catching up

• Hong Kong leader Carrie Lam says no plans to use emergency powers for other laws - uh huh
• Vox explainer on the NBA caving to China. 
• Joe Tsai, owner of the Nets, explaining why the Hong Kong protests are a third rail by calling it a separatist movement, and how free speech may be an American value, but we should also shut up because it hurts Chinese people's feelings because China lost to imperialism or something. Conveniently also neglected to say that he was born in Taiwan, educated in the US, and holds a Canadian passport. Also neglected to mention that he is the vice chairman of Alibaba, and thus also a mouthpiece for the Chinese Communist Party.
• Also, at this point, the Hong Kong protests are not a separatist movement. They do not have that kind of power, they know they don't have that kind of international defense, and their requests are calling for the government to follow the rule of law that was promised them in the handover. But if they keep up that sort of name-calling, I'm sure soon it will be a separatist movement. 
• US blacklists Chinese surveillance companies over human rights abuses - I'm really not sure what to make of this, and I'm sure it'll be reversed by the end of the week or something.
• The NBA is fake woke. Something something capitalism at work. 
• 'South Park' Episode Mocks Hollywood for Shaping Stories to Please China - I also resent these events for making me care, even a little bit, about what South Park has to say about anything. 

Random thought - Russia is way better at the propaganda game because they legit don't seem to care what Americans think of them, but China is the biggest baby on the world powers block and can't stand any sort of criticism whatsoever.