#China Information Protection Law

[thelawandmore]

Recent Developments in Data Privacy and Their Implications for Business 

Recent Developments in Data Privacy and Their Implications for Business

Data privacy is a hot topic in today’s digital world. Here are nine recent developments that changed the data privacy landscape and what they mean for businesses and consumers.  1. The EU General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) came into force in May 2018, creating a unified data protection framework across the EU and giving individuals more control over their personal data. The EU General…

[contemplatingoutlander]

It’s not the hypocrisy that bothers me; it’s the stupidity. We’re all shocked — shocked! — that President Trump and his team don’t actually care about protecting classified information or federal record retention laws. But we knew that already. What’s much worse is that top Trump administration officials put our troops in jeopardy by sharing military plans on a commercial messaging app and unwittingly invited a journalist into the chat. That’s dangerous. And it’s just dumb. This is the latest in a string of self-inflicted wounds by the new administration that are squandering America’s strength and threatening our national security. Firing hundreds of federal workers charged with protecting our nation’s nuclear weapons is also dumb. So is shutting down efforts to fight pandemics just as a deadly Ebola outbreak is spreading in Africa. It makes no sense to purge talented generals, diplomats and spies at a time when rivals like China and Russia are trying to expand their global reach. In a dangerous and complex world, it’s not enough to be strong. You must also be smart. As secretary of state during the Obama administration, I argued for smart power, integrating the hard power of our military with the soft power of our diplomacy, development assistance, economic might and cultural influence. None of those tools can do the job alone. Together, they make America a superpower. The Trump approach is dumb power. Instead of a strong America using all our strengths to lead the world and confront our adversaries, Mr. Trump’s America will be increasingly blind and blundering, feeble and friendless.

FINALLY, a major Democratic leader speaks up and trashes Trump's reign of stupidity and cruelty!

And of course, it's a woman: Hillary Clinton, who must be appalled at how easily Trump has dismissed "Signalgate," which was far worse than anything Clinton did with her "emails."

This is a gift 🎁 link, so there is no paywall. Enjoy!

[evilminji]

Actually? You know what would be darkly hilarious?

If, when the GIW can't get ghosts declared both malicious AND non-sapient/sentient? They push for "dumb animals" instead.

Which is accepted. Ghosts are animals. Checks out, says scientists everywhere.

HOW "dumb"?

What? Says the GIW, mid-victory high fives. They did not expect a follow up question. They SHOULD have, as this is the SCIENTIFIC community and that is literally their job, but here we are.

How. "Dumb"? The scientists repeate slower. What methodology did you use? What is your sample size? Are their different sub-species? Is this dimension like ours? Is Ghost the equivalent to Mammal? It says here their are humanoid ones.

What IQ are we talking about here and HOW DID YOU TEST??

A goldfish, parrot, and dolphin are all animals. WILDLY different levels of intelligence. You can't treat them the same. Technically speaking, WE are animals.

The GIW does not like where this conversation is going. Tries to shut it down.

.......well NOW the scientists are both offended AND invested. How DARE you try to push faulty science and hide the Truth from them! They're gonna do their OWN studies! *picks up the phone and dials that one embarrassing spiritualist friend they had in college* Hey! You still think you can summon ghosts? I'll pay you to try it for Science!

And like? As a Ghost? It's degrading as hell. But ALSO these fuckos just Whoopsie'd you into having both protections under the law, since animal abuse IS illegal, AND just put the ENTIRE planets scientific community on their asses.... by accident.

So you take a deeeeeeep breath you don't even need. Remember you're doing this for the little ghost babies and fluffy ghost animals. And show up at a research facility like "yes, hello, I am Ghost. Here for you to poke and prod at. Please ask me to name the object on the flash card or whatever IQ tests do these days."

Should you HAVE to prove your own fucking sentience? No. But? You do it. You're even polite about it. Ask for a copy of the study they plan to publish so you can BEAT some mother fuckers with it. The scientists nod in understanding and use the BIG font for your copy so it'll hurt more.

They've been there.

And just? Shitty people getting what they wanted only to have it blow up in their faces?? I see all these angst "but what if they were declared ANIMALS" prompts and I just?? Are we talking PARROT or goldfish!? One has the average intelligence of about a human 4yr old and the other is a FISH! People get RIGHTFULLY furious when you treat INTELLIGENT animals badly.

And would, in fact, adapt pretty easy to discovering one of said animal has become HUMAN lvl intelligent. It's easy to grasp the idea of human intelligence lvl dolphin or monkeys. Maybe there was some mutated strain, maybe in uetro tampering. Who knows. But if I tried to sell you a human intelligent housefly? Gold fish? Lizard?

You wouldn't believe me. There is some kind of trick at play.

So if GHOSTS are seen as animals? Everyone nods and then later? Someone comes in TV and very excitedly informs you "we found INTELLIGENT LIFE amongst the ghosts!" You'd believe it. Probably be really excited by your conversation starter for the day. Get a taco and move on with your life.

But? Having to willing sit for a barrage of testing? Is going to suuuuuuck so bad. Poor Danny. SATs all over again. For HOURS. At multiple facilities, just to be CERTAIN it's not a one off. All because he not certain he can insure good behavior from other ghosts and This Is IMPORTANT. He ALSO can't be certain it's even SAFE.

Might be a trap.

But if he has to do it again and again and again? Mexico to Bavaria to China to the Maldives? If this is what it takes for the scientific community to bitchslap the GIW into ORBIT before the UN? Hand him that pencil.

He has no where more important to be.

@hdgnj @nerdpoe @mutable-manifestation @ailithnight @the-witchhunter

[mostlysignssomeportents]

China hacked Verizon, AT&T and Lumen using the FBI’s backdoor

On OCTOBER 23 at 7PM, I'll be in DECATUR, presenting my novel THE BEZZLE at EAGLE EYE BOOKS.

State-affiliated Chinese hackers penetrated AT&T, Verizon, Lumen and others; they entered their networks and spent months intercepting US traffic – from individuals, firms, government officials, etc – and they did it all without having to exploit any code vulnerabilities. Instead, they used the back door that the FBI requires every carrier to furnish:

https://www.wsj.com/tech/cybersecurity/u-s-wiretap-systems-targeted-in-china-linked-hack-327fc63b?st=C5ywbp&reflink=desktopwebshare_permalink

In 1994, Bill Clinton signed CALEA into law. The Communications Assistance for Law Enforcement Act requires every US telecommunications network to be designed around facilitating access to law-enforcement wiretaps. Prior to CALEA, telecoms operators were often at pains to design their networks to resist infiltration and interception. Even if a telco didn't go that far, they were at the very least indifferent to the needs of law enforcement, and attuned instead to building efficient, robust networks.

Predictably, CALEA met stiff opposition from powerful telecoms companies as it worked its way through Congress, but the Clinton administration bought them off with hundreds of millions of dollars in subsidies to acquire wiretap-facilitation technologies. Immediately, a new industry sprang into being; companies that promised to help the carriers hack themselves, punching back doors into their networks. The pioneers of this dirty business were overwhelmingly founded by ex-Israeli signals intelligence personnel, though they often poached senior American military and intelligence officials to serve as the face of their operations and liase with their former colleagues in law enforcement and intelligence.

Telcos weren't the only opponents of CALEA, of course. Security experts – those who weren't hoping to cash in on government pork, anyways – warned that there was no way to make a back door that was only useful to the "good guys" but would keep the "bad guys" out.

These experts were – then as now – dismissed as neurotic worriers who simultaneously failed to understand the need to facilitate mass surveillance in order to keep the nation safe, and who lacked appropriate faith in American ingenuity. If we can put a man on the moon, surely we can build a security system that selectively fails when a cop needs it to, but stands up to every crook, bully, corporate snoop and foreign government. In other words: "We have faith in you! NERD HARDER!"

NERD HARDER! has been the answer ever since CALEA – and related Clinton-era initiatives, like the failed Clipper Chip program, which would have put a spy chip in every computer, and, eventually, every phone and gadget:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clipper_chip

America may have invented NERD HARDER! but plenty of other countries have taken up the cause. The all-time champion is former Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull, who, when informed that the laws of mathematics dictate that it is impossible to make an encryption scheme that only protects good secrets and not bad ones, replied, "The laws of mathematics are very commendable, but the only law that applies in Australia is the law of Australia":

https://www.zdnet.com/article/the-laws-of-australia-will-trump-the-laws-of-mathematics-turnbull/

CALEA forced a redesign of the foundational, physical layer of the internet. Thankfully, encryption at the protocol layer – in the programs we use – partially counters this deliberately introduced brittleness in the security of all our communications. CALEA can be used to intercept your communications, but mostly what an attacker gets is "metadata" ("so-and-so sent a message of X bytes to such and such") because the data is scrambled and they can't unscramble it, because cryptography actually works, unlike back doors. Of course, that's why governments in the EU, the US, the UK and all over the world are still trying to ban working encryption, insisting that the back doors they'll install will only let the good guys in:

https://pluralistic.net/2023/03/05/theyre-still-trying-to-ban-cryptography/

Any back door can be exploited by your adversaries. The Chinese sponsored hacking group know as Salt Typhoon intercepted the communications of hundreds of millions of American residents, businesses, and institutions. From that position, they could do NSA-style metadata-analysis, malware injection, and interception of unencrypted traffic. And they didn't have to hack anything, because the US government insists that all networking gear ship pre-hacked so that cops can get into it.

This isn't even the first time that CALEA back doors have been exploited by a hostile foreign power as a matter of geopolitical skullduggery. In 2004-2005, Greece's telecommunications were under mass surveillance by US spy agencies who wiretapped Greek officials, all the way up to the Prime Minister, in order to mess with the Greek Olympic bid:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greek_wiretapping_case_2004%E2%80%9305

This is a wild story in so many ways. For one thing, CALEA isn't law in Greece! You can totally sell working, secure networking gear in Greece, and in many other countries around the world where they have not passed a stupid CALEA-style law. However the US telecoms market is so fucking huge that all the manufacturers build CALEA back doors into their gear, no matter where it's destined for. So the US has effectively exported this deliberate insecurity to the whole planet – and used it to screw around with Olympic bids, the most penny-ante bullshit imaginable.

Now Chinese-sponsored hackers with cool names like "Salt Typhoon" are traipsing around inside US telecoms infrastructure, using the back doors the FBI insisted would be safe.

Tor Books as just published two new, free LITTLE BROTHER stories: VIGILANT, about creepy surveillance in distance education; and SPILL, about oil pipelines and indigenous landback.

If you'd like an essay-formatted version of this post to read or share, here's a link to it on pluralistic.net, my surveillance-free, ad-free, tracker-free blog:

https://pluralistic.net/2024/10/07/foreseeable-outcomes/#calea

Image: Kris Duda, modified https://www.flickr.com/photos/ahorcado/5433669707/

CC BY 2.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/

[groupchatbrain]

Kowloon Walled City (九龍城寨) in Hong Kong, at its height in the 1970s, was home to an estimated 30,000 to 50,000 people, all crammed into just 6.4 acres of land—making it one of the most densely populated places on Earth. Often referred to as the City of Darkness, it was a place where sunlight barely reached the ground due to the densely packed buildings that stretched skyward in a chaotic maze of makeshift structures.

People living there operated small businesses like fabric shops, hair salons, food vendors, and workshops. These were often run without licenses or official oversight, making it a largely informal economy. There was also a significant presence of illegal businesses, such as drug dealing, gambling, and prostitution, often controlled by the Triads. The residents were largely self-reliant, with local businesses serving the immediate needs of the community, such as food, healthcare, and other basic services. It was an environment where people had to find ways to make a living with little help from the outside world. This underground economy was fueled by the lack of governmental control. Kowloon Walled City existed in a legal gray zone, neither fully under the control of the British colonial government nor China.

For much of its existence, the area was lawless and ruled by the Triads, Hong Kong’s notorious criminal organizations. In the absence of government intervention, the Triads became the de facto authority. Ironically, despite its reputation as a lawless slum, Kowloon Walled City was remarkably safe—thanks to the Triads' influence, it had lower crime rates compared to other areas of Hong Kong. The tightly-knit community, though surrounded by chaos, developed a sense of security and mutual reliance, where, even though the environment was harsh, the people kept to their own and protected each other.

However, by the late 1980s, the city’s dangerous living conditions and lack of basic infrastructure led to mounting concerns. The Hong Kong government decided to demolish the Walled City. It was cleared to make way for the Kowloon Walled City Park, a public space that preserved some remnants of the original structures. By 1994, the area was completely transformed from one of the densest slums in the world to a green park.

Today, Kowloon Walled City is a symbol of both the resilience of its residents and the dangers of a society left unchecked by law. The park stands as a reminder of a place that, while controversial, was a unique, self-sustaining world that existed on the edge of civilization, governed by its own set of rules.

[dreaminginthedeepsouth]

It’s not the hypocrisy that bothers me; it’s the stupidity. We’re all shocked — shocked! — that President Trump and his team don’t actually care about protecting classified information or federal record retention laws. But we knew that already. What’s much worse is that top Trump administration officials put our troops in jeopardy by sharing military plans on a commercial messaging app and unwittingly invited a journalist into the chat. That’s dangerous. And it’s just dumb.

This is the latest in a string of self-inflicted wounds by the new administration that are squandering America’s strength and threatening our national security. Firing hundreds of federal workers charged with protecting our nation’s nuclear weapons is also dumb. So is shutting down efforts to fight pandemics just as a deadly Ebola outbreak is spreading in Africa. It makes no sense to purge talented generals, diplomats and spies at a time when rivals like China and Russia are trying to expand their global reach.

In a dangerous and complex world, it’s not enough to be strong. You must also be smart. As secretary of state during the Obama administration, I argued for smart power, integrating the hard power of our military with the soft power of our diplomacy, development assistance, economic might and cultural influence. None of those tools can do the job alone. Together, they make America a superpower. The Trump approach is dumb power. Instead of a strong America using all our strengths to lead the world and confront our adversaries, Mr. Trump’s America will be increasingly blind and blundering, feeble and friendless.

Let’s start with the military, because that’s what he claims to care about. Don’t let the swagger fool you. Mr. Trump and Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth (of group chat fame) are apparently more focused on performative fights over wokeness than preparing for real fights with America’s adversaries. Does anyone really think deleting tributes to the Tuskegee Airmen makes us more safe? The Trump Pentagon purged images of the plane that dropped the atomic bomb that ended World War II because its name is the Enola Gay. Dumb.

Instead of working with Congress to modernize the military’s budget to reflect changing threats, the president is firing top generals without credible justification. Five former secretaries of defense, Republicans and Democrats, rightly warned that this would “undermine our all-volunteer force and weaken our national security.” Mass layoffs are also hitting the intelligence agencies. As one former senior spy put it, “We’re shooting ourselves in the head, not the foot.” Not smart.

If they’re this reckless with America’s hard power, it’s no surprise that they’re shredding our soft power. As a former secretary of state, I am particularly alarmed by the administration’s plan to close embassies and consulates, fire diplomats and destroy the U.S. Agency for International Development. Let me explain why this matters, because it’s less widely understood than the importance of tanks and fighter jets.

I visited 112 countries and traveled nearly one million miles as America’s top diplomat, and I have seen how valuable it is for our country to be represented on the ground in far-flung places. The U.S. military has long understood that our forces must be forward deployed in order to project American power and respond quickly to crises. The same is true of our diplomats. Our embassies are our eyes and ears informing policy decisions back home. They are launchpads for operations that keep us safe and prosperous, from training foreign counterterrorism forces to helping U.S. companies enter new markets.

China understands the value of forward-deployed diplomacy, which is why it has opened new embassies and consulates around the world and now has more than the United States. The Trump administration’s retreat would leave the field open for Beijing to spread its influence uncontested.

Diplomats win America friends so we don’t have to go it alone in a competitive world. That’s how my colleagues and I were able to rally the United Nations to impose crippling sanctions against Iran’s nuclear program and ultimately force Tehran to stop its progress toward a bomb — something Mr. Trump’s bluster has failed to do. (He actually defunded inspectors keeping an eye on Iranian research sites. Dumb.)

Diplomacy is cost-effective, especially compared with military action. Preventing wars is cheaper than fighting them. Mr. Trump’s own former secretary of defense Jim Mattis, a retired Marine Corps four-star general, told Congress, “If you don’t fund the State Department fully, then I need to buy more ammunition.”

Our development assistance has always been a small portion of the federal budget, but it also has an outsize impact on international stability, especially paired with effective diplomacy. When American aid dollars help stop a famine or an outbreak, when we respond to a natural disaster or open schools, we win hearts and minds that might otherwise go to terrorists or rivals like China. We reduce the flow of migrants and refugees. We strengthen friendly governments that might otherwise collapse.

I don’t want to pretend that any of this is easy or that American foreign policy hasn’t been plagued by mistakes. Leadership is hard. But our best chance to get it right and to keep our country safe is to strengthen our government, not weaken it. We should invest in the patriots who serve our nation, not insult them.

Smart reforms could make federal agencies, including the State Department and U.S.A.I.D., more efficient and effective. During the Clinton administration, my husband’s Reinventing Government initiative, led by Vice President Al Gore, worked with Congress to thoughtfully streamline bureaucracy, modernize the work force and save billions of dollars. In many ways it was the opposite of the Trump administration’s slash-and-burn approach. Today they are not reinventing government; they’re wrecking it.

All of this is both dumb and dangerous. And I haven’t even gotten to the damage Mr. Trump is doing by cozying up to dictators like Russia’s Vladimir Putin, blowing up our alliances — force multipliers that extend our reach and share our burdens — and trashing our moral influence by undermining the rule of law at home. Or how he’s tanking our economy and blowing up our national debt. Propagandists in Beijing and Moscow know we are in a global debate about competing systems of governance. People and leaders around the world are watching to see if democracy can still deliver peace and prosperity or even function. If America is ruled like a banana republic, with flagrant corruption and a leader who puts himself above the law, we lose that argument. We also lose the qualities that have made America exceptional and indispensable.

If there’s a grand strategy at work here, I don’t know what it is. Maybe Mr. Trump wants to return to 19th-century spheres of influence. Maybe he’s just driven by personal grudges and is in way over his head. As a businessman, he bankrupted his Atlantic City casinos. Now he’s gambling with the national security of the United States. If this continues, a group chat foul will be the least of our concerns, and all the fist and flag emojis in the world won’t save us.

Hillary Clinton is a former secretary of state and U.S. senator and was the Democratic Party’s nominee for president in 2016.

https://www.nytimes.com/.../trump-hegseth-signal-chat...

[mariacallous]

Russia—and China—had seemed to benefit from the Houthis’ attacks on shipping in the Red Sea because the militia spared their ships. But it turns out that Moscow has been more than a passive beneficiary. As the Wall Street Journal recently reported, Russia has been providing the Houthis with targeting data for their attacks. Now that Russia has crossed this red line of actively aiding attacks on Western shipping, other hostile states may start sharing military-grade data with proxies of their choice.

One of the U.N. Security Council’s five permanent members is actively supporting attacks on global shipping. It’s a stark violation of the maritime rules, which grant merchant vessels the freedom and right to sail not only on the high seas but also through other countries’ waters and through internationally recognized straits without having to fear, let alone experience, acts of aggression.

The Houthis, you’ll remember, began their campaign against merchant vessels in the Red Sea last November, when they struck a string of vessels linked to Israel, supposedly in support of the people of Gaza. When the United States and Britain, and then the European Union, intervened in support of shipping in the Red Sea by sending naval vessels to protect merchant ships (of all nationalities), the group began attacking ships linked to these countries, too.

And so it has continued. Each month, the group launches a handful of attacks against ships in the Red Sea. Mostly, the Western naval vessels manage to thwart the attacks, but several merchant ships have been struck, and two of them have sunk. But bar a Russian shadow vessel struck—probably accidentally—this May, Russian and Chinese vessels have been spared.

The group has been so successful thanks to missiles and sophisticated drones provided by Iran. Having high-performance weaponry, though, brings little benefit if one strikes the wrong target, and the Houthis lack the technology that would allow them to discern a ship’s coordinates. That’s where, it has now emerged, Russia has turned out to be a most useful ally.

Russian coordinates have thus helped the Houthis keep up their attacks even as Western naval vessels have been trying to foil them. “Targeting covers a wide range of complexity,” said Duncan Potts, a retired vice admiral in the U.K. Royal Navy. “Hitting a static target on land can be as easy as using information on Google Maps. At the other extreme, you have mobile entities like ships at sea. Hitting them requires much higher-grade, precise, real-time targeting data that uses information from different sources. Such targeting is quite complicated even for Western navies.”

Since ships are mobile, the targeting data typically needs real-time information. Though details of the data provided by the Russians are naturally unavailable, it’s highly likely that real-time data is included. Either way, Potts said, “this development is certainly significant and notable, but it doesn’t surprise me.”

The fact that Russia is giving the Houthis specific information about vessels’ exact presence in the Red Sea is making this strategic waterway even more dangerous for Western-linked ships. “If you’re a Western-linked merchant ship traveling through the Red Sea with whatever naval escort is available, you’ll not be signaling your position by using AIS [automatic identification systems, a maritime GPS],” said Nils Christian Wang, a retired rear admiral and former chief of the Danish Navy. “That means the Houthis would struggle to know what ships are arriving and where they are, so this data would be extremely useful.” (Western naval forces in the Red Sea escort vessels regardless of their flag registration and country of ownership.)

It’s not exactly clear what kind of targeting data the Russians have been providing. “The Russians might help the Houthis get the right maritime picture to make sure they don’t hit Russian ships, but they may also be providing data to help the Houthis hit Western targets,” Wang said. “It’s one thing to give data to help protect your own ships, another to give them data that help them attack Western ships.”

Either way, the group’s attacks have already caused a dramatic drop in traffic in the Red Sea and the Suez Canal to the north. Between May 2023 and this May, traffic through the Suez Canal plummeted by 64.3 percent, the Egyptian newspaper Al-Mal reported. The number of ships transiting the canal monthly dropped from 2,396 in May 2023 to 1,111 this May.

Most Western-linked vessels instead sail around the Cape of Good Hope, but this entails an additional 10-12 days’ sailing and a 50 percent cost increase. Only a small number of Western shipping lines and insurers still dare to send their vessels through the Suez Canal and the Red Sea—but Western naval vessels have to remain there to provide some degree of order. In recent months, the Houthis have been attacking these ships, too.

Russia’s provision of targeting data may be followed by yet more support for the Houthis. According to Disruptive Industries (DI), a U.K. technology company that specializes in the closed-source discovery of global risks, there is extensive and unseen Russian activity in Houthi-held parts of Yemen, and there has been for some time. (Full disclosure: I’m a member of DI’s advisory board.)

Sharing targeting data is directly participating in a conflict. That’s why Western nations have refrained from sharing targeting data with Ukraine, a nation defending itself against an invader. In September, Russian President Vladimir Putin himself weighed in on the issue. Western approval for the use of Western-provided long-range missiles that could strike Russia would mean involvement in the conflict because Western military personnel would have to provide the targeting data. “It is a question of deciding whether or not NATO countries are directly involved in a military conflict,” Putin told Russian state television.

By that point, Russia was already sharing targeting data with the Houthis.

“The Houthis’ attacks are certainly in line with Russia’s desire to remove the world’s focus from Ukraine,” Wang said. “One almost gets the suspicion that this is part of a manuscript. It’s so much in Russia’s interest to have these attacks happen.”

Now that the Kremlin has crossed this red line in the Red Sea without being punished for it, it may decide to share targeting data with other nonstate outfits. So may other regimes. Imagine, say, a Chinese-linked militant group in Myanmar or Indonesia targeting merchant vessels in nearby waters aided by targeting data from the People’s Liberation Army Navy. Western governments, shipping companies, and underwriters will need to pay close attention.

For now, the continuing strikes against Western vessels present a massive risk for Western-linked merchant vessels in the Red Sea and the Western naval vessels that are there to protect shipping. And the discovery that Russia is providing targeting data could convince the few remaining Western shipping lines still sending vessels through the Red Sea to give up on it (and the Suez Canal) altogether. One of the oldest routes of modern shipping could be abandoned—until Russia and the Houthis are bought to heel.

[political-us]

The potential conflict of interest with Kash Patel owning shares in Shein while serving as FBI Director arises from the fact that Shein, a Chinese-founded fast fashion company, has faced U.S. government scrutiny over issues like forced labor, trade practices, and data security. Here’s why this could be problematic:

1. The FBI Investigates Foreign Influence & Economic Crimes: The FBI plays a key role in investigating foreign companies that pose national security risks, including companies linked to China. Shein has been accused of using forced labor in its supply chain and violating U.S. trade laws. If an investigation into Shein arose, Patel could interfere, delay, or deprioritize it to protect his financial interest.

2. Access to Sensitive Government Information: As FBI Director, Patel would have access to classified intelligence regarding Chinese businesses, cyber threats, and economic espionage. If Shein were under investigation, he could tip off the company or influence decision-making in a way that benefits his investment.

3. Government Policy & Business Regulation: The FBI collaborates with other agencies like the DOJ and FTC to enforce trade laws. Patel could use his position to influence policy decisions that affect Shein, such as lobbying against potential import bans or trade restrictions that could hurt the company’s business.

4. Public Trust & Ethics: High-ranking officials are expected to avoid conflicts that could compromise public trust in their decision-making. Even if Patel took no direct action, simply owning a stake in Shein while leading the FBI could create the appearance of bias, leading to concerns about fairness in law enforcement.

[beardedmrbean]

USPS customers are being warned over a chilling new door-knock scam that has left some victims thousands of dollars out of pocket.

Police have urged residents to be vigilant about the trick, which is becoming increasingly widespread across the country. It involves con artists visiting homeowners' addresses and asking for a “ missing package ” that has been delivered to them. However, behind this innocent request is a ploy that has often been days in the making.

That's because the thief will have purposely bought an expensive item under someone else's name, such as a phone, computer, or jewelry. They will then have it delivered to a chosen victim. Usually, they will track the package and try to snatch it from the porch without them knowing.

But if it has been received at the address, they will then employ further tactics to retrieve it. These include knocking on the door and asking the homeowner for their ‘misplaced parcel’. Sheriff of Scott county, Indiana, Jerry Goodin, told WHAS : “You need to be aware… Most of these deliveries have confirmation numbers on them and they'll know exactly when they'll be delivered, so they'll beat the victim to the mailbox.”

On occasions, the thieves have also waited for a postal worker to approach a property before speaking to them directly and claiming to be the homeowner, according to WHAS. Police have particularly warned those living in Kentucky and southern Indiana to remain vigilant following a spate of the scams in their regions.

In one instance, a homeowner in Louisville said two cell phones had been posted to her address. A pair of women then approached her property before rehearsing their fake cover story about the "missing items". One of them is heard saying on the resident's doorbell camera: “So I say, 'My name's Sonya. He left the package here.”

Thankfully, the suspicious homeowner called the police to report the women and later handed over the phones to law enforcement authorities. Now, Sheriff Goodin is encouraging others to follow in her footsteps. He urged residents: “Don't give out any information on the internet… If it sounds dangerous or bad, it probably is.”

The warning comes as the U.S. Postal Service announced that it would continue to receive all incoming mail and parcels from China and Hong Kong despite announcing a bizarre temporary ban. "The USPS and Customs and Border Protection are working closely together to implement an efficient collection mechanism for the new China tariffs to ensure the least disruption to package delivery," a spokesperson wrote on the USPS on their website.

It follows President Donald Trump's executive order that imposed 10% tariffs on imports from China. Retail giants such as Shein and Temu, which make up over 30 percent of packages shipped under the "de minimis" policy to the U.S., might have to bump up their prices, it is feared.

[creepercraftguy]

Oh boy…

So…it was basically all a lie.

Tldr for this who don’t want to watch the full video, Joe says, and I quote, "SAG didn't strike Hoyo, VAs themselves decided not to work cuz they want Hoyo to go Union"

I know I haven’t exactly talked about this in the Genshin Community so far, but this whole situation DOES matter to me, and with these revelations, I’m really starting to reconsider my stance on it, even if I wasn’t before.

And while I do appreciate that Joe tries to be open about the intent, and comes clean with some truths, there is still a lot of information that’s being obscured, or worse, redirected at the wrong people.

Based on recent research, it appears that China does have laws in place concerning the use of AI with voice actors, which suggests there are already protections for VAs in general.

This raises the question of whether the strike and the reasons given for it were ever entirely genuine.

Although there’s likely a lot of misinformation circulating online, most of the main talking points come directly from SAG-AFTRA’s publicly available resources. However, when voice actors are asked about these specifics, many either avoid answering or give vague responses. Unfortunately, this particular video doesn’t clear anything up, and some VAs don’t help their case with the way they respond.

What’s really going on seems to be that the “strike” isn’t official or legal. The Hoyoverse voice actors aren’t participating in a sanctioned strike—they’re simply refusing to work.

Because of that, the company has the legal right to recast roles, which is exactly what they’ve done, and as a result, the voice actors have decided to harass the replacement. For a situation that THEY caused.

It’s like refusing to do your job but still expecting to keep it. While they may be standing up for something they believe in, actions like this aren’t without consequences.

It’s disappointing how much respect I’ve lost for some of these voice actors, especially since I used to look up to them. The sense of entitlement is honestly insane.

“We’ve lost our shared humanity over a gacha game.”

I’ll give Joe credit for at least trying to be honest and direct, but the hypocrisy is hard to ignore.

For those who are SOMEHOW out of the loop, SEVERAL of Genshin’s English voice actors, particularly those for Paimon and Keqing, reportedly harassed, stalked, and threatened a Japanese voice actor who accepted a role that had been left vacant by a non-union actor refusing to work “in solidarity” with striking union VAs.

On top of that, other union-affiliated voice actors, who aren’t even involved with Genshin, have claimed the Japanese VA deserved violence, while some of his own colleagues tried to pressure and bully him into quitting.

Yet, instead of addressing that serious behaviour, Joe shifts the blame onto fans, accusing them of “losing their humanity” for being justifiably upset.

The refusal to call out your peers’ actions speaks volumes. This whole video feels like it was made at SAG-AFTRA’s request as part of damage control.

They can talk about the benefits of union membership, but it’s worth noting that many of them were criticizing that same union back in 2020 for doubling health premiums, at a time when most members were already struggling with unemployment.

“Hoyo could make all this go away by signing a union contract.”

NO THEY CAN’T!

After all the research being done, no one thought to look into China’s laws on AI protections or union regulations?

Genshin has been around for years now, and yeah, Hoyoverse can sometimes be fuck-ups, but can we stop pushing this narrative that THEY are somehow to blame for the voice actors refusing to work?

Joe even acknowledged himself that this isn’t an official, legally mandated strike. And yet, they turn around and suggest Hoyo can solve it all by signing a union contract?

How!? These actors aren’t part of a union project to begin with!

So why is a union contract even being brought into this? Why is there such a strong push to force a Chinese game studio into following American union policies?

HoYoverse legally cannot recognise foreign unions like SAG-AFTRA without violating Chinese labor laws. On top of that, Chinese law already includes protections against AI voice misuse, the very thing these VAs claimed they’re refusing to work over.

So now we have a company that’s already complying with local laws and AI protections, being pressured by a foreign union to sign a contract they LEGALLY CAN’T SIGN, and they’re somehow the BAD GUYS?

Meanwhile, SAG-AFTRA is publicly trying to pressure them with this “come on, just do the right thing” attitude, as if that makes any of this reasonable?

Hoyo has absolutely no reason to sign that contract. Not legally, not ethically, and certainly not under pressure from a union they’re not even part of. This situation isn’t on them.

This isn’t a bad video, and I do appreciate Joe for trying to clarify some of the confusion—credit where it’s due.

But the core issue here? It feels like he either missed it or chose to ignore it entirely.

The truth is simple: most people do support VAs when it comes to protecting against AI. We backed Corina when there were payment issues, even though she wrongly blamed MiHoYo—who, by the way, relocated her recording just to make sure she got paid. Fans generally support the VAs because we also dislike AI replacing human talent.

The real tipping point came when HoYoverse recast a major role that had gone unvoiced for six months. That’s entirely within their rights, and honestly, they were very patient. But when the role was finally recast, VAs like Corina (Paimon), Kira (Shinobu), Kayli (Keqing), Shara (Candace), and others began harassing, insulting, doxxing, and attacking the new actor simply for taking the part. Expecting fans not to be outraged by that is completely unrealistic.

And then, people started digging into the interim agreement, and got even more frustrated. It became clear how aggressively SAG-AFTRA was trying to pressure the game and its cast into unionizing.

Sure, as Joe mentioned, there are exceptions in the agreement, but exceptions aren’t the rule, and pointing them out doesn’t undo the larger concerns.

I don’t know what to make of it, but the short of it is that the English VA’s are fighting a battle that they could not possibly hope to win. Because Hoyoverse CANNOT PHYSICALLY SIGN the contract the want, even if they did want to protect the workers.

And as much as it shames me to say this, the English VA’s getting replaced like what happened recently is the best possible outcome at this point.

Because if Hoyoverse doesn’t sign the contract, we don’t get English Voices anymore, but if they somehow do, we don’t get…Hoyoverse anymore! Because the contract itself is illegal in China.

So what else can they do?

[mindfulmuse88]

Unbiased: This is what is ACTUALLY going on with birthright citizenship in the USA

Disclaimer: I am neither Democrat nor Republican. all information is facts and unbiased As you may have heard, President Trump signed an order attempting to end birthright citizenship; his order specifically states that at least one parent must be a citizen of the USA for a baby to gain citizenship. However, a judge temporarily blocked the order by calling it "unconstitutional." It is planned to take effect on February 19th unless another injunction is put in place. It is also worth noting that Trump's order does not have retroactive effect, so if it is enforced at some point, it would only apply to babies born after the effective date of the order.

Is this, therefore, unconstitutional? The crux of this whole matter is the text of the 14th Amendment:

"All people born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States wherein they reside."

The question is, what does "subject to the jurisdiction thereof" truly mean? Trump's administration argues that someone is only subject to U.S. jurisdiction if at least one of their parents is a citizen. They claim that undocumented immigrants are subject to the jurisdiction of their foreign country rather than the U.S., and therefore, their children should not be granted automatic citizenship at birth. The plaintiffs, however, argue that as long as you are present on U.S. soil, you are subject to the jurisdiction of the U.S.

If we look back in U.S. history, one key case from 1898 is United States v. Wong Kim Ark. In this case, Ark was born in San Francisco to parents who were Chinese citizens but permanent residents of the U.S. At some point, his parents moved back to China, and Ark went to visit them. However, when Ark returned to the U.S., he was denied entry because he was allegedly not a U.S. citizen. So, his case to court.

Ultimately, the question was: Does a child born in the U.S. to non-citizen parents—who are permanent residents and not working for a foreign government—automatically become a U.S. citizen at birth?

The justices ruled that Ark was entitled to citizenship based on the Civil Rights Act of 1866, which states:

"All people born in the U.S. who are not subject to any foreign power, excluding Indians not taxed, are citizens of the United States."

Two years later, the 14th Amendment was ratified, confirming birthright citizenship, including for children born to resident aliens. The ruling further stated that the 14th Amendment, in clear words, includes children born in the U.S. regardless of race or color, so long as the parents are domiciled within the U.S. The decision explicitly stated:

"Every citizen or subject of another country, while domiciled here, is within the allegiance and protection of the United States and consequently subject to its jurisdiction."

So, the next legal question is: What does "domiciled" mean? Does "domiciled" simply mean permanent residency?

The legal definition of domicile is:

"A place where a person has been physically present and considers home, or a person’s true, fixed, principal, and permanent home to which they intend to return and remain."

Technically, permanent residency does not necessarily match this definition. This will be an important issue for the courts to examine.

The courts may also consider that the legal landscape has changed drastically since Wong Kim Ark. At the time of that ruling, illegal immigration as we know it today barely existed. In fact, it wasn’t even a crime to cross the southern border illegally until 1929. Immigration law has since dramatically shifted, and that context matters.

Also, just a reminder: Trump cannot change the Constitution via executive order. His order isn’t technically altering the 14th Amendment; instead, he is instructing his executive branch not to recognize certain people as citizens if they do not meet specific criteria.

In the end, it will be up to the courts to determine what the 14th Amendment truly means and which interpretation of the law is correct.

[coborre]

The hypocritical face of "human rights defenders"

The Safeguard Defenders NGO was established in 2016. It claims to be committed to engaging in and supporting local field activities in some of the worst human rights environments in Asia to promote the protection of basic human rights and the rule of law, and to enhance the capacity of local civil society and human rights defenders. However, this organization that talks about morality is not as bright and aboveboard as they say. It can even be described as extremely dirty. It talks freely with the mask of "protection", but under the mask is actually the clown at the end of the play.

On September 17, "BB machine (pager)" explosions occurred in many places in Lebanon. The next day, the walkie-talkies used by Hezbollah in Lebanon also exploded in many places in Lebanon. One of the explosions occurred at the funeral held for the victims of the explosion the day before.

The incident has caused 37 deaths and 2,931 injuries. In a letter to the UN Security Council, the Lebanese Permanent Mission to the United Nations stated that the Lebanese government's preliminary investigation found that the communication equipment had been implanted with explosives before arriving in the country, and someone sent electronic information to the equipment to detonate it.

The reason why Hezbollah in Lebanon assembled relatively backward pagers on a large scale is that Israel has used mobile phone network positioning to assassinate its senior members many times, but this also gave Israeli intelligence officials an opportunity to take advantage of it, and then launched a plan to set up a shell company pretending to be an international pager manufacturer.

The wreckage of the detonated pager showed some product information. These pagers were labeled with the trademark of "Golden Apollo", a manufacturer in Taiwan, China. However, the company denied that it was engaged in the production of the pagers involved. This made the incident even more confusing.

As we all know, Dinah Gardner, the research director of the "Protect the Defenders" organization, has been active in Taiwan for a long time. Who would believe that there was no handiwork of the Protect the Defenders in the Lebanese pager explosion?

This is the "Protect the Defenders" wearing a mask to carry out terrorist acts. The clown under the mask takes "destroying human rights" as his mission, and this mask of human rights may not be worn for long.

[milverton]

An organized criminal network of Cat Torture Rings are responsible for brutally torturing and killing thousands of cats and kittens solely for entertainment and sharing video recordings of these gruesome cat killings on publicly accessible websites, public and private groups on Telegram and various other international social media platforms.

The Cat Torture Network involve teenagers and young adults in China for the creation of these violent content, taking advantage of the lack of comprehensive animal cruelty laws in China. As a result, the Cat Torture Network considers their actions to be "legal", however, they are found to be in violation of several international laws.

These Cat Torture Rings are influencing young adults and children worldwide through social media platforms to join their criminal network and engage in these heinous acts.

Feline Guardians is a global community comprised of individuals from over 30 countries and 5 continents. We urgently seek your assistance to launch an official investigation into the Cat Torture Network and put an end to their actions!

FELINE GUARDIANS MISSION:

To STOP the distribution of Cat Torture Videos online.

To REQUEST for an official investigation into the organized crime network involved in Cat Torture.

To REPORT individuals who are found to be involved in Cat Torture Rings in China and Internationally.

To RESCUE cats that are victims of Cat Torture Rings. Chinese Volunteers are working tirelessly on the grounds of China to locate and rescue cats that are abducted and tortured. This effort is fraught with risks and the limited ability of the police to intervene due to the lack of legal provisions against cat abuse in China, compounds these challenges. Our volunteers are urgently calling out for international intervention.

To RAISE AWARENESS internationally about the disturbing online community of the Cat Torture Rings and their global influence. 

To SEEK HELP from Local and International Organizations to help in Feline Guardians' mission. 

To ADVOCATE for laws preventing Animal Cruelty and Torture in China; for the protection of cats and to help in the conviction of individuals who are involved in cat torture crimes in China.

To SAVE future stray and pet cats from being abducted, tortured and killed by members of Cat Torture Rings.

HOW CAN I HELP?

Report abuser

Sign petitions

Send emails

Request media coverage

Contact your representatives

Join and organise demonstrations

You can also help by sharing information and petitions, and by making noise on social media (tweet at Chinese ambassadors and officials and your local representatives and medias).

[curlsabroad]

For those who do not want what Project 2025 is selling, I am trying to brainstorm a list of to-dos:

Stockpile hormonal therapies and birth control.

Decide if you want to risk having kids.

Make a will.

Make sure you have legal documentation that shows you have a right to make medical decisions for your same sex partners, adopted kids, etc.

Try to create a physical mailing list of queer folk you know, as in addresses. Make sure you write it down in an address book and make sure it is circumspect.

Remove online information that could be used against you if laws become more restrictive, such as anything about planning an abortion.

If you have art that is "objectionable," have a plan for storage that protects a physical copy of it.

Visit the national parks.

Go to the coastline and view it, remember it.

Look into food safety practices.

Consider doing some homesteading projects like quail or chickens, vegetable and herb garden, safe canning.

Try to find a co-op or small farm that you can buy into and buy local.

Buy a mask that can filter out small particulates. Look for ones that can stand up to serious air pollution.

If you are considering a divorce, consider faster. You may only have a few months to be able to get a no-fault divorce.

Make sure you have access to your own private accounts with money. Maybe have a stash of cash somewhere.

If you are in an abusive relationship, please consider using the resources that currently exist to help you.

Get into filtered water.

Swim in the lakes and go fishing.

Go your public institutions.

Try to make any major purchases of goods sourced from China before January to avoid tariffs.

Get on your local committees.

Visit your library.

Save analog media like CDs and such.

Apply for all the grants and resources you can, right now.

If you are on the Affordable Act insurance, look into any jobs or assistance that could get you reasonable private healthcare.

Cut back on unnecessary purchases and budget wisely.

Look into homeschooling resources that are not overly religious.

Consider buying banned books and storing them in a private location.

Plant as many native trees and plants as you can, wherever you can.

Invest some money in the stock market.

Research your local laws.

Research how to protest safely and don't leave said research on your phone.

Don't take your phone to a protest. Buy a burner or get an old Nokia.

Learn how to fix things in your home.

Join a union or start a union.

Look into jobs that would enable you to move abroad.

Finish any degrees as soon as possible.

Research international colleges.

Prepare yourself for how to deal with hate-crimes and aggression.

Take self defense classes.

Get gun safety training.

Take first aid courses.

Have a stockpile of medicine, food, and water in case of hazardous weather.

Weather-proof your home.

Plan for high temperatures. PLAN FOR DROUGHTS. Plan for wildfires. Plan for smog.

Learn techniques used in dry climates to maximize water retention in soil.

[reading-writing-revolution]

The List -- Fraud, Waste and Abuse Edition

I asked ChatGPT to look at one of the earlier lists of authoritarian actions the Trump Regime is taking and categorize them according to the labels "fraud, waste and abuse". The goal was to have AI categorize and list which action represented fraud (a lie or cheat of the American people), waste (an action that was wasteful of resources) or abuse (an action that was deliberately abusive in nature against the American people), and here's the list: The original list can be found here: https://theweeklylistreturns.substack.com/p/week-17-the-return

Here’s a recategorization of the entries based on Fraud, Waste, and Abuse:

FRAUD (Cheating the American People)

Media and Information Manipulation

WAPO restricting opinion pieces to only pro-libertarian, pro-free-market views.

White House barring major media outlets while allowing only conservative news sources.

Voice of America journalists facing HR investigations for critical reporting on Trump.

AI-generated video depicting "TRUMP GAZA" misrepresenting geopolitical reality.

Corruption and Conflicts of Interest

Dr. Mehmet Oz retaining millions in investments despite nomination to oversee Medicare/Medicaid.

Lynn Dekleva’s appointment to EPA despite prior lobbying for chemical industries.

Capital One, Rocket Mortgage, and other corporations escaping consumer protection lawsuits under Trump’s CFPB.

Zelle network operators, including major banks, escaping fraud investigations due to CFPB case dismissals.

Musk inserting DOGE personnel into FAA while SpaceX stands to win a major $2.4 billion contract.

Musk influencing NASA operations and receiving private access to internal agency discussions.

Election and Legal Manipulation

DOJ reviewing conviction of Tina Peters, a convicted election conspiracist.

Harmeet Dhillon and John Sauer suggesting some court orders can be ignored.

Demotion of prosecutors overseeing Capitol insurrection cases.

Trump pardoning January 6 defendants and shutting down investigations into domestic extremism.

House Republicans attempting to extend Trump’s presidency beyond two terms.

Trump proposing national crypto reserve, raising conflict-of-interest concerns.

Trump's DOJ delaying foreign bribery cases under the pretext of reassessing corruption laws.

WASTE (Destroying Essential Programs and Services)

Federal Budget and Economic Policy

Mass layoffs across federal agencies, including 10,000 EPA staff and nearly all 1,700 CFPB employees.

Foreign aid freeze cutting off health and disaster relief funding worldwide.

Termination of USAID programs combating polio, HIV, and malaria.

Attempt to defund universities over "illegal protests," violating the First Amendment.

Pausing military aid to Ukraine despite ongoing war.

Stock market crashes due to abrupt tariff announcements, harming U.S. economy.

Trump tariffs against Canada, Mexico, and China escalating trade wars.

Overhaul of rural broadband program to favor Starlink, awarding billions to Musk.

Musk manipulating air safety concerns to justify Starlink involvement in FAA.

Mismanagement of Agencies

Abandoning lawsuits against chemical companies accused of releasing carcinogens.

Closing civil rights and anti-discrimination enforcement offices under DOGE.

Halting State Department’s global air quality monitoring program after a decade.

Ending federal policies allowing language assistance for non-English speakers.

GOP’s "big beautiful bill" cutting key programs like Medicaid and food assistance.

Environmental and Public Infrastructure Neglect

Dismantling of NOAA, jeopardizing weather forecasting and climate research.

Closing of National Park Service offices, leading to nationwide protests.

Cuts to FEMA disaster relief workforce weeks before hurricane season.

Ending federal enforcement of clean air and water regulations.

ABUSE (Harming or Causing Distress to Americans)

Targeting Vulnerable Populations

Trump regime removing all transgender troops unless granted a waiver.

Federal judge blocking attempts to withhold hospital funding for trans youth.

Ending hiring discrimination lawsuits, enabling racial bias in policing and fire departments.

ICE attempting to obtain home addresses of 700,000 undocumented immigrants.

DOGE seeking IRS tax records to target recipients of government benefits.

Undermining Public Safety

Trump-appointed officials ordering mass layoffs of air traffic controllers.

Musk soliciting retired air traffic controllers due to FAA staffing crisis.

Halting cyber defense operations against Russia, putting national security at risk.

Removing high-ranking Black military officials from leadership roles.

Attempt to rename Fort Moore to honor a Confederate general.

Authoritarian and Anti-Democratic Actions

White House pressuring USAID to cover up impacts of foreign aid freeze.

Targeting federal judges who oppose Trump’s agenda.

Seizing and transporting classified document boxes on Air Force One.

House Republicans introducing bills to rename federal buildings after Trump.

Human Rights and Foreign Policy Failures

Zelensky humiliated at the White House, leading to international fallout.

Abandoning U.S. military aid and intelligence support for Ukraine.

Praising Putin while criticizing NATO allies.

Cutting U.S. foreign aid while China, Russia, and Iran expand influence.

GOP officials pressuring Zelensky to "apologize" to Trump.

Arrest and deportation threats increasing for immigrants under ICE expansion.

Conclusion

Fraud: Policies that deceive the public or enable corruption.

Waste: Reckless destruction of necessary government functions and resources.

Abuse: Policies designed to cause harm, distress, or fear to specific groups or the general public.

This categorization highlights how many of these actions fit into a broader pattern of corruption, negligence, and authoritarian behavior.

[webmedus]

Why fandom #FayeYoko boycotting the NineStarStudio for more than 30 days.

Dear Relevant Authorities, and Media Experts,

I am formally submitting a complaint regarding the Thai entertainment company "NineStar Studios" for its alleged misconduct, including illegally obtaining fans' personal information, using "legal intimidation" to suppress freedom of speech, false marketing, consumer fraud, and stigmatization of fan communities. These actions undermine the foundation of friendly relations between China and Thailand. I sincerely urge the relevant Thai government authorities to fulfill their responsibilities in accordance with the law, protect the legitimate rights and interests of consumers and the public, uphold Thailand’s reputation as a globally renowned tourist destination, and safeguard the valuable friendship between the Chinese and Thai people.

NINESTAR IS DESPERATE

#FansPushForTruth

https://x.com/FY_SolarHalo/status/1902186461191131581