Tag: China

Murder on the High Seas: Coming Soon to a City Near You–A Hypocrisy of the Most Personal Order

Roger Mitchell2 Comments

It has only been a few weeks since the cold-blooded murder of eleven crew members on a fishing boat in the Caribbean by the US military machine, headed up by none other than Donald Trump who gave the order, essentially pulling the trigger himself. Between then and now, there have been two other instances in which the same action has been taken, with three men killed in each event, thus bringing the total killed in an extra-judicial action to seventeen persons.

Supposedly, these men were running drugs from Venezuela into the United States with the intent to destroy American society, but there is no proof that this is the case, and no legal precedent for the action taken to prevent that from happening. Instead, Trump and his henchmen, beginning with Pete Hegseth and Marco Rubio, simply decided unilaterally that they were going to blow the boats out of the water without ever referring the matter to the Dept. of Justice (I use that term loosely) for criminal prosecution.

This sort of behavior reminds me of The Mouse’s Tale in Alice in Wonderland. “I’ll be judge, I’ll be jury, said cunning old Fury. I’ll try the whole cause and condemn you to death.”

The American Experiment has come full circle and now this deadly attitude is being practiced openly without any attempt to hide or excuse it. Judge, jury, executioner. Because we can. Because the president can do anything. No longer is anyone deemed to be innocent until proven guilty and convicted by a jury of his peers (not that this was ever really a valid concept, but at least it presented a moral face). Today, all that is necessary for me, you, or any other person, to be “eliminated” is to cross the path of The Decider and engage his ire. As Donald Trump put it in his own words truthfully spoken, probably among the few truthfully spoken words of his life,

“He did not hate his opponents, he wanted the best for them,” Trump said, before breaking from his prepared remarks to add: “That’s where I disagreed with Charlie. I hate my opponents, and I don’t want the best for them, I’m sorry.”

Yes, he sure is sorry. A sorry sight, indeed. Knowing how he treats those who oppose him, it would be a good idea to watch your back if you are one of those. And the crowd of adoring, hero-worshipping, fanatical followers who call themselves “Christian” cheered and applauded, hating his (and presumably their own) opponents as well, even though the action goes against every principle taught by Jesus the Christ.

The hypocrisy of those who claim to be good and against evil is staggering and reeks to high heaven. Or the high seas, whichever is closer. Consider this.

https://www.zerohedge.com/geopolitical/china-ups-pressure-control-disputed-waters

Just a few days earlier, China’s newest aircraft carrier, the Fujian, sailed through the Taiwan Strait for the first time while still undergoing sea trials ahead of expected commissioning later this year. Japan’s military also reported spotting the Fujian near the disputed Senkaku Islands on Sept. 11, sailing with two destroyers.

Beijing claimed the carrier was en route to the South China Sea for training and scientific tests, insisting the transit was routine and not aimed at anyone. However, the move carried symbolic weight as the CCP asserts its claims over both the Taiwan Strait and Taiwan.

Around the same time, the U.S. destroyer USS Higgins and the British frigate HMS Richmond transited the Taiwan Strait, prompting sharp warnings from Beijing, which condemned the move as undermining regional stability and deployed naval and air forces to monitor them.

Washington and London countered that the operation was lawful and routine under international law, stressing that the strait lies beyond the territorial waters of any state and that freedom of navigation must be upheld.

Did you get that? Freedom of navigation beyond the territorial waters of any state MUST be upheld, that is, as long as it is not Venezuelan fishing crews or Chinese aircraft carriers who are doing the navigating. Donald Trump (who stands in for God and the Deep State) forbid that anyone except “our” national interests be allowed to sail with impunity, whether in the bathtub of the Caribbean or halfway around the world in deep waters near their own homeland. Such shenanigans are not to be tolerated and steps will be taken to enforce “the rule of law”, as we see fit. We, of course, meaning the ones who wield the power in the halls of Washington, D.C.

International law? Pffffttt! WTF is that?

Murder, the aggressive, unjustified killing of another person(s), has become accepted as normal in American society. We used to be shocked and outraged at the senseless slaughter of innocents, but have now become inured to it. Murder is increasingly seen as the means to advance and achieve one’s own goals and if that happens to cross over the line of traditional morality, so what? As long as I can get what I want, who cares, even if someone else has to die for it? If I have the power, as Trump does, to determine who shall live and who shall die, then why shouldn’t I be allowed to use it?

Well, for starters, once this type of thinking becomes pervasive throughout society, then no one is safe. Once murders happen because…(you fill in the blanks), then there is no protection from any unexpected assault, whether it be from a knife (Iryna Zarutska), a rifle (Charlie Kirk), or a Hellfire missile (Venezuelan fishermen). The really sad thing about all this is the immense number of (alleged, supposed) Christians, those who profess faith in the teachings of Jesus Christ on love for others, who wholeheartedly and fervently express their support and adoration of Donald Trump. After all, he is fighting on our behalf and will shortly reconstitute and resurrect America from the absolute mess it became at the hands of decades of liberal, progressive policies orchestrated by unhinged, lunatic, deranged Democrats and Communists!

Right? Of course, right. Which is the mental attitude fostered and believed by so many who claim to be disciples of the King of Kings, yet cannot fathom their own misguided faith in a system which promotes and encourages chaos, mayhem, and murder. As long as Trump is the Executioner, we are OK with it. He is one of us. God damn the evil Russkies and the transgenders! Revive and defend the moral code according to our own lights and truths, and let us write it on tablets of stone, if that becomes necessary!! Just so that everyone knows who is handing down the decrees from on high.

We have a problem.

“For I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children to the third and fourth generations of those who hate me…” — Exodus 20:5b

Donald Trump, who can do anything, hates his opponents, especially the One Who rules international law. We have been warned.

Those Who Refuse to Learn…

Roger MitchellLeave a comment

It has been two years since the US pulled its troops out of Afghanistan in one of the most humiliating withdrawals the country has ever experienced. An event of this nature has not happened since the days of the Viet Nam war, when hordes of panic-stricken people crowded onto the roof of the American embassy in Saigon, all of them hoping to catch a ride out on a helicopter to escape the wrath of the approaching Viet Cong army. See here for a comparison between then and now.

The retreat from Kabul, Afghanistan, was a disastrous, uncoordinated, debacle which saw thirteen young American servicemen and women killed during the last days. Not only that, but the US military left behind billions of dollars worth of intact war machinery–weapons, vehicles, airplanes, etc., which the Taliban promptly seized. This catastrophe showed the world in vivid detail that the US military had cut and run like a scared rabbit with no regard for anyone left behind–including thirteen young American servicemen and women.

We have not learned. America (the West, NATO) is now bogged down in Ukraine, throwing money at the conflict like it was a bottomless pit, constantly ratcheting up the rhetoric, always edging closer and closer to actual conflict with Russia, never pausing to think about the consequences. Or, as Admiral David Farragut exclaimed, “Damn the torpedoes, full speed ahead!”

Sometimes extreme risk-taking can pay off, as Farragut’s gamble proved, but the consequences, if he had failed, would have been a few ships and men lost, whereas, if active, hot war with Russia erupts as a result of America’s provocative foolishness, it (theoretically, at least) could mean the literal end of the world via unlimited nuclear “bombs bursting in air”. Is it worth the risk just to show how tough we are or to maintain the status quo? I think not. Prudence and common sense would dictate a pullback to a more secure position.

If it should happen that the West is able to disentangle itself from Ukraine (with “honor”, no less), there is always the Taiwan issue, the next hurdle to be overcome in the quest to achieve world dominance through overwhelming force. Anyone who is awake and aware can see that the pivot to this new theater of war is already well underway. The propaganda machine is already cranking up the rhetoric, conditioning the masses for a new engagement on a different front. China, it is said, is the main adversary of the American way of life and the implacable foe of “freedom”, therefore, she must be taken down a peg or two.

And the move to total global war ratchets forward another notch. Eventually, unless we experience a genuine sea-change in public opinion, it will hit home, close to home, perhaps even personally. America is not immune to destruction and, in what will be surprising to many, that destruction can happen virtually, even literally, overnight–with little to no warning.

Except for one small thing. We have been warned and we have not learned. It appears that we will not learn until we have to–the hard way.

The End of the World…and TikTok

Roger Mitchell4 Comments

Against my advice and counsel, Greg Gianforte, the governor of the State of Montana, signed the TikTok bill sent to him a few weeks ago by the Montana legislature. TikTok is now officially verboten within the boundaries of the state and as of Jan. 01, 2024, any app store (or the company itself) caught downloading the app to any device in Montana will be subject to onerous penalties, up to $10, 000/download, with every day of continuation considered a separate offense.

Section 1. Prohibition — penalty — enforcement — definitions. (1) Tiktok may not operate within the territorial jurisdiction of Montana. An entity violates this prohibition when any of the following occurs within the territorial jurisdiction of Montana:

(a)        the operation of tiktok by the company or users; or

(b)        the option to download the tiktok mobile application by a mobile application store.

(2)        An entity that violates a provision of this section is liable in the amount of $10,000 for each discrete violation and is liable for an additional $10,000 each day thereafter that the violation continues.

(3)        It is an affirmative defense to this section if the violating entity could not have reasonably known that the violation occurred within the territorial jurisdiction of Montana.

(4)        Penalties under this section do not apply to law enforcement activities, national security interests and activities, security research activities, or essential government uses permitted by the governor on the information technology system of the state.

(5)        Penalties in this section do not apply to users of tiktok.

https://leg.mt.gov/bills/2023/billhtml/SB0419.htm

[Note: It is interesting that Subsection (1a) says that a violation occurs when a user operates the app, yet the user is not liable for penalization, Subsection (5). Only TikTok or the app provider is, which tells me that this is all about money. The typical user probably has very little money and is not worth going after, but TikTok is fabulously wealthy.]

See here, here, and here for previously posted articles on this subject

I made the following comment on Western Montana News in response to an article by Breitbart which had been posted earlier. I do not retract anything.

Yes, Montana has become the First State of Censorship on the issue of determining what “free” citizens may or may not download from, upload to, view, share, and generally participate in. Montana, where censorship is hated if it is imposed ON conservative “values” and opinions, but welcomed with open arms if imposed BY those same conservative values. How hypocritical!

More to the point, how is Montana going to enforce this edict? Will it build an electronic “fence” around the border, supposedly capable of keeping TikTok out? How will this be done? If TikTok does not have a physical presence in Montana, then what can the state do to impose fines and penalties on it? If TikTok cannot operate legally, then why should it even attempt to do so, which means that it will operate illegally.

We have had generations of history showing that prohibitions of particular products do not work, i.e., alcohol, drugs, guns, etc. The banning of TikTok will not work either, but will create new and unforeseen consequences which will manifest themselves as time goes on, generating the inevitable “need” for government to find a “solution” for the problem it created the last time it imposed its will.

Greg Gianforte cited the need to “protect” Montanans from the depredations of the CCP (Chinese Communist Party). My question is this. Why do I need to have GG watching out for me? Am I not capable of taking care of myself? If I want to download TikTok onto my smart phone and use it to entertain myself, then who is anyone to tell me that I am not allowed to do that? Am I responsible for myself, or not? Am I a free person, or not? Apparently not, according to the governor who thinks that he must interject himself into my life and impose his will on me, for my own protection, of course. In principle, this is no different than the governor of California, Gavin Newsom, telling everyone that they have to give up their guns and drive electric cars because of climate change and global warming.

Now that the state can ban entities from operating because of the potential for invasion of privacy, who is next? Pre-Mom?

The TikTok ban in Montana is a done deal…for now, that is. Considering the lawsuits that will (probably) erupt over this issue, it is quite possible that a court will find the state has overstepped its authority and strike down the bill, forcing the state to drop the bill or appeal it to a higher court in the hopes that the judgement can be overturned. Either way, the taxpayers will foot the bill.

What is more important, however, are the unseen consequences. TikTok is owned by ByteDance (a Chinese company presumably with powerful connections in the CCP), which is said to be funneling personal information and data to the CCP. More than likely, any attempt to shut TikTok down will be met with retaliation in some tit-for-tat fashion. What is to prevent the Chinese government from barring Facebook or another American social media platform from operating in any particular region within the country? What if the CCP decided to throttle back Google with the pronouncement that it was “stealing” the personal data of Chinese citizens and transferring that data to the US government? This could very easily be done under the guise of “protecting citizen’s rights”. Since the US considers China to be an adversary, an event of this nature would be seen negatively, inspiring calls to “punish” the CCP, thus ratcheting up the tensions between the two nations. Who knows? Perhaps the US government will decide to turn up the heat by sending more warships through the Taiwan Strait to enforce freedom of navigation rules. All in the name of defending the “free world”, of course.

If you think I have a few screws loose, then consider this.

“In retaliation over a sweeping US ban on selling advanced chip-making technology to China, Beijing is now banning major Chinese firms from doing business with Micron Technology, claiming that its products pose a ‘major national-security risk,’ the Wall Street Journal reports.”

https://www.zerohedge.com/geopolitical/china-bans-micron-over-major-national-security-risk

Actions have reactions. While they may not follow Newton’s Third Law exactly, there can be no doubt that what happens today will lead to events tomorrow. This is true everywhere and applies to everything. Adversarial relations which constantly push the envelope of provocation eventually end up in confrontation, very often violent. In today’s political climate, whether East or West, this confrontation might go nuclear and condemn all of us to a miserable future.

Or radioactive, incinerating, agonizing death from which there is no escape.