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Black Sheep In Hong Kong
Meanwhile, in Hong Kong.
Stand News, a pro-democracy holdout, became the latest casualty of Xi's crackdown on dissent in the city. The media outlet shut itself down Wednesday, laid off all employees and said its online presence, including social media pages, would be removed within 24 hours after police raided the site's headquarters. At least seven people were arrested, including singer Denise Ho and acting editor in chief Patrick Lam, who was hauled away from his home in handcuffs. All were a
The main problem with Xi is that he thinks he’s smarter than he really is.
His raging against “sissy” boys, for example, is so pathetically passé even deep South preachers have for the most part moved on. And his insistence that COVID isn’t present in China/in shutting down whole cities “to save face” is similarly pathetic. Do Chinese leaders really think they’re saving face by denying COVID circulate in China?
That’s on top of standard pointless evils committed by autocratic leaders everywhere like ethnically cleansing Uighurs…
The main problem with the “rest of the world”, is that, for the most part, we absolutely do not understand that Xi does not care about the Chinese people, or any people- other than the people he needs to secure his position and build his dictatorship.
Erdogan is a moron, but is still secure in power. Xi is at least as smart as he is. So don’t expect any changes in either country if the people remain uninformed and powerless. Which is basically, pretty likely for the next 40 years in both places.
I’m not really concerned with the Turkish or Chinese people per se. I wish them well, as I would anyone presently breathing (until they prove themselves liabilities) but the reason I’m generally happy Xi isn’t nearly as competent as touted is that, if he wants to engage in Great Game competition with the west, I really do want him to lose and lose badly.
If such losing entails suffering for his people, I’m not happy about it but, well… lesser evil and all that.
2021 will be remembered as the year democracy was put on notice that its days are numbered.
China and Russia will continue to poke at the US for decades to come. Xi and Putin are only 68 and 69, respectively.
It will likely result in a space disaster. In November, Russia fired an anti-satellite missile, endangering a US space station. Now, China is filing reports with the UN, complaining about Starlink satellites coming too close to the Chinese space station.
Last time I looked Erdogan didn’t have hypersonic missiles. Nor is he likely to have any made in Turkey.
Human atrocities have been occurring since the advent of recorded history…the US had a golden opportunity to forge a different path after 9/11/01 but instead continued with the perpetual warfare approach. Unless that mindset and behavior changes at a global leadership levelI the world will never see any progress … quite demoralizing to say the least for those of us who can visualize more peaceful and sustainable approaches…