Moderation, the Golden Mean, the Aristonmetron, is the secret of wisdom and of happiness. But it does not mean embracing an unadventurous mediocrity; rather it is an elaborate balancing act, a feat of intellectual skill demanding constant vigilance. Its aim is a reconciliation of opposites.
— Robertson Davies, who died in 1995
SHAKESPEARETrump as Shakespearean tragedyXENI JARDIN
What’s behind China’s bullying of Australia? It sees a soft target — and an essential one (The Conversation Dec 2, 2020)
As the diplomatic fallout continues over the digitally altered war crimes tweet sent by China’s Foreign Ministry spokesman, Zhao Lijian, earlier this week, it’s important to note this inflammatory and offensive post is not an isolated case.
Zhao and other Chinese officials and diplomats have made many outrageous attacks on Australia and the US in recent years. Zhao himself was probably best known before this week’s tweet for his official promotion of a conspiracy theory that the US military was responsible for bringing the coronavirus to China.
Hu Xijin, the editor in chief of the Global Times, an official newspaper of the Chinese Communist Party, is another vocal critic of Australia.
Four years ago, the newspaper published a scathing editorial directed at Australia after Canberra said China must abide by an international tribunal ruling on the South China Sea. It called Australia a “paper cat” with an “inglorious” history, and said, “If Australia steps into the South China Sea waters, it will be an ideal target for China to warn and strike.”
GREAT MOMENTS IN PROJECTION: Democrat Rep. Eric Swalwell Screamed About Russia for Four Years — But He Was Cozy With a Chinese Spy
Related: Chinese Professor: “We Have People at the Top of America’s Core Inner Circle of Power.”
COLLUSION: Report: Chinese spy posing as college student gained access to prominent American politicians.
HOPEFULLY NOT TOO LITTLE TOO LATE: New Australia Law Can Scrap China Belt and Road Accords
DO TELL: Chinese boast of operatives ‘inside America’s core circle of power’.Plus:
Di Dongsheng, a professor and associate dean of the School of International Studies at Renmin University in Beijing, also suggested in a Nov. 28 speech that China‘s Communist Party helped Hunter Biden, a son of presumptive President-elect Joseph R. Biden, obtain Chinese business deals.
On influencing the United States, Mr. Di said, he could not provide further details about the work of Chinese agents without compromising their identities. However, he said President Trump‘s trade war with China upset decades of close ties between Washington and Beijing that the agent network facilitated.
Well.
UPDATE: Axios: How a Suspected Chinese Spy Gained Access to California Politics.
The Australian Taxation Office has 19 active criminal investigations into fraud against the $101 billion JobKeeper scheme.
Key points:
- More than $120 million in JobKeeper payments have been clawed back from ineligible claimants
- The Australian Tax Office fraud hotline has received 10,000 tip-offs alleging JobKeeper rorts
- The Australian National Audit Office is considering an audit into the $101 billion scheme
Trickbot trojan found to now have the ability to modify a computer’s UEFI TechXplore and The Internet’s Most Notorious Botnet Has an Alarming New Trick Wired
Reasons to be happy despite the media.
Journalists write about disasters because they sell more copy. A recent book tells us to look on the bright side. Continue reading
We shouldn’t deploy our top asset – head of government – to respond to a propaganda post from some junior level official in the Chinese Foreign Ministry,” Lemahieu said. “These guys seek attention and we have given it to them,” Mr Lemahieu said. “That [the tariffs] is the big story, and to me it looks like they are trying to switch the subjects and make Australia look like the villain. We shouldn’t have fallen for it.”
Damien Spry, an expert on social media in Asia at the University of South Australia, wrote on Lowy’s The Interpreter website that Australia had now joined a list of those China’s “wolf warrior” diplomat in chief Zhao had deliberately provoked. “By reacting with fury we’ve done what a troll would hope,” Spry said. “Internet trolling referred originally not to beasts under bridges but to a fishing term – to cast a line and entice prey to hook themselves. By demanding an apology from the Chinese government and saying they should be ashamed, we’ve taken the bait.”
Hook, line and sinker: China threw the cast and Scott Morrison fell for it
As someone who has been associated with the Sydney Morning Herald for more than 50 years as a cadet, reporter, correspondent, leader writer, foreign editor and still occasional contributor, I can’t think of a lower level of commentary ever run in the newspaper.
The Auditor-General has suggested ministers, their staff and bureaucrats should be banned from using encrypted communications platforms like WhatsApp and Signal because they do not constitute proper records.
Accessing encrypted communications is one of the biggest challenges the Australian National Audit Office faces, Auditor-General Grant Hehir told a parliamentary committee on Wednesday.
Financial adviser ethics watchdog to be put down