Cadence of Conflict: Asia, April 20, 2020

Just when we thought China couldn’t make itself more unpopular, China made itself more unpopular. Perhaps it was charity. Perhaps it was delusion. We don’t like thinking bad things about others, especially if we sacrificed our jobs and economies to have our stuff made more cheaply by them. Saying bad things about China was as politically incorrect as blaming the Karan for militants wanting to kill their enemies. Thinking bad things about China made Americans feel almost as guilty as thinking that voting against Obama wasn’t racist. No one wanted to say that China might be up to no good.

Why governments and global economy jockeys supposedly didn’t see it coming remains unexplained. But, all of a sudden, China is global enemy number one. The Western press has been educating the world about Taiwan in almost every Taiwan news story for the past decade. Anybody who is anybody at least asks, “What’s the relationship between China and Taiwan?” To Western taxpayers and voters, no acceptable answer will be in China’s favor. These days, China is damned if it does and more damned if it isn’t.

Governments are paying factories to dump China’s manufacturing. But, that’s not the biggest problem for the Chinese.

No one gives as much money to the World Health Organization as the US, behind that is Bill Gates, then the UK. China is among the smallest donors. So, why is so much Western money being used along the propaganda points of such a puny donor as China? If so much money is being usurped, the US would be obligated to pull the plug. And, that’s what it looks like, especially with the WHO siding with China on the matter of Taiwan. While Taiwan’s exclusion from the WHO indicates bias, Western countries are concerned about the WHO helping cover up what happened in China.

With president Trump now calling for investigations in China about the pneumoniavirus, other problems could come up, such as the Uyghurs in Xinjiang. China won’t allow that, not even to regain control of all that US money in the WHO. The world won’t have it. Global hatred toward China is only beginning.

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Encore of Revival: America, April 20, 2020

The pneumoniavirus’s biggest casualty is Democratic politics. As the party of ostensibly “helping people”, Democratic governors gambled that “taking action” would sway public opinion in their direction. Michigan, Minnesota, and Virginia governors did not need to create the greatest restrictions among the States. But, their Democratic Party’s moral compass guided them there. They might have added a dose or two of theatrics—especially understandable when one is in the DNC spotlight for the VP candidacy; clear your throat while saying, “Michigan.”

It is a fascinating turn of the usual pendulum: States stepping on Constitutional rights while the Federal government defends them, all the while, States calling for more Federal powers while they object to the Federal powers stopping them.

The other factor is kookery. Since when did young Democratic voters, especially Sanders supporters, trust numbers put out by a Republican-controlled Federal government? Requirements for deciding “cause of death” do not include a diagnosis of disease, yet a disease is being declared the cause of death for many who have not been diagnosed. Those numbers come from a Republican-controlled Federal government, then Democratic voters enshrine those numbers to support Democratic governors’ action.

What numbers are made-up and what is real remains another question that can’t be answered now. The big takeaway is a meltdown in the Democratic voter base. Their justification of numbers doesn’t make sense, nor does their idea that steps toward martial law will be popular. We could be looking at an even greater, greater Republican victory this November. That’s interesting since the reported number of pneumoniavirus deaths hasn’t come close to the number of abortions.

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Cadence of Conflict: Asia, April 13, 2020

The global case against China is marching forward in force. Typically the West doesn’t care about human rights violations—they care, but never enough to do anything until it involves themselves. Two million Uyghurs missing in Xinjiang doesn’t matter to the West. But, if Americans and Europeans are afraid of catching a pneumonia-cold that most people don’t know anyone who died from, but they have to stay home without toilet paper—well, now it’s time for a war. Who do the papers blame?—China.

Anti-Chinese sentiment is no joke. Taiwan is being painted as a key victim. The Chinese Communists are being labeled as the perpetrators of the global pandemic. Even in Israel, even among the anti-Trump American electorate, China is the biggest bad guy ever!

We can argue that China deserves it. We can argue that the West set up China by making China rich in the first place, then causing a fake pandemic. However we chalk it up, the West is coming for China. The saddest part of all comes from the Chinese.

A reporter working for a news company owned by a Chinese general makes a Chinese propaganda speech when “asking a question” to the president. Chinese college students at Western schools march, protest, and even bully, all inline with Chinese Communist propaganda. And, while the West amasses force against China, the Chinese Communists only dig their heels in and feed the forest fire of hate raging against themselves.

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Encore of Revival: America, April 13, 2020

In America, many WWII measures are being reenacted and reutilized—fireside chats, not from the president, but from governors, massive government spending packages, unemployment, sporadic activity in the stock market, groceries in short supply, and, not least of all, hatred for an Asian country. This time, it’s not “the Japs” (as the news called them), but “the Chinese”.

While Democrats act like Democrats, Republicans act like Republicans. The president wants everyone to go back to work, Republicans talk about civil rights and freedom of gathering for religion, Democrats want money, big government, and fewer Christian gatherings in particular.

Then, we have citizen reports from around the world of empty hospitals reported on the news as overflowing “war zones”. While conspiracy kooks claim the end of the world, this activity indicates more of a “virus drill”, much like a “fire drill”. Governments should run a kind of drill to see how to respond to a real pandemic. Of course, being semi-secret and all, Democrats and Republicans won’t tell on each other, but they’ll still try to push their partisan agendas. Leave it to a politician to capitalize on a fire drill.

But, that’s what everyone does, right? Salesmen send free medical masks to prospective customers to break the ice. Companies offer their reinvented services, supposedly to “help with the situation”. And, not least of all, while the world wakes up to need of domestic manufacturing, many countries are opening and reopening factories to make stuff at home once again. That’s yet another WWII measure being reenacted.

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Cadence of Conflict: Asia, April 6, 2020

The pneumoniavirus is having a detrimental effect on China. While Xi Jinping kicks China’s economy into full swing, the rest of the world is on full alert. Manufacturing moves home—whether to or from China. Countries seek alternate supply sourcing. Taiwan shines like a star of brilliance, set up as if to shame China by design. China’s big mistake was going along with feeling shamed, as if by design. China could have played its hand with Taiwan the way the UK did with the American Revolution—claiming it lost a few colonies, but that it didn’t matter. By pretending not to care, the world might not care and China would be unstoppable. Instead, China is taking every step possible to create new enemies and make old enemies worry.

In that wake, Taiwan grows in military and respect, even donating medical masks to other countries. The WHO now faces shame and doubt because of an evermore apparent bias toward China. Australia cooperates with the US in efforts to confront China. Critical voices in China are silenced or otherwise go missing. An employee of Hong Kong CEO Carrie Lam resigned, then killed himself. Kim Jong-Un makes more threats. East Asia is more volatile than ever. Times like these are what some call an “opportunity”.

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Encore of Revival: America, April 6, 2020

Conspiracy theories fly. That’s to be expected when the whole world is told to stay home. Some say 5G is the killer. Though suspicious as interesting, that doesn’t explain everything. The more disturbing part is that the video was censored by Facebook and, reportedly, YouTube. Elsewhere, people are reporting empty hospitals around the world, contrary to reports by big news media. Most disturbing of all was the decision for governors to close schools, which runs against common sense. Consider an article published by AAPS in which a doctor from Cadillac, Michigan explains that keeping schools open would have had the best affect on containment.

Public panic and shutting down the economy by closing the schools that would have slowed viral spread aside, look how the greater damage from overreacting is helping in other ways.

Trump only grows in popularity. Michigan’s governor is in the spotlight and will be a likely pick for a typical establishment Democratic VP candidate come November. If she runs, the voters in Michigan she unemployed may vote against her in the general election. If that happens, she would likely be a one-term governor, facing a double loss like Scott Walker did after he lost in the 2016 presidential primaries.

More importantly, unexpected things are shifting. Businesses are forced to reinvent. While the masses go into panic mode, money is moving toward those who keep calm and level heads.

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