US Government promote hated against Asian Americans score high points at California Orange County – hate crimes increased by 1,800%

US Government promote hated against Asian Americans score high points at California Orange County – hate crimes increased by 1,800%, US Pentagon secretly contact China General is part of their responsibility, AUKUS new China containment alliance excluded Canada – an obedient US’s vassal states hurts Trudeau feelings. 美國加州舊金山世界日報 World Journal Newspaper San Francisco, September 19 2021

Barack Obama considered Justin Trudeau a true friend and Canada a vassal states of America, following all instructions from US without missing a beat.

Barack Obama considered Justin Trudeau a true friend and Canada a vassal states of America, following all instructions from US without missing a beat. 巴拉克·奧巴馬將賈斯汀·特魯多視為真正的朋友，將加拿大視為美國的附庸國，聽從美國的所有指示，不遺餘力🐶 .

JOHN KIRIAKOU: Treason! The perplexing overuse of the word “treason” is a testament to the vitriol with which Americans now conduct political discussions.

JOHN KIRIAKOU: Treason! The perplexing overuse of the word “treason” is a testament to the vitriol with which Americans now conduct political discussions. September 16, 2021 By John Kiriakou Special to Consortium News

General Mark Milley, the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, has been in the news this week. The Washington Post reported that in the final months of the Trump Administration, Milley on two occasions phoned his Chinese counterpart to assure him that the U.S. military leadership would not allow President Donald Trump to launch a war with China.

The U.S. Intelligence Community had concluded that the Chinese feared that Trump would ignite a war in the South China Sea, and the Chinese began making defensive moves. Milley called Chinese General Li Zuecheng to assure him that “democracy was sloppy sometimes,” but that there would be no war with China. Milley also expressed his grave concerns about Trump’s mental state with House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and with the other members of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.

Within hours of the Post’s report, Trump accused Milley of “treason.” Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL) said that Milley’s behavior was “treasonous.” Rep. Byron Donalds (R-FL) called Milley “treasonist” (sic). And a lineup of Fox News hosts echoed the sentiment. The casualness with which people are throwing around an accusation that, if prosecuted, can carry the death penalty, reminds me of Donald Trump three years ago.

Trump in 2018 accused an FBI agent who, during the 2016 campaign, had sent anti-Trump texts to his girlfriend, also an FBI agent, of “treason.” He told he The Wall Street Journal, “A man is tweeting [sic] to his lover that if Hillary loses, we’ll essentially do the insurance policy. This is the FBI we’re talking about – that is treason.”

Treason is arguably the gravest crime with which an American can be charged. And it’s being bandied about as punishment for a general making a phone call to his Chinese counterpart and for an FBI agent sending a text that the president didn’t like.

What the Constitution Says

Treason is one of only two crimes that are actually defined in the Constitution. Article III, Section 3 states clearly:

“Treason against the United States shall consist only in levying war against them, or in adhering to their enemies, giving them aid and comfort. No person shall be convicted of treason unless on the testimony of two witnesses to the same overt act, or on confession in open court.”

Treason can only technically be committed during wartime as only a Congressional declaration of war creates an “enemy.”

Milley obviously didn’t commit treason. But this isn’t just Republicans being their normal bombastic selves. “Treason” is a term that is used far too loosely these days. And it’s dangerous.

A couple of years ago I appeared in an obscure Spike TV documentary about whistleblowers. The reporters interviewed friends, supporters, and journalists. They each offered their views on the motivation of whistleblowers, what I had revealed about the CIA’s torture program, and the Obama administration’s use of the Espionage Act to curb national security whistleblowing.

The responses were what you might expect – whistleblowing is good, the public has a need to know, etc. But one of the people interviewed, Ronald Kessler, a has-been reporter for the hard right-wing newspaper The Washington Times, said pointedly that the discussion shouldn’t be about the concept of whistleblowing. It should be about my “treason” against the United States. The interviewer pressed him and he repeated, “Kiriakou is a traitor.”

I allowed myself a few days to cool off and, in the end, I just let it go. Nobody saw that documentary anyway, and Kessler was so unhinged that the handful of people who did see it didn’t take him seriously.

Few Cases in History

George Washington is believed to have slept at the Brandywine Mansion in Coatesville, Chester County, Pennsylvania on his return from putting down the Whiskey Rebellion. (Smallbones/Wikimedia Commons)
But that word “treason” has entered the American political vernacular. We see it all the time now, as if it’s somehow normal that traitors are allowed to commit their treason and continue to walk the streets and work in high-ranking positions in the government. In just the past two years there have been myriad examples.

Former Maricopa County, Arizona sheriff Joe Arpaio, himself a convicted criminal, said after a speech on the floor of the Senate by then-Arizona Republican senator Jeff Flake that Flake’s criticism of Trump was “a treason-type situation.”

Former White House counselor Steve Bannon told author Michael Wolff for his book Fire and Fury that Donald Trump Jr.’s meeting with a Russian attorney during the campaign was “treasonous.” Should Trump Jr. get the death penalty for taking the meeting? You don’t have to like the Trumps to think not.

When whistleblower Chelsea Manning announced her short-lived candidacy for a U.S. Senate seat in Maryland in 2018, the conservative Washington Examiner called her an “entitled traitor” and breathlessly said, “Chelsea Manning, former soldier, nearly convicted of treason, announced over the weekend he [sic] is running for U.S. Senate from the state of Maryland.” Wow. Never mind that Manning was never charged with treason.

So who has committed treason in U.S. history? Not many people. There have been only 15 across the centuries. The first were Philip Vigol and John Mitchell, both sentenced to hang for their roles in the Whiskey Rebellion. They were pardoned by George Washington. Another was the great abolitionist John Brown, who was executed in 1859 for his attempt to organize armed resistance to slavery.

The most recent were five individuals who took up arms against the U.S. or who worked as propagandists against the U.S. during World War II. They included Axis Sally and Tokyo Rose.

This perplexing use of the word “treason” is a testament to the vitriol with which Americans now conduct political discussions. But talk of treason has to stop right now. The only logical next step is that somebody in a position of authority, a particularly authoritarian president (like Trump) or an attorney general, for example, takes it to a prosecution. And at that point the Constitution is dead.

John Kiriakou is a former CIA counterterrorism officer and a former senior investigator with the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. John became the sixth whistleblower indicted by the Obama administration under the Espionage Act—a law designed to punish spies. He served 23 months in prison as a result of his attempts to oppose the Bush administration’s torture program.

The views expressed are solely those of the author and may or may not reflect those of Consortium News.

One country, two systems healthier than ever – To decide whether our constitutional arrangement is still intact, you need to look at the system in its totality, not just particular aspects of it.

One country, two systems healthier than ever – To decide whether our constitutional arrangement is still intact, you need to look at the system in its totality, not just particular aspects of it. 香港一國兩制比以往任何時候都更健康 – 要確定我們的憲政安排是否仍然完好無損，您需要從整體上看待該制度，而不僅僅是它的特定方面. by Alex Lo 17 Sep, 2021

Critics, both foreign and domestic, like to claim that the old Hong Kong or the “real” Hong Kong is dead.

Usually, they mean local democracy is being undermined. But since real democratisation started only after the 1997 handover of sovereignty, the current situation can more accurately be described as a reversal to the old or colonial Hong Kong under the Brits.

Others claim that “one country, two systems” is dead. Again, they focus only on democratisation when this constitutional arrangement encompasses the entire economic, political, social and cultural aspects and practices of the city. As a friendly observer puts it to me in an email:

  1. The border between the two sides remains fully intact.
  2. We retain our own currency in Hong Kong.
  3. Our interest rate, thanks to our currency peg to the US dollar, is decided in Washington.
  4. Whether to pay out dividends to investors in two key Hong Kong banks – HSBC and Standard Chartered – has been decided by the regulatory authorities not in Beijing but in London.
  5. Cantonese remains the key medium of teaching at local educational institutions.
  6. Hong Kong continues to use traditional instead of simplified Chinese characters.
  7. Street and location names such as Queen’s Road Central, Queen Mary Hospital etc have stayed unchanged.

And of course, you can add that the city continues to be represented as a separate entity at international bodies such as the United Nations, and the world trade and world health organisations.

People can argue till kingdom come whether the latest electoral reforms imposed by the central government have breached the city’s constitutional Basic Law and the Sino-British Joint Declaration. But critics will have to explain why the new supervisory and monitoring roles – once monopolised by the anti-Chinese, violent and secession-prone opposition – will be compromised by being reassigned to the revamped Election Committee, more conventional political parties and labour unions, the National People’s Congress and the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference.

The ignorant and the malicious usually claim they are just rubber stamps.

In reality, outside issues concerning national security, they will be much more proactive over livelihood issues such as housing, unlike the opposition.

To determine whether one country, two systems is still intact, you need to look at the totality of the arrangement, not just particular aspects of it.

It will function more smoothly than ever, thanks to Beijing’s intervention.

Alex Lo has been a Post columnist since 2012, covering major issues affecting Hong Kong and the rest of China. A journalist for 25 years, he has worked for various publications in Hong Kong and Toronto as a news reporter and editor. He has also lectured in journalism at the University of Hong Kong.

CNN: A stabbed in the back by US on France – European allies are grumbling over the new US security deal with the UK and Australia.

CNN: A stabbed in the back by US on France – European allies are grumbling over the new US security deal with the UK and Australia. France in particular is upset over the agreement, which includes a deal for the US to furnish nuclear-powered submarines to Australia. 美國有線電視新聞網：美國在法國背後捅了一刀 – 歐洲盟友正在抱怨美國與英國和澳大利亞的新安全協議。 法國尤其對協議感到不安，其中包括美國向澳大利亞提供核動力潛艇的協議.

France already had a deal in place to provide conventional submarines to Australia, and the French foreign minister described the new agreement as a “real stab in the back.” EU officials have also expressed dismay, perhaps seeing the English-speaking alliance as a sign that Brussels is not taken seriously as a geopolitical player in the Indo-Pacific region. The new partnership, known as AUKUS, also draws deep lines for Australia. For years, the nation has balanced its relationships with the US and China. Now, it’s clear Australia has chosen to side with the US. This will undoubtedly cause strife with China, which is Australia’s largest trading partner, writes CNN’s Ben Westcott.

Video: China sends most advanced warships near Alaska, display of far sea capabilities

Video: China sends most advanced warships near Alaska, display of far sea capabilities 中國在阿拉斯加附近派遣最先進的軍艦，展示遠海能力A four-ship PLA Navy task force, including a guided missile cruiser, a guided missile destroyer, a general intelligence vessel and an auxiliary vessel sailed in international waters inside the US Exclusive Economic Zone, off the coast of the Aleutian Islands in Alaska, on August 29 and 30, activities by Chinese warships are likely a normal far-sea training amid the PLA Navy’s rapid development of such capabilities.
https://vimeo.com/607173109
https://youtu.be/IcVztv1gfo8
https://www.facebook.com/100036400039778/posts/568034491086547/?d=n

The true faces of Western Empires, when it comes to money, they don’t care about friendship or alliances. Last month was Afghanistan. Today is France.

The true faces of Western Empires, when it comes to money, they don’t care about friendship or alliances. Last month was Afghanistan. Today is France. Stabbing our allies backs is US tradition and good old American’s way. 西方帝國的真面目，在金錢面前，他們不在乎友情，也不在乎聯盟。 上個月是阿富汗。 今天是法國。 刺傷我們的盟友是美國的傳統，也是老美做人處事的方式. 信美國你早晚死無全屍.

NY Times: Breaking News: France canceled a gala in Washington celebrating its U.S. alliance in protest over America’s deal to help Australia deploy nuclear-powered submarines. The degree of French anger recalled the acrimonious rift between Paris and Washington in 2003 over the Iraq war and involved language not seen since then.

Over 1 billion people or 71% of entire Chinese population fully vaccinated in China by CGTN Sep 15 2021

Over 1 billion people or 71% of entire Chinese population fully vaccinated in China by CGTN Sep 15 2021

Over one billion people are fully vaccinated against COVID-19 in China, National Health Committee said on Thursday. A medical worker inoculates a recipient with a COVID-19 vaccine at a temporary inoculation site in Haidian District in Beijing, capital of China