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August 2023

The Great China-American Abyss One way to get along with China is to deal with it exactly the way it deals with the U.S. By Victor Davis Hanson

https://amgreatness.com/2023/08/17/the-great-china-american-abyss/

Imagine if the United States treated China in the same way it does us?

What if American companies simply ignored Chinese copyrights and patents, and stole Chinese ideas, inventions, and intellectual property, as they pleased and with impunity?

What if the American government targeted Chinese industries by dumping competing American export products at below the cost of production—to bankrupt Chinese competitors and corner their markets?

What would the communist Chinese government do if a huge American spy balloon lazily traversed continental China—sending back to the United States photographic surveillance of Chinese military bases and installations?

How would China react to American stonewalling any explanation, much less refusing to apologize for such an American attack on Chinese sovereignty?

Envision a U.S. high-security virology lab in the Midwest, run by the Pentagon, allowing the escape of an engineered, gain-of-function deadly virus.

Instead of enlisting world cooperation to stop the spread of the virus, the American government would lie that it sprung up from a local bat or wild possum.

Washington would then make all its relevant military scientists disappear who were assigned to the lab, while ordering a complete media blackout.

America would forbid Chinese scientists from contacting their American counterparts involved in the lab, despite the deaths of more than 1 million Chinese from the American-manufactured disease.

The dangers of good intentions The performative compassion of the woke has blinded many to their tyranny. Patrick West

https://www.spiked-online.com/2023/08/11/the-dangers-of-good-intentions/

There have been many attempts to explain the ascendency of wokeness – that extreme, irrational and unreasonable ideology that has taken over our institutions. Some blame postmodern relativism. Others point to the left’s cultural turn, which has entrenched new forms of identity politics. Add to this the different mindset of newer generations – Millennials and Generation Z are accused of being more sensitive and censorious than their forebears – and the emergence of social media, which have polarised and poisoned political discourse. These explanations are okay. But another reason is seldom mentioned. The truth is, wokeness was allowed to take over.

It was allowed to happen because today’s fanatics appeared to begin with good intentions. They called for tolerance towards gay people and those who don’t conform to gender roles. They were nominally against racism. They wanted to ‘save the planet’. Who could have argued with such noble, commonplace sentiments when they were initially being uttered 20-odd years ago? Few did. It was obviously all well-meaning and nice. And that was why so many let their guard down.

Twenty-odd years later, when much woke-think has become mainstream and even enshrined in law, we must rue forgetting that old adage: the road to hell is paved with good intentions. That is the lesson of history. Beware pious idealists with good on their side, boasting ostentatiously of their righteousness and compassion, for they are tomorrow’s fanatics and tyrants. As Friedrich Nietzsche wrote in 1883: ‘Where in the world have there been greater follies than with the compassionate? And what in the world has caused more suffering than the follies of the compassionate?’

Wokery, including its allied movement of radical environmentalism, emerged a few decades after the fall of a genuine form of ideological totalitarianism: Soviet and Eastern Bloc Communism. From the early 1920s to the mid 1950s, this had seemed an attractive prospect to both insiders and outsiders on account of its good intentions. Yet it went bad from very early on, and it was partly allowed to do so because its crimes and misdeeds were for the ‘greater good’ and therefore excused. George Orwell became attuned to this barbaric, exculpatory mindset during the Spanish Civil War. He satirised it in Animal Farm, with its deluded cart-horses, Boxer and Clover, working themselves to death for an apparently noble cause.

Growing Warnings: Biden Could Get Scorched by Green Dependency on Red China By Ben Weingarten

https://www.realclearinvestigations.com/articles/2023/08/17/growing_alarm_that_bidens_net-zero_approach_could_get_scorched_by_red_chinas_green_energy_dominance_973447.html

President Biden’s stance toward China hardened this month when he issued an executive order prohibiting American investment in Chinese companies developing advanced technologies that could be used by the military.

But a growing chorus of critics, including some Democrats, argue that the administration’s effort to grapple with America’s foremost adversary is contradictory, illustrated in the White House’s Beijing-empowering pursuit of ambitious climate change goals. 

Reducing greenhouse gas emissions to net zero by 2050, as the White House has called for, will almost assuredly make the United States dependent on China while enriching it.

China currently holds a commanding position in the clean energy industry, controlling the natural resources and manufacturing the components essential to the Biden administration’s desired alternative energy transition. Energy experts believe that its dominance will become more entrenched in the years ahead because of domestic environmentalist opposition to perceived “dirty” mining and refining operations, and the Biden administration’s “clean energy” spending blitz – which could provide Chinese companies and subsidiaries billions in subsidies. 

The Biden administration also considers it imperative to get buy-in from Beijing on dramatically reducing emissions, given it produces more than a quarter of all greenhouse gas emissions globally. 

On the cowardice of American scientists Researchers everywhere are doing work that raises hard questions about the safety of mRNA Covid shots. Everywhere except the United States, that is. Why?

https://alexberenson.substack.com/p/on-the-cowardice-of-american-scientists

Why do mRNA Covid jabs cause myocarditis and autoimmune diseases?

What is the impact of the unusual immune system changes they provoke?

Do their risks increase with each dose, and if so, does offering them to anyone now make sense?

Most of all, are the shots safe long-term?

None of these questions have quick answers. mRNA shots are hugely complex, and scientists have almost no long-term data on them. Before 2020 they were just another unproven biotechnology slowly moving through early-stage human trials.

But answers must be found. Over one billion people received the mRNAs, making them maybe the largest medical experiment ever. It is now clear the clinical trials from Pfizer and Moderna missed crucial risks and side effects, including menstrual disruption, myocarditis and other cardiovascular problems, and autoimmune crises.

Some scientists are trying to perform the crucial work that’s needed.

In only the last few weeks, researchers in Switzerland, Hong Kong, and Italy have published papers suggesting mRNA-caused myocarditis is more common and may hurt the heart for longer than previously known, while South Korean cardiologists reported almost two dozen fatal mRNA-caused myocarditis cases.

Only yesterday, immunologists in Hungary reported the mRNAs over time cause people to produce more of a type of antibody that does not destroy the coronavirus, building on findings last winter from German researchers.

Meanwhile, Japanese scientists have published many studies and case reports on potential autoimmune side effects of the mRNAs, including thyroid disease and rheumatoid arthritis.

Iran’s Plan To Turn The West Bank Into A Terror Base by Bassam Tawil

https://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/19894/iran-west-bank-terror-base

Palestinian terrorists… have already turned the Hamas-controlled Gaza Strip into a base for firing tens of thousands of rockets towards Israel. Now, the terrorists, with the help of Iran, are trying to use the West Bank to launch rockets at Israeli civilian communities.

Even worse, US Congressional oversight, required for any deal with Iran, was nullified this week when the Biden Administration, apparently to avoid oversight, announced its plans with Iran during Congress’ summer recess.

The MEMRI report… noted that the armament efforts in the West Bank are energetically assisted by the Islamic Republic of Iran, on the orders of Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei.

Judging from the statements of the Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad leaders, the Palestinian terrorists who are now firing rockets at Israeli communities from the West Bank could not have done so without the assistance of Iran. Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad do not recognize Israel’s right to exist, period.

The Hamas Covenant… openly states: “There is no solution for the Palestinian question except through Jihad [holy war]. Initiatives, proposals and international conferences are all a waste of time and vain endeavors.” (Article 13)

Those Americans and Europeans who are calling for the establishment of an independent Palestinian state in the West Bank are ignoring the threats by Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad to continue the fight until the elimination of Israel. The rockets that are being fired from the West Bank should serve as a loud alarm bell to all those who continue to talk about the so-called two-state solution.

It is not difficult to imagine what would happen if Israel pulled out of [the West Bank]. After the Israeli pullout from the Gaza Strip in 2005, the Palestinian terror groups fired tens of thousands of rockets into Israeli cities and towns. An Israeli withdrawal from the West Bank would mean handing the area to the total control of Iran and its Palestinian terror proxies and turning it into yet another base for Jihad — not only against Israel but the West.

Palestinian terrorists are working hard to turn the West Bank into a launching pad for waging war on Israel. They have already turned the Hamas-controlled Gaza Strip into a base for firing tens of thousands of rockets towards Israel. Now, the terrorists, with the help of Iran, are trying to use the West Bank to launch rockets at Israeli civilian communities.

The US Administration’s recent move to give Iran access to at least $16 billion, including $6 billion held in South Korea, as part of a prisoner exchange deal, will undoubtedly benefit Tehran’s Palestinian terror proxies: Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad. The two terror groups, which seek the destruction of Israel, have long been receiving financial and military aid from Iran’s mullahs.

Jack Smith Thinks He Can Leak Evidence, but Trump Can’t How the media manipulates voters. by Tim Graham

https://www.frontpagemag.com/jack-smith-thinks-he-can-leak-evidence-but-trump-cant/

The media’s never-ending negative campaign against former President Donald Trump has always relied heavily on the exploitation of anonymous sources. Journalists position themselves as the idealists defending “democratic norms,” but there’s nothing “democratic” about anonymous mudslinging. That may be a Democrat norm, but it’s not democratic.

It’s also ridiculous for the media to pretend the Trump indictments aren’t shredding a democratic norm, or that they are somehow nonpartisan or nonpolitical. Trump’s Justice Department didn’t indict Hunter Biden in the last campaign. The Democrats — in Washington, in New York City and soon in Georgia — are doing that to Trump.

When special counsel Jack Smith sought a protective order against Trump after Trump made revenge threats against unnamed enemies, New York Times reporters Maggie Haberman and Alan Feuer reported on Aug. 5 that Trump has “promised that if elected, he would appoint a ‘real’ special prosecutor to investigate Mr. Biden and his family, proposing to eliminate the post-Watergate norm of Justice Department independence.”

So, if Trump does what President Joe Biden did, his attempt at revenge violates the norm, not the original weaponization.

Smith’s prosecution of Trump is so transparently and arrogantly political that he filed another motion surrounding the protective order, objecting to Trump lawyer John Lauro appearing on five Sunday news programs. Lauro argued Smith was seeking to suppress Trump’s freedom of speech.

Smith’s motion complained: “The defendant seeks to use the discovery material to litigate this case in the media. But that is contrary to the purpose of criminal discovery, which is to afford defendants the ability to prepare for and mount a defense in court — not to wage a media campaign.”

Biden’s Iran Envoy to Teach at Princeton While FBI Investigates Him for Mishandling Classified Info “I look forward to my time at Princeton and returning to government service in due course.” by Daniel Greenfield

https://www.frontpagemag.com/bidens-iran-envoy-to-teach-at-princeton-while-fbi-investigates-him-for-mishandling-classified-info/

One nation. Two sets of rules.

We already know what happens if you’re accused of mishandling classified information while being a conservative or an ordinary person. Here’s what happens when you’re a member of the ‘party’.

Robert Malley, an Obama campaign advisor dumped over meetings with Hamas, then brought back and elevated through the National Security Council despite a history of terrorist sympathies and a background that would give any self-respecting official in charge of national security clearances a severe fit, had his security clearance suspended while the FBI investigated the Iran envoy for alleged mishandling of classified information.

None of this was announced. Obviously. Instead, the Biden administration lied to senators to imply that Malley wasn’t taking part in negotiations because he had medical issues, and maintained an official listing of Malley as the Iran envoy even though he couldn’t properly fulfill that function. When the story leaked, there were no apologies, just the pretense that everything was completely normal.

Malley’s security clearance appears to have been suspended in late April or early May. A U.S. official said he went on a partial paid personal leave in late April. But until late June, Malley continued doing State Department work, including giving media interviews.

Malley’s changing role first drew attention from Congress when he didn’t participate in a May 16 briefing to senators.

When lawmakers’ offices asked about Malley’s absence, “We were told, ‘It’s extended personal leave’ with hints of, ‘Well, you know, it’s medical, we can’t talk about it,’” a Hill staffer told POLITICO. “It was deliberately done as a hand-waving thing.” Another congressional staffer said they received a similar response. Officials at State also told journalists Malley had taken a personal leave.

When The Justice System Falls Apart, So Does The Republic By: Elle Purnell

https://thefederalist.com/2023/08/15/when-the-justice-system-falls-apart-so-does-the-republic/

If we no longer uphold equal justice under the law, we still have a country, but not the one we thought we had.

Democrats’ crusade to weaponize the criminal justice system to put their chief political opponent in jail escalated again Monday night, with the release of an indictment pursued by Georgia’s Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis against former President Donald Trump. The indictment, targeting not just Trump but 18 of his lawyers and advisers, is a clear message that if you’re a Republican, challenging election results — something Democrats have done after every GOP presidential victory this century — is now a criminal offense.

Meanwhile, President Joe Biden’s Department of Justice is tripping over itself to insulate Biden and his son from scrutiny or criminal consequences for their apparent scheme to get rich off of peddling American political influence abroad.

The hacks at DOJ, by the way, also indicted Trump over a classified documents dispute, after raiding his house and rifling through his wife’s closet. Soon after, Biden was found to have classified documents lying around in his garage, but in his case, the feds are content to play nice. Oh, and Hillary Clinton also had a classified records scandal — in which her team destroyed emails and devices with BleachBit and literal hammers — but enjoyed the protection of then-FBI Director James Comey.

Security group to IDF: Take tougher stand against refusal to serve David Isaac

https://www.jns.org/israel-news/idf/23/8/14/310395/

An interview with Israel Defense and Security Forum CEO IDF Brig. Gen. (res.) Amir Avivi.

The issue of Israel Defense Force reservists refusing to serve for political reasons again made headlines on Sunday, with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu summoning for an “urgent” meeting the heads of Israel’s security establishment for an overview of the military’s operational readiness.

The meeting was sparked by an earlier one on Friday led by Israeli Air Force commander Maj. Gen. Tomer Bar, who told a group of pilots and officers that the damage the country’s political turmoil is doing to military preparedness will grow “deeper and deeper as time goes by.”

Those refusing to serve are protesting against the government’s judicial reform effort. They say the plan will turn Israel into a dictatorship and that they are therefore justified in taking extreme measures, including breaking a long held, unspoken rule that politics and the military don’t mix.

Opponents say the current political situation is no excuse for overturning that understanding and that doing so undermines military cohesiveness. Once politics enters the army, they warn, there will be constant friction as there always will be some group unhappy about one or another government policy.

Some say the IDF has treated the refusal phenomenon with kid gloves and have allowed it to gain momentum by not speaking loudly enough against it.

The Israel Defense and Security Forum, a group comprising thousands of former security officers, has pulled together former chiefs-of-staff from both sides of the political spectrum to condemn refusals.

IDSF’s CEO and founder Brig. Gen. (res.) Amir Avivi recently spoke with JNS.

Q: What is your message to the IDF?

A: We have been talking extensively to the army and the chief of staff. Everybody agrees: This phenomenon in which people don’t volunteer, carry out insubordination, even to a certain extent mutiny—at the end of the day, it endangers Israel. It endangers our deterrence. It endangers our readiness.

We asked a simple question. These people who are doing all of this: Who are they? Are they tragic heroes? Or are they people who’ve lost sight of basic values and are undermining the army? And we’re saying to the army: The way you’re handling this, it seems that these people are being portrayed as tragic heroes.

We think that the army should have been crystal clear: Somebody who undermines the army’s deterrence, the cohesiveness of the army—a hero he is not.

I would have expected the chief of staff from day one to say this is something we’re not willing to accept. It’s politicizing the army. Anyone who politicizes the army is doing harm. It goes completely against our values. It’s terrible and it’s hurting us.

Q: Why does the army seem to have such a hard time saying that?

A: Take a real-world example. There’s an Air Force guy who’s 61 years old. He’s been volunteering for two decades at Air Force headquarters. He’s extremely experienced. He’s somebody who has been there since the age of 18. He announces he won’t volunteer anymore. What do you say to him? The army can’t say ‘you have no values.’”

Q: Couldn’t the army show compassion one-on-one and still condemn the phenomenon in public?

A: When I was a young platoon commander taking my first steps as a leader, the first thing I learned is the difference between what happens when you stand in front of the whole platoon and what happens when you stand before one soldier. Before the group, you have to be strong and tough and clear. Before an individual, you really need to be able to speak heart-to-heart and connect. So what you’re saying is true. You can do both. You can be empathetic and show appreciation on a personal level. But you must be emphatic in front of the whole unit, or the public. You must be very clear about values.

Can it happen here? The lessons of Europe’s red-green antisemitic surge Jonathan Tobin

https://www.jns.org/antisemitism/european-antisemitism/23/8/16/311333/?_se=Y

America isn’t Europe. That’s the key thing to bear in mind when reading the Anti-Defamation League’s sobering report on “Antisemitism and Radical Anti-Israel Bias on the Political Left in Europe,” published last week.

Some parallels can be drawn between the way a bizarre and troubling red-green alliance between leftist elites and Muslim immigrants has mainstreamed antisemitism in Europe and the growing influence of the intersectional left in the United States with the same aims. Americans should be paying close attention to the rising tide of Jew-hatred on the other side of the Atlantic and seeking to learn from it. But it’s important to remember the big differences between the two situations. More than that, the ADL’s policy recommendations stemming from its research don’t adequately alert Americans to the forces that are working toward the same dismal surge in antisemitism.

The first thing to recognize about this subject is that antisemitism is not an integral part of the history or the official policies of the United States, unlike the nations of the Old World. Equally true, the majority of Americans are likelier to be philo-semitic and pro-Israel in numbers that are not to be found in Europe. Still, important lessons may be learned from the subject of the ADL report.

While nothing in the study is particularly new, it confirms the way political parties and activists have embraced anti-Zionism, and the way that has inevitably sparked a new wave of hatred for Jews on the continent. Focusing on the state of affairs in four countries—the United Kingdom, France, Germany and Spain—it provides a generally accurate and worrying evaluation of the predicament for Jews that resulted from the left’s adoption of the Palestinian cause that has enabled the legitimization of attitudes and action that undermines the Jewish community and spreads intolerance.

Anti-Zionism is antisemitism

While all of these countries are different, the parties of the left in each have shown themselves vulnerable to co-optation by anti-Israel ideologues. They dominate public discourse about Israel and help create an atmosphere in which Jewish activism is treated as inherently racist.