China’s Communist Party jails a Chinese citizen journalist for four years for reporting a narrative inconsistent with the one the authorities sought to present:
Her live reports and essays were widely shared on social media platforms in February, grabbing the attention of authorities, who have punished eight virus whistle-blowers so far as they try to stamp out criticism of the government’s response to the outbreak.
UK, Australia and the US have acted even more viciously against Julian Assange:
Meanwhile in the US, with the acquiescence of the Republican Party — Trump’s Pardons Show He’s Just a Mob Boss; His Presidency Is a Criminal Enterprise
Trump’s choices made clear he is a crime boss.
Four Blackwater mercenaries who, working for Trump ally Erik Prince murdered Iraqi civilians, were pardoned. But there was no pardon for Jeremy Ridgeway, the soldier-for-hire who pleaded guilty to manslaughter, testified against the others and was sentenced to a year and a day in federal prison.
Roger Stone, dirty trickster confidant; former General Michael Flynn, national security adviser who was on the Kremlin payroll; and 2016 campaign manager Paul Manafort were pardoned. But Trump didn’t pardon Manafort deputy Rick Gates, who turned state’s evidence and confessed.
Earlier, Trump pardoned Rod Blagojevich, the former Illinois governor convicted of trying to sell a Senate seat. But there was no pardon for lawyer Michael Cohen, Trump’s longtime fixer who confessed to committing felonies at the direction of unindicted co-conspirator “Individual 1,” identified in federal court as Trump.
In true mobster fashion, Trump once referred to Cohen as a “rat” for confessing. He praised Manafort for not “flipping” to testify against him.
Neil Godfrey
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A take-turns point of view on the Chinese “citizen journalist”: https://www.moonofalabama.org/2020/12/the-mighty-wurlitzer-us-financed-human-rights-organizations-create-anti-chinese-headlines.html#more
I was led to doubt the accounts of Chines Uighur camps and also the nature of the White Helmets in Syria for quite some time but not so long ago I encountered the claim that the mainstream Western narratives about these camps and aid groups was being countered by Russian propaganda, and I recall at the time being left in the dark, not knowing who or what was behind the challenges to the stories about the Chinese camps and the White Helmets, or who or what was behind the claim that these challenges were part of Russia’s propaganda. I decided to suspend judgment at that point.
What can you tell me about these claims and counterclaims?
We need a version of Mad Magazine’s “Spy vs. Spy” comic strip that satirizes propagandists. I’m just saying that in Zhang Zhan’s case, if U.S. sponsored bankrolling is involved, then it raises the likelihood that Zhan’s motives are inspired by more than just her claim to be speaking the truth to keep her country from slipping backward.
Indeed. It would not be a first. It’s a reminder to be cautious with all stories but especially that those serve certain state interests. Compare
Saudi women’s driving pioneer Loujain al-Hathloul jailed on terrorism charges