Victoria Fox's Blog, page 267
March 17, 2023
Biden administration skeptical of Xi’s intentions ahead of summit with Putin
CNN
—
President Joe Biden said earlier this week that he planned to speak “soon” with his Chinese counterpart, Xi Jinping.
But even before his team began planning the call, another meeting was taking shape: the Chinese government announced that Xi planned to travel to Russia on Monday for a three-day summit with President Vladimir Putin as Xi tries to present itself as a potential peacemaker in the Ukrainian war.
In Washington, officials view Xi’s intentions with deep skepticism; China refused to condemn the war and instead claimed that Moscow was provoked into invading Ukraine. After China announced Xi’s visit to Russia, saying he was traveling ‘for the sake of peace’, the White House scrambled to pre-empt attempts to make the Xi-Putin meeting a mission of peacemaking, suggesting that any framework proposed by Beijing would be weighted towards Russia. and bad for Ukraine.
“As they begin to plan their program, we certainly want to express how concerned we would be about any proposal from (China) that is…one-sided and only reflects the Russian perspective,” spokesman John Kirby said. of the National Security Council.
He said such a Chinese proposal could include some type of ceasefire, which he said would simply provide a way for Russia to regroup before launching a retaliation.
“A ceasefire is now effectively the ratification of the Russian conquest,” he said.
The Putin-Xi summit itself came as no surprise to the White House as it was reported that such a meeting could take place for weeks. Still, there remain deep concerns that the “boundless” partnership that Xi and Putin cemented in previous meetings could deepen in face-to-face talks.
And there are growing fears that further Chinese intervention in the conflict could fundamentally change the dynamics of the battlefield – or at least prolong the war at a time when the West’s political appetite for supporting Ukraine is put to the test.
Xi remained Putin’s best antidote to US attempts to isolate Russia. Even Friday’s decision by the International Criminal Court to issue an arrest warrant for Putin – intended in part to make world leaders “think twice before shaking hands with him or sitting with him at the negotiating table” – did not seem likely to dissuade him from his support.
So far, officials have said there is no indication that Beijing has made the final decision to aid Moscow’s war efforts with lethal aid. But they have considered it, according to US officials, who monitor day-to-day intelligence for indications that Xi is moving forward.
Next week’s meeting could provide a venue for such an announcement.
“It’s something we’ll be watching,” US National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan said this week. “Obviously Russia has its own interests in trying to drag other countries into this conflict if it can, but our position is the same whether they meet or not.”
But some U.S. officials see the meeting as possible to fend off any impending deadly Chinese support for Russia, given Xi’s efforts to portray the trip as a search for peace.
The concern of US officials is not necessarily that Chinese weapons will help Russia win a decisive victory in Ukraine. Instead, the concern is that lethal aid from Beijing would bog down the war in a way that would serve Moscow.
An interminable war could also benefit China if US resources and attention are consumed in Ukraine, rather than in Asia, where Beijing has become increasingly militarily assertive. And although China has not provided deadly support to Russia so far, it has been willing to import large amounts of Russian energy, which has allowed Moscow’s tax revenue to increase over the past year. year – despite sanctions implemented by the United States and its European allies. .
It is in this context that Biden has repeatedly warned Xi against taking a Russian bias in the war, including in a phone call in March 2022 and when they met face-to-face last November in Bali, their only face-to-face since Biden took office.
Biden’s desire to keep lines of communication open with China — including through regular phone calls with Xi — is currently the administration’s primary focus in dealing with Beijing, officials say, who say that the risk of military or diplomatic miscalculation is higher when the two parties are not talking.
Yet even those efforts have been sidetracked in recent months with the cancellation of Secretary of State Antony Blinken’s visit to Beijing due to the Chinese spy balloon flying across the United States. US officials initially announced the meeting would be postponed, but more than a month later there is no new date on the schedule.
US officials also used their usual diplomatic channels to encourage a conversation between Xi and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, saying it would be helpful to hear the Ukrainian perspective directly from him. Xi has not had a single phone call with Zelensky since the start of the war in Ukraine.
“We think it’s important for China to have Ukraine’s point of view. Clearly, Russia’s motives are nefarious,” Pentagon spokesman Brig. On Friday, General Patrick Ryder told CNN. “They illegally invaded and occupied Ukraine. We hope that President Xi and the Chinese government can have the advantage of understanding what exactly the impact of their support for Russia is.
However, it’s still unclear when those conversations might take place. White House officials said there were no logistical arrangements to arrange a call between Biden and Xi. And there is no doubt that the deep personal affinity between Putin and Xi has helped to strengthen ties between their nations as they each warn of encroaching US influence.
Before the war began, the pair released a 5,000-word statement declaring that their relationship had “no limits”. Since then, China has provided diplomatic support to Russia and the United States has sanctioned a Chinese company for providing satellite images to the Russian mercenary Wagner Group.
Lil Nas X has a perfect response after being compared to Andrew Tate
Lil Nas X wants people to know he’s not a role model – and rejects the very idea.
The rapper responded earlier this week to a viral tweet from a British podcast host who compared him unfavorably to Andrew Tate, a social media influencer and former kickboxing champion suspected of human trafficking and currently detained in Romania.
“On the left we have ‘Lil Nas X’ twerking on Satan,” the user tweeted on Monday. “On the right we have Andrew Tate, who teaches young people to think critically, take care of their physical health and build financial security.”
He continued, “Guess which one is considered controversial and which one is hailed as a role model.”
Accompanying photos included a screenshot of the music video “Montero (Call Me By Your Name”), in which Lil Nas X dances for a red being, and an image of Tate aboard a boat. The rapper couldn’t help but educate his critic — and denounce the role model.
Lil Nas X reminded the user that Satan wasn’t real – and didn’t actually appear in his video.Richard Shotwell/Invision/Associated Press
“1. it’s a CGI animated being”, the rapper responded in a quote tweet on Wednesday“not satan from the bible book. 2. There is no good role model, you all need to find yourselves and stop looking for people to look up to.
Lil Nas X has never been shy about using Twitter. He celebrates replied to a tweet which included a photo of him dressed in pink and a screenshot of rapper Pastor Troy’s homophobic slurs against him, writing, “fuck i look good in this pic on god.”
Tate, meanwhile, has galvanized legions of impressionable young men over the years by espousing misogynistic messaging under the guise of masculinity. He reportedly moved his sex cam operation to Romania because he liked “being able to do whatever I want”.
As for the Twitter user who compared Lil Nas X unfavorably to Tate, he might not know that one is an avid artist who donates to charity, while the other currently faces criminal charges.
The Huffington Gt
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Latest Twitter files tackle ‘great Covid-19 lie machine’ flagging true content as ‘misinformation’
The latest installment of the Twitter Files examined Stanford University’s Virality Project intended to combat “misinformation”, but in reality targeted COVID content that challenged establishment narratives.
According to its website, the goal of Project Virality, which launched in May 2020, was to “detect, analyze and respond to incidents of COVID-19 vaccine misinformation in online ecosystems, and ultimately mitigate the impact stories that would otherwise undermine public confidence in the safety of these processes in the United States.”
On Friday, freelance journalist Matt Taibbi showed that the project didn’t quite live up to its mission statement.
Taibbi began the Twitter Files by attacking what he called “The Great Covid-19 Lie Machine” by quoting his weekly briefings, one from June 2021 saying that the spring 2020 emails made public by Dr Anthony Fauci on gaining function research conducted at the Wuhan Institute of Virology “has been used to exacerbate distrust of Dr. Fauci and of American public health institutions” and “will foster increased distrust of the expert advice of Fauci”.
FEDERAL TRADE COMMISSION ASK ELON MUSK TO ‘IDENTIFY ALL JOURNALISTS’ WHO HAD ACCESS TO TWITTER FILES
Stanford University’s virality project was the subject of the latest episode of the Twitter Files (Screenshot/Virality Project)
Another briefing appeared to scorn the lab leak theory and sounded the alarm over ‘disturbing jokes’ critics had made about the Biden administration’s proposed door-to-door outreach efforts to boost vaccinations and any discussion of natural immunity.
“All have been characterized as ‘potential breaches’ or disinformation ‘events’ by the Virality Project, a broad cross-platform effort to monitor billions [sic] of social media posts by Stanford University, federal agencies, and a slew of (often state-funded) NGOs,” Taibbi reported.
As Taibbi noted, the Virality Project emails were previously mentioned in Twitter files, which panicked that “genuine content” about various side effects of COVID vaccines “could foster vaccine hesitancy.” But Taibbi now reports that in 2021 the project “worked with the government to launch an industry-wide monitoring plan for Covid-related content” across Twitter, Google and YouTube, Facebook, Instagram, Medium, TikTok and Pinterest.
“This story is important for two reasons. First, as an Orwellian proof of concept, the Virality Project was a resounding success. secret and unified to control political messages,” Taibbi wrote. “Second, it has accelerated the evolution of digital censorship, moving it from judging truth/falsehood to a new, scarier, overtly narrative-driven model. politics at the expense of facts.
WHAT ELON MUSK’S TWITTER FILES HAVE DISCOVERED ABOUT THE TECH GIANT SO FAR
Taibbi reported that Stanford University brought Twitter into the Virality Project in February 2021, just days after President Biden’s inauguration, first tackling “vaccine-related misinformation.”
He cited an email from the Virality Project tackling the “vaccine passport narrative” and how the concerns of critics at the time “led to a larger anti-vaccination narrative about the loss of rights and freedoms”, all falling under the category of the “disinformation” project. .”
“VP has regularly presented real testimonials about side effects ranging from misinformation, from ‘true stories’ of blood clots from AstraZeneca vaccines to a New York Times story about vaccinees who contracted the blood disorder thrombocytopenia,” said Taibbi writes.
Journalist Matt Taibbi called the virality project “the great Covid-19 lie machine”. (Daniel Zuchnik/WireImage)
Twitter quickly synchronized with the virality project. An email from Twitter in March 2021 showed that it would “continue to monitor…the misuse of official reporting tools and statistical data” and “campaigns against vaccine passports, raising fears about mandatory vaccinations” .
The Virality Project objected to Sen. Ron Johnson, R-Wisc.’s stance of “asking questions” about the safety of COVID vaccines, saying it is a “common tactic used by broadcasters misinformation” as well as the Global Freedom Rally protest that opposed COVID restrictions, classifying it as a “disinformation event.”
He also flagged “known repeat offenders” like longtime vaccine skeptic Robert F. Kennedy Jr., suggesting his content is “almost always reportable.”
In a June 2021, the Virality Project said it wanted to “focus” on the “increasingly popular narrative about natural immunity.” Two months prior, the project claimed that breakthrough COVID infections of those who had been vaccinated were “extremely rare events”, which it said does not mean “vaccines are ineffective”.
Months later, the project acknowledged that “breakthrough cases are happening.”
LATEST TWITTER FILES SHOW MEDIA, DEMS RELYING ON SINGLE SOURCE ALLEGING ‘RUSSIAN BOT’ ACTIVITY: ‘IT WAS A SCAM’
Twitter files suggest the virality project may have encouraged Biden’s DHS to establish the now-defunct Disinformation Governance Council.
On April 26, 2022, the project released a report calling for the installation of a “Disinformation and Disinformation Center of Excellence” at DHS’s Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA). to “establish a rumor control mechanism to deal with nationally biased narratives”. The next day, DHS Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas revealed that a disinformation committee had been created and would be led by now-famous Mary Poppins impersonator Nina Jankowicz.
The virality project appears to have encouraged Biden’s DHS to create the now-defunct Disinformation Governance Council, headed by Nina Jankowicz. Twitter account (@wiczipedia)
“Even in his final report, VP claimed it was misinformation to suggest that the vaccine does not prevent transmission, or that governments are considering introducing vaccine passports. Both things turned out to be true,” Taibbi wrote. “The virality project was specifically not based on ‘statements of fact,’ but on public submission to authority, acceptance of narrative, and statements by figures like Anthony Fauci. The central concept/animator of the project was: ‘You can’t handle the truth.’”
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Among the government agencies the virality project has reportedly collaborated with are the Office of the Surgeon General, the CDC, DHS’s CISA, and the State Department’s Global Engagement Center, which was also previously scanned in the Twitter files.
“To recap: America’s information mission has gone from fighting terrorism overseas, to stopping ‘foreign interference’ from reaching domestic audiences, to 80% domestic content. , which is largely true,” Taibbi added.
Joseph A. Wulfsohn is a reporter for Fox News Digital. Story tips can be sent to joseph.wulfsohn@fox.com and on Twitter: @JosephWulfsohn.
Not all news on the site expresses the point of view of the site, but we transmit this news automatically and translate it through programmatic technology on the site and not from a human editor.
Gwyneth Paltrow Addresses Backlash to Daily Wellness Routine
Gwyneth Paltrow is responding back to criticism over her eating habits.
Days after describing her wellness routine, which featured fasting and eating bone broth, on the podcast The Art Of Being Well, the Emma actress addressed the claims that she was promoting a restrictive diet.
“I think it’s important for everybody to know that I was doing a podcast with my doctor, so this is a person that I’ve been working with for over two years now to deal with some chronic stuff,” Gwyneth explained in a March 17 video posted to her Instagram Stories. “I have long COVID, and the way it manifests for me is very high levels of inflammation over time.”
The 50-year-old explained that she’s worked with the podcast’s host Dr. Will Cole, a functional medicine practitioner, to “really focus on foods that aren’t inflammatory.”
And while the diet, which consists of “lots of vegetables, cooked vegetables, all kinds of proteins, healthy carbs,” has yielded a positive result for Gwyneth, she also clarified that the routine has been customized to her needs.
March 16, 2023
Ulta 24-Hour Flash Sale: 50% Off Anastasia Beverly Hills and More
We independently selected these products because we love them, and we think you might like them at these prices. E! has affiliate relationships, so we may get a commission if you purchase something through our links. Items are sold by the retailer, not E!. Prices are accurate as of publish time.
Beauty enthusiasts and bargain hunters, rejoice! There are some great deals at Ulta. The 21 Days of Beauty Sale is happening from March 12 through April 1, with different markdowns on their best-selling makeup, skincare, haircare, and more items every single day. Every day, you will have 24 hours to shop for different beauty products at half price. And, if you’re a Diamond or Platinum member, your order will ship free (no shipping minimums!).
Today is the only day for Ulta shoppers to save 50% on select products from Anastasia Beverly Hills, Clarins, Lancôme, and Ofra Cosmetics. Keep reading to find out why these are must-buy products and to peek ahead at the upcoming steals so you can plan your shopping accordingly.
See Taylor Swift’s Handmade Eras Tour Backstage Pass for Her Dad
Taylor Swift is hoping to make the whole place shimmer.
After all, the “Lavender Haze” singer didn’t scrimp on colorful decorations when she crafted an all-access pass for her dad, Scott Swift, ahead of her widely anticipated The Eras Tour. As seen in a photo of her creation shared on Instagram Story March 16, Taylor used gold foil letters to spell out “D.O.H. Pass.”
“Dad of headliner,” the 33-year-old noted on her masterpiece. “All access.”
Taylor jokingly added in the caption of her post, “Made my dad’s tour credentials. We are a small family business.”
But the Grammy winner wasn’t the only one who was getting crafty backstage. In separate posts, Taylor shared that her family was busy bewjeweling her guitar.
“Was my Eras Tour crystallized Fearless guitar made by: A) Artisans and finely trained craftsman, B) A Professional musical instrument manufacturer, C) My parents with Super Glue and a free afternoon,” she asked rhetorically, adding, “…It’s not not C.”
Stanford University employee charged with making 2 false sexual assault allegations
A Stanford University employee was arrested on Wednesday for lying to authorities about two alleged incidents of rape that she says took place on the California campus, prosecutors said.
According to the complaint, obtained by NBC News, Jennifer Gries, 25, of Santa Clara, was arrested on two counts of perjury and two counts of perjury after an investigation found she had twice brought false rape charges against someone fitting the description of a black co-worker, in what Santa Clara County District Attorney Jeff Rosen called a “rare and deeply destructive crime.”
The false assault reports — which did not identify Gries by name — “triggered campus-wide security alerts and unrest on campus,” the prosecutor’s office said. They also spurred national media coverage, including by NBC News, which covered the two false assault reports, as well as a student protest on campus in October after the second false report.
“These false reports are detrimental, both to actual survivors of sexual assault and to members of our community who have felt fear and concern as a result of these reports,” officials said Wednesday. Stanford in a statement, noting that evidence shows that false reports of sexual violence are extremely rare.
In fact, research has shown that false reports account for 2-8% of reports of sexual assault, according to the National Sexual Violence Resource Center. And black men in particular have long been falsely accused of sexual assault. Five black and Latino teenagers, for example, were wrongfully jailed for six to 13 years for the 1989 rape of a white jogger in New York’s Central Park before their convictions were overturned in 2002.
“Sexual assault and other sexual offenses unfortunately continue to be prevalent at Stanford and in our society at large. Our unwavering commitment to providing compassionate support to survivors of sexual assault and preventing these acts from happening in the first place remains. unchanged,” Stanford’s statement continued.
The university’s public safety department spent more than $300,000 investigating the false reports and hiring outside security officers, according to the probable cause document.
Gries, who works in the university’s housing services department, was released on $25,000 bail and an arraignment is scheduled in San Jose on April 17, a spokesperson for the prosecutor said.
She faces five years in prison if convicted, the spokesperson said.
It was not immediately clear if she had an attorney. Gries did not immediately respond to texts and emails from contacts listed under his name Wednesday morning.
According to a LinkedIn profile under her name, she has worked at Stanford since August 2020 — first as a front desk assistant and most recently as a housing services center supervisor.
Gries is on leave, officials said in the statement released Wednesday, adding that they would “review his employment in light of the information shared” by the prosecutor’s office.
A university spokesperson did not respond to questions about whether the falsely accused colleague is still employed.
Two false declarations in two monthsGries first told county forensic examination nurses at Santa Clara Valley Medical Center on Aug. 9 that she was attacked by a black man in his late 20s in a bathroom near Wilbur Stanford Hall, according to the district attorney’s office. He said she alleged she did not want to contact law enforcement and that the assailant was an “unknown assailant”.
After seeing the ensuing campus security alert, Gries contacted Stanford’s Department of Public Safety to speak with a detective about criminal proceedings. When they met on August 17, she “refused to divulge further details of the alleged sexual assault”, but said she knew the alleged perpetrator and did not believe the public was in danger. She also asked the detective ‘if Human Resources would be made aware of this report’ and ‘said she did not expect a community alert or the incident to make the news,’ the document states. probable causes.
The detective told him that the university had received “numerous questions from concerned parents of Stanford students about campus safety.”
Less than two months later, on Oct. 7, Gries again reported to a sexual assault nurse at Stanford Hospital that she had been raped on campus — this time, she said, by a black man. twenties in a basement. closet.
In both cases, according to the probable cause document, she signed a consent form acknowledging that the nurses were mandated reporters who were to inform law enforcement of reported sexual assaults and that they would submit her name to law enforcement. order with a suspicious injury report. This led to the two misdemeanor charges of inducing false testimony, the complaint states.
Both of Gries’ sexual assault exam kits “have been analyzed as high priority emergencies given the extreme risk to public safety of a potential sex offender,” the prosecutor’s office said. According to the probable cause document, “laboratory reports showed no male DNA detected in the genital or oral areas” for the two rape kits.
Evidence revealed that ‘Gries made up the stories because she was angry with a co-worker,’ the prosecutor’s office said, adding that she had twice requested, under penalty of perjury, funds from the California Victim. of Crimes Board – which reimburses crime-related expenses. – stating that she had been sexually assaulted. She has not received any funds from the entity, a DA spokesperson said.
‘I can’t just make his life hell’A Stanford Public Safety Department investigation found Gries filed a sexual harassment complaint against a co-worker who matched the description of the alleged rapist — a black man in his 20s — last March and a resource investigation human resources found that the complaint was without merit, according to the probable cause document. She was later moved to another workplace, he said.
The investigation also concluded that she told an acquaintance that she was in a relationship with this colleague, that he had sexually assaulted her and that she had become pregnant with twins before having a miscarriage.
But Gries wasn’t actually pregnant, the inquest found. And text messages between her and the acquaintance showed Gries discussed the co-worker’s alleged sexual assault, blaming herself for the alleged assault and saying, “I can’t make her life hell myself.” according to the probable cause document.
On Nov. 3, Gries again met with the same Stanford public safety detective she had previously spoken with and “confirmed that she personally knew the attacker.” She also “asked what would happen if she provided a name,” and the detective said “she would speak to this person and others who knew them both,” the probable cause document states. .
When the detective told Gries that she already knew who was being pictured, Gries “became visibly distraught, hyperventilated, and fanned” before saying “she needed air and started crying.” She left and then texted the detective that she was going to the ER because she felt overwhelmed, according to the probable cause document.
On Jan. 24, Gries met with the detective again and “admitted to lying about the rapes and wrote a letter of apology to the target of the false allegations who was the same person as the HR investigation, the victim.” , depending on probable cause. document.
“She said she was angry with the victim because she felt he gave her a ‘false intent’ and turned his friends against her,” it read.
In an interview with authorities, Gries’ colleague ‘denied any sexual or romantic contact’ with her and said the HR investigation had ‘scarred’ him and caused him extreme stress as he went cared for his sick mother, who died later. He also provided supporting evidence of his whereabouts at the time of the alleged assaults, and he provided a swab for DNA analysis, according to the probable cause document.
He told authorities that the false accusations had made him “disgusting”.
“I don’t feel human. I don’t feel human at all,” he said, according to the probable cause document.
The students reactCampus sexual violence prevention advocates said the false reports should not distract from the prevalence of sexual violence at Stanford.
“This example of an unsubstantiated allegation does not change the fact that 40% of female-identified undergraduate students at Stanford will be sexually assaulted while on campus,” Sexual Violence Free Stanford, a group, said on Instagram Wednesday. defense of student rights. , referring to the results of a 2019 survey.
“Not only are large percentages of sexual violence on campus going unreported, but the rates of sexual violence misrepresentation are almost always comparable – if not lower – than other crimes,” he added.
Not all news on the site expresses the point of view of the site, but we transmit this news automatically and translate it through programmatic technology on the site and not from a human editor.
The staggering hypocrisy of Chinese policy in the Middle East
After years of hostility, Iran and Saudi Arabia have agreed to ‘restore relations’ in a deal brokered by China, a nation that has shown little love for millions of Muslim citizens within its borders. The three countries announced the resumption of diplomatic relations between the two Middle Eastern powers on March 10, including the reopening of embassies in Tehran and Riyadh in the next two months.
Before your eyeballs go too far back in your head, there are some good things about this otherwise hugely sleazy deal. On the one hand, the coming of Iran and Saudi Arabia to the table means that they are ready to lower the temperature of their large-scale proxy war in Yemen and calm some of the politics of power at stake in Syria.
China’s intervention as a power broker in the Middle East “after decades of American failure” in the region is quite a sight to behold, and these are the Washington Postthe words, not mine.
While it’s no secret that the United States considers China its “number one geostrategic threat”, this latest piece from President Xi Jinping provides further evidence of his plans to gain influence over so much territory. possible in a region where the United States has been the main power broker since the end of the Cold War.
A man in Tehran runs a local newspaper reporting on the China-brokered deal between Iran and Saudi Arabia.ATTA KENARE/AFP via Getty Images
But it’s not all about great power politics. Not only do Iran, Saudi Arabia and China all need the photo op of this ‘peace deal’, but the three nations also have something else in common: horrendous human rights records. men, especially with regard to women and minorities. In fact, China continues to actively place a large portion of its Muslim population in concentration camps while playing the role of peacemaker between two major Islamic nations.
I’m talking about the Uyghur population of China, a predominantly Muslim group living in Xinjiang province. For years, China has carried out what many countries, including the United States, call genocide against the group.
Human rights groups believe China has forcibly detained more than a million Uyghurs in recent years in a sprawling network of what the state calls “re-education camps”. China has also sentenced hundreds of thousands more to prison terms. A series of police files obtained by the BBC in 2022 revealed details of China’s use of these camps and described a “shoot to kill policy” for anyone trying to escape.
China denies all allegations of abuse. Prominent human rights groups, such as Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch, have also released reports accusing China of crimes against humanity. Additionally, China has been accused of targeting Muslim religious figures and banning religious practices in the region, as well as destroying mosques and tombs.
There are approximately 12 million Uyghurs, mostly Muslims, living in Xinjiang, which is officially known as the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region (XUAR).
So far, Iran and Saudi Arabia remain silent on China’s abuse of Uyghurs, and frankly, it’s deafening. While Iran is in the midst of an ongoing feminist uprising against the country’s forced hijab laws and a list of recent poisonings of schoolgirls, Saudi Arabia still wants the world to forget its involvement in the murder of Jamal Kashoggi.
But the two countries had previously championed the plight of Burma’s Muslim population, the Rohingya, who are also facing genocide. Saudi Arabia has provided essential aid to Rohingya women and children, and Iran has offered support to Bangladesh in repatriating the persecuted minority.
Yet when it comes to the Uyghurs, so far it seems none of these new peace partners are determined to call China to task. Speaking last week at a special event on Islamophobia at the United Nations, US Ambassador Linda Thomas-Greenfield said the United States had officially recognized that Muslims were increasingly subject to “discrimination and of violence,” specifically citing the treatment of Uyghurs in China.
“We have also determined that the Chinese government has committed genocide and crimes against humanity against predominantly Muslim Uyghurs and other minority ethnic and religious groups in Xinjiang,” Thomas-Greenfield said.
“The international community must continue to condemn these atrocities,” she added. “We must continue to demand accountability. And we must continue to hold all those who are unjustly detained in [China] to be released and reunited with their families.”
Let’s hope that Muslim nations, starting with Iran and Saudi Arabia, also join America’s call. Until then, they seem to be nothing more than mere puppets in the hands of China.
Anushay Hossain is a feminist writer and political analyst specializing in women’s health legislation. She is a regular guest on CNN, MSNBC and PBS, and her writing on politics, gender and race has appeared in Forbes, CNN, USA TODAY, The Daily Beast, and more. Hossain is also the host of the Spilling Chai podcast and author of “The Pain Gap: How sexism and racism in health care are killing women.“
The opinions expressed in this article are those of the author.
Not all news on the site expresses the point of view of the site, but we transmit this news automatically and translate it through programmatic technology on the site and not from a human editor.
Apple removes Donald Trump song featuring J6 Prison Choir from iTunes
Apple temporarily pulled former President Donald Trump’s debut single, “Justice For All,” from iTunes on Thursday after the hit single spent a week at number one on the iTunes chart, Kash Patel told Breitbart News.
Trump released “Justice For All” less than two weeks ago. The song features the “J6 Prison Choir,” an ensemble of January 6 prisoners who can be heard singing the national anthem as Trump recites the Pledge of Allegiance.
Notably, the song topped the iTunes chart, staying at the top spot for seven consecutive days. The song beat out Miley Cyrus’ “Flowers”, Tim McGraw’s “Standing Room Only” and Morgan Wallen’s “Last Night” for the top spot on the iTunes chart.
The song was sold for $1.29, with all net proceeds going to “certain J6 families in need”. The song has sold over 22,000 digital downloads since its March 3 release through Monday, March 13.
However, the song was temporarily pulled from iTunes for a few hours on Thursday, thereby removing the song from its top spot on the charts, Patel told Breitbart News.
Patel, who served as national security chief during the Trump administration, was instrumental in producing “Justice for All.”
A senior Apple Music official told Patel that the song’s removal was due to “miscommunication”.
“It appears there has been a miscommunication between our communications department and our music operations team,” the Apple Music rep told Patel. “The issue has been escalated and should be back on our platform soon.”
Apple did not respond to Breitbart News’ request for comment.
Patel noted the charity aspect of the song and told Breitbart News that “if we raise funds for Ukraine” the song would not have been removed.
Patel told Breitbart News:
It’s no surprise that the suppression of free speech and charitable efforts has now extended to the music entertainment industry and Apple Music. They released a song that was number one on their own charts for seven straight days, and the only reason they have is because it’s miscommunication. If we fundraised for Ukraine, like Brad Paisley did, they would never release this song.
Patel also said that Apple claimed an intern may have been responsible for the song’s removal.
Since Thursday evening, the song has been back on the iTunes platform for purchase but has not regained its number one spot on the charts. Currently, the number one song on the iTunes chart is “Trump Won” by Natasha Owens.
Jordan Dixon-Hamilton is a reporter for Breitbart News. Write to him at jdixonhamilton@breitbart.com or follow him on Twitter .
Not all news on the site expresses the point of view of the site, but we transmit this news automatically and translate it through programmatic technology on the site and not from a human editor.
See Abbott Elementary Star Quinta Brunson’s A-Plus Clapback
Quinta Brunson even plays a teacher in her free time.
The Center of Education Reform’s CEO Jeanne Allen attempted a takedown of the Abbott Elementary creator. “@quintabrunson is from West Philly and attended charter schools her entire education,” she tweeted. “She reportedly loved it at the time, heaped praise on it. Once upon a time. Guess money talks.”
But Quinta came with receipts.
“you’re wrong and bad at research,” Quinta tweeted March 16. “I only attended a charter for high school. My public elementary school was transitioned to charter over a decade after I left. I did love my high school. That school is now defunct—which happens to charters often.”
Well, that’s that on that.
“Loving something doesn’t mean it can’t be critiqued,” Quinta concluded. “Thanks for watching the show :)”
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