much of the report is about the Muslim area of western China.
The prevailing evidence of mass detention centers and newly-erected surveillance systems shows that China has been pouring billions of dollars into physical and digital means of pervasive surveillance in Xinjiang and other regions.
But it’s often unclear to what extent these projects operate as real, functional high-tech surveillance, and how much they are primarily intended as a sort of “security theater”: a public display of oppression and control to intimidate and silence dissent.
Now, this security leak shows just how extensively China is tracking its Xinjiang residents: how parts of that system work, and what parts don’t. It demonstrates that the surveillance is real, even as it raises questions about the competence of its operators.
the problem? it's easy to hack
(via instapundit, who comments:
A massively intrusive surveillance apparatus with inadequate security seems like a great opportunity for opponents — say, the US — to sow discord and unrest in the event of conflict.
and the "cashless" society keeps getting touted.
When I was in the US, I carried money but most places just took my credit card instead. No problem, since I kept my US credit card, but it made me wonder about cost: As a doc, I know you lose money on every credit transaction, so why not take cash?
but I also wonder about the lack of reports on India's "cashless society" experiment.
BBC Report (4-2018) here.
Of course, with an increase in digital transactions, the question of data security comes into play. As we freefall through an increasingly virtual world – and payments over the cloud instead of payments with paper – who has access to our information? For Monica Halan, it is a global problem with no easy solution. “I think those are the issues the entire world right now is grappling with post-Facebook,” she says. “Government and regulators have to act really fast to plug the data breaches which are happening all across the world, and even in India.” But she remains largely positive about these policies towards demonetisation. “It’s like a virtual infrastructure is being built… if a highway or a railroad has the capacity to bring people in business closer and increase output, the same thing will happen with technology.”
we are starting to have larger shops at the mall use credit cards. I have a local credit card. My problem? They won't let you use it unless you verify via your cellphone, and I don't have a cellphone (I use Joy's number, and even then it doesn't go through).
but cellphones are owned by everyone: and there is a trend to use them to purchase stuff and do mini banking.
This article is about the cellphone revolution in rural Africa.
what could go wrong?
article on massive data breech of India's information.
and of course it's not just in the third world: My US OPM file was one of millions hacked a couple years ago, and I had to get free insurance to cover if my banks or identity was stolen.
Sigh.
No, I don't trust these things. And it's not just because of security breaches.
Why? Because when the typhoon hit, we were off line for two weeks (and our typhoon was minor).
and then there was an earthquake in 2010 that cut the cables south of Taiwan that put us off line for three months (and forced India to send all their data to the west, slowing their economy).
Undersea fiber-optic cables carry the bulk of the world's Internet and communications traffic. Cables around Taiwan have a rough life. The island is often battered by typhoons and earthquakes that can knock them out or cause undersea landslides, which send boulders showering down on them. Last August, deep sea landslides caused by Typhoon Morakot damaged at least three undersea fiber-optic telecommunications cables and disrupted three others, causing communications and Internet service disruptions throughout Asia.
and of course, cutting the internet cables could be done deliberately as either terrorism or an act of war.
finally, what if a major center was hit by either an EMP or a solar flare? Anyone? anyone?
and of course, a big brother will simply cut you off from getting food if you don't obey, something that was seen in Venezuela
so do we keep gold just in case? but that can be stolen.
Barter and black markets will fill the gap.
what will keep folks alive in that case will be the social capital: The trust of people in each other.
Here in Asia, you only trust your family, who will help you in times of trouble. That is starting to break down, but is still pretty intact.
so we took in neighbors and relatives when we were hit with a typhoon related flood, and gave out clothing and food to those who asked for it (we live in the center of town, not in a gated community, and have ties with the working class neighborhood nearby, so get asked a lot for help in emergencies).
so, as my husband promised me: I'd always have rice to eat in case of war or emergency (he lived through the depression and World War II, so had experience in these problems).
But what would happen in the US, where easy divorce and mothers who work outside the home mean less time to care for their family, is causing family deterioration?
But alternative sources of trust are churches and clubs.
some Protestant churches are talking about starting cities of refuge, but I don't know personally if they still exist.
But I used to live in Idaho, so know there is one area that would probably survive: Utah, which fed and saved the lives of a lot of Gentiles who were traveling to the gold fields of California.
Ironically, few of the post apocalyptic tales I see mention social capital in keeping people alive. Orson Scott Card's tales, which note the survival of Deseret, is one of the few authors who suggest this alternative, but then, the LDS remember their history of when they were essentially on their own and had to cooperate with each other to survive.
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update: big brother at the border.
When I was in China, I had my face scanned, a full body x ray (my bra extender had stainless steel hooks and kept setting off the metal detector) had to fill out a lot of papers, and I couldn't get onto facebook or a lot of news and social media sites because they were blocked on the wifi (ironically, I could get FreeRepublic to scan headlines: Apparently they aren't worried about the VRWC).
so they are tracking travelers, but short of bribery I am not sure how one would get around this:
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