Words of wisdom from Yoda

FAFO!

Funniest name of the year, so far

Although some of my best griends are Jewish [Really? Ed.] OK, start again... Although some of my best friends were Jewish... [Do you mean they used to be Jewish or they used to be your best friends? Ed.] OK, never mind...

My pool of knowledge of the religion of the Chosen People could be deeper. For instance, I was unaware that yesterday was Purim, a holy day in the Jewish calendar. Seemed to some of the looney left pro-Hamas types like a good day to stage a demonstration in support of calls for a ceasefire (read: We're losing so let's have a time-out) in Gaza.

This was in mid-town Toronto, the city that thinks it's world-class but is actually Democratic-American-class. Such demonstrations are almost daily occurrences in the Little Green Apple. They are marked by the shouting of anti-Semitic slogans, and the display of Palestine flags mingled with pro-queer, union, and indigenous banners.

There's occasionally a little violence, when Toronto cops try to separate the SWINE (Students Wildly Indignant about Everything -- Hello to Al Capp, wherever you are) from the pro-Israel types. Weapons are occasionally produced and sometimes (not often) the storm troopers make an arrest for littering or somesuch.

[Sorry to interrupt, but when are you going to get to the "funniest name"? Ed.] 

Hey, I'm coming to it!

Yesterday, the Toronto police said they received a complaint that a man at the demonstration had a knife concealed on "their" [sic - this is Toronto the Gay. Ed.] person. They then investigated, eh, found a large knife under "their" clothing, and took "him" into custody. 

In a news release, Toronto police said "Sodapop Liptrott" [sic], 25, of Toronto, has been charged with carrying a concealed weapon, and is schedule to appear in court on May 2nd. 

I hope Agent 3 can get to the courthouse to find out if that's the accused's real name, or just something he told the cops. If it's his real name, what part of Ireland do you suppose he was from? And whose side do you think he's on? Will he change his name to "Mohammed" to get a slap on the wrist and be back on the streets in time for the next demo? Stay tuned.

It's over!

I and about eleventy million other people witnessed yesterday's... errr... proceedings in and around the Capitol. As "mostly peaceful" protests go, this one lived up to its name. 

Although one woman was killed, supposed by "law enforcement", I didn't see a whole lot of violence. For the most part I saw protesters "engaging" with "law enforcement" -- shouting at them, haranguing them, reasoning with them. And I wondered how many of the assorted national guardsmen, cops and rent-a-cops had misgivings about confronting the protesters, all for the sake of making sure Joe Biden and Kamala Harris got formally elected, not just anointed by the media.

This morning questions are being asked by the usual suspects -- SJWs, the lamestream media, the anti-police gang -- about how the protesters were able to mass on Capitol Hill, and gain entry into the Capitol itself, so easily. The suggesion is that it was some sort of conspiracy between President Trump,  his supporters and "law enforcement" to stage a paramilitary coup. As if!

Whether the demonstration was orchestrated or not, it proved to be counter-productive. I understand where the protesters were coming from. Oh boy, do I understand! But what, I wonder, did the protesters think would happen? Did they really think occupying the Capitol would keep the solons from meeting... forever? Did they think "taking it to the street" would convince some of the anti-Trump senators and congresspersons to vote in favour of the objections filed by Senator Cruz et al?  Fat chance!

If anything, the protest appears to have changed the mind of some Republicans. When the objection to the counting of the votes of the Arizona electors came to a vote around 2200 EST, there were only six (6) "ayes" and 93 nays. The objections and horseshit-laden speeches continued into the wee hours, but only for the sake of form, and the vote of the Electoral College was duly confirmed. 

For me, the day and the result were best summed up by Senator Lindsey Graham when he said, "It's over!" So it is.

I note that President-elect Biden -- for now we can actually call him that -- decided last week to skip the traditional Inauguration Day parade. I wonder if he and his handlers were truly afraid for his security, or is that they were afraid of the optics of taking a victory lap following a rigged election which half the American people believe they stole by fraud and deceit.

Of course there was fraud and cheating, said some "honorable senators" last night. But there was no evidence (they said) that it was "massive". Just a little bit, you understand. Not enough to make any real difference. So that's OK then... they said. I had the sense that some who said such things were really acknowledging that the Democrats were better at cheating than the Republicans... this time! 

As they say in Lake Wobegon: What now, do ya think? I'll tell ya what. With the run-off election for both of Georgia's Senate seats now decided in favour of the Dumbocrats (albeit by narrow margins), the US of A is in for four years of affirmative action (read: reverse racism), extreme environmentalism (read: green-scam), tax-and-spend budgets, Antifa riots, weakening of "law enforcement", and all the other liberal "progressive" policies that have made California what it is today. God save the United States of America! 

Further reading: "Pelosi Appoints AOC, Other 'Squad' Members to Powerful Oversight Committee; Leftists Promptly Reveal Radical Agenda", by Mike Miller, on RedState, 6/1/21.

A MAD look at anti-police demonstrations

Taken from "Badge & Billy", a magazine parody, written by Larry Siegel and drawn by George Woodbridge, in MAD Magazine No. 101, June 1966. That's right, folks. This nonsense has been going on for over half a century, ever since the hippy-dippy `60s.

Also in MAD No. 101: Voyage to See What's on the Bottom (TV satire); The Sinpiper (movie satire); MAD's Puzzle Page, Badge & Billy Magazine, College Programs to Develop Masters of Meiocrity, A MAD Treasure of Unknown Poety; When Teenagers Take Over TV Completely; and much more.

Front cover by Norman Mingo. Art by Don Martin, Antonio Prohias, David Berg, Mort Drucker, Bob Clarke, Jack Rickard, Al Jaffee, Joe Orlando, Paul Coker Jr. and George Woodbridge.

Wanna buy it? We've taken down Walt's Attic, but Mrs Walt is cleaning out the attic and has one copy left. 48 b&w newsprint pages plus 4/1 glossy cover (includes MAD Fold-in, not done). Intact. Pages slightly yellowed with age but no tears, creases, dogears or other major damage. Overall condition FINE. US$3.95, plus S&H. Send Ed. an e-mail if you're interested.

UPDATED: EU court rules illegal immigrants don't have same rights as those who follow the law

Walt has been following events north of the World's Longest Undefended Border, where a handful of "First Nations" people ("Native Americans" to, errr, Americans) and the usual mobs of ultra-lefties and antifa types have succeeded in shutting down Canuckistan's railways almost completely.

They are protesting that the hereditary chiefs (as opposed to the democratically elected chiefs) of an obscure "nation" -- the Wet'suwet'ens -- were not consulted about the building of a natural gas pipeline that crosses their territory in northern British Columbia.

It's a big deal, since many of the things that millions of Canadians depend on to live a normal life -- e.g. water purification chemicals and propane, not to mention food -- move by rail. It's a big enough deal that Just In Trudeau interrupted his latest virtue-signalling world tour to come back to the World's Second-coldest Capital and take a meeting.

When he emerged, blinking in the sunlight, Mr Socks proclaimed that Canada is a country where the rule of law is respected and must be followed. This had Canucks ROFL because the railways have obtained court injunctions against the blockades, orders which the Ontario Provincial Police and Royal Canadian Kilted Yaksmen refuse to enforce. In Canada, apparently, court orders and the country's laws don't apply to the marginalized and oppressed victims of colonialism, white privilege, yada yada yada.

Walt wonders what Blackface Justin thinks of a recent decision by the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR). The Gatestone Institute reports that on February 13th the ECHR issued a decision reaffirming the proposition that in order for migrants or other "victims" to benefit from certain human rights protections, such as access to lawyers, interpreters and the right to remain in Europe, they must first enter European territory in a legal, as opposed to an illegal, manner. Imagine that!

The case goes back to August of 2014, when hundreds of migrants from sub-Saharan Africa stormed the border fence at Melilla, a Spanish exclave in North Africa. After spending several hours perched on top of the fence, two men, one from Ivory Coast and the other from Mali, climbed down and were handcuffed by Spanish border police, who handed them over to Moroccan authorities.

The two Africans said they were never given a chance to explain their personal circumstances or receive help from lawyers or interpreters. In February 2015, with the help of human rights weasels ["lawyers", shurely! Ed.] the pair took their case to the ECHR.

In October 2017, the ECHR ruled that summary deportations were a violation of European law, which is politically correct on such things. The court determined that Spanish border police had failed to verify the identity of the migrants, or to provide them with access to lawyers, translators or medical personnel, and ordered Spain to pay each of the men €5,000 (over $5400 in real money). In December 2017, Spain's previous mildly conservative government appealed.

On February 13th, the ECHR unanimously reversed its previous judgment. In a statement, it explained that "[the migrants chose] not to use the legal procedures which existed in order to enter Spanish territory lawfully. Consequently, the Court considered that the lack of individual removal decisions could be attributed to the fact that the applicants — assuming that they had wished to assert rights under the Convention — had not made use of the official entry procedures existing for that purpose, and that it had thus been a consequence of their own conduct."

How about that?! Here's a photo of some illegal immigrants crossing the World's Longest Undefended Border at Saint-Bernard-de-Lacolle, Québec. Who's carrying their bags for them? Why it's the very same RCMP who, for some reason (Hello, Liberal government!) are not enforcing the injunctions against the mob blockading Canada's rail services.

Just In (from Africa) Trudeau has probably not heard about the ECHR decision, and it's not binding on Canadian courts or governments in any case. Iván Espinosa de los Monteros, spokesman for the Spanish Vox (= Voice) Party, commented: "The ECHR's ruling determines that a nation state has the right to defend its borders. When someone is dedicated to violating those borders, the nation state has the right to return that person to their place of origin as quickly as possible."

Wouldn't it be nice if Canada's woke government, or the even-more-woke government-in-waiting (?) of the USA did a 180, like the ECHR, and reserved the benefits of the rule of law to those who obey the law?

Further reading, from the National Post, 17/2/20:
"Enough is enough. Clear the blockades, restore the rule of law", by Derek H. Burney, a former Canadian ambassador to the USA and chief of staff to former PM Brian Baloney. "Dialogue is no prescription for those who refuse to listen because they believe themselves to be custodians of the only truth."
"If Trudeau has lost interest in his job, perhaps he should quit", NP editorial. "While cabinet members have struggled to deal with the rail blockades, Trudeau has been flying around Africa and Europe. Over his four years as prime minister, it has become noteworthy how often Justin Trudeau faces problems of his own making. His sanctimony keeps coming back to bite him. Canadians who follow politics have long been aware of the prime minister’s weakness for pious declarations of well-intentioned morality."

UPDATE ADDED 20/2/20: Canada's Public Safety and Emergency Unpreparedness Minister Bill Blair has just announced that the Mounties in British Columbia have agreed to withdraw from their position on Wet'suwet'en territory and barricade themselves in a nearby town names L'alamo. [Ed., please check town name.] So Just In (from Africa) Trudeau's Liberal government has caved to a few dozen radical activists who don't even have the support of the majority of the Wet'suwet'en people, as represented by their elected (as opposed to hereditary) chiefs. In today's Canuckistan, the mob rules!

Hong Kong nut-cutting time fast approaching

Looks like the crunch is coming for the pro-democracy protesters in Hong Kong. Agent 78 has been following the news closely and reports that, as of this morning (Walt's time) only 100 or so anti-government protesters remain holed up at Hong Kong Polytechnic University, as a police siege of the campus entered its third day.

Carrie Lam, the puppet CEO chosen by the Beijing government, said 600 people, including 200 minors, had left the campus. The police siege, oddly, is intended to prevent the protesters from leaving, so they can be arrested and face "justice", Communist-style. Police have surrounded the university and are arresting anyone who leaves.

On Monday, groups of protesters made several attempts to escape, including sliding down hoses to waiting motorcycles, but it wasn’t clear if they managed to evade arrest. Ms Lam told AP that 400 of the 600 who left were detailed, but that those under 18 were not be immediately arrested but could face charges later. "We will use whatever means to continue to persuade and arrange for these remaining protesters to leave the campus as soon as possible," she said, "so that this whole operation could end in a peaceful manner."

Hong Kong police also announced that they will be treating the death of a man hit by a brick thrown by protesters late on Thursday as murder. Last Friday, pro-democracy protesters blocked a road near the Hong Kong Polytechnic campus, but were dispersed by police forces led by Inspector Charles Chan, using tear gas and water cannons. The president of the university said on Friday that he would call on the "assistance of non-students" if necessary. Sure enough, troops of the so-called People's Liberation Army (read: Chinese regular army) came to clear up the debris and open the road. The message was clear. Today they came with brooms. Tomorrow they will be back with something else.

Here in the decadent imperialist West, US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo finally opened his official mouth to state the American non-position on the pro-democracy protests. He called on police and protesters to refrain from violence. Well, he used a few more words than that, without adding much more substance.

On Monday, Mr Pompeo called for all sides to exercise restraint in the escalating Hong Kong conflict, and said the territory's government should start an independent investigation into "incidents" during the pro-democracy protests, now entering their seventh month. That inquiry presumably would include reviewing accusations of police misconduct, one of the key demands of the protesters.

Speaking at a presser in Foggy Bottom, Secretary Pompeo said, the Hong Kong government bears primary responsibility for the conflict, which he said could not be resolved by law enforcement alone. He called for the Hong Kong government to "take clear steps to address public concerns," and stressed that Carrie Lam, the territory's chief executive, should "promote accountability" by putting in place an independent investigation.

What Mr Pompeo did not say was that Ms Lam's hands are tied. She answers not to Hong Kong's toothless Legislative Council, but to the Communist masters in Beijing, who are running out of patience with the Hong Kongers' refusal to embrace the benefits of "democracy with Chinese characteristics". Somehow the Secretary of State managed to get through his entire statement without once uttering the words "Beijing" or "China".

Senator Mitch McConnell (R-KY), on the other hand, said Still-President Trump should make forceful statements on Hong Kong. Speaking in the Senate on Monday, Senator McConnell said leaders in Beijing and Hong Kong must "de-escalate." He said the administration already had "significant tools" it could use to support Hong Kong protesters. "I would encourage this president, who has seen Chinese behaviour for what it is, with clarity that others have lacked, not to shy away from speaking out on Hong Kong himself," Mr McConnell said. "The world should hear from him directly that the United States stands with these brave men and women."

He added he was working to try to bring the Hong Kong Human Rights and Democracy Act to a floor vote. The bill, which passed the House by unanimous consent, would mandate the executive branch to impose sanctions on Chinese and Hong Kong officials who carry out human rights abuses and review annually the favourable trade status that Washington grants Hong Kong. Mr McConnell has been criticized for delaying a floor vote on the bill. If he can do so now, and the bill passes the Senate (not a sure thing), it will be more than interesting to see what President Trump does with it. Nut-cutting time not just for the Hong Kong protesters but for the leader of the USA and the free world.

Footnote: Looking at the top photo Ed. has chosen for this story, I see that some of the students have obviously been paying attention in English class. As a former teacher of English to Chinese university students, seeing correct use of English in public discourse makes me quietly proud.

Umbrellas unfurled again in Hong Kong protest

In a fit of tone-deafness remarkable even for the Chinese Communists, the puppet government of the Special Administrative Region of Hong Kong chose the week of the 30th anniversary of the Tiananmen Square Massacre to introduce in the legislative council a new law that would enable the extradition of Hong Kong Chinese (including those resident overseas) to the mainland for trial on any criminal charge. That would include treason, spying, and any act against the state or the Communist Party.

In response, Hong Kongers are turning out in the hundreds of thousands to protest the erosion of the "special status" in matters social, political and legal that Hong Kong was supposed to retain after the handover of the former British colony to Red China in 1997. Organizers say that over 1,000,000 people joined in the demonstrations today, blocking two main highways near government headquarters. Since the population of HKG is roughly 7,000,000, that's a pretty good turnout! Most of the protesters are students and young people. Students were boycotting classes to attend the rallies.

Despite official calls to disperse, demonstrators continued to march today. They overturned police barriers and stood their ground even when confronted with pepper spray and a threat by police to use force if they continued to oppose their orders. Some protesters left umbrellas on the police barricades, an homage to the "Occupy Democracy" movement that began in 2014. "Didn’t we say at the end of the Umbrella movement we would be back?" pro-democracy lawmaker Claudia Mo told the meeja, referring to the name often used for the 2014 "Occupy" demonstrations. The massive, months-long campaign was prompted by constitutional reforms that allowed Beijing to approve candidates for Hong Kong elections.

Many in Hong Kong are also upset by the creeping authoritarianism in Hong Kong, after they were promised autonomy when the perfidious British handed it back to the even more perfidious Chinese in 1997. Before and since, China has promised Hong Kong self-rule under the slogan of "one country, two systems". The move to allow extradition to China is only the latest example of the falsehood of the Communist Chinese "guarantees", their poor human rights record and blatant disregard for the rule of law.

The puppet government is still backing the extradition bill, which is expected to pass its final reading on June 20th. However, the Legislative Council (LegCo) announced late today (local time) that the second reading will be "delayed", the excuse being that the protests have clogged u p the streets around the LegCo building to the point where not enoough legislators were able to get in to attend the session. Agent 78, who knows a thing or two about Hong Kong and how things work in the People's Republic, says this is clearly a face-saving measure, and doesn't mean that the "umbrella revolutionaries" have won. "You can fight the puppets, but you can't beat the puppet-master." Stay tuned.

Further reading:
"Hong Kong's 'Umbrella Revolution' - paying the price for democracy", WWW 29/9/14
"5 things you should know about the Umbrella Revolution", WWW 3/10/14
"Do not forget the martyrs of Tiananmen Square", WWW 4/6/19

MAYDAY, MAYDAY! Yellow vests +++ - Everybody's against Macron!

Hail, hail, the anti-Macron gang was all there! Populist "yellow vests" joined "black bloc" anarchists (aka "antifa"), members of the Front National, feminist activists and anti-climate change marchers, all joined the traditional union-organized May Day demonstrations in a show of solidarity against French president and darling of the progressive one-worlders, Emmanuel Macron.

Protests were held in 203 cities across France, drawing some 165,000 angry people. The main demonstration in Paris is said to have involved anywhere from 30,000 to 50,000 in sometimes violent clashes with 7400 police and soldiers. There were clashes in the Montparnasse district of Paris where hundreds of anti-capitalist "black bloc" activists pushed to the front of the crowd. Bottles and other projectiles were reported to have been hurled at police with a parked police van set alight in the street. France's Minister of the Interior (the one responsible for what we call "homeland security") had warned that up to 2000 "radical activists" might try to hijack the Paris event and team up with "radicalized" protesters from within the yellow vest movement. (Not a word about "radicalized" followers of the Prophet though.)

The gendarmerie and other minions made liberal use (pun intended) of tear gas and rubber-pellet-spreading "sting" grenades in an effort to quell the minority of troublemakers who threw stones, overturned cars and erected flaming barricades in the streets. By early evening, authorities had detained more than 250 demonstrators who had "failed to respect our authoritie!", and carried out almost 13,000 "preventive searches" of people and cars. The show of strength comes on the heels of a recently enacted law that gives police the right to stop people and examine their bags and vehicles, and makes it a criminal offence for protesters to conceal their faces. (Muslims exempted, apparently.)

Last Thursday, M Macron took to the télé to make a surprise admission that the yellow vest movement, which began last November as a reaction to a new fuel tax and service cuts, had made some "just demands" and tapped into legitimate feelings of "anger and impatience for change." In response to their protests, he promised income tax cuts, a return to pension indexing, greater proportional representation and more referendums. Leaders of the gilets jaunes derided the plan of le Président as "too little, too late" and returned to the streets last Saturday, and again today.

Further reading and viewing:
"Marine Le Pen explains the Yellow Vest protests" (includes video), (WWW 27/12/18)
"What the 'Yellow Vests' want for France - good for us too?", (WWW 10/12/18)

VIDEO: Trump victory has turned America into a kindergarten

Earlier today I said I hoped we'd have no more posts analyzing the Trump triumph. This video featuring Michael Matt is not about the election. It's about the aftermath -- the demonstrations being fomented by the real hate industry in which the fragile little snowflakes are encouraged to take to the streets to whine that they didn't get their way on November 8th.

The editor of The Remnant talks about the election, whining liberals, and the largest hate group in America -- the liberal left. Plus... President-elect Trump faces his first test: Will he cave in the face of hate industry pressure to fire senior adviser Steve Bannon, or will he hold his ground and stick a finger in eye of the most dangerous Christophobes in America. This is YUUUGE.

Older Hong Kong protest leaders surrender; students remain in streets

From the beginning, a serious problem for the Hong Kong pro-democracy protesters has been leadership -- not so much lack of leadership, but division of leadership. Protesters have been encamped for over two months at two or three different sites in the city state -- Causeway Bay, Central and Mongkok -- and there has been a conspicuous lack of communication between them, or even within them. The protests resemble nothing so much as the stereotypical Chinese fire drill.

There seem to be two or three factions: students; members of the "Occupy Central" movement and other assorted other community leaders and political activists. They share the same goal -- free elections for the position of CEO of HKG -- but differ on the means of achieving it. In the last week clashes between the student protesters and police have become increasingly violent, to the dismay of the Occupy Central faction.  Today the leaders of the latter group surrendered to HKG police, in hopes of bringing peace back to the "peaceful protest".

In this Reuters photo, we see (L-R) Joseph Cardinal Zen, Archbishop Emeritus of Hong Kong, as he walks with Occupy Central civil disobedience founders, Reverend Chu Yiu-ming, chairman of the Hong Kong Democracy Development Network, Chan Kin-man, professor of sociology at the Chinese University of Hong Kong, and Benny Tai, law professor at the University of Hong Kong, as they arrive at the Central Police Station to surrender themselves.

The three leaders turned themselves in voluntarily, calling on students to retreat from protest sites in the city's financial centre amid fears of further violence, just hours after student leader Joshua Wong called on supporters to regroup.

"I hope we can show others the meaning of the surrender," said Mr. Tai. "We urge the occupation to end soon and more citizens will carry out the basic responsibility of civil disobedience, which is to surrender."

The three leaders filled in forms and were allowed to leave without facing any charges. Including them, Hong Kong police said, two dozen people aged between 33 and 82 had surrendered for "taking part in an unauthorized assembly", and authorities would conduct follow-up investigations based on the information provided.

The students, however, seem unimpressed by this show of pacifism and, as Walt is hearing on the phone this very moment, are bracing for another night of clashes with the police. Stay tuned and show your solidarity!

Further reading on WWW:
"Why Hong Kong's 'Umbrella Revolution' matters"
"5 things you should know about the Umbrella Revolution"

Hong Kong protesters: they're baaaack!

When we tuned in last week, Hong Kong's pro-Communist CEO, Leung Chun-ying (aka CY Leung) had refused to step down to appease the 1000s of students and others demonstrating for free and fair elections in the former British colony. The protesters then defied Mr. Leung's ultimatum to vacate the areas they were occupying. So, in order to get them to go home without losing too much face, Mr. Leung promised the student leaders a meeting with his flak-catcher, Carrie Lam, on Friday.

Most of the demonstrators -- credulous souls -- went home, leaving just a few hundred camped out on Gloucester and Harcourt Roads, blocking a key thoroughfare in Hong Kong Island's Central and Admiralty districts. But sure enough, on Thursday the duplicitous Leung called off the promised talks, saying the protesters' refusal to end their campaign had made "constructive dialogue" impossible.

He also said (again) that he would not resign. In an interview with Hong Kong broadcaster TVB, he said the protests had "spun out of control" and did not rule out the use of force to end them. When asked about the protest camps, Mr Leung said, "We've resorted to all kinds of persuasions... We absolutely would not prefer clearing the venue, but if one day the venue has to be cleared, I believe the police will use their professional judgement and training using minimum amount of force."

So the pro-democracy protesters -- saddened but not surprised -- are back in the streets, in even greater numbers than before, paralysing parts of Hong Kong. In an open letter to China's Supreme Leader, Xi Jingping, a coalition of three protest groups proclaimed, "We cannot allow one person, Leung Chun-ying, to destroy the Hong Kong core values we so cherish."

Hong Kong's Chief Executive CY Leung has insisted China will not change its mind on the format for elections in 2017, despite weeks of protests.

In the Basic Law under which Hong Kong was handed back to China in 1997, the Communists promised direct elections in 2017. But of course their idea of a free and fair election is one in which they choose which candidates are allowed to stand. Mr. Leung told TVB today that Beijing would not change its mind on the election format. "In achieving universal suffrage in 2017," he said, "if the prerequisite is to put down the Basic Law and the decision made by the National People's Congress Standing Committee, I believe we all know that the chance is almost zero."

The Basic Law (Hong Kong's mini-constitution) states that "the ultimate aim is the selection of the chief executive by universal suffrage upon nomination by a broadly representative nominating committee in accordance with democratic procedures". It was the NPC Standing Committee's decision on the make-up of that nominating committee that sparked the protest movement, since that format effectively gives ultimate control not to the people but to the Beijing regime.

Further reading on WWW: "Why Hong Kong's 'Umbrella Revolution' matters"

Comment from Ed.: Do you know when the Chinese have their best elections? Answer: just before bleakfast!