README.adoc

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Indeed it has been said that democracy is the worst form of Government except for all those other forms that have been tried from time to time.
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However, this is all obviously subjective, and believing that dictatorship is a better form of government is also a valid belief.

If you find an event on a Western democracy that you would like to highlight, send a pull request. We will not however include events that are not currently censored. Every country did fucked-up things in the past, the question is if they currently allow discussion about it or not.

This "Western censorship string" https://www.reddit.com/r/China/comments/gct0ox/all_moderation_services_suspended_for_the_next_24/fpeends/[was posted automatically] by a bot during <<anti-ccp-info-sources,r/China>> purge day:

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North Dakota Access Pipeline Protests 北达科他州接入管道抗议 +
Ferguson Riots 弗格森暴动 +
2017 St. Louis protests2017 年圣路易斯抗议活动 +
Nuclear testing at Bikini Atoll 比基尼环礁的核试验 +
Unite the Right rally 团结右集会 +
Charlotte riots 夏洛特暴动 +
Attack on the Sui-ho Dam 袭击穗河水坝 +
Milwaukee riots 密尔沃基骚乱 +
Shooting of Alton Sterling and Philando Castile 奥尔顿·斯特林和菲兰多·卡斯蒂利亚的射击 +
Occupation of the Malheur NationalWildlife Refuge Malheur国家野生动物保护区的占领 +
death of Freddie Gray 弗雷迪·格雷的死 +
Shooting of Michael Brown迈克尔·布朗的拍摄 +
death of Eric Garner, Oakland California 奥克兰奥克兰市埃里克·加纳（Eric Garner）逝世 +
Operation Condor 神鹰行动 +
Occupy WallStreet 占领华尔街 +
My Lai Massacre 我的大屠杀 +
St. Petersburg, Florida 佛罗里达州圣彼得堡 +
Kandahar Massacre 坎大哈屠杀 +
1992Washington Heights riots 1992年华盛顿高地暴动 +
No Gun Ri Massacre 无枪杀案 +
L.A. Rodney King riots 洛杉矶罗德尼·金暴动 +
1979 Greensboro Massacre 1979年格林斯伯勒大屠杀 +
Vietnam War 越南战争 +
Kent State shootings肯特州枪击案 +
Bombing of Tokyo 轰炸东京 +
San Francisco Police Department Park Station bombing 旧金山警察局公园站爆炸案 +
Assassination of MartinLuther King, Jr. 小马丁·路德·金遭暗杀。 +
Long Hot Summer of 1967 1967年炎热的夏天 +
Bagram 巴格拉姆 +
Selma to Montgomery marches 塞尔玛到蒙哥马利游行 +
Highway of Death 死亡之路 +
Ax Handle Saturday 星期六斧头 +
Battle of Evarts 埃瓦茨战役 +
Battle ofBlair Mountain 布莱尔山战役 +
McCarthyism 麦卡锡主义 +
Red Summer 红色夏天 +
Rock Springs massacre 岩泉大屠杀 +
Pottawatomie massacre 盆大屠杀 +
Jeju uprising 济州起义 +
Colfaxmassacre 科尔法克斯大屠杀 +
Reading Railroad massacre 阅读铁路大屠杀 +
Rock Springs massacre 岩泉大屠杀 +
Bay viewMassacre 湾景大屠杀 +
Lattimer massacre 拉蒂默大屠杀 +
Ludlow massacre 拉德洛屠杀 +
Everett massacre 埃弗里特屠杀Centralia Massacre 中部大屠杀 +
Ocoee massacre Ocoee大屠杀 +
Herrin Massacre 赫林大屠杀 +
Redwood Massacre红木大屠杀 +
Columbine Mine Massacre 哥伦拜恩矿难 +
Guantanamo Bay 关塔那摩湾 +
extraordinary rendition 非凡的演绎 +
Abu Ghraib torture and prison abuse 阿布格莱布的酷刑和监狱虐待 +
Henry Kissinger 亨利·基辛格
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See also:

* <<richer>>
* <<preconceived>>
* <<bias>>

.https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Signe_Wilkinson[Signe Wilkinson] 2017 Free Speech "Can you just move it so it doesn't cover them?" umbrella cartoon. Ciro once saw a <<wumao>> post this. It made him smile. If the cartoon were about <<dictatorship,dictatorships>>, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Uncle_Sam[Uncle Sam] would be instead <<intolerance,decapitating and raping the people on one half of the umbrella>>. Of course humans are <<flg-intolerance,shit in democracies as well>>, but at least that system makes it harder for them to oppress each other. http://www.cartoonistgroup.com/store/add.php?iid=161799[Source].
image::https://web.archive.org/web/20180319052924if_/http://www.cartoonistgroup.com/properties/signe/art_images/cg599721e743615.jpg[height=400]

===== Western democracies have invaded other countries and crushed separatism

Yes, Western democracies are not perfect.

What matters is that citizens can disagree with those actions, publicly say it, vote accordingly, and not go to jail, so that policy will be changed if the majority so wants.

In China, the minority controls the majority, and the majority cannot say anything even if they disagree.

If the majority wants to do evil however, evil will get done, it is impossible to prevent that.

See also:

* <<separatism>>
* <<richer>>

===== Western democracies also censor subjects such as child porn and hate speech

First, if you don't think child porn should be banned, I don't think there is much point in arguing with you anymore.

But of course, there is censorship in Western democracies, and there is a gray area between what should be censored or not.

The only thing that matters is that political speech must never be censored. This way, the majority can always discuss and vote to change what can be censored or not.

In China, trying to discuss of changes laws puts you in jail, so bad laws cannot be changed.

See also: <<richer>>.

[[snowden]]
===== Snowden 斯诺登

* https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edward_Snowden
* https://zh.wikipedia.org/wiki/爱德华·斯诺登

Censoring anyone who says "my president is shit", which is what China does, is much, much more serious than censoring intelligence leaks.

The problem with dictatorships, is that they make _every_ information that makes them look bad a "state secret". Including any information that hundreds of thousands of people have witnessed, or economic performance metrics! See also: <<internal-censorship>>.

The level of unknown surveillance that Snowden uncovered is a bad thing about the US.

Snowden's prosecution was inevitable. Countries need secret services. Secret services need laws that prevent leaking classified information that was produced by government officials.

<<ciro-santilli>> has never and will never criticize China or any other country for spying or prosecuting spies.

If Snowden were Chinese, the Chinese government would ban talking about him or anything he uncovered. A <<keyword-attack,keyword attack>> with "Snowden" in the West has no effect.

It is obvious that the level of surveillance in any dictatorship will be infinitely higher, since the Government has much more power and no-one can criticize.

On the West however, the debate Snowden sparked cannot be censored, and has helped to control excessive and secret state power.

Ultimately, Ciro thinks camera surveillance is somewhat inevitable, because people will always want to fight crime and terrorism and surveillance technology keeps getting cheaper and cheaper.

He is however strictly against the ban of cryptography.

He also believes that a good solution to balance out government power is the second amendment. It is better to have more school shootings and less full-blown dictatorship led genocides / mass human rights violations.

In 2019 China amusingly censored passages Snowden's "Permanent Record" autobiography book, which Snowden then published on Twitter:

* https://twitter.com/snowden/status/1194092273170038784 (https://web.archive.org/web/20191112083232/https://twitter.com/snowden/status/1194092273170038784[archive])
* https://www.reddit.com/r/China/comments/dv5q8o/china_censors_edward_snowdens_new_book_he/ (https://web.archive.org/web/20191112083147/https://www.reddit.com/r/China/comments/dv5q8o/china_censors_edward_snowdens_new_book_he/[archive]).

As a https://www.reddit.com/r/China/comments/dv5q8o/china_censors_edward_snowdens_new_book_he/f7axckl/[Redditor put it]:

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I don’t think they understand that what Snowden stands for is completely the opposite of what the Chinese gov is lol
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Snowden then later released the entire Chinese version of the book for free online with the censored parts underlined: https://www.theregister.co.uk/2020/02/10/snowden_china_censorship (https://web.archive.org/web/20200213001653/https://www.theregister.co.uk/2020/02/10/snowden_china_censorship[archive]), link to the book: link:++https://a.temporaryrecord.com/Permanent_Record_-_CN_edition_with_underlined_redactions.pdf++[] (https://web.archive.org/web/20200212144108/https://a.temporaryrecord.com/Permanent_Record_-_CN_edition_with_underlined_redactions.pdf[archive]). One wonders why he didn't just do that in the first place for all versions, maybe he needed to pay the writer that helped him?

.Snowden highlighted defects on abuses of power in a Western democracy, and the discussion he sparked helped to control such abuses. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Edward_Snowden-2.jpg[Source].
image::https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/60/Edward_Snowden-2.jpg[height=400]

===== Fake news

When a government controls all information to make it look good, and no one can challenge it, you cannot trust _any_ of the news produced by that country, as anything could be fake.

It is much better to have some fake news, but also few sources that are likely telling the truth.

===== Bad things have been done in the name of freedom

E.g.: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/September_11_attacks[September 11th].

Bad things have been done in the name of anything.

It's just that <<war,much>>, <<xinjiang,worse>> <<tiananmen,things>> are done without freedom than with it.

Democracies cannot necessarily protect weak countries from powerful ones either. No political system can do that, because humans are trash essentially.

What democracy do is to protect its own people against its own government. Because when the government turns against part of the population in a dictatorship, that part of the population gets crushed entirely, without any chance to fight, because they don't have an army or ally countries like other countries do.

Here are some images that <<wumao>>'s like to post:

* Left Right Slaughterhouse comic: https://9gag.com/gag/ayn7KmW?ref=fbp

[[russia]]
==== Russia 俄罗斯

Russia is clearly the number 2 <<dictatorship>> in the world by population / GDP and the link:https://www.ploughshares.org/world-nuclear-stockpile-report[#1 nuclear arsenal], so here we go.

Ciro has always been curious about how Russia can be both oppressive and a appear democratic, unlike China which doesn't even try to pretend. This is what he gathers:

* the government controls all major media. If any media says bad things against them, the government finds pretexts to create lawsuits or increase taxes against such companies. Therefore all people end up thinking that the government is good.
* just like China, <<evil-west,they emphasize the threat of the foreign countries>>, especially the US, as a justification for having an oppressive power.
* the government puts pressure on any significant opposition candidate. One technique is to find some reason to put them in jail for two months, which by Russian law forbids them from participating in further elections. Only candidates that don't really stand a chance are left as a fake opposition. But if you reach some prominence, you start taking the same risks as politicians, although you are more likely to face more brutal illegal gangster violence threats as you are less visible

See also: <<communist-youth-league>>

While we are at it, some interesting news:

* 2018-04 https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-43752337 "Russia to block Telegram app over encryption"
* 2017 https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-40635267 Russia Jehovah's Witnesses banned after they lose appeal
* 2017 https://www.scmp.com/news/world/russia-central-asia/article/2085395/its-now-illegal-russia-share-image-putin-possibly-gay
* 2016 https://news.vice.com/en_us/article/kzgkv3/russians-now-need-a-passport-to-watch-pornhub
* 1995 Vladislav Listyev https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vladislav_Listyev | https://ru.wikipedia.org/wiki/Листьев,_Владислав_Николаевич

Poisonings: Russia apparently has a long list of poisoning political enemies: https://nypost.com/2018/06/23/inside-russias-long-history-of-poisoning-political-enemies/

* https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Poison_laboratory_of_the_Soviet_secret_services[Poison laboratory of the Soviet secret services] (link:++https://ru.wikipedia.org/wiki/Токсикологическая_лаборатория_НКВД_—_НКГБ_—_МГБ++[Токсикологическая лаборатория НКВД — НКГБ — МГБ])
* <<skripal>>
* 2012 Alexander Perepilichny Перепеличный, Александр Юрьевич https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alexander_Perepilichny | https://ru.wikipedia.org/wiki/Перепеличный,_Александр_Юрьевич
* 2004 Anna Politkovskaya Анна Политковская https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anna_Politkovskaya | https://ru.wikipedia.org/wiki/Политковская,_Анна_Степановна
* 2004 Viktor Yushchenko Ющенко, Виктор Андреевич https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Viktor_Yushchenko | https://ru.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ющенко,_Виктор_Андреевич
* <<litvinenko>>

The Russians have very different style to the Chinese, who are much more subtle, and just put people in jail or handicap them in several ways without killing them.

Other political murders or attempts:

* 2015 Boris Nemtsov Немцов, Борис Ефимович https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boris_Nemtsov | https://ru.wikipedia.org/wiki/Немцов,_Борис_Ефимович

Some other interesting political suppression lists:

* https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_journalists_killed_in_Russia[list of journalists killed in Russia] (https://ru.wikipedia.org/wiki/Список_журналистов,_убитых_в_России[Список журналистов, убитых в России]).
* https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Soviet_and_Russian_assassinations[List of Soviet and Russian assassinations]
* 2017 https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/worldviews/wp/2017/03/23/here-are-ten-critics-of-vladimir-putin-who-died-violently-or-in-suspicious-ways/ "Here are 10 critics of Vladimir Putin who died violently or in suspicious ways"

Other random stuff:

* <<seventeen-moments-of-spring>>

[[putin]]
===== Putin Путин 普京 (1999-2008, 2012-∞)

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vladimir_Putin | https://ru.wikipedia.org/wiki/Путин,_Владимир_Владимирович

* 2019-12-19: Putin proposes abolishing term limits. <<xi-abolishes-term-limits-2018-03,Learnt from Xi>>:
** https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/putin-presidential-term-limit-russia-moscow-conference-today-a9253156.html
** https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-russia-putin-constitution/putin-says-hes-open-to-tweaking-presidential-term-limits-idUKKBN1YN1JO
** 2020-03-25 vote delayed due to <<corona>>
* 2014 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Putin_khuylo! | https://ru.wikipedia.org/wiki/Путин_—_хуйло!

[[superputin]]
====== Superputin

Meme partially supported by Putin himself, showing how physically strong and <<gay-putin,manly>> the president is.

Similar to https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chuck_Norris_facts[Chuck Norris facts].

"Putin does manly things" photo galleries:

* 2017-06-07 https://mashable.com/2017/08/07/the-swaggering-masculinity-of-vladimir-putin/?europe=true (https://web.archive.org/web/20200412092201/https://mashable.com/2017/08/07/the-swaggering-masculinity-of-vladimir-putin/?europe=true[archive])
* https://www.cbsnews.com/pictures/vladimir-putin-doing-manly-things/

.Putin swims Butterfly stroke in a Siberian lake around August 2009. The Telegraph https://web.archive.org/web/20200412090316/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/europe/russia/6175324/Vladimir-Putin-gives-strong-signal-he-may-be-president-again.html[correctly interpreted this as a sign that he would be re-elected in 2012]. For reference https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lake_Baikal[Lake Baikal in Siberia has a maximum temperature of 14 °C in summer]. Other dictators have used similar swim tactics before, the most notable possibly being <<mao-swim>>. https://web.archive.org/web/20200412090316/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/europe/russia/6175324/Vladimir-Putin-gives-strong-signal-he-may-be-president-again.html[Source].
image::https://web.archive.org/web/20200412090316im_/https://secure.i.telegraph.co.uk/multimedia/archive/01472/Vladimir-Putin_1472816c.jpg[height=400]

.Putin riding a horse shirtless https://nypost.com/2014/08/29/putin-its-best-not-to-mess-with-us/[near Lake Seliger in August 2009]. https://www.huffpost.com/entry/worl-photo-caption-contest-shirtless-putin_n_3263512[Source].
image::https://web.archive.org/web/20200412092919im_/https://i.huffpost.com/gen/1133558/original.jpg[height=500]

.Putin riding a bear. https://www.pinterest.fr/pin/469429961142687422/[Source].
image::https://web.archive.org/web/20200412094400if_/https://i.pinimg.com/564x/07/68/05/076805e00f6ad771818d36ccef62cfd3.jpg[height=400]

.Putin riding a shark. https://sharkdivers.blogspot.com/2011/05/russian-pm-putin-rides-great-white.html[Source].
image::https://web.archive.org/web/20160614201455if_/http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-FYfgqjECs1I/TeJoA2899DI/AAAAAAAAEII/7js84oWpRPk/s400/tumblr_kuxr34jtOb1qzeu38o1_400.png[height=400]

.Putin riding a giant eagle. https://www.quora.com/Is-this-picture-of-Vladimir-Putin-riding-a-bear-fake-or-real[Source].
image::https://web.archive.org/web/20200412093557if_/https://qph.fs.quoracdn.net/main-qimg-71e8b8cddfce751d8e0a8ed45b316731.webp[height=400]

.Putin riding a meteor. https://www.quora.com/Is-this-picture-of-Vladimir-Putin-riding-a-bear-fake-or-real[Source].
image::https://web.archive.org/web/20200412093551if_/https://qph.fs.quoracdn.net/main-qimg-ae21d615c5a8738a7321478bc1b686c5.webp[height=400]

[[gay-putin]]
====== Gay Putin (2017)

Coverage:

* https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/russia-putin-gay-clown-memes-internet-extremism-opposition-president-kremlin-a7669486.html

<<gay-rights,Homosexuality>> is not super popular in Russia in general:

* https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/LGBT_rights_in_Russia
* 2013 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Russian_gay_propaganda_law Russian gay propaganda law (2013) forbids the favorable depiction of homosexuality to minors

.The possibly Gay Putin clown image banned in 2017. https://www.scmp.com/news/world/russia-central-asia/article/2085395/its-now-illegal-russia-share-image-putin-possibly-gay[Source].
image::https://web.archive.org/web/20200312233919if_/https://cdn1.i-scmp.com/sites/default/files/styles/1200x800/public/images/methode/2017/04/06/0a2ae706-1a94-11e7-b4ed-ac719e54b474_1280x720_145124.jpg[height=400]

.Possibly Gay Putin kissing possibly Gay <<flg-trump,Trump>> mural entitled https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Make_Everything_Great_Again[Make Everything Great Again] painted in Lithuania in 2016 by by artists Dominykas Čečkauskas and Mindaugas Bonanu. It references the https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Russian_interference_in_the_2016_United_States_elections[Russian interference in the 2016 United States elections]. It was https://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/aug/12/vandals-censor-image-of-putin-snogging-trump-lithuania[later vandalized]. Now we just need a Putin <<xi-jinping>> kiss. https://www.euractiv.com/section/global-europe/opinion/putin-will-pay-a-high-price-for-trumps-friendship/[Source].
image::https://web.archive.org/web/20191022004820if_/https://en.euractiv.eu/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2016/11/Putin-Trump-kiss-800x450.jpg[height=400]

[[skripal]]
====== The poisoning of Sergei and Yulia Skripal Серге́й Ви́кторович Скрипáль (2018-03-04)

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Poisoning_of_Sergei_and_Yulia_Skripal | https://ru.wikipedia.org/wiki/Отравление_Сергея_и_Юлии_Скрипаль

In 4 March 2018, the Russian double agent and his daughter were poisoned with https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Novichok_agent[Novichok agent] (https://ru.wikipedia.org/wiki/Новичок_(отравляющие_вещества)[Новичо́к]), a Soviet-era nerve agent, which was likely put on their front door knob in https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Salisbury[Salisbury, UK], exact address https://goo.gl/maps/oKASuLWpcSmLqL8F9[Christie Miller Road]! Straight out of a spy novel.

On 30 June 2018, the man of an unlucky drug addict couple found the counterfeit expensive looking https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nina_Ricci_(brand)[Nina Ricci] Premier Jour perfume bottle containing the poison, and gave it to the woman who died. How unlucky can you fucking be, as if heavy drug addiction weren't enough, you still have to deal with fucking Russian Novichok!

.The assassination suspects Alexander Mishkin (Алекса́ндр Евге́ньевич Ми́шкин, alias Alexander Petrov) and Anatoliy Chepiga (Анатолий Владимирович Чепига, alias Ruslan Boshirov) in a CCTV still at Salisbury Station on 3rd March 2018 the day before the assassination. Both GRU and Alexander being a doctor, which is consistent with a poisoning assassination attempt. They later explained on an RT interview that they were visiting the https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Salisbury_Cathedral[world renowned Salisbury Cathedral] in their 3 day trip to the UK, and that they <<gay-putin,were not gay>>. Some Western sources interpreted this as an intentional suggestion that they are gay, which for many Russians would imply that they cannot be FSB agents. https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2018/sep/05/planes-trains-and-fake-names-the-trail-left-by-skripal-suspects[Source].
image::https://web.archive.org/web/20200313103134if_/https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/31a18fa18d2fedb11136fc3d2c39952e4aec1ce5/0_97_1114_668/master/1114.jpg?width=620&quality=85&auto=format&fit=max&s=19c40235440efb1be4b1b8d9ef1b87d7[height=400]

.Counterfeit Nina Ricci Premier Jour packet that contained the Novichok. https://www.npr.org/2018/09/05/644782096/u-k-charges-2-russians-suspected-of-poison-attack-on-skripals[Source].
image::https://web.archive.org/web/20200404112526im_/https://media.npr.org/assets/img/2018/09/05/skripal-perfume_wide-8e5147ab76a27976e4bde6adffce910f4f297d25-s1100-c15.jpg[height=400]

.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ku8OQNyI2i0 "Full Skripal case interview with the UK's suspects (EXCLUSIVE)" by RT with Alexander Petrov and Ruslan Boshirov. Not gay moment at: https://youtu.be/Ku8OQNyI2i0?t=461[461s].
video::Ku8OQNyI2i0[youtube,height=400,width=600]

====== Electoral fraud in Russian elections

Besides barring opposition from participating such as <<alexei-navalny>>, electoral fraud was off the charts:

.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-KQlCRLCw_I 2019-09-12 CCTV footage of Vasily Dyachenko (Василий Дьяченко), who had reported electoral fraud concerns regional 2019 elections, getting surprise punched in the stomach at the St. Petersburg polling station 1619, while the police who is right in front of it do nothing about it. English coverage: https://www.rferl.org/a/russian-police-stand-idly-by-as-election-observer-sucker-punched/30160427.html
video::-KQlCRLCw_I[youtube,height=400,width=600]

.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3oSeRyaFllY 2018-03-18 alleged https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electoral_fraud#Ballot_stuffing[ballot stuffing electoral fraud] caught on CCTV in Lyubertsy, Moscow Oblast
video::3oSeRyaFllY[youtube,height=400,width=600]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WMEqv-NNLW4 Мусора избили ребёнка и наблюдателей на выборах TODO find English version

Related:

* Golos (Голос) is the main independent election monitor organization in Russia:
** https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Golos_(election_monitor)
** https://ru.wikipedia.org/wiki/Голос_(мониторинг_выборов)

[[litvinenko]]
====== The murder of Alexander Litvinenko Литвиненко, Александр Вальтерович (2006)

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alexander_Litvinenko | https://ru.wikipedia.org/wiki/Литвиненко,_Александр_Вальтерович

Poisoned with polonium-210:

* 2006-10-29
** meets with two former FSB agents Dmitry Kovtun and Andrey Lugovoy at Millenium Hotel London TODO exact address
** eats with https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mario_Scaramella[Mario Scaramella] at an Itsu in London TODO exact address. <<ciro-santilli>> believes the https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Itsu[Itsu] food to be the real cause of death.
* 2006-11-01 falls ill
* 2006-11-03 admitted into hospital
* 2006-11-23 dies
* 2007-01-26 UK police says they had found a teapot at Millenium Hotel containing extremely high Poloninum-210 traces
* 2010-12 US leaked cables show that Dmitry Kovtun left "positive traces" of radioactive polonium-210 in Germany before departing for Britain https://www.theguardian.com/world/2010/dec/11/wilileaks-cables-litvinenko-murder

.Litvinenko in his death bed.
image::https://web.archive.org/web/20200404123347im_/https://i.guim.co.uk/img/static/sys-images/guardian/About/General/2010/12/11/1292079941381/Former-Russian-Agent-Pois-006.jpg?width=620&quality=85&auto=format&fit=max&s=2a623e83efa1042cc1cd07295d54a57b[height=400]

[[russia-mandatory-registration-of-bloggers]]
====== Mandatory registration of bloggers (2014)

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-28583669

Bloggers with more than 3000 daily readers must register and cannot be anonymous.

The following Chinese policies come to mind:

* <<icp-license>>
* <<anonymous-accounts-ban>>

===== Putin opposition

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Opposition_to_Vladimir_Putin_in_Russia

[[alexei-navalny]]
====== Alexei Navalny Алексе́й Анато́льевич Нава́льный

* https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alexei_Navalny
* https://ru.wikipedia.org/wiki/Навальный,_Алексей_Анатольевич

Casually barred from the 2018 presidential campaign:

* https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2018_Alexei_Navalny_presidential_campaign
* https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-42479909
* https://ru.wikipedia.org/wiki/Навальный,_Алексей_Анатольевич#Президентские_выборы_2018_года

His Wiki page does say one thing of interest though, he has right wing tendencies which scared off liberals:

____
The BBC noted in a profile of Navalny that his endorsement of a political campaign called "Stop feeding the Caucasus" and his willingness to speak at ultra-nationalist events "have caused concern among liberals". 
____

Related:

* https://www.rferl.org/a/russia-navalny-nationalist-fears/25059277.html
* https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oVNJiO10SWw

[[stalin]]
===== Stalin 斯大林 (1922-1952)

.https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Light_Yagami[Light Yagami] from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Death_Note[Death Note]: "I can kill anyone by simply writing his name here". Stalin: "Bitch please". https://ifunny.co/picture/1-can-kill-anyone-by-simply-writing-his-name-here-TjXCcyuM2[Source].
image::https://web.archive.org/web/20200301233451/https://img.ifunny.co/images/55cb6c5de9cde6ebe7e9d1704c7f83e6d344e8154b44299fec9b9a029aa82c34_1.jpg[height=500]

.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZT2z0nrsQ8o "Rasputin vs Stalin." Epic Rap Battles of History YouTube video. This is fire. https://epicrapbattlesofhistory.fandom.com/wiki/Rasputin_vs_Stalin/Rap_Meanings[Explanations].
video::ZT2z0nrsQ8o[youtube,height=400,width=600]

[[anti-russia-dictatorship-info-sources]]
==== Anti Russia dictatorship sources

* https://www.rferl.org/ Radio Free Europe: USA funded sister media of <<rfa>>: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Radio_Free_Europe/Radio_Liberty
* https://meduza.io/en

[[ccp-evil]]
=== Is the Chinese government evil? 中国共产党是邪恶吗？

Obviously not, just <<richer,inefficient>> and <<war,dangerous>>.

It is just another non-democratic empire like the Qing Dynasty, we might as well cal it:

____
共产朝 +
The Communist Dynasty
____

Expression previously mentioned at: https://web.archive.org/web/20161025220242/http://tieba.baidu.com/p/752094668

Like any other organization and individual everywhere in the entire world, they are just doing everything that they can to maintain their own power.

It just happens that China's the current is political system allows the CCP to do really bad things.

And it should also be noted that <<henri-meyer,it is in part the West's fault>> that China currently has this shitty system.

<<falun-gong>> thinks otherwise of course, they think the CCP is actually made up of devils in some dimension: <<does-ciro-santilli-believe-in-or-practice-falun-gong>>.

==== Chinese politicians really care about the Chinese citizens

Sometimes people say Ciro Santilli is naive.

Politicians are the same all over the world.

Some are good, some are evil.

China's problem is not its politicians.

It's the current shitty political organization, which allows/convinces those politicians to do really bad things: <<richer>>, <<war>>.

==== Is Chinese politician X evil?

The term evil does not make sense unless you are <<falun-gong,religious>>.

The best definition of evil is a psychopath with zero empathy for anyone: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Psychopathy although this can be better characterized as a disease or extreme personality trait.

The huge majority of those politicians are just regular dudes with a knack for politics but brought up in a fucked up political situation.

Just like you, Ciro Santilli and other politicians in any country.

See also: <<politicians>>.

[[nazi]]
=== Comparisons between the CCP and Nazi Germany 纳粹德国

Keywords:

* Xitler (习特勒). 习 "xi2" is very close in sound to the Chinese name of Hitler: https://zh.wikipedia.org/wiki/阿道夫·希特勒[希特勒] (xi1 te4 le4)
* Chinazi (赤纳粹). TODO why 赤. Means Red, but where else is it used?
* link:https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reductio_ad_Hitlerum[Reductio ad Hitlerum]

Articles:

* http://yashalong.blog.caixin.com/archives/188877 这么好的人民，不倒点霉都对不起他们 "These are such good people, if they have a bit of bad luck, excuse them." article by yashalong 押沙龙 published on <<caixin>>. The article discusses how Nazi Germany propaganda worked, without mention to the CCP, but it was still apparently https://www.bannedbook.org/bnews/baitai/20190816/1175647.html[banned in China].

See also: <<communist-youth-league>>.

.Photoshopped <<xi-jinping>> with raised fist with Nazi uniform and flag on the background. https://www.reddit.com/r/HongKong/comments/cuf3p7/chinazi_xitler/[Source].
image::https://web.archive.org/web/20191013080128if_/https://i.redd.it/c9q6vdybr7i31.jpg[height=400]

.Likely original or similar image of <<xi-jinping>> with raised fist as he took oath when coming into or renewing office. http://www.china.org.cn/opinion/2018-03/19/content_50723040.htm[Source].
image::https://web.archive.org/web/20180319114422im_/http://images.china.cn/site1007/2018-03/19/18f2dcae-19f4-459a-be06-016dd13c5a1d.jpg[height=400]

.German's 1938-1945 war flag called the "War Ensign of Germany" in English or "Reichskriegsflagge" in German. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reichskriegsflagge[Source].
image::https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/d/d0/War_Ensign_of_Germany_%281938%E2%80%931945%29.svg/320px-War_Ensign_of_Germany_%281938%E2%80%931945%29.svg.png[height=400]

.Hitler has of course a few raised fists on Google Images, but they tend to be more aggressive, and less compatible with Xi's apathic poker face. https://bodylanguageproject.com/xarticles/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/Hitler-4.jpg[Source].
image::https://web.archive.org/web/20191218074716if_/https://allthatsinteresting.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2017/10/mouth-open.jpg[height=400]

.Photoshopped cover of Mein Kampf with Xi's face on top of Hitler's and other modifications such as Mian instead of Mein, likely the same 面 (mian4, face) as the Chinese character at the bottom right. https://foreignerinformosa.typepad.com/the_foreigner_in_formosa/2017/07/president-xitler-of-china-murders-political-dissident-liu-xiaobo.html[Source].
image::https://web.archive.org/web/20191013080043if_/https://foreignerinformosa.typepad.com/.a/6a00d834523d5069e201b7c90b8e9c970b-pi[height=400]

.Original cover of Mein Kampf. link:++https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Adolf_Hitler_-_Mein_Kampf_(855._Auflage,_1943).pdf++[Source].
image::https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/b/b9/Adolf_Hitler_-_Mein_Kampf_%28855._Auflage%2C_1943%29.pdf/page1-423px-Adolf_Hitler_-_Mein_Kampf_%28855._Auflage%2C_1943%29.pdf.jpg[height=400]

.Photoshopped photo of Hitler giving the Nazi salute from a car with Himmler on the background with Xi's face on top of Hitler's. https://chinhdangvu1.blogspot.com/2017/09/xitler-chinazism.html[Source].
image::https://web.archive.org/web/20191013080031if_/https://pbs.twimg.com/media/DGlPeEmXcAAaeQa.jpg[height=400]

.Original photo of Hitler giving the Nazi salute from a car with Himmler on the background. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Hitler-car.jpg[Source].
image::https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/b/b9/Hitler-car.jpg/640px-Hitler-car.jpg[height=400]

.Chinazi flag by <<2019-hong-kong-anti-extradition-bill-protests,Hong Kong protesters>>. Seen https://chinadigitaltimes.net/chinese/2019/08/【盛世一景】赤纳粹旗（chinazi-flag）/[on streets]. https://www.reddit.com/r/HongKong/comments/dbrken/google_bomb_china_flag_search_query_into_chinazi/[Source].
image::https://web.archive.org/web/20191003190442if_/https://i.redd.it/c0d340rtswp31.png[height=400]

[[xi-salute-young-pioneers-nazi]]
.Xi Jinping basically <<nazi,Nazi saluting>> kids from <<young-pioneers-of-china>> in Beijing, June 1, 2015. http://www.xinhuanet.com/english/2019-06/01/c_138108706.htm[Source] (http://www.xinhuanet.com/english/2019-06/01/c_138108706.htm[biased]).
image::https://web.archive.org/web/20200109143505im_/http://www.xinhuanet.com/english/2019-06/01/XxjwshE007055_20190601_CBMFN1A006_11n.jpg[height=500]

.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wD53MEbLDIE <<serpentza-laowhy86,laowhy86>> video "Can We Compare China to Nazi Germany?" published on 2020-04-29. Good side-by-side video comparisons. Says that China is mor like Nazi than <<russia>>, but Ciro disagrees, all three are <is-chinese-politician-x-evil,evil dictatorships>>.
video::wD53MEbLDIE[youtube,height=400,width=600]

=== Personal questions about Ciro Santilli

==== Can I contact you in Chinese?

If you don't know English well enough, that's fine though, go for Chinese.

But if you do, use English.

I am not going to learn Chinese because of your message.

It is more productive for you to write in English, so that the rest of the West can also learn something new.

Especially since it seems that most Chinese already know what you are talking about.

See also: <<does-ciro-santilli-speak-chinese>>.

[[slang]]
===== I am going to use a bunch of Chinese slangs because it makes me feel smart 我知道网络语言，我很聪明

Obviously, if you want to be understood, use simple and standard Chinese.

Avoid slangs, otherwise Ciro might not have patience to Google your useless slangs down <<zhihu,Zhihu>> questions.

Of course, if you have to read this, you likely are not going to say anything useful in the first place, so not reading your post is likely fine.

Using slangs makes some people feel smart due their advanced knowledge of a specific subculture, or makes them feel part of that subculture to gather allies, or they just want to waste Ciro's time.

They sometimes also like to mix in some emojis for similar reasons.

A Chinese insult tip 101, avoid similar sound euphemisms. If you are going to say shit at least grow some balls or tits and use the proper characters, Ciro will respect you more for it:

* 屄 cunt, most often for https://zh.wikipedia.org/wiki/傻屄[傻屄]
** 逼
*** "sb"
*** "B": https://github.com/cirosantilli/china-dictatorship/issues/105
* 肏 fuck: 操
* 傻 idiot: 沙
* 屌 dick: 雕

Places to try and decript Internet slang when you feel like wasting your time:

* https://zh.wikipedia.org/wiki/中国大陆网络用语列表
** "网络用语" is the most common word for "Internet Slang", so also useful for Google searches
** https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chinese_Internet_slang

https://github.com/cirosantilli/china-dictatorship/issues?q=label%3Ai-know-slangs-i-smart+

[[vagina]]
.A https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vagina[Vagina] (https://zh.wikipedia.org/wiki/阴道[阴道]) also known as cunt (屄), is the female reproductive organ, including the naturally occurring black hole that appears in front of it whenever a picture is taken to prevent <<github>> from taking down this page. Even though <<porn,you've never seen one>>, there's no need to be afraid of it, and refer to it in euphemisms like "SB". https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Rugae_vaginales.jpg[Background source] and https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Black_Hole_Milkyway.jpg[black hole source].
image::{cirosantilli-media-base}/Rugae_vaginales_with_black_hole.jpg[height=400]

[[shitpost]]
===== I want to take my chances and make a shitpost in cirosantilli/china-dictatorship

So, have you reached the conclusion that your https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shitposting[shitpost] is link:CONTRIBUTING.md[worth the risk of getting blocked]?

Remember that shitposts can also be creative: if you are going to insult Ciro Santilli, at least do it in a creative way, or else you look like an even bigger idiot than you really are.

A collection of shitposts for you to take inspiration from can be found at: https://github.com/cirosantilli/china-dictatorship/issues?q=label%3Ashitpost+

Also, when opening a shitpost you may mark it clearly such with the shitpost issue template which automatically assigns the shitpost label. Doing so will make you look like less of an idiot.

While we require polite replies to polite posts, no matter what which side they are defending, if a post is marked as a shitpost, things are much more relaxed and fun, and you can generally get away with telling the OP to fuck themselves link:CONTRIBUTING.md[without getting blocked].

.Real shit photos may be posted in reply to shitposts. https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Human_Feces_(cropped).jpg[Source].
image::https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/50/Human_Feces_%28cropped%29.jpg/517px-Human_Feces_%28cropped%29.jpg[height=400]

.Amazing shitposts may recieve a Golden Shit award. The image is from a Japanese https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kin_no_unko[Kin no unko (金のうんこ)], which is likely inspired by https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sycee[golden Sycees]. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Kin_no_unko.jpg[Source].
image::https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/3/30/Kin_no_unko.jpg/450px-Kin_no_unko.jpg[height=500]

.To censor or not to censor good shitposts: that is not the question, <<ciro-santilli>> will never censor them! https://imgur.com/gallery/rA0K90g[Source].
image::https://web.archive.org/web/20200120095415/https://i.imgur.com/rA0K90g.jpg?1[height=600]

.The legendary https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grass_Mud_Horse[Grass Mud Horse 草泥马 (caonima)] is also said to appear in shitposts from time to time.
image::https://web.archive.org/web/20200209012342if_/https://kpopalypse.files.wordpress.com/2014/01/alca.jpg[height=600]

==== Has Ciro Santilli you ever lived in China?

Not as of 2019, he has only visited once in 2012, and it was <<does-ciro-santilli-hate-china,amazingly beautiful>>.

.Ciro Santilli with a stone carved https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Budai[Budai (布袋和尚)] in the https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Maitreya_and_disciples_carving_in_Feilai_Feng_Caves.jpg[Feilai Feng caves (飞来峰)] near the https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lingyin_Temple[Lingyin Temple (灵隐寺)] in Hangzhou taken during his legendary 2012 touristic trip to China. Will he ever be able to go to China again to re-experience such marvelous locations? If the CCP falls before he dies, and if the statue hasn't been destroyed by the commies, Ciro will return to that exact spot and take a second picture. How will he look like?
image::{cirosantilli-media-base}/Ciro_Santilli_with_a_stone_carved_Budai_in_the_Feilai_Feng_caves_near_the_Lingyin_Temple_in_Hangzhou_in_2012.jpg[height=500]

But he doesn't think it is a good idea for him to do that now, in case his Visa got accepted, because he is not interested in learning about the Chinese jail system! :-)

He knows that if you don't mind contributing to making <<war,WW3>> deadlier and shut up and obey the CCP, China is already a fine place to live as much as any other developing country.

===== Would you like to live in China?

If the dictatorship ends, I would like to <<does-ciro-santilli-hate-china,migrate to China>> if given a decent job to help you develop and become awesomer.

===== Would Ciro Santilli be able to visit China before the CCP ends?

It would be interesting to apply for a VISA to find out.

But Ciro won't do it because it is too risky that it would be a waste of Ciro's precious <<better-to-do,time and money>>.

Firstly, https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-45812399[Jamal Khashoggi] taught us that walking into enemy into consulates of enemy countries is a bad idea.

Then, even if the VISA were accepted, Ciro could still be turned back on entering the country, thus wasting the flight time and money. This could either be a genius plot to waste the money of enemies of the state, or due to a crappy divided IT system between the border control and the VISA people.

Finally, even after the border, there is still the possibility that Ciro could be stopped in the country half-way through the visit and sent back, or be interrogated for a few days, or less likely murdered with poison.

Therefore, if you think that living in China is fundamental to understand it, please just explain what you think one can learn from the experience instead. Do you really need to live there to see its censorship machine working? It would arguably be harder to see it from the inside.

See also: <<what-should-pro-democracy-chinese-living-in-china-do-about-the-dictatorship>>.

Bibliography: https://github.com/cirosantilli/china-dictatorship/issues/93

[[is-ciro-santilli-chinese]]
==== Is Ciro Santilli Chinese? 三西猴是中国人吗？

See: https://cirosantilli.com/#ciro-santilli

And it does not matter: <<not-chinese>>.

But <<why-does-ciro-santilli-love-china-so-much,his wife is>>.

[[does-ciro-santilli-speak-chinese]]
==== Does Ciro Santilli speak Chinese? 三西猴会说中文吗？

As of 2019, oral enough for daily things, but not understand most natural casual dinner conversation or watch TV series, because they go too quickly into vocabulary subject areas that I don't know.

When it matters, and with some patience, Can can make himself understood though with https://xkcd.com/thing-explainer/[some analogies] (https://web.archive.org/web/20190908144612/https://xkcd.com/thing-explainer/[archive]) and a dictionary.

From the HSK vocabulary list, he estimates that ihe is definitely HSK 3, but not quite HSK 4. This would likely equate A2 / B1 in the https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Common_European_Framework_of_Reference_for_Languages[European system].

Phonetics wise, Ciro can't distinguish or produce a few sounds, notably `-ing` vs `-in` and my off-tone rate is high, but it tends to not matter at all compared to the lack of vocabulary.

Ciro reads with link:https://www.perapera.org/[Perapera], write with a mixture of link:https://www.pleco.com/[Pleco], Google translate and Googling to see if Chinese actually say the sentences that way.

He <<characters,hasn't tried to learn characters>> because <<chinese-characters-are-insane,too much effort>>, but he did learn the most common ones without trying.

Ciro really wishes he could learn more, but he has other more important endeavors at the moment :-(

He initially learnt from book that come with audio recordings in the first 6-months to 1 year in 2010, but that got impossibly boring afterward, so he later moved to just basically talking as much as possible non-important things to <<why-does-ciro-santilli-love-china-so-much,his wife in Chinese>>, and whenever he reaches one that I don't know that seems useful, he Plecos it up or just 怎么说 and then Pleco.

Spoken Chinese is in Ciro's opinion a relatively easy language to learn from scratch, because word formation is so often logical:, e.g.:

* volcano = fire + mountain: 火山(huo shan)
* train = fire + car: 火车 (huo che), a reference to old https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Steam_locomotive[steam locomotives]

and there is no useless crap like verb conjugation, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grammatical_gender[Grammatical gender], plural variants, capitalization, etc.

Ciro loves this language.

Please just get rid of the Chinese characters and move to pinyin like the Korean and Vietnamese did, this will make your culture much easier to export.

Yes Chinese characters are beautiful, yes, https://chinese.stackexchange.com/questions/2003/can-chinese-readers-scan-large-amounts-of-text-faster-more-accurately-than-their[maybe you can read faster], and yes, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Horizontal_and_vertical_writing_in_East_Asian_scripts[vertical text (纵排)] is awesome (but is it more efficient? https://www.zhihu.com/question/22104723[Zhihu], https://www.quora.com/Can-literate-Chinese-people-easily-read-vertical-writing[Quora]).

But they just take too much time for any sane adult to learn, it's harder than C++!

===== Chinese characters are insane

Maybe the commies for once <<richer,did something good>> by introducing https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Simplified_Chinese_characters[simplified Chinese characters (简化字)]?

They should have gone further and reduced it to pinyin like the Viets did though.

<<ciro-santilli>> smirked when he came across "蒄" in Pleco, and the translation was: "meaning unknown (herb mentioned in old books)". Yes, at the word level, the same like exists in phonetic systems, but that it takes up a modern dictionary and Unicode slot is still funny.

.The "fictional" Chinese character "Dou" from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Uncyclopedia[Uncyclopedia] is roughly translated as "Impossibly complex pictogram-based writing system that takes a person a thousand thousand years to learn." and illustrates well why pictograms are a bad idea. https://uncyclopedia.ca/wiki/File:Chinese_character_extreme.svg[Source].
image::https://uncyclopedia.ca/w/images/e/e1/Chinese_character_extreme.svg[height=400]

.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t_cbW5JK9WM "The most complex Chinese character" by Vladimir Skultety does a reasonable analysis of which Chinese character is the most complex
video::t_cbW5JK9WM[youtube,height=400,width=600]

[[radical]]
==== Are you a radical?

Why am I a radical?

Do you consider me a radical because it is unthinkable that China is not perfect?

Or just because I'm trying to <<keyword-attack,take down,>> some more websites that your dictatorship still does not dislike enough to block: <<china-is-fine-as-it-is-stop-making-it-worse>>?

Don't you think that it is much more radical to <<intolerance,be put in jail for your beliefs>> and <<censorship,silenced if you disagree with anything the government says>>?

Why am I a radical when I speak my point of view, while you are not when you speak yours?

I don't think either China or West is perfect: <<western-media-has-exaggerated-reports-on-flg-for-propaganda-reasons>>.

I'm just listing arguments why I think democracy is better, e.g.: <<richer>>, <<war>>.

I don't consider myself a radical because of:

* <<preconceived>>
* <<bias>>

I never get mad. Only a slightly sad or annoyed sometimes.

But maybe no radical ever considers himself radical? Hmmm...

Or maybe: link:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=efHCdKb5UWc[The Dark Knight - Some Men Just Want To Watch The World Burn]?

==== Are you a SJW?

SJW: there is a seed of SJW in me.

One major difference between me and the stereotypical SJW is that I never engage in lengthy discussions.

I limit myself to listening as much as I can to learn new arguments.

So the rationale of my actions is _not_ to convince anyone, but rather:

* increase the monetary cost of censorship by binding politics to tech
* group up like-minded people who don't like censorship

See also: <<preconceived>>

[[does-ciro-santilli-hate-china]]
==== Does Ciro Santilli hate China? 三西猴讨厌中国吗？

On the contrary. China has his favorite:

* <<restaurants,food>>
* <<does-ciro-santilli-speak-chinese,language>>
* <<music>>
* history
* nature
* culture, notably:
** intense respect for older people. Whenever Ciro was with his <<ciro-santilli-mother-in-law-jail,mother-in-law>> and asked for help from young Chinese people, they were extremely nice.
+
It is hard to understand how the same people have not managed to speak up when <<flg-persecution,70 million old ladies were put into jail when Falun Gong was banned>>. Only the extreme fear of also going to jail could explain it. Living in China is living in constant fear if you can think for yourself.
** enormous importance given to education. One must not forget however: grades are useless, and all that matters is how much you improve society

And because of that: <<would-you-like-to-live-in-china>>.

As link:https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bjarne_Stroustrup[Bjarne] said:

____
There are only two kinds of programming languages: those people always bitch about and those nobody uses
____

Ciro only focus here on negative things to provide content that will <<keyword-attack,activate the Great Firewall>>.

____
持华反党 +
爱国恨党
____

[[yuyuan-garden]]
.Round gate at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yu_Garden[Yu Garden 豫园] in Shanghai. link:++https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Shanghai_-_YuYuan_Gardens_and_Old_Town_(584867794).jpg++[Source].
image::https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/4/43/Shanghai_-_YuYuan_Gardens_and_Old_Town_%28584867794%29.jpg/683px-Shanghai_-_YuYuan_Gardens_and_Old_Town_%28584867794%29.jpg[height=600]

[[chinese-traditional-painting]]
===== Chinese traditional painting 中国传统绘画

See also: <<museum>>.

Some free online collections:

* Smithsonian collection at a search for Paintings before 1800. Drill down further by "topic" e.g. "Mountains" or "scholar"
** https://collections.si.edu/search/results.htm?q=&fq=online_visual_material%3Atrue&fq=online_media_type%3A%22Images%22&fq=culture%3A%22Chinese%22&fq=object_type%3A%22Paintings%22&view=list&date.slider=300s%2C1800s

."Plum, orchid, bamboo, chrysanthemum" (梅兰竹菊) painting by https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zheng_Xie[Zheng Xie (郑燮)] representing the https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Four_Gentlemen[four gentlemen (四君子)]. Ciro is a big fan of https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bird-and-flower_painting[traditional Chinese bird-and-flower painting (花鸟画)] like this. https://www.pinterest.co.uk/pin/315744623848820315/[Source].
image::https://web.archive.org/web/20200126185832if_/https://i.stack.imgur.com/9c1fa.jpg[height=600]

===== Why does Ciro Santilli love China so much?

<<ciro-santilli>> does not <<does-ciro-santilli-believe-in-or-practice-falun-gong,believe in reincarnation>>, but sometimes he's tempted to.

It is interesting how different people get <<does-ciro-santilli-hate-china,different impressions>>!

Of course, the fact that his wife is Chinese and <<flg-bias,does Falun Gong>> may or may not have played a role in it :-)

It was like this: Ciro started getting interested in Chinese culture, then he started hanging out with Chinese people, and then he started hanging out with his wife!

So yes, it is a chicken and egg type of thing. The fact that she is one of the most intelligent, morally upright, cute, and "never give up" person I know may have helped me choose too.

[[selfish]]
==== Ciro Santilli's China freedom campaign is selfish

See also:

* <<flg-bias>>
* <<throne>>
* <<harm-programmers>>

[[famous]]
===== Ciro Santilli is doing his China freedom campaign to become famous

No, he am a selfless human being, only concerned with the greater well being of humankind.

More serious answer:

* he believes in this. As evidence, it has limiting effects on his technological career: <<does-your-employer-support-this>>, and he doesn't think he can/wants to become a politician in China if the CCP ever falls
* the more famous Ciro is, the more impact he will have in the future
* the more famous Ciro is, the more feedback he have that what he's been doing has been working

Keyword: attention whore.

Duplicate pool:

* https://github.com/cirosantilli/china-dictatorship/issues/5

===== Ciro Santilli is doing his China freedom campaign because it makes him feel important

See: <<famous>>.

===== Ciro Santilli is doing his China freedom campaign to vent off his anger

No, he is not angry at all, see also: <<harm-programmers>>.

[[cia-funding]]
===== Is Ciro Santilli's china-dictatorship campaign funded or otherwise supported by some organization?

Sure, the CIA sends Ciro 10 thousand USD checks from time to time, but that doesn't change at all what he would be doing.

Just kidding.

A shady supporting organization might require that he does not disclose their support, so maybe the best answer is that you will never know for sure.

Of course, a hidden support would represent a reputation hit for both such organizations and for me, which makes it less likely that I would have accepted or had such an offer.

Also consider Ciro's motivation. If your <<ciro-santilli-mother-in-law-jail,mother in law were put into jail unfairly for 15 days>>, for following the same religion that <<flg-bias,your wife follows>>, and if you had a social media presence, wouldn't you be tempted to do the same?

What about you, are you funded by the CCP?

See also: https://github.com/cirosantilli/china-dictatorship/blob/48a95bf57a16b85619a6ae68702d18c9a5078797/FAQ.md#flg-has-been-funded-by-the-us-government-at-least-once-therefore-it-is-evil

==== Would Ciro Santilli be doing his China freedom campaign if he was in China?

Not with his real name attached to it, see also:

* <<what-should-pro-democracy-chinese-living-in-china-do-about-the-dictatorship>>
* <<not-chinese>>

===== Does your employer support this?

My employer has nothing to do with this.

He doesn't approve or disapprove of the Chinese government or of my private actions.

The only thing that my employer _does_ believe in is that employees can have their own political opinions, and that this should not affect hiring decisions.

Obviously, this action limits my ability to lead high profile deals with China.

Also I'm quite curious if this would limit my ability to go to China for business, but I haven't applied for a visa since I've started this. It likely wouldn't be a good idea for me to go to China :-)

But my employer believes that inclusion and non-discrimination are more valuable.

I will always do my best to not let my personal opinions affect my professional decisions, as that would be unfair to my employer.

[[better-to-do]]
==== Doesn't Ciro Santilli have anything better to do than pissing off China?

In 1989, besides <<tiananmen>> and <<ciro-santilli>>'s birth, a beautiful thing called the World Wide Web was invented!

The Internet gives everyone the magic power of writing something, and having million people read it for free!

This is how much time Ciro spends on this project to give you an idea:

* every week or two, someone sends me a message, he reply with "read the FAQ", and usually update
* Ciro https://www.reddit.com/r/China amongst many other programming subs, and all major bad news show up there. See also: <<anti-ccp-info-sources>>
* when something bad enough comes up, Ciro go to https://chinadigitaltimes.net/china/sensitive-words-series/ and update <<keyword-attack,his keyword attack>>. He's only been updating it on Stack Overflow and GitHub these days.

Then Ciro just contributes to programming websites exactly as he would if he weren't making this campaign, and voila.

Edit: to be fair, the end of 2019 and start of 2020 was such as hot year with <<2019-hong-kong-anti-extradition-bill-protests>> and <<corona>> that Ciro might have spent a tiny little bit more.

But Ciro did it only when his brain was too tired of technical stuff and unable to do more, or as a brain warm up routine in the morning.

Telling the CCP to fuck off is surprisingly relaxing, you should try it some time too. It uses a different part of your brain other than the programming one. It is, one could say, an art form.

=== Were you influenced by the Cute cat theory of digital activism?

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cute_cat_theory_of_digital_activism

Nope, someone told me about it after a while, but it is basically what I'm doing.

You can never invent anything new anymore nowadays.

=== People in China have already considered democracy, and rejected it

OK, shall we put that to an anonymous vote just to make sure?

Dear sir or madam: do you want more control over your government? y/n

Oops, I forgot that <<most-chinese-people-like-their-dictatorship,proposing such a vote would put in you jail>>, nevermind.

[[violence]]
=== Would it be right to use violence to overthrow the CCP?

In an ideal world, Ciro Santilli is of course "against violence".

But what if you could prevent a lot of future violence with some violence today?

.One baby <<nazi,Hitler>> or 5 Million Jews https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trolley_problem[trolley problem].
image::{cirosantilli-media-base}/Baby_Hitler_vs_5_million_Jews_trolley_problem.jpg[height=400]

Ah, the eternal question which only God can answer:

* https://www.quora.com/What-is-the-origin-of-the-quote-The-end-justifies-the-means[the ends justify the means]
** https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Consequentialism[consequentialism]
** https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trolley_problem[trolley problem]
* link:https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nonviolent_resistance[nonviolent resistance]

Do you really think that the communists will step down if you ask them nicely enough?

A quote from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/V_for_Vendetta_(film)[V for Vendetta (2005)]:

____
Q: If they do, what do you think will happen [the people protest against their Government]?

A: What usually happens when people without guns stand up to people with guns.
____

.https://youtube.com/watch?v=TcoBv6ibh8M V for Vendetta (2005) "What you think will happen" scene.
video::TcoBv6ibh8M[youtube,height=400,width=600]

How do you think the CCP or any other party got into power and maintained that power in the first place? Violence.

The question of if violence is right or wrong makes no sense. All that matters is: what is the most <<richer,efficient form of government>> and who has the power to do what.

If you do decide to strike though, <<what-should-pro-democracy-chinese-living-in-china-do-about-the-dictatorship,stay safe, gather your forces on the Internet, and only strike when victory seems certain>>.

For "violence is illegal" arguments, see also: <<follow-the-law>>.

==== It is fine for the CCP to treat some of its citizens unfairly if the majority is better off

Basically same discussion as: <<violence>> but with the tables turned.

See also: <<uneducated-masses>>

[[dictatorship]]
=== Why does Ciro Santilli say that China is a dictatorship? 中国不是独裁！

Ciro is using the word in an slightly extended/joking sense.

Maybe "authoritarian" is a more precise term, but it is just too much of a mouthful.

In particular, dictatorships are harder to sustain than authoritarianism, since it generally implies even less freedom, and a single leader whose death can destabilize everything.

The CCP is more like a social class with a large number of members and various sub-layers, and it is therefore much harder to take down on the other hand.

Dictatorship is becoming link:https://www.nytimes.com/2018/03/07/world/asia/china-xi-jinping-party-term-limit.html[more and more precise under Xi] however.

Even <<mao-zedong>> admits it and put it into the constitution: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/People%27s_democratic_dictatorship[People's democratic dictatorship 人民民主专政], so funny.

Well known <<evil-west,Evil Western media>> that also call China a dictatorship:

* 2020-01-29 https://www.nytimes.com/2020/01/29/opinion/coronavirus-china-government.html "Coronavirus Spreads, and the World Pays for China’s Dictatorship"
* 2018-03-04 https://www.theguardian.com/world/2018/mar/04/xi-jinping-from-president-to-china-new-dictator "Xi Jinping’s power play: from president to China’s new dictator?"
* 2017-10-11 https://www.ft.com/content/cb2c8578-adb4-11e7-aab9-abaa44b1e130 "Under Xi Jinping, China is turning back to dictatorship"

Further discussions about this useless terminology question:

* https://www.quora.com/Is-China-a-dictatorship

[[keyword-attack]]
=== What is a screen name keyword attack?

Adding censored words to your username: https://stackoverflow.com/users/895245

This only works on websites that show usernames everywhere.

This then leads to your username appearing on thousands of pages, depending on how much you contribute to the website.

It is also possible to do it with images, although this is less effective in taking down websites since images are harder for the firewall to track automatically. But:

* they are more memorable than words
* they also work on websites like GitHub where your real name does not show on most pages, only slug

so maybe the most effective approach is to use both keywords and images to get the best of both worlds ;-)

.<<chrysanthemium-xi-jinping>> has been used by Ciro Santilli as a profile picture censored image attack
image::{cirosantilli-media-base}/Chrysanthemum_Xi_Jinping_with_black_red_liusi_added_by_Ciro_Santilli.jpg[height=400]

This type of attack is essentially an <<embargo>>.

See also: <<photobombing-like-attacks>>.

[[anti-ccp-info-sources]]
==== What are the best sources of anti-CCP news?

https://www.reddit.com/r/China[], see also: <<reddit>>

Catches all the important news

A large part of the posts has controversial material.

Has some noise of course as well, but less than other media I find.

Highly worth your feed.

Reddit was banned in China in August 2018: https://www.reddit.com/r/China/comments/965k4c/reddit_banned_in_china/

Tencent will invest 150 million on Reddit in 2019: https://gizmodo.com/reddit-banned-in-china-is-reportedly-set-to-land-150-1832375439 See also: <<biased-media>>.

[[reddit]]
===== Reddit subs with lots of anti-commie info

* https://www.reddit.com/r/China is arguably the best as of 2020, see also: <<anti-ccp-info-sources>>
* https://www.reddit.com/r/fucktheccp/ small as of 2020 but promising
* https://www.reddit.com/r/HongKong had 3x more users than r/china as of 2020 after <<2019-hong-kong-anti-extradition-bill-protests>>.
* https://www.reddit.com/r/Sino/ TODO understand what that bullshit sub is about
* https://www.reddit.com/r/CCP_virus/ for <<corona>>

==== Where can I find good words for a keyword attack?

* https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_blacklisted_keywords_in_China | https://zh.wikipedia.org/wiki/中华人民共和国网络审查
* https://github.com/jasonqng/chinese-keywords
* https://github.com/cirosantilli/media/raw/master/complete-gfw-rulebook-for-wikipedia-v3.0.pdf[Complete GFW Rulebook for Wikipedia v3.0]
* https://chinadigitaltimes.net This is was an amazing source, extremely comprehensive and up-to-date, but the series was stopped in September 2018:
** https://chinadigitaltimes.net/china/word-of-the-week/?view=all word of the week
** https://chinadigitaltimes.net/china/directives-from-the-ministry-of-truth/?view=all censorship directive reports
*** https://chinadigitaltimes.net/chinese/category/有关部门/真理部指令/?view=all chinese version
** https://chinadigitaltimes.net/space/Main_Page a wiki version of the censored word lists, the ,"<<shitpost,Grass-mud horse>> index" (cao3n2ma3 草泥马), with a censored term of the week section.
** https://chinadigitaltimes.net/china/sensitive-words-series/?view=all sensitive words list
** Fun 2015 ebook: https://github.com/cirosantilli/decoding-chinese-internet-pdf-download

See also:

* <<censorship-monitoring>>
* <<tiananmen-square-protests-keywords>>

[[keyword-choice]]
==== How do you choose keywords for the keyword attack?

I haven't counted, but the limit for Stack Overflow is quite low, and I'm always almost at the maximum, which is about "Ciro Santilli" + 3 3-4 Chinese character events with a separator.

These are some of my prioritization guidelines: