thablackbull

Re-reading my comments, I apologize if I came across as 'whataboutism', that is not what is intended. I just read your first link (CNN) and again, I am still left with the same question.

It first states, "...using bilateral security arrangements struck with countries in Europe and Africa to gain a widespread presence internationally..." which seems to suggest the hosts countries are fully (or at minimum somewhat) aware.

Then, they go on to say "Safeguard Defenders stumbled on the police networks while trying to assess the scale of China’s efforts to persuade some of its people to return to China..."

Fair enough, but what exactly are those people accused of? If they're being accused of fraud or other illegal activities, are those really people we want in our countries.

> First, you asked about the US when this article is about China, a very well known tactic, thank you very much.

I'm American. I'm much more well versed in American issues and this is the first story that popped into my mind which I can bring up as a parallel.

> Second, you really want us to believe China's attempts at getting at its critics is the same as the US trying to get at a terror suspect?

As I clarified, as I couldn't read the full article, I am admitting I don't know - it would be great if the article had clarified down the way on what exactly their position is and someone had quoted it.

> If you want to criticize the US go ahead in the appropriate thread, there's plenty to criticize.

I love American thank you very much.

I'm just trying to understand the context of the 'arrests' as the article is paywalled. I'm not making any justifications in either of the cases, not sure why you feel the need to downvote a simple question for clarification.

> I really wish Chinese switched completely to pinyin

Perhaps Americans would take the first step and switch from imperial to metric, then we can discuss and tell everyone what to do.

Because he doesn't want the negative connotation that comes with it.

Just like the debate about, "is it engineering"; by calling oneself as opposed to 'programmer', it conveys more prestige.

As a SWE, he sees himself in the driver seat of the company and doesn't want to be associated with being 'back-end', 'a cost-center', etc.

> I would have thought Singapore had more policing in all respects versus US cities.

You only see police occasionally doing their patrols, so it can be argued there is less of a police presence than say NY. There is no need, there are cameras everywhere and its a small Island, you can't run anywhere.

With respect to the parent's comment on subway deaths: > Singapore has entirely solved the root problem in a non-carceral way by investing in infrastructure.

There are barriers that only open when the train has arrived, so there quite literally cannot be deaths from people pushing others onto the tracks. I presume that is what he means by infrastructure.

If I say that I'm not sure how students who live in a climate of fear and need to practice active shooter drills after every school shooting can lead to a creative and innovative culture, do you think that holds?

Perhaps slightly off-topic, but wondering if this has the functionality or what others on HN would recommend.

I have a friend who enjoys online multi-player games, but she often faces quite a bit of unfriendly remarks when she speaks (CS:GO, I believe it's been an ongoing problem in the community). I'm thinking perhaps an audio program that can alter her voice from female to male would let her game in peace - would anyone on HN have any suggestions/recommendations?

I think what he means is that, given the choice, people there would opt for a good class bungalow (essentially your 'detached home', but most will never be able to afford it).

That is an obvious statement, but the analogy breaks down a bit as in Singapore, whether you live in a GCB or in HDB (social housing), everything is relatively close by regardless. Hence, there isn't really much of a trade-off at all - living in a GCB just affords more space and privacy (at an exponentially inflated cost).