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China Cyberspies Outwit U.S. Stealing Military Secrets

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11–20 of 63 posts

Re: China Cyberspies Outwit U.S. Stealing Military Secrets

#11
The only thing as breathtaking as the amount of information the Chinese military has stolen is how dysfunctional their military is. Here [1] is an excellent article about corruption in the Chinese military. The Chinese government is a bizarre mix of authoritarianism, greed, patronage and nationalism, and it has no clear structure. The military is no different. It doesn't matter how much technology they have; as long as the military has no internal cohesion and accountability, they will never overtake the United States.

Here's a quote from the article, citing a 'princeling':

" "China no longer has a paramount leader who can hammer down authority at crucial junctures. "Gangs" of patronage and bribery are congealing together, he said, adding that "Corruption is the glue that keeps the whole system together, after the age of idealism." "

And another:

" A third princeling, whose father once ran China's security apparatus, blames Jiang for sabotaging the last leadership transition in 2002 by refusing to relinquish control of the military. He said Jiang promoted dozens of generals who are, as he put it, either "henchmen" or "morons." The result is that nobody is really in control, he said. "

[1] http://www.foreignpolicy.com/articles/2012/04/16/rotting_fro...

Note: You don't have to sign up for foreignpolicy.com to read the article. Just disable JS or stop the page from loading before the popup shows up.

Re: China Cyberspies Outwit U.S. Stealing Military Secrets

#12
Well ... if you don't want something hacked don't expose it to the internet. Is there a reason why corporations does not have inner network that is electrically disconnected from the internet where the sensitive data is stored and manipulated?

Buying a second pc for every person is pocket change.

Re: China Cyberspies Outwit U.S. Stealing Military Secrets

#13
post #3
post #2

It seems like we read articles like these almost every week. Can the US do anything but besides lodge complaints?

Of course they can, what makes you think they aren't? But a more interesting question is to look at what information is presented and what is missing. How much is new, how much is old. Then on policy stories like this one I sometimes pop over to the senate web site and look at what's coming up on the senate calendar [1] and oh look, on May 7th they are having a hearing to talk about Hearings to examine the Department…

If you're going to assume that they are trying to manipulate public opinion, it seems more likely to me that they are pushing for CISPA to pass than an obscure Senate hearing.

For those who don't see the connection, CISPA is intended to allow the government to help with exactly this type of situation.

Re: China Cyberspies Outwit U.S. Stealing Military Secrets

#14
post #3

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Of course they can, what makes you think they aren't? But a more interesting question is to look at what information is presented and what is missing. How much is new, how much is old. Then on policy stories like this one I sometimes pop over to the senate web site and look at what's coming up on the senate calendar [1] and oh look, on May 7th they are having a hearing to talk about Hearings to examine the Department…

It's not cynical at all. You just demonstrated an example of a phenomenon that was well-documented in the 80s by people like Noam Chomsky. His book Manufacturing Consent talks in great detail about how mass media is used to manipulate public opinion.

Too Chomsky's lost all of his credibility by aligning himself with all of the New World Order crackpots out there.

Re: China Cyberspies Outwit U.S. Stealing Military Secrets

#15
post #2

It seems like we read articles like these almost every week. Can the US do anything but besides lodge complaints?

It's just the same politics game played by other countries.

Whenever Chinese military needs money, spread news outlets about horrifying US threats

Re: China Cyberspies Outwit U.S. Stealing Military Secrets

#17
post #8

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's not cynical at all. You just demonstrated an example of a phenomenon that was well-documented in the 80s by people like Noam Chomsky. His book Manufacturing Consent talks in great detail about how mass media is used to manipulate public opinion.

The logic here seems to be that because the mass media can be used to manipulate public opinion, it is used exclusively to manipulate public opinion.

Please point out where I said - or even implied - the "exclusively" part.

Re: China Cyberspies Outwit U.S. Stealing Military Secrets

#18
post #11

The only thing as breathtaking as the amount of information the Chinese military has stolen is how dysfunctional their military is. Here [1] is an excellent article about corruption in the Chinese military. The Chinese government is a bizarre mix of authoritarianism, greed, patronage and nationalism, and it has no clear structure. The military is no different. It doesn't matter how much technology they have; as long…

Such articles like the OP's seem to cater to alarmism and hyperbole as these kind of events occur all the time. The difference here is that the US gov is being quite unprofessional by resorting to publicizing these events. Also, it's quite trivial/foolish to care whether or not any country will overtake the US (or another country). The way I see it - decreasing the US' influence may actually be beneficial. Rather than a unipolar/bipolar world, there can be a multipolar world. Maybe it'll reduce the crap that the US gov does/causes domestically and internationally, as it seems the fed believes it can ignore accountability because of supposed exceptionalism.
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