Kitchen’s warning
Klon Kitchen’s national security newsletter warned us about the perils of TikTok, so the revelations from the National Security Agency will have come as no surprise. Testifying before Congress, NSA chief General Paul Nakasone warned that TikTok could serve as a platform for the Chinese Communist Party to perform broad influence operations in the U.S. (and presumably other democracies) by way of selective information suppression and promotion.
The story was reported by VOA here:
"TikTok concerns me for a number of different reasons," Nakasone said during a Senate Armed Services Committee hearing. "One is that the data that they have. Secondly is the algorithm and the control. Who has the algorithm?"
Third, he said, "is the broad platform" both for unleashing potential influence operations but also for the ability to give China a way to "turn off the message."
At the risk of sounding paranoid, I have to say the thin reporting from major corporate news outlets makes me wonder about how much those outlets fear getting frozen out of the Chinese domestic market for reporting news stories unfavorable to Beijing. ABC News, for instance, is owned by Disney, which tries not to get on the wrong side of the CCP. Similar conflicts are found at CBS/Viacom, NBC/Universal, and several other outlets. Even a dedicated news outlet like the New York Times has to tread cautiously or risk its reporters losing all access to China. The conflicts at digital and online tech companies are even more extreme.
Just exactly how the CCP tries to manipulate and subvert American domestic politics is unclear. This could either be a sign that the efforts are minimal and ineffective, or else they’re so powerful that we don’t even notice—almost like some sort of alien mind control tale from science fiction.
Is the suspicion justified? I would tend to believe the NSA’s warnings regarding the extent of the danger. Plus, the documentary The China Hustle from a few years ago managed to increase my suspicion, especially when the Chinese legal requirements are described. Companies listed in that country are expected to lie outright to foreign governments when it comes to what control the CCP has over their decision making. The trailer for that is below. The whole film is available on YouTube with commercials.
Morning All
Today is "Everything you know is just wrong"...you can read this two ways, I automatically read it as " things I think are wrong...lol...like tater tots with anything but salt on them, men who wear white socks with sandals and catsup on eggs....lol) Not that everything I know is wrong...lol...
It is sunny outside and there is till snow on the ground, and the skies are blue ( but not the roads) , it makes it look like there are diamonds on the grass, pretty cool. But, the sun glare this morning ( and I suspect this has to do with me being on short side...lol) was awful, it was below my visor and it was so glaring I couldn't see the care in front of me for most of the drive to work...I tried to block it with my hand, but it didn't work so well...
It was in the upper teens and low 20's over night, about 29 when I left for work, but it is supposed to get to the mid 40's later this afternoon and tomorrow's high is projected to be around 57...not bad, I can wear a lighter coat and one of my lighter , more attractive tops...lol
Yeah, China sucks, I have never been on Tik Tok and only know what I read about....doesn't seem like my kind of thing...It is a complicated relationship for sure, it is an would be hard to not do business with them at all, as far as globally...I feel bad for their people more than anything...( and this is the extent of my interest in foreign policy ( I assume the experts know what they are doing , and leave it to them....lol)
The local Dairy Queen is advertising for help, the buzzards come to Hinckley today as they do every year and I am seeing more wildlife venturing out...though I can do without the Wolf Spiders in the office...lol...so, spring is coming, I think it is this Monday the official start of it...
And things seem to be picking up at work, which I hope is true.
And Happy Hump Day!
https://photos.app.goo.gl/cvXBAEK9jMSySR2F7
Hi all: Tomorrow I'll share the story behind this photo.
Don't worry, it's not from CocaineBear...It's a (roughly) 100 year old photo.