what is an astute conservative anyway? what do they stand for?

Please don't refer to the conservative sooks that merely snipe at whatever the govt does.

Paul,

"mhaze, nice bit of propaganda, with no supporting evidence."

Well I supplied a link. And that link had, in turn, other links.

Paul, I know all good communist apologists will deny any evidence of communist misdeeds no matter what it is. Even after the soviet archives were opened to prove previous allegations were true, good Soviet apologists such as yourself continued to deny it.

So unless Xi himself owns up you'll treat truth as propaganda. The more things change, the more they stay the same.

Chris,

I was hoping your "they were pretty silent until a year or two ago" post was satire. But alas not. In fact its really only been the right that has been calling out China over the years. The left has gone, and remain, all in on China.

mhaze,

when it comes to foreign policy, I have long sided with the Liberals.

I merely refer to post-1990s.

But there were a few liberal politicians that have got great benefit from siding with China, too much as far as I was concerned.

It has only been in last few years that China has been increasingly named as as a threat by government, probably inspired by greater US aggression and its reluctance to put up with it.

"Even after the soviet archives were opened to prove previous allegations were true, good Soviet apologists such as yourself continued to deny it."

Unless you can provide evidence, then mhaze, I'll call you a liar! Like all governments the Soviets hid many things. Does not America, indeed Australia do the same, hide things. The Chinese also hide many things. Although without being completely honest the Chinese government has been reasonably up front concerning the coranavirus. Unfortunately the same can't be said for Trump, or Britain's Johnson, very secretive.

Can you call Christopher Hitchens or Nick Cohen conservatives ? Too left ?

Joe

Yes, I think most nations have some guilt on their hands, including the mighty USA.

However, I do believe that the world will be worse off now if authoritarian countries erode the current world order.

Would the coronavirus spread have been addressed earlier if it happened in the USA? Interesting question.

I watched Four Corners last night discussing the US situation. I conclude that the Trump Administration would have probably have been just as slow as it was, as it was Washington State that took on Trump and federal agencies with regard to the seriousness of the situation.