-sufficient economies.

The problem is people in the West seem to only know how to think in Hobbesian terms. Any nation that helps others develop must be looking to enslave and dominate them. However, the reality is that China woke up to the fact that if all the nations in its regions go to hell, then it’s screwed… It’s future depends on having viable allies and in-tact nations outside its borders. The imperial policy is to unleash all hell and have that tide of chaos swallow up China, and destroy opposition from any sovereign nation left.

All this seems to be lost on the people who just thing it’s all one big conspiracy, the new world order controls China, “it’s all part of the plan.”

In that respect, this kind of pure nwo conspiracy thinking is really destructive because it makes the Anglo-American financial oligarchy seem a lot more powerful and smarter than it actually is. It’s actually desperate, and the Great Reset is its last ditch effort to flip the chessboard and impose a global Malthusian depopulation policy. If all of Asia industrializes and has sovereign nations popping up everywhere, then the great game geopoliticians and the financial oligarchy have lost “the world Island”—at which point their done. There will be no possibility of maintaining their one world order. It would be game over.

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JohnOnKaui's avatar

The Belt and Road is (probably) the same kind of aid that John Perkins described in "Confessions of an Economic Hitman". I have seen the roads in Fiji dramatically improved so that a trip from Savusavu to Nambouwalu is now just over 2 hours rather than almost 2 days. Of course, this has caused the US to deploy units from Schofield Barracks on Oahu to Viti Levu for "exercises" but did nothing but act like jerks.

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Riff McClavin's avatar

After the devastation of WWII we enacted the Marshall Plan. Was that out of the goodness of our hearts or because we wanted markets for our exports and forward bases for our military? Alternately, IMF loans carry with them much to be worried about. But only China they keep telling us wants to control the world.

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Vermouth1991's avatar

Bail out countries like Turkey and Greece, so they won't even begin to entertain the notion of "Maybe give socialism a go?" Imagine if West Germany collapsed even without Stalin trying to starve out west berlin. That'll be a hoot.

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Vermouth1991's avatar

Ironically, even accounting for everyone who was needlessly persecuted and died, Mao Zedong's era is still a Net Plus in the "strengthen China" department, simply because his government cared about cutting edge technology *at all*, and things like the hydrogen bomb (1967), artificial satellite (1970), nuclear submarine (1974) were built domestically, despite the destructive deluge that was the cultural revolution and the "permanent serf system" it almost created. One might say this is no big deal, but remember that one of the key material factors of the "century of humiliation", is that China was the goddamn f-----g INVENTOR of gunpowder weaponry, yet we just sat there during the late Ming dynasty and all of Qing dynasty and let that technology ROT. Can you imagine the British after inventing the locomotive, somehow getting it into their heads that "Nah, we don't really need this sh*t anymore" and just let that tech stagnate and rot, while say the Prussians invented diesel-powered trains and the Japanese invented high speed electric trains? No nation would be THAT stupid, right? -- That was the bar being set when the communists inherited the mainland. Nationalism in China: It sounds like victim-blaming, but really it was borne out of, "Imperialism didn't have to have it so easy, but old China let them have every advantage."

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JohnOnKaui's avatar

I may disagree in certain details, but they are rather unimportant in the context of this article.

GoodOnYa.

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Vermouth1991's avatar

Thank you for responding nonetheless! I wonder what David thinks of it, considering that he has a dimmer view of the Mao Zedong years than I do.

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JohnOnKaui's avatar

Well, I gave David a thumbs up also.

Your views of Mao may diverge, but like why should I care about ancient history? (I'm being euphemistic)

Yeah, if one is a history major, it might be worthwhile to argue this out. But if one wants to apply what you both know to be true to the Empire, I sure would hope you'd be close allies.

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Tarun's avatar

I've heard lately that capitalism has raised hundreds of millions, maybe billions out of poverty. If they are counting the 600 million Chinese who have been raised it certainly is deceptive of them.

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Rebecca Turner's avatar

I heard differently, that capitalism caused the poverty in the first place and that current levels of inequality are grotesque.

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anti-republocrat's avatar

Information I read a couple years ago indicated that the roll-up of the CIA's sources in China was due at least in part to sloppy procedures within the CIA. Ie, corruption breeds incompetence.

Regarding "a significant realignment of resources," what the US needs to do is re-allocate resources away from spying and the military, and spend more on infrastructure and education to make US industry and technology more competitive.

Regarding the difference between US aggression and Chinese defensiveness, "the censorship, propaganda, secrecy, surveillance and other authoritarian measures you see in the US and its lackey states," are not primarily directed against the Chinese, Russian, Iranian or Syrian people. They are directed against the citizens of the US itself and its lackey states. The lies are so blatant you only have to go back a year to see many of the contradictions, and now we even see a prosecutor indicting some of the sources of the propaganda.

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Riff McClavin's avatar

Well said.

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Nov 11, 2021
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anti-republocrat's avatar

No rules? Wrong! Xi must rule according to the "Mandate of Heaven," a major part of the "Chinese characteristics" you've hear about but are never explained. According to the "Mandate of Heaven," a ruler must govern for the benefit of his people. If he doesn't, the mandate is broken and he may be overthrown.

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Vermouth1991's avatar

Consider this: There was Mao Zedong, and then Deng Xiaoping, and then Jiang Zemin who was sort of handpicked by Deng in 1989, and then Hu Jintao but many Chinese people believe that Jiang was still pulling strings in a "retired emperor" way, so Xi Jinping is kind of the first generation of "self-made" top brass in PRC since Deng Xiaoping's era, so he's got a lot of enemies to clear away to consolidate himself, and lots of things to do right lest he upset the people too much.

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JohnOnKaui's avatar

"upset the people"

I dunno... but who cares about what "the people" think. Certainly not the American Oligarchy. They tell us what to think.

So Xi's "enemies" are like Biden's "enemies" -- other members of the Oligarchy who conspire against him.

Xi seems to have figured that out and is "dealing them out". Biden, well, he hasn't a clue and is still fronting for them. (those who should be his enemies)

But then Obama ended up with a mansion in the Hamptons. I'm guessing Biden will do whatever it takes to get one of his own.

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Rebecca Turner's avatar

Hmm. Whilst I agree that some of the Chinese government's actions are indeed a response to US aggression, it is worthwhile comparing how the two governments act domestically against their own citizens. The USA has a relatively free media, although of course it is mostly owned and controlled by and for capital. However, China currently incarcerates at least 47 journalists; the justified furore over the US & UK governments' persecution of Julian Assange et al can show in contrast how much more brutal the Chinese authorities behave. The USA does not, for example, execute anyone convicted of corruption (yes, it rarely even prosecutes them, I know).

"The heavy-handed domestic policies of US-targeted nations like China are not morally comparable to the censorship, propaganda, secrecy, surveillance and other authoritarian measures you see in the US" is simply untrue. The Chinese government is not "heavy-handed"; it is lethal, self-serving, state capitalist, massively intrusive on a scale not yet seen in the USA, brutal against the poor and certain ethnic minorities and religious adherents, repressive and completely anti-democratic. It is certainly not socialist. There are without doubt some awesome achievements by the Chinese people to be celebrated, such as their response to the pandemic; but let's not make the mistake of attributing all their government's dirty actions to the USA.

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Riff McClavin's avatar

I'm wondering which sources you use in order to make the valuations you're making. I must admit I haven't really looked into China as closely as I have other topics so I am open to reliable information. I do know of instances where what I'm told by my government about China comes from the State Department and CIA-cutout organizations which have a less than reliable track record when it comes to reliability (they outright lie, in fact).

Again, having to choose between two extremes always set off alarm bells in my head. The Pentagon recently annihilated an Afghan family, lied about it, and absolutely nothing happened. Zero consequences, zero media attention; not one fiery speech in congress which tells me it's just going to happen again and again, or already has in places like Syria, Gaza, Ethiopia, and Iran. Would capital punishment be appropriate under such circumstances? Would it help curtail such outrages in the future? I do not know. What I do know is that I would like to see such a public debate taking place as the welcome alternative to the eerie American moral silence that inevitably attends such activities. Such a debate should include our congress and those sundry Wall Street dregs as well.

Unlike you, I have no reliable mechanism for determining how much Chinese repression (assuming such tales are reliable) results from an inherently brutal system or from a totally justified and understandable reaction to a globe-spanning murderous empire bent on their total subjugation. It could be that both parties are horrible; much like our democrats and republicans. Remember, 100% of HAMAS missiles are fired without provocation. Or so we're constantly told.

I'm reminded of the recent elections in Nicaragua, where I was informed how the Sandinista regime jailed opposition politicians, which sounds bad, doesn't it? Then I read where these weren't really opposition politicians but American-financed operatives whose sole purpose was to do what American-financed operatives have always done in this hemisphere for over a century -- overthrow any movement that threatens the power of corporations and our military. Naturally, such tawdry shenanigans -- multiplied ten-fold -- cast their long shadow over my current understanding of the Rubik's Cube that is China.

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Riff McClavin's avatar

And damn my stupid brain, calling the Sandinista government a regime. Why did no one call me out for this ignorant lapse? Our propaganda is indeed insidious.

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Sistersmith's avatar

"The USA does not, for example, execute anyone convicted of corruption (yes, it rarely even prosecutes them, I know)."

Executing the corrupt is vastly better than not doing anything and thus letting them run rampant.

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Rebecca Turner's avatar

Errr... really? So you think that execution is the right response because it's better than nothing? So you'd be happy for the state to execute you for, say, stealing pencils from your workplace because doing nothing is worse. Your argument makes no sense. The Chinese government, like any other which murders its own citizens such as the USA's, clearly has many options for preventing and responding to corruption other than killing the perpetrators.

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Sistersmith's avatar

Between the choice of the US (nothing) and China (execution), the choice of China is the better one. Corruption can destroy the fabric of a state and society which is exactly what is happening to the US.

Now, incarceration would be the best choice.

But I am saying that 'doing nothing' is not a feather to the US' cap at all. No. Between those two state's choices, China's choice is still the better one.

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Rebecca Turner's avatar

Capital punishment is wrong whatever the offence. Neither government is choosing the right path. If it were a member of your own close family, I doubt you'd blithely declare, "Oh yes, I'm content that the government has killed my only son. After all, it's better than doing nothing."

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Sistersmith's avatar

Neither I nor my family are the kind of person to be corrupt. I know that for a fact.

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Rebecca Turner's avatar

What kind of response is that? I was asking you to put yourself in the position of someone whose son, daughter, husband or wife had been executed. Imagine how you would feel; would you then cheerily agree that it was better than doing nothing? Because that's what you've been telling us.

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Riff McClavin's avatar

In Japan the corrupt at least have the decency to kill themselves. Can you imagine Colin Powell or Dick Cheney doing the same because they'd lost face? I can't, either. Instead, our country rewards acts of outrageous moral corruption. That's something we should probably address instead of shouting USA USA at pep rallys.

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Vermouth1991's avatar

In China there's always the question "Was this person actually monetarily-corrupt or was it a set-up?" xD

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Gina L. Ryan's avatar

Exactly. This shallow analysis will spur more accusations of CJs hatred for America and lose her credibility. As an American I certainly see our faults and even wonder if our 1% are semi-secretly aligned with the elite in China in efforts towards the NWO. But even then in no way, shape or form do I believe we are worse than the re-emerging Chinese empire.

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Riff McClavin's avatar

The fact that you chose to refer to China as an empire while we're the ones whose influence and innocent victims stretch across the globe is interesting in itself.

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Vermouth1991's avatar

For what it's worth, Chinese netizens oftentimes use the term 天朝 "heavenly dynasty" to talk about their nation, it was the term used in imperial papers and definitely used in 1793 when Emperor Qianlong told the british deligation under Lord McCartney "The H.D. has everything the people can ever possibly want, therefore We refute all your requests for opening up commerce more than what is currently going on in Guangzhou..." -- Used in a self-deprecating-because-we-could-do-better way.

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Joel Rosenblum's avatar

It's the old Good cop, Bad cop game. Support your local ethnic oppressor, not the other one!

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Eric Deming's avatar

Interesting.

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rich's avatar

the same scumbags you are lampooning are the same scumbags behind the scamdemic...the one you never write about...did you get all your booster shots yet?...now ban me like you did on medium

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Sistersmith's avatar

Gods spare us from people for whom Covid is the only issue that exists in this world

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Riff McClavin's avatar

Between Rich's COVID-centric raspings and Paula's sex adverts it's hard for me to determine who's putting forth the more relevant discussion.

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Rebecca Turner's avatar

I'll be having my Novavax booster next week. This British socialist, while very aware of the vast profits being made by the pharmaceutical industry from public funds and its lack of accountability, nevertheless understands the need for vaccines, masks and other measures against a very real viral pandemic.

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JohnOnKaui's avatar

"Mercola"???

I wanted to listen to your points until you said "Mercola".

Now, perhaps I'm mistaken. Perhaps Mercola really is a valid resource....

Ok, went to his website again...

Nope, he's a snake. And Kory ... well...

Here's the problem, which I concluded for myself:

We who have been lied to for so long about so much by so many don't believe anyone any more.

But Mercola???? Really???

How about Jimmy Swaggart or Tami Fay?

How about Rachael Maddow?

How about the New York Times?

I dunno, who ya' gonna' believe?

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Tarun's avatar

Yeah, how about NYT? If that's where you're getting your covid info... like loyal leftists you have to say that all vaccines are for the people. That Big Pharma's only fault is that they won't share their formula with the third world. That they create miracle drugs for the benefit of mankind, but are just a tad greedy is all. That mandates protect the people from the awful anti vaxxers who are far right conspiracy theorist white supremacists anyways. Yeah right!

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User's avatar
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Nov 11, 2021
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blackbird's avatar

GO f... .....

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