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This doesn't just happen in a vacuum. I wonder what the conversations and actions were that led to this.
by echelon 3y ago
This doesn't just happen in a vacuum. I wonder what the conversations and actions were that led to this.
- MathMonkeyMan 3y agoI know nothing, but maybe some three letter agencies know more. Or it could just be politics.
- AdamN 3y agoThree letter agencies are part of politics. For anything this big it's usually all three: 1/ an industry that can benefit from the policy (US-based crane builders), 2/ the government itself (extra port resilience), 3/ vote getting (union jobs for the company that builds them). It's not a bad thing by the way that there is broad alignment - although it's not necessarily the most efficient or ideal at the global level.
- throw310822 3y agoDon't forget how this sets an example, like for Huawei. Expect Americans to urge their European allies to do the same "because security". This can be another blow in the commercial war between US and China, and a potential benefit for the US if it creates a market for their cranes.
- nottorp 3y agoBut Europe would just replace cranes that spy for China with cranes that spy for the US... what's the point?
- throw310822 3y agoEurope does anything the US tells them to do.
- _chu1 3y ago[flagged]
- AdamN 3y agoEurope and US are allies so there is less (but certainly not zero) risk from US controlling European cranes than China controlling them. Also, US has more controls that would prevent them from abusing the position as easily (i.e. sure the CIA could disrupt the cranes but the bar would be much higher than the bar for China's three letter agencies to do it).
- nottorp 3y agoThose bars apply to non US citizens? :)
- AdamN 3y agoThere are other constraints like Five Eyes and bright lines around things like how the US would (usually) ask the German intel agencies to spy on Germans if possible. This is unlike the Chinese who probably have limited access to German intel.
- est 3y agoBasically this https://np.reddit.com/r/Unexpected/comments/11jsyyf/ https://np.reddit.com/r/Unexpected/comments/11jsyyf/
- throw310822 3y agoWell that is embarrassing.
- itsoktocry 3y agoWhat's interesting is that some of the conversation in the thread immediately turns political: "what's the big deal, it's made in China lol. They don't want the Republicans to pounce!" And then 10 years later, boom, national security issue. How are Americans ever going to solve these problems when everything is justified by or excused as political bias?
- FirmwareBurner 3y agoIs that a secret service agent who's struggling to reposition the US flag over the Chinese name brand? That's absolutely hilarious that the taxpayers are paying for this. My ex-commie country would also do this when "the great leader" would tour factories and industries. Workers would cover up all foreign brands and pretend all tech is local and production efficiency is 100x what it actually was.
- cesarb 3y agoHe pulled up the flag and held onto it instead of trying to reposition it. At first, I also found it funny that it was a secret service agent that went there, but then it made sense: with the flag moving like that (it seems it had a somewhat heavy wooden structure instead of just fabric), there would be a risk of the strings holding it breaking, and then there would be a risk that it could fly and hit whoever was talking later at that empty podium. I believe it's part of their job to avoid these kinds of risks.
- FirmwareBurner 3y ago