xinniethepooh

There's no "we" because exactly your attitude lmao

You point out some red herring, claim it's the base case, and thus it proves the entire viewpoint that it's some "decaying corrupt corpse"

Compared to what, exactly?

I occasionally check TikTok to see what it's like. I notice quite a bit of very "pro-China" type propaganda; idyllic Chinese farmers teaching their kids, muscular Chinese male athletes, etc.

Very much a tool to influence Western users and thought.

Politicians are voted in by the people, and giving money to politicians to advance an initiative isn't guaranteed.

You don't really see much difference? Democratically elected politicians versus central party that allows no dissent and has complete control over information and actions of its citizens to the point of genocidal assimilation.

I've been to China.

The series of high resolution pictures of me throughout the streets, hotels, places I was during my time there - these all appeared on the screens used by the guards as I was being scanned to leave the country.

So yes, I have been to China, I can place China on a map, and it is the most terrifying reincarnation of Nazi Germany - being defended by people who will say "we didn't know any better" after the concentration camps are freed.

It's curious that you say 'historically unprecedented imperial past' - imperialism typically has to do with having a ruler, and exerting diplomatic or military force to influence other nations.

Why do you say this is historically unprecedented? China has been imperialist since its beginning, and continues its imperialism with Hong Kong, South china sea, Taiwan, Tibet, Xinjiang, Myanmar ...

What 'historically unprecedented imperial past' are you referring to that isn't preceded by China's?

Because it doesn't match the one message from the central government?

The difference is that in the USA the media is allowed, and does cover this. In China, there is absolute suppression of free speech/media/religion, and the active internment of people who dissent.

You can't even compare the USA and China; China is objectively less free and more repressive.

There were slaves for thousands of years too, and we ended that pretty quickly.

It's not, and that's why decryption of unknown ciphertext is even harder

Source on it being de-facto illegal?

I've not seen anything that says simply scanning for open ports is illegal, doing vulnerability scans may be though.

Good. It's an open secret that nations like China, Russia, North Korea, and Iran have been conducting massive propaganda and disinformation techniques against the citizens of USA, UK, Canada, etc.

I hope this raises awareness.

I'm always amazed when people bring up things like "the tooth fairy", "magical sky wizard", "flying spaghetti monster" as some sort of intellectual taunt to show the ridiculousness of somebody's belief.

It's the Dunning-Kröger in action; people like you believe that somehow our universe, reality, the nature of humans, are perfectly definable. What you're not realizing is that the concept of God goes beyond any attempt to rationalize; I don't use rationalize in the context you're thinking, but in the mathematical concept of rationality. Language, how we code information into words, is based upon rational polynomials whose coefficients and values take on the alphabet; binary systems being something you may be familiar with. As soon as you codify 'God' as something rational ('sky wizard?') you imply a limit and impose boundaries on a limitless and indescribable entity.

But if you're trying to just mock people for believing something you don't understand, that's fine too, I've always found the most insecure and least intellectual to be the ones that try to show others how "smart" they are.

I like this question, but I think there's a better one: "do you think there is no legitimate threat that the NSA addresses?"

'Any non-governmental foreigner' includes the vast number of non-official-cover spies sent by other nations. The government is to serve the people, but it must balance the fact that other world powers and enemy nations are seeking to undermine the nation.