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  • Carlin
    Senior Member
    • Dec 2011
    • 3332

    #16
    Originally posted by Gocka View Post
    China is not a liberal democracy. Huawei is a future threat to everyone. How can anyone feel assured that there aren't going to be back doors implemented into their 5g networks that they will be installing potentially all over the world. In the western world our companies function independently from the government. Look at how Apple refused to allow access to its phones to the FBI, CIA, and NSA. Even if it wanted to do we really believe that Huawei could reject the Chinese government should it make such a request of them.

    It is exactly a scenario like this that highlights the importance of promoting democracy around the world. In an ideal world there wouldn't be a need to be so apprehensive towards Huawei. What a loos not only for Huawei as a company who obviously has a technological advantage, but its also a loss for the world that will lag behind because they can't trust Chinese companies with their security.
    I think you're naive my friend. I may be wrong but I feel that the "threat" is overblown - it seems to be mostly about the new "cold war" & trade war between China and U.S. I realize that China is not a liberal democracy, but U.S. being a democracy hasn't stopped its govt. agencies to pursue their goals and interests.

    As far as the tech angle goes, even if Apple, for example, refused to allow access to its phones to the FBI, CIA, and NSA, what makes you think - or gives you the assurance - that FBI/CIA/NSA won't "access" these phones anyway? According to WikiLeaks release from 2017 televisions, smartphones and even anti-virus software are all vulnerable to CIA hacking. The capabilities described include recording the sounds, images and the private text messages of users, even when they resort to encrypted apps to communicate.

    So, even if Huawei could theoretically "reject" the Chinese government it would be irrelevant because in the end any company would be forced to "cooperate". I wonder what would happen to Apple or Google if they actively worked against the national interests of U.S.



    Google’s true origin partly lies in CIA and NSA research grants for mass surveillance:
    The story of the deliberate creation of the modern mass-surveillance state includes elements of Google’s surprising, and largely unknown, origin. It is a somewhat different creation story than the one the public has heard, and explains what Google cofounders Sergey Brin and Larry Page set out to build, and why.


    Emails reveal close Google relationship with NSA:
    National Security Agency head and Internet giant’s executives have coordinated through high-level policy discussions


    Google has been a military-intel contractor from the very beginning:
    Surveillance Valley: The Secret Military History of the Internet. A book by Yasha Levine. Spies, counterinsurgency campaigns, hippie entrepreneurs, privacy apps funded by the CIA. From the 1960s to the 2010s — you'll never look at the Internet the same again.


    WikiLeaks: The CIA is using popular TVs, smartphones and cars to spy on their owners:


    CIA 'tried to crack security of Apple devices':
    Agency tried to create dummy version of development software that would allow it to insert surveillance back doors into apps


    'State of Surveillance' with Edward Snowden and Shane Smith (VICE on HBO: Season 4, Episode 13):
    When NSA whistleblower Edward Snowden leaked details of massive government surveillance programs in 2013, he ignited a raging debate over digital privacy and...
    Last edited by Carlin; 05-24-2019, 11:48 PM.

    Comment

    • Pelagonija
      Member
      • Mar 2017
      • 533

      #17
      America is farked. Speaking of Apple they pay fark all tax from profits in Australia. Ffs Hillary Clinton had her own email server in her toilet and the us is worried about hauwai. It all comes down to the dollar. Dont be fooled by the smoke

      Comment

      • Gocka
        Senior Member
        • Dec 2012
        • 2306

        #18
        Originally posted by Carlin15 View Post
        I think you're naive my friend. I may be wrong but I feel that the "threat" is overblown - it seems to be mostly about the new "cold war" & trade war between China and U.S. I realize that China is not a liberal democracy, but U.S. being a democracy hasn't stopped its govt. agencies to pursue their goals and interests.

        As far as the tech angle goes, even if Apple, for example, refused to allow access to its phones to the FBI, CIA, and NSA, what makes you think - or gives you the assurance - that FBI/CIA/NSA won't "access" these phones anyway? According to WikiLeaks release from 2017 televisions, smartphones and even anti-virus software are all vulnerable to CIA hacking. The capabilities described include recording the sounds, images and the private text messages of users, even when they resort to encrypted apps to communicate.

        So, even if Huawei could theoretically "reject" the Chinese government it would be irrelevant because in the end any company would be forced to "cooperate". I wonder what would happen to Apple or Google if they actively worked against the national interests of U.S.



        Google’s true origin partly lies in CIA and NSA research grants for mass surveillance:
        The story of the deliberate creation of the modern mass-surveillance state includes elements of Google’s surprising, and largely unknown, origin. It is a somewhat different creation story than the one the public has heard, and explains what Google cofounders Sergey Brin and Larry Page set out to build, and why.


        Emails reveal close Google relationship with NSA:
        National Security Agency head and Internet giant’s executives have coordinated through high-level policy discussions


        Google has been a military-intel contractor from the very beginning:
        Surveillance Valley: The Secret Military History of the Internet. A book by Yasha Levine. Spies, counterinsurgency campaigns, hippie entrepreneurs, privacy apps funded by the CIA. From the 1960s to the 2010s — you'll never look at the Internet the same again.


        WikiLeaks: The CIA is using popular TVs, smartphones and cars to spy on their owners:


        CIA 'tried to crack security of Apple devices':
        Agency tried to create dummy version of development software that would allow it to insert surveillance back doors into apps


        'State of Surveillance' with Edward Snowden and Shane Smith (VICE on HBO: Season 4, Episode 13):
        https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ucRWyGKBVzo
        I think its naive to think that Chinese companies are not or wouldn't be under the thumb of the regime at the drop of a hat.

        The American intelligence agencies demanded Apple show them how to hack into an Iphone after the Boston bombing. Apple refused. If they could have just hacked into the Iphone then why were they begging Apple to show them how?

        Most of the Chinese companies are directly controlled or funded by the government. How is that the same thing?

        The only way that they could force tech companies to divulge information is if the laws were changed. In civilized societies we live by laws not whims.

        I don't need to be worried about it. All of the Australians need to be worried with China breathing down their collective neck and buying up their country at record levels.

        Comment

        • Risto the Great
          Senior Member
          • Sep 2008
          • 15658

          #19
          The American intelligence agencies demanded Apple show them how to hack into an Iphone after the Boston bombing. Apple refused. If they could have just hacked into the Iphone then why were they begging Apple to show them how?
          Yet China insisted on the data servers for Apple be located in China for the Chinese iOS/MacOS users. I am very sure the Chinese can access the data (not that it matters, because everyone uses WeChat and everyone knows China reads everything they say).

          I know China better than the majority of foreigners I think. To think the Chinese government is as naive as the rest of the world is a grave mistake. They have purpose and commitment and they will absolutely tear this world apart (along with themselves) if their power remains unchecked. Trump is the only person who has even tried to give them a little stick in the last 20 years and it is shaking all corners of the globe.

          I enjoy this guy because his opinions are usually quite precise.
          The best way to keep China together is to have a common enemy, come and find out what I mean..Stay Awesome China (my new documentary): https://vimeo.com/onde...

          It is interesting watching his enthusiasm for China decrease as the years roll on. I think this video will probably mean his time is up in China!
          Risto the Great
          MACEDONIA:ANHEDONIA
          "Holding my breath for the revolution."

          Hey, I wrote a bestseller. Check it out: www.ren-shen.com

          Comment

          • Gocka
            Senior Member
            • Dec 2012
            • 2306

            #20
            Originally posted by Risto the Great View Post
            Yet China insisted on the data servers for Apple be located in China for the Chinese iOS/MacOS users. I am very sure the Chinese can access the data (not that it matters, because everyone uses WeChat and everyone knows China reads everything they say).

            I know China better than the majority of foreigners I think. To think the Chinese government is as naive as the rest of the world is a grave mistake. They have purpose and commitment and they will absolutely tear this world apart (along with themselves) if their power remains unchecked. Trump is the only person who has even tried to give them a little stick in the last 20 years and it is shaking all corners of the globe.

            I enjoy this guy because his opinions are usually quite precise.
            The best way to keep China together is to have a common enemy, come and find out what I mean..Stay Awesome China (my new documentary): https://vimeo.com/onde...

            It is interesting watching his enthusiasm for China decrease as the years roll on. I think this video will probably mean his time is up in China!
            I watched a few of his videos. He has China pegged just right.

            The way he describes the system of living in China around minute 7 and at the end of the video is exactly what I have been talking about in relation to the basket case nations of the world.

            The same system of fear and resentment of the outside world is the go to formula for all dictatorships around the world. Case after case after case it is the same exact spiel. Blame the outside world for all your problems, put down any type of disobedience, when any corruption is exposed create some kind of external drama to shift the focus away.

            Iran, Russia, North Korea, Syria, Venezuela, China, etc they are all the same shit. I still can not understand why so many people idolize these nations. No sane person would want their own country of domicile to function that way.

            Also I found the "scams in China" video especially funny. That is the same peasant shit you will find in North Fyromdonia. That type of behavior is pure peasantry. The way the Australian guy described their way of life as being obsessed with making money and getting ahead, no morals or values, only thinking about today not tomorrow. Remind you of anyone?

            Comment

            • Gocka
              Senior Member
              • Dec 2012
              • 2306

              #21
              I don't know, they seem pretty cozy to me.

              BEIJING (AP) — China has deployed an unlikely voice in its trade war with the U.S.: Trevor Noah of Comedy Central's The Daily Show.

              Comment

              • Carlin
                Senior Member
                • Dec 2011
                • 3332

                #22
                Tariff threat against Mexico confirms a deal's not a deal with Trump: Don Pittis

                Critics say new border threats a warning that America's word cannot be trusted

                Don Pittis · CBC News: Jun 01, 2019

                URL:


                Everyone knows individual politicians sometimes fail to keep their word, and like the rest of us, investors seldom count on those promises until they see the commitments fulfilled.

                But when an entire country gives its word, businesses generally assume they can count on it. Not so in the era of U.S. President Donald Trump.

                On Thursday, Trump announced via Twitter that his administration will impose tariffs on Mexico if it fails to stop migrants from crossing into the U.S. The next day, he tweeted more conditions that seemed to reopen NAFTA negotiations that were settled last September.

                Critics say it shows that with Trump in charge, the U.S. is a nation that cannot be trusted. And that makes a difference.


                On Friday, markets demonstrated how destabilizing that failure of trust can be. It has become a cliche of economic analysis to say that business hates uncertainty. Oil plunged, currencies gyrated, and the Dow Jones index fell more than 350 points.

                But such an abrupt and unforeseen change of course could signal much more than just a one-time market shock.

                "How do you plan for anything in this environment, whether in the U.S. or abroad?" Derek Holt, vice-president at Scotiabank Economics, said in a Friday morning note as markets began to tumble.

                Non-reliable entity?

                While Trump's trustworthiness was worrying markets, the Chinese government was announcing — with unintended irony, one presumes — a plan to designate certain foreign institutions and individuals as "non-reliable entities."

                In a counterblow to U.S. attacks on telecommunications giant Huawei and other Chinese tech companies, Beijing announced what analysts are describing as China's own corporate blacklist.

                According to the state-controlled Global Times, the "non-reliable entity list" would include "foreign entities, individuals and companies that block and shut the supply chain, or take discriminatory measures over non-commercial reasons."

                It would be fair to wonder whether Beijing was implying one of those entities is in the White House.

                If it went into effect, an across-the-board tariff on Mexican imports would raise prices for consumers and businesses across the United States. Canadians would not be off the hook, because in theory, goods and parts imported tax-free from Mexico and incorporated into Canadian exports would also face partial tariffs once sold to U.S. customers.

                Of course, such details can only be guessed at when a politician like Trump seems to be making up policy on the fly.

                Sneaking suspicion

                Considering the devastating potential of such trade-disrupting tariffs, the fact that U.S. markets only fell by slightly more than one per cent on Friday is a hint that not everyone is taking Trump at his word.

                The idea that the Mexican president could wave a magic wand and stop asylum seekers from crossing at any point along his country's massive border with the U.S. — something the U.S., with all its technology and border guards, has failed to do — is beyond belief.

                There is also a sneaking suspicion that Trump's tariff threat, which grabbed headlines across North America, intentionally came just as the U.S. president was once again facing damaging news coverage about Russian election interference.

                "My net bias remains to retain some degree of faith that sundry checks and balances on Trump will exert themselves while counselling avoidance of a tendency to overreact, but the damage is nevertheless being done to market and business confidence in the interim," said Holt.

                Besides concerns over the effect of tariffs on prices and trade routes, the sudden announcement seems to send a chill over what until Thursday had been seen as a warming of relations between Canada, the U.S. and Mexico over continental free trade.

                Following the U.S.'s recent withdrawal of tariffs on aluminum and steel from its two closest trade partners, it appeared the three countries might be close to ratifying the NAFTA 2.0 deal negotiated last year.

                In fact, Canadian Foreign Affairs Minister Chrystia Freeland seemed to suggest on Friday that the meeting of minds between the three countries is still happening, in spite of Trump's recent threat against Mexico.

                "The Mexican president has said today, speaking for Mexico, that Mexico intends to move ahead with its ratification process," she said in Parliament.

                'How can you trust Trump?'

                That, too, seems to presuppose Trump's latest threat is a flash in the pan. But businesses deciding whether to proceed with new investments that depend on the deal's final conclusion may be right to be wary.

                Other wild Trump statements written off as self-interested or diversionary rants have ended up sticking and becoming administration policy. Many analysts at the time scoffed when Trump declared NAFTA the worst trade deal ever, threatened to ditch the Iran nuclear deal and promised to build a wall along the U.S.'s southern border.

                Chris Krueger, managing director of the Cowen Washington Research Group, which provides trade and market analysis, said Trump's latest attack on Mexican trade, if not withdrawn, could kill the new NAFTA trade process and further disrupt negotiations with China.

                The question Krueger asked must be echoing in Beijing, Brussels, Mexico City and Ottawa: "How can you trust Trump to honour deals?"

                Comment

                • Carlin
                  Senior Member
                  • Dec 2011
                  • 3332

                  #23
                  The Collapse of the American Empire?

                  The Agenda welcomes Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Chris Hedges, who over the past decade and a half has made his name as a columnist, activist and author. He's been a vociferous public critic of presidents on both sides of the American political spectrum, and his latest book, 'America, the Farewell Tour,' is nothing short of a full-throated throttling of the political, social, and cultural state of his country.

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                  Comment

                  • Risto the Great
                    Senior Member
                    • Sep 2008
                    • 15658

                    #24
                    Sounds about right, but I don't think it will automatically mean the rise of China either.
                    Risto the Great
                    MACEDONIA:ANHEDONIA
                    "Holding my breath for the revolution."

                    Hey, I wrote a bestseller. Check it out: www.ren-shen.com

                    Comment

                    • Gocka
                      Senior Member
                      • Dec 2012
                      • 2306

                      #25
                      This is why China will never be a superpower, at least not in its current shape and form.

                      Riot police turned downtown Hong Kong into a tear-gas-filled battlefield, pushing back against demonstrators opposing a bill that would allow extradition to mainland China.


                      Hong Kong Protest Updates: Leader Condemns Violence as City Remains on Edge


                      You can't be a superpower with 95% of your populace living under your thumb. In China's case that is over a billion people! You can not keep a billion people in check by force forever. Sooner or later there will be a tipping point where enough people get sick of working in sweat shops. Like predictable totalitarian goons the government will react with brutal force which will on exacerbate the problem.

                      Apparently only Russians are content with that system of living. Apparently everyone who is in opposition to Putin is also a criminal! I guess its a step up from pushing them off of balconies.

                      Comment

                      • Carlin
                        Senior Member
                        • Dec 2011
                        • 3332

                        #26
                        That may be true, but it still doesn't "prevent" them from becoming a superpower. I fail to see how the British, Soviet/Russian or American cases differ - especially in their early stages, and pre-superpower period.


                        "No agreed definition of what is a superpower exists and may differ between sources.

                        However, a fundamental characteristic that is consistent with all definitions of a superpower is a nation or state that has mastered the seven dimensions of state power, namely geography, population, economy, resources, military, diplomacy and national identity."

                        URL:

                        Comment

                        • Carlin
                          Senior Member
                          • Dec 2011
                          • 3332

                          #27
                          Iran retaliates with missile attacks on U.S. troop locations in Iraq

                          In what it described as a “hard” retaliation, Iran’s Islamist government fired a series of ballistic missiles at military bases in Iraq housing U.S. troops days after President Donald Trump ordered an airstrike that killed a top Iranian general.

                          The Iranian attack early Wednesday local time, confirmed by the Department of Defense, put the two countries well along the path to an all-out war after years of rising tensions. It is perhaps the biggest international crisis to test Trump yet, and it comes as he also faces a likely impeachment trial in the Senate.

                          But Iranian officials signaled that they did not want the crisis to spiral out of control, with Foreign Minister Javad Zarif, posting on Twitter: “We do not seek escalation or war, but will defend ourselves against any aggression.“

                          Trump, too, appeared inclined to calm things down. “All is well!“ he tweeted late Tuesday. “Missiles launched from Iran at two military bases located in Iraq. Assessment of casualties & damages taking place now. So far, so good! We have the most powerful and well equipped military anywhere in the world, by far! I will be making a statement tomorrow morning.“

                          Full article:

                          Comment

                          • Gocka
                            Senior Member
                            • Dec 2012
                            • 2306

                            #28
                            Thank god the Iranians had cooler heads than Trump and found a way to deescalate. They purposely bombed targets that they knew wouldn't lead to casualties. If we're being honest they chickened out, they were within their rights to retaliate in a much stronger way.

                            Lets see if this further emboldens the Americans to be more provocative.

                            Comment

                            • Carlin
                              Senior Member
                              • Dec 2011
                              • 3332

                              #29
                              Iran Says It Shot Down Ukrainian Jetliner By Mistake

                              URL:
                              After initial denials, Iranian officials now say "missiles fired due to human error" caused the crash of the Ukrainian plane Wednesday, killing all 176 people on board.


                              In a "terrible catastrophe," Iran says it mistakenly shot missiles at a Ukrainian civilian jetliner minutes after takeoff on Wednesday. The plane crashed on the outskirts of Tehran, killing 176 people.

                              "Armed Forces' internal investigation has concluded that regrettably missiles fired due to human error caused the horrific crash of the Ukrainian plane & death of 176 innocent people," President Hassan Rouhani wrote on Twitter early Saturday.

                              "Investigations continue to identify & prosecute this great tragedy & unforgivable mistake," he added.
                              It's a reversal from earlier statements by Iranian officials, who had repeatedly denied that their own missile system shot down the plane.

                              The country's military now says the plane was shot down because it was thought to be a hostile object that was approaching a sensitive location of the country's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.

                              Iranian officials blamed heightened tensions with the U.S., with Rouhani saying the military was expecting attacks from the U.S. amid "the atmosphere of threats and intimidation by the aggressive American regime." Iran's foreign minister tweeted that it was a "sad day" but that U.S. "adventurism" had caused the disaster.

                              The area where the plane was shot down is near a missile research center and other Iranian military sites. They are "definitely sites that will be targeted in an all-out war," Fabian Hinz, a researcher with the Middlebury Institute of International Studies at Monterey, told NPR this week, saying Iran's air defenses were likely "on high alert" at the time.

                              Comment

                              • Carlin
                                Senior Member
                                • Dec 2011
                                • 3332

                                #30
                                Originally posted by Carlin15 View Post
                                Google’s true origin partly lies in CIA and NSA research grants for mass surveillance:
                                The story of the deliberate creation of the modern mass-surveillance state includes elements of Google’s surprising, and largely unknown, origin. It is a somewhat different creation story than the one the public has heard, and explains what Google cofounders Sergey Brin and Larry Page set out to build, and why.


                                Emails reveal close Google relationship with NSA:
                                National Security Agency head and Internet giant’s executives have coordinated through high-level policy discussions


                                Google has been a military-intel contractor from the very beginning:
                                Surveillance Valley: The Secret Military History of the Internet. A book by Yasha Levine. Spies, counterinsurgency campaigns, hippie entrepreneurs, privacy apps funded by the CIA. From the 1960s to the 2010s — you'll never look at the Internet the same again.


                                WikiLeaks: The CIA is using popular TVs, smartphones and cars to spy on their owners:


                                CIA 'tried to crack security of Apple devices':
                                Agency tried to create dummy version of development software that would allow it to insert surveillance back doors into apps


                                'State of Surveillance' with Edward Snowden and Shane Smith (VICE on HBO: Season 4, Episode 13):
                                https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ucRWyGKBVzo
                                The Age of Surveillance Capitalism by Shoshana Zuboff review – we are the pawns

                                Tech companies want to control every aspect of what we do, for profit. A bold, important book identifies our new era of capitalism

                                URL:
                                Tech companies want to control every aspect of what we do, for profit. A bold, important book identifies our new era of capitalism


                                https://democracynow.org - Corporations have created a new kind of marketplace out of our private human experiences. That is the conclusion of an explosive n...

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