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Caitlin Johnstone ⏳ Profile picture
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23 Mar, 12 tweets, 5 min read
That Time A Leaked Memo Proved The US Weaponizes 'Human Rights' Against Nations Like China

"The reality is that actions against China were already planned, and a narrative was used to justify them."
caitlinjohnstone.substack.com/p/that-time-a-…
The US, UK, EU and Canada have simultaneously implemented new sanctions against Chinese officials in another reminder that these nations function as member states of a single empire on foreign policy, and that Trump and Biden are identical on China policy.
politico.eu/article/uk-us-…
The basis for these sanctions is listed as "human rights" violations in Xinjiang province, as US Secretary of State Tony Blinken explains:
state.gov/promoting-acco… Image
Blinken's allegations are unfounded, as explained here:
...and here:
thegrayzone.com/2021/03/17/rep…
The extremely flimsy and blatantly manipulated evidence we've seen so far for western claims of "genocide" and "crimes against humanity" should draw immediate incredulity from anyone who remembers the lead-up to the Iraq invasion. Image
These talking points issued by the State Department chief look even more off-base when we remember that a leaked 2017 State Department memo confirmed that the US has a standing policy of using allegations of human rights violations as a bludgeon against nations like China, Image
In December 2017 Politico published an internal memo that had been sent the previous May to then-Secretary of State Rex Tillerson by virulent neocon Brian Hook. Image
"It is also because pressing those regimes on human rights is one way to impose costs, apply counter-pressure, and regain the initiative from them strategically."
politico.com/story/2017/12/… Image
So if it wasn't already clear to you that the US empire is faking its concern for the wellbeing of Muslim lives (and a quick glance at America's actions in the Middle East should make that read like the punchline of a bad joke anyway), it should be clear to you now. Image
The illusion is that the US and its allies have seen evidence of genocide and crimes against humanity and taken action against China in the interest of human rights. The reality is that actions against China were already planned, and a narrative was used to justify them. Image

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More from @caitoz

Caitlin Johnstone ⏳ Profile picture
24 Mar
Supporting universal health care and a living wage will get you mean tweets from the KHive. Opposing US militarism will get you smeared, targeted, marginalized and deplatformed. It takes a lot more courage to oppose America's status quo foreign policy than domestic policy.
One area of emphasis is far, far more tolerated by the oligarchic empire than the other. For this reason, the best way to learn what someone is really made of is not to look at their domestic policy, it's to look at their foreign policy.
And this dynamic of course exists because war is the glue which holds the empire together. There's a lot more power and a lot more capitalist infrastructure riding on the ability to continue US military expansionism than the ability to keep killing universal healthcare.
Read 4 tweets
Caitlin Johnstone ⏳ Profile picture
22 Mar
False spirituality offers sedation and escapism from reality; it's very convenient for the powerful. True spirituality means expanding consciousness of reality: consciousness of our inner dynamics AND outer dynamics which lead to suffering. Nearly all spirituality today is false.
False spirituality helps you hide the ugly truths within and without by offering comforting narratives and practices which help sedate your emotional body. True spirituality brings consciousness to those ugly truths, within and without, and brings them into the light to be seen.
The powerful benefit from false spirituality. They say "Use mindfulness and deep breathing exercises to help you cope with the stress of a meaningless, exploitative job!" They glorify meekness, obedience and poverty, and extoll us to forgive those who have committed great evils.
Read 6 tweets
Caitlin Johnstone ⏳ Profile picture
22 Mar
Thoughts On The Iraq Invasion

"It has now been eighteen years since the Iraq invasion, and I'm still not done raging about it. Nobody should be."
caitlinjohnstone.substack.com/p/thoughts-on-…
The reason it's so important to stay enraged about Iraq is because it's never been addressed or rectified in any real way whatsoever. All the corrupt mechanisms which led to the invasion are still in place and its consequences remain. It isn't something that happened in the past.
The Iraq invasion feels kind of like if your dad had stood up at the dinner table, cut off your sister's head in front of everyone, gone right back to eating and never suffered any consequences, and everyone just kind of forgot about it and carried on life like it never happened.
Read 30 tweets
Caitlin Johnstone ⏳ Profile picture
20 Mar
Capitalism trains boys that in order to get what you want you need to go out there and be assertive and take it, yet we somehow believe it's not necessary to educate them about enthusiastic consent and communication and respecting boundaries when it comes to sex.
Here in Australia we're having a huge problem with rape culture in private schools, but these same schools are teaching boys how to go out into the world of capitalism and conquer. They're being taught conquest and domination, and somehow this isn't expected to extend into sex?
And it's so weird that this is happening in facilities where we are ostensibly TEACHING these kids. What are they there to learn if not how to avoid traumatizing people with their sexuality? How is the difference between doric and ionic columns more important than that?
Read 4 tweets
Caitlin Johnstone ⏳ Profile picture
19 Mar
What We're Really Seeing With All These Anti-China Narratives

"Why are we being told that China is dangerous over and over again day in and day out all of a sudden, while, for example, Israel's constant bombing of Syria gets nary a mention?"
caitlinjohnstone.substack.com/p/what-were-re…
There's a great viral thread going around with a small sample of the virulent anti-China headlines the mass media have been churning out, putting forward the inconvenient suggestion that this is one possible answer to this question by the New York Times:
Rania sums it up well:
Read 13 tweets
Caitlin Johnstone ⏳ Profile picture
19 Mar
It's important to ask not only whether mass media reporting is true, but *WHY* we are seeing that reporting in the first place. Why are we being told that China is dangerous day in and day out all of a sudden, while, say, Israel's constant bombing of Syria gets nary a mention?
The quantity of the reporting tells you as much as the quality. Even if a foreign nation really is doing something bad, is it something we need to be told about over and over again while far worse acts are perpetrated by our own government and its allies? Who benefits from this?
Negative mass media coverage of empire-targeted governments always far exceeds negative coverage of empire-aligned governments on the same issues, like repetitive coverage of protests in Hong Kong while ignoring protests in Gaza, Chile, Haiti, Ecuador etc.
fair.org/home/with-peop…
Read 6 tweets

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