LAME! Brandon announces "diplomatic boycott" of Commie Olympics

There is a special place in hell (so it is said) for those who, in a time of moral crisis, refuse to take a stand. If weakness and indecisiveness lead you to hades, President Brandon is well on the road. In fact he's in the fast lane! 

Case in point: Yesterday's announcement (made by the ubiquitous Jen Psaki, since the Grim Creeper is increasinbly unable to read the autocue) of an American "diplomatic boycott" of the Winter Olympics, to be held early next year in Communist China. 

What (Walt hears you ask) is a diplomatic boycott? If you want to express your condemnation of the Red Chinese genocide of that country's Uyghur minority, you boycott the Olympics completely, totally and absolutely. Have nothing to do with Mr Xi's propaganda games, clearly modelled on Hitler's 1936 Berlin Olympics to show what a great and powerful nation Communist China has become. 

But nooooo... Sleepy Joe doesn't want to go that far. It might be bad for business, dontcha know. So he has adopted the mugwump strategy. You know what a "mugwump" is, don't you?

The idea is to have it both ways -- do something while at the same time not doing anything! So the "diplomatic boycott" means that 100s of American dips, politicians and sports executives won't get to visit Beijing in the (ugh, brrrrrr) winter. But American athletes will get the chance to do a Jesse Owens and show up the Chinese super-athletes in front of their Dear Leader.

What does the rest of the world think of this? Another sign of weakness from a doddering old man who is a good bet not to finish out his term. It's not the first such failure. There was the Afghaistan debacle. Then there was the failure to respond to the Colonial pipeline attack, followed by the failure to stop the Nord Stream 2 pipeline. America's enemies look at these things as opportunities to step up their plans for aggression, knowing Brandon will do nothing to stop them.

Cases in point: The Chinese are rattling sabres [flying fighter jets, actually. Ed.] across the Taiwan Strait, threatening the long-promised invasion to reclaim the "rogue province". And the Russians are massing troops along the border of occupied Crimea, preparing for war against what's left of Ukraine.The Russians and the Chinese know the Brandon administration lacks the fortitude to do anything serious for a strong defence of other nations. So they're going to go do anything and everything they please, knowing they're going to get away with it. 

The US State Department is tut-tutting vigorously, promising that if push comes to shove, stern measures will be taken... up to and including a "diplomatic boycott". President Brandon's inabililty to make up his mind, let alone order any concrete action, not only discourages whatever allies the USA has left, but encourages America's enemies.

Can Russia and China be stopped from dominating the rest of the world, economically and by force of arms? The question is not how they can be stopped, but who is going to stop them!

"Allahu akbar!" in... Afghanistan?! What'd I tell you...

The Associated Press mojo wire today spat out a story from Afghanistan which attracted only a little notice from the controlled media. In "Taliban-controlled Afghanistan" (the new politically correct way of referring to the shithole that 1000s of Westerners died trying to civilize), an ISIS suicide bomber struck at a mosque packed with Shiite Muslim worshippers in the northern city of Kunduz. 

Friday is a prime day of Muslim-on-Muslim attacks, because followers of the Prophet can be found kneeling in prayer, heads down and asses up. You can't miss! Today's bombing sent at least 46 people to Paradise, and wounded dozens more.

In its claim of responsibility, broadcast on the ISIS-linked Aamaq news agency, the region’s ISIS affiliate identified the bomber as a Uygher Muslim, saying the attack targeted both Shiites and the mainly Sunni Taliban for their purported willingness to expel Uyghers to meet demands from China. The blast was just the latest in a series of ISIS bombings and shootings that have targeted Afghanistan's new Taliban rulers, as well as religious institutions and minority Shiites since American and other NATO troops fled in disarray at the end of August.

May I now say for the last time [Really? Ed.] that Western nations had no business intervening in what was and still is an ongoing Muslim civil war. Likewise, we have no responsibility to send millions of dollars in food and other aid to avoid the imminent "humanitarian disaster" which the liberals are now saying is somehow all our fault. The Islamists' "Religion of Peace" is the cause of their misery. That's all ye know and all ye need to know.

And now... AUKUS, but no CAN?

Regular readers will know that Walt often refers to "the AABC countries" -- America, Australian, Britain and Canada -- which are (or should be) the major English-speaking countries, who have (or should have) common interests and should therefore support each other against common interests. Sometimes things work out. Sometimes not.

I left New Zealand out of that list because "AABCNZ" is rather unwieldy, and, let's be frank, New Zealand isn't much more than an appendage of Australia. [Some would say Canada isn't much more than an appendage of othe USA! Ed.] But in recent years all five countries have joined together in an "intelligence alliance" called the Five Eyes.

The United Kingdom - United States of America Agreement, to give the Five Eyes its formal name, has now been superseded (or modified or strengthened -- depends how you look at it), by AUKUS -- a new security pact beweetn America, Australia and Britain... but not Canada.

Here's Senile Joe, flanked virtually by Aussie Prime Minister Scott Morrison and British PM Boris Johnson (see footnote), announcing the trilateral security partnership, aimed at countering the increasing dominance of Communist China in Asia and the Pacific. None of the three leaders mentioned China, but there can be no doubt that the initiative was a response to China’s expansionist drive in the South China Sea and increasing belligerence towards Taiwan.

The plan includes building a nuclear-powered submarine fleet, along with wide-ranging projects on cyber warfare, artificial intelligence and quantum computing. Over the next 18 months, teams from the AAB countries are to draw up a plan for assembling a new Australian nuclear-powered submarine fleet. Australia will become only the seventh country in the world to have submarines propelled by nuclear reactors. 

Speaking from London, BoJo said the three countries were "natural allies" even though "we may be separated geographically," He added that the alliance would create "a new defence partnership and driving jobs and prosperity." Of course. Pouring massive amounts of money into the military-industrial complex (a phrase coined as a warning by the late President Eisenhower) always results in jobs and prosperity, if not peace.

BoJo neglected to mention that since the Brits handed Hong Kong (on a silver platter) to China in 1997, they have had virtually no territories in the Pacific. "Separated georgraphically" was something of an understatement! How is it, one wonders, that a country with a very long Pacific coastline, was left out of the agreement. I refer to Canada, and the question is a good one.

Could it be that the AAB countries don't trust Canada, now that it's under the proprietorship of the very Liberal Just In Trudeau, who has openly expressed his admiration for Communist China and their ways of "getting things done"?

The Globe and Mail quotes Eric Miller, a political and business consultant specializing in Canada-U.S. affairs, as saying AUKUS represents an alliance between countries "more willing than Canada to take on China... Those who are in the world of 'we need to directly confront China, and use all of our assets and resources to do that' – they are essentially moving forward."

Canada is clearly not in the "world" to which Mr Miller refers. It is the only one of the Five Eyes not to have banned Huawei Technologies from its 5G network. Intelligence experts fear that the Chinese firm could use such access to collect sensitive information and turn it over to Beijing's spy agencies.

The Canadian government has been dithering for three years over what to do about Huawei, and its position is more than awkward because of its continued detention of Meng Wanzhou, aka "The Princess of Huawei". The CFO of the telecoms giant has for some three years been under house arrest ["mansion arrest", shurely! Ed.] awaiting extradition to the USA on a warrant issued by the Trump administration.

The arrest of Ms Meng angered the Chicomms, who retaliated by arresting "the two Michaels" -- Michael Kovrig and Michael Spavor -- Canadian citizens who have now spent well over 1000 days in Chinese prisons, as hostages for the release of Ms Meng. Sleepy Joe could solve that problem for Mr Socks by giving the OK to let Ms Meng go, but this is the one action of the Trump administration which he apparently doesn't want to undo.

Canada is also reluctant to jeopardize business interests in China, which include export markets for canola, pork and seafood. "Canada has not really made a choice about where it stands on China. For a long time, the attitude has been, 'We'll focus on the economic relationship with China, and the security relationship with the U.S. will be unaffected'" Mr. Miller said. "Canada now has to choose between its economic interests and security interests." 

The office of the Prime Minister of Canuckistan would not answer questions about AUKUS, including about whether it had been involved in discussions over the pact, or whether it had asked to join or wanted to join in the future. A spokesthing for Blackie McBlackface referred questions to the government's  "Global Affairs" [sic] department, but answer came there none.

Footnote: You think I'm disrespectful to keep referring to the freely and fairly elected President of the Excited States of America as "Sleepy Joe"? In its report on AUKUS, Breitbart News says that Mr Biden appeared to forget who he was talking to when he looked away from his prepared notes for just a few seconds and addressed Australia’s Prime Minister Scott Morrison as "that fella down under."

Another footnote (added 17/9/21): Canada's alleged foreign policy was, in the first years of Mr Socks' government, led by Chrystia Freeland, "Diplomat of the Year" in 2018. She was known as "The Lady in Red" -- colour-coordinated with the Communist Chinese flag?!

Remembering the martyrs of Tiananmen Square

It is not only Christians who are persecuted to the point of martyrdom in Communist China. (See "World Day of Prayer for the Catholic Church in China", WWW 24/5/21.) Nor Uyghurs, who are being herded into "re-education schools" reminiscent of the worst excesses of Nazi Germany. Ordinary Chinese -- students, workers, and other "plain people" -- have been struggling against the might of the Communist police state for decades. 

Many have given up their lives in the fight for democracy and freedom. Today let us pause for a moment to remember those who, were killed by the "People's Liberation Army" (sic), in what is known as the Tiananmen Square Massacre (天安门大屠杀). 

32 years ago today, troops armed with assault rifles and accompanied by tanks fired at the demonstrators and those trying to block the military's advance into Bejing's Tiananmen Square. The protests started on April 15th and were forcibly suppressed on June 4th, when the Communist government declared martial law and sent the PLA to occupy parts of central Beijing. Estimates of the death toll vary from several hundred to several thousand, with thousands more wounded.

Today in Hong Kong, now a "special economic zone" (read: colony) of the People's Republic of China, police arrested an organizer of the annual candlelight vigil commemorating what the Commies call "the June 4th incident". People were warned not to attend the event, banned by the pro-Communist city government in an attempt to silence pro-democracy voices.

This is the second yeare the vigil has been prohibited. Last year, authorities were quick to blame the ban on the risks of large crowds gathering during the Kung flu pandemic. That excuse won't wash this year. It's just part of the Communists' continuing campaign to control the once-free city, including a new national security law, election changes and arrests of many activists who participated in the "yellow umbrella" pro-democracy protests that swept Hong Kong in 2019.

Hong Kong had been the last place in China where the massacre was publicly commemorated. In past years tens of thousands of people gathered in Victoria Park to honour the victims who died when the Communist Chinese military put down student-led pro-democracy protests. In Tiananmen Square itself this morning, security was increased and police checked identities of pedestrians while tour buses shuttled Chinese tourists onto the square as on any other day.

But, dear reader, it's not just another day. Please take a moment to remember and, if you're so inclined, pray for those who have suffered and are still suffering under the yoke of Communist imperialism. Today Hong Kong, tomorrow east Asia. And then, the rest of the world!

Hans off Xinjiang!

The death toll in this month’s violence in the Chinese province of Xinjiang is climbing closer to 200. This past weekend Chinese "security forces" (believed to be regular army troops disguisesd as policemen) shot and killed two more Uyghurs, armed with clubs and knives.

The rioting began when Uyghurs protested clashes in June between police and Uyghur migrant workers in the southern province of Guangdong. There too protesters armed with tools and primitive weapons were killed by heavily armed police.

In the Xinjiang capital, Urumqi, crowds of Uyghurs rampaged through the city, attacking ethnic Han Chinese. The Communist government says the majority of those killed were Han Chinese. Uyghurs say they believe many more from their and the Hui ethnic groups died in the government crackdown.

There are about 9 million Uyghurs in Xinjiang. They are the majority in that province, but thanks to government-sponsored colonization by Han Chinese, are now a minority in Urumqi. The Uyghurs have complained for decades about the influx of Han Chinese and Communist restrictions on their Muslim religion. They accuse the Han of discrimination and the Communist Party of trying to erase their language and culture.

The World Uyghur Congress claims (and Walt agrees) that the Han Chinese persecution of the Uyghur and other minorities is nothing less than state-sponsored genocide!

This hardly comes as a surprise. A government-encouraged myth of racial superiority has long been a hallmark of totalitarian ideologies -- Communism and Naziism for instance -- and nations bent on dominating the world -- Russia, Germany, Japan, but also 19th-century Britain and 20th-century America. "Hey, these people are inferior and we’re doing them a favour by imposing on them the benefits of our civilization!"

I lived and worked in China for three years. It appears to me that Han Chinese believe that they really are superior to all other races, including us "long-noses". They think the Uyghurs (and Tibetans and other "nationalities") should be grateful for the rapid economic development which has brought schools, airports, and oil wells to the sprawling and hitherto undeveloped region.
Of course "development" also brought millions of Han Chinese who now occupy the best land and dominate business and government, while the original peoples of Xinjiang (formerly known as East Turkestan) are pushed into the barren hinterlands.

The rioting in Xinjiang echoed violence in Tibet before last year’s Olympics, but international reaction has been distressingly different.

Last year, Western countries put pressure on Beijing to hold a dialogue with representatives of the Dalai Lama, with French President Nicolas Sarkozy even threatening to boycott the Beijing Olympics if China refused. Beijing's protestations that Tibet was an internal Chinese affair were disregarded.

This time, however, the Western response is tepid. The USA has adopted a mild tone, with President Obama merely calling on "all parties" in Xinjiang "to exercise restraint." In so doing he suggests that the Uyghurs with their bricks and bottles are as much to blame for the deaths as the Chinese with their machineguns and tanks.

The European Union has gone even further, taking the position that violence in Xinjiang "is a Chinese issue, not a European issue." Serge Abou, the EU's ambassador to China, said Europe also had its problems with minorities and "we would not like other governments to tell us what is to be done."

Yes, the EU should know something about "problems with minorities". Didn’t one of its chief member states come up with a "final solution" to the problem of the inferior races?

The reason for the reluctance of the western powers to "interfere" in this "internal Chinese matter" is, of course, money. It’s not the not-so-almighty dollar now, but the nearly-almighty yuan! China is now seen as an indispensable partner of the USA and Europe in sorting out their self-made financial crisis. "Leave the Chinese alone, or they won’t bail us out!"

Then there’s the religious question. If the Uyghurs were Christians or (especially) Jews, the world would be up in arms, figuratively speaking at least. But they’re not. The Uyghurs are -- horrors! -- Muslims!

Such condemnation of Chinese oppression as has been expressed has come chiefly from Muslim countries. The Saudi-based Organization of the Islamic Conference, which represents 57 Muslim governments, declared: "The Islamic world is expecting from China, a major and responsible power in the world arena with historical friendly relations with the Muslim world, to deal with the problem of Muslim minority in China in broader perspective that tackles the root causes of the problem."

The country that has taken the strongest position is Turkey, whose people share linguistic, religious and cultural links with the Uyghurs. Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan actually went so far as to characterize what has happened as "a kind of genocide" and said his country would bring the matter up in the United Nations Security Council.

Yeah, a fat lot of good that will do, given that one of the permanent Security Council members -- China -- has a veto over any action that the Council might take, right down to a toothless resolution expressing its dismay.

One problem for the Uyghurs is that the world at large knows little about them. The WUC’s Rebiya Kadeer, the U.S.-based Uyghur activist accused by Chinese officials of instigating the violence, is seeking American support for the Uyghur cause. Leading a protest march to the Chinese embassy in Washington, she called on the USA to open a consulate in Urumqi. This, she said, "would be a clear signal that the United States is not indifferent to the oppression of my people." Don’t hold your breath, Rebiya!

The Uyghurs lack a charismatic figure such as the Dalai Lama to lead them. But China, perhaps unwittingly, may provide the solution. The Communists liken Ms. Kadeer to the Dalai Lama, calling them both "separatists." The People's Daily actually called Ms. Kadeer the "Uyghur Dalai Lama" and warned the Nobel committee not to award her the Peace Prize. Beijing may not realize it, but likening Rebiya Kadeer to the Dalai Lama may actually win her supporters in the West.

Walt’s Canadian readers will agree that "separatist" is a pretty loaded word. But Beijing has a different way of dealing with "separatists" than Ottawa does. Human rights advocates can organize protests and fill the newspapers and airwaves with criticism, but the Communist Chinese will not stop their campaign of genocide until they have achieved total domination of Xinjiang, Tibet, _________ and ________. Fill in the blanks for yourself.

Walt recommends three books by Frank Ching, a leading authority on Chinese history and politics: China: The Truth About Its Human Rights Record; Hong Kong and China: One Country, Two Systems?; Hong Kong and China: For Better or for Worse