Sow the wind and reap the whirlwind

There used to be a time when European countries would conquer other continents to spread Christianity, i.e. to save the savages – as it was said – from eternal damnation. Since Christianity has been dead for many decades now, Western nations have rolled out a new religion: that of human rights. The advantage of the new creed is that it is supposed to be universal – as such was adopted by the United Nations – and does not require the different peoples of the world to renounce their religious beliefs. Rather, the religious leaders of all the other faiths fall all over themselves to show that their religious precepts have always been in line with the universal human rights or, indeed, that the human rights derive from their creed.

Be it as it may, the human rights religion is a political tool in the hands of the powerful for subduing others to their will. Under the pretext of defending human rights – wars are launched, missiles are fired, revolutions are staged and governments are toppled. Yugoslavia, Libya, Syria, Afghanistan – you name it – have all been subjected to penal measures in the name of preventing humanitarian disaster from occurring or spreading. The countries were bombed in the name of saving the lives of – yes, yes – women and children and oppressed minorities of all types. Even when the Americans did not know what to do with the incorporation of Crimea into Russia, Victoria Nuland, while listing the alleged Russian violations of the international law and – how otherwise! – human rights, pointed to the alleged prosecution of the homosexual “community” as they say.

The human rights religion is only used when it becomes useful. The fate of Uyghurs in China was not a problem for the “international” opinion for decades until it fit Washington’s plans to use it as a pressure to be exerted against Beijing. Since China has been regarded as America’s rival vying for world dominance, the human rights card is being played more frequently. When you lend your ear the the Western media, then all the message that you get is that the Middle Kingdom is a den of perpetrators of the worst atrocities aimed against particular groups of people: Uyghurs, the Tibetans, Christians, political dissenters and so on, and so forth.

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Japan struggles to fill bullet trains running with empty seats

These days, the section of Tokyo Station serving regional destinations is a shadow of its former self. Gone are the usual crowds, and on a mid-week afternoon in late September, just a handful of commuters browsed bento-box stores.

“I see more cleaning staff getting off trains than passengers,” said Taro Aoki, who oversees 18 fast-food outlets in the capital’s main intercity rail terminal. “People used to swiftly pick which bento to buy and wait in line, but now, there’s hardly anyone around.” Source JapanTimes