TikTok - America spying on the whole world ok, TikTok did not, not ok.

USA uses Google to spy on world even as it says China may spy with TikTok

During a five-hour grilling of the chief executive of TikTok last week, United States lawmakers railed against the possibility of China using the wildly popular, partly Chinese-owned app to spy on Americans.

They did not mention how the US government itself uses US tech companies that effectively control the global internet to spy on everyone else.

As the US considers banning the short video app used by more than 150 million Americans, lawmakers are also weighing the renewal of powers that force firms like Google, Meta and Apple to facilitate untrammelled spying on non-US citizens located overseas.

Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA), which the US Congress must vote to reauthorise by December to prevent it from lapsing under a sunset clause, allows US intelligence agencies to carry out warrantless spying on foreigners’ email, phone and other online communications.

While US citizens have some protections against warrantless searches under the Fourth Amendment of the US Constitution, the US government has maintained that these rights do not extend to foreigners overseas, giving agencies such as the National Security Agency (NSA), Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) practically free rein to snoop on their communications.

Information may also be turned over to US allies like the United Kingdom and Australia.

Though it is common for governments to spy abroad, Washington enjoys an advantage not shared by other countries: jurisdiction over the handful of companies that effectively run the modern internet, including Google, Meta, Amazon and Microsoft.

For billions of internet users outside the US, the lack of privacy mirrors the alleged threat that US officials say TikTok, owned by Chinese company ByteDance, poses to Americans.

“It is a case of ‘rules for thee but not for me,'” says Asher Wolf, a tech researcher and privacy advocate based in Melbourne, Australia. “So the noise the Americans are making about TikTok must be seen less as a sincere desire to protect citizens from surveillance and influence operations, and more as an attempt to ring-fence and consolidate national control over social media.”

Anonymous 

Telling American lies with an evil face

‘Putin is clearly in Xi’s pocket’, says US ambassador to Japan. This man was given prime time in CNA to slander China with his agenda to sow discord between China and Russia. And he lashed out at China and Russia with all his propaganda crafted by the American propaganda machine, with a straight and evil look.

Putin is clearly in Xi's pocket. He tried to diminish the China Russia relationship and Putin as a lesser leader than Xi. Is that true? China Russia relationship is complementary. Both needs each other to take on the USA, the world's number one terrorist state. On their own, both would be under great stress to compete with the USA. Fighting alone, to take on the Americans individually, would encourage the Americans to think it would be easy. But when they combined their forces and resources, the Americans would have to think very carefully or court their own destruction.

The relationship between Putin and Xi was never an uneven one. Both are capable leaders with respectable stature in the world.

It is the allied leaders in the American camp that are in the pocket of Biden or any dull POTUS. Allied leaders cannot act on their own and have to take instructions from the American President. Look at Europe, from Zelensky to Sunak, Scholz to Macron, everyone has to take instruction from Biden and do the bidding of the Americans, even sacrificing their own national interests. It is an unequal relationship with Biden as the Emperor of the American Empire and calling the shot.

Japan and South Korea are even worst. Both are as good as colonies of the Americans. When the American Emperor calls, both would run quickly to the White House to take their attendance. Saying no to Biden is not permitted. The latest president that is in the pocket of Biden is Marcos Jr.

The relationship between Xi and Putin are on an equal basis. Both respect each other and would consult each other when making decisions that affect their respective national interests. In the case of Biden and the American Empire, everyone has to take orders from Emperor Biden.

This cheap tirade by the American Ambassador to Japan is just that, cheap shot. He tried to create misunderstanding between Xi and Putin, thinking that they were children to be manipulated by his cheap shot. Good riddance.

BRICS rising.......G7 falling

As someone already mentioned, BRICS, which are mostly made up of countries in the Global South, with the exception of Russia, have already a bigger GDP nominal and PPP terms compared to the G7. When Middle East countries are in the fold, expect BRICS to be even more of an economic clout compared to the G7, whose share is dropping quite noticeably.

BRICS is expected to grow further with more countries joining, particularly from the Middle East and Central America. Mexico is not a small economy that just joined BRICS. BRICS will become the biggest economic bloc in time to come. And with trade the foundation of the grouping, it will greatly benefit all member countries. Aspiring members know that this is the greatest benefit they can get from the expanding BRICS market, with just the Chinese and Indian market already so vast with potentials.

With the EU suffering de-industralisation over cheap energy unavailablity, the situation is going to get worse. Sure there are short term energy alternatives for them, but what about the long term. Buying expensive energy from the USA going forward is not sustainable. And the EU countries will be competing against the likes of China and India, both of which have access to cheap energy from Russia and can still make products much more competively. How is the EU going to compete? Only way is by moving manufacturing to China and India and hollowing out the EU's industrial base. Not a good sign for the EU going forward.

Even Little Britain, already out of the EU, is not spared. Now Scotland is very serious about leaving the UK and Little Britain had to resort to use of coercion to restrain the move. It will not succeed and will only be a matter of time before Scotland exit the UK. If Scotland ever leaves the UK, who will take control of the North Sea Oil is the question. And that is a very important issue for the UK, especially with regard to energy. Little Britain's inflation just rose to 10.4% in February.

More strikes are looming in Little Britain. Macron is hanging by his bootstrap with protest getting more widespread. Israel is also in chaos. Another shooting in the USA with 6 dead on top of the devastation of mutiple hurricanes hitting the country repeatedly. Karma is working for all the crimes committed against humanity by the Anglo Saxon Whites.

Anonymous 

America is a lying thief, stealing technology from countries outside the USA

They did that to Toshiba of Japan. They did that to Alstom of France. They did that to Huawei. Now they are doing it to TikTok.

Why? Because they could not compete with all these companies. TikTok, with 150 million followers in the USA, is competing well with the likes of Facebook, Twitter, Instagram etc. Meta is falling apart. Twitter under Elon Musk is facing trouble with his revelations about Biden and his son, and for putting Trump back into twittering mode again before 2024.

Likewise, in the chip manufacturing business, USA manufacturers are not in the forefront of high end chip innovation and manufacturing. TSMC and Samsung have overshadowed them. So, what to do? Lure them to the USA, steal their technology, kill them from competing by putting a leash over them for good.

TSMC's Morris Chang is already deeply regreting his move to Arisona and building a plant there. His fellow Taiwanese workers, seconded to the USA, are facing problems with the work attitudes of non-Taiwanese workers, who are not used to the same working environment as in Taiwan. Taiwanese are used to working long hours, but not the Whites and other non-Taiwanese, thus creating friction between them. Despite being paid double what they get in Taiwan to lure them over, some Taiwanese workers are regreting their move to Arizona. Too late to regret.

Moreover, TSMC now realises that the subsidies given by the USA Government favours the USA chip makers like Intel, Micron, Nvidia etc more than TSMC and Samsung. TSMC should have heeded the warning given by Trump earlier of his 'America First' policy and now equally applied by Biden as well. Remember, the whole USA administration, whether Republicans or Democrats are basically the right and left hand of the Deep State. Both Parties cannot vary their policies too far apart. Moreover, it is USA big oil, big pharma, big tech that provided big funding for the campaigns of USA Presidents, and they invariably control the one sitting in the White House.

Anonymous 

TikTok Chew Shou Zi versus American gangsters in Congress

Photo credit to Bloomberg

Commentary: How well did TikTok CEO Chew Shou Zi hold out against US Congress grilling?

Chew Shou Zi’s performance at a hostile congressional hearing was a missed opportunity for TikTok, says NTU’s Mark Cenite.   CNA headlines.

The above are the headlines in CNA of a critique on the performance of Chew Shou Zi in the American Congress by an armchair academic. It is so easy to make condescending comments from a distance, and not in the hot seat. The world has come to know what happened in this theatre concocted by, and with script written by the mafia of American lawmakers. The world was given a front row seat to witness the fake democracy of America where a bunch of technically ignorant and incompetent lawmakers pretending to know what they did not know and lashing out at the CEO of TikTok in a set up to literally grill him alive.

What happened in Congress on that day, for 5 hours, came out as nothing but a farce. 52 old hacks, some could be the grandpa or grandma by age to the young TikTok CEO, went about mercilessly to demolish him based on a plate of lies, disinformation, presumptions and bullying, hiding behind strength in numbers. They asked many silly questions and made many silly comments all with one purpose, TikTok was guilty of spying, if not today, would be sometime in the future, and because its parent company is from China, it must take orders from China under Chinese laws. They conveniently forgot that the USA is the biggest spy in the world and spying even on their own people and leaders of their allies, and caught red handed. It is not that TikTok had done it, they had no proof that TikTok had committed an unlawful act. It was all based on a presumption that TikTok would do it in the future. This is as good as guilty before a crime is committed, a presumption of guilt.

And Chew was not given a chance to make a decent reply or explanation. They shut him up, cut him off, did not let him speak. They only wanted to prove how clever they were in their allegations and silly questions. This is making a mockery of American democracy. It is American democrazy. It is gangsterism, with the privilege of being lawmakers, with the power behind them, abusing their power as lawmakers, to fix up their victim without giving the victim the right to defend himself. And the almost senile men and women thought they were very clever.

And armchair critics could think that Chew stood a chance, could make a case for TikTok. And he failed and it was his fault. Bull. No one stand a chance in a house of hooligans and mafias. It was modern day Inquisition. The gangsters and mafias had already decided that TikTok was guilty and inviting TikTok's CEO to Congress was to give the impression that they were fair, with the fake presumption that he was given a chance to make his case. It was all a charade.

This is the most shameful face of American hooliganism on display to the whole world. TikTok was guilty without committing any crime. The gangsters and mafias in Congress said so. They were hellbent to get rid of TikTok at all costs. Chew did not stand a chance to defend TikTok. He was set up to be the punching bag, to make silly old men and old women looked clever. There was no contest. It was not a contest, and never a missed opportunity. It was wishful thinking that the gangsters and mafias would give Chew a fair hearing, give TikTok a chance to make its case. You cannot reason with the unreasonable.

Would TikTok survive in the USA? This would now depend on the 150m American users. Would they march on the streets to save TikTok from being unfairly crucified by the gangsters and mafias in Congress? Would they let the gangsters and mafias rob TikTok from them, forbidding them the freedom to use an innocent software that is useful to them socially and in their businesses?

American freedom of choice, freedom of expression and democracy are on trial, being compromised by the gangsters and mafias that called themselves lawmakers. These gangsters and mafias in Congress are such a contemptuous lot, disgusting. This is a showcase of fake American democracy. It is American gangsterism, a kangaroo court.

PS. On a one to one basis, the old hacks in Congress would look like infantiles against the technically superior TikTok CEO Chew.