Cw

Ethnographer at heart, populist in the heart of God. Contains multitudes. RTs not endorsements.

[Arnaud Bertrand @RnaudBertrand]

This NYT piece really wins bad China take of the month.

So according to the authors Xi Jinping's "spiritual guide" is an "obscure and unreadable" Russian novel called “What Is to Be Done?” by Nikolai Chernyshevsky.

First of all, “What Is to Be Done?" is anything but obscure, it's widely considered one of the most influential Russian literary works of the 19th century. So influential in fact that Lenin reportedly read it five times in one summer and declared "it completely reshaped me."

In a Western context it's like saying: "President Biden is guided by an obscure and unreadable 19th novel. The name of which is 'Les Misérables' by a certain Victor Hugo"...

Second of all, the evidence for the claim that “What Is to Be Done?" is Xi's "spiritual guide" is the fact he quoted from it in his recent speech at the BRICS summit in Kazan, Russia. When the far more likely reason he did so is simply to be respectful to his hosts by showing he valued their cultural heritage. It's pretty standard diplomatic stuff for leaders to reference literature from the host country.

But the funniest part is how the article then goes on to suggest that because Xi referenced the book it somehow reveals a sinister plan to destroy the West.

I'm not even kidding. Here's what Xi actually said in his speech (https://t.co/pvjh9NjFWG): "Should we allow the world to descend into the abyss of disorder and chaos, or should we strive to steer it back on the path of peace and development? This reminds me of a novel by Nikolay Chernyshevsky entitled What Is to Be Done? The protagonist's unwavering determination and passionate drive are exactly the kind of willpower we need today."

And here's how the NYT interpreted it: "[Xi] invoked, as a spiritual guide for the task ahead, an 1863 Russian novel that glorified revolutionary struggle and inspired Vladimir Lenin. Mr. Xi has frequently drawn on Russia's historical and literary tradition to convey his intent to undermine — and ultimately displace — Western ideas and institutions. But by urging a spirit of revolutionary sacrifice within BRICS, a group that is expanding to include new member-states, Mr. Xi is signaling an intent to rally the developing world for an intensified struggle against American power."

Such a stretch can no longer even be called intellectual dishonesty, it's outright fabrication. What makes this particularly egregious is that Xi has written numerous books and hundreds of articles laying out his worldview and objectives in minute details. There's literally an entire book series called 'Xi Jinping: The Governance of China' where he meticulously explains his vision for China's development and its role in the world.

But instead of analyzing these works, the NYT authors chose to build their entire thesis around a single literary reference in a diplomatic speech, twisting it beyond recognition to fit their predetermined narrative. It's of course immensely telling that they have to resort to such desperate gymnastics...

What's particularly ironic is that in the very same speech where Xi makes this literary reference (which again you can read here: https://t.co/pvjh9NjFWG), he outlines in plain language his actual priorities for BRICS, and it's literally all about peace, justice and development.

Here's his "sinister plan", straight from the horse's mouth: "We should build a BRICS committed to justice, and we must all act as forerunners in reforming global governance. The international power dynamics are undergoing profound changes, but global governance reform has lagged behind for a long time. We should champion true multilateralism and adhere to the vision of global governance characterized by extensive consultation, joint contribution, and shared benefits. We must ensure that global governance reform is guided by the principles of fairness, justice, openness and inclusiveness."

Makes you shudder, doesn't it? 😏

The real danger here isn't just bad journalism – it's how this kind of reporting, so typical of Western media's China coverage, shapes public understanding and policy decisions. When major newspapers feed their readers these paranoid interpretations, twisting calls for peace into declarations of war and filtering everything through the lens of conflict and confrontation, they create an environment where any attempt at constructive dialogue with China is seen as naive or suspicious. Which is probably the whole point.

This is the article in question https://t.co/AeINneLdjB

[Arnaud Bertrand @RnaudBertrand]

This is something that most people outside China have never heard of: in China they have this phone number - 12345 - which you can dial wherever you are in the country if you have a query or a complaint that the local government can answer or solve.

They have a legal obligation to treat your case and solve it. In 2023 for instance they processed 20 million cases with a 95.5% case resolution rate (https://t.co/bQ4Uga7oob).

The most common complaints cover a wide range of daily life issues: so-called "market management" (stuff like online commerce disputes) topped the list with 3.66 million cases, followed by educational institution issues with 1.73 million cases (mostly about refunds from educational institutions), and housing issues with 1.27 million cases (covering everything from neighborhood facilities to home repairs).

I used it several times myself. Once was when schools were closed in Shanghai in early 2020 due to Covid, because our daughter's kindergarten didn't want to reimburse tuition fees despite a government mandate.

We were directed to the Shanghai's Education Commission who took the complaint seriously and tried to arbitrate a solution between us and the school. That's the way it works: 12345 directs you to the right government officials and follows up to make sure they treat your case.

In the end we didn't get reimbursed because it was an International School over which Shanghai education authorities have apparently no legal enforcement power, contrary to Chinese schools. But it wasn't for lack of trying!

By the way, it puts in perspective the notion that foreign entities are somehow badly treated in China: in that instance international schools had much more leeway and freedom than Chinese schools!

We also use 12345 extensively when we were travelling in China during Covid. Since Covid policies tended to be highly localized in China, we called ahead the local 12345 of all the destinations we'd cover during our trip to understand the local Covid lay of the land.

They were obligated to answer our questions and give us an accurate description of the policies in place locally. It's almost like free legal advice, you can ask them about any law or policy that applies anywhere in China.

To my knowledge, this 12345 number is very unique. In France if I had a complaint the government could solve, like a school deliberately not complying with policy, I simply wouldn't know where to start. And I know any issue would take months or years to be solved, if at all... In China 12345 is crazy fast. Whatever the issue, you reach a conclusion - one way or the other - in hours, or days at the most. Same thing with enquiries related to policies or legislation.

In the West "no one is supposed to ignore the law" but where do you go to learn it? You typically need to pay a lawyer or read obscure texts of law directly yourself, that no mere mortal can ever hope to understand. In China you call 12345 and you get a customized answer to your case directly from a relevant government official. Infinitely easier, and free!

And incidentally, it also helps the government improve in real time at a very granular level: if they start to get many phone calls about a particular issue, they're made aware of it and solve it.

This is a concrete example of a level of accountability by the government to the people that is simply non-existent in the West. Really makes you reflect on systems of governance and whether Western liberal democracies have become too performative - around abstract values - as opposed to practical.

[Arnaud Bertrand @RnaudBertrand]

This is an absolutely bombshell: the story about the cancelled elections in Romania is even far more sinister than previously thought.

A new report from investigative outlet https://t.co/VzhY632lEf (https://t.co/nMphGvisdR) reveals that the TikTok campaign which was cited in the declassified Romanian intelligence documents (summarized in my post below 👇) as evidence of foreign interference - and used as grounds to cancel the presidential election - was actually paid for by the ruling National Liberal Party (PNL), the very party that supported cancelling the elections!

According to the investigation, the campaign called "#EchilibrușiVerticalitate" that the intelligence services claimed was "identical to Russian operations in Ukraine" was organized by a marketing firm called Kensington Communication, hired by PNL (the ruling party), who paid Kensington over 1 million RON for it (about $210,000). Kensington then used a platform called FameUp to coordinate 130 influencers with specific scripts and messaging guidelines.

This puts the declassified intelligence documents in an entirely new light. What they presented as evidence of foreign interference was actually a campaign paid for by the ruling party. The same party that then supported using these allegations of "foreign interference" to cancel an election they were losing.

Even more bizarrely, confronted by journalists, Kensington Communication initially denied using the hashtag but later admitted to creating the campaign for PNL, claiming it was meant to be called "#echilibrusiseriozitate" and was changed to "#echilibrusiverticalitate" without their knowledge. Yeah, right...

This means that either the Romanian intelligence services didn't know this was a PNL-funded campaign when they used it as evidence to cancel the election (which raises huge questions about their competence), or they did know and didn't disclose it (which raises even bigger questions about their integrity).

In any case, it seems to indicate that something extremely sinister happened in Romania: a ruling party used intelligence services to cancel an election based on "foreign interference" evidence that they themselves paid for!

[Cw @Whaddddyagott]

@Chetuyachinago @UnrollHelper

[Cw @Whaddddyagott]

@Chetuyachinago @UnrollThread

[Cw @Whaddddyagott]

Jesus: Forgive all debts, redistribute wealth, don’t charge interest, beware of lawyers, don’t take each other to court.

🇺🇸✝️: You heard the man! A whole country run by lawyers and bankers using debt and interest rates to concentrate all the wealth.

[Cw @Whaddddyagott]

@simon_boddy @PaulJHeer @niubi Exactly.

[Cw @Whaddddyagott]

@amaldorai @wideofthepost - a totally real person, definitely not a Fed

[Zaid Jilani @ZaidJilani]

I like how Democratic presidential primary polls right now show Dem voters support the least electable people and oppose the most electable ones

[Cw @Whaddddyagott]

@RachelBitecofer Aaaaaand the leader of Senate Democrats and the retiring senators he organized to flip for Trump.

[ُ sushi ibushi 𖣂 @svhibe]

This wasn’t a nuclear blast, it was relentless deliberate nonstop bombing for 2+ years backed and sponsored by the US and the west empire. Biden did most of the heavy lifting and Trump completed the job. Bipartisan evil. This is where your tax money goes. This is why you’re poor.

[Zaid Jilani @ZaidJilani]

Occasionally someone tries to argue this point with me and right now 8% of Democrats say they support Israel's posture. 8%. I think a higher percentage of Democrats probably want to ban abortion. Democrats aren't banning abortion are they? It's all donors.

[Zaid Jilani @ZaidJilani]

It's pretty obvious. Dem elite do massive fundraising with donors who disproportionately care about Israel politics. Like 95% of Americans couldn't care less, but it's always been a donor-driven issue. Behind closed doors nobody disagrees with this analysis.

[Cw @Whaddddyagott]

@Tom_Suozzi @AIPAC @TrackAIPAC https://t.co/9Vwb4H8nMu

[Cw @Whaddddyagott]

@Tom_Suozzi Over $300,000 from @AIPAC

Thanks @TrackAIPAC

[Earth Hippy 🌎🕊️💚 @hippyygoat]

Do you relate to this man's outrage?

Israeli soldier gets exposed and dismantled on air.
WE ARE ALL OUTRAGED BY THE IDF 🇮🇱GENOCIDE

[Cw @Whaddddyagott]

@kenklippenstein @grok How much in total donations has AIPAC given to each of these politicians in their lifetimes, separately and all together?

[Cw @Whaddddyagott]

@LucaGuadagnegro @kenklippenstein @GovKathyHochul @RepJeffries @gillibrandny @RepGregoryMeeks @RitchieTorres @RepLauraGillen @RepTomSuozzi @danielsgoldman @RepGLatimer @RepEspaillat @RepGraceMeng @grok How much in total donations has AIPAC given to each of these politicians in their lifetimes, separately and all together?

[Peter Daou @peterdaou]

Fixed it for you, @nytimes

[Cw @Whaddddyagott]

@da102019 By God, they're trying to enslave us with... free subway fare! Be gone from the faithful, ye wicked ones!