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Hypocrisy and arrogance at its finest - its ok for us to engage in illegal spying but not other countries. US leads the world in illegal activities and spying/s

by dirkg 7y ago

Hypocrisy and arrogance at its finest - its ok for us to engage in illegal spying but not other countries. US leads the world in illegal activities and spying/stealing from foreign nations.

TomVDB 7y ago
> US leads the world in illegal activities and spying/stealing from foreign nations. That's one of those empty, non-falsifiable statements that don't do anything to further a discussion. Spying and illegal activities are by definition supposed to be secret. But it also doesn't matter. Because... > Hypocrisy and arrogance at its finest ... as a matter of general principle: it's in the best interest of a country to know what other countries are doing and to protect its own assets. There is no contradiction in doing both at the same time. If a country suspects that one of the cornerstones of its communication infrastructure is at risk of being infiltrated by a foreign power, it makes sense to take steps to avoid that. I'll leave it to others to judge whether or not that principle applies to the Huawei case.
adventured 7y ago
It's not hypocrisy or arrogance in any regard. The US does not view China as an ally, it's a competitor that the US sometimes cooperates with economically. The US and its allies are saying they prefer to keep the spying inside their own allied domain. That's not only entirely rational, it obviously makes perfect sense from a national self-interest standpoint. As an American, if I get to choose, I'm buying my 5G tech from European or Asian allies. I'll happily pay more for it. The US isn't saying China can't spy, it's universally understood that China is spying and will keep trying to, just as the US will. The US is basically openly saying it's going to attempt to counter or limit that spying, because China is a global rival in all regards. Just as China will always attempt to limit the ability of the US to spy on China and its interests. The same goes for Russia and its spying, going all the way back to the early days of the USSR.
- cfarm 7y ago
  China can distribute its goods to the world, but the world cannot distribute its goods to it. I think this is part of the issue. i.e. Huawei can sell its tech to the US, but Google/Amazon/FB is more or less blocked in China. Countries obviously understand that they all spy on each other, maybe this is US' way of making sure tactics are "fair"?
zwaps 7y ago
The whataboutism quickly falls apart. Yes, the US does bad things, but it is the devil we know very well by now. Indeed the US is a largely free society. I travel there often without issues. China, on the other hand, would probably throw me into a concentration camp the minute I arrive. For me, personally, and my family, and almost everyone I know, Chinas authocratic imperialism is much less desireable than the economic imperialism of the US. I am literally scared of China gaining power in the world. I certainly have distaste for many things the US has done as well, but not to that degree. In the end, every country should be free to decide where they stand. There are certainly countries who view the divide between US and China differently, but I think that is merely because they are not yet involved with China.
- dang 7y ago
  Please keep nationalistic flamewar comments like this off Hacker News. https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html

by dirkg 7y ago

Hypocrisy and arrogance at its finest - its ok for us to engage in illegal spying but not other countries. US leads the world in illegal activities and spying/stealing from foreign nations.

TomVDB 7y ago

> US leads the world in illegal activities and spying/stealing from foreign nations. That's one of those empty, non-falsifiable statements that don't do anything to further a discussion. Spying and illegal activities are by definition supposed to be secret. But it also doesn't matter. Because... > Hypocrisy and arrogance at its finest ... as a matter of general principle: it's in the best interest of a country to know what other countries are doing and to protect its own assets. There is no contradiction in doing both at the same time. If a country suspects that one of the cornerstones of its communication infrastructure is at risk of being infiltrated by a foreign power, it makes sense to take steps to avoid that. I'll leave it to others to judge whether or not that principle applies to the Huawei case.

adventured 7y ago

It's not hypocrisy or arrogance in any regard. The US does not view China as an ally, it's a competitor that the US sometimes cooperates with economically. The US and its allies are saying they prefer to keep the spying inside their own allied domain. That's not only entirely rational, it obviously makes perfect sense from a national self-interest standpoint. As an American, if I get to choose, I'm buying my 5G tech from European or Asian allies. I'll happily pay more for it. The US isn't saying China can't spy, it's universally understood that China is spying and will keep trying to, just as the US will. The US is basically openly saying it's going to attempt to counter or limit that spying, because China is a global rival in all regards. Just as China will always attempt to limit the ability of the US to spy on China and its interests. The same goes for Russia and its spying, going all the way back to the early days of the USSR.

cfarm 7y ago
China can distribute its goods to the world, but the world cannot distribute its goods to it. I think this is part of the issue. i.e. Huawei can sell its tech to the US, but Google/Amazon/FB is more or less blocked in China. Countries obviously understand that they all spy on each other, maybe this is US' way of making sure tactics are "fair"?

zwaps 7y ago

The whataboutism quickly falls apart. Yes, the US does bad things, but it is the devil we know very well by now. Indeed the US is a largely free society. I travel there often without issues. China, on the other hand, would probably throw me into a concentration camp the minute I arrive. For me, personally, and my family, and almost everyone I know, Chinas authocratic imperialism is much less desireable than the economic imperialism of the US. I am literally scared of China gaining power in the world. I certainly have distaste for many things the US has done as well, but not to that degree. In the end, every country should be free to decide where they stand. There are certainly countries who view the divide between US and China differently, but I think that is merely because they are not yet involved with China.

dang 7y ago
Please keep nationalistic flamewar comments like this off Hacker News. https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html