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> it's the logical consequence of trying to channel public money into private economies, public money that is meant to fund our most basic civic activity. Yes,

> it's the logical consequence of trying to channel public money into private economies, public money that is meant to fund our most basic civic activity. Yes, and that logical consequence is being exploited by foreign governments. By "infiltrate" I mean "taking advantage of our shortsightedness," similar to how we ignorantly offshored pharmaceutical sourcing/production to China [1]. There's plenty [2] of loose threads that warrant my "only the paranoid survive" POV on stuff like this. Hell, there's even a book that goes into detail about the strategy [3]: > "If one party is at war with another, and the other party does not realize it is at war, the party who knows it is at war almost always has the advantage and usually wins.” And this is the strategy set forth in Unrestricted Warfare: waging a war on an adversary with methods so covert at first and seemingly so benign that the party being attacked does not realize it’s being attacked." - Qiao Liang --- [1] https://www.nbcnews.com/health/health-care/u-s-officials-worried-about-chinese-control-american-drug-supply-n1052376 https://www.nbcnews.com/health/health-care/u-s-officials-wor... [2] https://www.businessinsider.com/china-houston-consulate-document-burning-us-told-quickly-close-2020-7 https://www.businessinsider.com/china-houston-consulate-docu... [3] https://www.amazon.com/Unrestricted-Warfare-Chinas-Destroy-America/dp/1626543054/ https://www.amazon.com/Unrestricted-Warfare-Chinas-Destroy-A...

woodruffw 4y ago
This is quibbling, but I don’t think that’s “infiltration.” We don’t get to pawn out incompetencies off on other countries; they don’t owe us anything in particular. More to the point: there’s no evidence that China actually did anything here, other than provide a service and get some overeager DA to interpret that in the worst possible light. Which, if you’re China, is a win-win: you didn’t have to do anything at all besides provide a quality product to get the Americans to doubt their election!
- rglover 4y ago
  Not to be rude but this exact response is why this strategy has been and will continue to be successful. Americans cannot believe that a foreign government who's fundamental values are counter to theirs would take advantage of their naivety for both financial and geopolitical gain. I mean they say it overtly: make it subtle so they don't realize it's happening.
  - woodruffw 4y ago
    No, I believe it. I just refuse to call it “infiltration” when it’s not evidenced as such.
    - rglover 4y ago
      I clarified my usage of the term above.
  - themitigating 4y ago
    It's not a matter of belief. For each situation , like this, either it happened or it didn't and you need to provide evidence
    - rglover 4y ago
      I don't need to do anything. I use abductive reasoning to connect different things I see and form a preliminary conclusion/hypothesis based on that. I'm not starting a church or lighting candles.
      - themitigating 4y ago
        Forming a hypothesis is the first step in the scientific process not the last.

woodruffw 4y ago

This is quibbling, but I don’t think that’s “infiltration.” We don’t get to pawn out incompetencies off on other countries; they don’t owe us anything in particular. More to the point: there’s no evidence that China actually did anything here, other than provide a service and get some overeager DA to interpret that in the worst possible light. Which, if you’re China, is a win-win: you didn’t have to do anything at all besides provide a quality product to get the Americans to doubt their election!

rglover 4y ago
Not to be rude but this exact response is why this strategy has been and will continue to be successful. Americans cannot believe that a foreign government who's fundamental values are counter to theirs would take advantage of their naivety for both financial and geopolitical gain. I mean they say it overtly: make it subtle so they don't realize it's happening.
- woodruffw 4y ago
  No, I believe it. I just refuse to call it “infiltration” when it’s not evidenced as such.
  - rglover 4y ago
    I clarified my usage of the term above.
- themitigating 4y ago
  It's not a matter of belief. For each situation , like this, either it happened or it didn't and you need to provide evidence
  - rglover 4y ago
    I don't need to do anything. I use abductive reasoning to connect different things I see and form a preliminary conclusion/hypothesis based on that. I'm not starting a church or lighting candles.
    - themitigating 4y ago
      Forming a hypothesis is the first step in the scientific process not the last.